The Archangel had successfully descended to Earth following the battle in low orbit, managing to touch down in the Libyan Desert of Africa. It was completely off-target from our intended landing zone and deep within ZAFT's sphere of influence, but fortunately, it seemed we hadn't been detected yet.
The initial confusion immediately after landing had been chaotic, but things had finally settled down, and the crew was beginning to regain their composure. amidst this lull, I was in the Captain's quarters with Murrue.
"Africa, huh?"
"Yes. If only we had landed in the South African Union, which is Earth Alliance territory... but no."
"We're in the African Community."
Current-day Africa was divided into two warring factions: the ZAFT-aligned African Community and the Alliance-aligned South African Union. Naturally, the Archangel had dropped right into the northern section—the Libyan Desert.
"Exactly. ...But we couldn't very well have left the Strike behind, could we?"
If we had abandoned the Strike, Kira would almost certainly be dead. Even though he managed to land on the Archangel during the descent, the physical toll had been immense. He was currently unconscious in the infirmary.
Thinking about it, the Duel and Buster couldn't have escaped unscathed either... No, perhaps the fact that they could survive such an ordeal is exactly why they wear the Red Coats.
" regardless, there is no change to this ship's objective or destination."
Murrue muttered the words while toying with her hair, exuding a heavy sense of exhaustion.
"Don't strain yourself too much. You need to learn to rely on people."
I moved my chair closer to where she sat at her desk and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"...Thank you. Do you mind if we stay like this for a little while?"
"Not at all. You've been working hard, Murrue. No one's going to get angry if you let your guard down for a moment like this."
She leaned her weight against me, and I held her, supporting her body as she melted into the embrace.
"Axel, I know it's late to say this, but... thank you."
"Hm? For what?"
"For everything. From Heliopolis to now. Without your strength, there's a high probability the Archangel and the Strike would have been captured by ZAFT. And... I probably wouldn't have been able to make it this far either."
"I don't know about that. Even without me, you have Mu, Natarle, and Kira. I think you would have managed somehow."
It was true. In the original story, Axel Almar didn't exist. Yet, they still succeeded in descending to Earth.
"Maybe. But I feel truly saved because you were here."
Murrue looked up at me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Her face slowly drew closer to mine... and eventually, our lips met.
Several minutes passed in silence. When our faces finally parted, Murrue seemed to realize what she had done. Her face flushed a deep crimson.
"I-I... I just... I'm sorry for doing that so suddenly. I didn't mean to imply... I suppose I just got swept up in the atmosphere..."
Seeing her panic and try to make excuses brought a smile to my face. I leaned in and silenced her lips with mine once more.
"Mmph!"
And then, I gently pressed her back onto the bed in the Captain's quarters.
When I woke up the next day, I was in bed with Murrue. We were both stark naked.
"Mm..."
It was a narrow single bed, so I could distinctly feel the softness of Murrue's body as she clung to me in her sleep. As the fog of sleep cleared, my consciousness sharpened.
The first thought that crossed my mind was: Ah, I've done it now.
Despite having Lemon and Cornelia as lovers, I had entered a relationship with Murrue.
Personally, I didn't regret being with Murrue. However, imagining how Lemon and Cornelia would react when they found out was... terrifying, to say the least.
"...Axel?"
Murrue woke up, her arms tightening around me as if to ensure I wouldn't escape.
"You awake?"
"...Huh? Eh? Um..."
She looked at me with a sleep-addled confusion, but then the memories of last night—and the realization of her current state of undress—must have come flooding back. Her face turned bright red, and she dove under the blanket.
"Could you... could you please grab my clothes? They should be on the floor."
I smiled wryly at her request, got out of bed, and gathered the clothes and underwear scattered across the floor, handing them to the lump under the covers. While she dressed beneath the blanket, I quickly put on my own clothes.
A few minutes later, Murrue stood before me. Her face was still slightly flushed, but the exhaustion that had plagued her yesterday had completely vanished.
"Um, I don't know what to say..."
"Well, whatever it is, I'm glad you seem to have your energy back."
I sat on the edge of the bed, smiling at her attempt to regain her composure.
"So, Axel? We've... become intimate, but is this alright? I mean... do you have a lover?"
"...Ah, well, that is... you see..."
My hesitation told her everything she needed to know. She fixed me with a narrowed, piercing stare.
"Heeh. So you do have one?"
"Uh, well... actually, about two."
"Hah? Two?"
"Yeah. Though they're in a place far away, so I can't exactly go see them right now."
"...Axel, are you perhaps a womanizer?"
"I don't think so... probably."
I personally didn't intend to be, but considering I had two lovers—Lemon and Cornelia—and still slept with Murrue, I suppose I couldn't complain if someone called me that.
"...Fine. Eventually, I will have a thorough discussion with these two lovers of yours... That won't be a problem, will it?"
Her eyes were filled with spirit—or perhaps Haki. The tired atmosphere from yesterday was gone, replaced by an overwhelming vitality.
"...Understood."
After that, we showered and cleaned up the aftermath of the night before deciding to leave the room separately. If the Captain of a ship on a top-secret mission and a mercenary were found to be in that kind of relationship, it could cause an uproar about inappropriate conduct. ...Especially with someone strict like Natarle around.
"Anyway, I have to check on the ship's status today, so I'll need 'Mercenary Axel' to help out wherever we're short-handed... Is that okay?"
Murrue asked me this as we stood before the door.
"Yeah. I want to get out of ZAFT territory as soon as possible, too. If my help speeds that up even a little, I don't mind."
"Good. Do your best out there."
She stepped in close, and I silently accepted her kiss. After a minute-long embrace, Murrue headed for the bridge, and I made my way to the hangar, which was likely the busiest place on the ship.
"Oh, Axel. ...Whoa, hey, hey. What the hell are you wearing?"
I ran into Mu on the way to the hangar. He looked at me with wide eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? ...Go to the bathroom and look in a mirror. Good grief, and here I was sleeping alone and lonely..."
Leaving the grumbling Mu behind, I went to the nearest restroom to check the mirror. There, plastered clearly on my lips, was a smear of lipstick that undoubtedly belonged to Murrue.
"...Did she do this on purpose?"
I couldn't believe she hadn't noticed her own lipstick on me, so she must have deliberately chosen not to tell me. ...Though her reasons remained a mystery.
I washed it off with water and headed to the hangar with Mu, who was still complaining.
"By the way, how's Kira?"
"He woke up a little while ago. Though he's been told to stay in the infirmary for a while longer, just in case."
"I see. As expected of the Strike... or should I say, as expected of Kira?"
"Who knows?"
"Still, to think we'd fall right into ZAFT territory. That was unexpected... Oh, right. What's the status of the new machines?"
"The Skygraspres? I can't say much since they haven't been tuned or tested yet. I'm reading the manual, at least. Apparently, they can equip Striker Packs... Am I being treated as a delivery service now?"
I listened to Mu's grumbling with a wry smile.
"Even if it is a delivery service, if it lets you equip weapons more powerful than the Moebius Zero, isn't that a good thing? Besides, with two new units, we can use them in various ways."
"Various ways?"
Answering Mu's question, I recalled how the Skygraspres were utilized in the original story.
"For example, the Strike fights until it runs out of energy, then swaps packs with a Skygrasper mid-battle. Then the Skygrasper returns to the Archangel, swaps to the other Skygrasper, and sorties again."
"Oi, oi, do you want to make me a supply runner instead of a delivery boy?"
"But that would expand the Strike's operational capacity significantly, wouldn't it? ...Not that it matters to the Blitz."
As expected of the protagonist machine; the Strike's versatility was enviable.
"Still, getting promoted to Major in this situation feels weird..."
"Major?"
I caught Mu's mumbled complaint and asked him to repeat it.
"Huh? You didn't get the memo? Admiral Halburton arranged for the Captain and me to be promoted to Major. Ensign Badgiruel has been promoted to Lieutenant."
"Murrue too? ...I didn't hear anything about that last night."
Mu, catching my mutter, looked at me with a grin that could only be described as sleazy.
"Last night, huh... So, I assume that lipstick was a gift from the Captain?"
"...No comment. More importantly, what's going on with you and Natarle?"
"Well... we haven't exactly had the time. Honestly, I can't believe you managed to hook up with the Captain in the middle of this chaos. You move fast for a guy who looks so laid back."
"I'm not really aware of it myself."
I couldn't help but smile wryly at Mu's words.
And so, the day passed peacefully. At least, while the sun was up...
The day's work had settled down, and the time was approaching midnight. I was in the pilot's lounge, idly flipping through the gravure magazine Mu had given me.
Ideally, I would have wanted the OS adjusted for desert combat, but with Kira—the essential element for that—currently out of commission, there was nothing I could do. Kira could adjust the OS mid-combat without issue, but I couldn't pull off that kind of feat. That meant I would have to fight using the Archangel as a foothold.
As I was thinking this while looking at the magazine, the alarm suddenly blared through the ship.
『Battle Stations Level 2. Repeat, Battle Stations Level 2.』
It's here!
And so, in an unfamiliar desert, with unfamiliar equipment, and forced into an unfamiliar night battle, we faced our first combat engagement on Earth in truly miserable conditions.
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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Shot Down Count: 259
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