Prologue
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
In front of him, the computer perched on the table that faced him, the screen displaying what he wanted to see.
Vincent Swan.
Rapidly typing through the secure channels of the encrypted servers, he struck through the system as he rapidly entered queries, causing the system to lag, and buying enough time to slip past the first firewall. Twenty-seven more to go.
The room was relatively dark and solitary, but Vincent liked that best, when he was alone. He felt secure, but vulnerable at the same time. He never understood why, never tried to understand, because he was that way. A sound of liquid dropping onto the ground sounded like a metronome, and Swan figured that he would like to listen to that, to keep his mind occupied for the time being.
He passed through the second firewall. Moving quickly, he didn’t even really think about what he was doing, just did it as though he didn’t care much about it. He was a Gemini after all…not according to his birth, but slang for a person who survived the Seventh Haven Assault. He virtually had two minds…one that concentrated on his hacking, the other on what he was truly thinking about.
About Eli. About cradling her body, that girl who had died in his arms, her usually white hair matted crimson with blood and brown with dust.
But it really didn’t matter what he was thinking about. Realizing that he was in secure enough to cause havoc, he repeated his process, overloading the server with pings. Afterwards, he inserted a less secure ping, one that will definitely be detected by the system. There would be chaos, fear, and a swift retaliation, but that was exactly what Vincent wanted. Besides, when the server can actually locate him, he would be completely gone.
Track this, you Neo Arcadian bastards.
Sighing, he stretched the collar of his shirt, an indicator that he was done for now. Shutting down his laptop, he quickly left the room, computer in hand, leaving without a trace, except perhaps only a dead body in the corner, the blood dripping from his pale corpse…
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
*****
Despite the harsh afternoon sun that shown down through the gardens of Aegis University of Second Haven, Lance Sigel rather enjoyed finishing the rest of his engineering papers outside of the main structures, allowing the cool wind to breeze past his face as he rapidly keyed in commands with his laptop, and charts, formulas, and words began to appear on the document before him.
“Lance!” Vincent called from the technology compound, walking over with his laptop in hand. Lance looked over his shoulder, watching his old friend approach from behind. Lance smiled as he was temporarily disrupted from his work, looking at his longtime friend approaching from the distance. Vincent’s return to Third Haven had actually been a surprise to Lance; after several months of not hearing from him ever since he had joined the militia, Lance had never expected to meet Vincent here once again, the two of them university students.
Lance Sigel was thin and lanky, but his fair face and deep blue eyes gave him a look about him that displayed an air of capability that he himself did not quite understand. He had his long blond hair combed back, cropped at the neck, unlike Vincent, whose messy white hair had reached shoulder length.
“Hey,” Lance smiled, motioning Vincent to sit on the bench with him. Vincent did so as he looked over at his paper.
“These graphs,” Vincent pointed almost immediately as he eyed the paper, “Did you do them with the software or an image processor?”
Lance laughed, knowing that Vincent would immediately start picking on his report. To help, of course. Vincent had been an older brother figure for Lance ever since they had first met. At times, it was embarrassing and irritating, but other times, Lance didn’t quite mind. “Actually, it was done with the software’s graphing feature. Some of the stuff I wanted wasn’t there, though, so I had to re-route certain channels to support the graphing, and the system registry also…”
“Using the two-two-seven command for the root override code?”
“Yeah,” Lance stifled a grin, trying not to show his amusement at Vincent’s seemingly god-like computer skills, “Just as you taught me.”
“Good,” Vincent smiled, sizing Lance up as he leaned back against the bench they sat on, “You’re getting better as I talk.”
“Well,” Lance laughed, nudging Vincent in the arm, “How can I not when you’re always around me? Where were you, anyways?”
“Doing some work for the professor,” Vincent shrugged, and brushed through his long, white hair, tossing them into the air, “I suppose he might call back for me soon, if I hadn’t done the blueprints well enough.”
“Unlikely,” Lance couldn’t help but grinning, “The professor will probably be the one making the inadequate blueprints.”
“Heh, is that so?” Vincent chuckled, and stretched.
Lance nodded silently and looked around the garden. It was his favorite place to do his papers, and it was peaceful here. Some students came and admired the flowers, but they never really disturbed Lance. Besides, the air around Third Haven was very nice in this particular region, so he often stayed here…exactly why Vincent knew exactly where his old friend was.
Lance turned to Vincent, “Oh, by the way, I’m going to have lunch with Aden and Mia today. You going to come along?”
Vincent recoiled in surprise. “Me?”
“Yeah, who else?” Lance laughed, watching his friend’s startled reaction, “What’s wrong with you? It’s not like we’re going to force you to pay for our bill.”
“Really,” Vincent joined in with the laughter, nodding, “Alright…I guess I’ll come. But I might leave soon.”
“Aw, come on,” Lance nudged Vincent in the shoulder, “If you do that, I’ll be sure to make you pay for the bill.”
Vincent laughed, and lay back against the bench, looking up into the sky. He was going to have to get Lance out of here with him when they came. Although no one else knew it very well, Third Haven was only safe for a few more moments…
*****
The Redemption set its rudder out to sea as the propeller hit full reverse and halted the ship to a stop just outside the border of Third Haven’s radar range. The side propellers turned as the Redemption set around at a full ninety degree turn and set the runway of the cruiser facing the island of Third Haven, just beyond the horizon of the sea.
“I know we’ve been moved here abruptly, but the brass back at Capital Eurasia wanted us on this place ASAP. It seems that Third Haven has been located northwest, in the middle of the Atlantic.”
The voice of Captain Atrium Svivern sounded soft, like the sound of a fine-tuned violin. But the five-man spec-op strike team knew better than to underestimate the deceptiveness of his voice; Svivern was the best there was…only short of Admiral because of some poor relationships with other field commanders. A rather sleek looking man that had been more than once described as a sly fox, he had a rather curious smile on his face that was enhanced by his fair skin and luxurious blond hair. He wore his Neo Arcadian uniform without a wrinkle in it, looking rather imposing and domineering, despite his usual sincerity in front of others.
The men all in uniform around him in the metallic briefing room before his podium were part of the 7th Special Operations Unit, specifically selected by Captain Svivern when the members had just freshly graduated from OCS. Although they didn’t exactly have a lot of combat experience, they were young, only in their teenage years. Exactly why Svivern chose them, so he could build his own unit up brick by brick.
At the head of the unit was Subaru Alto. A level-headed soldier, he was calm, decisive, and also very intelligent. However, Svivern had been hesitant about placing him at the head of the unit; he was reluctant to kill, despite the fact that he had taught him that enemies were enemies, with weapons or without.
Sakura Sonata, like Subaru, was most a pacifist. She relies heavily on intelligence and reconnaissance, and does not like to take risks. Svivern appreciated that at most, although she is sometimes looked down by others, mostly her fellow teammates, for her extreme cautiousness.
Meanwhile, Lloyd Pierce was more of an enigma. His hair cropped completely forward to almost completely hide his face, he was a mystery to his fellow teammates. He always kept his eyes closed, and could still see, or seem to see. No one even knew what his eye color was. He was cold, calculating, and intelligent, usually a step ahead of everyone else.
Meanwhile, Brandon Carter was violent and arrogant. He is calm at times, but at others, he goes berserk. He usually carries himself with supremacy, and will not hesitate to destroy anyone who got into his way. Two symmetrical scars ran from his cheeks to his ears, from an earlier battle wound. Brandon refused to have it removed.
Carol Allegro, however, was dangerous in her own way. She wasn’t as talented as the other when it came to fighting, but she was acrobatic, and seductive. Often used for covert missions where assassination was necessary, Carol had an obsession of keeping track of her victims. Svivern recalled her saying that she had already claimed seventy-four lives, although he was sure there had been an update.
“Third Haven,” Subaru nodded sternly, his analytical nature immediately surfacing as he assessed the situation, “What’s the method of approach?”
“The United Nations probably won’t try to fight us until we start to open fire,” Svivern cocked his head to one side as he switched the monitor to the map of the island, “You’ll be approaching from the southeast section of the island. While we’re hoping to avoid civilian casualties, you technically have no rules of engagement, although it is suggested that you do not fire upon innocents.”
“What the hell,” Brandon snorted, waving a hand derisively in the air, “You call them innocents? They’re the ones with the UN. Let’s just bomb the damn place.”
“You want to repeat Seventh Haven all over again, Brandon?” Subaru said dangerously, his voice calm but angered, “I remember quite well that it was our most successful sortie, as well as our most failed one.” Brandon reserved his silence, although he glared at Subaru furiously. Subaru noticed that Lloyd looked upset as well…upset was an understatement; he looked at the verge of exploding. His teeth were gritted together, and his eyebrows arched in an unmistakable glare, although his eyes were closed.
“You should meet almost little resistance,” Svivern continued, ignoring the little feud before him, “Most of the island is basically used for housing for the UN civilians. However, you will expect to meet disorganized military forces.”
“Is the intelligence reliable?” Sakura asked cautiously as she scanned the map, memorizing every detail, “I don’t want to be caught unprepared.”
“I’ve heard that they’ve sent recon planes lately,” Lloyd nodded almost assuredly in Sakura’s direction, “We should be okay.”
“It doesn’t matter that much,” Carol shrugged her shoulders, “Just blow them all to hell, like Brandon said.” Subaru ignored her. Carol had a tendency to side with Brandon most of the time anyways.
“We will be using the X33 Prototypes,” Svivern informed, “The armor should be adequate to keep you all alive. They’ll be launched via Leon Platforms, which you should dispose to engage in ground zero combat. The 24th Airborne Unit will be giving you backup and air support. One the side note, I’ve also heard that they’re modifying the X31 to implement automaton functions.”
The occupants of the room, other than Svivern, looked shocked.
“They’ve actually approved that?” Brandon growled after regaining his wits, “What do those bastards think we’re fighting for? We’re destroying the Reploid bastards, and they keep coming with more! Bastards!”
“Calm down, Brandon,” Lloyd said calmly, recovering from his shock early, and was now leaning against one of the walls.
“It seems that there is not much more to say,” Svivern shrugged, “I suppose we can get on with the mission. We’ll launch in twenty minutes. Be prepared for combat ASAP.” The five soldiers saluted, and walked briskly out of the briefing room. However, Lloyd lingered behind. Svivern caught sight of him.
“You sure this isn’t a trap?” Lloyd asked, “They said they caught a hacker from Third Haven and traced it to this location, but do you think they’d get that careless? The United Nations is trying to hide their islands from us after all…”
Svivern nodded. “I understand how you feel, Lloyd, but we have our orders. You can say that I’m only a messenger.”
Lloyd looked at Svivern, or seemed to look. He hadn’t opened his eyes, but merely nodded, acknowledging the fact, and walked out of the room.
The mission hadn’t started, but Lloyd already had a bad feeling about this.
*****
“…I mean, seriously, the Neo Arcadian military is practically swarming across the Eurasian continent, and we have no idea how many forces they have in reserve. If this place is ever discovered, we’ll be in some deep shit.”
Aden Hikari concluded his thoughts snappily, taking a bite of a chicken sandwich. Other than Lance, Vincent, and Aden around him, there was also Mia Elysium, all eating their respective lunches right outside a small café inside the campus. The summer sun that shone down on the plaza was only blocked by an umbrella that shielded their eyes from the intense light as they sat at the courtyard of the campus.
“Well,” Vincent shrugged, seeming calm about all this, “they’re going to call a meeting for the militia pretty soon, so we’re going to have to check in sooner or later.”
“I don’t think Neo Arcadia is ever going to find us,” Lance shook his head, “We’re pretty safely concealed in a place where Neo Arcadia doesn’t think there are inhabitants, and we’re pretty far from any shores. Besides, I don’t think they have any reconnaissance satellites yet. Who’ll think of looking here?”
“But imagine if they do,” Mia murmured, “I only chose to live in Third Haven because it was one with less military. Places like First Haven and Second Haven are basically overrun by soldiers. No schools, no parks, just miles and miles of military installations. I don’t even think they have stuff like housing over there. Full of barracks.”
“Well, look at the bright side,” Aden laughed, “Neo Arcadia is mostly after Reploids. We’re humans. Not to mention civilians, so they probably won’t torture you to death in some chamber.”
“You actually think it’s alright to say that?” Lance looked at Aden disapprovingly, “The United Nations functions so that humans and Reploids can live together, and yet you’re talking about them like we’re superior or something.”
“Whoa, whoa!” Aden slowed down, “No need to get all over my case. Wasn’t what I meant.”
Vincent nudged him slightly on the shoulder, laughing, “Don’t worry. Lance knows.”
“But I agree with Lance,” Mia nodded, “You should really watch how you talk. Don’t forget that half the population on this island is Reploid.”
“Gotcha,” Aden winked, and took another bite into his sandwich. Vincent smiled, but looked over the horizon, seemingly distracted by something. Squinting into the sparkling sea, he wondered how he was going to save the lives of his friends now…it should be okay if he could get them to a shelter, but he was going to have to find another way to get to the Phoenix.
But mostly, he could feel something else. Something coming.
And Vincent knew that whatever was coming for him probably was not going to welcome him with open arms.
*****
“All hands, secondary battle stations. Prepare for Leon Platform launch.”
Klaxons blared as the human soldiers rushed onto deck to secondary battle stations. Svivern watched silently from the bridge as the men quickly assembled to their positions, moving in unison. Technicians immediately went to their computers and prepared launch preparations. On the other side of the cruiser, boomerang-shaped Leon Platforms were being prepared for launch as they were unloaded through an elevator that was connected to the interior hangar of the Redemption. Used for aerial combat, the Leon Platforms were miniature hovercraft that could soar through the air at high speeds while maintaining a superior sense of maneuverability.
“Technician crew two through five,” the speakers blared out, “be prepared to receive launch subjects now. Identification, 7th Special Operations Unit.”
Svivern watched as the 7th Special Operations Unit ascended from the platform below the cruiser launch pad. They all wore identical blue and white X33 Prototypes, shaped with a metallic alloy that covered every part of the body except the face, where it was covered with a transparent reinforced glass. An internal chain gun was fixed in the internal parts of the armor on the wrist. They carried a wide variety of weapons, with Subaru and Lloyd carrying assault rifles, Sakura with a sniper, Brandon with a chain gun, and Carol with a rail gun. They checked their equipment, and Subaru gave a short nod. The rest of the team gave him the thumbs-up signal.
Ready.
Five miles away, Leon Platforms were seen being launched from another cruiser, the Junction. Apparently, they had been in the area when Eurasian Command sent the order to converge on Third Haven as well. Subaru checked his radar, and identified them as the 24th Airborne Unit from the FOF tags. Subaru nodded to his team, and they quickly boarded the Leon Platforms. The armor quickly locked onto the platforms, making sure that the occupant of the platforms don’t fall, and it whirred to life as it began to hover a foot above the ground.
“All hands, prepare for Leon Platform launch.”
Subaru watched the status display monitor on the right as the system made final checks. Once all green, the Leon Platforms would be ready to launch.
“All hands, T minus ten seconds to launch.”
Subaru gritted his teeth uneasily. Many accidents have happened with launches, and safety measures had not been applied with Leon Platforms yet. What would happen here could decide how this battle will play out. Looking at the monitor, Subaru watched as the status grid showed green all over. Weapons check okay, fuel canisters at maximum, backup energy intact, stabilizers ready, shields holding, reinforced armor in place…
“All green. Launch.”
Immediately, the Leon Platforms roared to life as it took off with a jet of wind around them, sending them soaring into the air. They spiraled in a circle formation for a second, then averted the engines to their destination, Third Haven.
“For Neo Arcadia,” Subaru whispered, knowing his teammates were probably swearing the same oath, and headed with his team into the fray.
*****
“All hands, this is Captain Miguel speaking,” the Reploid spoke into the Storm of Fire intercom, “Neo Arcadia forces have been detected seven miles south, near Third Haven. All hands to secondary battle stations, and prepare to defend Third Haven at all costs.”
Miguel clicked the intercom offline, and sighed as he shifted uneasily in his command seat. His co-captain, Lieutenant Helios, nodded, acknowledging their uneasiness. More than twenty Leon Platforms were detected in an inbound course to the vector of Third Haven. Despite the fact that Miguel liked to take chances, he was at no position to ponder whether or not he should intercept Neo Arcadian forces on route to Third Haven. The Storm of Fire may have been completed recently as a high-performance Dragon III Prototype, but that didn’t mean it was invincible.
The Storm of Fire was only recently sent on their test run two days ago. Having no combat preparations yet, going into a battle might be a problem. The Storm of Fire looked almost like a hovercraft, with a large body in the middle and two smaller bodies on the side that acted as two hangar bays, engine rooms, and weapons. The Storm of Fire sported eight M2 cannons, barrels that launched a 2.25 shell at high speeds, four Class-A SAM launchers against aircraft, four M99 chain guns, four anti-torpedo torpedo launchers to counter submarine attacks, six PTPFAF “October” missile launchers, and two 7AFPC2 heavy plasma cannons that could destroy just about anything in one hit.
Despite all this power, the Storm of Fire was the first of its class, untested, and Miguel had not yet gotten a “feel” for the ship so that he could come up with superior tactics. He would have to follow the general rules of naval combat, and, frankly, he doubted that would be enough.
“Move to course seven-seven-four,” Helios snapped briskly at the bridge officers, “Inbound vector to Third Haven, maximum speed. Charge up all weapon cycles, and prepare to launch the 3rd Airborne Unit if this ship is engaged with aerial forces. Contact surrounding ships for reinforcements.”
Miguel looked down at Helios. Although both were Reploids, Miguel never really understood why Helios was so uptight about so many things. While Miguel took his duty seriously, he was always relaxed in person…not like Helios, who was so stuck to military regulation and protocol. Most of his command crew were all Reploids, not because he had something against humans, but none seemed to want to apply into the military. Maybe they thought war was for the work of Reploids.
“Moving to course seven-seven-four,” the navigation officer, Major Phalanx, responded, “Inbound vector to Third Haven, maximum speed. ETA…fifteen minutes.” He shook his head in frustration, most likely trying to find a way to get the ship to move faster.
“Power has been diverted to weapon cycles,” the operation officer, Major Archangel, reported, “Reactor running at one hundred fifty percent. Preparing backup coolant.” She attended her job briskly, moving her eyes to every control panel in front of here.
“Weapons charging up,” the weaponry officer, Major Juno nodded, “Expected time of full charge is less than estimated time to combat range.” Checking again, she nodded, somewhat satisfied. At least they won’t be caught unprepared.
“No reinforcements nearby,” the communications officer, Major Cruz, scowled, “I’m sending a message over the Second Haven. I don’t think they can send reinforcements in time, but they have to know.”
Miguel nodded, and reassumed his stare at the monitor in front of him. Fifteen minutes…the battle could simply be over by then.
Chapter One
“Like I said,” Lance shrugged, “Most people use Third Haven as a vacation spot, especially the military guys. Sixth Haven is the only other place with actual natural scenery.”
Still together, Lance, Vincent, Aden, and Mia strode down the road to the technology institute with their backpacks and other apparatuses, moving slowly as they took their time. It would be a while before the seminar began, and they wanted to take a stroll to work their digestive system. Other crowds of students walked either with their flow, or against theirs’, but it really was really was a matter of life, where everything belonged.
“Actually,” Vincent quipped randomly, “The scenery on Sixth Haven is artificial. They seemed to be artificially grown or something…some of them aren’t even real.”
“Have you been there?” Mia asked, surprised.
“Yeah,” Vincent nodded, and smiled, “I’ve worked some in the militia, so I got transferred around the network of soldiers quite a bit. Most of Sixth Haven is a military camp for VIPs, and big representatives of the military and such. Although they lack the firepower Second Haven has, it’s still pretty safe.”
“Honestly,” Aden gave one of his familiar devil-may-care grins, “It depends on what you mean by safe.”
“Yeah,” Lance nodded absentmindedly, “I suppose…”
His sentence was cut off by the sudden sound of an engine soaring overhead. The surprisingly sharp sound cut through the air, and the four involuntarily ducked. Looking up, they saw a boomerang shaped military platform soar through the air. A platform was used like a miniature aircraft, usually boarded by single infantry to dish out punishment. Very quick and rapid punishment.
“Is…” Aden frowned, somewhat confused, “…is this supposed to be a military drill?”
“They don’t get close to the university, do they?” Lance pondered along with him, “I mean, someone’s bound to complain with the…”
“Run!” Vincent snapped out of the reverie immediately as he grabbed both of them and hauled them along toward the technology institute suddenly, “That’s a Leon Platform!”
“What!?” Lance’s eyes widened in shock, realizing that it was of Neo Arcadian origin, just as six more Leon Platforms flew overhead and unleashed their missiles. The missiles soared over the campus and then detonated somewhere. They couldn’t see with the buildings covering their view, but the sound of the explosion was real enough for them. This wasn’t a drill; it was a battle.
“Come on!” Vincent shouted, immediately taking control of the situation, “We need to get to a shelter!”
“The nearest one is in the technology institute!” Aden agreed as his faced screwed up into an expression of determination, “Let’s go!” Aden quickly grasped Mia’s wrist and tugged her along speedily. Vincent nodded to Lance, who joined in with them running to the shelter. Already, Reploid UN soldiers were running to the scene, firing upwards at the trespassers, barely aided by the campus security guards.
Without a warning, a Leon Platform soared above them like a bird of prey. Lance looked up in time to see the occupant jump from the hovercraft and land a fifty-foot jump as the ground below him cracked, the occupant completely protected by the X33 armor. Lance ran in reflex, tripping along the way, afraid that the armor may shoot him down. But the X33 focused its attention on a group of United Nations Reploid soldiers that quickly honed in on the X33’s position. It didn’t take long for the X33 to dispatch them quickly as it raised one hand, and tore the Reploids to pieces with full automatic fire from an assault rifle.
Aden grunted as a bullet grazed his side and stumbled for a second, grasping his side. The cut wasn’t bleeding, although it did tear a thin hole in his shirt. Mia gasped as she dragged Aden behind a pillar as a burst of fire tore through the air where Aden had been standing just a second earlier. “Aden!” she cried, almost in hysterics, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Aden scowled, shaking Mia to bring her to her calmer senses, “Just a little singed. Thanks for the save. Get going!” He grabbed onto Mia again and ran along with her for shelter. Lance and Vincent tagged keenly along as four more Neo Arcadian soldiers, all in X33 Prototypes, landed onto the ground. They secured the perimeter quickly, attacking soldiers that came near, but they tried to avoid human casualties.
In response, the United Nations Third Haven Command Center activated automated defenses, but the airborne soldiers made rubble of it as they fired volleys of guided missiles and rapid Vulcan cannon fire. Holes appeared in the automated turrets, which erupted in flames shortly afterwards.
“In here!” Vincent bellowed, at the doorway of the technology institute, “Everybody get in! Shelter at the fifth floor basement! Everybody in!” Lance quickly guided the group into the institute, as well as other fleeing civilians.
“Is this supposed to be an attack?” one woman asked, more annoyed than frightened.
“Oh my god, oh my god…” another man kept muttering, lost in his own fear.
“We’re going to die!” a girl no older than Vincent screamed, sprawling to the ground and whimpering, crouched and hunched together in a ball.
“We’re not going to die,” Vincent growled, and lifted her up as if she was a kitten and shoved her toward the staircase toward the basement, “Now get moving into the shelter!”
Lance looked around to make sure Lance and Mia were still with him and called out to Vincent, “Come on! Stay together!” Vincent heard, and rushed up to Lance as they continued their escape.
The sounds of concussions continued as a rocket suddenly demolished the roof above them. The rubble crushed three men who attempted to reach the emergency staircases, and a combat armor landed down on the ground. Lance stared, wide-eyed, as the soldier inside positioned his assault rifle, looked around, then thought better of shooting humans who were evacuating. The combat armor then jettisoned into the air again, firing upwards. Shortly afterwards, a combat helicopter fell through the hole that the soldier had exited, which exploded shortly afterwards.
“Lance!” Vincent called, snapping Lance out of his trance, “Get the hell over here!” Lance ran over to the emergency exit as Vincent looked out, making sure there was no one else outside, and locked the door, shortly before the hall behind the door burst in flames that nearly licked the flesh of Vincent’s bones.
“Where to?” Lance asked as soon as Vincent turned toward him. Both of them were panting and sweating, the perspiration sticking onto their bodies like a second skin.
“We’ll need to get past the technology institute hangar bay,” Vincent breathed heavily, and looked around, “Aden and Mia have already made it ahead of us. We have to catch up.”
“Yeah,” Lance agreed, and quickly ran along down the staircases with Vincent. Both rushed rapidly. Between tiring themselves and losing their lives, they’d rather tire themselves, despite the fact that the emergency staircase they were in could withstand several bombings. But they definitely didn’t want to take a gamble when the stake was their lives.
They made their way down the stairs, panting. Moving down, they moved on the balcony ledge of the hangar bay, overlooking several equipments being designed by the technology institute, and many other vehicles as well, including aircraft and ground transports.
“Lance! Vincent!” Aden called from the other side of the hangar on another balcony, about fifty meters away “Where the hell were you?”
“We’re fine!” Lance shouted back, “Hurry up and get to your shelters! We’ll get the next one!”
“You better be careful!” Mia hollered over the sound of warfare above, “This place might not hold against…”
Her words were cut off as there was a sudden eruption above them, and the roof of the underground hangar caved in with rubble. Both Lance and Vincent screamed involuntarily, as Vincent tackled Lance to the ground just as a large piece of debris severed the metallic plating of where they were moments before.
“Goddamn,” Vincent whispered as he struggled onto his feet, “Lance! Lance, you okay?”
“I’m fine, as long as you get off of me,” Lance grunted, grasping Vincent’s hand as he helped Lance up. Looking the other way, he shook his head in dismay. The debris cut off their route to the nearest shelter. They were going to have to change course.
“This way,” Lance pointed, and Vincent nodded, agreeing.
“Move,” Vincent shoved past Lance, “I’ll lead. Just in case.”
“You don’t have to get all protective over me,” Lance mumbled, although he knew that Vincent’s tone of voice invited no discussion. Lance was glad though, that Vincent was being concerned for him.
They navigated down the balcony stairs and quickly rushed past several corridors leading to different balconies. Without losing his calm, Vincent looked at an emergency map posted on the wall in one hallway and nodded. “Shelter seventeen should be at that exit to the balcony of there,” Vincent pointed, “Let’s go.”
“Right,” Lance nodded, and rushed along with him. As the light of the fire that had made its way into the hangar bay grew larger, they stepped through the doorway that led to the hangar bay balcony. It was heavily lit by the fires that had scorched the area, and was terrifyingly blinding. Lance had to squint as he looked forward.
Lance’s eyes didn’t adjust quickly enough to the light, but Vincent’s did.
“Who are you?” Lance heard Vincent say, “What are you doing here? You should be getting to a shelter!”
Lance’s pupils narrowed as they adjusted to the intense light, and saw what Vincent was talking about. A white-haired girl, no older than either of them, was crouched over a balcony ledge over an instrument panel that seemed to be used to call cargo elevators. A hat was covered over half of her face to conceal her identity.
“Get away!” the girl shouted, “Get away now! Get to the shelters yourself!”
“What?” Vincent argued, “This isn’t the time to…”
A sudden creak was all the warning the balcony decided to give as it tilted and began to give away, in infrastructure of the building beginning to deteriorate as the abuse of the facility increased. Lance anchored himself onto the wall and reached one hand out to Vincent to grab him, but as he saw Vincent, he realized that Vincent suddenly focused himself one something else.
As the ledge gave away, the hat the girl was wearing flew off her head, and Vincent stared, wide-eyed, as the girl began to fall off the edge, falling into the dark abyss below, where a bomb had caved a hole in the ground to the balconies below.
Lance felt that the girl looked familiar, but he only heard Vincent whisper, “Eli?”
A heartbeat later, Vincent lunged out into infinity, both arms outstretched to the girl who now was officially falling, both feet losing contact of the platform.
“Vincent!” Lance screamed, and hesitated. Should he try to reach out for him now? He still had time, before it was too late…
But Lance was wrong. There was no time, it was too late as the balcony he stood on toppled completely, sending him to the abyss below, sending him tumbling along with Vincent, and the mysterious girl that Vincent was desperate on saving so suddenly.
“Vincent!” Lance screamed as he fell into the shadows below…falling…falling…
*****
“Goddamn,” Epsilon swore, and strapped herself into the cockpit of the Type-Zero. She didn’t bother taking a secondary check as she turned the ignition; things were blowing up, and it was now or never.
“Major!” one of the technicians in the hangar of the United Nations Third Haven Command Center shouted as he braced himself against the wall while explosions rumbled the building, “That Type-Zero isn’t ready! We can’t…”
“It doesn’t matter now!” Epsilon shouted back as he keyed in the command to close the cockpit hatch, “Get to your shelters before this place goes down in flames! You’re a human, you still have a chance against these bastards!”
“Major!” the technician protested as the Type-Zero purred, the engine of the fighter jet telling Epsilon that it was ready, and jettisoned itself out of the opening into the blue sky of the island. The Type-Zero was a miniature fighter jet, a V/STOL. Capable of hovering like a helicopter and flying like a jet, it was perfect against the Leon Platforms that swarmed the island like mosquitoes.
Immediately, machine gun gunfire tracked her as two Leon Platforms saw her fly out and followed her. “Track my ass…” Epsilon muttered, and fired the retrorockets. The Type-Zero shuddered as it suddenly halted in the air clumsily, but maintaining altitude. The two Leon Platforms flew past as their pilots gave bewildered stares. Epsilon quickly triggered the machine guns, and the platforms exploded in two puffs of smoke and fire.
“This is Major Epsilon, calling all United Nations forces in the area!” Epsilon keyed her intercom, “Are there any forces out there? Repeat, are there any other friendly UN forces out there?”
A pause.
“This is Captain Miguel of the Storm of Fire,” the speaker crackled and wavered unsteadily, “We hear you, Major.”
Epsilon gave a sigh of relief. So there was still someone out there…and with the Storm of Fire. If they could get here in time, Third Haven may still have a chance. At least they could evacuate everyone before the place swarmed with Neo Arcadian reinforcements. It was unlikely, but soldiers did not consider what was likely; they considered what they were supposed to do.
“Third Haven is currently under attack,” Epsilon shouted a bit louder than she wanted to, “We need as much reinforcements as we can get. Requesting immediate backup.”
“Roger, Major. Your situation is understood, and the Storm of Fire is making its way here at maximum speed. ETA…seven minutes. Can you hold out that long?”
Epsilon cracked a smile. “Yes, I can, Captain.”
“Understood,” the radio made out, crackled, then ended, “Good hunting.”
“Hunting?” Epsilon laughed as she killed the connection, “This isn’t even hunting.” Another Leon Platform attempted to shoot her down. Epsilon toyed with his aim for a while as the chain gun clicked away, hitting nothing but air, then allowed the Leon Platform to close in with the Type-Zero. She immediately did a full G turn. There was a splash of red as the wing made contact with the pilot standing on the Leon Platform, effectively skewering the pilot. With both projectiles flying at over five hundred miles per hour, there really was nothing to say as the body was nearly torn apart and dropped from the air into the sea. The Leon Platform flew a distance, then began to drop before it hit the waters.
“Here we go,” Epsilon whispered as she headed her jet toward the island once again, hoping that the Storm of Fire could make it in time…
*****
“Lance! Lance! Wake up, Lance!”
Lance grunted once as he struggled to open his eyes. At first it was dark…he couldn’t see anything but black. Was he dead?
“Lance! Can you hear me?”
No, apparently, he wasn’t dead.
Lance struggled to repair his memories, and suddenly remembered that he had fallen from the balcony of the hangar bay in the technology institute as Third Haven was being attacked.
Lance bolted upright and looked around. “Vincent?” he yelped instinctively. A pair of hands grabbed and steadied him.
“Yeah, don’t worry,” Vincent’s familiar voice made out, “I’m here. Don’t worry.”
He still couldn’t see himself, but he didn’t feel any pain. “We…we’re not dead?” Lance whispered. He felt himself over, but no pain.
“Luckily not,” Vincent smiled, or at least the tone of voice told him he was smiling, Lance couldn’t see, “We landed on some factory foam. I don’t where this is, but it’s caved in. There’s no way out.”
“You can see?” Lance muttered, “I can’t see a thing.”
“Your eyes will adjust in a moment. Just wait a moment or two.”
And Lance did. As Vincent said, the darkness fell away, and Lance could see…or at least, he thought he could see. The wall around him had been reduced to rubble and debris, but it was obvious that the blocks of rock had fallen around them, the area caved in. Lance winced.
“This is bad…” he whispered, then looked down at Vincent. Then he noticed the girl was next to him. The white-haired girl. The reason why they were stuck down here. She was unharmed, but unconscious. For some reason, Lance felt that she looked awfully familiar.
“Who’s she?” Lance asked.
Vincent shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve tried waking her up, but she isn’t making a sound. She’s alive, though…”
“Why the hell did you jump after her?” Lance asked, bewildered, “I mean, seriously, that was somewhere near suicidal.”
There was a bit of silence. Lance couldn’t make out Vincent’s features very well, but by the pause, Lance knew that it was one topic he shouldn’t have brought up.
“I…I mistook her for Eli,” Vincent whispered.
“Eli?” Lance echoed, and then remembered, “You mean, your sister?”
“Yeah,” Vincent nodded, “She died in the Neo Arcadia attack on Seventh Haven. By the R-Bomb…” Lance laid a hand on Vincent’s shoulder, preparing to tell him that he was sorry, or at least he didn’t have to talk about this…but Vincent continued.
“But she…she really looked like Eli. For a moment, I was convinced that it was her. I mean…she…it’s like she’s right there.”
“Yeah,” Lance nodded quietly, “Now that you mention it, she does look a lot like her. But…is there a chance that it’s her?”
Vincent shook his head. “No. Eli had a birthmark on her right wrist. She doesn’t.”
Lance nodded slowly, looking away. “I see…” he whispered.
There was another moment of silence. Gunfire and explosions didn’t make it this far, but the room sometimes shuddered with the impacts on the surface.
“The fighting…” Lance whispered, “…it’s still going on, isn’t it?”
“Probably,” Vincent titled his head to look up, “Perhaps it’d be best if…”
There was another rumble, and before Lance could figure out anything, Vincent was on top of him as more rubble fell from the roof. The room thundered around them, with terrifying sounds that resembled death in some horrible way.
“The girl!” Lance shouted, noting that she was unprotected, “Get her!”
Vincent hesitated, so Lance gave him a good shove that sent him moving as he scrambled toward her, and began to drag her toward Lance. Suddenly, a piece of debris fell in front of Lance, and he screamed in reflex and tumbled back. He was alright, but cut off from Vincent. But there was another opening that had opened up. Perhaps there was a chance that it led to an exit…Lance rushed.
As he neared the opening, he saw something…something like oversized test tubes, with something in them. He didn’t quite get a good look, though, before something gave away at his feet, and he fell once again.
Lance had only opened his mouth to scream, to begin to scream, before something clamped onto his wrist and prevented him from dropping.
“Vincent?” Lance looked up, expecting Vincent there, trying to pull him up.
He saw something else entirely.
He wasn’t sure what it was at first, but it was definitely mechanical. A singular red eye in the middle of its head glowed intensely in the dark, and even through the dark, the armor gleamed orange. It had a strange variety of weapons on it, Lance couldn’t figure out what, before the thing suddenly yanked him up out of the hold…and opened up.
The thing had opened up so quickly that Lance never really knew what happened, before metal suddenly encased all around him. There was a quick jolt as something like electricity ran through his body…and suddenly, his body relaxed. His mind was calm.
But he was still very puzzled.
“What the…?” Lance started, surprised that he was suddenly in a standing position, and the orange mechanical thing was gone. He looked around, but realized that his eyesight was strangely digital. There was a strange feel about him as well, and it wasn’t just the fact that he felt like there was something obscuring his breath right in front of him. Then, he realized.
He was inside the armor.
“Welcome to UN A204 System Beta Three,” a voice chimed in his head, then a pause, “Interesting. You don’t seem to be my designated pilot.”
Chapter Two
“What?” was all Lance made out. Apparently, things were not as obvious as they seemed.
“No matter,” the voice chimed again, still somewhat cheerful, a contrast to Lance’s current attitude, “My titanium alloy and neural conductors have now aligned with your biometric measures. You may initiate your run now.”
“My run?” Lance echoed, “What…what do you mean? Who are you?”
“I am Reploid-armor A204 Phoenix. Technically, I am a Reploid and combat armor at the same time. While I am capable of operating by myself, my alpha priority is to have a host inside me while I protect it, and the pilot of me is able to carry out combat operations. Due to emergency protocol UN7441, I have activated automatically because Third Haven is currently under attack. However, Odin and Neptune have not been installed with the same emergency measures. Should Neo Arcadia discover those two…”
“Wait, wait!” Lance nearly screamed, “Slow down! I have no idea what you’re talking about! I’m Lance Sigel, a civilian! I don’t know what the hell is going on, and why I am inside you! What is going on!?”
“Please allow me to explain,” Phoenix said with the tone of a skilled negotiator, “I am a weapon designed by the United Nations called Phoenix. Although I’m a Reploid, I can be used as an armor to protect the pilot, in which he can operate in combat sorties inside me. Basically, my goal is to protect my pilot and give it as much firepower as it can. Oh, don’t worry if you’re not supposed to be my pilot. I’ve never really synched up with him yet, so it really doesn’t matter. You’re free to move inside me as you wish.”
Lance was completely lost. “How…how do I move?”
“Simple,” Phoenix said, “My padding has linked up to your neurons, creating an electronic link between us. You simply think about moving, move as you would normally do, and I will intercept the signals in your neural network and move myself according to your signals.”
“Okay…” Lance hesitated. Walk…just walk. Like I’d normally walk.
He took a step. Another. Lance smiled inside the armor…it was easier than he thought.
He noticed something was adding to the weight of the armor. Something as if it was conducting the momentum of the armor. There was something on Phoenix.
“Ah,” Phoenix said, obviously reading his thoughts, “Yes, it is the armament of this Reploid-armor. By the way, you can simply call me Phoenix.”
“…You…you can read my thoughts?” Lance stuttered.
“Why, yes,” Phoenix replied cheerfully, “I am able to adapt to your neural signals, therefore understanding…”
“I’d prefer you not do that…” Lance interrupted him, “I mean…just…don’t read my thoughts. Is that possible?”
“Technically, that’s not possible,” Phoenix replied, “But I can delete them instantaneously before I can analyze them. Does that work for you?”
“Yeah,” Lance nodded, “Good.”
“As you can see,” Phoenix said, and a hologram was projected directly into Lance’s eye, which shocked him for a moment, “This Reploid-armor is equipped with a MA71 assault rifle in your right hand, a SG-0 ‘Pinnacle’ beam rifle in your left hand, a RL-X4 five-barrel guided missile launcher that is under the shield on your left arm, and a B7A7 “Eclipse” short-range energy blade which you can draw from your back, a useful transition when you have exhausted your supply of ammunition of the MA71 or the SG-0. Understand?”
“Well…” Lance said, “…Why am I boarding this thing? I’m not even a soldier. I’m a civilian. Isn’t this something that’s supposed to be top secret or something?”
“Yes,” Phoenix was obviously pleased to be of service, “this Reploid-armor project is top secret, coded ‘Most Secret’ by the United Nations. Although…”
“Then why the hell am I in this thing!?” Lance screamed, “Let me out of this!”
“I’m afraid that goes against my programming,” Phoenix replied, still somewhat cheerfully, “I am not allowed to release my pilot in a combat situation, in which I have the ability to protect him or her, but I do not. Plus, once I have a pilot, I am technically not able to control myself, but rather, feed off your neural impulses. I…”
“Stop,” Lance shook his head, “Stop it. I don’t…”
“Wait,” Phoenix cut him off, “Detecting two thermal signatures. Average temperature at thirty-seven point three two degrees Celsius. Ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine percent chance that the two thermal signatures are humans. Motion trackers and biometric radar online. Both thermal signatures are in fine condition, and…”
“Vincent!” Lance suddenly remembered, remembered that the debris had caught way between them, reminded that Vincent was still there…somewhere.
“Get me to them!” Lance ordered.
“I’m afraid I cannot do that,” Phoenix said, “I…”
“Just do it!” Lance screamed against his better judgment, “I don’t have time to listen to a lecture! They may be dying!”
“I cannot move myself. You have to move me. This is like armor. And they are not going to die. The surrounding perimeter has enough parameters to sustain life, and both biometric readings are fine. If…”
“Okay, just shut up,” Lance stopped him, “Just shut up. I’ll get to them. Is that better?”
“Yes,” Phoenix replied, and Lance detected irritation in his voice. He realized suddenly that this was a Reploid…another entity with feelings.
“I’m…I’m sorry about that,” Lance made out, “I didn’t mean…”
“Understood,” Phoenix replied, again in that happy voice, “Your neural readings are currently in state negative one anyways, so I understand your situation. However, it would be suggested if you proceed immediately. The infrastructure of this installation is currently collapsing…and you may wish to take some medication.”
“Right,” Lance said, “Uh…run.”
“You just have to think it, you know,” Phoenix pointed out.
“Uh-huh,” Lance replied, “So it’s like…whoa!” Lance was suddenly cut off as the armor moved automatically. His body was being moved, but he wasn’t tired or anything. It didn’t feel as though he was moving his body, but the armor was moving his body. But it still moved the way he wanted it to move, so the change was acceptable…almost pleasant.
“As you may have noticed,” Phoenix added, “Moving your body is not necessary. It protects the endurance of the pilot, in which the armor moves your body, not the other way around.”
“Understood,” Lance nodded, and looked around, “Um…which way do I go?”
“Here,” Phoenix said, and a NAV point appeared on his HUD, marked by a diamond, “This is where you need to go. Using the blueprints installed into me of this installation, I can point out the fastest route to your destination. Should I…” Phoenix didn’t finish as Lance broke into a run as soon as the NAV point appeared. Running through several open doors and cracks, he dashed through the corridors to the NAV point. When he finally stopped to what he thought was the destination, he suddenly realized that he had moved…very fast.
“Whoa,” Lance whispered, but averted his attention to the task at hand. He looked around, but saw no one.
“Where are they?” Lance asked, starting to panic.
“Alert,” Phoenix said, “Your mind is beginning to head toward stage negative two. It would be better if you reduce your panic. And if you haven’t noticed, the two thermal readings are currently in front of you. I conclude that they are under the debris. Possibility rate is currently ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine percent.”
“It can never be perfect, right?” Lance muttered as he looked around for something to help him. He didn’t see anything.
“So how I am supposed to get the debris out?” Lance asked, “Do I dig?”
“Negative,” Phoenix replied, “This Reploid-armor does not have excavation tools. And by analyzing the pattern of the pile, it seems I would need to exert a force of fifty-five thousand N to move this. Unfortunately, that is not possible.”
“Okay…” Lance said, trying to keep away from panic with all his efforts, “So what can I do?”
“Might I suggest that you attempt to crack the debris into smaller pieces first, then attempt to move them?” Phoenix asked.
“How do I do that?”
“As you can see, this Reploid-armor is equipped with a variety of weapons,” Phoenix informed as a list appeared in Lance’s HUD, “It has a MA71 assault rifle in your right hand, a SG-0 ‘Pinnacle’ beam rifle in your left hand, a RL-X4 five-barrel guided missile launcher that is under the shield on your left arm, and a B7A7 ‘Eclipse’ short-range energy blade which you can draw from your back, a useful transition when you have exhausted your supply of ammunition of the MA71 or the SG-0.”
“So what can I use?” Lance looked frantically up and down the list.
“The MA71 will do virtually nothing,” Phoenix explained, “and the SG-0 will only make holes in the obstacle. The RL-X4 may cause damage to all biometric readings in the area, and risk another collapse of the installation. It would be wise if you use the B7A7 to cut through the debris, and kick them away.”
“Will I hit them?” Lance asked carefully.
“Here,” Phoenix brought up thermal scanning on Lance’s HUD, and two heat spots appeared in front of him, “This is where the two humans are. If you should be in danger of hitting them, I will alert you.”
“Good,” Lance nodded, and looked at the weapons list still on his HUD. Locating it at his right shoulder, he dropped the MA71 in his right hand and drew the B7A7. He ignited it with a simple thought, and shoved the blade into the debris. The scrap metal began to glow orange and melt as he cut through it. Lance worked tediously; it didn’t wear out his body, but the tension was.
Cutting away the first piece, he kicked the part away, and repeated the process. Within seconds, he could see something…something moving. It was Vincent’s back, and it was moving. Quickly, he dropped the B7A7 as well and began to rummage through the debris as he pulled both bodies out.
“Vincent!” Lance cried, “Vincent! Are you okay? Wake up! Can you hear me?” He quickly supported Vincent’s back as he seemed to cough and straighten himself, looking dazed. However, his eyes focused quickly, and saw the Phoenix armor.
“This…this is…” Vincent whispered, staring with a combination of confusion and awe.
“I’m Lance!” Lance replied, “This…this is some sort of armor that…I don’t know. I don’t think it’s the time to explain either, but…”
Lance suddenly realized that Vincent was still staring at him. But something was wrong. For a moment, Lance thought Vincent was glaring at him with anger and hatred, and something flashed in his eyes…but he blinked, and instead, it was obvious that Vincent understood the gravity of the situation.
“Right,” Vincent nodded, “How do we get out of here?”
“There are two more Reploid-armors nearby, Odin and Neptune,” Phoenix said aloud for Vincent to hear, “While it is against protocol for civilians to board it, it is also against protocol for both to be captured by Neo Arcadian forces. I suggest you quickly board it.”
“Right,” Vincent nodded, “I think I know where it is. Give me a moment.” He quickly picked up the girl’s body, Lance suddenly remembered that she had been there, and ran toward an opening. Lance started wondering why Vincent knew the location of the other two Reploid-armors, but he immediately squelched those thoughts. They were not important.
Lance waited for a moment, thinking. Was everyone okay? What about Aden and Mia? They disappeared when the debris appeared on the balconies. Are they…
“Your friends have boarded both Reploid-armors,” Phoenix snapped Lance out of his reverie, “Opening COM channels now.”
“Lance!” Vincent’s familiar voice sounded through the clear COM channel, “Do you hear me?”
“Yeah,” Lance nodded, “I’m fine.”
“This doesn’t seem good,” a new voice sounded over the channel, sounding extremely stern, “This is not my designated pilot. No change has been updated in registry. Theta shakedown incomplete. Violation of protocol…”
“That will be enough, Odin,” Phoenix said, “We’re currently running emergency protocol UN7441.”
“You mean Third Haven is under attack?” Odin snarled, “Yes…Neo Arcadian troops detected in the vicinity. This is…”
“Yes,” Phoenix seemed to sigh, “Violation of protocol UN5482. You’ll have to excuse Odin. He’s the AI for the ground-based Reploid-armor…and somewhat sticky to regulation.”
“Is that supposed to be a sin?” Odin grumbled.
“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Vincent said, “We need out, and now.”
“Kind of easy for you to say,” another voice popped into the channel, definitely female, “My pilot is unconscious. This is definitely a run of protocol, isn’t it, Odin?” The voice said the last sentence mockingly.
“That’s Neptune,” Phoenix intervened before Odin could pop in with an insult, “Sorry, Neptune, but I’m afraid this is a bad situation here. Odin, Neptune does not have aerial thrust maneuvers at this point. We’ll have to give her an airlift.”
Odin hesitated, then said, “Understood. It’s your call…what am I supposed to call you?”
“Call me Vincent,” Vincent said, “The one in Phoenix is Lance. I don’t know who’s in Neptune, but now isn’t the time to find out. I’m heading for your position, Lance.”
“Right,” Lance nodded, and just a heartbeat later, Vincent appeared…using thrusters. Fire was streaming out from what had to be Vincent’s back before the armor stopped right before him. Lance noted that Odin seemed to have a more black coloring scheme, while Neptune was decidedly blue. Despite the obvious differences in color and weaponry, the three Reploid-armors looked relatively identical.
“Whoa!” Lance recoiled back instinctively as Vincent landed in front of him, “What was that?”
“That is Odin’s GS1 ‘Ground Skimmer’ thrusters,” Phoenix said, “Because I am an air-based Reploid-armor, my aerial maneuvering with the PW1 ‘Phoenix Wings’ are better than Odin’s, but his does work. However, Neptune’s AJ1 ‘Aqua Jet’ will not work anywhere but underwater. We’ll have to get her out of here. In your words, she’s a sitting duck.”
“Yeah,” Neptune muttered, “Lucky me.” Lance smiled a bit. Phoenix and Odin seemed much too specific, but Neptune had more personality than either of them. That reminded him of how human Reploids could be.
“Right,” Lance said, “Let’s grab on.” Vincent nodded as both of them grabbed onto Neptune, and activated their rockets. Lance was surprised; he didn’t really do anything but think about flying up, and the rockets ignited. Lance liked that. Flexibility, simplicity.
Lance also noticed that a pair of metal wings had sprouted from his back, like ones of a bird. He only had a second to realize that, though, as he was suddenly propelled into the air, soaring at speeds up to two hundred meters per second.
The three soared through the air, and without knowing it, crashed through a brittle layer of wrecked metal as light appeared through the cracks. Unfortunately, it was the light of an inferno.
“Get out of the way, Lance!” Vincent shouted as he raised his left arm. It was then that Lance realized Odin carried heavy equipment. A huge shield hefted in the left hand that had a G-Vulcan cannon and a twin-bladed energy beam blade installed into it, a chain gun on the right hand, and an eight-barreled missile launcher. It was quite a package rolled into one.
He raised his left arm, and fired. The force around him suddenly tensed as the force of the projectile flying out of the G-Vulcan’s barrel shifted the matter around it, and a round was sent at a speed so fast that there had almost been no time elapsed as a hole was suddenly blown into the hole of the hangar bay of the technology institute.
And daylight poured in.
“Out! Now!” Vincent screamed. Lance was keen to agree, as both jettisoned into the air and out of the hole, both holding onto Neptune. Blue light again surrounded them as they flew into the sky, and the familiar backdrop of the island appeared below them. Apparently, the battle had gone out without them; there were hardly anyone on the ground now, but fighter jets and several X33 combat armors were still doing battle in the skies,.
“Warning,” Odin said, “We’re being tracked by three, update, four Neo Arcadian units. Recommending evasive maneuvers now.”
Lance looked around, and saw four Neo Arcadian Leon Platforms shift their positions and firing guns at them. Lance stared, but Vincent quickly grabbed both armors and killed the burst of his rockets, allowing them to fall toward the ground momentarily as gunfire whizzed above them, before igniting them again to maintain altitude.
“That was impressive,” Phoenix said, with a tone of amusement, “This isn’t your first time flying an aerial armor, is it?”
“I’ve worked my way around the militia,” Vincent grunted as several machine gun rounds pinged off his armor.
“This is Major Epsilon of the United Nations Third Haven Defense Regiment!” a female voice crackled through the COM system, “I’ve detected three friendly units. Identify yourselves!”
“Major,” Phoenix replied calmly as he quickly identified the Type-Zero in the vicinity and marked it with a NAV marker for Lance to see, “This is Phoenix, AI of the Reploid-armor. We read you, Major. Confirmation that we are friendly units verified.”
They heard a sigh of relief over the channel, and continued, “So it was true. The rumors about the Reploid-armor projects…”
“This isn’t the time, Major!” Vincent said, “We need to get out of here!”
“Who are you?” the Major asked.
“I’ll explain later,” Vincent said, “Is there somewhere I can evacuate to at the moment?”
There was a pause, and Epsilon replied, “The battleship Storm of Fire is approaching. You can get there for now. Captain Miguel is currently in command. ETA to attack range of Third Haven is three minutes. You guys better hurry! I’ll provide covering fire.”
Lance looked around Third Haven and stared in horror. Almost the entire island had crumpled and caught fire as structure after structure exploded. The hapless Reploid forces were being slaughtered by the Neo Arcadian Leon Platforms, and there was nothing to do. Unless…
A Type-Zero soared past them, and Lance stared at it as the blur sped past like nothing he had ever seen before. “What is that!?” Lance screamed.
“That is a United Nations Type-Zero scramble-jet,” Phoenix replied, “It has been verified that Major Epsilon is currently piloting the aircraft. It is a friendly unit. Advise that you do not put her into any harm.”
“They’re all going to be harmed if I don’t do something!” Lance hollered as he killed the feed into his thrusters and let go of Neptune, allowing Odin to carry Neptune himself.
“L…Lance!” Vincent shouted, “What the hell are you doing!?”
“You take Neptune and go!” Lance shouted back, “I can’t leave this thing like this. If I do…Third Haven! It’ll be…”
“It’s too dangerous!” Vincent protested, “Major Epsilon is taking care of everything! I have a flight plan worked out toward the Storm of Fire! Just a little longer, and we’ll be with a United Nations cruiser!”
“Just go!” Lance screamed, inviting no negotiation, “I need to wrap things up here!” He keyed off the COM channel as he hit his thrusters at maximum burn, speeding ahead into the battlefield that was a stranger to him.
*****
“Subaru!” Sakura said over the COM channel as new targets appeared on her radar, “Three unidentified combat armors have been identified! Their model is unknown, but they’re definitely UN!”
Subaru shifted his X33 into the direction of the opposing forces as he reloaded his assault rifle. The Type-Zero was hard enough to take down; after a good five minutes of firing at each other, it was obvious that the pilot inside the jet was experienced and skilled. But now three combat armors? He didn’t even know they existed outside Neo Arcadia.
“Status on the enemy?” Subaru asked, and immediately jumped onto a Leon Platform nearby; the pilot that had been on it a crumpled and bloody mess a few meters nearby. The Leon Platform whirred to life and flew into the air.
“Two are escaping, but one is headed for us on a ninety-seven percent likely combat course,” Lloyd replied calmly from the air, “Should I take them down?”
“Allow the other two to retreat, but take care of the one that is headed into combat,” Subaru ordered as he quickly moved to regroup.
“That isn’t good enough!” Brandon shouted angrily, “The Redemption has picked up a United Nations cruiser nearby!”
“Damn, at a time like this?” Carol scowled, sounding annoyed, “Just when we thought that Type-Zero was getting annoying…!”
Subaru hesitated, and suddenly realized that an assault rifle was being aimed at him by an orange armor that encased the entire pilot. It had wings the resemblance of a phoenix…and they seemed razor sharp. Subaru wasn’t about to test to see if the wings will be able to cut through his armor…not with him in it. He jettisoned away as the rapid-fire burst missed him by meters.
“What is that thing!?” Sakura asked, startled, “Its energy readings are off the scale! I can’t get an identity match on that!”
“Whatever it is, take it down!” Brandon hollered, and dashed toward the Phoenix.
“Wait!” Subaru shouted, but too late. Brandon had ignited the thrusters on his X33 armor and aimed the chain gun at the Reploid-armor. He opened fire, but to his surprise, the bullets deflected right off.
“What the…!?” was all Brandon could make out. The armor turned, and raised its shield to block the incoming fire.
“Goddamn it!” Brandon screamed as he collided into the shield, allowing to Phoenix to remain immobile in the air for a second. Subaru narrowed his eyes, and fired the missile on his Leon Platform. Five missiles jetted away at the Phoenix. The Phoenix turned…but not in time, as all five missile collided into the armor. Subaru arched in the air, convinced that the target was destroyed…
Instead, through the plume of smoke that had surrounded the position of the Phoenix, another five missiles flew from the haze. Headed right toward Brandon.
“What the hell!?” Brandon screamed again as he jettisoned himself toward the right just in time to dodge the missiles. However, one missile exploded on a proximity detonation and damaged the X33. The X33 recoiled as the explosion rocked it.
“Damn!” Brandon scowled as electricity flowed out of the ripped section in his armor.
“There’s no way it could’ve survived that…” Subaru whispered, in awe at the show of raw power, then snapped back to reality, “We have to retreat now!”
“No way!” Brandon protested, “I’m going to kick his…”
“Your armor is damaged, Brandon!” Subaru shot back, “There could be a chance that he’ll destroy you entirely! We need to retreat, now! Most of the resistance at Third Haven has been obliterated anyways. We’ll come back later! We’ll have another battle to win when the fleet comes.”
Brandon hesitated, then spat with disgust, “Fine.”
“Then retreat,” Subaru gave the order, “Back to the Redemption.”
The four other X33 units hesitated, then hit their thrusters at evasive maneuvers as they escaped from Third Haven, losing a victory that should’ve been theirs.
Chapter Three
“I think…I think we lost them,” Epsilon gave a exhale of relief as she leveled the altitude and outbound vector of her Type-Zero with Phoenix, then to the one in the Reploid-armor, “Hey, you okay?”
Lance’s voice sounded shaky. “Yeah…yeah, I guess so…I think so…”
“The armor’s integrity is holding at seventy-two percent after the missile impact,” Phoenix informed, “It is still in the green, Major.”
“Good,” Epsilon nodded, “Alright, we’ll have to work out a flight plan to get to the Storm of Fire. Don’t worry, just follow me.” She quickly turned the Type-Zero and flew toward an incoming cruiser that had appeared in Lance’s view.
“Lance?” Vincent’s voice crackled through the COM channel.
“Vincent!” Lance exclaimed, sounding surprised, then in an aggravated voice, “I see you! You’re at the shoreline! I thought I told you to escape!”
“I can’t leave you here like that!” Vincent snarled back as he jettisoned into the air, still carrying Neptune with the girl inside.
“I tried convincing him, but he wouldn’t listen,” Odin said, obviously as irritated as Lance was.
“What the hell am I supposed to do if you’re dead!?” Vincent shouted back at Lance. Lance was startled…and for a moment, there was silence on the COM channel.
Then, Lance laughed. A good laugh, an exhausted one, but a good one.
“Lance?” Vincent’s voice sounded hesitant as he rejoined Lance’s side by regrouping on his right side, “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Lance replied, smiling inside the armor, “I’m…I’m just glad that you were concerned for me.”
“Yeah,” Vincent’s voice said, and he sounded genuinely glad, “Yeah, me too.”
“I’m detecting a lifeboat out in the sea,” Neptune interrupted, “It is a civilian lifeboat, with the signature of Third Haven. Most likely one of ours, with some people. I recommend we salvage whoever…or whatever is inside, considering this is a day of finding way too many humans.”
“It isn’t really that much,” Vincent muttered, looking around, “What do you say, Major?”
“I’ll alert the Storm of Fire of its location,” Epsilon replied, “They’ll pick it up later.”
“You sure?” Lance asked for confirmation.
“Yeah. It’s against protocol for any United Nations vessel to not conduct search-and-rescue procedure for any lifeboats in the immediate aftermath of a battle. And I’m sure the captain of the Storm of Fire is a reasonable guy.”
*****
“It seems that Third Haven is out of harm…for the moment,” Helios briefed Miguel in the elevator to the deck of the Storm of Fire as he read his data from a handheld computer, “Major Epsilon had succeeded in driving them out of the area. However, it is likely that there is a Neo Arcadian ship nearby…and the fleet will be coming soon.”
“Damn,” Miguel shook his head in frustration and stood steady at the elevator as the double doors to the elevator opened, and two guards situated outside saluted. Helios returned the salute, and walked through the corridor that led to the main deck.
“We’ll have a lot of problems just escaping,” Helios added, “The bridge crew is fresh; they’re here only for the testing. We hardly have any more soldiers, only people who know how the ship works and such. And there’s the problem of the secret being uncovered. The three Reploid-armors.”
That was one subject that Miguel didn’t want to talk about at the moment. Taking care of four military secrets at one time, the Storm of Fire, the Phoenix, the Odin, and the Neptune, was a bit beyond his experience…beyond any of their experiences. And he wasn’t sure which protocols applied or not, something that Helios would pick up in a flash, but Miguel wasn’t necessarily sure that he wanted to hear that at the moment.
“Let’s see how this works out,” Miguel said as the door to the main deck open, “We’ll talk to the pilots first, and then we’ll see what happens after.” A cold sea breeze blew in as the doors opened, and Miguel and Helios stepped out onto the main deck.
The main deck was not used for anything in particular except for to hold the two Class-A SAM launchers on the deck, and two heavy 2.25 shell cannons, both which were used for anti-ship purposes. Honestly, the deck had not been used to land any troops; that was reserved for the two blocks on the two sides of the Storm of Fire. But that would have to wait. While Major Epsilon had already landed in the hangar bay, the three Reploid-armors chose to land on the main deck for whatever reason that Miguel could care less about. Already, there were crew members tending to the three newcomers.
“Sir!” a private quickly marched up to the two officers and saluted, “Three Reploid-armors have landed on deck. We apparently have on wounded, inside the Neptune.”
“Understood,” Miguel nodded, and moved past him to the three Reploid-armors, Phoenix and Odin standing next to each other, while Odin held a seemingly limp Neptune in his arms.
To Miguel’s surprise, the two standing didn’t salute the Captain, even though his insignia stood out as bright as day at his chest. Still, he supposed it was combat fatigue…and Odin probably would’ve dropped Neptune if he tried to salute. Miguel did the favor of saluting them, however, which he knew Helios would disapprove.
“Well, gentlemen,” Miguel nodded as he dropped his hand from his forehead, “Welcome to the Storm of Fire. I’d like to thank you personally for that job…you’ve held out against the attack on Third Haven.”
Phoenix and Odin looked at each other. Then a voice, from inside Phoenix.
“We…did?”
Miguel was surprised; that voice sounded like one almost of a child. But he dismissed the thoughts immediately. He didn’t have the time to figure out all the small details.
“Yes, you did,” Miguel nodded, “And now, we’ll have to move on to the details. If you would disengage from your Reploid-armors, we’ll head for the briefing room, and I’ll give you a short debrief.”
Miguel noticed that both pilots gave very uncomfortable glances at each other. Their faces were masked, but body language gave it all away. Nevertheless, the locks on the armor whirred as they unlocked, and the armor opened up in the front.
Miguel was shocked. As was everyone else who watched the two pilots come out from the two Reploid-armors.
They did not have anything that resembled military. They were not dressed in any military uniforms that Miguel was familiar with, but rather, civilian clothes, one in a long coat, the other in a shirt. They were hardly out of their teenage years, looking more like university students than anything.
The crew stared for a strange amount of time where no one moved. No one knew what to say. Everyone just stared, at why two university students, two civilians, were able to fend off a Neo Arcadian attack, and why they had found the United Nations’ secret Reploid-armors.
Ironically, what brought them from their stares was the beeping on some sergeant’s watch. The crew snapped out of their trance, looking at the sergeant, who went red almost immediately. Their gazes then shifted back at the two.
It was Helios who said something. “You two!” he snapped angrily, “Who the hell are you two?”
“We’re….” Vincent made out, “…we’re university students. He’s Lance Sigel, I’m Vincent Swan. I’m…part of the militia, but technically, we’re both civilians…”
There was mutter throughout the deck, by Helios made quick work of hushing them with a glare that could freeze the sun.
“I don’t know how you found these…weapons,” Miguel sighed after a moment, finally speaking up and looking normal, “I assume it was some sort of accident or mistake. You definitely don’t look Neo Arcadian, and from the fact that you helped chase away the X33 armors, I think I can place a bit of trust in you. But this only further complicates matters…”
“…I would say,” a female voice sounded from behind the captain. Everyone turned to see a female Reploid in a United Nations jumpsuit walking toward them. She snapped a surprisingly sharp salute at both of them.
“Major Epsilon of the Third Haven United Nations Command Center reporting on the Storm of Fire,” she said, “I regret that I had been unable to do much to defend Third Haven. Much of our forces have been wiped out in the attack.”
Lance noticed that Epsilon looked surprisingly human. While she did have a crystal implanted into her forehead, she had a feministic beauty, with the short black hair that cropped down through the back of her head that made her look attractive.
“It’s alright, Major,” Miguel nodded, and cracked an amused smile, “You aren’t just a major, are you?”
“Sir?” Epsilon frowned, then straightened, “Yes…I’m not quite a major, sir.”
“First Lieutenant Epsilon,” Miguel smiled, “I’ve heard of you. You were supposed to be one of the pilots to pilot the Reploid-armors, weren’t you? The ace pilot of Fifth Haven…”
“In that, you’re mistaken, sir,” Epsilon shook her head, “I wasn’t a designated pilot of the Reploid-armors, but I was supposed to escort a frigate to bring all three to Second Haven. And…I can’t exactly call myself an ace pilot, either, sir.”
“Why did you call yourself a major?” Helios asked, cocking his head in one direction, “If you’re a First Lieutenant, you’re practically in the same rank as a captain.”
“I don’t get it,” Lance asked Vincent quietly, still standing there, watching the strange scenario unfold before their eyes, “I thought a captain had a higher rank than a lieutenant.”
“Captain basically means he or she is the leading commanding officer of a certain vessel,” Vincent explained, “You could be an ensign, but if you’re the highest ranking officer on the ship, you’d be addressed as captain.”
“It’s…something I don’t want to quite into at the moment,” Epsilon averted her eyes uncomfortably.
“Well,” Miguel shrugged, “There’s no one on this ship that is superior to you, so I guess you can keep to yourself, for now. But this is getting to be quite the situation here.”
“Sir,” Helios said, “I suggest that we place the civilians in the lifeboat that Task Force One has gone out to retrieve and leave them on Third Haven. They are humans, and civilians as well. Children. Neo Arcadia wouldn’t do anything to them…”
“Unacceptable,” Epsilon shook her head, “We can’t just leave them there. They’re going to be captured by the enemy…and they’re right here!”
“It is against the law for a civilian to participate in combat, and it’s also illegal for us to have civilians on this ship,” Helios pointed out.
“I am technically in the militia,” Vincent added in, “I am licensed to use a weapon.”
“See?” Epsilon shrugged, “It’s okay if he participates in battle if he’s part of the militia. As for the one about being on a military vessel, we can just let that one slide, can’t we?”
Helios shook his head. “Once we get to Second Haven, we’ll have to tell a hearing committee about our actions. What are we supposed to tell them? Why there are two civilians on our ship? It may be okay in our inner circle, but we’ll have to head for the United Nations Military Division Headquarters. What will they think?”
Miguel broke up their argument by clearing his throat, and said, “I think it’s very rude of us to talk about the two kids as if they aren’t there,” he looked over at Lance and Vincent with a small smile, “Let’s say we get them some rest first, and we’ll decide what to do.”
“We only have two hours, Captain,” Helios said, “Neo Arcadian forces will be moving in from the west very quickly…we’ll have to go halfway around the globe just to get the Second Haven.”
Miguel looked at Helios with a very hard glare. Helios stood, unflinching. No one was to blame…except for fate.
“I hate when this happens,” Miguel muttered, “Sometimes, I hate you to, Helios.”
*****
The room was somewhat bleak, but neither Lance nor Vincent complained. It was the crew’s cabin of the Storm of Fire, anyways, and they understood what stay put meant…especially under these circumstances.
“Man…” Lance scratched his head, “I have no idea what the hell is going on.”
“Makes the two of us,” Vincent grunted, lying on one of the freshly padded beds, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Lance stared up at the ceiling, looking into infinity. “Just when I got know them…”
“Huh?” Vincent looked at Lance, confused.
“Them,” Lance shrugged, “Phoenix, Odin, and Neptune…” he chuckled, “Never mind. I was just being stupid.”
Vincent managed a smile. “You are a bastard, Lance.”
“Yeah, you too,” Lance laughed, “I wonder what’s going to happen to us now. And what about the girl? She was unconscious when they took her out of Neptune.”
Vincent shook his head. “I have no idea…”
“I hope she’s okay,” Lance said off-handedly.
“She’s fine,” a new voice said at the doorway. Both Lance and Vincent looked up to see Miguel standing at their doorway, alone. Both of them stood, and hesitated for a moment at something. Miguel knew immediately what it was, and laughed.
“Oh, forget the salute,” Miguel chuckled, “That can wait until later. Until then…we have something to discuss. Please, have a seat.”
“I’ll stand,” Vincent nodded his head. Lance didn’t say anything, but Miguel figured that he thought the same.
“Alright,” Miguel said, “I’ve talked with the officers on the ship…about regulations and protocol. Technically, this is the situation. Both of you have violated several military codes, including the sighting and the usage of military secrets, as well as participating in combat, even if you are part of the militia. Although it’s minor, it’s also technically illegal to land on the deck of the ship, although no one will make an issue out of it. Basically, there are currently two paths you can walk right now.
“The first road is you stay as civilians. We’ll give you your rights, but you’ll have to stay here on the Storm of Fire. You won’t be expected to do any work, but you’ll be expected to stay out of trouble. We’ll then bring you to a committee of hearing at Second Haven, where you will await trial.”
Miguel sucked in a deep breath, and said quietly, “The penalty they may pass is death.”
Both Lance and Vincent looked shocked.
“Death?” Lance protested, “Why death? This is…”
“At the current moment, the United Nations isn’t taking any chances,” Miguel explained, “You know our situation. Very few people in the United Nations military even know the coordinates of each Haven. Because if Neo Arcadia knows, we’re in trouble. And as the brass of Second Haven may put it, dead men tell no tales.”
Vincent remained quiet, but it was obvious that he was brimming with fury. A glare of hatred from him shocked Miguel a bit; he had never seen eyes like his before…and for a moment, his eyes glowed. He wasn’t sure, but it was there for a second…then it was gone. Miguel shook his head and guessed it was a hallucination.
“However, the other path is that you enlist in the military,” Miguel said, “If you enlist in the military, then all your other crimes are immediately dismissed. I’ll have our records show that you have enlisted before the battle of Third Haven, so that you will not have any crimes to respond to. However, you will be required to do work on the Storm of Fire, and participate in battle.”
There was a moment of awkward silence, and for a moment, Miguel wondered if the boys were thinking of their choices, or wondering if they should jump the captain. He held still, prepared to fend both of them off should they try to attack him.
“This isn’t fair,” Lance whispered.
“Life is never fair, kid,” Miguel frowned, “But we fight so we can try to make it fair.”
“Captain,” Helios’ voice rang through the ship’s COM system, “You’re needed at the bridge, ASAP.”
Miguel sighed, and looked at both of them with pitying eyes. They’re children, Miguel thought, and they have to contend with this…
“We’re guessing that a battle will happen in about one hour and thirty minutes,” Miguel whispered, “You…have that much time to make a decision, before we make one for you.”
*****
“Captain,” Helios saluted as soon as Miguel entered the circular bridge of the Storm of Fire. Computer screens coated every wall with officers at the walls, staring at different screens. The captain’s seat was set in the middle at a balcony, with the co-captain’s seat right next to it.
“At ease,” Miguel said, “Where’s Epsilon?”
“Here,” Epsilon called from behind Miguel, “Sorry, but I had been sending confirmations about repair on my Type-Zero to the hangar. I…don’t quite want to be caught unprepared.”
“Good,” Miguel nodded, “What’s our situation?”
“Enemy forces have been detected…reinforcements,” Archangel said from his console, looking at his screens, “This is looking very bad. I estimate about at least ten cruisers. And the first cruiser that we detected is headed in a slow inbound vector at us.”
“As much as I loathe to admit it, sir,” Helios shook his head slowly, “We can’t save Third Haven. The best we can do is to save ourselves.”
Miguel closed his eyes in frustration. Rubbing his eyes, he said, “How fast can the Storm of Fire escape?”
“At this point, we can outrun most of the enemy fleet, but it is extremely likely that the first enemy cruiser may try to deploy troops. That will slow us down, and…”
“I understand,” Miguel cut him off, “So we have no choice but to head toward North America, right?”
“Yes,” Epsilon nodded as she stepped up to Miguel, “And that’s Neo Arcadian territory. We’ll have to tread through some dangerous waters.”
“How’s the combat situation of the ship?” Miguel asked.
“Weapons cycles are up at maximum,” Juno reported, “Shakedown complete. Green across the map. This thing hasn’t undergone battle testing, but I think we can dish out quite a bit of punishment, still. Our M2 2.25 shell cannons are running. Class-A SAM launcher has been activated, and so are out M99 chain guns. I’m also diverting power from our 7AFPC2 heavy plasma cannons to our anti-torpedo weapons and our PTPFAF ‘October’ missiles.”
“Good,” Miguel breathed. At least they won’t be caught unready, “Do we have any other combat alternatives?”
“Unfortunately, that’s a not much,” Epsilon shook her head, “I can go out in my Type-Zero, but that’s about it…unless we intend to use the Reploid-armors.”
“But we don’t have anyone to pilot those,” Archangel said with a definite tone of dismay, “All our personnel know only how to operate inside a ship. No one here has gone through real combat…no one here is qualified to fly the Reploid-armors.”
“I was thinking,” Epsilon said, putting a hand onto her delicate chin, “What about the children?”
“Lieutenant!” Helios looked as if he had been shocked by a stun baton, “We can’t allow two civilian children to use our military secret weapons!”
“But we’re desperate at the moment. They performed well at Third Haven. I don’t think there is anyone else more qualified than they are. Besides, if we take them along to Second Haven, we’ll get the United Nations their Reploid-armors anyways. It won’t be too much trouble.”
“Lieutenant, we can’t allow this to happen,” Helios shook his head, “Should we really do this…imagine what would happen if they’re damaged or destroyed…the children don’t even know military protocol.”
“I guess that’s where they’ll have to learn. Trial by fire. Besides…if they enlist, that won’t be a problem. They’ll be part of the military, and using military equipment. Even if they are supposed to be secret weapons, they are still being used by the military. A hearing committee won’t be able to press charges.”
“Both of you are leaving out a very large variable…” Miguel interrupted them, staring at the floor of the deck uncomfortably.
“What is it?” Epsilon asked, looking puzzled.
Miguel hesitated for a moment, and responded quietly, “They haven’t agreed to enlist yet.”
Chapter Four
Brandon looked around him, in the briefing room. Each of his teammates were unusually silent, and Brandon as well. He was disgusted. They had been caught off surprise, and the attack had been postponed.
“It wasn’t really postponed,” Subaru had tried to convince him, “We won that battle anyways.”
“Shut up,” Brandon had snapped, “I’ll find that bastard…and when I do, I’ll make sure I tear him apart before I’m satisfied.”
“Apparently,” Captain Svivern began his briefing as the map around the ocean of Third Haven appeared on the overhead projector, “The 2nd Neo Arcadian Fleet is arriving at our destination. Their target is Third Haven, but I have been given permission to pursue the United Nations’ new weapon…”
Brandon smirked at the news of that.
“We will be attempting to track their new ship, called the Storm of Fire, and the three new prototype combat armors they are using. Our goal is to either capture it or destroy it. Even if you intend to capture it, do not resist in damaging it. It’ll be better to wreck it and capture it later than try to capture it intact and get shot down.”
“Any special mission parameters?” Lloyd asked.
“None, really,” Svivern smiled, “This is where, I guess, you get free reign over your mission. Don’t get carried away, though.”
“Good,” Brandon smiled, “When do we sortie?”
Svivern looked at Brandon. “Unfortunately, Major Carter, you cannot launch now.”
Brandon tightened his jaw. “What!?” he protested, “But…why?”
“Your X33 is currently damaged and is still under repair. Should we launch you, you will be a vulnerable target, as well as a burden to your teammates.”
“Burden!?” Brandon gaped. He was obviously insulted.
“Let it go, Brandon,” Subaru said calmly, “We’ll have other victories to win.”
“Shut up!” Brandon snarled at Subaru, “Sir! I…”
“I understand your feelings, Major,” Svivern said in his calm, tenor voice, “But we simply cannot launch you in a damaged X33. Even if we manage to get an activation charge, the only real thing you can do is defend the ship from attacks. That is the current state of your X33.”
Brandon looked down at the floor in rage. Great, he had gotten the chance for revenge, that damn chance he had wanted, but now he was a sitting duck…this is just ****** great.
“We’ll sortie in ten minutes,” Svivern announced, “We’ll commence an air-to-sea attack with Leon Platforms. The ship will standby to give covering fire. Battle status has already been lifted to level three. I suggest you all get ready.”
“Sir!” Subaru stood and snapped a crisp salute, followed by the other members of his squad other than Brandon, who somewhat lingered behind in disgust, before they filed out of the door.
“This won’t be a milk run,” Lloyd quirked his eyebrows as he walked out, “We’re up against a prototype ship and three Reploid-armors. If the others were as good as the one we had fought earlier, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of us ends up dead.”
“No one’s going to end up dead,” Subaru replied, and then said, “Sakura, I know you’d rather be in combat, helping us, but we need you to stay far away and analyze the data and combat situation of our targets. Our initial objective will be to assess the abilities of each target. We should try to preserve all our lives as much as possible.”
“Why not just destroy everything?” Carol shrugged, “We outnumber them quite a bit.”
“But we shouldn’t underestimate them,” Subaru pointed out, “At this point, we don’t know the full potential of every target. It would be really bad if we are completely outgunned without knowing it. And…” he made sure that Brandon was safely out of earshot, “I’m sure Brandon wants a shot at it. If we destroy them now, Brandon might be really ticked off.”
Carol laughed. “Amen to that.”
“Well, I get the idea,” Sakura nodded, and clung onto Subaru’s arm, “Guess it shouldn’t be much too hard.” Subaru and Sakura had gone along well since they had met, and Lloyd figured that they had a thing for each other. Something he could care less for, but amusing, nonetheless.
“We sortie in ten?” Lloyd asked.
“Nine now,” Subaru replied coolly as they stepped into the elevator to the launch bay, “Get ready. We’re going to give them hell.”
*****
“We only have five minutes,” Vincent replied quietly, facing Lance directly in the eyes, although Lance’s gaze was dropped to the deck of the barracks, “What do you say?”
Lance remained silent, as he had for the last hour or so. Vincent hoped he would snap out of it soon. Being stuck in a military situation was not something to be happy over, but it wasn’t something to be extremely melodramatic over either. But Lance hadn’t uttered anything, just sat there and stared at the ground.
Vincent sighed, and looked away. “If…if you won’t make a decision, then I will.”
No reply from Lance.
“Really, though. Where you go, I go.”
Still no response.
Vincent sighed again, and gazed down toward the floor for no particular reason, then wondered at what Lance might have found so fascinating that he had been staring at it for quite a while.
“I’m no choice-maker,” Lance finally managed to make out.
“Neither am I,” Vincent made out with a weak grin.
Another minute of silence.
The ship’s COM system on the wall suddenly beeped as the familiar face of Miguel appeared on the small screen on the wall. Lance didn’t bother looking up, although Vincent gave it his undivided attention.
“Alright,” the face of Miguel said sternly in the screen, “We’ve detected a Neo Arcadian cruiser bearing down on us. We don’t have much time to let you guys decide now, so it’s now or never, really. We have to hear your choice, and quickly.”
“Captain,” Epsilon’s voice said from off-screen, “I’m going to go to my Type-Zero. Leaving the deck.”
“Understood,” Miguel looked back at the screen, and said, “So, now, I gave you some time, and I hope you’ve made a choice. A large chunk of your future is riding on it.”
“Sir!” another voice crackled, obviously from the bridge’s COM system, “This is Task Force One! We’ve secured the lifeboat, but we’ve detected enemies at an inbound vector. There is no way we’ll make it back in time!”
“Is the lifeboat occupied?” Miguel asked the off-screen COM system.
“Yes, sir, two civilians. They’ve identified themselves as university students. Aden Hikari and Mia Elysium.”
Both Vincent and Lance froze at that, their eyes wide, and Lance finally stared at the COM screen with eyes as wide as a tennis ball…
Vincent had just started to say they agreed to enlist when there was a blur at Vincent’s side, and Lance darted out at tremendous speed out the door. Vincent hadn’t even realized that Lance had moved before he had completely disappeared.
“We’ll enlist, sir!” Vincent said into the COM system and snapped a salute, “We want to aid in the combat situation…and try to save our friends.”
Miguel shot Vincent a quizzical look. “Your friends?” Miguel whispered.
“Yes, in the lifeboat. Aden Hikari and Mia Elysium. They are our friends.”
Miguel rubbed his tired eyes and shook his head, muttered something like “****** fate” before looking up, “Alright, Vincent. We’ll…”
“Sir, this is hangar bay number one,” a voice said in the COM system, “The civilian child who we had picked up at Third Haven is demanding that he be able to pilot Phoenix. I know I shouldn’t bother you with this, but…”
“Get him in.”
There was a pause as the hangar crew must’ve hesitated. “Excuse me, sir?”
“Get him into Phoenix,” Miguel said quickly, “And prepare to sortie him. Expect another child soon that will board Odin. Sortie both of them. Is that understood, sergeant?”
Another pause. Then an unhesitating, “Yes, sir!”
“Alright, Vincent,” Miguel turned his attention back at Vincent, “You’ve heard our situation. The Odin is a ground-based Reploid-armor, so you can’t do much around here except stay on the ship and fire and defend the ship. And we don’t want to expect too much from you at the moment.”
“Understood, Captain,” Vincent snapped another salute, “Consider us part of the United Nations military now, sir!”
Miguel nodded, and with a smile, added, “Got it, soldier.” The COM screen went black.
*****
“Alright,” the technician nodded as soon as Lance was completely outfitted inside Phoenix, “Giving you an activation charge in three…two…one…now!”
A hum was heard as the system powered up, and his body automatically relaxed as the armor began to receive his neural signals again. The launch bay was somewhat dark, but rather large. The staff sergeant told him that it was used as a hangar bay, an engine, and a heavy plasma cannon. Lance was cool with that, but worried that it might blow like a box of firecrackers should this place take a direct hit.
“Ah, back, Lance.”
Lance wondered who was saying that, looked around for a moment, then chuckled softly. “Phoenix, huh?” Lance smiled.
“Quite right. Your state of mind is currently positive one. Not extremely impressive, but it is better than negative two…” there was a pause, before, “Interesting. I see we are currently in the Storm of Fire.”
“You know this ship?” Lance said.
“Prepare for launch!” the staff sergeant shouted to Lance as the technicians around him start to flee the area of launch. Behind him, Major Epsilon’s Type-Zero was preparing for launch as well.
“Yes,” Phoenix replied, “The Storm of Fire was the counterpart project of the Reploid-armor project. While the Storm of Fire specialized in major battles concerning secondary battle scenario situations, the Reploid-armor was a superiority weapon directly on the battlefield. Both were designed to be revolutionary equipment in the defense industry.”
“You sound proud.”
“Well, yes. I am outfitted with the latest state-of-the-art equipment…”
“But you’re using that equipment to take lives,” Lance cut him off, sounding somewhat agonized, “Even if you are doing that to save lives, you’re killing lives in the process. What good does that serve?”
There was a pause, before Phoenix replied, “Technically, the world suffers a great amount of loss, concerning economy, ecosystem, lives, but more lives are saved in the process of war, depending on the state of the winner.”
“And what if the winner is one that kills all who opposes or has opposed him?” Lance countered, “What if he won? Would that be saving lives?”
There was yet another pause. Finally, Phoenix replied quietly, “I loathe to admit you have stumped me on that one. I’ll keep your question in mind. We will launch in ten seconds.”
Lance nodded, and smiled. So Phoenix, even as an AI construct, did have conscience. He was already liking him more and more.
“Five!” the staff sergeant shouted as a status monitor screen showed green across the map, “Four! Three! Two! One!”
Lance braced himself for the initial impact of the launch.
“Launch!” the staff sergeant shouted, just as the launch catapult launched him thirty-degrees upwards into the air, headed for the open hatch doors that led to the open sky. As a reflex, Lance stabilized the launch with his thrusters, gaining balance in the air.
“Receiving COM channel frequency from the Captain,” Phoenix informed, “Opening broadcast now.”
“Lance,” Miguel’s voice breathed through the earpiece, “Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” Lance replied, “I hear you.”
“You’ll have to address him as sir from now on,” Helios reminded him sternly.
“We have a battle strategy worked out,” Miguel went on, “Vincent will handle the point defense on the main deck of the Storm of Fire. The Storm of Fire has quite a large area of fire in which we can hit the enemy with our weapons, but in any case, we’ll need you to chase and fire at the enemies in case they get into our blind spot…” then quietly, added, “I know this isn’t something I should say, but…I hope you’re ready to take lives.” The COM channel switched off.
“Take…lives…?” Lance breathed. It was such an easy thing, to take lives, yet something to be so emotional about. Take lives? He understood the Captain’s hesitation, and wondered if he was capable of killing, capable of taking…
“Four targets inbound,” Phoenix informed, “Identified as Neo Arcadian X33 multi-purpose combat armor prototypes. Advise extreme caution. Enemy cruiser is also closing in. Identified as a Harvest VII class.”
“Harvest VII?” Lance echoed.
“Yes,” Phoenix replied as a blueprint of a Harvest VII cruiser appeared on his HUD, “More of a stealth ship than a cruiser or a carrier, the Harvest VII…”
“Okay, okay!” Lance interrupted, and closed the blueprint with a simple thought, “I don’t need an explanation. I get the idea.”
“Fine,” Phoenix replied, although it was obvious that he was displeased. Lance didn’t feel like apologizing at the moment, though.
“Kid!” Epsilon’s voice rang through his headset, “I hope you’re ready, because we’re going to have a bit of hell here.”
“I can tell,” Lance nodded, and watched as Epsilon’s Type-Zero took off into the air, “Is…is there something I can do?”
“Keep yourself alive,” Epsilon replied, “As long as you’re there, there will be enemies trying to concentrate on you. Even if you can’t take them down, you can at least divert their attention so I can get to them. I hope we can get this over with and have some coffee with each other after this is done.” Epsilon said her last sentence with a bit of enthusiasm.
Lance was startled at first; a First Lieutenant that was actually concerned…he smiled. So there was someone who cared. “Yeah,” Lance smiled, “Thanks, Major…I mean, Lieutenant.”
“Call me Major,” Epsilon replied, “Let’s go!”
“Vincent at the deck,” the COM channel rang out again, “I’m at deck. Don’t worry about me; this shield is ready to take anything they send at me.” Lance was puzzled at first, then remembered the heavy shield that the Odin hefted.
“Understood, Vincent,” Lance replied, “Phoenix, what’s the status of the lifeboat?”
“It is still out at sea, although headed at an inbound vector. Although no Neo Arcadian forces are currently approaching it, I give an estimate of sixty-nine point seven-five-two percent that the Neo Arcadian forces will fire on it as soon as they are in combat range.”
“Damn…” Lance whispered as he closed his eyes slowly, praying to whoever happened to turn an ear in favor toward him, “Aden…Mia…hang on in there…please.”
*****
“There are four targets,” Sakura said as they skimmed the ocean, keeping a low altitude to minimize the accuracy of a computer lock-on by the enemy, “The cruiser, a United Nations Type-Zero, and two of the combat armors. I don’t see the third one.”
All of them donned in their respective armors and weapons, standing on Leon Platforms, they looked like war gods…and they were about to prove they were more effective than any warrior of mythology.
“Yeah,” Carol nodded, “Where’s the third one?”
“It’s either unable to sortie, or is hidden very well,” Subaru whispered, “I hope it’s the first one.”
“The Type-Zero and one of the combat armors is taking the air and headed at out vector in a likely combat course,” Sakura informed, “One of them is on the ship and seems like it intends to defend the ship.”
“Got it,” Subaru nodded, “Sakura, break out of formation. Lloyd, try taking the ship down. Carol, you head for the Type-Zero. I settle my score with the combat armor. Sakura, if you can manage, try to shoot down the combat armor on the ship.”
“Roger,” the other three replied in unison as they went to their respective positions. For a moment, Subaru considered asking Brandon about his status…he had insisted to don his X33, but was restricted to combat on the deck. Subaru decided not to; if he tried saying anything, Brandon would take it as an insult.
“Break formation and attack,” Subaru said, “Try to take them down, but don’t put your life on the line. Remember, this is officially a reconnaissance mission.” The X33s killed their thrusters as they dropped slightly and turned in the air, then fed power to them again as they jettisoned into the air at different directions. Lloyd jetted ahead first past the combat armor and the Type-Zero toward the ship at extreme speed. The Type-Zero turned, but the combat armor hesitated for a moment.
Subaru took that chance to fire the missiles on his Leon Platform as they arched lazily toward the combat armor, giving Carol covering fire as she sped toward the Type-Zero. The combat armor saw the missiles in time, however, but hesitated again, as if wondering how he should avoid them, but thrust himself toward the side quickly, allowing the missiles to fly past him.
“Damn bastard,” Subaru whispered as he flew past the combat armor and turned to make another run.
Meanwhile, Carol and the Type-Zero were engaged in heavy combat. While the Type-Zero was quite a large target for the X33, the Type-Zero always hovered at one place while the pilot shot at the X33, then jetted away before Carol could fire a successful counterstrike. While none of the pilots really hit each other, Carol was becoming extremely annoyed as the machine gun ammunition indicator on her Leon Platform ticked away.
Lloyd flew past the main deck, under one of the “wings” connecting the pods at the side to the main body of the ship. Chain gun fire and cannon fire missed him completely, although Lloyd saw a G-Vulcan cannon shell almost take his head off the X33. Lloyd scowled.
“Vincent Swan,” he whispered, “So you are here.” He jetted around toward the back side of the ship and fired his assault rifle at key structures of the ship, where he knew even the rounds meant to be used against infantry would do some damage against the ship. Moving quickly, he darted away before the chain guns could track him. Flying higher, he suddenly noticed that there were SAM sites installed onto the ship. He quickly dropped altitude, but no in time as five missiles were released from the SAM, followed by sixteen rapid-firing “October” missiles from the back. Lloyd grunted as he successfully weaved through the exquisite web of the missiles and began firing again. However, he knew he was completely outgunned. He got lucky, dodging twenty-one missiles at once. He knew it probably wouldn’t happen again, and immediately increased the distance between him and the ship.
Subaru and the aerial combat armor engaged in heavier combat. As Subaru ran out of machine gun ammo, it seemed that the combat armor had used up his assault rifle armor as well as he circled around the ship and dropped his assault rifle into the launch catapult of the ship before coming back and firing at Subaru with an energy rifle. Subaru dodged rapidly, although he knew the beam traveled at extreme speeds. Mostly, Subaru was safe by the inaccurate aim of the enemy, but if that beam made contact, it would go right through his armor…and his body.
“Using a weapon like that on a combat armor…” Subaru whispered in awe, “What are those United Nations fools thinking…?” He decreased altitude and circled the Storm of Fire. Rapid splashes of water traced his path as chain guns attempted to track him, although unsuccessfully. Subaru raced past the ship, then completed a full G turn as he headed for the combat armor again. Subaru held his fire as he neared the combat armor, and fired his missiles as soon as Subaru was close enough to the enemy. No matter how fast the combat armor was, the pilot would never dodge that in time.
However, the combat armor immediately protected itself with a shield, and the missiles exploded in a cloud of smoke and fire around it, concealing it in the shroud. A heartbeat later, five rapid-firing missiles arched from the smoke and headed toward Subaru. Subaru winced as the missiles made contact with his Leon Platform. Subaru bailed in time, just before the Leon Platform exploded in the air.
“Subaru!” he heard Sakura scream over the COM channel, just before he stopped falling.
“I got you, Subaru,” Lloyd said next to him, still on his Leon Platform, but catching him effectively, “I think that’s enough reconnaissance for now. I’ll say you’re too wounded to command. I’ll sound the retreat.”
Subaru opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Lloyd was right; with him without a Leon Platform, he was only a burden to Lloyd. And if Lloyd couldn’t perform at top notch, the team couldn’t either. They needed to retreat.
“Got it,” Subaru sighed as the team quickly circled back toward the Redemption.
Chapter Five
Lance heaved a sigh of relief as he expelled the breath of tension from his lips, closing his eyes as the Phoenix released him. He expected the Phoenix to stay as it was, like a suit of armor, but then, it closed up and began to move at its own will.
Reading Lance’s expression of shock, Phoenix laughed, something that shocked Lance even more. “Even if I do have the function of a suit of armor,” Phoenix quirked, “I am also a Reploid.”
“Nice one, kid,” Epsilon jumped out of her cockpit as she took off the helmet, “That was splendid work. I couldn’t have done better.”
“No,” Lance smiled weakly and shook his head, “I…didn’t really do anything.”
“And that’s already doing something,” Epsilon walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, and Lance noticed how delicate looking it was, and yet how it was able to take so many lives, “Knowing that you haven’t done enough it doing something. And I’m damn glad you know about it.”
Lance managed another smile as Vincent exited from Odin as well, and Odin closed up before walking over to Phoenix, talking to him about something. Despite the fact that their faces basically consisted of titanium-A plating and a singular red eye, Lance could tell Phoenix wasn’t pleased to talk with Odin…maybe it was from the body language.
“What’s the current status of the ship?” Epsilon asked the staff sergeant.
“We’re currently holding up okay,” he replied in a gruff voice, “They punched some holes, but that’s basically it. Everything is running okay, but the captain wants to continue to run, even if the ship can handle the cruiser that’s after us. Says if we slow down, the entire damn fleet may catch up.”
“True,” Epsilon nodded thoughtfully, “Thank you, sergeant.” The sergeant saluted and walked away, barking orders rapidly to begin to store up the equipment and weapons.
“Personally, I don’t think we have any time to relax,” Epsilon shrugged, “It seems the enemy is really intent on destroying us. They’ll pretty much pursue us to the other side of the planet, if I have to guess. You should get as much rest as possible, though. It’s better for you.”
“Right,” Vincent nodded and smiled, “We’ll do just that. In the meanwhile…”
Lance suddenly tuned out as he suddenly saw that a lifeboat was being dragged into the hangar by a large mechanism. He stared, watching the lifeboat being placed down. The lifeboats were basically like shelters, completely encased. The occupants could not see inside, and the people outside couldn’t see the inside. But as Lance walked involuntarily toward the lifeboat, Vincent and Epsilon noticed that Lance’s attention was drifted toward the occupants he hoped were inside…
The lifeboat locks opened as two soldiers stepped out first, grunting about going out with their necks on the line for a lifeboat, then two civilians jumped out.
Aden. Mia.
Those were the only two words that came into Lance’s mind as he suddenly rushed toward them, ignoring the stares that were directed toward him.
Aden and Mia turned as he saw Lance ran toward them. “Lance!” Aden’s eyes went wide, then laughed as he braced Lance’s impact toward him as they embraced each other, “God! I…I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, you little…”
“Yeah, you too!” Lance laughed, and he was nearly crying…and as much as Aden loathed to admit it, Aden himself was coming toward tears.
Lance looked at both Aden and Mia, shook his head. “Damn, it’s good to see you two alive,” Lance said, as Vincent approached from behind him.
“Vincent!” Mia gasped, “You too! You’re all here…!”
Vincent cocked his head to the side quizzically. “Can’t be much help if I’m a corpse,” Vincent laughed and hugged Mia, which Lance found awkward. Nevertheless, he relaxed relatively…then tensed up again.
“Why were you two in a lifeboat?” Lance demanded angrily, the reunion suddenly cut short by Lance’s fury, “You should’ve gone to a shelter.”
“We tried,” Mia explained, “But the debris blocked the way to the shelters, and all the other ones were full…we couldn’t find our way to another shelter.”
Aden nodded, agreeing somberly. “Another group was rushing for the lifeboat on the beach, so we followed them…they were all gunned down. We are lucky we’re still alive.”
“Damn right,” Epsilon nodded, then sighed as she brushed her hand into her hair, “Well…I’m glad you’re alright, but the co-captain is going to freak when he finds two more civilians on this ship…”
“It’s not like we can help it,” Vincent sighed, looking at Epsilon, “I guess we have no choice but to allow them to enlist as well…”
“Enlist?” Aden echoed, “What do you mean, enlist? Lance?” Aden looked at Lance for an explanation. Lance looked away, down at the ground again.
“We’ve enlisted into the military,” Vincent whispered quietly.
“What!?” Mia stared at both of them, “Enlist? Why?”
“Do you think we had a choice?” Lance blurted, “Do you think we wanted to enlist?”
“We went over protocol and regulations,” Epsilon sighed, “Unfortunately…the rules are that civilians are not allowed in combat. Also, you’ve seen military secrets…stuff you’re not supposed to have seen, such as this ship.”
“But we weren’t involved in combat!” Mia protested, “We were just trying to get out…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Vincent shook his head in dismay, “We have no choice but to take you along toward Second Haven. And you two will be on trial before a hearing committee…they say the possible penalty may be death.”
Both Aden and Mia stared, mouths opened. Lance couldn’t bear to look at them, despite the fact that he had been like that himself only half an hour ago. He turned, and began to walk away.
“Lance!” Epsilon shouted, preparing to go after him. But instead, Vincent placed a hand at her wrist, pulling her wrist, shaking his head.
“It’s not a good idea,” Vincent whispered, “Lance needs some time to think…sir.”
Epsilon nodded, and turned back to Aden and Mia. “We’ve found a loophole around it, though,” Epsilon said, “It’s an unwelcome alternative, but you can enlist into the military. We’ll set the join date before the attack on Third Haven, and although you will still have violated several minor charges, no one will do anything about it. Won’t even show up on your records. After that…we’ll do our best to try to get you out of the military.”
Aden and Mia looked at each other uncomfortably. Mia settled herself next to Aden as he embraced her warmly.
“I’ll make whatever decision you make, Aden,” Mia whispered. Aden’s gaze dropped to deck.
“I hope you don’t end up regretting the decision…” Aden replied quietly.
*****
“So far,” Sakura reported, “We’ve seen the combat situation of four of the predicted five enemy targets.”
With all five of the squad in the briefing room, Sakura gave her report with digitalized models and recording, showing her team all the information she could provide as pictures snapped throughout the briefing screen.
“What we have found is that there is the ship, called the Storm of Fire. There is also a Type-Zero, and two combat armors. I have also found that the UN calls them Reploid-armors. They are next-generation weapons, supposed to be a mix between a Reploid and a combat armor. They are extremely efficient.”
Subaru nodded solemnly. He had been in battle with one of them and nearly lost his life. He never doubted that they were efficient, but now it seemed efficient was too mild an adjective. Amazing was what was more like it.
“The air-based one is called Phoenix,” Sakura continued, “and the ground-based one is called Odin. We have no information so far on the last Reploid-armor.”
Bringing a video picture of Phoenix onto the screen, Sakura explained, “This is what the UN calls Phoenix. It is an air-based Reploid-armor. As you can see, the wings on this not only helps in flight, but it may be able to cut through armor. We don’t know about that for sure yet, though, although we hope we won’t be testing that. Thrusters have been strategically located to maximize air superiority maneuvers, and the armor seems to be based on a neural-link padding. In other words, this armor is thought interfaced.”
“Impossible,” Brandon growled, “You’re telling me the pilot can control that thing with his mind?” Sakura nodded solemnly.
“This is bad,” Subaru noted, “If this continues, the United Nations continue to implant neural technology onto weapons…if that is possible, one day, we may have to fight cruisers with only a one-man crew…”
“The weapons on this Reploid-armor is also impressive,” Sakura continued her analysis, “It holds an assault rifle and energy beam rifle in two hands, and also has a shield on the left arm. Under the shield is a rapid missile firing system, which acts as an effective counterattack. As the pilot blocks the attack, he can also launch missiles from his shield, so we will have to be more careful after our attacks. Also, he has a beam saber on his right shoulder, which he can easily take…although the design has it that he would have to dispose one of his arm weapons first. Not a very good design itself, but…”
“We get the point,” Carol interrupted rudely, “Let’s talk about that Type-Zero. The bitch piloting it was so annoying.”
“We basically know the mechanics of the Type-Zero,” Sakura said, ignoring the insult, “Chain gun, plasma cannons, missiles. However, the pilot’s skill seems very exceptional. Unfortunately…I haven’t quite figured out what the pilot’s tactics are.”
“Quite the strategist you are,” Carol said mockingly. Subaru hushed her with a glare, although he got an ignorant look in response.
“Odin, meanwhile, is a ground-based Reploid-armor. While it also has thrusters that can propel itself into the air, it is mostly used for skimming the ground. It hefts an enormous shield that has a twin-bladed beam saber and a G-Vulcan cannon underneath. It is also equipped with an eight-barreled missile launcher as well as a chain gun. My hypothesis is that it can take much punishment and return the favor. Engaging this enemy at close range is not recommended.
“Finally, talking about the Storm of Fire. According to Lloyd…” a small nod of acknowledgement from Lloyd, “…and our videos, the Storm