With the commotion surrounding Admiral Halburton's visit settled, the Archangel was now busy taking on supplies. We had received orders to descend directly to Earth rather than heading to the lunar headquarters, so this resupply was crucial for the battles to come on the surface.
The proof of that was right in front of us...
"Skygraspers... two of them?! Hey, hey, aren't these atmospheric fighters?"
Murdoch was looking at the manifest, eyes wide with surprise.
"Don't be so shocked. The Archangel is heading down to Earth. We have the Moebius Zero, sure, but that's ultimately a space-use mobile armor, isn't it?"
While the Moebius Zero had held its own against Le Creuset inside Heliopolis, and could technically function in gravity, it was obvious that using machines specifically designed for atmospheric combat would be far more effective.
"No, look, I'm not complaining. You're right, brother—if we're fighting on Earth, we should use Earth-specs. I'm just surprised at how fast the logistics moved."
"That's the 'Wise General' Halburton for you. He understands the importance of supply lines."
With the Skygraspers secured, we moved on to loading ammunition and other provisions. As a mercenary, I was naturally roped into the labor, piloting a "Power Loader"—a medium-sized exoskeleton used for cargo transport—to haul crates into the hold.
Though, calling it "medium-sized" is relative; it was still larger than a Knightmare Frame.
"Brother, those are small missiles for the Hell Darts. Take 'em over there!"
"Roger."
Following Murdoch's instructions, I moved the container full of warheads.
How much time had passed since we started? If this followed the original timeline, the Heliopolis students—aside from Kira—would have decided to remain on the Archangel and would be saying their farewells to him right about now. Which meant the ZAFT attack was due any moment...
Wee-ooo, wee-ooo.
Just as I set the Hell Dart missiles in their designated bay, the alarm klaxons began to wail throughout the hangar.
Here it comes!
『All hands, Battle Stations Level 1. Repeat. All hands, Battle Stations Level 1.』
"Whoa, your hunch was right again, brother! Forget this, get the Blitz prepped!"
"Yeah, I'm on it!"
I answered briefly, jumped down from the Power Loader, and ran for the Blitz. Helping with the cargo meant I was already near the machines, saving me the trouble of suiting up. A stroke of luck, I suppose.
...Though, getting attacked right before atmospheric re-entry hardly qualifies as "lucky."
"Brother, what about the loadout?"
"Level 1 Battle Stations has been called, but we don't know exactly when we'll launch. If I equip those GINN weapons carelessly, the extra weight might trap me in the gravity well during re-entry. I'm going out with the standard loadout."
"Got it."
As I replied to Murdoch, I had the bridge patch the external camera feed to the Blitz's monitor.
"...Ugh."
The 8th Fleet's battle could only be described as a massacre. They were launching wave after wave of mobile armors, but the GINNs were swatting them aside like flies. The Aegis, Duel, and Buster were sinking battleships one after another. I also spotted several CiGues, so Nicol was likely in the mix as well.
It reminded me of Gato from 0083. "Like touching a sleeve"—a complete rout.
"Hey! Why can't I launch?! The 8th Fleet is getting slaughtered out there! They can't handle the G-Weapons!"
A loud voice echoed even inside the Blitz's cockpit. It was Mu, shouting at the bridge through the hangar comms.
"Calm down, Mu!"
I popped out of the cockpit and yelled down at him.
"You know we're going to get whittled down to nothing at this rate!"
"Even so, you're a soldier. You can't sortie without orders."
"I know that! But... damn it!"
Mu took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to vent his rage.
"...Sorry. I'm taking it out on you."
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, you should be in your cockpit waiting, so you can launch the second the order comes."
『All hands, begin atmospheric re-entry preparations.』
Just as Mu turned to head for the Moebius Zero, that announcement rang through the hangar.
"We're going down?! In this situation?!"
Re-entry during combat. It was a reckless, almost suicidal move. Mu barked at Murdoch, who was running final checks on the Zero.
"Don't yell at me, it ain't my call! ...Well, I guess it's better than sitting here and getting picked apart, right?"
"No, but still..."
"We might be able to shake the ZAFT ships and the GINNs, but the three stolen machines are the problem."
Cutting into Murdoch and Mu's argument was Kira, fully dressed in his pilot suit. Seeing him, Murdoch let out a surprised yelp.
"Kid!"
"I'll standby in the Strike. We're still at Level 1 Battle Stations, right?"
"I thought you got off the ship..."
"Getting involved in war and battlefields at such a young age... it's going to make the rest of your life hard, you know."
Listening to their voices with half an ear, I opened a comm line to the Strike.
"Axel-san."
"Kira... are you sure about this?"
"...Yes. I decided I won't run away anymore."
"I see. Then show me what you can do."
"Yes!"
Even if his resolve was tainted by Flay's manipulation, in this situation, we didn't have the luxury of refusing a combat asset like Kira and the Strike.
『Seven minutes to atmospheric re-entry critical point.』
As the countdown to re-entry echoed through the hangar, I sat in the Blitz, waiting for the moment to launch.
『Duel and Buster have broken through the vanguard formation. The Menelaus is engaging!』
"Kira, Mu. You heard that? We have a tiny window before re-entry, but you better steel yourselves to go out there."
"Looks like it. Good grief, those two are persistent. Is the lack of the Aegis the only silver lining?"
"I can launch anytime."
Hearing their replies, I opened a channel to the bridge.
"Murrue, let the three of us launch. We only need to hold them off until re-entry starts."
"Axel, don't be ridiculous... three units?"
"According to the catalogue specs, the Strike is capable of re-entry on its own."
"Kira-kun?! Why are you... why are you there..."
"At this rate, the Menelaus is in danger, Captain!"
Murrue was speechless at the realization that Kira, who should have disembarked, was prepped and ready in the Strike. It was Natarle who broke the silence.
"Understood. However, return by Phase 3. The specs say it's possible, but no human has ever done it. We don't know what will happen to the pilot inside. Keep a constant watch on your altitude and time."
"Yes!"
Murrue trusted Natarle's judgment when it came to combat. Unlike the original story, she nodded silently without arguing, granting permission. Seeing that, I cut the line, taking it as the bridge's green light.
"Murdoch, we're launching!"
"You got it! First Axel. Then the kid. Lieutenant La Flaga, you're last!"
With Murdoch's reply, the hanger holding the Blitz was moved to the catapult deck. As the Archangel's launch hatch opened, the first thing I saw was blue. The blue of Earth's oceans.
"...I have to admit, launching in this situation is a first for me."
We had been attacked by a swarm of Einsts right after leaving Earth, but launching on the very edge of atmospheric re-entry was a new experience. It's a classic trope in Gundam anime, but honestly, I'd prefer not to do it in real life. But if we didn't launch, forget Halburton's Menelaus—the Archangel itself would be sunk.
...In the end, it looks like saving Halburton is impossible.
"Blitz, Axel Almar, launching!"
The Blitz was fired from the linear catapult, but the moment I cleared the ship, Earth's gravity grabbed hold of me.
"Damn, the gravity well is already pulling. We don't have much time."
I blasted the thrusters to counteract the pull and scanned the area. First, I spotted the Duel. Where was the Buster... Where?!
"Mu, Kira. I've confirmed the Duel, but I can't see the Buster. Leave the Duel to me and handle the Buster. It would be the worst joke in history if the Archangel got sunk this close to the finish line."
"OK. Goes without saying, but watch the gravity. Get too close to Earth and you'll fall all the way down."
"Axel-san, be careful!"
"Yeah."
I replied briefly and cut the comms. I reconfirmed the Duel's position on the monitor. It wasn't in its normal state; as expected, it was equipped with the Assault Shroud armor. ...At this rate, the injury to Yzak's face probably happened just like in the original, too.
I fired the beam rifle mounted on the Tri-keros to check his movement and closed the distance.
The Duel seemed eager for the challenge. Yzak drew a beam saber and fired the Shiva railgun mounted on his Assault Shroud, charging straight at the Blitz. We entered close combat range simultaneously. I caught his downward saber swing with the Tri-keros, angling the shield to slide his blade off to the side. The parry worked; carrying the momentum of his forced swing, the Duel drifted past me, exposing his back defenselessly.
"Eat this!"
I fired the Gleipnir anchor from my left arm, aiming straight for the Duel's main thruster backpack.
THUNK!
With a dull sound of impact, the Gleipnir's sharp claws dug in, crushing and seizing the Duel's thrusters.
"You bastard!!"
Yzak's enraged voice bled through the contact circuit, but I ignored it. With the Duel pinned in place by the anchor, I fired three Lancer Darts.
Two deflected off the Phase Shift armor, but the last one found its mark—slamming into the elbow joint of the Duel's left arm and piercing through. The slender dart wasn't enough to blow the arm off, but lodged in the joint like a shrike's impaled prey, it rendered the limb useless for the rest of this fight.
I glanced at the wider battlefield. The ZAFT Laurasia-class ship was beginning a kamikaze run toward the Menelaus. Nearby ships concentrated their fire to stop it, but the Laurasia ignored the damage, charging relentlessly.
The Buster, Strike, and Moebius Zero had been managing a favorable fight with our numbers advantage, but seeing the Laurasia's suicide run, Mu broke formation to intercept it. This left the Buster and Strike in a one-on-one duel. It should have been even... no. The Aile Strike's greatest asset—mobility—was being killed by the gravity well, giving the advantage to the Buster and its heavy firepower.
"Looking away? You're getting arrogant, Blitz!"
Even with his thrusters pinned by the Gleipnir, the Duel fired his beam rifle backward at me. However, the gravity drag made it difficult for him to steady his remaining good arm, and most shots flew wide. I blocked the few that came close with the Tri-keros.
I wanted to deliver the finishing blow, but I was using the Tri-keros to block his rapid fire, meaning I couldn't return fire with the integrated rifle. A stalemate.
At that moment, a transmission from the Archangel came in.
"Axel, return! There's no more time!"
Hearing Murrue's voice, sounding almost like a scream, I judged that further combat in these conditions was impossible.
But if I let him go, the Duel would attack the civilian shuttle just like in the original. That would leave a bad taste in my mouth.
"Accelerate!"
I triggered the Spirit Command Accelerate. I maxed out my thrusters, instantly closing the distance to the Duel. Acceleration from gravity. Acceleration from full-burn thrusters. And the supernatural acceleration of the Spirit Command.
Harnessing all three, the Blitz delivered a kick that slammed cleanly into the Duel's back, shattering its backpack thrusters completely.
Simultaneously, I retracted the Gleipnir, used the Duel as a foothold, and kicked off with all my might to jump back toward the Archangel.
—I won't make it!?
The gravity drag was stronger than I had anticipated. Earth's pull had grabbed the Blitz and wouldn't let go. But!
"Accelerate! Awaken!"
I triggered Accelerate again to close the gap. At the same time, I used Awaken. A mysterious power surged through me, time seemed to slow, and the machine responded beyond its limits.
"Accelerate!"
I fired Accelerate a third time. Spaming my Spirit Commands like a madman, I finally managed to crash-land onto the Archangel's deck.
"Axel! You're safe!"
"Yeah. What about Mu and Kira?!"
"Lieutenant La Flaga is safe, but Kira-kun is...!"
Securing my footing on the deck, I checked the monitor. The Menelaus and the Laurasia-class were exchanging fire at point-blank range. Nearby, a shuttle had already begun its descent. That must be the one with the refugees. Moments later, both the Laurasia and the Menelaus began to disintegrate in the heat of the atmosphere.
The Duel, caught deep in the gravity well and with its thrusters crushed, was struggling to stabilize itself for re-entry. And...
"Where's the kid?!"
Mu yelled over the comms as his Moebius Zero touched down on the deck next to me.
"There!"
The monitor showed the Strike, still locked in a firefight with the Buster despite the re-entry sequence beginning.
If he turned his back, he'd be shot down. He was trapped. But...
"Kira, get back here!"
I shouted, but it was too late. Both the Strike and the Buster were already immobilized by the g-forces. Kira must have realized it too. He shifted his shield toward Earth, trying to protect the cockpit from the friction heat.
"Murrue!"
"I know! Bring the ship around! With the Archangel's thrusters, we can still make it!"
"But that will change our landing coordinates!"
"My promise to Admiral Halburton was to deliver both the Strike and the Blitz to Alaska! Besides..."
I knew what Murrue wanted to say. The Blitz was a specialized, non-standard machine. If you asked which unit was better suited to be the prototype for the Alliance's mass-production lines, the answer was obviously the general-purpose Strike.
"Bring the ship to the Strike!"
Natarle, understanding the logic, echoed the order immediately after Murrue.
Neumann, the helmsman, had no choice but to obey a direct order from both commanding officers. The Archangel shifted course, drifting beneath the falling mobile suit. We slid directly under the Strike, and with a heavy thud, it landed on the Archangel's deck.
Together, we descended into the fires of Earth.
Name: Axel Almar
LV: 35
PP: 510
Stats:
Melee: 246
Shooting: 264
Skill: 256
Defense: 253
Evasion: 281
Accuracy: 303
SP: 422
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consuming SP increases unit performance)
Growth Type: Versatile / Special
Terrain Ratings:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: B
Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (SP 4)
Gain (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Attack (SP 30)
Zeal (SP 32)
Love (SP 48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up L9 + SP Recover + Focus)
Telekinesis L10
Attacker
Gunfight L9
In-fight L9
Limit Break (Morale)
Geass (Gray)
???
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???
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???
Shot Down Count: 259
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