"In less than a month, this nation will become a battlefield."
The weight of my words hung in the air, plunging the hangar into a heavy, suffocating silence. It was Cagalli—always the first to charge headlong into a storm—who finally shattered the quiet.
"Don't you dare joke about that! Why should Orb be dragged into this slaughter?!"
"It's not a joke; it's a strategic certainty," I countered. "Soon, ZAFT will launch an all-out assault on the Panama Base. They will succeed in destroying the mass driver. Once that happens, the Earth Alliance will have no way to send reinforcements or supplies into space. What do you think they'll do then?"
Mu let out a long, weary sigh. "With the way the Alliance is now... they aren't going to sit around and wait years to build a new one from scratch."
"But Axel," Murrue interjected, her brow furrowed in concern. "The Alliance moved a massive portion of the forces that survived Alaska to Panama. I find it hard to believe ZAFT can just waltz in and take down a fortification of that scale."
"Under normal circumstances, you'd be right," I said. "But ZAFT is hiding a trump card: a tactical EMP weapon known as Gungnir."
"A secret weapon?" Kira asked.
"Exactly. It's a massive electromagnetic pulse generator. ZAFT's mobile suits are shielded for the operation, but the Alliance is completely in the dark. Their entire defense grid—every tank, every jet, every mobile suit—will be fried instantly. You can't win a war with pistols and knives against ten-meter-tall steel giants."
"I see..." Murrue murmured.
"With Panama gone, the Alliance will turn their eyes toward the only remaining functional mass driver on Earth. They'll come for the Kaguya, and they'll come for Morgenroete to replenish the 'G-Weapons' they lost. They'll come for Orb."
"Axel," Kira said, his voice soft but probing. "How can you be so certain? Isn't this all just... your own theory? A guess?"
I turned my gaze toward Uzumi. "Representative, you heard the same things from me months ago. What do you think?"
"I can only say that, so far, your 'predictions' have been disturbingly accurate," Uzumi replied. "But Kira's question is valid. It is my question as well. Will you show us the source of this certainty?"
I took a moment to consider. If I wanted to forge an alliance, I had to project power. I couldn't let them think we were just a handful of refugees. If they saw us as weak, the vultures—like the Seiran family—would come circling for our technology.
"Very well. But what I am about to show you stays between the six of you. Is that understood?"
They all nodded, their faces grim.
"I possess certain abilities that are... 'special.' I don't mean that I'm a Coordinator with high reflexes; I mean I have powers that shouldn't exist in this world. For example..."
I snapped my fingers. To my right, a shimmering rift in space opened—my Dimensional Storage. I reached in and pulled out several chilled bottles of tea I had stocked up on back in the SRW world, tossing one to each person.
"It's... cold," Kira whispered, staring at the condensation on the plastic bottle.
"Space Storage," I explained. "And then there's this."
I focused my mind on the bottle in Murrue's hand. I activated my psychokinesis. The bottle jerked from her grip and hovered in mid-air, spinning slowly before her eyes.
"Psychokinesis. Call it ESP, if you like."
Technically, I'd gained this through my slime's absorption, but for the sake of the bluff, I presented it as a natural-born gift.
"But the most significant ability I have," I continued, "is the sight. I can see the broad strokes of the 'flow of history.'"
"The flow of history?" Mu's eyebrows shot up.
"You're saying you used this power to see the future?" Uzumi asked.
"In a manner of speaking."
"Wait a minute, Axel," Mu stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous. "If that's true... then you knew. You knew about the Cyclops at Alaska the whole time."
"Yes. I knew."
"So that story about the Lieutenant Colonel blabbing to you was a lie?"
"It was."
In an instant, Mu's fist blurred. I could have dodged it easily, but I stood my ground. THWACK. The sound of his knuckles hitting my cheek echoed through the hangar. My head snapped to the side, but I didn't fall.
"If you knew!" Mu roared, his face inches from mine. "You could have stopped it! You could have saved all those people!"
"Could I?" I spat, turning back to him. "How? If I told you there was a self-destruct device under JOSH-A, would you have believed me? Would the Atlantic Federation have listened? It was their 'checkmate' move. And if I had used the full power of the Shadow Mirror to disable it, my people would have been the ones hunted by the Alliance. I'm sorry, Mu, but I didn't see enough value in those generals' lives to risk my own family. I knew the Archangel would survive the original timeline, and I was ready to intervene if that changed."
Mu's chest heaved. Gradually, the fire in his eyes dimmed, replaced by a weary resignation. He let out a breath and lowered his hand.
"...Sorry. I know you didn't enjoy watching them die. I just... I needed someone to hit."
"Don't sweat it. Now, back to business. Representative, be honest: if the Alliance attacks Orb, do you have any hope of winning?"
"None," Uzumi answered flatly.
"Father?!" Cagalli cried out.
"Cagalli, look at the reality," Uzumi said. "Our Astrays might be slightly better than their Daggers, but the gap is narrow. We cannot win a war of attrition against the Alliance's sheer numbers. If we had mass-produced the underwater units Axel suggested, perhaps... but as it stands, we are outmatched."
"The Sea Lion research is stalled, then?" I asked.
"Yes. The fusion generator and the Tesla Drive are beyond our current manufacturing capabilities. We've barely begun adapting the Astray for underwater use."
"Exactly. Orb's fate is a candle in a hurricane. But ask yourselves: why would I go to these lengths to help you? Why reveal the Shadow Mirror at all?"
"Because you have a plan to win," Murrue said, her eyes searching mine.
"I do. Representative Uzumi, I am officially proposing a formal alliance between the Orb Union and the Shadow Mirror. But there is one absolute condition."
The room went silent. A lone unit proposing an alliance with a sovereign nation was unheard of—especially with an 'absolute' demand.
"And that condition is?" Uzumi asked.
"That we use our combined strength to put an end to this senseless war."
"Wait," Mu interjected. "You're saying Orb should take on both the Alliance and ZAFT?"
"Shadow Mirror will provide the bulk of the combat strength," I said. "Orb simply needs to provide the legitimacy and the base of operations."
"This is madness!" Cagalli screamed. "Orb's core principles are non-intervention! You're asking us to throw away everything we stand for!"
"If you stick to your principles, Cagalli, the Alliance will eventually get their hands on N-Jammer Cancelers. They will regain the power of the atom. And in response, ZAFT will deploy 'GENESIS'—a gamma-ray laser capable of wiping out 80% of all life on Earth."
"A gamma-ray laser?" Murrue gasped.
"Patrick Zala is a supremacist. He won't care if Orb is neutral. If you aren't with him, you're dust. You have three choices: join the Alliance and bow to Blue Cosmos, join ZAFT and serve a madman, or become the third power that breaks the stalemate. Orb's current path leads to national suicide. But with Shadow Mirror, you have a fourth option."
"...And you claim to have that kind of power?" Uzumi asked.
"I do. But talk is cheap. Lemon, are you listening?"
I gestured to the air. A holographic window expanded in the center of the hangar. On the screen were Lemon, Cornelia, and Echidna.
"Loud and clear," Lemon said. "Give us a second."
I turned back to the stunned group. "The three women you see on this screen are about to transfer here, along with the first of the armaments we are providing. I believe 'teleportation' isn't exactly common technology in this world, is it?"
"Evidence is better than logic," Uzumi noted. "If you can do that, I have no choice but to believe your origins."
A shimmering field erupted around the Gate. A moment later, three women stood in the hangar. Beside them stood a Megilot.
It was a nightmare in blue steel—a six-legged, horned machine that looked like a mechanical beetle. Standing at ten meters, it was shorter than a Ginn, but its alien silhouette radiated a predatory pressure that made the mobile suits of this world look like toys.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Lemon said, stepping forward.
Her eyes immediately locked onto Murrue. The silence that followed was electric. Murrue didn't look away; she met Lemon's gaze with a calm, steady resolve. For a split second, I could almost see a dragon and a tiger clashing in the air between them.
I cleared my throat and began the introductions.
"First, this is Lemon Browning. She is the second-in-command of the Shadow Mirror and the head of our technical division."
"Lemon Browning," she said, her smile sharp enough to draw blood. "If this goes well, we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
She was looking directly at Murrue.
"Next is Cornelia li Britannia. In her home world, she was a high-ranking princess of a global superpower. Now, she serves as our frontline commander. Think of her as a royal general with the tactical weight of the entire Atlantic Federation."
Cornelia stepped forward, a challenging smirk on her lips. "Cornelia li Britannia. I look forward to this partnership." Her gaze, too, landed squarely on Murrue.
"And finally, our adjutant, Echidna Isaki."
"Echidna Isaki. Reporting for duty," she said with a curt nod.
I stepped up to join them. "Including myself, these are the four pillars of the Shadow Mirror. And we are here to change the world."
[Status Screen Update]
Name: Axel Almar
Level: 36 | PP: 165
Stats:
Melee: 254 | Ranged: 274 | Skill: 264 | Defense: 264 | Evade: 294 | Hit: 314
SP: 446
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (4 SP), Effort (8 SP), Focus (16 SP), Direct Hit (30 SP), Awaken (32 SP), Love (48 SP)
Skills: EXP Up, SP Boost (Lv.9), Telekinesis Lv.10, Attacker, Gunfight Lv.9, Infight Lv.9, Morale Limit Break, Geass (Grey)
Total Kills: 288
-------------------------------
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