Having successfully neutralized the Dominion's sneak attack with the jammer, I held my position, bracing for a follow-up. Murue's voice crackled over the comms from the Archangel.
"Thank you, Axel. Are you all right?"
The relief in her voice was palpable; she had nearly fallen into a lethal trap. I gave a curt nod—though she couldn't see it—and kept my sensors locked on the battlefield. The Dominion was already repositioning, its Gottfried cannons glowing as it prepared another volley.
Natarle Badgiruel, I thought. I have to hand it to her. In terms of pure tactical acumen, she was objectively superior to Murue. She didn't just attack; she orchestrated.
"But I can't exactly let you sink the Archangel, can I?"
I deployed both barrels of the Lanzce Kanone, centering the Dominion in my reticle. Between the N-Jammer Canceller data and Natarle herself, I couldn't afford to destroy the ship yet—but I could certainly neuter its weapon systems. I began to charge the shot, but then—
Tch!
A spike of raw, jagged hostility slammed into my mind via the T-LINK System. I burned the thrusters, throwing the Glowsaver into a hard lateral roll just as the Raider's spiked mace tore through the space I had occupied a heartbeat before.
"I see. You've realized you can't take me alone, so you're timing your strikes with the Dominion."
It was the same tactic they used against the Freedom in the original timeline. It was sound, logical, and incredibly annoying.
"If you think one ship and one Mobile Suit can pin me down, you're sorely mistaken! Adamant Halper—Nine-Tail Mode!"
I shifted the weapon's configuration. Nine glowing lashes of energy erupted from the halberd, lashing out at the Raider. Clotho, in his bird-like MA form, attempted a high-speed hit-and-run, but the "tails" were faster.
"Hmph. Using your own men as shields?"
Clotho had snatched a nearby Strike Dagger, pulling it into the path of the energy whips to save himself. The Dagger was vaporized instantly. Using the explosion as cover, the Raider retreated toward the Alliance line.
As the smoke cleared, I realized the Dominion and the Raider had pulled back significantly. They were syncing up with the rest of the Alliance fleet, launching a massive spread of missiles. No—wait.
"Dammit!"
I realized the trick a second too late and threw my unit's arm across its sensors. A blinding, artificial sun erupted in the void—a massive cluster of high-intensity flashbangs. My T-LINK system hummed as I tracked their heat signatures; they were using the white-out to break contact and regroup. They knew the momentum had shifted and were choosing a tactical withdrawal over a disorganized rout.
"High-level situational awareness," I muttered.
"Yes," Murue replied, her voice heavy with respect. "That's Natarle for you."
"We should take this chance to resupply and repair," Lacus suggested from the Eternal. "The dock entrance was damaged in the opening salvo, but the interior facilities should still be operational."
Following her lead, the three ships transitioned into the Mendel colony's docking bays.
"Axel, I'd like to deploy a few Megillots to the opposite port to scout for ZAFT presence. Is that alright?" Cagalli asked.
"Yeah. Go ahead."
I felt a small spark of pride. Cagalli was starting to make sound tactical decisions without needing to be prompted. If she could just iron out that reckless streak of hers, she'd make a fine commander.
"The Glowsaver and the others need maintenance, too," Murue added. "Everyone, return to the Archangel. It's not just the machines—the pilots need to rest."
"Understood. But keep us at Condition Two," I warned. "We don't know when the Alliance or ZAFT will make their move. I want everyone back in their cockpits within three minutes if the alarms go off."
After a quick debrief, I headed to the pilot's lounge with Lemon, Cornelia, and the mass-produced W-series units. I was waiting for word on Mu and the others. In the original story, Mu was usually wounded and the Strike trashed during this phase, but I'd sent Kira along as a failsafe.
"Any word from Mu's group?" I asked, patching through to the bridge.
"Nothing yet," Murue replied, her face tight with worry. "The N-Jammers are interfering with comms inside the colony's infrastructure."
I leaned back, considering the variables. If they ran into Creuset and Yzak as they did in the original timeline, Kira's presence should have changed the math significantly. Unless ZAFT had sent a larger force... No, that was unlikely. Creuset was here on a pursuit mission, not a pre-planned siege like the Alliance.
Finally, the comms chirped.
"Sorry we're late!" Kira's voice was clear, sounding remarkably composed.
The Freedom, Buster, and Strike appeared on the monitors, drifting into the bay. All three were virtually untouched.
"You're all safe," Murue exhaled. "What about the enemy?"
"It was Creuset," Mu reported. "He was in a high-spec new model. It got hairy for a second, but Kira pulled our collective asses out of the fire."
A high-spec model... must be the GuAIZ, I thought. It was a significant step up from the GINN or the DINN, equipped with beam rifles and claws. It was lucky ZAFT hadn't mass-produced them yet.
"We didn't even have to enter the lab facility," Mu continued. "Kira put enough pressure on Creuset that he decided to cut his losses and retreat. How'd things go for Dearka?"
"I talked to Yzak," Dearka said, his voice trailing off. "But... I couldn't get through to him. Not yet."
"Either way, the next engagement is going to be a three-way brawl," I said. "Lacus, do we have an estimate on Alliance losses?"
"Roughly," Lacus replied. "We've confirmed approximately eighty Mobile Suits destroyed and ten capital ships sunk."
I couldn't help but smirk. That was nearly forty percent of their effective strength. In a standard military engagement, a thirty-percent loss is considered a total rout, yet the Alliance wasn't budging. Azrael's obsession was keeping them in the fight long past the point of logic.
"The Megillots found ZAFT," Cagalli interrupted, feeding a video feed to our monitors. "Three Nazca-class ships hiding in the debris near the opposite port."
"Tch. Three Nazcas? They aren't playing around," Waltfeld's voice rumbled. While a Nazca-class couldn't match the Archangel in raw firepower, they were incredibly fast.
"They were sent to catch the Eternal," I said. "Speed was always going to be their priority. What about the Alliance?"
"Still no movement," Tolle's voice came through. "They're likely reorganizing their formations."
"We don't have long," Murue concluded. "Everyone, finish your resupply. Eat, hydrate, and get whatever sleep you can."
As the others dispersed, I stayed behind for a moment. "The pieces are in place. We stop the N-Jammer data from reaching the Alliance and we take out Azrael here. That's the mission."
"And don't forget Natarle," Mu added sharply.
"I haven't. But like I said, Mu—that's mostly on you. I'll do what I can, but if it comes down to a choice between killing Azrael or saving Natarle, I have to choose the former."
"Yeah, yeah. I know," Mu grunted. "I don't need another man to save my woman for me."
I chuckled and cut the link.
I sat down on the lounge sofa, feeling the weight of the day. Lemon sat to my left, Cornelia to my right. Lemon handed me a chilled drink container.
"The war is reaching its endgame, isn't it?" she asked softly.
I took the container, the straw delivering a faintly sweet, electrolyte-rich liquid. My body practically inhaled the hydration.
"Hey, that looks good. Save some for the rest of us," Mu said, walking in with a somber-looking Dearka.
Cornelia tossed two more containers to them. Watching her—a princess of Britannia—performing such "menial" tasks with such casual grace made me wonder what her knight, Guilford, would think. He'd probably have a heart attack before lecturing me on letting a Lady do manual labor.
"Axel, don't just float there. Sit down," Lemon said, nudging me.
She and Cornelia shifted, creating a small space between them on the sofa. I gave a resigned smile and took the seat.
"Must be nice," Mu teased, leaning against the wall.
"Help me rescue Natarle and you can have the same 'luxury,'" I shot back.
"Heh. Looking forward to it."
Dearka just snorted, looking away. I felt a twinge of pity for him. In the original timeline, he'd fallen for Miriallia, but in this world, I'd saved Tolle. Dearka's romance was essentially dead on arrival.
We sat in silence for nearly thirty minutes before the sirens began to wail.
"Axel! The Alliance is launching MS... oh?"
Murue's face appeared on the lounge monitor. She started with a professional report, but as she took in the sight of me sandwiched between Lemon and Cornelia, her expression shifted into a very specific kind of "scary" smile.
"My, my... flirting during a Code Red? We'll have to have a very long talk about your discipline after the battle, won't we?" She beamed, though her eyes were devoid of any warmth. "Lemon, Cornelia... you owe me one."
"Oh? I consider this a pilot's perk," Lemon teased back.
"It most certainly is not! Now get to your ships! Now!"
Murue's roar sent us scrambling. As we sprinted toward the hangars, I made a mental note to apologize to Mu and Dearka. They were definitely going to suffer the collateral damage of the Captain's "discipline" later.
Pilot Status: Axel Almar
Level: 37
Kill Count: 318
Spirit Commands: Accel, Effort, Focus, Direct Hit, Awaken, Love.
Current Objective: Intercept the Alliance/ZAFT pincer movement. Ensure the survival of the Archangel and Eternal.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"