Sounds good Gives me more time to do a quick re-cap of Season 3 to get prepared.
Sounds good Gives me more time to do a quick re-cap of Season 3 to get prepared.
PSO2: Cocona - GU/HU / FI/HU / BO/HU
--AR PHANTASY - PSO2 Fanfic! [Updated 05-21-14]--
Holy butts, I type words on them there Tumblrs
Oh god look a Twitters too
I know it was a long wait, but the final season begins now...
CHAPTER 17.1 [3/11/17]
Spoiler!
They say space is vast, but few people truly comprehend the vastness of the universe. A typical planetary system is thirty billion kilometers across. Over ninety-nine point nine percent of that is empty space. The distance between planetary systems is often in excess of forty trillion kilometers. There are hundreds of billions of planetary systems in each galaxy. Nearly two hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. And space is expanding at an accelerating rate, meaning the universe is growing larger all the time.
Given its size, hiding something in the universe is relatively easy to do. It’s like dropping a needle among two hundred billion haystacks. When that needle is the largest construction project in a millennia, however, things get a little complicated. Suddenly there are a myriad of factors to consider. Keeping the location secret from the public, for instance. Getting raw materials to the construction site without being traced. Handling the nondisclosure agreements of thousands upon thousands of contract workers sent to actually build the thing. Each is a challenge in itself.
To its credit, the Oracle government did an admirable job. They couldn’t afford not to. After all, Terra Nova was humanity’s shining future, a beacon of hope against the encroaching darkness. The massive space station promised a future free of the Darker threat, a promise the government was keen to deliver. There was no other choice. Not when they knew the cold, hard truth of the matter, a truth they tried hard to keep from the public: Oracle was losing the war. Without Terra Nova it may well be lost.
But there was one thing they hadn’t counted on, a snake in the grass for which they had no defense. Lee Okada, head of the criminal syndicate known as KAI-OS, had access to the government’s classified files. He knew the location of Terra Nova and had already given it up to Oracle’s mortal enemy.
And the Darkers heeded the call.
* * * * * * * * *
SECTOR PRIME, CORE REGIONS
Terra Nova floated quietly through space. Too quietly. There should have been a buzz of activity surrounding it. Construction workers putting the finishing touches on Oracle’s latest achievement. Cargo haulers ferrying materials to and from the site.
But there was nothing, no movement at all except the lazy rotation of the station around its central axis. Terra Nova was roughly cylindrical in shape, with tapered ends and a pair of distinctive rings encircling it like twin halos. It was also very large, second only to the Mothership in terms of size and impressiveness. Upon completion it would house the entire population of the First Fleet—and more.
Yet it was quiet. The lack of activity was due to the presence of a single vessel, one covered in black, organic armor plates. The plates were rough and glassy like obsidian. They overlapped slightly. From the spaces between them pulsed an otherworldly crimson glow.
The vessel had been a colony ship of the Fifth Fleet once, before it was attacked and repurposed by the Darkers. Now it was a harbinger of death and destruction. An oracle of chaos. Not even the combined might of the ARKS and Navy forces could bring it down. The evidence of that failure was scattered throughout Sector Prime. The charred, lifeless husks of battle cruisers and assault frigates tumbled in slow motion across the void, a stark warning to anyone who dared interfere.
But there was no one else around. Just Terra Nova… and Orpheus. The former colony ship was parked in synchronous orbit with one of the station’s docking rings. A pressurized tube connected them. Inside, Darkers of all shapes and sizes were clawing and stomping and scrabbling their way into Terra Nova. The unchristened station, defiled by the very monsters it was meant to keep out.
At the forefront of the pack, leading the procession, was a man who had more in common with the Darkers than the society he’d left behind. He was a large man, over two meters tall, with copper-brown skin and an ornate tattoo that curved around his left eye. The bulbous Master Core fused into his back was a symbol of his newfound powers. His forearms were sheathed in black, organic armor. His eyes glowed red—just like the Darkers he commanded.
His name was Shankar.
Spoiler!
* * * * * * * * *
Shankar stepped through the portal connecting the docking ring to the station proper. As he did so, he got his first good look at his new home. The vista before him stretched out in a full three hundred and sixty degrees. The entire inner wall of the station—essentially a cylinder—was delegated as living space. Below him were lush, grassy fields and wide-open land for growing crops. Above was a shimmering blue lake filled with an assortment of fish and other aquatic lifeforms. Farther away he spotted a jungle of silvery-white buildings gleaming in the artificial sunlight. A massive support column ran the entire length of the station like a great mechanical spine. Everything looked new and untouched.
That wouldn’t last long. Behind Shankar, the first wave of Darkers entered Terra Nova. Dagans and Kartargots and El Ahdas and Dagachas. Hundreds of them swarmed over the ground and through the air, staining the pristine scenery with their presence.
The figure standing beside Shankar seemed nervous. Not surprising—Darkers tended to have that effect on people.
“They won’t hurt you,” he said. “I’ve given them strict instructions.”
“Why don’t I find that reassuring?”
Shankar didn’t reply. He was too busy thinking about the future. Gradually his red-eyed gaze drifted to the urban skyline on the horizon. There, he thought. That’s where the work crews would be. There was supposed to be fifty thousand workers aboard the station. He hadn’t seen any yet, meaning they probably fled or went into hiding at the first sight of Orpheus. If there were any still around, they would be in the cities.
“Find a suitable place for us to stay,” he instructed the figure beside him. “I will venture downtown in search of… sustenance.”
The figure gave him a troubled look. Shankar added, “My methods don’t sit well with you. An understandable reaction. You haven’t fully accepted what I’ve become. The feedings are… a necessary evil. The price of creating a new and better world.”
“I know that. I do. You have to do it or you’ll die. I just… wish there was another way.”
Shankar gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Let’s go.”
* * * * * * * * *
The construction worker let out a half scream, half gurgle as the Darker tendril stabbed through his chest. Standing behind him, Shankar retracted the tendril into his armored palm. He stood back and waited as the worker began glowing from the inside out like a light bulb. With a bright flash, the man exploded into a cloud of pure photon energy. The cloud drifted through the air, the last remnants of a life snuffed out.
Shankar would put it to good use. He raised both arms and sucked in the man’s energy. Drank it up with a ravenous thirst. He was like a traveler in the desert, finding an oasis after a week without any water. It felt good.
Immediately he could feel his own energy returning. The long drought was finally over. Shankar looked around, hoping to find more workers to feed upon, but they had all fled like frightened Rappies. No matter, he thought. I can track them down later. They cannot hide from me forever.
He was standing alone in the center of a broad plaza somewhere in the heart of the city. A city that was, at the moment, totally vacant. It was a strange sight. He was surrounded by buildings—shops, apartments, banks—yet the place was completely, utterly silent.
Which made the sudden humming noise above him especially noticeable. Shankar looked up. It appeared as if every video screen in the plaza had turned on simultaneously. The screens normally displayed news reports, advertisements, and announcements for ARKS operatives. This time, however, they all contained the face of a single man. The same larger-than-life face, repeated on a hundred different screens all around him.
The man was well-groomed, with immaculate skin and neatly-combed jet black hair. He was wearing a tailored suit, a pair of dark sunglasses… and a predatory grin.
Spoiler!
“My, my. Look at you!” he exclaimed, clearly referring to Shankar. “My little investment, all grown up.”
It took Shankar a moment to place the man. Then he remembered. They’d met in his apartment back on Ur, shortly before his trip to Orpheus. He was the one who informed Shankar of Naya Kestren’s location. But he had left as suddenly as he appeared, and Shankar hadn’t seen him since. Until now.
The man continued, “Probably never expected to hear from me again, did you? No, I suppose not. You thought we were two ships passing in the night. A brief encounter, nothing more, with our own separate trajectories, our own destinations in mind. Well, let me disavow you of that notion right now. We are bound together, you and I. Specifically, your fate to mine, your plans to mine. I knew you would end up on Terra Nova eventually. Like a wind-up toy, I started you up and set you off. And look! There you are.”
Shankar scowled. “What do you want?”
“Terra Nova is a lovely station, don’t you think? I’ve already reserved a penthouse in one of the high-end apartments downtown. The view is just to die for. As the station’s future landlord I’ll have my pick of living spaces, of course. Perhaps a villa next to the lake would be nice during those artificial summers, and one in the suburbs for when I feel like getting away from work. Who knows, maybe I’ll even commission a private yacht—”
“Enough! Get to the point or leave me alone.”
“Ah, yes! The point. Forgive me, I get ahead of myself sometimes.” The sunglasses man smiled down at him, the same wicked grin assaulting Shankar from every angle. “Do you recall the suit of armor I gave you before your trip to Orpheus? What am I saying—of course you do! You’re wearing it as we speak. Well, the time has come to repay that favor.”
“You said it was a gift.”
“Yes, but a gift with certain strings attached. Did you honestly think I was giving you that armor from the pure goodness of my heart? Please. Didn’t your mother ever teach you never to trust strangers bearing gifts? I suppose it’s a tad late now—I hear you already killed her.”
“That woman was not my mother.”
“Yes, yes, whatever you say. The point is, you accepted my help. Now I’ve come to collect on that debt.”
Shankar’s eyes narrowed in anger. He was growing tired of this rambling fool. If the man expected his help, he was about to be sorely disappointed.
“You’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘Why should I help a stranger? There’s nothing compelling me here. I could easily walk away right now and be done with it.’ Ah, but you’d be dead wrong. It’s too late for that, you see. Far, far too late. You obligated yourself the moment you stepped into that armor. Did you notice a tiny pinprick on your left heel when you first put it on? That was a tiny needle injecting nanites into your bloodstream. Are you familiar with nanites? A wonderful piece of technology, mostly outlawed outside a few scientific fields. Basically, think of them as microscopic machines. They can be programmed to perform a number of different tasks. The ones swimming through your blood are currently inactive, and will remain that way until I decide otherwise. If I were to turn them on, however, they would begin multiplying endlessly, over and over and over again. You see where I’m going with this? Eventually they will clog your veins and you will die.”
Once again, Shankar said nothing.
“I own you now,” said the man with a smirk. “Just like the slave tattoo on your face implies, you belong to KAI-OS. As you always have. That was the deal I made with Kestren. Didn’t she tell you? I agreed to fund Project Typhon in exchange for certain material and intellectual property rights—including you. And now, finally, I have come to claim my due. From this moment on, you are going to do what I say or I am going to kill you. It’s as simple as that.”
Naya Kestren had given Shankar some of the project details, but not all of them. He had been more interested in the Master Core at the time. The financial arrangements were of no concern to him, and he hadn’t thought to ask. Was this man telling the truth? Or was he bluffing? Either way, Shankar would never allow himself to become anyone’s puppet. Certainly not for a sleazebag like this.
“First, my red-eyed servant, you are going to call your ‘pets’ back. I don’t want them ruining the décor. And second, you are going to command your Darker friends to strike at a series of targets selected by me. It’s all about fear, you see. Keep the public afraid and you can make them do anything you want. It’s one of my guiding principles.”
“No,” Shankar replied, glowering. His voice came out as a raspy growl. “I submit to no one.”
“You doubt my sincerity? My conviction? Perhaps a demonstration will teach you your place.”
The man reached off-screen and pressed something. For a few seconds Shankar didn’t notice anything amiss. Then his entire body began to burn from the inside out. He clutched at his arms, his throat, his face, but there was nothing he could do. He was being poisoned by tiny machines inside his own blood.
The man on the screen smiled again. He was enjoying Shankar’s pain. “I would rather not kill you,” he said calmly. “Given the time and meseta I sunk into this project, terminating you would be something of a setback. Know, however, that you are not indispensable. I have most of Kestren’s research data. I have a sample of your genetic data—or should I say, her genetic data. If need be, I can find another scientist to replicate the experiment. You can be replaced. All it takes is time and meseta, and I have plenty of both.”
Shankar fell to his knees. He wanted to scream in pain, but refused to give the other man the satisfaction. He would rather die.
“Have you reconsidered yet?” asked the smirking face on the screen. “All you have to do is say the word and I’ll stop. One little word, that’s all. You should probably do it soon, though… if you want to live.”
He couldn’t hold back anymore. It was too much. The big Newman let out a throaty roar that echoed across the plaza. Unable to contain himself, his anger and pain mixed together in an explosive cocktail of rage. His arms raised up high and fierce bolts of photon lightning stabbed into the giant screen above him. It exploded in a shower of sparks.
Electricity crackled in the air around him. It came rolling off his body in waves. He used its power to strike at the face on the screens, one after another. More explosions, more sparks. Shankar couldn’t stand that infuriating smile any longer. He would destroy every last screen if he had to.
As his outburst continued, Shankar noticed something curious: the burning inside him was fading. Had the man deactivated the nanites? No, almost certainly not. What, then, was the cause of his sudden relief?
Electricity damages machines, he realized. And the nanites were nothing but tiny machines inside him. His attack was overloading them, destroying them. Shankar redirected the lightning inward. Sent it coursing through his body, right down to his bones. It was a terrible, indescribable pain. He felt like bursting apart at the seams… yet he kept going. He refused to stop until every last nanite was fried to a crisp.
It was killing them, yes, but it was killing him too. He was literally electrocuting himself in the process. Finally, when he could take no more, his attack ceased. Shankar collapsed face-first to the floor, gasping. His entire body was burned and smoking. He smelled like a piece of cooked meat.
But he had done it! He had beaten the nanites. At the very least, he couldn’t feel them churning inside him anymore. Even better, his attack had destroyed every screen nearby. That meant the smiling man couldn’t revel in his misery any longer.
Shankar felt elated. Triumphant. Despite his condition, he had overcome the odds. Nothing could stop him from achieving his purpose. His destiny. Nothing—
Ka-thump! The Master Core on his back throbbed in anticipation. The dark veins surrounding it began to swell.
A brief moment of confusion quickly became one of dawning horror. Shankar’s red eyes went wide. He had used up the last of his energy battling the nanites and now there was none left to protect him. Naya Kestren told him the Master Core was like a parasite. It absorbed energy, fed off it. “Only a constant influx of photon energy can keep its corrupting powers at bay,” she had said. “When the Core consumes the last of your energy, it will devour your body and turn you into… well, you don’t want to find out.”
Shankar thrashed about desperately on the floor, but in the end it was no use. There was nothing he could do to stop it. The black veins spread out like roots, drinking up the last of his energy reserves. Dark growths began forming all over his body. As they grew, they hardened into rough, armor-like plates. Just like Orpheus. Just like a Darker.
No! No, this can’t be happening! he thought with despair. All of his plans, his dreams, were they for naught? He was supposed to create a new world, a better world. That was his purpose… wasn’t it?
Unfortunately for him, the Master Core had its own purpose. Its tendrils continued to expand, snaking down his arms and legs. Covering his face. New appendages began to take shape. Spikes. Wings. A tail. His eyes lost the last of their old color.
The final traces of Shankar disappeared into the newly-formed monster. It devoured him whole… and kept growing.
* * * * * * * * *
COLONY SHIP 02, UR: SECRET KAI-OS BUNKER
Lee watched it happen from the safety of his computer monitor.
Shankar may have destroyed all the screens in the plaza, but not all the cameras. And what the cameras saw was… disturbing. A creature, dark and terrifying, rose up in the spot where Shankar had fallen. Cloaked in ominous black mist, it possessed razor-like claws, four leathery wings, and a long, barbed tail. Its entire body was sheathed in black armor plates. A pair of curved horns sat above soulless crimson eyes. All together it looked like a strange hybrid of man and dragon—one with a serious Darker makeover.
It was also large… and getting larger. Three meters in height soon became four. Then six. Then twelve. It had gotten taller than some of the low-rise buildings nearby. The cameras could no longer keep its entire body in the frame.
Lee stared, fascinated, at what was essentially a man-made Darker. The culmination of Naya Kestren’s work, her research into modified Darker cores, had been perverted into this… this monstrosity. It was a creature that shouldn’t exist. Something greater than the average Darker but less than a Falz. If Lee’s theory was correct, it should have retained the ability to command other Darkers. That could be a problem, considering the creature wasn’t likely to take his orders.
Fortunately, Lee didn’t believe in taking chances. He never gambled with fate and he always, always, had a backup plan. In this case: purge everything and start over. Securing Terra Nova was the priority. Controlling the Darkers was merely a bonus, one he could live without—for now.
Lee typed a few commands into the computer in front of him. His technicians had routed control of Terra Nova to his personal console, granting him remote access to the entire station. On the holographic screen, a single prompt appeared: “Engage Darker countermeasures? Y/N.” He selected “Y.” Then he sat back to watch the first live demonstration of Terra Nova’s revolutionary anti-Darker technology.
The central support column that ran the entire length of the station suddenly hummed to life. Previously-hidden panels opened up at regular intervals. From each opening emerged a white, three-meter-long obelisk. A special photon reactor—one of the largest ever built—began pumping energy into the dozens of obelisks lining the support column. The tip of each obelisk lit up like the star on top of a Christmas tree. White-gold photon energy radiated outward from them, blanketing the interior of the station in their warm glow.
The energy was harmless to humans. To Darkers, however, it had a peculiar effect. While certain types of photon energy attracted them like ravenous flies, this particular type repelled them. It was like a dog whistle… and it worked exceptionally well. It was also extremely difficult to generate the energy needed to be effective, which is what made Terra Nova so special. The meseta needed to build the reactor alone could have bankrupted most corporations. But the Oracle government spared no expense. They had staked the future of humanity on it.
Lee was the first person to witness the system, dubbed HELIOS—High Energy Low Intensity Output Synchronization—outside of a small-scale field test. He watched as hundreds of Darkers, large and small, immediately hightailed it back towards Orpheus. They went screeching and squawking and groaning, galloping and stampeding and soaring. Some merely vanished into hazy dimensional portals. It was a mass exodus, the hurried exit of every Darker aboard Terra Nova.
All except for one.
The man-turned-beast let out a deafening roar. All at once, the hundreds of Darkers halted their retreat.
I knew it! thought Lee. It controls them. The power of the Master Core is still alive and well.
But he was not prepared for what happened next. The creature—now sixteen meters tall, with glassy spikes sprouting from its shoulders, knees, and tail—turned towards the central column and raised its clawed hands. Dozens of elastic tendrils shot out of its palms, latching onto the nearest obelisks. Dark energy flowed outward through those tendrils. It was infecting the HELIOS system, corrupting it with negative photons. Darker cores blossomed on the formerly-pristine spires. The white-gold energy they were giving off dissipated into nothingness.
Lee broke out into a cold sweat. It was impossible. The HELIOS system was supposed to be unbeatable. He’d read the reports, seen the footage. No Darker could withstand the special energy emitted by the obelisks.
But then, this was no ordinary Darker, was it?
On the screen, the creature opened its gaping, fang-filled maw. The inside of it glowed with a hellish orange light. Without warning, an incredible beam of energy shot out of its mouth. It crossed the plaza in an instant and struck a multi-story shopping center. At the point of impact, a dark void exploded outward, swallowing everything in a hundred-meter radius. After reaching its maximum size, the void collapsed in on itself, dissipating almost as quickly as it appeared. In the space left behind, there was… nothing. The shopping center was completely gone, annihilated without a trace. A hundred-meter sphere had been carved out of the plaza.
The creature threw back its head and roared again. The sound waves were so powerful, they shattered nearby windows and light bulbs. They also overpowered the cameras watching the great beast.
Lee’s monitor was reduced to static. Troubled, he leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands.
Time to come up with a new plan…
TO BE CONTINUED
Sig art by Aussei ^_^
@yoshiblue:
Spoiler!Two reasons, really. First, Shankar was still weakened from his previous battles. He'd already used up a lot of his energy fighting Kira and Akasha. And second, the Master Core was a constant drain on him, like a leech. He had no one to "feed on" aboard Orpheus so there was no way to recharge himself. The effort he made in this chapter was like the final crack that burst the dam.
This was the part of the story where both Shankar and Lee's plans fell apart. Lee's not done yet, though. And neither are the Darkers.
Sig art by Aussei ^_^
CHAPTER 17.2 [3/18/17]
Spoiler!
“Aki02 personal log, Monday the sixteenth. It has been three long days since our mission to infiltrate the ARKS Command tower. Three days since I shot and nearly killed my sister.
Spoiler!
“It had to be done. Rationally, logically, I know that. But knowing it and accepting it are two very different things. It’s times like this I find emotions difficult to comprehend. The love and affection I feel for Zero One nearly clouded my judgment. I didn’t want to fire, yet I knew I should. It’s a contradiction, a mixing of priorities, and I feel ill-equipped to process such feelings.
“When Dr. Bowman was alive, he used to tell us that our emotions would make us better soldiers. He wanted us to react as flesh-and-blood beings do. Was he right? Did I make the correct decision on that rooftop? If so, why do I still feel so terrible about it?
“Forgive me, I appear to be getting off-topic. To continue: Zero One and Rho were released from the hospital yesterday, placed directly into Dr. Rauth’s care. As a well-known doctor of robotics, he was able to convince the staff he was qualified to handle the repairs himself. Both Caseals require extensive work. Several days’ worth, at least. In the meantime they will remain powered down for safety. That means Zero Three will have to make do with Rho’s body, at least for the time being. As for Zero One, she is still infected with the virus Lee Okada uploaded into her systems. We may be able to save her body, but without Irene around, I am not sure we can save her mind.
“Irene… I am still coming to terms with her death. She is, or at least was, my oldest acquaintance. She helped Dr. Bowman program me back on Eldona. In a way, she was like a mother to me. Always there to encourage and support me. Always ready to lend a hand.
“I think Alpha took it the hardest. My brother spent the most time with Irene, working as her assistant whenever she came to visit. Alpha has never been one to show emotion, but I can tell. He’s been moping around the lab in his own quiet way ever since. Zero Three, Marten, and Charmie have been giving him extra attention, trying to cheer him up. I hope they succeed.
“General Valias has retaken control of the ARKS in the wake of Zero One’s… departure. It hasn’t been easy. Zero One told the entire colony ship the general was a traitor. Rebuilding that confidence and trust is going to take time, but I know Valias—mostly through Zero One’s memories—and I’m sure he can do it. He has no other choice, not with the news that came out yesterday: Orpheus smashed through the naval blockade. Every ship in the fleet, completely wiped out. It’s nothing short of a tragedy. And now there’s nothing stopping the Darkers from claiming Terra Nova. I don’t know what General Valias is planning, but he has to do something… and soon.
“With everything that’s been going on, the only bright spot to be found is Akasha. The girl finally woke from her four-day slumber. And despite my initial concerns, she appears to be the same Akasha as before, only… smaller. Much smaller. Her appearance is that of a normal teenager now, about thirteen or fourteen years old. Dr. Mallory visited the lab yesterday to conduct additional tests, both mental and physical. She is scheduled to return in a few hours—seven point three, to be exact—with the results. I think we’re all interested in what she has to say…”
* * * * * * * * *
COLONY SHIP 02, UR: RAUTH ROBOTICS
- Seven hours later -
“You don’t know when to quit, do you?”
“Quit what, exactly?”
“Don’t play dumb with me! You’ve been at it since I woke up yesterday. In fact, I think you’re enjoying yourself a little too much, Mister Comedian.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“There! That smirk! Don’t think I didn’t see that! You are enjoying this, aren’t you? I hope you’re not treating me like a kid just because I look like this. That’s not what you’re doing, right?”
“Of course not. Now, would you like a highchair to sit at the grown-ups’ table?”
“W-Why you little…”
“Little? I think you’re confused. You’re the little one here, Pipsqueak.”
Aki02 watched Akasha punch Ivan half-playfully on the shoulder. Ivan merely laughed in response. They were having fun in spite of the situation. In spite of everything that happened. Or maybe they were acting that way precisely because of it—a coping method of sorts. Aki couldn’t tell which.
Spoiler!
Ironically, despite Ivan’s teasing, Akasha wasn’t really that small. She was only half a head shorter than him, which was fairly average for a teenager her age.
Her age… Aki wondered if that term even applied to her. The girl hatched from a Darker egg less than a week ago. Strictly speaking, she was still a newborn. And yet here she was, talking and laughing like nothing had changed. It was very surreal.
Then again, Aki reminded herself, you died aboard a shuttle and were reborn as one of three identical sisters. Maybe you’re not the best person to judge Akasha’s situation after all.
At the moment they were seated in the lab’s second floor conference room waiting for Dr. Mallory to arrive. The audience for this meeting was considerably smaller than the last one. Aside from Akasha, Ivan, and herself, the only other person in the room was her support partner, Luna. The pink-haired robot was following the exchange between the Newearl and half-Newman with a mischievous grin glued to her face. “Akasha and Ivan, sitting in a tree,” she sang loudly, “K-I-S-S-I—”
Spoiler!
“Shut it, you!” fumed Akasha, her cheeks burning bright red.
The girl was clearly still in love with Ivan. It was plain as day—at least from Aki’s perspective, and she wasn’t always the greatest at reading people. In this case, however, she had the added benefit of hearing it straight from the Newearl’s mouth. It was during the mission to Orpheus. Just before entering Naya Kestren’s lab, Akasha pulled Ivan aside and confessed her feelings to him. She probably thought it was a private conversation, but she obviously underestimated CAST audio sensors. Aki had heard the whole thing.
So had Luna, apparently. “Deny it all you want, ‘Pipsqueak,’” she replied with a self-satisfied grin. “You can’t run from the truth forever. I bet you wish Prince Charming over there woke you up with a big slobbery kiss. Isn’t that right?”
The support partner puckered her lips and started making kissy noises. Which, naturally, made Akasha even madder. She was about to chase Luna around the table when the conference room door slid open with an audible hiss.
Into the room stepped Dr. Sascha Mallory, her lab coat swaying behind her as it tried to keep up. As usual, the dark-skinned Newman was a paragon of professionalism and efficiency. She didn’t bother with friendly greetings or introductions. Walking briskly to the head of the table, she turned to address the others. “I received the latest test results from the lab. I think you’ll be interested in hearing what they had to say.”
Spoiler!
Aki interjected before she could continue. “Dr. Rauth apologizes he couldn’t be here today. He is busy restoring Zero One and Rho, two of my sisters who were damaged in battle.”
Mallory waved away the comment like it wasn’t worth mentioning. “I had them compare the samples I took last week with the ones I took yesterday. The results are highly unusual.”
“Unusual?” asked Aki. “Last time you told us Akasha was completely normal. One hundred percent Newman, no trace of Darker infections.”
“That is still the case. The irregularity I mentioned doesn’t stem from an infection, it’s from her cells themselves. Specifically, their rate of mitosis. I could bore you with a lot of technical details you probably wouldn’t understand anyway, but essentially it boils down to this: she’s growing, and fast. Four days passed between the first and second time I came here to take samples. Just four. During that time, Akasha has aged more than a month.”
All eyes in the room shifted to the copper-skinned girl. “Well, that explains why I’ve been trimming my nails so often,” she said rather sheepishly.
Aki raised an eyebrow at the doctor. “You’re saying she is maturing at nearly ten times the normal rate?”
“Yes, precisely.”
“That… that’s a problem, isn’t it?” Ivan asked nervously.
“Not necessarily,” Mallory replied. “Let me explain. The lab discovered something else, the presence of a foreign substance in her blood. We missed it the first time around because it masked itself so well. But when we realized she was growing so rapidly, we ran a few additional tests… and lo and behold, there it was—a synthetic hormone. Or at least, something we’ve never seen before.”
She called up a holographic representation of it: an oblong cluster of multi-colored pebbles rotating in place. “Are you familiar with somatotropin? It’s also known as growth hormone, or GH. In humans and Newmans, the pituitary gland secretes it as a natural part of the development cycle. As you get older, the GH levels in your body gradually decrease. Well, the synthetic hormone in Akasha acts as a form of GH—taken to the extreme. It’s like somatotropin on steroids, and it’s giving her one hell of a growth spurt.”
“How did this… ‘synthetic hormone’ get in her system in the first place?”
The doctor pivoted slightly to address Aki. “I believe the Darker egg was pumping her body full of it. Remember, she was initially growing a year per hour. What’s left in her now is only a trace amount in comparison. What’s more, it seems to be burning itself out over time. Eventually it will exhaust itself completely, at which point she should continue aging normally. In theory, at least.”
Akasha waved to get Mallory’s attention. “So… I’m gonna reach adulthood again in record time. That’s the gist of it, right? How long are we talking here? Weeks? Months? Years?”
“Your hormone levels are decreasing, which means your growth rate is slowing down, but it’s still far above normal. We ran the numbers, and the bottom line is this: over the next six months you’re going to age four years. In the six months following, you’ll age another two. At that point you’ll be back to the same age, physically, that you were before.”
A year. In one year, Akasha would undergo six years of growth. It was a foreign concept to Aki, a CAST. Aside from cutting her hair, she had the same physical parameters as the day she was first activated. The concept that a being could change and grow over time had always fascinated her. And here was Akasha, being told she would go from a young teen to a full adult in the span of one birthday.
To her credit, the girl took it well. She didn’t even miss a beat. “The same age, sure, but what about the same size? I used to be kinda, well… big. Tall, I mean. Naya Kestren said it’s because I was left inside my tank too long. Without the tank, does that mean I’ll stay ‘normal sized’ this time around?”
“I wish I had all the answers for you, but in this case your guess is as good as mine. Measure your height in a couple weeks, see how much you’ve grown. That will probably give you your answer.”
“I have a theory about that,” said Aki. “Consider what we know. First, we know your brother, Shankar, was probably responsible for creating the Darker egg you hatched from. Second, you were born with the same facial markings you had before—markings identical to the ones on Shankar. And third, when we confronted him aboard Orpheus, Shankar was determined—almost desperate—for you to join him.”
Akasha furrowed her brow in confusion. “Okay… so what?”
“Think about it, the significance of his actions. Shankar looks down on society. He abandoned Oracle. Yet he wanted you with him. Why? Why would he go that far for you?”
“Beats me. Maybe you should fly out to Orpheus again and ask him.”
“He’s lonely, Akasha. He wants someone at his side who understands him. Someone who can validate what he’s trying to do. That is what I believe. And I think he sees you as the only one capable of doing that. Why else would he recreate you in that egg?” She let the question linger in the air for a moment, then continued, “I think the facial markings are the key. They are a visible symbol connecting you. Proof you share similar circumstances.”
“I’ll never join that monster. Never. Not after he…” Akasha shuddered, recalling a painful memory.
“I know that,” Aki replied gently. “The point I was trying to make is that Shankar wanted to recreate you as you were before. Therefore, I believe you will continue to grow until you reach your former size.”
“Oh. Well… alright, then.” Akasha sounded like she couldn’t decide whether to be happy or sad at the thought.
Ivan cleared his throat. “What about, you know… side effects?”
“An understandable concern,” replied Mallory. “Excessive somatotropin in the body can have a number of ill effects. Disease. Deformity. Other nasty things. But keep in mind, we’re not dealing with your garden variety GH here. This is an entirely different beast. Whatever it is, I believe it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do. It doesn’t appear to be harming her, at least not that I can tell.”
“That’s all we could hope for,” said Aki. She gave the doctor a tight-lipped smile.
“Yes, well, that’s all I have to report for now. I’ll let you know when I find out more. And of course, I will return in a few days to take more samples.”
Akasha’s face scrunched up into an unpleasant expression. “That means more needles?”
“That means more needles,” Mallory confirmed.
“Aw, mannn…”
* * * * * * * * *
After the doctor left, the others remained in the conference room to discuss her findings.
“All things considered, you made out well,” Aki said to Akasha.
“Yeah, not bad at all,” Ivan agreed. “At least she didn’t prescribe you diapers and a teething ring.”
“Har har. Very funny, smart guy.”
Ivan flashed her a toothy grin. “Know what? I kind of like you this way, Pipsqueak. You’re so easy to tease.”
Akasha chuckled darkly. “Oh, ho, ho! Just you wait, buddy. Pretty soon I’ll be bigger than you again. Then I’ll be the one doing the teasing.” The girl suddenly realized what she said and turned a deep shade of red. “N-Never mind.”
In the awkward silence that followed, the doorbell rang. Aki stood up and left the room. Strode down the hall and padded down the stairs.
Standing in the middle of the lobby was a white-armored, green-haired CAST. There was an ARKS insignia stenciled across his metal chest. Thanks to Zero One’s memories, Aki02 knew him well.
“Lieutenant Arkon.”
Aki must have visibly tensed up, because Arkon spread his arms and said, “You can relax, I am not here to arrest you. Rest assured, you have all been removed from the ARKS Most Wanted list.”
Spoiler!
Well, that was good news. But there was still an issue lingering in her mind. “What of my sister, the colonel? Will she be charged with treason?”
“That has not yet been determined. General Valias understands there were… extenuating circumstances behind her actions. And to be honest, the general has bigger problems to deal with at the moment. Which, as it happens, brings me to you.”
Extenuating circumstances, thought Aki. That’s putting it mildly. Okada’s virus had full control of my sister. Surely a jury would understand that…
She pushed the thought away. This was no time to worry about theoretical scenarios. The lieutenant came here for a reason, probably a good one. Aki waited for him to reveal it.
“General Valias requests your immediate presence,” said Arkon, “at the ARKS Command tower. I am to deliver you there personally.”
“May I ask what this is regarding?”
“Unfortunately, that information is classified. Come with me and the general will explain it to you himself.”
Behind Aki, a determined voice spoke up. “Hey, hold it right there! If you’re going, then so am I!”
She knew who it was without even looking. Akasha. The girl must have followed her downstairs.
Arkon nodded in polite approval. “You are most welcome to join us, Miss Akasha. And your friends there, as well.”
At that, Aki finally turned around. Akasha, Ivan, and Luna were standing together at the base of the stairs. Apparently they had all followed her downstairs.
“Even me?” asked a hopeful Luna.
“Especially you,” Arkon replied. “You saved the general’s life. He has not forgotten that, and he always pays his debts.”
“You mean I get to join a big classified meeting? Woohoo! Oh boy oh boy oh boy!” The little robot danced and hopped around the lobby excitedly.
Aki turned back to Arkon. “You’re ready now?”
He nodded. “Anytime.”
“Then let’s go see the general.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Sig art by Aussei ^_^
Spoiler!I've always enjoyed fun banter between the cast. Helps bring out the closest between everyone. Music also amused me as well. Mainly because its hard for me not to try and fit more Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou music in everything and had my eye on Swaying Necklace, and Naruto music in general, for a good while. Overall a fun chapter.
Heh, can't help but imagine Charmie flapping all over the place and making a mess in the lab. I wonder if this means the general plans to replace 01 with 02, or if their small crew will be given a new mission? I also wonder if 01's limbs or head will remain detached for safety concerns?
@yoshiblue:
Spoiler!After the (relatively) dark chapter last week, I wanted something a little shorter and lighter this time around. Glad to hear you enjoyed it! The Danshi Koukousei OST is awesome, it fits almost any lighthearted situation.
You'll get to see more of Charmie later this season, that much I can say. And you'll find out what General Valias wants shortly. It's going to be a very important meeting! To answer your other question, Aki01 only has two parts, her head and body. The limbs aren't detachable like her sisters'. But no, her head wasn't detached. She was simply powered down. It's like being in a forced coma.
Sig art by Aussei ^_^
CHAPTER 17.3 [3/25/17]
Spoiler!
COLONY SHIP 02, UR: ARKS COMMAND TOWER
I’m here, thought Akasha. I’m really here.
She wasn’t referring to the Command tower elevator she currently occupied. She meant the world in general. Simply being alive. Existing.
Spoiler!
But of course she was. That much was obvious, wasn’t it? And yet, less than a week ago, she had been killed. Murdered by her own brother. Akasha remembered that very clearly. A Darker tendril stabbing through her chest. Her entire body breaking apart from the inside out. And now…
Now she was on her way up to meet General Valias, head of all ARKS forces aboard Ur. It seemed a little unreal.
Akasha stole a glance at Ivan, standing in the elevator car next to her. She wasn’t used to looking up at him. Wasn’t used to looking up at anyone, in fact. In her previous life she had been “born” a fully-formed adult. She never knew what it was like to see the world through the eyes of a child. Everything seemed so much bigger now. More substantial. It gave her some much-needed perspective.
Ivan caught her looking at him. He threw Akasha one of his trademark grins. “Pretty exciting, eh, Pipsqueak? Not every day you get to meet the big boss.”
Spoiler!
“Yeah, I guess.” Truth be told, Akasha didn’t really care one way or another. She was just happy to be spending time with Ivan. Then another thought crossed her mind and she added, “And stop calling me that!”
He chuckled. “No can do. Once I decide on a nickname, it sticks like glue. You can try but you’ll never get rid of it.”
Akasha rolled her eyes. On the other side of the elevator car, Luna snickered. Ironic, thought Akasha, considering the support partner was the only one in the group smaller than her.
“K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” whispered Luna, just loud enough to hear. Akasha glared daggers back at her.
Spoiler!
At the front of the elevator, Aki02 was conversing with Lieutenant Arkon. “You weren’t damaged, I hope?” asked the red-haired Caseal.
Arkon shook his head. “Nothing serious. Though your sister, Rho, gave me a shock I won’t soon forgot. It completely overloaded my systems. By the time I awoke, the excitement was already over.”
Spoiler!
Aki offered him an apologetic smile. “I’ve been on the receiving end of that taser once or twice myself. It is rather unpleasant, but the damage is minimal.”
Akasha surmised they were discussing the attack on the Command tower three days earlier. She was asleep at the time and missed all the action, but from what she gathered it had been a rather daring mission. One that probably saved the ARKS from the clutches of KAI-OS.
Ding! The elevator chimed and the heavy door slid open. Everyone shuffled out into the hall. They were maybe fifty stories up, near the top of the tower but not quite to the executive offices. These were the war rooms, where large-scale ARKS operations were planned and coordinated. Everything, from the walls to the lighting, was stark and militaristic.
They strode purposefully down the corridor and rounded the corner. Halfway down the hall, standing outside their destination, was an unexpected sight—and a familiar one. Akasha would have recognized his bearded face anywhere. He, in turn, spotted her approaching a moment later.
The man raised a gloved hand in greeting. “Akasha!”
She sprinted ahead of the pack to reach him first. “Captain! Long time no see.”
Grinning broadly, Arin Colton wrapped his arms around Akasha and hugged her tight. “It’s great seeing you again, kiddo. For a while there I was afraid we’d lost you.”
Spoiler!
Akasha was suddenly aware that the rest of the group was staring at them. “H-Hey!” she stammered, heat rushing to her cheeks. “Super Embarrassment Time right here.”
“I’ll gladly embarrass you any day if it means you’re still around. Much better than the alternative.”
“Y-Yeah, okay, I know…”
Colton released her and smiled once again. The relief on his face was evident. It was an expression of genuine caring, something she had come to cherish in this often-cruel world. Akasha didn’t have any parents. Not even a family name. Genetically, she had been created using DNA from Naya Kestren and a Newman named Kori’el. Both were dead and neither had raised her. As far as she was concerned, neither of them was her mother. The captain, on the other hand, had taken her in and given her a chance at a normal life. He wasn’t exactly her father, but he was probably the closest thing she was going to get. And that was just fine with her.
A serious expression crossed Colton’s face. “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to visit since you woke up,” he said. “They’ve been keeping me rather busy here. Everything’s a bit chaotic right now.”
“I can see that,” Akasha replied. “General Valias called you here too?”
He shrugged and glanced away. “Eh, yeah, something like that.”
Lieutenant Arkon stepped forward to address Colton. “Forgive me for interrupting your heartfelt reunion, Captain, but time is of the essence.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. Lead the way, Lieutenant.” To Akasha he added, “Wouldn’t want to be late for the BIM, now would we?”
She frowned in confusion. “The… what?”
“Big Important Meeting.” He winked, then followed Arkon into the war room. Akasha and the others trailed shortly behind him.
The room was dimly-lit and windowless. Holographic star charts blanketed most of the walls. On closer inspection, the charts were displaying various indexes of war: Darker sightings, Oracle-held territory, concentrations of naval forces. The war might be waged on battlefields like Lillipa and Naberius, but much of it undoubtedly originated in this very room. That realization made Akasha feel small and insignificant… and not just physically.
As the group entered the room, another group was just leaving. They all wore spotless ARKS uniforms with rank insignias pinned to their chests. Probably high-level officers, Akasha decided. Maybe they were just getting out of a strategy session. None of them seemed to notice the Newman girl as they shuffled past. Then they were gone, the door automatically hissing shut behind them.
A long conference table dominated the center of the room. At the far end, a single man was seated. A man with deep cobalt hair, pointed ears, and a perpetually-stern expression on his face. He was Rayn Valias, commander of all ARKS forces aboard Ur. Spotting them, he looked up.
“Come in,” he said, ushering them forward with a simple hand gesture.
Spoiler!
Everyone took a seat at the table. Aki and Luna sat on one side while Akasha and Ivan sat on the other. Lieutenant Arkon opted to stand in the background in case his services were needed.
After they were settled, Valias cleared his throat to speak. “By now you’ve all likely heard the news. Orpheus smashed through our naval blockade and docked with Terra Nova roughly seventeen hours ago. Darkers boarded the station soon after. What you probably don’t know is what happened after that. Or rather, you shouldn’t know, considering we haven’t made the information public yet. We will; it’s only a matter of time until word gets out. But for now, everything you’re about to hear and see is classified information. Speak of it to no one outside this room, understand? No one.”
The general waited for everyone to nod in agreement before continuing. “Good. Now, what I’m about to show you is security camera footage taken from inside Terra Nova. You’re the first outside the top brass to see this.”
He pressed a button and a hologram flickered to life above the table. The image they saw was a modern urban skyline—one of Terra Nova’s cities, Akasha assumed. But something was wrong. Many buildings were cracked and broken. Murky smoke clogged the air. Akasha flinched as an El Ahda flew right in front of the camera. The Darker’s crimson eyes gleamed menacingly as it seemed to stare right at her.
Then she heard it. Not the El Adha; this was something else. A great beastly roar echoing from somewhere off in the distance. It sent chills down her spine. The El Ahda heard it, too. The insectoid Darker whirled about and flew away.
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then: Ba-thoom. Ba-thoom. Ba-thoom. A slow, rhythmic plodding, growing in volume as the seconds ticked by. Something was drawing near. The plodding kept getting louder. It was a chorus of thunderous explosions now. Akasha and the others sat in rapt attention. They couldn’t peel their eyes away from the recording.
A hazy black mist crept into the frame. It was a silent invader, like one of those early morning fogs that roll in on cool autumn mornings, except this one seemed dark and ominous. An ill omen of things to come. And all the while, the rhythmic plodding continued. Louder. Closer.
At last the source of the noise revealed itself: a creature, one unlike any they’d seen before. It was massive, nearly ten stories tall, and utterly terrifying. Its entire body was sheathed in rough, organic armor plates with patches of glassy spikes sticking out. Its back sported four leathery wings and a long, dexterous tail. A pair of curved horns sat atop a face that looked part humanoid, part beast.
Despite its alien appearance, there was something very familiar about the creature, one feature that everyone in the room recognized immediately: its glowing crimson eyes. Whatever this thing was, it was undoubtedly a Darker.
Ivan’s mouth hung agape. “Holy fraggin’ hell, what is that thing?”
Akasha knew what it was. Somehow, she knew right away. “It’s Shankar,” she whispered, breathless.
“What?”
“Shankar,” she repeated. “My brother.”
Everyone turned to look at her. Then back to the creature in the recording.
General Valias, however, didn’t even bat an eye. “What makes you say that?” he asked mildly.
“I… I can’t explain it,” she replied. “Somehow, I know. It’s him. I can’t prove it, but it is.”
“That won’t be necessary.” The general leaned forward in his chair, hands clasped firmly together. His gaze was intense. “The recording you’re watching now is only part of the footage. Several minutes earlier, the cameras captured Shankar standing in this very plaza. There is a several-minute gap in the tape—whether from interference or tampering, we don’t know—but when it resumed, this ‘creature’ was there in his place. It doesn’t take a genius to deduce what happened. Internally we’ve been calling it… Typhon.”
A heavy silence followed. Valias continued, this time directly to Aki02, “Perhaps you understand now why I called you here. The report you submitted on your mission to Orpheus told us everything we needed to know. About Kestren’s secret lab and her work on modified Darker cores. How Shankar murdered the doctor and stole the Master Core for himself, not to mention his newfound ‘powers.’ The man was unstable; that much is clear. It was probably only a matter of time before the Core consumed him. However, that has become something of a problem for us. We might have been able to reason with him before. But now? Our only option left is to fight.”
As if on cue, the monster in the recording let out an ear-piercing roar. Akasha glanced at it again, wondering if her brother was still somewhere inside that… that thing. It certainly didn’t look like him. But then, that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Valias, meanwhile, was still in the midst of his explanation. “In ancient legends, Typhon was said to be the king of all monsters. Did you know that? It was a giant capable of killing gods. Certainly that’s where Kestren came up with the project name. She was trying to harness the power of Darker cores in order to control them… perhaps even to destroy them. Yet in the end, all she did was create her own monster instead.”
Akasha knew where he was going with this. It was pretty obvious. He said it himself earlier: they had no option left but to fight. “You’re gonna kill him, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yes,” replied the general, after a moment’s hesitation. He looked her straight in the eyes and said very clearly, “Understand this: that monster is no longer your brother. Shankar died the moment the Master Core took over and turned him into Typhon. What’s left is nothing but a heartless killing machine.”
“I know that. I just…”
“Spare the man no pity, Akasha. He certainly doesn’t deserve any. Shankar chose this path himself. From the time he burned down Aether Labs to the time he killed you aboard Orpheus, he made the choices that ultimately led him to this.”
Akasha was slightly taken aback. Not by what Valias said, but the fact that he was familiar with it at all. “You know who I am? I mean, about my circumstances?”
“I know very well who you are, Akasha. We’ve been following your career for some time.”
She was speechless. The ARKS commander had taken an interest in her? Why? For what possible reason?
Akasha suddenly felt underdressed for the occasion. She was wearing a simple tank top, shorts, and sneakers. They’d come straight from the lab and she hadn’t thought to change. Hadn’t even cared until just now. And here she was, speaking with a real-life general. The man in charge. Her boss, technically, seeing as how she was an ARKS soldier too.
“Keep in mind,” said Valias, “Project Typhon was originally commissioned by the ARKS Darker Research division. That makes us at least partly responsible for this mess. Eventually the program was scrapped and Kestren found a new backer—Lee Okada. We lost track of her, but we never lost interest in her. So when you and Shankar showed up a little more than a year ago, we decided it would be prudent to keep tabs on you. We thought you might even lead us to Kestren—which you did, though it matters little in the end.”
He pressed a couple buttons and the security camera recording disappeared. It was replaced by a holographic image of Terra Nova floating in space. Orpheus was still parked against one of the station’s twin docking rings. “Let’s get down to business, shall we? I’ll get straight to the point. We’re planning a mission to Terra Nova and we require your help.” Valias shifted his attention back to Aki again. “Approximately one week ago you led a team on a mission to Orpheus. The only team that has ever infiltrated Orpheus and made it out alive. We are in need of that unique expertise now.”
The short-haired Caseal tilted her head slightly to one side. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
Valias laid it all out for them. Operation Heaven’s Lance. The plan consisted of two parts—or stages, as he called them. Stage One involved sending a large force into the station to regain control. Several squads would keep Typhon occupied while everyone else concentrated on restoring the HELIOS system. HELIOS was Terra Nova’s revolutionary safeguard. It used a series of obelisk-shaped emitters to bathe the interior of the station in a special type of photon energy. That energy was like a dog whistle to Darkers. They couldn’t stand it. When Typhon first appeared, it infected the emitters with negative photons, effectively crippling the system. But if the ARKS could destroy the Darker cores attached to the obelisks, they could restore HELIOS.
In theory, that would send all the Darkers aboard the station scurrying back to Orpheus. With nowhere else to run, they’d (hopefully) pack up and leave—which is where Stage Two came in. Stage Two would take place concurrently with Stage One. It involved sending a smaller strike team, led by Captain Colton, deep into Orpheus with the aim of planting a remote-controlled nuclear warhead. After Orpheus reached a safe distance from the station, the ARKS would detonate the bomb remotely, destroying Orpheus and all the Darkers aboard.
It was a risky plan, but it was the best one they had. They couldn’t afford to lose Terra Nova. Not at any cost.
“What I need from you,” Valias told Aki, “is to guide Colton’s team through Orpheus. You know the layout of the place. You know more or less what to expect. The entire plan hinges on getting that warhead to the drop point successfully.”
Akasha noticed the general left out any mention of getting away safely. Meaning, if they couldn’t make it out, Colton and his team would be sacrificed for the greater good.
Aki started to reply, “I’m not—”
“A member of the ARKS anymore,” Valias finished for her. “Yes, I know. But you were. You’ve had the training. And from what I understand, you have your sister’s memories as well. That effectively gives you the experience of a colonel. As such, I’m prepared to reinstate your old rank—captain—for the duration of this mission, along with all the privileges that entails. If you’ll accept my offer, that is.”
Aki was quiet for a moment. Considering his offer, probably. Finally she said, “I accept, on one condition. I want you to give my sister a full pardon for her actions last week.”
This time it was Valias’ turn to contemplate. He let out a weary sigh and laid his palms flat against the table. “When all this is over there’s going to be an investigation. I have no control over that. The entire military command structure was subverted, you understand. Martial law was declared. People were killed —soldier and civilian alike. I can’t just sweep that under the rug.”
“No, but you can place the blame squarely where it belongs: with Lee Okada and KAI-OS. You know as well as I do that my sister was being controlled by a virus. She wasn’t in control of her actions.”
Valias inclined his head. “She admitted as much during my… internment.”
“I need your help, General, just as you need mine. Pardon my sister and I will give you my full support.”
“You drive a hard bargain.” He rubbed his temples to assuage an oncoming migraine. “But so be it. I accept your terms.”
“I’m going too!” Akasha blurted out. The words were out of her mouth before she even realized she’d spoken.
Seated beside her, Ivan nearly jumped out of his chair. “W-What?! No, uh-uh! You just came back. No way I’m going to let you get killed again, Pipsqueak.”
“Let me? Let me?! Sorry to say, but it’s not up to you. You’re not my guardian.”
“No, but I am,” Colton interjected. “The man’s right, Akasha. This is going to be an extremely dangerous mission. And you’re, well…”
“I’m what? A kid?! Is that what you were about to say?!” Akasha was furious. At both of them. How dare they treat her like… like a doll in a display case! Like something delicate to be protected. She was a Fighter, a soldier. An ARKS…!
Colton put up his hands. “Whoa, calm down. I was just going to say, you’re still recovering. You shouldn’t push yourself too hard yet.”
“Oh… Sorry.” She forced herself to take a calming breath. “Look, I feel fine. Please, Captain. I need to do this. That’s my brother out there. I’m part of this too.”
“I may be against it, but… I won’t stop you. Still, it’s not my decision to make. It’s up to the General here.”
Akasha gave Valias a pleading look. She knew better than to say anything. In this case, all she could do was rely on his mercy.
He kept her waiting in suspense for nearly half a minute, then said, “Very well. We need as many soldiers as we can get for this mission. However—let me make this clear—you won’t be on Aki and Colton’s team. I need you for Stage One. Secure those emitters so we can get HELIOS up and running again. Is that understood?”
“Y-Yes, sir!” She wasn’t sure if she needed to salute, but she did it anyway.
“Good. The mission will commence tomorrow morning at oh-eight hundred in hangar bay M-19. I’ll forward the operational details to your visiphone. And remember… even if that is your brother out there, I expect you to follow orders. Don’t make me regret sending you.”
Akasha nodded numbly. Apparently satisfied, Valias shifted back to Aki once again. “Before you go, I need to speak with you briefly. In private.”
* * * * * * * * *
Aki02 stepped into the office with Valias. The door swished shut behind them. They were in a small conference room, one used to hold intimate meetings. The general took a seat on one side of a rectangular table. Aki took the other.
The Caseal shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “If this is about the request to pardon my sister—”
“It’s not,” interrupted Valias. “I brought you here because there’s something I need to show you. The footage you saw back there was only part of the recording. Prior to the signal interruption, the cameras caught something rather interesting… and unexpected. Here, see for yourself.”
With the press of a button, a holographic projection materialized in the air above the table. It was more video footage from Terra Nova. This particular camera was pointed at the entrance to one of the station’s docking rings. In front of it was a walkway leading down into the station proper.
As Aki watched, a lone figure stepped up to the railing. Shankar, she assumed, though he was too far from the camera to make out any details. General Valias enhanced the picture to get a better view. As the image resolved itself, the copper-skinned Newman came into focus. With his form-fitting armored suit, black horns, and glowing red eyes, he looked much the same as he had during their confrontation aboard Orpheus.
“This proves Shankar is on Terra Nova, but I still don’t—”
Valias raised a finger to silence Aki. “Wait. There’s something else you need to see. Or rather, someone.”
They continued watching the screen. At first, nothing happened. But then, after a few moments, a second figure appeared and joined Shankar at the railing. Aki’s eyes went wide. “This… can’t be. It’s not possible.”
Valias leaned back in his chair. “As I recall, your report said the same thing about the girl in the next room.”
“I don’t understand,” said Aki. “What does this mean?”
“We’re working on that. At this point? I have no idea. But given the upcoming mission, I thought it prudent to share this with you.”
“Does anyone else on the team know?”
“No one, not even Colton. Whether or not you decide to share this with them, I leave up to you.”
Aki nodded quietly, still pondering what she’d just seen.
“These are dark times,” said Valias, his tone grave. “I cannot overestimate the stakes here. The next twenty-four hours may well determine the course of this war… and all those involved. We will all be praying for your great success tomorrow, Captain.”
Aki stood up, saluted, and walked out of the room, the heavy hands of responsibility once again resting squarely on her shoulders.
TO BE CONTINUED
Sig art by Aussei ^_^
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