By the time I reached the hangar, the Buster, Strike, and Freedom were already undergoing final checks for launch.
The Strike was already fitted with its Striker Pack, but it wasn't a standard configuration. It was the integrated system—the "Perfect Strike"—a beast of a machine mounting the combined armaments of the Aile, Sword, and Launcher packs simultaneously.
"Hey, kid. Something on your mind?"
Chief Murdoch's voice pulled my gaze away from the machines. The veteran mechanic was one of the few people whose attitude hadn't shifted an inch after learning I led the Shadow Mirror. To him, I was just another pilot he had to keep alive. His blunt, grounded nature made him remarkably easy to talk to.
"Just wondering how the Strike and Buster are going to handle a sea engagement," I replied. "Are they staying back for carrier defense as originally planned?"
"Nah, we've got a little surprise from Orb for that. Grabbed some prototypes before we shoved off. Remember those 'Guuls' you captured before we first arrived? Erika's team reverse-engineered 'em. The Strike and the Buster will be riding those into the sky."
I'd been so focused on underwater combat that I'd completely forgotten about the sub-flight systems. I recalled suggesting to Erika Simmons that she analyze the Guuls' flight data back during our first stay in Orb. It seemed that advice was finally bearing fruit.
"Axel, it's time. Deploy our units," Cornelia said, stepping toward me with Echidna at her side. Her voice was steady, but there was a sharp edge of military readiness to it.
"You heard the lady, Chief. I'm heading out," I said.
"Right. You'll have to tell me more about those Megilot things later," Murdoch replied, stepping back to give us space. "The tech in those drones is something else."
He seemed to sense I was about to do something unconventional. I closed my eyes, pulling up the digital manifest of my spatial storage. I selected the Glowsaver and the Rapiecage.
"Whoa—!"
In a shimmer of distorted air, two massive silhouettes materialized within the Archangel's hangar, their feet locking into the deck with a heavy metallic thud. On one side stood my personal machine, the Glowsaver. On the other was the Rapiecage, the high-mobility beast Cornelia had been training to master.
Murdoch and his crew stared, jaws dropped in pure shock. Even for people living in an age of mobile suits, seeing eighty tons of war machine appear out of thin air was enough to trigger a collective heart attack.
"Echidna, the Weissager is too large for the internal hangar. If I pull it out here, I'll compromise the ship's structural integrity. Head to the outer deck and wait for me there."
"Acknowledged, Commander," Echidna replied with a crisp salute before heading for the airlock.
Cornelia and I climbed into our respective cockpits. As I ran through the startup sequence, a comms window flickered onto my primary monitor. It was Kira.
"Is that your machine, Axel?"
"The one and only," I replied. "My pride and joy."
"It's strange... with the gatling barrels, the railguns, and the Lanze Kanone deployed, it almost looks like the Freedom's Full Burst mode."
"Well, you're the leader of the Shadow Mirror," Mu La Flaga's voice joined the circuit. He sounded remarkably calm for a man about to fly a mobile suit into a real war for the first time. "I assume you wouldn't be riding in anything less than a masterpiece."
"You could say that. It's... let's just say 'exceptionally capable.' I'll let the performance speak for itself."
'Exceptionally capable' was an understatement. In the world of Super Robot Wars, this machine was designed to go toe-to-toe with the legendary Hagane and Hiryu-Kai units.
"Heh... seeing that 'magic trick' in the hangar makes me actually believe you guys aren't from around here," Dearka chimed in.
"I'll show you the difference in our 'specifications' soon enough, Dearka," I replied as my systems went green. "All units, launch! It's time to teach the Alliance their place."
I pushed the throttle forward. The Glowsaver shot down the catapult and out into the open air. I immediately engaged the Tesla Drive, banking the machine to hover alongside the Archangel's bridge. I opened a direct contact line.
"Bridge, I'm deploying Echidna's unit onto the deck now. It's twice the mass of a standard mobile suit—be ready for the ship to lurch."
"Understood," Murrue replied. "Hurry, Axel. We're running out of time."
I maneuvered the Glowsaver over the Archangel's flat deck where Echidna was waiting. I accessed the storage list again and selected the Weissager.
The air groaned as the blue-and-white giant manifested. All 130 tons of it slammed onto the deck, causing the massive carrier to dip momentarily in the water. Echidna didn't waste a second, scaling the machine and disappearing into the cockpit.
Around us, the battle line took shape. The Freedom and Rapiecage circled above, while the Strike and Buster hovered on their new sub-flight platforms. And behind the Archangel, five hundred Megilots began to fan out, a silver cloud of drones descending from the Orb mainland.
"Are you kidding me?" Dearka's voice crackled over the open channel. He was staring at the swarm.
"Relax, Dearka. Those are all friendlies," I said with a dry chuckle. "They're AI-controlled drones. You can't 'kill' them, and they don't have pilots, but try not to shoot them by mistake. They're valuable assets."
Knowing Dearka's personality, I decided to poke at his pride. "Then again, if a 'Red Coat' like you can't tell the difference between a drone and an enemy, maybe I should be worried."
"Hey! Just 'cause they don't look human doesn't mean I'm gonna miss!" he snapped back, exactly as predicted. "I'm an elite, remember?"
"...Though technically, since you're with us, you aren't ZAFT or an 'Elite' anymore."
"Guh... don't remind me. Still... your tech is insane. Fully autonomous AI units? Even the Plants haven't managed to make those practical yet."
It was a fair point. In the SEED era, AI development was still in its infancy; it wouldn't be until the Stargazer project years later that they truly made headway.
"Shadow Mirror technology is... significantly further ahead than this world's," I said simply.
The technical gap wasn't a crack; it was a canyon. The tech of my home world was decades, if not a century, ahead of this timeline. And the Megilots were products of the White Star—an Aerogater orbital base with civilization levels far beyond even that.
"Another world, huh?" Dearka mused. "But if you have weapons like these, I guess people are still killing each other over there, too."
"War is a universal constant, Dearka. Humans vs. Humans. Earth vs. the Colonies... and Earth vs. the Aliens."
"Wait, aliens?! You've seen live ones? Like... Evidence 01?"
"No. Not fossils like the 'Whale Stone.' The ones I fought looked just like us. They called themselves the 'Inspectors' and they tried to dismantle our civilization. But that's a story for after the battle. I'll tell you then."
As we spoke, the horizon began to crawl with steel. A massive fleet was emerging from the haze—the Earth Alliance's Orb Invasion Force.
"Deal. You better survive to tell that story, Axel," Dearka said, his tone turning serious.
A heavy silence fell over the channel. As the Alliance fleet crossed into Orb's territorial waters, Murrue's voice rang out, broadcast across all open frequencies.
"This is the Archangel, representing the Orb Union. To the approaching Earth Alliance fleet: You are in violation of Orb territorial waters. Turn back immediately. We are authorized to use force to defend our sovereignty. Repeat: Turn back now."
It was a standard warning. One we all knew would be ignored.
"This is the Earth Alliance," a cold voice responded. "Your warning is rejected. We are here to seize all Orb military and research facilities. Any interference will be met with overwhelming force. Look at the numbers, Archangel. Surrender now and disarm."
The Alliance carriers began deploying their forces. Row after row of Strike Daggers—mass-produced, stripped-down versions of the Strike—filled the air and sea. To them, being equipped with beam weaponry meant they were invincible.
"Numbers, huh?" Mu La Flaga laughed softly. "Does that guy have cataracts? Can he not see the swarm of Megilots behind us?"
I wondered the same. They had maybe two or three hundred mobile suits. We had five hundred high-spec drones plus our elite units. Where did their confidence come from?
The answer came with the next transmission.
"You've managed to scrape together a large number of Mobile Armors, it seems," the Alliance commander sneered. "But MAs are relics. They cannot stand against the Mobile Suit. That is why the Alliance developed the Dagger."
Ah. They thought the Megilots were just weird-looking MAs. To someone who had never seen an Aerogater drone, the Megilot's insectoid, non-humanoid shape probably looked like a primitive design choice. Either the Seiran family hadn't leaked the full truth of our capabilities, or Azrael simply hadn't believed such "fairy tales" about interdimensional tech.
"And as for you—a group of thieves who stole Alliance ships and suits, calling yourselves 'visitors from another world'... it's a laughable bluff," the commander continued.
I glanced at Dearka's monitor. He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. Being called a "thief" by the Alliance probably stung, considering he did technically help steal the G-Units at Heliopolis.
"Very well," Murrue's voice was like ice. "Further negotiation is deemed useless. The Archangel now designates the Earth Alliance fleet as invaders. We will proceed to eliminate the threat."
"Big words for a tiny island nation! Do you truly think you can defy the world? Your delusions end here!"
The final word was drowned out as Murrue and the Alliance commander gave the same order at the exact same moment:
"All units—COMMENCE ATTACK!"
Pilot Profile: Axel Almar
Level: 36 | PP: 165
Stats: Melee: 254 | Ranged: 274 | Skill: 264 | Defense: 264 | Evasion: 294 | Hit: 314
SP: 446
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance unit performance)
Growth Type: All-Rounder / Special
Terrain Ratings: Air: S | Ground: S | Water: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 30)
Awaken (SP 32)
Love (SP 48)
Skills: EXP Up, SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Regen & Concentration), Psychodriver Lv.10, Attacker, Gunfight Lv.9, Infight Lv.9, Morale Limit Break, Geass (Grey), ???...
Total Kills: 288
-------------------------------
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