"Well, well. Look who made it back in one piece."
Waiting for us upon our return to the Archangel—after successfully repelling the Aegis, Duel, Buster, and Cigu—was a grinning Mu La Flaga, clearly in high spirits.
"Hah, hahahahaha!"
He slapped my back vigorously, likely an expression of relief at having survived such a tight spot.
Watching Mu and me, Kira suddenly burst into laughter. When I looked at him, I saw he was clutching his trembling hands together, trying to steady them.
"You protected your friends, and you protected this ship. ...You did good, kid," Mu said, gently taking Kira's hands in his own.
...Come to think of it, in the original story, the four enemy Gundams' assault resulted in Athrun capturing the Strike, forcing Mu to launch a rescue mission. But since I took on the Duel, Buster, and Cigu myself, that capture event never triggered. Concentrating the Archangel's support fire on the Strike probably helped, too.
Several minutes later, after Kira had finally calmed down, we found ourselves in the pilot waiting room. We had changed out of our pilot suits and into Alliance uniforms. ...I was slightly annoyed that even I had been issued a standard uniform.
According to Mu, even though I was a mercenary, I was under the Archangel's command, and this was necessary to prove it.
"I hear an inspection ship is coming from Artemis," Mu said, relaying information from the bridge.
I frowned instinctively at the news.
"Axel, do you really think what you predicted will happen?"
"Yeah. If my intel is right, it's practically guaranteed."
"I see... Kira."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Lock down the activation programs for both the Strike and the Blitz. Make it so no one but you can start them up."
"Eh? The Strike I understand, but the Blitz too? That means even you won't be able to move it until I unlock it, Axel-san."
Kira looked at me with confusion, but I nodded firmly.
"Yeah, that's fine. The commander of Artemis has a reputation for shady dealings. If we leave the machines operational, there's a good chance he'll try to seize them."
"U-Understood. I'll go do it now."
Kira hurried off toward the hangar. A few minutes after he left, Artemis's "Umbrella"—the omnidirectional light-wave defense barrier—deactivated, allowing the Archangel to enter the port.
"...Here they come."
The moment the Archangel was secured in the dock, armed soldiers from the Eurasian Federation swarmed the ship. Some of them had even brought out Mistrals—Mobile Armors a generation older than the Mobius. It seemed excessive.
Mu, watching beside me, let out a sigh.
"Oh boy. Looks like it's playing out exactly as Axel said."
"I told you about this base commander's character."
"I hate to admit it when you're right, but I didn't think it would actually go this far."
"...And here comes the welcoming committee."
Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, the door to the waiting room burst open. Four men in spacesuits stormed in, weapons raised and pointed directly at us.
"Alright, nobody move!"
Following the lead soldier's command, we offered no resistance. Next to me, Mu raised his hands, shooting me an apologetic look.
"State your names and ranks."
Mu spoke first in response to the leader.
"Lieutenant Mu La Flaga."
"Ho. The Hawk of Endymion. And you?"
"Axel Almer. Just a mercenary hired by this ship."
"...I see. Lieutenant Flaga, you'll come with us. We have no business with the mercenary. Take him to the mess hall."
"Sir!"
One of the soldiers who had entered the room pressed his gun into my back.
"Move it. And don't try anything funny if you know what's good for you. We're watching."
He marched me to the mess hall, shoved me inside, warned me to stay put, and left. Inside, the Archangel's mechanics, bridge crew, the Heliopolis students assisting the ship, and the refugees were all crowded together. Armed soldiers stood guard at the only exit, watching us like hawks.
"Axel-san!"
I turned toward the voice and saw Sai and the other students, so I headed their way.
"Sai, who is this?"
A red-haired girl sitting next to Sai asked him. Ah, so this is Flay Allster. The daughter of a Blue Cosmos official, unwittingly dyed in his ideology. She was the one who dragged Kira onto the battlefield. Judging solely by her actions, she seemed selfish, arrogant, and sheltered. But considering that without her physically throwing herself at Kira later on, he might have mentally collapsed, it was hard to simply condemn her.
"This is Axel Almer-san. He helped save us back at Heliopolis. Right now, he's hired by the Archangel as a mercenary Mobile Suit pilot."
"A Mobile Suit pilot? Then... are you a Coordinator too?"
She asked with a slight frown. Her father's influence had clearly planted the seeds of prejudice against Coordinators deep within her.
"No, I'm a Natural."
"But I heard that only Coordinators like Kira can pilot Mobile Suits."
"It's true that many Coordinators are physically superior to Naturals, but that's not an absolute, insurmountable wall. The Mobile Armor pilot on this ship is a Natural, and he's shot down plenty of Mobile Suits."
"Huh. Is that so?"
Leaving a seemingly impressed Flay to her thoughts, I lowered my voice and spoke to Kira, who was sitting nearby.
"Kira, what about the protection on the Mobile Suits?"
"Ah, yes. I locked both the Strike and the Blitz. ...But was it really necessary?"
"Look at how they're treating us. You can guess what kind of guy the commander is, can't you?"
I glanced toward the soldiers guarding the entrance.
"Eurasia is supposed to be on our side, right? Are they on bad terms with the Atlantic Federation?" Sai asked a nearby bridge crew member.
After escaping the collapse of Heliopolis and being chased by ZAFT, finally reaching a friendly port only to be treated like prisoners... their frustration was understandable.
"That's not the issue. The problem is the lack of identification codes."
"Is that really such a big deal?" Tolle asked.
"Apparently so," the crew member replied, shaking his head as if helpless.
However, Murdoch, the helmsman Arnold Neumann, and I were listening to their conversation from a short distance away.
"The real problem is likely somewhere else," I muttered.
"Agreed," Neumann said, nodding at Murdoch's agreement.
"If my intel is right, they're definitely planning to extract the Mobile Suit data. Worst case scenario, they'll try to seize the machines for themselves... and if that happens, the Archangel's crew might be disposed of in an 'unfortunate accident.'"
"Hey, hey, don't say scary things like that, brother," Murdoch said, though his face was pale.
"No," Neumann interjected, "it seems Axel isn't exaggerating."
"What do you mean?" Murdoch asked.
"To verify Axel's information, Ensign Badgiruel and I did a quick check of the Archangel's database. There are definitely a lot of black rumors surrounding the commander here."
"Geh. Seriously?"
As we spoke, Kira, Sai, and the others brought over trays of food.
"Here you go. They said this is dinner."
"Thanks. Look, you two, just brooding over dark possibilities will only wear you out. Eat up and calm your nerves."
I placed the trays in front of Murdoch and Neumann, then took my own. The meal was surprisingly decent: two rolls, french fries, a hamburger steak, an omelet, and a vegetable salad.
"Fair enough. You can't fight on an empty stomach, as they say."
"True. We should eat while we can."
Smiling wryly, the two men shifted gears and began to eat.
After the meal, the atmosphere in the mess hall settled down somewhat, returning to a semblance of normalcy—or as normal as it could be with armed guards watching us.
...If things followed the original timeline, the Laurasia-class ship outside should be moving away from Artemis soon. But how would things unfold from here? The key to ZAFT's infiltration strategy in the canon was the Blitz, and I was the one piloting it now.
Just as I was pondering this, a high-ranking officer strode into the mess hall, flanked by guards. He reeked of authority and arrogance. ...So, this is Garcia.
"Where are the pilots and technicians for the Mobile Suits aboard this ship?"
Garcia's voice rang out, but naturally, no one answered. His aide stepped forward and repeated the question.
"Pilots and technicians. They are among you, are they not?"
Kira instinctively started to stand up, but Murdoch held him down. Simultaneously, Neumann stepped forward.
"Why ask us?"
"What!?"
Displeased by the response, the aide grabbed Neumann by the collar and glared.
"Is it because the Captain didn't tell you? or because you couldn't ask?"
Garcia restrained his aide and spoke again.
"I see. You are soldiers selected for a top-secret military project of the Atlantic Federation."
"What do you intend to do with the Strike and the Blitz?"
"Do with them? Nothing in particular. We are simply blessed with the opportunity to see them before their official unveiling. Now, who are the pilots?"
"It's Lieutenant Flaga," Murdoch interjected, lying to Garcia. But that was a bad move.
"Ho? Then who pilots the other machine? ...Besides, that Mobius Zero requires Lieutenant Flaga to operate it effectively, does it not? He cannot be in two places at once."
Name: Axel Almer
LV: 35
PP: 495
Melee: 246
Shooting: 264
Skill: 256
Defense: 253
Evade: 281
Hit: 303
SP: 422
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to boost unit performance)
Growth Type: Versatile / Special
Terrain Ratings:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: B
Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (SP 4)
Gain (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 30)
Awaken (SP 32)
Love (SP 48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Recover & Focus)
Telekinesis LV.10
Attacker
Gunfight LV.9
In-Fight LV.9
Limit Break (Morale)
Geass (Gray)
???
???
???
???
???
Shot Down Count: 256
-------------------------------
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