"Hey, Axel, been a while," Barison said, his voice warm with familiarity.
It had been a month since Shadow-Mirror relocated to the Ecuador base, and thanks to Vindel's negotiations, Barison—Axel's old academy classmate—had just joined the team as of today.
"Yeah, good to see you," Axel replied. "How was Africa?"
"DC remnants were thicker than expected. Add in guerrillas and separatist terrorists, and I barely had a moment to breathe when I first got there."
Axel nodded. A fresh second lieutenant thrown into that mess would've had it rough. Not that Shadow-Mirror was a walk in the park, mind you.
"Well, you're part of the Special Ops team now," Axel said with a grin. "Work hard so I can take it easy."
"Come on, shouldn't you, as the senior guy, be looking out for me?" Barison shot back, half-joking.
Before Axel could respond, Martin approached. "Captain, who's this?"
"Barison, my academy classmate," Axel said. "He'll be leading the second Special Ops squad. Barison, this is Martin—sort of the wrangler for my squad."
"Sergeant Martin," Martin said, saluting. "Pleased to meet you."
"Second Lieutenant Barison," he replied, returning the salute. "I'm new to Shadow-Mirror, so I'll be counting on you."
Martin glanced at Axel. "Captain, it's about time for the mission. Ladybird's waiting."
"Already?" Axel checked the time. "Alright, I'm coming."
"Work already?" Barison asked.
"Not for you," Axel said. "This one's just my squad. Go introduce yourself to your team."
"Got it. Who's the target?"
"Reports of a Killer Whale—DC remnant—spotted off Australia's coast," Axel explained. "We're confirming it and, if it's real, taking it out."
The Killer Whale was a nuclear-powered submarine carrier built by the Divine Crusaders, designed for the ISA concept: a mobile battleship paired with humanoid mechs for lightning-fast strikes, much like the Hagane or Hiryu Kai. For DC remnants, it was a major asset.
"If it's actually there," Axel muttered under his breath.
According to Vindel, the intel on this Killer Whale was shaky at best, coming from an unreliable source. Yet, heavy pressure from military higher-ups had forced Vindel to deploy Axel's team. Why send a special forces unit like Shadow-Mirror on a hunch? Normally, they'd confirm the target's existence first.
"Special forces have their own headaches, huh?" Barison said, reading Axel's expression.
"No choice," Axel sighed. "We're soldiers. Can't just defy orders."
Not without solid evidence, anyway. Disobeying now could accelerate Shadow-Mirror's rebellion by nearly three years.
"Evidence?" The word sparked something in Axel's mind, perhaps nudged by his telekinesis. Albert Grey had narrowly escaped justice when his evidence was buried, but would a guy like that—vindictive and petty, per Axel's original timeline knowledge—just let it go? He'd likely obsess over finding who targeted him. The timing, though—six months after the evidence theft—felt odd. Unless it took Grey that long to trace it back to Shadow-Mirror, investigating without Stresemann's help. That would explain the delay.
"Captain?" Martin's voice broke his thoughts. "We're gonna be late."
"Right, sorry. Let's go." Axel gave Barison a quick wave. "Catch you later, Barison. We'll talk when I'm back."
"Good luck out there," Barison called.
As Axel headed for the Ladybird, he resolved to discuss his suspicions with Vindel if the mission turned out to be a bust.
This mission was just Axel's squad—five mechs, one Ladybird transport. Ideally, they'd use two Ladybirds to widen the search, but the transport's minimal armaments made it vulnerable. If a Killer Whale was out there, a lone Ladybird could be sunk. So, they'd use it as a forward base, with ADs and PTs scouting for the submarine.
Thanks to the tech team equipping Martin's mass-produced Ashsaver with a Tesla Drive, Axel's entire squad could now maneuver in the air.
"Captain, this is Furusuto," came a transmission as they returned to the Ladybird. "No sign of anything resembling a Killer Whale."
"Nothing, huh?" Axel said. If Furusuto's recon-specialized mech couldn't find it, Al and Bobby's chances were slim.
"The others are back, too," Furusuto reported.
"How'd it go?" Axel asked.
"No luck," Bobby replied. "Al thought he spotted something, but it was just a tanker."
"Alright. Our turn, then. Martin, let's move!"
Axel signaled Martin, launching his Growsaver from the Ladybird, with Martin's Ashsaver following close behind. As they flew in formation, Axel sent a transmission. "You got the search data from the others?"
"All set," Martin confirmed.
"Good. I'll take Furusuto's sector. You cover Al's."
"Roger."
Axel piloted the Growsaver toward Furusuto's search area, eyes scanning for any sign of the elusive target.
"Complete waste of time," Axel muttered.
They'd returned to the Ecuador base empty-handed, not even a glimpse of the Killer Whale. After docking the mechs in the hangar and handing them over for maintenance, Axel headed to Vindel's office to submit his report—and to check on his earlier hunch.
"Vindel, you free?" Axel called, knocking on the door.
"Come in," Vindel replied.
Axel stepped inside, finding Vindel at his desk, buried in paperwork as usual… but not quite. His face carried a faint scowl, far from his typical stoic demeanor.
"What's with you?" Axel asked. "Not like the iron-faced Vindel to look so sour."
"Probably the same reason you're here," Vindel said.
"Me?"
"The mission. No sign of the Killer Whale, right?"
"Exactly," Axel said. "What's going on?"
Vindel exhaled sharply, his frustration palpable. "I told you the intel was flimsy. Now we know why."
"Albert Grey," Axel guessed.
Vindel's eyebrow twitched. "You figured it out?"
"It hit me before we left," Axel said. "Just a hunch, maybe nudged by telekinesis. I started connecting the dots, and his name came up."
"Telekinesis, huh?" Vindel said, a rare note of envy in his voice. "I could use a trick like that."
Axel gave a wry smile at Vindel's grumbling. "Special forces like us are bound to deal with the rot of politicians. It's part of the job."
"True," Vindel said, rubbing his face as if to hide his expression. "But hearing that from you, after you were sent on a wild goose chase, makes it hard to argue."
Vindel's frustration ran deep. As a principled soldier, the growing corruption in the Federation and military brass clearly weighed on him. Axel felt it too—Dr. Montoya's assassination still burned, a personal grudge he hadn't forgotten. Taking down Grey might be impossible now, but one day, Axel vowed, he'd settle that score himself.