Mission 1: A New Mission
-Unknown Location, AD 2064-
Captain Kazumi Shinomiya, former member of Harvamal and a 21 years old veteran of Vajra War had been serving in Chaos for 2 years now and had been personally called by Lady M for something. He had not been told what it is for and was only told to meet someone at a certain location in a stealth shuttle. He did not see where he was going and he did not ask. Experience had told him that he would know soon, and that it will be a work unlike any other before.
Dressed in a suit and trench coat, he stood up as he felt the shuttle came to a halt. There are no windows to look out from so he cannot see where he is but he only need to wait for a few seconds until he can disembark to see where he is. When the shuttle door opened, he saw that he is inside a small hangar that can only house a single small craft, whether it is a shuttle or a VF.
Once he disembarked from the shuttle, he is led by a scientist flanked by two armed guards. None of them said any words as the scientist lead him to a dark corridor. Kazumi note the various hidden defense system he passed through having been trained to notice things like that in his time in Harvamal.
Finally he arrived in front of a large steel door with a panel beside it. The scientist move towards the panel and punch in several numbers and a retinal scanner appear. After a voice saying 'access granted' was heard, the door slides open and Kazumi entered.
The room he entered is very dark though he can see something shining not far. The armed guards stood by the door while he followed the scientist towards the only source of light in the currently dark room. Once he got closer, he saw that it is a tube. His eyes widened when inside it he saw a young girl in the nude, around seventeen or so years old sleeping in a fetal position. She has long violet hair and an enchanting beauty like a princess, no, a goddess.
"…sir, please explain what I am seeing right now. I hope that this is not human experimentation."
Kazumi said to the scientist still staring at the young girl. The scientist chuckled and answered in a simple, concise manner to the young man.
"She is a clone."
"A… clone?"
Kazumi dumbly repeat the scientist's word to which he simply nodded.
"A clone, but not just any clone. She is a clone created from a DNA template found in a protoculture ruin. After extensive study and research, we used that template to create her. That's all you need to know. We made her not too long ago and grew her and soon she'll be ready to wake up."
Kazumi nodded, not needing anymore explanation than that. He won't ask the details as it will definitely involve very technical things he won't understand. To make it simple is that the girl is a clone based on the DNA sample found in a protoculture ruin which means she is the clone of an ancient protoculture girl. She is the closest they can ever get to see a real protoculture.
Kazumi stared at the girl for a while. She is certainly beautiful, more beautiful than any girl he had ever met and that said a lot considering who he had known. Kazumi lightly blushed as his eyes went to observe other part of her body and immediately turn away. His eyes had lingered too long, not like anyone can blame him.
"So why am I called here?"
Kazumi asked, trying to think of another subject to talk about or else he will find himself staring back at the girl again. Regardless if she's a clone grown in a lab –which admittedly put him off a bit- she is still a beautiful and very nude girl and Kazumi doesn't want to be called a pervert.
Though he is also legitimately wondering why he is called to this obviously top secret research facility. He is not a scientist or anything. He is a special ops agent and an occasional pilot these days though he would admit that he had let his piloting skill rust since he mostly do ground-based mission these days.
"Ahh yes, your assignment. It is simple really. You will become her handler.
"…pardon?"
Kazumi was mildly surprised by what the scientist said but he had expected it somewhat the moment the scientist gave him his new assignment. He had to raise an eyebrow at the strange assignment though. A protoculture clone might be important but why must he be specially called to become her handler?
"Judging from your expression, you are wondering why is a clone so important even if it is a protoculture clone?"
The scientist fixed his glasses as he guessed Kazumi's thought. The young man simply nodded as the scientist had just accurately voiced his thought.
"It is simple. Because she is not an ordinary clone. She is made to harness the power of songs by order of Lady M. The amount of Fold receptor she possesses is simply astounding. While we suspect that a protoculture would have a large amount of fold receptor naturally, the amount she possesses is even higher than the likes of Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee and theirs are quite high by the current standard. With the amount she has, she could harness the power of song much better than any diva currently in existence."
Kazumi narrowed his eyes and turn back to look at the girl. He does not like it at all. Basically this is an experiment to weaponize song. In the whole galaxy, he would be the first to admit that songs are powerful. More than once have singers from across time have ended conflict with their song and he was there to witness such power at work twice. The largest impact felt until now would be the Vajra conflict where Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee's song ended the conflict by making peace with the Vajra and to a lesser extent is the secret Ouroboros conflict where the collective power of singers from across time and space would've opened a path to travel back in time.
It is frightening. Before the Space War, songs are just another mean of entertainment. But now it has become something more, a power that could decide the fate of the galaxy at a moment's notice, and here are people who seek to use that power. Kazumi's scowl did not escape the scientist's notice.
"I take it you do not like the idea?"
"Not one bit. If you knew my history, you should also know that I won't approve of this idea of weaponizing songs."
The scientist nodded. He knew that very well. Kazumi's dossier is on his desk after all, and it is not the official one, which has been redacted, but the full story of his career along with some notes from Lady M about him. Normally, the decision to include someone like him who has a history of betraying his organization due to his personal ideal would be questionable, especially since he knew that Kazumi would not approve of this experiment. But Lady M has her reason for making Kazumi as the girl's handler and he has an idea why.
"I know that very well, captain Shinomiya. Which is why her development will be left entirely in your hand and why I am the one handing her over to you."
Kazumi raised an eyebrow at this. The scientist then turned to face him with a smirk.
"I will not deny that many of my colleagues, including me, see her as a weapon. No doubt Lady M also desires that of her but in my opinion, she will be a useful weapon against the Var Syndrome. As you know, the Var Syndrome caused the victim to go berserk and so far the only known way to quell the symptom is by generating biological fold wave to calm the virus down through song as a medium. The most successful attempt we have done so far to quell the Var Syndrome is with the introduction of the Tactical Sound Unit Walkure but even then the biological fold wave they produce are not enough."
The scientist then took a deep breath.
"Right now we need a weapon to combat this virus. It is the reason why I join the team that created her. I see her as a weapon to combat this virus, an anti-virus if you may. But my other colleagues see her as another kind of weapon and while I don't know what kind of weapon Lady M see her as, I believe it is not as malevolent. After all, she decided that you of all people should be her handler."
Again, Kazumi is surprised and doesn't know what to think. Once again he looked at the girl who will be nothing more than a biological weapon in the eyes of some people.
"Captain Shinomiya, a weapon is only as good as the person who wields it and based on what I read about you, I believe you will wield this weapon in the right way and I will also trust in your capability to protect her."
Kazumi sighs. He really doesn't like any of the implications he took note between the lines. He is no fool. He is basically given a nuke and is told to use it at his discretion while keeping it away from the hands of anyone looking to use it for other purpose. There are many other implications he wouldn't even begin to bother thinking of right now but his answer is at least decided.
"So… have you given her a name yet?"
-Al-Shahal, AD 2067-
"Situation normal here. How is it going on Makina and Reina's end?"
A female wearing cream colored dress with a hat and sunglasses asked through a communicator attached to her thumb nail. With her is a man in his early twenties with black hair wearing a black suit and shades standing almost a head taller than her. The girl is Mikumo Guynemer, the lead singer of Walkure who is currently undercover. Together with her is Kazumi Shinomiya, her bodyguard and handler.
"This is Makimaki. Nothing special in Shahal city! Ahh! Those are type 104 Regult-chan, how cute!"
A reply came from one of the members of Walkure, Makina Nakajima, who is somewhere in Shahal city like Mikumo and Kazumi. Up above in space inside a VF is the youngest member of Walkure, Reina, who also reply;
"This is Reina. No abnormality detected in the compound sensor."
There are chattering on the other side of the line after the status report that Kazumi didn't pay attention to as the duo continue to explore their side of the city.
In the past month there have been ten cases of Var Syndrome that occurred in Al Shahal with three abnormalities detected in the victim's biological fold wave signature. Fifteen hours ago, an abnormality was detected in Shahal city. The mission given to them by Lady M right now is to investigate that abnormality and both Walkure and Delta platoon had been deployed for this mission.
"Speaking of which, Mikumo, are you sure it's fine to just leave the naïve girl without telling her anything?"
Kazumi asked, referring to the only female member of the Delta platoon who had come down to Al Shahal with them and is normally paired with Mikumo when he is not around. Unfortunately, Mikumo has a tendency to ditch her which troubles her companion greatly.
"You know that I cannot go undercover with her around."
Mikumo replied which earned her another sigh from Kazumi, her handler, though even now he is not sure if he can be called that. Kazumi followed his charge from behind, praying to whatever god he believe that Mirage would be just fine without them. She is a serious girl but Kazumi would agree with Mikumo that she is too serious that it can be obvious sometimes that she is not part of the crowd.
Three years had passed since he was first introduced to the newly born Mikumo and now three years later he is part of the Delta platoon and Mikumo is part of Walkure. Three years is enough time for him to make an opinion of Mikumo but even now he is still not sure what to think about the secret biological weapon he had been entrusted with.
This is an idea that crossed my mind when I went to watch Mazinger Z Infinity (great movie and very nostalgic). So I was thinking about what I could do next with Song of the Stars then an idea came to me. In Song of the Stars, Kazumi was brought in after the events of the series. The idea for this version is that instead of later, he is brought in earlier as Mikumo's handler right from the beginning. Unlike in Song of the Stars, this time he is fully aware that Mikumo is a clone and his job description is a bit different which makes his relationship with Mikumo a bit different from Song of the Stars. Now, in this story, I am planning to make him Delta 2 as he outranks Messer. If I remember, Messer is First Lieutenant and since Kazumi is Captain, he outranks him by one rank. Although I can set it up so that Messer is actually the unofficial vice-leader since Kazumi has other orders. Unlike the rest of the Delta platoon, his main priority is taking care of Mikumo after all.
