"…This is boring," Axel muttered, slouched in the Growsaver's cockpit.
Per Vindel's orders, he was hiding on a tanker to lure out and capture—or eliminate—pirates. But the pirates were a no-show. Axel had expected them to swarm this piracy-prone sea route like moths to a flame, but the wait was dragging on.
His gaze drifted to the new Phantoms equipped on the Growsaver. Unlike the scissor-shaped Sword Breakers, these T-Link-compatible units were sleek, conical, resembling the funnels from Mobile Suit Gundam's Universal Century—closer to the Qubeley's than Sazabi's, though their performance felt more like Gundam 00's Fangs.
"If only I could send an email," Axel mused. He'd considered contacting the Excellence Team, but combat standby left no room for that. Their last message, a week ago, mentioned smooth progress on the Excellence project.
His thoughts shifted to the upcoming fight. The mission prioritized capturing the pilots alive, meaning no kills or experience points. Lame.
That reminded him—he hadn't checked his status in a while. Busy missions had left no time, so now was as good a chance as any. He noted the new "Direct Hit" Spirit Command, which he'd used in past battles. In the original game, it ignored enemy support defenses and special abilities—like the Growsaver's telekinetic field—for one attack. Using it felt intuitive, like a flash of insight revealing where and when to strike, similar to the "Focus" command. Against support defenses, it meant exploiting gaps, but against barriers like telekinetic fields, the effect was less clear. Axel guessed it highlighted moments when barriers weren't active, but he hadn't faced barrier-equipped enemies yet. With Shadow-Mirror's eventual transfer to the other world, where protagonists wielded such tech, he'd need to test it soon.
His PP was at 150, piled up from neglected skill upgrades. The mission didn't demand new skills, but he decided to spend some. Raising sea adaptability for Sealion fights was tempting, but sea battles were rare, and his B-rank sea stat was sufficient. His stats were already boosted by his reincarnation perk, so skills were the priority.
Support Attack, Support Defense, and Commander were irrelevant for a solo mission. Guts didn't suit his evasion-focused style. Counter was unnecessary with ample SP and Focus. E-Save and B-Save weren't needed, thanks to the Chronos's Timeflow Engine and Phantoms covering ammo-based weapons. Motivation skills were traps in Super Robot Wars OG, so he skipped those.
That left Infight, Gunfight, Hit & Away, Attacker, Concentrated Attack, and Motivation Limit Break. As a shoot-oriented pilot, Gunfight's boost to shooting power and range was a must. Infight could wait until he had more PP. Motivation Limit Break cost 100 PP, too steep for now. Concentrated Attack wasn't needed without swarms like the Einst. That narrowed it to Hit & Away or Attacker. On a whim, Axel chose Attacker, spending 80 PP. For Gunfight, Level 3 required 75 PP, but he was 5 short, so he settled for Level 2, leaving 25 PP. He considered Infight Level 1 but decided to save the rest.
"Good enough," he said, satisfied.
The cockpit shook, jarring him. The tanker's moving?
"Soldier, you there?" the captain's voice crackled over the comms.
"Pirates?" Axel asked.
"Yeah, three aquatic Lions. You good?"
The captain's tone was more confirming than concerned. "Leave the fighting to me," Axel said. "Get out of the combat zone ASAP."
Lingering risked the tanker being taken hostage. Then he remembered the ATX Team. "Heads-up, reinforcements might show once the fight starts."
"Reinforcements?" The captain sounded puzzled.
Fair reaction, Axel thought. But with Kyosuke likely infected by the Einst, and the ATX Team potentially compromised, caution was warranted. In the original timeline, an Einst-infected Kyosuke didn't distinguish friend from foe—or rather, judged based on Einst presence. Whether his infection had progressed that far was unclear, but better safe than sorry.
"Just a heads-up," Axel said, dodging the truth. "They're a… complicated unit. Alright, I'm heading out."
Launching the Growsaver, Axel's monitor lit up with an incoming missile. "Tch!" He deployed the Laser Blade, slicing it apart. The missile veered away from the ship, exploding seconds later.
Sealions lacked the Lion series' signature railgun and melee weapons, relying solely on Multi-Jet Missiles—more like torpedoes, with poor accuracy against non-aquatic targets. Firing at the ship's bridge suggested they hadn't expected a guard like Axel. As pirates, their goal was likely cargo or ransom, not sinking the tanker, which would complicate salvage or hostage exchanges.
"Too bad for you!" Axel said, launching two Phantoms.
Guided by the T-Link System, the Phantoms dove into the water. "One fired the missile," Axel muttered, scanning for the other two Sealions. The T-Link System could supposedly detect enemies, but Axel hadn't mastered it—or was that the Uranus System? A radar ping interrupted his thoughts.
"In the air?" Axel said, surprised. He'd assumed Sealions were underwater, but their Lion-series lineage made flight plausible. As he spotted the airborne Sealion, his Phantoms slashed through the limbs of the underwater one with their laser blades, nearly simultaneously.
"One down," Axel said. Securing one for intel was a start; capturing the others would be ideal.
Another Multi-Jet Missile came from the airborne Sealion. Axel dodged right, charging with his Laser Blade to sever its limbs, but the Sealion dove underwater, slipping beyond the Phantoms' range.
"Then I'll flush you out. Accelerate!" Using the "Accelerate" command and Chronos's boosters, Axel positioned the Growsaver above the Sealion's suspected location, aiming its chest downward. "Eat a shower of Fire Daggers!"
A barrage of Fire Daggers erupted, peppering the sea with small explosions. The Sealion surfaced, fleeing skyward.
"Number two!" Axel unfolded the Beam Gatling from the Chronos, targeting the Sealion's lower half. In less than a second, dozens of beams shredded it, leaving only the upper half to crash near the tanker.
"One left," Axel said, checking the radar. No response. Either it was expertly hidden or lurking in deep waters beyond the Growsaver's sensors.
"Captain, can your radar pick up the last one underwater?" Axel asked, relying on the tanker's specialized equipment.
The captain's voice came back, panicked. "Soldier, it's right below you!"
Below?! "Tch! Telekinetic Field, full power!"
Activating the T-Link System at maximum, Axel braced as a shockwave rocked the cockpit. The Growsaver was flung upward but stabilized. The monitor showed a Sealion rocketing skyward—it had rammed him from below, but the telekinetic field absorbed the impact.
Gotta thank Lemon for that one, Axel thought, aiming the Linear Railgun at the airborne Sealion. As a water-specialized unit, it could jump but not sustain flight, meaning it would soon dive back to the sea.
"There's my chance for the third capture. Focus, Direct Hit!" Using both commands, Axel tracked the Sealion as it lost thrust and fell. Finger on the trigger, he prepared to fire.
"Soldier, dodge!" the captain's scream blared.
Instinctively, Axel released the trigger and fired the boosters, shooting upward. A heavy clang shook the cockpit, rattling him despite Focus's heightened awareness. The monitor revealed a Personal Trooper (PT) that had collided with him.
The problem wasn't the collision—it was the PT's identity.
"Alteisen," Axel whispered.