Two days had passed since the fires of Jachin Due were extinguished. We remained stationed in the orbital vicinity of the PLANTs, acting as both a deterrent and a diplomatic bridge.
Orb had already been notified of the PLANTs' effective unconditional surrender. The destruction of the Earth Alliance's lunar fleet and the capture of Muruta Azrael had been reported in full. Uzumi and the Orb government were wasting no time, wielding these victories like a political scalpel to pressure the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and the East Asia Republic into a permanent ceasefire.
Interestingly, reports from the surface were just as encouraging. Even after we had ascended to space, the Alliance had made several desperate attempts to harass Orb. They were repelled each time by the defense forces led by Echidna, with the Gyanland and Sealion units inflicting massive casualties. It was a welcome miscalculation; we had feared the Alliance might use their remaining terrestrial forces as leverage to ignore our terms, but it seemed they were running out of teeth to bite with.
The war between the three great powers—the Alliance, the PLANTs, and the Orb-Shadow Mirror coalition—was finally limping toward its conclusion. Fighting had ceased on all fronts, and preparations were underway for a formal peace conference.
For Chairperson Eileen Canaver, these were days of monumental stress. The Coordinators were already a minority compared to Naturals, and the staggering loss of life—from the Cyclops explosion at Alaska to the meat grinder of Jachin Due—threatened the very future of their race. She was under immense pressure to secure favorable terms, leading to daily contacts with us through Lacus and Waltfeld.
It was against this backdrop that Mu, Lemon, and I found ourselves in a secure briefing room within the PLANT Administration Office.
A light knock echoed through the room. "May we enter?"
The door opened to admit Eileen Canaver and a man I recognized instantly: Gilbert Durandal. Between them walked a young boy, perhaps thirteen years old. His blonde hair and sharp features were an unmistakable echo of the man I had killed two days ago.
"Please, come in," I said, standing. "Is this the boy?"
Eileen nodded. The youth—Rey Za Burrel—looked at Mu for a fleeting second, a flicker of shock crossing his face before he composed himself and bowed deeply.
"It is an honor to meet you. I am Rey Za Burrel."
So, there was no mistake. He was here.
Durandal stepped forward, mirroring the boy's bow. "I am Gilbert Durandal, his guardian. I was told you had business with Rey?"
"In a manner of speaking," I replied. "I bring the last request of a certain man."
The air in the room chilled. Durandal's eyebrow twitched; Rey's posture stiffened. I glanced at Eileen, but instead of confusion, I saw a profound, lingering sadness.
Wait, I thought. She looks like she already knows.
I caught Durandal's eye. He noticed my silent questioning and gave a small, weary nod.
"Chairperson Canaver is aware of the connection between Rau and Rey," Durandal explained softly. "And, as far as I am aware, she knows of their relationship to Commander Flaga as well."
"Mu?" I asked, turning to him.
"Yeah," Mu grunted, his arms crossed. "The kid is the same as Rau. I felt it the second he walked in—that same 'frequency' I get with Creuset. You felt it too, didn't you, kid?"
Rey nodded solemnly. "I felt... something. I cannot say if it is the same sensation I had with Rau, but the resonance is undeniable."
Eileen let out a shaky breath. "To be honest, learning that Rau Le Creuset was a clone was a staggering blow. Even among us Coordinators, human cloning is a forbidden taboo, its technology sealed away for a reason."
"And because he was a 'forbidden existence,' Rau spent his life in the shadows, trying to burn the world down," I said.
"I have no defense for that," Eileen admitted, her head bowing.
"Well, that's a conversation for the peace summit," I said, waving it off. "As for why we're here today... Rau spoke to me just before the end. He asked me to help the 'other version' of himself in the PLANTs. Specifically, he wanted to know if Shadow Mirror technology could solve the telomere problem."
"Is that... is that actually possible?"
The voice didn't come from the adults. It was Rey. His voice was high, stripped of its practiced calm, betraying the desperation of a boy who knew his clock was ticking.
"We won't know for sure until we do a full diagnostic," I said, gesturing to Lemon. "But Lemon here leads our technical division. She has experience in fields that would make most geneticists' heads spin. Lemon?"
Lemon stepped forward, her expression clinical but not unkind. "I am Lemon Browning. As Axel said, I specialize in the creation of the 'W-Series'—synthetic humans. Whether I can 'fix' your genetic decay depends on a thousand variables, but I can say this: our technology is generations ahead of what you have here in the PLANTs. At the very least, we can give you a much longer life than you're currently looking at."
Rey's face lit up. It was a jarring sight—the Rey I remembered from the original Destiny timeline only showed that kind of emotion toward Durandal. Perhaps without Rau's shadow looming over him, he was more open to the idea of hope.
"Don't celebrate just yet," Lemon cautioned, her voice firm. "If we use our technology to save you, you will become a keeper of Shadow Mirror secrets. We cannot risk that information leaking back to the various factions who would love to get their hands on our 'human manufacturing' data. Do you understand what that means?"
"In plain terms?" Eileen prompted.
"In plain terms," Lemon said, looking Rey in the eye, "if we treat you, Rey Za Burrel will no longer belong to the PLANTs. You will be a member of Shadow Mirror. You will live on the White Star, and you will be subject to our laws and our security protocols. If you leak information, the consequences will be... severe."
"Is that truly necessary?" Eileen asked.
"Absolutely," Lemon replied. "Synthetic human technology is our most guarded secret. We treat it with more gravity than we treat our mobile suits. The 'W' series are as capable as—if not more than—your 'Red Coat' elites. If the Alliance or ZAFT could mass-produce soldiers like that, the world would become a nightmare overnight."
Eileen and Durandal shared a look. The idea of an army of mass-produced elites was every politician's dream and every civilian's nightmare.
"And while our mobile units are 'open' in the sense that we use them in public, we don't share the blueprints," Lemon added. "Though, Axel did give Orb a few toys, didn't he?"
I nodded. "A Sealion—basically a high-spec underwater MS—as a token of our alliance. And the Megillots were more of a lease than a gift."
I didn't mention the fusion reactors or the Tesla Drives. Some things were better left unsaid.
Rey looked down at his hands, his brow furrowed in thought. "I... I cannot give you an answer immediately. To leave the PLANTs, to join a foreign organization... I need time to think."
"That's fair," I said. "Lemon? Mu?"
"No complaints here," Lemon said.
"Fine by me," Mu added. Then, he stepped closer to the boy. "But listen, kid. If you decide to join the Shadow Mirror, I'll act as your sponsor. I'll look out for you."
I stared at Mu. "Where is this coming from? You and Rau were at each other's throats for months."
"Rau was Rau," Mu said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But this kid? He's just a victim of my old man's terminal ego. I figure as the 'legitimate' son, the least I can do is help clean up the old man's mess."
"Mu, did you hear the part where he moves to the White Star?" Lemon asked. "Are you planning on joining us too?"
"…I'll have to talk that over with Natarle first," Mu muttered, looking away.
I wondered about Natarle's future. She was a soldier to her core. Would she return to the Alliance? Join the Orb military? Or was there a chance she'd follow Mu into the Shadow Mirror?
"If that is all for now," Eileen said, standing up, "I must return to my duties. The post-war reconstruction is... extensive."
"Of course. Thank you for making the time, Chairperson," I said.
We exchanged a brief, firm handshake before she hurried out. Durandal turned to follow, but I called out to him.
"Gilbert. A moment of your time?"
"Certainly," Durandal said, his voice as smooth as silk. "Rey, go on ahead. I'll catch up."
"Understood. See you soon, Gil," Rey said, exiting the room.
Once the door clicked shut, I turned to the future Chairman.
"Is there something else, Axel?"
"You might not know this, but when we left Orb for space, we used the Mendel colony in L4 as a hideout."
"Ah, yes. I believe the Eternal mentioned something about that," Durandal replied, his expression unreadable.
"While we were there, I found something interesting," I lied. It was a total bluff, based entirely on my knowledge of the original timeline. "A set of research notes. They were quite... visionary."
Durandal didn't flinch. "Is that so? I did some research of my own there years ago. What kind of notes were they?"
He was good. Either he was a master of his emotions, or he had truly deleted all traces of his work and felt safe.
"The Destiny Plan," I said.
The reaction was microscopic, but it was there. A slight tightening of the eyes. A hitch in his breathing that lasted a fraction of a second.
"What's wrong, Gilbert? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I... I'm simply surprised," Durandal said, his voice regaining its composure. "Where did you hear that name?"
"I told you. Mendel. A plan to map human DNA from birth to determine their inherent aptitudes... to assign every person their 'ideal' role in society. On paper, it sounds like a dream of perfect order, doesn't it?"
Durandal remained silent.
"If a private company wanted to offer that as a service—telling people what career they might be suited for—I wouldn't care," I continued, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous register. "But if you ever try to force that plan onto the people of the PLANTs or Earth... remember this: Shadow Mirror will be standing right in your way. And unlike the Alliance, we don't miss."
"…I see," Durandal whispered, his voice sounding hollow. "I will keep that in mind."
He gave a stiff bow and practically fled the room.
I let out a long sigh as he disappeared. I hoped that was enough to bury the Destiny Plan for good. Or, perhaps, there was a future where he, Talia, and Rey could all find a place on the White Star. If they hadn't broken up yet, that is.
"The Destiny Plan, huh?" Lemon asked, her eyes narrowed. "Another bit of 'historical insight'?"
"Yeah. Though history has already changed so much that my 'knowledge' is getting less reliable by the hour."
"Oh? How much has it changed, exactly?"
"You don't want to know," I said, thinking of a timeline where Mu lost his memory and Natarle died in the fire of the Dominion. "The past is gone. There's no point in dwelling on what might have been."
"True enough," Lemon said with a stretch. "Come on. Let's get back to the Archangel."
I nodded, pushing the shadows of the future out of my mind. The war was over, and for the first time in a long time, the path ahead was one we were carving for ourselves.
Pilot Data: Axel Almer
Level: 38 | Kills: 374
Stats: Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evade: 302 | Hit: 322
Spirit Commands: Accel (4), Effort (8), Focus (16), Direct Hit (30), Zeal (32), Love (48)
Abilities: T-LINK System Lv.10, Attacker, Gunfight Lv.9, Infight Lv.9, Morale Limit Break, Geass (Grey), SP Boost.
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