Andromeda

The year is After Nuclear 605, a period of rebirth for the planet Earth. It has been six hundred years since the Earth was scarred by a nuclear assault that left the surface barren and radioactive. It is said that half of the world’s population died immediately from the blasts and nearly everyone else in the year afterward from disease or contamination. The land was forever altered beyond hope for recovery it seemed. Human civilization was wiped from the planet.

By the grace of God or a miracle, it was Antarctica that was spared from the devastation. As temperatures fell from a thick cloud of dust in the atmosphere blocking out much of the sun, the frigid continent’s harsh conditions worsened leaving the survivors to harden themselves if they were to survive. A new ice age gripped the planet.

The lone research base and experimental domed town toiled under the violent winds. A few thousand scientists and civilians began their work to rebuilding civilization. Decades slowly passed as the town grew into an ever expanding domed city that became known as Antarctica City. In their efforts they came up with a plan to reclaim the forsaken Earth.

The plan was a massive undertaking that would take generations to complete. They constructed massive machines the size of small villages fully automated sent to ravaged continents of the Earth to terraform the wastelands into fertile plains once more.

The machines succeeded in their design slowly recovering the land. In time people were allowed to leave starting new towns and villages working the land. By AN 605, half of the planet has been saved. All of the wonders and tools had come from a single organization. The HOPE group, an organization made after the nuclear winter, whose goal was to provide for the survival of mankind. They held all of the scientific minds and all new technology originated from them.

HOPE had saved the planet.

Episode 2 – The Will of Fire

“Why?! My…village…” Shizuka dug her fingers into Edgar’s arms. The pain that she felt pierced deeply in her core. Images of the people that she knew from the village flashed across her closed eyes. It became unbearable to watch, but her mind had a will of its own. The flames burning in the distance combined with the crashes of thunder from the machines fought to drill into her terrible images. Each flash stole a piece of her voice until she had nothing to scream.

At her side Edgar paid little attention to the fact that Shizuka held on to him despite the situation minutes before. He worried more about his life. While his life experienced more risk and danger than many the center of a combat zone between giant machines scared him. He did not realize how much he shook because Shizuka rattled him to his core. Edgar prayed he made it out alive.

The reddish-pink blast from the Jiaolong slowly faded away into a winding column of smoke. Wreckage from the Skin laid scattered across a deep crater with most of the body obliterated. On the edge of the raised lip of earth at the crater broken pieces of homes struggled to stay standing. Spread out from the blast in all directions was debris from Welest. Faint screamed raised from ruined village drowned out by the fires and explosions from the fighting machines.

The giant demon that Callein faced down granted him no pause to mourn for his fallen subordinate. It forced him to keep moving to stay ahead of the beam fire. The lift from his flight pack kept him away from death’s door by a narrow margin. “The pilot’s getting more accurate the longer this battle drags on. I won’t be able to keep up if this goes any longer! I have to end this quickly!”

Callein forced his Peng for more output beyond a thick red line drawn in by hand on the system panel. The scientists and Jade developers that personally worked on the team made that line from their research. They insisted repeatedly to him never to take it past the line they marked while on Earth. It was the maximum thrust output deemed safe while in full gravity. The human body beyond that point took severe strain on the organs and body potentially causing the pilot to pass out or have organs rupture. The g-force alone made it difficult for Callein to keep his hands under control.

The Peng dodged the next blast that left a crater in the farmlands they trampled through. While the energy beam finished to dissipate heat the Peng went airborne again to make full usage of all the thrust capabilities. It drew closer to the Skadi avoiding the shots skillfully.

Inside the Skadi, Aerona maintained a flat expression monitoring the battle. Her plan to destroy the transport delayed when forced away from the crash site. She knew that the battle remained on her side from judging the strength of the enemy. However, the flight type continued to elude her fire despite her refining the calculations. ‘The enemy is move faster now. What has made it so fast that it was not doing this before?’ She only considered the thought for a moment before discarding it. ‘I should end this battle so I can get back to the unknown craft. Command has ordered it destroyed.’

The Peng roared closer to the Skadi beams shooting all around it making narrow adjustments barely holding together. At the last moments before a collision the Peng unleashed rapid shots from its Pair. A thick barrage of beams exploded upon the armor of the Skadi covering everything in light and dirt ruining the Peng’s cameras. The Peng changed angles of its thrust to clear the Skadi in time before a collision occurred, but a large hand broke through the cloud grabbing the Peng’s head in its palm.

Callein flung forward feeling his stomach tightened violently from his pilot suit stretched at his back seat plug unwilling to let him slam into his view screen. Internally, he felt a ripping pain through his chest and stomach that threw blood up into his throat making him smell copper. It made him strain to cough and keep focus with only one eye open through the pain. The primary camera that made up his head no longer functioned, destroyed on the impact with the Skadi’s hand. A popping and groaning of metal above Callein echoed through him. He struggled to break free from the grasp witnessing his visibility on the screens disappear in pieces leaving a delayed static filled view of a metal palm and fingers. The perspective made it feel as though a giant hand wrapped around his body threatening to squeeze him, only held back by pure whim.

Across the land kilometers away Callein’s team finished the necessary repairs to get the transport functioning enough to fly. The death of Rivers had instilled the drive to get themselves moving, while Wells sat in his Skin biting the edge of his restraint.

“Get this junk in the air now!” ordered Wells through the communications.

“This is going to be a bumpy ride!” All around the ship a terrible clanking echoed as though the ship itself coughed in pain. The blast from the engines threw back earth clouding up the rear landing hatch before it jerked forward. The restrained Skins gave a low groan and squeak against the metal that held them in place. A moment later the ground gave way to the transport scrapping at it to desperately hold on before it lost any hope. “She flies again!”

“Turnabout to 138!” commanded Wells.

Rinn fought with the ship to keep it steady. “I don’t recall you being in charge, Ensign.” Rinn actually out ranked Wells, as a Lieutenant, even if he was only the pilot.

Wells had no time for chain of command. “I’m the second in command of Terra One! This is an order! Turnabout now!” His Jiaolong finished unbolting from the restrains and walked to the rear of the ship. Wells began to judge the distance and speed to the ground while taking in the radar information where Callein’s Peng fought. He knew that he could not find the enemy Skin on the radar, but he still saw the Peng. “We’re coming to extract you Cal! Disengage and I’ll pick you up!”

Callein coughed weakly knowing the few seconds that passed since grabbed would not last. “Belay that Rinn! Take escape route B5 and leave now!” He tightened his hands on his controls determined not to let the enemy shot down his team. “I’ll hold the enemy off while you escape! Don’t leave the ship Pol!” Callein gritted his teeth together and gave a smirk to a wicked thought of defiance.

Wells pounded his fist against the side panel in frustration. “Damn you, Cal!” The transport began to rotate in its turn. His machine spat out coordinates updating him. He looked up out the view screens realizing the transport had fully turned around aimed straight for the Commander. “Ellune?”

An image of Rinn appeared up in a window on the displays from the cockpit of the transport. He gave Wells a wild grin like something crazy was about to happen. “I never said I planned on leaving. Get ready you’re only going to get one shot at this.”

A grin came across Wells’ face. “Don’t you remember who I am?! I’m Dual Shot!” He quickly began to run calculations on the information that the computer gathered to find his shot.

Fueled by determination, the Peng stopped trying to free its head from the Skadi. Thrusters on the right side activated at full power while the left shut down. The whine of metal and spark of wires erupted from the neck of the Peng. The unmoved head crushed faster under the force of Skadi’s hand while the neck gave out sparking a minor explosion. Freed, the Peng dropped to the ground just as the transport roared over head echoing into the cockpit of the Peng.

Callein searched out through his ruined display for the noise, but the computer barely had enough time to display the incoming blast that smashed into the Skadi’s forearm holding the head of the Peng. “Where’d that come from?!” Through a piece of the working monitor he saw his Pair on the ground nearby. Callein rolled the Peng over picking up the Pair and unleashed everything left in the stores. “Fall you demon!”

Amidst the smoke a Jiaolong sprung forward for the Peng. “Cal! Hit your thrusters!” Well’s Jiaolong picked up the Peng getting it to its feet. He saw that Callein understood what to do and with the combined lift of the Jiaolong and Peng they plowed into the black behemoth taking it off balance. A crash of metal plate armor exploded out in the collision as the Skadi collapsed to the ground. While in motion the Jiaolong and Peng continued into the air taking hold of the transport just as it made a second flyby. Another Jiaolong on the ramp of the open hatch helped the two Skins back up into the transport.

Inside his ruined cockpit Callein coughed feeling the tension start to spill out of his body. “Pol you ignored a direct order…thank you…” Everything that held his body together fell apart an instant. Callein passed out before his Peng returned back to its seat on the transport.

“Cal!”

“Commander!”

“Can you hear me?!” shouted Ensign Ansgar Toule through a windowed image inside the Skadi. “Air! Can you hear me?!” From the terminal in the command center the system readings all ceased suddenly. Reports from the transport were unable to confirm the safety of Air or the Skadi. The regular staff in the room stared on at the video feed in stunned uncertainty seeing their prized machine apparently defeated by the enemy. The General and lab coat clothed man seemed arrogantly unfazed by the situation.

Ansgar focused on trying to get in contact with Air rather than on the situation in the room. “Come in, Aerona! Respond!”

Warnings blared all around the interior of the Skadi. Air groaned to herself as she came back around. She scanned the condition of the cockpit and her own vitals. The voice of Ensign Toule continued to come over the damaged view screen. “Aerona Diwalt reporting.”

“Air!” The relief in Ansgar’s voice came through clearly. “Are you hurt?”

“The Skadi has taken significant damage to the left forearm and joints. Damage to the Heavy Focused Energy Cannon, functionality unconfirmed. Yggdrasil drive reading minor instabilities—“

“Are you hurt, Air?”

Air paused for a moment having to think about the question. She examined her body carefully to report in accurately. “No external injuries that I can detect. I was unconscious for a period of thirty-eight seconds so a concussion is possible. I lack further medical knowledge to provide a full diagnosis.”

Ansgar smiled to himself a little regretting the question a bit. “You’re fine then.”

The radar and tracking programs returned for the Skadi suddenly. When she looked for the enemy only her transport plane appeared. Expanding the search left her with no further answers. “I am unable to detect the enemy any longer. Where have they gone?”

The Ensign looked back at the General getting his orders. He turned back to the monitor that only displayed Air’s helmeted face. “Can the Skadi still move?”

Spinning metal and hydraulics in the lower part of the Skadi broke the previous whisper normally heard within the cockpit. The complete system report came through to Air as she attempted to bring her Skadi back under her control. “Skadi output is 34% of combat capability. I can continue.”

“Wait until the transport comes to pick you up. You’ll be returning to base.”

“Understood.”

The General rotated in the command chair to look back at the middle aged man standing behind him. An air of disappointment hovered around him from witnessing the battle. “A rather poor performance for our debut, Kitawara.”

“The Skadi has yet to be completed. It was only at 50% of its construction. However, it was the only one close to combat readiness. It’ll be a different story once it is finished.” He locked stares with the General unflinching.

“It’d better or this’ll be very short.”

* * *

A soft constant thump in her stomach began to awaken Shizuka. It felt distant, but pressed against her making her sore. Her body seemed almost weightless and moving. She had trouble explaining the sensation to herself still not completely awake. ‘What happened to me?’ The more she started to surface from the fog the more a ringing in her head annoyed her. Accompanying the ringing was a widespread ache in her head. She then realized that she was upside down. The odd feeling snapped her back to her sense and awoke to her staring at brown leather. ‘I’m being carried!’

Shizuka fought with the person that carried her to try to break free. Her legs kicked into the chest and stomach. She also tried to lift herself free from the arm around her waist keeping her from sliding off the shoulder. “Let me go! Stop now!”

“No. Ya’ll just run away ag’in.”

“This is kidnapping! Let me go!”

“Can ya really call it ‘napping if yer dad’s makin’ the call?”

“If I don’t want to see him ever again, yes!”

“Well ain’t ya lucky tah be able tah say that.” Ed shifted Shizuka up a little to get back into position to finished carrying her. He preferred if she stayed asleep until he took her back to the ship. The thought of listening to her whining made the march back even more painful.

Around him steam and smoke raised from the ground where particle beams impacted. Carrying Shizuka made him tired. His body shook still from what happened not making it any easier on him. Not helping him was the rise in temperature that only made him sweat all the more. It felt almost unnatural to him for warmth in the air. ‘I liked tha chill better… Why’d it h’ve tah be a whiny brat?’ The longer he stared out into the horizon the more he wondered about the battle he witnessed. ‘I’ve ne’er see anyth’n like tha b’fore. What were those metal monsters?’

Ed avoided a large crater in front of him forced to work through fallen plants that used to be crops. The entire area used to be farmland, but now became nothing more trampled garden. He wondered if the destruction caused could be salvaged. ‘Is this what war’s like? Like in tha books?’ His work with The Niphliheim sent him around the world and they had their share of conflicts. Yet none of it compared to what he saw. ‘Is it those terrorists, Ragnarok?’ Ed shook his head trying not to think too hard about it. He hoped never to see such things again.

“Yo Ed!” shouted Sheila from their truck as it screeched to a halt. “I see yer still alive, kid!”

He picked his head up and waved with his free arm to them. A welcomed relief came to him seeing his crewmates still alive. When the battle started he lost all contact with them. It seemed that they came out with less trouble than him. “Yeah! Somehow an’way!”

As Ed approached them Sheila leapt off the side of the back of the truck landing on the ground. She did not miss a beat to rush out to meet Ed. “What ya hauling there?” Sheila looked around over Ed’s shoulder to get a better look at the person he carried. She pulled back in surprise to see the girl they searched for glaring viciously at her. “Hey, ya might redeem yerself after’ll!” Sheila patted their target on the butt glad to see the annoying child taken down a peg.

Shizuka snapped immediately feeling the hand of the woman touching her. She bent around Ed to stare upside down at the woman. “Don’t you dare touch me!”

“Still get some fire in ya, huh?” She leaned over to meet the girl eye to eye. The higher position gave her a confident grin.

Fin poked his head out the door seeing the scene develop. “That’s enough, Sheila! Load up! We’re goin’ back to the ship!”

“Tch! Yes, Cap’n!” Sheila pulled back and climbed back into the truck. Ed followed behind her and dropped Shizuka on to the flatbed of the truck as he jumped in himself. The closing of the rear hatch signaled Nate to start driving once more.

Once the truck got back up to top speed Shizuka pulled herself up off the bed. She remained unrestrained, an odd thing for people not wanting her to escape. The other men and woman in the back of the truck gave her a sense that making any trouble would not succeed for long. She leaned her back against the side of the truck looking out at the road very pensive.

Ed faced the rest of the guys in the truck trying to put distance between the girl and him. She gave him more trouble than he ever wanted. The mission should have been a simple retrieval. ‘Damn girl!’ He found himself staring back at Shizuka and saw her too deep in thought with the road. “I wouldn’t if I were ya.”

Shizuka shifted her eyes over to Ed catching his words. The road disappeared in the distance quickly. She did not know how safe a fall she could make at their speed. She was trapped. Shizuka resigned herself to settle back against the truck refusing to speak to anyone.


The ride on the transport finally evened out from the rough escape that they made. It still made it difficult to treat the Commander. Once he secured his Peng into the deck Wells already scrambled up to the shoulder of the machine forcing the hatch open manually. The rest of the team had gathered around at the feet of the Skin waiting for their Commander to be safe.

Inside a transport carrier, they had no proper medical facilities for Callein. He rested on the line of seats used by the team while Noinae and Lellecausua tended to injures. Noinae was the closest they had to a field medic and even he had only a few extra classes than the rest. They did not have the proper tools to tend to all of his injuries. A medic kit only took them so far.

The tension and waiting for the team became too much to take. Schir sat in her own Skin trying to feel useful by staying warmed up for any new attack. After the treatment that they managed to give Nionae and Lellecausua sat on the opposite side of the transport staring in no particular direction. Wells went into the cockpit and sat down in the co-pilot seat that Callein kept during most of the flight.

“Damn it! We lost Rivers to those demons!” Wells crossed his arms and pressed deep into the seat not feeling comfortable. “I’m not about to see us lose the Commander too!”

“What you planning on doing to prevent it?” questioned Rinn. He flipped through screens on the monitor. The old maps of the Earth surface helped him plot a route, but all of the cities that used to exist centuries before made it useless for trying to avoid getting spotted. He relied more on his sight than the computer. Unfortunately, the noise the transport made worried him even being careful.

The question forced Wells silent for a moment. “There must be a hospital or clinic around here somewhere. We can just take the supplies we need.”

“Does that include a doctor?”

Wells turned his head to look over at Rinn in disgust for a poor joke. “Why would I want help from one of those demons?!”

“Are you willing to swallow your pride?”

“What sort of question is that?”

Rinn focused on the ground out of the window rather than bother with a debate with Wells. Each person had a right to their own religious opinions. He had no plans on getting into such an argument. It never resolved anytime anyone attempted it, regardless of the individual.

* * *

The old patch worked truck of the Niphliheim climbed into the back of their ship. Even as the truck rode the rear hatch it began to lift up closing just as the vehicle came to a stop. Shizuka saw her last chance for escape seal up behind her. She had no more options left for her, but to return to Antarctica City.

Captain Fin ordered around his crew to prep for lift off before reaching the rear of the truck. “Hey Ed! She’s yer responsibility since ya brought her back! Don’t let her out of yer sight, understand?”

Ed had watched Shizuka during the ride back, but figured that he would be relieved of the pain once on the ship. He stood up completely in the truck bed upset at the orders. “What do ya mean, Cap’n!? I’ve got no time tah watch a child! I’m tha pilot!”

“It’s an order!” snapped Fin as he walked away. He made it to the end of the cargo hold and stopped. The middle age man looked back to Ed. “Yer always complaining about having Sam as yer co-pilot. Think of it as a parting gift.”

The teenage boy grumbled under his breath. He beat his fedora against his leg to kick off the dust that built up from the trip. Ed jumped down from the truck and stared back at Shizuka. “Come on! Or are ya one of those prissy fancy girls that needs help down?”

“Shut your foul mouth,” shouted Shizuka. She knocked away his mocking hand and dropped down to the transport’s floor. She crossed her arms waiting for him to make a move, however he insisted on her going first. Shizuka gave in after seeing the look in his eyes telling her that he would just carry her out.

The interior of the ship made the hull of the ship seem high class. Rust collected on nearly everything possible and rust probably sat atop rust just to prove it was possible. Each step made the plating groan and cough like an old man. If any proper ceiling existed for the ship they used it no longer. Exposed pipes and wires hang precariously at head height for any adult. Blasts of heat exchangers piped into the halls through leaks and sometimes purposeful exits. The sight made Shizuka wonder how the ship managed to still function. It surprised her that the Board of Air Safety did not refuse to renew their permit.

Ed gave her a rough push in the shoulder to tell her to keep moving through the hall. He did not even try to hide his annoyance with the babysitting duty. The trouble she made for him had him thinking if the bounty was worth the effort. ‘A simple mission! Yer last mission with tha guys! Damn dirt digging country hick…’ He shoved Shizuka again when he saw her stopped in front of only half paying attention. The girl’s stubbornness reached near his tipping point seeing her refusing to move. “Keep goin’!”

“I can’t, moron.” Shizuka pointed up to the locked door. On the right of the door a red light blinked at the two of them demanding an access card to accept them. “It’s your ship and you can’t remember a locked door.”

He scowled at her before snapping his arm out with a card. The action took barely a second to execute, a routine motion requiring no thought. The door snapped the bolts back and opened itself inward to the cockpit. “Get in! I’ve had ‘nuf of ya lip, kid!”

Her feet stumbled over the port hole around the door not given enough time to walk properly. Shizuka regained her balance against the co-pilot seat and paused. Ed moved around to the pilot seat examining something on the panel leaving her unwatched. The tempting thought to flee out of the room stopped abruptly when she caught the door closing behind her. As though for further measure to punctuate her cell, the bolts on the door slammed shut locking them in.

“No funny ideas. Just sit!”

Any options she might have had disappeared for Shizuka. The large co-pilot seat stood as her only path to take. The chair rocked a little as she cautiously sat down. Her head never made it close to the head rest and the supports for her arms looked too high to be comfortable. Underneath her the leather padding reached out with sticky sweat caked hands pulling at her dress and hair. From the right side, Ed brought down the restraining belts for a chair meant for an adult and larger frame than her. He tightened it up until it scrapped over the skin of her arms plastering her to become part of the chair. She glared back up at him only have enough room to move her head around free, apart from her limbs. “It’s tight…”

The annoyed teen dropped into the pilot’s chair appearing to fit it better than Shizuka, but still gave the just a bit too large impression. His fingers flew across the computer screens and controls all acting by reflex. “We’ll be liftin’ off in one minute, folks!” he announced over the ship communication system.

The ship had a constant pounding that came out like a thud with several centimeters of steel blocking it. It created a distant lilting tune. When the main engines came online for the transport it ceased to be mildly pleasant and became thunderous. Drums blasted in everyone’s ears as the old transport sparked awake from its slumber.

To her surprise, the flight controls looked recent as well as the computer systems. A layer of dust and papers collected on her side, but lights glowed through. The pilot side had a more used and kept up appearance. Parts of the metal wore down and rubbed off labels. It provided a little comfort to know they cared about a certain part of the ship. However, the patchwork everywhere made it difficult to take too much solace in the newer components.

The savage pounding of the drums reached their climax when the transport began to lift off from the ground. The death rattle of hell’s minions made it seem impossible to have any hearing afterward. Shizuka twinged at the sounds wishing for her hands to be free enough to cover her ears even for a little protection. Each second it lasted felt like giant snakes drilling into her ears. She thought her ears would bleed from the stress, but it all suddenly disappeared. Peace befell her slumping in the chair as much as possible for her. She sighed.

Ed glanced over to her for a moment. “Ya shouldn’t be goin’ wi’out sound cancellers!” He produced a headset with large pieces for around the ear. “The Niph’s canceller’s dunt come on ‘til a thousand meters in tha sky. Fergot that ya ain’t Sam.”

She managed a bit of venom for Ed’s absentmindedness in a glare. “You did that on purpose!”

“Dunno,” shrugged Ed putting his eyes back on the sky.

Her energy disappeared spent forced to rest back in the chair staring forward. Out of the window thick black smoke rose up filling the horizon with an ominous column. The sight brought back painful images for Shizuka. She felt pangs strike at her heart drawing up tears that she futilely attempted to fight back. ‘Welest…it’s gone… I don’t know if anyone evacuated in time!’ Exhausted from the day as she was did not stop her from lunging against the restrains trying to get a better view before the village disappeared. Unfortunately, the smoke remained the only thing she saw. She lost any sense that she had surviving merely on desperation. “I can’t see! I can’t see it! I can’t see!”

Edgar partially tuned out Shizuka with his mind on flying the ship. Her screaming soon over powered his focus and pulled him away. “Would ya shut up! I’m tryin’ tah fly!”

“I can’t see them! Where are they?! I can’t see!”

He could not get through to her still not entirely seeing the problem on his hands. However, when he searched the seat restrains to see if he needed to tighten them his eyes widened a little in surprise. Shizuka’s shoulders and arms were bruised red and rubbed raw from her panic. The longer he watched he saw her starting to stain the belts. Ed unsnapped the belts in his chair and leapt out over to her chair almost tripping in the process over the controls that ran between the two. “Hey! Whatcha think yer doin’? Ya stupid?!”

She whipped her head over to Ed bearing her wild and crazed light blue eyes at him. Shizuka saw nothing only reacting on instinct. “I can’t see! Where are they?! I must see them!”

The sight of the girl made him lean back a little unnerved by her breakdown. He did not know what suddenly happened to trigger such a reaction. Ed swallowed quickly and put his hands on her shoulders forcing her back into the chair trying to prevent further damage. “Listen tah me! Snap out of it!” She struggled violently with him giving him surprise at her strength. The only thing that kept him in control was the leverage and position. “What’s tha matt’r with ya?!”

Shizuka fought with Edgar trying to around him. His body blocked any view she had outside. “I can’t see! Let me see!” Her head bobbed around ripping the restrains into her shoulder deeper even against Edgar’s strength.

“See what? See who?”

“My village!” Shizuka screamed at Edgar challenging the record the ship made in volume.

“Damn, girl!” After he lost his ears he stopped having any politeness left for her. He slapped her across the face loud enough to echo through the chamber. “They’re dead!”

“Dead?!” She pulled back finally realizing that Ed stood almost in her face. “N-n-no! No…” Her body relaxed in the chair with her voice falling inward. ‘…dead…all of them? It can’t be!’ The drop in adrenaline for Shizuka sent a wave of stinging pain over her skin. She bit on her lip trying to ignore it. Once the initial assault on her body passed she searched for the source. Her skin felt something dripped slowly down her. Near her near neck on her shoulders all the skin burned and trails of blood gathered up sliding down sticking to her dirty dress, around her waist and arms felt similarly. The worst were her forearms that got caught up with the restraints and dug into the skin some drawing more blood up. “What happened…to me?”

Ed sighed in relief that she calmed down finally. Unfortunately, the more he looked at her the more he realized his problem only began for him. ‘Damnit! Now I’ve gotta tell tha Cap’n… How am I gonna ‘splain this?’ He reached over for the headset resting on the panel. Ed did not bother to put it on. “Cap’n Fin? We’ve gotta problem with tha girl!”

It took a minute for a response to come through. “What the hell did ya do?!” yelled Fin, loud enough that Ed did not need the headset near him.

“Well…we’ll be needin’ tha medic kit…”

“What?! Why? She try to end it all or somethin’?”

“No!” He searched Shizuka for a better answer for the Captain. ‘Though it might have been easier…’ She had no answers for him leaving him to figure out something. “Just send Sam up tah take over fer me! I’ll brin’ tha girl tah tha mess room!”

“…yeah…”

Ed undid the belt for Shizuka and turned the chair out. “Com’on!” By the time they started to leave the door opened and a tall man in his late twenties appeared. The man wasted no time taking over the controls, left on auto-pilot by Ed. “Keep us from crashin’ in tah ocean, Sam!”

“Yeah, I know how to fly, Edgar!”

In a side compartment of the ship a tight room waited for them with more storage containers than shelves to fit them. The Captain and Sheila sat at one of the two tables in the room prepared for their arrival. When Shizuka came in looking like she had gone through a whipping Captain Fin jumped up to his feet. He looked over at Edgar for an explanation. “Damn, Ed! I know she’s a handful, but ya don’t abuse her to keep her in line!”

“Woah, Cap’n!” Ed waved his arms to deny any involvement in Shizuka injures. “She did that by ‘erself! I tried tah stop ‘er!”

Sheila picked up Ed by his shirt getting his face. “We can’t hand her over to them like this! Start talkin’ right now!”

“Hey now! Like I said, she did it tah ‘erself!” Panic began to settle in for Ed trying to recall everything that happened. Most of the scene became a blur for him. It had all seemed random and sudden without a reason. “Look I dunno what happen’d! She was just shoutin’ sumthin’ an’ became violent! I tried tah stop ‘er when I saw ‘er hurtin’ ‘erself!” He looked over to Shizuka for some help. She simply turned her away in annoyance.

Sheila dropped him back down to the floor giving him enough of a push to send him on his butt. She turned away to quickly check on the wounds that Shizuka had taken. “Looks like scraps and burns from the restraints.” After a brief examine she tried to touch Shizuka’s dress to look more thorough, but Shizuka rebutted her. “Hey! Enough with the attitude!”

“Don’t touch me!” Shizuka backed away from all of them. She had no trust for them. Greed motivated their concerns for her. “Don’t anyone of you touch me! You’re just thinking about how my father won’t pay you because of how I look! You all make me sick! Innocent people died and all you’re thinking about is money!”

The three mercenaries looked around at each other taking a quiet moment. A little of what Shizuka had hurt to hear. The battle did not go unseen by them. However, Sheila reacted before the others did by slapping her. “What do ya think we could’ve done? This ship isn’t equipped for that sorta thing! The world ain’t so simple and we ain’t humanitarians! Ya should be grateful we came for ya!”

“What?!” Shizuka pushed up into Sheila’s face provoked by her words. “Grateful?! How dare you…”

“Yeah! If we weren’t here ya would’ve been in that village and killed with everyone else!”

“What?! I-I… Y-you…” Shizuka backed away again thinking about the village. ‘I could’ve… It could’ve been…me…’ The thought of the village burning crawled through her mind. She bent over a little remembering everyone’s face still clear from the morning she spoke to them. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks again.

Fin grabbed Sheila’s arm to get her attention. “That’s more than enough! She’s been through enough today already!”

“Tch! Yer being too soft on her, Cap’n!” The serious stare from her Captain calmed her down sharply. She knew to listen when he became that serious. Thinking with a cooler head, she stared down at Shizuka for a moment. “Ya two need to leave!”

“Huh?” squawked Ed, confused with Sheila seeming to go back to being angry just after the Captain yelled at her. He pushed himself back up to his feet and stood with the Captain. “I haven’t dun anythin’.”

Sheila became even more upset than before for Ed blockheadedness. “Do I have to explain it to ya?”

“Come on, Ed,” called Fin, already leaving the room. He grabbed Ed by his collar dragging him out. “Take care of her Sheila!” Once out of the room he closed the doors behind him and stood in front like a guard.

Ed still had no clue what just happened. He got in front of the Captain wanting an explanation. “Ya just goin’ tah leave tha girl in there with Sheila?! She’s goin’ beat ‘er up!”

“No, it’s more like Sheila was gonna beat ya up!” Fin laughed out loud seeing that Ed still did not get it. A bit of amusement rose realizing how innocent Edgar remained on such matters. He reached out a hand placing it consolingly on his shoulder. “Women need their privacy, Ed!”

“Huh?”

Sheila focused back on Shizuka in the corner of the room between a couple of containers. She sighed to herself. “They’re gone now. So let’s treat those wounds of yours!” The lack of a response from her made Sheila approach her. She knelt down staring at the young girl feeling a little guilt for yelling at her. ‘She’s taking it pretty hard…’ Sheila offered a hand out for Shizuka working on a gentler expression for her sake. “Come on, ya don’t want it get an infection do ya?”

It took a bit to clearly see Sheila for Shizuka. There still remained hesitation, but the threatening feeling she gave off before seemed to be gone. With reluctance, she accepted the hand up. They walked back over to the table with the medic kit set up, appearing just as dirty as everything else on the ship.

“Take off your dress,” Sheila said casually going through the kit box. The disinfectant and bandaged laid out on the table prepared while she went back for few more things. She glanced back at Shizuka for a moment seeing her still dressed. “We’re both women. No need to be shy.”

“But…”

“Do ya want to get an infection?”

“N-No…”

“Then off with the dress!”

Shizuka cheeks turned red with embarrassment. The thought of someone she did not know seeing her naked continued to run through mind. She knew she could not tend to everything herself, but she did not want it to be one of the mercenaries. More pressure came upon her from Sheila. The burning in her shoulder reminded her of the pain making the decision for her. She turned around away from Sheila hoping to keep herself protected a little.

Once the dirt filled dress came off it rested on the table. Shizuka kept her back to Sheila holding up her arms over her chest left only in her panties. Sheila had course hands making Shizuka stir a little whenever she touched her to clean the wounds. The bandages wrapped around chest and shoulder as well as her waist covering up nearly all of her upper torso. A few more fixed up her arms. The overall appearance made her seem worse off. “All done!”

Most of the pain had finally passed for Shizuka. She felt a bit like a mummy with so many bandages, but the locations of her injures made it difficult to wrap. Her hand lifted towards her shoulder testing it out a little. Shizuka hesitated before turning around to look up at Sheila. She looked away feeling a little uncomfortable. “Umm…thank you…”

“So ya can be nice,” she teased, “Ya should put yer dress back on. Ed’d probably faint knowin’ how much of a baby he is still.”

Shizuka grinned a bit and released a small laugh. She pulled up her dress staring at it for a moment. The blood that stained the inner side had soaked partially through. ‘I’ll need to clean it…the mayor gave it to me…’ With no further thoughts, she slipped back into the dress and fixed it back into place where it got stuck.

“Girl’s got a lot of spirit, Ed,” Fin said, looking a bit nostalgic.

Edgar gave the Captain a crooked look up from the wall he leaned against. “She’s trouble…”

The Captain laughed a bit to himself. “Reminds me of my first wife!”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be! I loved that fire in her! Makes things more interestin’!”

“I guess… Are all Northerners like that?”

Fin paused to consider the question. He remembered that Ed had limited experience beyond Antarctica. Most of the time, he remained on the ship or only met with port crew. The impression that Shizuka left on Edgar made Fin careful about his words. “Some probably are, but that’s how it’s with anyone. I suspect her attitude lies with deeper reasons than a different environment than us.”

A long silence came from Edgar as his mind sorted through thoughts. His previous conversations with Shizuka echoed through him. “I can’t ‘magine anyone not wantin’ tah see their dad. Ain’t right!”

The Captain looked up at the ceiling as he spoke, “Families fight… It’s sad for someone so young though.”

“If I could…” Ed turned away slamming his fist again the metal wall. He closed his eyes trying to push back the memories and emotions that followed. “…I’d…”

“He was a good man, Ed...”

The doors to the mess room opened up revealing Sheila and Shizuka behind her. “We’re all done!” Sheila pulled Shizuka forward to hand her back off to Ed. “Ya don’t go doin’ anything crazy again, alright?”

Shizuka held a more demure appearance politely nodding to Sheila. “…yeah…” She stepped up next to Ed not making direct eye contact with him, but waiting in silence. The air about her had both the Captain and Ed confused.

“Where’d ya put the real one?” asked Ed, not believing how the girl changed so much in a short amount of time.

Sheila giggled a bit holding a knowing look. “We’ve just came to an understandin’. Simple as that.”

“Huh?”

The dumb confused look on Ed holding them up gave the time for Shizuka to shift back. She did not feel comfortable standing around with him just staring at her. A sharp prickly attitude surfaced from her glancing briefly at him while trying to keep directed away. “You coming? I thought you were my jailor?”

“Seems ya still have a long ways to go, kid!” teased Sheila.

* * *

Antarctica – Antarctica City – H.O.P.E. Headquarters

Noise in the hanger reached a peak with the announcement of the ARMs transport returning back from its mission. The chaos from early remained strong with everything still feeling very new to the support teams. The work they did had not changed much from the usual missions in the past, but working with an ARM came as new to them. They always remained closed off as something seen from a distance. People wanted to make sure they did everything properly, especially in front of the command staff.

The command staff was another rare appearance for everyone. It had them all walking around on egg shells in uncertainty. No one knew what happened or the reason for the unscheduled mission. Rumors developed quickly amongst the teams waiting around with little to do until the return of the transport. The heavy oppressive aura that sat throughout the base left all on edge.

Alarms sounded off declaring the arrival of the transport. Lights came on tracking down the flight deck where the plane soon would land. The hanger bay came alive with automated machines preparing for the transport for venting exhaust out of the underground facility and halting the transport if in an emergency.

The communication officer from the command center came across the speakers in the hanger. “Skadi transport incoming! All teams to the flight deck!”

Ensign Toule finally arrived from his post to the hanger as the transport came to a slow halt. He paused for a moment working on catching his breath from the long run. He pulled down on his uniform jacket to straighten it back out and readjust his belt over the jacket. Once he felt ready to go out and meet the transport Toule left the entrance.

When he arrived at the site of the transport the rear hatch already opened and a truck pulled up to attach to the ARM bed Skadi laid upon. Out of the side door he found Aerona disembarking in silence. He hastened his pace to meet her. “Welcome back, Air! How are you feeling?”

She snapped to attention and saluted him being a superior officer. After he accepted the formality she loosened a bit. “Thank you for meeting me, Ensign Toule. I am experiencing no problems at this time.”

Toule thought on the matter for a moment knowing how she could be. “All the same the doctors should examine you. This is your first time in the Skadi.”

“Understood, sir!” Aerona saluted him again and turned away to follow the order she had been given.

He watched her leave the hanger without a second thought. Their brief conversation made him sigh a bit. ‘So stiff still…’ Toule saw the Skadi getting off loaded from the transport. Curiosity overtook him to see what the strange machines had done to the Skadi. He stared at the large black ARM. The paint made it difficult to see some of the damage it had withstood, but cracks in and melting in the armor told him everything he needed to know. ‘I know they said that Ragnarok was involved, but they’ve never been shown to have ARM technology. Was this really done by terrorists?’

In a briefing room within the base several high ranking figures met. General Nornland sat at the head of the table with the Air Marshal and Admiral on his right. An empty seat with a disorganized pile of papers and tablets marked out the Head Engineer’s place. Kitawara stood at the end of the table where a large screen glowed with the data retrieved from the recent battle. “There’s still a lot of data we’ve yet to analyze relating to the enemy machines, but this is the initial report we have.”

Images appeared of the Skadi firing upon a heavily armored machine staying to protect the downed transport. Video played out of the resulting blast being scattered by the enemy. He paused the video at the moment of impact. “This was of great interest to us. Preliminary data says that this shield they had was able to take most of the energy of Skadi’s Heavy Focused Energy Cannon before being destroyed. It seems like it could disperse and absorb the heat and particle density to reduce its overall effectiveness. The shield still got destroyed, but under a less powerful particle beam the shield would be able to take the hit and completely negate the damage done.” A new image appeared with the destruction of the enemy machine.

“Indications from this are that the enemy machines armor are not using the same technology as the shield. It’s unclear if this is due to cost or the technology being ineffective for larger application. However, this should be of great interest with the further development of the AESIR units.” The screen changed over to the first enemy unit to appear on the battle. An analysis program displayed a wireframe model of the flight parts. “This unit seems to have been specifically constructed for flight within a gravity environment. Considering the enemy, the need for a gravity combat unit would be unnecessary for them.”

“So we can assume that they built that specifically for combat on Earth,” remarked the Air Marshall. He looked over to the General with a grim expression. “This unit makes their intentions quite clear.”

The General shifted away from the screen keeping his hands up against his chin. “Indeed. This little intrusion of theirs is only a prelude to what is to come in the future. My concern is with the AESIR units. We sank an enormous amount of resources into them ensuring that they would be the most advanced machines and to be defeated by only two units.”

Kitawara did not crack from his self assured confident features. The doubt from the military did not make him flinch. He switched the images over to the Skadi project files. The computer ran simulations and test data on the machine that everyone had seen far too frequently. “The AESIR project was designed for multiple target engagements with at least two units. The Skadi was incomplete and alone when it faced the enemy. Once the Njord is completed nothing will ever harm the Skadi.”

“That’s some arrogance, Kitawara,” the Admiral commented. He held his doubts about the project, but knew in the end it had to succeed. Without the AESIR they had no defense that could survive. “Remember that it is human beings in all of those machines. You can’t put a number to the human factor.”

“The AESIR were designed specifically for the Potentials. The Potentials were specifically trained and selected because they are superior humans. It’s not arrogance when you understand the facts.”

General Nornland raised his hand looking to an end to the debate. He fixed his sight on the engineer. “Just ensure the units are completed quickly. With the enemy earlier than predicted we’ll need them all functioning.” Kitawara nodded to the General. The next matter made him look to his right at the table. “For now we’ll keep running with the story that it’s the work of Ragnarok. We always have trouble with them. So the public won’t think much of what they can’t see.” Everyone at the table nodded in agreement. They knew the truth proved to be more dangerous. A forgotten people did little for them.

The communication panel in the room lit up breaking up the discussion. “Excuse me, but you requested to be informed when the new pilots were arriving.”

“Yes. That is all.” The lights in the briefing room turned back on. The military officers stood up looking over to Kitawara with heavy expectations on him. After a long stare between them and the engineer they departed the room.


On a highway tube from the airport, some of the crew of the Niphliheim rode into town. Shizuka sat in the front seat with Sheila driving. Behind them Captain Fin and Edgar sat in the back seats. They borrowed a rental car rather than taking the truck for a couple of reasons, making a good impression being the top one.

Out of the window Shizuka saw the array of domed districts that made up Antarctica City. The newer and larger domes crowded out the older districts near the center. Numerous highways stretched out to wind between the domes connecting travel. Some sealed off while others left to the open environment. However, the open air highways usually ended up used less and restricted to specific types of vehicles. While inside the tube highway she watched the snow blow over the transparent material. ‘It’s been six years and the place hasn’t changed a bit… It’s all so…stagnant…’

Their destination came up quickly in one of the outer domes. The H.O.P.E. Organization held the entire dome for their research and military base. Large buildings spread across the surface as well as a housing complex for the employees and soldiers. The east edge of the dome held several runways that had special exits in the dome built for them.

Passage into the dome came smoothly for them and directed towards the military complex. The building marked out on the map that Sheila kept referencing came quickly upon them. Shizuka felt the developing unease in her stomach knowing she soon had to face her father. She never said goodbye to him when she left. It made her wonder how he would react seeing her. A bit of hope that he would be a normal father and be relieved dwelled in her still. ‘…father…’

“Looks like the place!” Sheila declared upon stopping the car. Captain Fin and Edgar stepped out of the car taking in the view of a very large building with thick gates that ran up the entire length of the side of the building. It had an exit out into a road making it seem more like a hanger than the standard building around the base. Sheila looked over at Shizuka detecting the apprehension. “Time to go. Can’t keep puttin’ it off!”

“…yeah…” Shizuka opened the door and searched around the area for anyone that might be meeting them. She seemed about to give up when doors from the building in front of them opened revealing two figures.

Fin and Sheila escorted Shizuka out to meet with the approaching people while Edgar stuck by the car. As they closed distance the two individuals became a man and woman appearing to be about in their thirties. The man wore a suit while the woman dressed in a white lab coat covering up her skirt and blouse. She kept her blonde hair tied up leaving only a few strains of hair to fall against her face. Sheila motioned over to Shizuka to stand in front of them.

Captain Fin carefully scrutinized them as they came to a stop a meter away. “Where’s the doc? I thought we were supposed to be meetin’ him for the exchange?”

“Dr. Kitawara is inside. He sent me to handle your payment.”

“I see.” He glanced over at Sheila picking up her attention quickly. “Ya stay with the girl until I confirm the payment.”

The man lifted his hand up to deny him. “I’m afraid no unauthorized personal are allowed inside.”

Fin and the man in the suit stared at each other. They measured off their opponent determining the seriousness of the other. But the woman stepped up between them. “Is the teenage boy by the car with you?”

“Yes?”

“He may enter. If that works for you.”

“Huh?” Sheila and Fin said staring back at Edgar. They knew less of what was going on than they realized. It made them a little suspicious. Fin motioned over for Ed deciding that if they wanted the money it was their only option. A military base surrounded them with armed guards everywhere. They did not have much room to maneuver. “Yer goin’ with the girl, Ed. Don’t let her out of yer sight until I confirm the payment. Alright?”

“What?! Why me?”

“Didn’t I say she was yer responsibility?!”

“…fine…” Ed looked over at Shizuka annoyed that he still had to escort her around even after giving her over. He did not like having to waste time with her knowing that he had to finish matters with the Niph before leaving. His last mission lasted far longer than he wished.

The man escorted Sheila and Fin off to a separate building while the woman smiled politely at the two of them. “Hello Shizuka!” the woman greeted. She leaned over and bent down to meet her at eye level. “You probably don’t remember me, but I was a friend of your mothers. I’m Karen Stein!”

“…hi…” Shizuka did not like the way that she acted familiar with her. The name seemed a little familiar to her, but it felt like the woman treated her like a child. She turned her head to look forward to the large building.

Karen gave a bit of a perplexed expression to the reaction that Shizuka gave her. She tried a more cheerful voice than before. “You don’t have to be shy, Shizuka. Everything’s alright!”

A cross expression came over Shizuka when she glared back at Karen. “Just because you introduce yourself as a friend of my mother doesn’t put us on friendly terms. You’re my mother’s friend, not mine.”

The woman pulled back realizing how unwelcome her presence was for Shizuka. She hid her confusion at the response and started to escort them to the building. “I’ll take you to your father inside.”

Ed stayed close to Shizuka following behind the woman a safe enough distance to keep her from hearing him talk. He tilted his head over to Shizuka to whisper towards her. “Do ya have to bite everyones ‘ead off?”

Shizuka narrowed her features a little seeing that Ed did not understand anything. “When you get kidnapped tell me how you’d act towards the people that ordered it.”

“It’s not kidnappin’ if it’s your father!”

“It’s against my will. So yes it is!”

“Whatever…”

Once they entered into the building it became evident to them that the building was a hanger. The entire structure ran for more than thirty meters high and expanded well beyond. The interior was massive to behold with machines attached to the ceiling for lifting and machinery work. Up against the far wall stood two giants that made all of the people working around at their feet seem like children. No one came up past the height of the top of the foot.

As Shizuka stared on closer in confusion she realized that robots stood before her. Much of the metal frame remained exposed with only a little metal plating covering up legs and arms. The robots appeared to look almost human from what she saw. “What’s all of this?”

“The prototype ARMs AESIR Freya and Od,” a familiar voice declared from the distance. The man stepped out from the shadows of the machines and approached Shizuka. He glanced down at her quickly and over to Ed.

Shizuka felt her arms shaking a little as she fought to control her emotions. She did not expect to see him in such a place or so suddenly. She was not prepared for it. “…father…”

Kitawara turned back to gaze with a pleased expression upon the two ARMs. He stretched out his arms pointing at the machines specifically. “These will be yours. You’ll pilot Freya, Shizuka and Edgar Dubois the Od is yours.”

“What?!” yelled Shizuka and Ed, together before looking at each other. They glanced between each other quickly. The expressions on their faces changed as they realized the meaning of her father’s words.

To be continued…