The research facility was nestled deep within a forest usually defined by its oppressive silence. Today, however, that silence had been shattered.
"Dammit! Who are the idiots responsible for this? Launch every unit we have!" the facility director roared, his voice cracking with desperation. He paced the command center, face flushed with a mix of rage and terror. "Protect the data at all costs! Where the hell are our reinforcements?!"
The operator, face ashen, looked up from his console. "It's no use, sir. We can't reach Lord Djibril. They've completely severed our long-range comms. We're being jammed by something far more advanced than standard interference."
"Incompetent fools!" the director spat. "This lab in Rodonia is the crown jewel of Lord Djibril's secrets—the heart of Blue Cosmos itself! Who is doing this? Is it those opportunists in the East Asian Republic? Or is it those... those wretched space monsters from the colonies?!"
A cold sweat broke out among the staff. Despite being under heavy assault, they were flying blind; a massive cyber-attack had stripped them of their sensors and identification systems. They were being dismantled by a phantom, and the terrifying realization began to sink in: only one group they knew of was capable of this level of electronic warfare.
"Systems returning! We're getting a feed from the Strike Daggers in the interception wing!"
The relief in the room was short-lived. As the monitors flickered to life, the command staff gasped in unison. The "enemy" displayed on the screen was a swarm of mechanical nightmares—beetle-like drones that moved with a terrifying, insectile grace.
They were the most infamous machines in the post-war era. Every man in that room knew their name.
"...Bugs."
The Great War had only reached its conclusion a few months prior. What was supposed to be a holy crusade by the Earth Alliance against the "monsters" of space had been derailed when Orb—aided by the enigmatic and technologically superior Shadow Mirror—intervened. Orb had emerged as the de facto victor of the conflict, and these autonomous combat units were the signature weapons of the Shadow Mirror faction.
Which meant only one thing.
"Impossible!" the director shrieked. "You're telling me this is an official strike by Orb and the Shadow Mirror?!"
The irritation that had colored his face moments ago vanished, replaced by a mask of pure, unadulterated despair.
"Why? How did they find us?! Not even the mainstream Alliance military knows this place exists! Only the inner circle of Blue Cosmos..."
He slammed his fist against the console in a futile gesture of defiance. The research conducted here was of the highest priority—and the highest level of depravity. It was a facility that could never see the light of day.
"That's quite the insult," a voice rang out through the speakers, cutting through the chaos. "Did you really think the victors of the war wouldn't have the means to sniff out a rat's nest like this?"
The director spun toward the main screen. A communication link had been established—not by his staff, but by the intruder.
"...Who are you?" he stammered. He was momentarily stunned into silence by the woman on the screen.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, with striking pink hair and a customized military uniform that left little to the imagination. But it was her eyes that froze the blood in his veins. They were cold—not with indifference, but with the focused, icy glare of a predator looking at vermin.
"You said it yourself just a moment ago," she replied, her voice smooth and dangerous. "We are the Shadow Mirror. And this is a Blue Cosmos facility, isn't it? I'd hate to think we'd hit the wrong coordinate."
The director remained silent. There was no point in lying; they had already breached his firewalls and were likely scouring his servers as they spoke. He tried to summon a final spark of bravado.
"This is indeed a Blue Cosmos facility, but the Shadow Mirror has no jurisdiction here! This is an unprovoked attack! Withdraw at once!"
The woman let out a short, melodic laugh that lacked any warmth. "Oh, you poor fool. Being a Blue Cosmos facility is provocation enough. Your organization is currently under investigation for the attempted terrorist attack against the Shadow Mirror a few days ago. Consider this a search-and-seizure operation."
Though she smiled, her eyes remained fixed in a terrifying, murderous stare. It was clear that she was barely containing a deep-seated rage.
The director's greatest misfortune was that he was a man of science, not a soldier. Faced with that level of raw killing intent, his legs gave out. He collapsed into his chair, trembling.
"H-hiii!"
"We are sending in the boarding parties now," the woman—Lemon Browning—declared with chilling finality. "Any further resistance will be viewed as a request for immediate execution. Kira, that's enough. Cut the feed."
The screen went black. The command center was left in a deafening silence, the staff paralyzed by the lingering aura of the woman's malice.
The Rodonia Lab fell within the hour.
In the original timeline of history, this was the place where the "Extended" pilots—Sting, Auel, and Stella—were to be forged into broken weapons for Phantom Pain. Instead, they and the other subjects scheduled for "disposal" were taken into custody by Orb and the Shadow Mirror to receive proper medical and psychological treatment.
This was only the beginning. Every laboratory, safe house, and front organization tied to Blue Cosmos was systematically hunted down and dismantled in a series of lightning strikes. By the time the dust settled, Blue Cosmos's influence in the SEED world had been crippled beyond recovery.
It went without saying that the three women leading this ruthless campaign of retribution were none other than Axel's lovers: Lemon Browning, Cornelia li Britannia, and Murrue Ramius.
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