A false sun had bloomed in the dawn desert for only a few seconds. I stood on the deck of the Archangel, gazing out at the minefield that had created it and the wreckage of the BuCUE pack destroyed within. A transmission from the bridge interrupted my thoughts.
"Axel, are you alright?"
"Yeah. We managed to pull through for now."
"Yes, we certainly did this time. But..."
Murrue trailed off, letting out a heavy sigh.
"...What's wrong?"
"Major La Flaga contacted us."
"Come to think of it, he launched from the catapult deck a little while ago. Impressive that they finished the adjustments on the Skygrasper so quickly. So, what did he say?"
"The enemy mothership is the Lesseps. As a mercenary, I'm sure you understand what that means, Axel."
"The enemy is the 'Desert Tiger,' then."
"Yes, that's right."
Andrew Waltfeld. A top-tier soldier within ZAFT, renowned for both his command abilities and his skills as a mobile suit pilot. There wasn't a soul in ZAFT who didn't know his name. Of course, eventually, he would leave ZAFT to join the Three Ships Alliance led by Lacus, fighting alongside Kira and the others... but right now, he was just an enemy.
"...This is going to be tough."
"Indeed."
I chatted with Murrue while watching the ZAFT forces retreat from the deck.
Knowing the original timeline, I couldn't kill Andrew Waltfeld. If I did, the Eternal wouldn't become an ally later on. Or worse, it might be sunk during its escape. That would interfere with the plans I've been vaguely formulating recently. To avoid that, I either have to skillfully hold back and defeat him without killing him, or leave him to Kira just like in the original story. ...Times like this, having the Spirit Command Mercy would be really convenient.
"First, we'll rendezvous with Kira-kun. Major La Flaga should be returning soon as well."
"Yeah, understood."
With a sensation of weightlessness, the Archangel lifted off and began moving to link up with Kira.
Night broke into morning, and under the blazing sun, the desert temperature began its relentless climb. The Archangel touched down next to the Strike, which had powered down and reverted to its gray phase-shift-off state. Mu's Skygrasper had already returned to the ship. Since the Blitz's OS was still set for space combat, I couldn't walk on the sand, so I remained perched on the Archangel's deck, keeping a wary eye on the resistance group, the Desert Dawn, scattered around the ship.
"Axel, Kira-kun. We're going to go talk to them. I doubt anything will happen, but please stay alert just in case."
"Yes."
"Roger. Be careful."
With that, the connection cut. I watched the video feed as Murrue and Mu exited the Archangel. The members of the Desert Dawn stood waiting silently.
Introductions were made, and negotiations began. However, when it came to bargaining, Saheeb Ashman, the leader of the Desert Dawn, clearly had the upper hand over Murrue. In the end, both Kira and I were ordered to disembark from our mobile suits.
"Axel, Ensign Yamato, come down."
Following Murrue's order, I used the lift cable to descend from the Blitz's cockpit to the deck, then hopped down to the desert sand.
Seeing me land with practiced ease and Kira remove his helmet, the Desert Dawn members looked surprised.
"He's just a kid."
"More importantly, is the pilot of that black one really a Natural?"
"But this ship belongs to the Alliance, right? So they shouldn't be Coordinators."
Ignoring the murmurs of her comrades, one person stared at Kira with an expression of pure shock. A blonde girl with strong, defiant eyes—Cagalli Yula Athha. Or rather, in this context, just Cagalli Yula. Clenching her fists, she marched toward us.
She must be stunned to see Kira piloting the Strike after parting ways with him at Heliopolis. She jogged up to him and stopped right in front of his face.
"You..."
Sensing the tension, Mu's hand drifted toward the gun at his hip. But before he could act, a massive man stepped in to block Mu and Murrue's path.
Should I stop her? I asked Murrue with a glance, but she silently shook her head, so I watched things play out. It proceeded exactly like the original story anyway.
Cagalli confronted Kira. She tried to punch him, but he caught her fist. Kira recognized her and tried to speak, but she ignored him and punched him again. The surrounding crowd just watched, dumbfounded.
In the end, we agreed to join forces with the Desert Dawn. Since leaving the Archangel out in the open desert would just make it a sitting duck, we decided to move the ship—along with everyone else—to the Desert Dawn's hideout to exchange information.
The path was barely wide enough for the ship, but thanks to Neumann's piloting skills, we arrived at the hideout without any major accidents.
...Actually, Neumann really does have cheat-level piloting skills. Later on, once we hit the ocean, he pulls off barrel rolls with the Archangel while firing the Gottfrieds. No wait, firing the Gottfrieds is the CIC's job.
Regardless, the Archangel arrived safely. Murrue, Mu, Natarle, and I were led into the hideout by Saheeb.
Incidentally, I had Kira start adjusting the Blitz's OS for ground combat while we were here. Just copying the Strike's settings wouldn't work; my reaction speed was too fast for the standard processing rate, which could cause the OS to crash like before. It was going to take some time to tune the settings to keep up with me. ...I expected him to be arrogant like during last night's sortie, but he listened to my request obediently. I honestly thought he was entering his "correction needed" phase.
Inside the hideout, containers bearing both ZAFT and Alliance markings were stacked everywhere, proof of their illicit trade network. After walking for several minutes, we reached what passed for the Desert Dawn's command center.
It was a simple room carved out of the rock, furnished with a few basic computers and a large monitor mounted on the wall. A large table sat in the center, covered with a map of the surrounding area.
"This is our forward base. Everyone's homes are in the towns."
Saheeb explained as he brought a cup of coffee to his lips.
"Assuming they haven't been burned down yet."
"Towns?"
"Some come from Tassil, Mula, Banadiya. We are a band of volunteers from those places."
Saheeb answered Murrue's question. "Band of volunteers" sounded nice, but essentially, they were a ragtag militia.
We moved to the central table.
"Regarding the ship, you saved us."
At Murrue's words, Saheeb glanced briefly at Cagalli. He must have given us shelter based on her recommendation during the desert parley, so she clearly had some influence. Though, most of that influence likely stemmed from her money. Even if Saheeb knew Uzumi Nara Athha—Cagalli's father and Orb's supreme leader—he wouldn't give special treatment to an acquaintance's daughter just for kicks.
"Who is she?"
Noticing Saheeb's glance, Mu asked the question.
"Our Goddess of Victory."
"Heeh. ...And her name?"
Saheeb looked at Mu silently, but Mu just shrugged lightly.
"If she's a goddess, it'd be rude not to know her name."
"Cagalli Yula."
"Hmm... Goddess of Victory, huh."
I muttered the words aloud, reacting to Saheeb's reverence.
"What? You got a problem with that?"
She must have sensed something in my tone. Cagalli glared at me, spoiling for a fight.
"No, I just didn't expect a Goddess of Victory to suddenly try to punch our pilot. ...Does that mean the Goddess of Victory hates Kira?"
"That has nothing to do with you! Don't butt in when you don't know anything!"
...Sigh. I need to take her down a peg right here. If she acts selfishly like this, it's going to be a burden on us. Since she's inevitably going to tag along when we leave.
"It has everything to do with me. I let it slide earlier because Murrue told me not to interfere, but if your actions injure Kira, our combat capability drops significantly. Because of you. I think eliminating the cause before that happens is a sound strategy... don't you?"
I slowly, deliberately directed a wave of killing intent at Cagalli. The people around us sensed the murderous aura radiating from me and nervously reached for their weapons.
"Ugh..."
As for Cagalli, she naturally had no resistance to raw killing intent like the others might. She froze, unable to even twitch.
The atmosphere was explosive, but as expected, it was Murrue who diffused it.
"Axel, please."
"Are you sure? If we leave this unchecked, Kira... or rather, the Archangel itself might end up in a terrible situation because of this girl."
"D-Don't screw with...—?!"
I turned my gaze back to Cagalli, who had tried to speak again. She swallowed her breath and fell silent.
"...I apologize. I will apologize on Cagalli's behalf, so please forgive her. She is reflecting on her actions, and I will ensure such behavior does not happen again."
The voice came from a man with dark skin and unkempt hair. He gave the impression of a Native American warrior.
"And you are?"
"Ledonir Kisaka. I am entrusted with guarding Cagalli."
Ah, this is Kisaka. Asked by Uzumi to guard—or rather, babysit—Cagalli. In a way, he's a long-suffering man.
"Axel, that's enough bullying the little lady. Rein in the bloodlust."
"..."
Hearing Mu's voice, I looked at Cagalli again. It wasn't exactly full bloodlust, but it was likely the first time she had felt anything this intense. Her legs were trembling slightly.
"Fine. But listen well. I'm not a regular soldier like Murrue or the others. I'm an outsider—a mercenary. That means I know plenty of methods soldiers wouldn't use, and I have no hesitation in executing them. ...You understand what I'm saying?"
Translated: If you do anything that endangers the Archangel, I will kill you.
Of course, I didn't actually plan to kill her. If I killed Cagalli, we wouldn't be able to dock at Orb later.
"Y-Yeah. I get it. I'll apologize to him properly later, too."
Seeing Cagalli nod with a pale face, I retracted my killing intent.
"Now then, shall we proceed with the exchange of information?"
The members of the Desert Dawn looked at me with eyes that now held a hint of fear. I hadn't intended to, but it seemed I had successfully seized the initiative in this negotiation.
Name: Axel Almar
LV: 35
PP: 525
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: 262
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