Disclaimer: Grandia isn't mine, I sold my copy to EB Games like a fool over a decade ago.
My name is Catalina. Ten years ago I was an agent of the Joule Foundation's Internal Investigation Branch, which provided oversight of the divisions within the Foundation. In particular, I was responsible for keeping a close eye on the Foundation's private security forces, the Garlyle, and the largest and most ambitious undertaking in the Foundation's history, which spanned over twenty years and cost tens of millions of gold pieces: Operation Yggdrasil.
Leading Operation Yggdrasil was General Baal, who in addition to his superb military leadership ability was an expert in the fields of Lost Technology, Anthropology, and Archaeology. His previous work led to the excavation of many pieces of Lost Technology and their successful reverse engineering. Nearly all of the Joule Foundation's most important contributions to mankind in the past twenty-five years can be attributed to Baal.
The stated goal of the project was to acquire the pieces of and reassemble a energy source created by the previous civilization, the Angelou, and harness its power to accelerate our own technological progress. This device, called the Spirit Stone, was the pinnacle of Angelou Technology–a device that broke the known natural laws and allowed for the production of infinite energy and even the instantaneous creation of matter.
Far fetched, many believed this to be foolish, until the Garlyle demonstrated the power of the scant few pieces of the stone they had and constructed the very first "Icarian Engine" to exist in over a thousand years–a clean-burning power generator that would go on to become the power source of the Garlyle's most powerful weapon system, the Grandeur-class Airship. Entirely convinced of the potential of the Spirit Stone, the Joule Foundation poured millions into Operation Yggdrasil.
As it turned out, Operation Yggdrasil was a near complete disaster, a plot by a madman to unleash a terrible power across the planet that saw thousands killed, millions more placed in mortal danger, and almost brought about the end of the world. The total cost of the disaster may never be known in exact numbers of lives lost, but the fallout saw not only the end of Baal and the Garlyle, but the total collapse of the Joule Foundation and its masters.
The purpose of this record, which I am disclosing in full, is to provide a full account of the tragedy of Operation Yggdrasil and the greed and corruption that allowed both the Joule and the Garlyle to cause so much mayhem. No names have been changed, and all redactions have been removed so that history will know the entire truth of the closest mankind has ever come to extinction in a thousand years.
…
The North Elencia Base was, at that time, the largest military base on the "New Continent." It was the heart of the military rail network that ran throughout Elencia as well as the main base on this side of the world for both the Grandeur airship and her sister ship Lyonlot. The majority of Garlyle Forces were trained here, and the General's son, Mullen called it his home.
It was here that the first sign of trouble regarding Operation Yggdrasil came to the attention to Joule Foundation and it was simple enough–a stolen military train…
Record of Yggdrasil
File 1: The Incident at North Elencia
Location: 6,000 feet above North Elencia Base
Time: 11:27 Hours Local
To the public, the fastest means of travel long distances was by steamship. Indeed, the steamer that traveled between the port city of Parm and her counterpart in the New World was touted as the fastest machine created by man's two hands, capable of crossing the vast distance in only three days even with diversions.
The Garlyle forces' airships Grandeur and Lyonlot could make the same crossing in six hours.
The airship Bivrost of the Joule Foundation could make it in three.
The Bivrost was designed as a scaled down and improved version of the Grandeur, the result of lessons learned from the difficulties of lifting so much metal into the air. She was a smaller and slimmer ship, doing away with the "flying battleship" aesthetic of the Grandeur-class and coming much closer to the Kite Fighter design that followed the development of Grandeur.
Bivrost's hull was long and cylindrical, beginning in a sharply pointed nose and ending with an X-Tail type empennage that housed the screw-shaped Icarian Engine that powered the entire ship. She lacked weapons and the tall windmill propeller and that cluttered the Grandeur and Lyonlot, and her lifting engines were integrated directly into the hull as opposed to hanging off the side. Thanks to the streamlined design, the Icarian Engine provided all of the ship's forward thrust with no difficulty owing her tremendous speed.
The result was an airship coupled with a racing yacht than a battleship, and wound up sporting many of the amenities of a yacht including a panoramic view from her wood-finished bridge, from which Inspector Catalina observed the approach to North Elencia Base.
A twenty-five year old woman who hailed from the North side of Parm, Catalina shared the look of most Messinian women, tall, fair-skinned, and strongly built. Her wavy shoulder-length blonde hair accentuated her curious eyes–a mismatched blue right and red left, the latter the result of an injury sustained years ago. A faded scar crossed over her eye diagonally, the only other remnant of the wound on an otherwise attractive, youthful face. She wore eyeglasses, and a blue tailed three-piece suit with a white shirt underneath and a bright red tie–something unusual for a woman to be seen wearing even in a day and age where young women's names were being made in the Garlyle.
She looked down on the distant North Elencia base, which the Bivrost circled from high above, as she was addressed via hologram communication by her superior. "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Director Duminas, the Bivrost is on approach to North Elencia."
To her left, a floor-mounted platform generated a hologram image of an old, rotund man with a white curly-beard dressed in a white suit and greatcoat. The man, Director Duminas of the Joule Foundation's Internal Investigation Branch, nodded to Catalina.
"Good, good my dear," Duminas said, "We have received an update from our insiders on the base. Not too long after the theft of the train, the Grandeur herself departed in pursuit of it."
Catalina regarded this news with surprise. "I understand the train's value, but to commit an airship to its recovery?"
"Precisely, my dear. Operation of the Grandeur and Lyonlot have become expensive thanks to the construction of J Base. Beyond shuttles between headquarters and J Base, flights are considered restricted. The flight of the Grandeur in response to the theft of the train needs to be answered for and I am personally hoping that the Colonel can provide those answers."
Catalina hummed. "Are you sure you don't want to speak with the General instead? He might be quicker to answer."
"The General's work at J Base leaves him out of reach for most of the time. It'd be just as good to communicate by old steam than try to send a communique over the End of the World, even with the Bivrost."
Catalina looked towards the horizon to the east with that. Rising above it, a large orange stone wall stood as the physical end of the world as most people knew it. It reached up over ten thousand feet, and according to the many surveys performed by explorers and the Garlyle, it was still gradually growing.
"Besides, Operation Yggdrasil's acceleration has warranted nearly all of the General's time and effort. They've even dug up the old Surt Ruins on Messina, you know! They're desperate to find some kind of clue about the whereabouts of the other pieces of the Stone."
Catalina nodded. "I heard, many of the boys from my hometown have sent home complaints about joining the forces and then ending up working in the same holes they dug up for fun in their backyards instead of adventuring in the new world."
Duminas laughed heartily. "Ah, the poor lads. I'd be disappointed too. Well then, I want a full investigation on the theft of the train and the flight. I expect a response from you by tomorrow. May the Spirits guide you, my dear."
"Yes Director," Catalina replied before the image of her superior faded. Soon as it was gone, and the device shut down, she sneered a bit and went back to sit in her seat above the bridge's helm.
"My dear," she grumbled, "I swear he treats me like his secretary sometimes!"
The two pilots of the ship, one a young girl with gray eyes and brown hair styled in pigtails and the other a nearly identical young boy with the same eyes and short brown hair, exchanged looks.
"Well, until you changed your look up, a lot of people did mistake you for a secretary," the girl pointed out.
Catalina shot a look at her. "I know; I worked my butt off to be respected as an agent in the field who got to the bottom of things, I did not come this far to be seen as someone's pet."
"Given how much the Foundation owns that butt, and ours, we're not in much position to complain," said the boy.
"We might not be in a position but that doesn't mean we can't," Catalina replied, "But that's why we work hard, so we can at least be recognized for our work."
The girl nodded in agreement. "That's right."
"Inspector, we've gotten clearance to land," the boy then reported.
"Set us down then, I would like to get started right away," Catalina replied.
"Aye, aye, Sir."
…
Location: North Elencia Base Dock
Time: 11:39 Hours Local
The large vents covering the lifting engine ports slid open, directing the incredible thrust of the Bivrost's lifting engines downward as her main engine slowed to idle. The craft's wings folded downward at the midpoint, and the large bicycle landing gear of the ship extended from her keel–allowing her to set down on the pad directly behind the massive gantry that was required for the perpetually hovering Grandeur.
Waiting by the entrance of the ship, were Catalina's welcoming committee, three of the top performing units of the Garlyle Forces, the Bloody Rose, Desert Moon, and Lightning Star Squads–and their white-uniformed commanding officers.
"So this is Bivrost, huh?" Sergeant Saki, a tomboyish, freckle-faced redheaded girl who commanded the Lightning Star said. "I don't see why there's such a hype about it, it doesn't even have guns."
"That's because it doesn't need guns, it can fly faster than even our Kites," Sergeant Mio of the Desert Moon, a young woman with flowing green hair and matching eyes hidden behind yellow-tinted sunglasses, revealed.
"Not my Kite," Saki snapped at her.
"Saki, your Kite couldn't outfly a children's box kite," Mio gently noted, "Need I remind you of our respective K/D ratios in aggressor training?"
"It's not like you shot me down any of those times!" Saki yelled.
The pale violet haired and eyed Sergeant Nana, of the Bloody Rose Squad, sniffed haughtily as she pretended to be so above her bickering colleagues. After all, she knew that her kite could trounce both theirs in all areas of combat.
Saki turned suddenly and gave her a nasty look. "Don't stand there acting all haughty. I shot you down like five times during each of the last five training sessions, AND your entire squad!"
Nana's placid composure almost instantly shattered, and she turned to Saki. "Pardon you, Saki? I couldn't hear you over how utterly embarrassing you were during the train fiasco."
"Excuse you?! You were the one who lagged behind my men!"
"Had your forces not been focused on rushing in ahead of everyone, we would've caught them all without incident!"
Mio glanced towards the Bivrost, and saw that Catalina had come down from it."Oops."
"Pardon me, but perhaps you could elaborate on that?" Catalina said politely.
All three sergeants quickly turned their attention to the woman, with Saki quickly putting on her façade of professionalism. "Men, attention on deck. Salute!"
The Garlyle soldiers behind the three sergeants quickly snapped into salute, much to Catalina's unshown amusement.
"Sergeant Saki of the Lightning Star Squad, reporting!" Saki introduced herself.
"Sergeant Nana of the Bloody Rose Squad, reporting!" Nana then spoke.
"Sergeant Mio of the Desert Moon Squad, reporting!" Mio added.
Though not military, Catalina returned the salute. "Ladies, hello, I am Inspector Catalina from the Joule Foundation Internal Investigation Bureau. As you were informed, I am here to find out exactly what happened here yesterday."
"Yes, and we have been tasked to serve as your escorts and answer your questions," Mio said.
Already they were deflecting her? "Actually, I would prefer to meet with the Colonel directly on the matter. Can you take me to him, or Lieutenant Leen at least?"
"The Colonel is busy meeting with wounded personnel," Mio informed.
"Wounded personnel?" Catalina thought in surprise.
"Yes, and the Lieutenant is conducting her own investigation afield," Saki added, the spike of hostility in her tone not escaping the investigator's notice, "So if you'd like to get out of this hot sun and talk about what happened, we'd be glad to discuss the incident inside!"
Catalina reached up and brushed a strand of blonde hair off her glasses. "I suppose I haven't much choice in the matter; I will still be seeing the Colonel before I leave, however."
"Of course, we'll see to it that the Colonel is informed," Nana said with a tone implying that they wouldn't.
Catalina hid her grimace. It looked like she was in for a long day…
…
Location: North Elencia Base Mess Hall
Time: 11:48 Hours Local
Being a bureaucrat herself, Catalina was never a fan of bureaucracy. Straight talk was nonexistent, if someone asked you a question for anything the first thing to do was shove them straight off to someone else who didn't have the answer so they could shove them off to someone further. This was exacerbated by the bad habit of departments bloating their staff with people who had no idea what they were doing but got their positions as favors or alternatives to being put to the sword.
The Garlyle Forces were no different from any other division of the Foundation in that regard, except for the fact that Garlyle's contributions to humanity gave them a chip on their shoulder that Catalina could do without.
"So, Sergeants, now that we're all seated I would like to go straight to the point," Catalina said over the bowl of leafy salad she'd picked up from the galley, while one hand rested a pen on the notebook beside the bowl, "I want a full report on what happened yesterday and the night before."
Directly across from her, Nana, Saki, and Mio all exchanged looks, before the latter two leveled their gazes on Nana. Nana returned their looks with animosity, before she went back to a professional expression.
"Yes, of course," she began, "Two days ago at 1600 hours we captured three adventurers who had illegally infiltrated the base."
Catalina took that information with confusion. "Adventurers?"
"Yes, two adolescents and a pre-adolescent."
"They're taking me for a ride," Catalina thought. No one went out adventuring anymore, much less children! All that was left to adventure to was beyond the wall and it was only possible to go there by air.
"We detained the three of them in the brig, but after tricking the guards they managed to escape into the ventilation shafts of the facility, from where they ambushed our soldiers and ransacked their quarters for weapons and equipment," Nana continued, "The base quickly mobilized to recapture them, but due to the poor showings of the Lightning Star and Desert Moon Squads, the three were able to escape with little difficulty aboard the military train."
Saki's face burned with anger, as she slowly turned to glare fiercely at her colleague. Mio's reaction was more subtle, lifting a hand up to daintily adjust her now opaque yellow-tinted sunglasses as the corner of her placidly smiling lips twitched jarringly.
"I see," Catalina said as she wrote down what she was being told, "Were you able to ID the Adventurers?"
"Yes," Mio then said before Nana could, "Two of the adventurers, the young male adolescent and the female preadolescent were from the town of Old Parm. Justin and Sue."
She reached into one of her uniform's pockets and produced a trio of photographs before setting them down for Catalina to appraise.
Catalina stared at the pictures, and then blinked in surprise. She'd definitely seen the roughed up and tied up boy in the picture before. Justin was the son of a pirate and an adventurer who'd settled down in the South side of Parm, and given the hell that boy would raise he'd taken after both of them. The young purple-haired girl who sported no sign of being roughed up and wore a giant yellow butterfly ornament on her head was also a familiar face–Justin's ever present companion also from the South Side.
"Huh, so that pain in everyone's neck actually manned up and did followed his father's footsteps. Good for him I suppose, but…"
Catalina found it hard to believe that a noisy South Parm brat whose claims to infamy were getting jumped by Northside kids and vandalizing property could even survive a day as an adventurer, let alone pull off this stunt.
She then looked to the third picture, a girl with magnificent green hair who was much too pretty to be anywhere near Justin's league defiantly glared back. Catalina had been to New Parm enough to recognize who she was.
"The Legendary Feena?" Well, suddenly this all sounded a lot more plausible.
"Who?" the three sergeants asked as one.
Catalina hummed. "You three have never been to New Parm? Not even on shore leave?"
"Hmph, why go there?" Saki asked, "There's nothing but overweight old men."
"And overweight young men," Nana agreed.
Mio grew haunted. "And Pakon."
All three shuddered, Catalina too.
"Well if you did, you'd know that Feena was a rare breed… the last of her kind. A genuine adventurer who has quite a reputation," Catalina replied, "But I digress. What happened next?"
Mio resumed giving the report. "Due to injuries sustained in their escape by our soldiers, the pursuit of the train was delayed by a number of hours. Colonel Mullen, however, anticipated this delay and sortied the Grandeur to trail after the train and coordinate our pursuit."
Catalina resumed writing. "These kids did that much damage?"
"They were very strong," Nana quickly insisted, "As I stated before, both Lightning Star and Desert Moon Squads suffered embarrassing defeats at their hands. This was almost certainly due to poor discipline and an underestimation of the enemy."
Saki had enough "I would like to add that the Bloody Rose Squad didn't get to fight them at all! Due to a complete lack of unpreparedness they all basically got caught with their pants down and by the time they even caught up the prisoners were long gone!"
Mio wasn't about to let it go either. "Also, when we finally did intercept the train, the Bloody Rose Squad's difficulty in boarding the train from their Kites gave the prisoners ample time to set a trap that allowed them to escape capture."
Nana's expression tightened, as if she wanted to strike both her colleagues for daring to make her look bad despite her own ardent efforts at embarrassing them.
Catalina finished writing down their unneeded commentary and nodded. "I see, so essentially speaking, due to the incompetence of the three of you, the prisoners were able to break from the most secure and top secret military base on this side of the wall, stole a high performance military train, and were able to escape your pursuit with little difficulty?"
That shut all three of them up nicely. Catalina especially liked how Nana's mouth fell open when she realized she had talked herself right into looking as much of a boob as the two she was throwing shade at.
"Thank you for being so upfront and candid about a difficult incident, Sergeants, I understand how the toll of such a failure can affect one's pride," she said, "Now that I have your report I would like to speak with the Colonel and get his perspective on the incident."
The three resumed talking, and all were suddenly unified on one thing: not letting her see the Colonel, and they were extra nasty about it.
"You were told that you would see the Colonel before you left, civilian," Nana said.
"Having a little patience wouldn't hurt," Mio pointed out, "Because you're in no position to order us around."
"Unless you're in that much of a hurry to leave!" Saki snapped at her.
Catalina drew back, astonished at their attitudes, before lifting up a hand to adjust her own glasses. "I see that I'm not getting this without a fight, am I?"
"You won't get it with a fight," Saki shot back.
Nana smirked at the very idea of it. "But if you insist on trying, you're welcome to."
Mio smiled. "Just remember that you're in a Garlyle Base, challenging elite soldiers, who are surrounded by their subordinates."
All three stood up, looming over her as they spoke together, "It won't end well for you."
Catalina drew back a bit more, surprised at their eagerness for an excuse to draw their swords. Her free hand unconsciously went behind her back, fingers twitching as they neared her waist.
"A-ah… S-Sergeant Nana, sir!" a young man's voice suddenly called out.
Nana turned around to look at the soldier who accosted her. "What is it?"
She looked at his rank insignia, and her expression soured in disgust. "Private?"
The Garlyle Soldier saluted. "Err… Private Gontz, of the Fae Squad…"
That just made Nana's expression nastier.
"… Err… Colonel Mullen noticed the arrival of the Bivrost and requested that he meet with the Investigator immediately, um… sir."
Catalina immediately rose from her seat, her composure relaxed again. "Is that a fact? A direct order from the Colonel?"
Gontz looked over to Catalina. "Yes! He requested I go personally, right after he healed me up!"
All three sergeants did not look happy at this bit of news, and cast suspicious looks to one another.
"Well then I'd better not keep him waiting!" Catalina said as she turned to follow Gontz out of the cafeteria, "Lead the way, soldier!"
"Yes, this way, hurry!" Gontz all but pleaded as he headed out the door.
Catalina was out like a gunshot… and then quickly hurried back in to grab her bowl of salad.
"Sorry, ladies, I haven't had my lunch and I'm starving, ta!" she said before she quickly retreated back out the door.
As she left out the door, Nana palmed her face. "Ugh, I hate civilians…"
"I hate the Lieutenant's men even more; did you see him? I bet he doesn't even lift!" Saki groused.
Mio hummed. "How annoying, we should just get rid of her if she shows up again."
"Agreed," Nana and Saki said together.
…
Location: North Elencia Base Corridor
Time: 12:03 Hours Local
"Nice save there, kid," Catalina congratulated the fresh-faced, blue-eyed boy of a soldier who looked like his beige Garlyle uniform barely fit on his skinny frame.
Gontz looked over to her. "I couldn't just sit there and let them bully you like that. Those three are awful, as you already saw."
Catalina crammed a considerable amount of salad into her mouth. "Fo, Colonel Muffin didnf asf f'r me?"
"Uh, no… I was actually waiting for those three to leave so I could get my lunch without being harassed," Gontz admitted.
Catalina swallowed her food and chuckled. "That took a lot of nerve."
"The Colonel respects men who do the right thing," Gontz replied.
"Is that what he tells you?" Catalina laughed again and began spearing more greens with her fork, before she asked, "Were those three not paying attention when he said that?"
"There's no reasoning with them at all, they're basically the Colonel's fangirls and will do whatever they think makes them look good to him, steer wide of them any chance you get. Find Lieutenant Leen or basically anyone but them and their men."
Catalina nodded. "Gontz you said your name was, right? Are you from North Parm?"
Gontz smiled. "Yeah! You from?"
Catalina returned the smile. "Northside born and raised. Your name sounded like a little pain in the neck who keeps getting into fights by the river."
Gontz laughed. "Ah, my little brother, Gantz."
Catalina then hummed. "So you would know about Justin, right?"
Gontz nodded. "Oh yeah, he and I go way back I always had to break him and Gantz up. Gantz would always be trying to pester Sue into becoming his girl, he really likes her and all, and Justin would have to beat him up."
"I've heard," Catalina chowed down on the rest of her salad quickly, before resting the bowl on the flat top of Gontz's helmet to take her pen and paper in her hands.
"You wouldn't happen to know about what happened with him here at the base, would you?" she asked.
Gontz was surprised. "Wait, Justin was here?"
"You mean with the ruckus those three described, you didn't know? At all?" she asked.
Gontz shook his head. "If you mean the train theft, no. All of the Fae Unit were aboard the Grandeur prepping for a mission when the sergeants brought some VIPs up from New Parm and took them to the brig…"
Catalina slowed her stroll, Gontz doing the same, as she flipped her notebook back a page. She then looked at the young soldier. "VIPs, you say? There wasn't any attempt at a base infiltration?"
"No sir," Gontz replied, "Just the VIPs. About an hour after that there was an alert, but that was because of the train being stolen… did Justin do that? Aw man…"
"And the Grandeur took off for its mission right after the alarm?" Catalina asked.
Gontz nodded, and paled slightly as a realization overcame him. "Uh… yeah, well it's more that since she was rarin' to go that they figured they'd send her out after the train anyway."
Catalina quickly wrote that down into her notebook, and hummed. "Gontz, don't you worry about anything you say to me. I'm from the Foundation, you can tell me anything you would to the Colonel; your name won't pop up on any of my reports."
Relief washed over him, then. "Oh, okay then good…"
"Still, I'd rather you not say anything more until I had a word with the Colonel," Catalina then said, "Where is he, for real?"
Gontz blinked. "Uh, he's really in the base hospital, helping heal the men injured yesterday."
Catalina returned the vacant look of surprise for a moment. "… Seriously?"
…
I remember the first time I had seen Colonel Mullen, I was a fifteen year old debutante at one of the Joule Foundation's decadent debutante balls. I was dressed like a princess, being shown off by my factory owning father who had high hopes to make a blushing bride out of me for some Foundation Elite. Mullen's presence there was highly anticipated among us girls, as he was our age and every girl wanted a chance to catch the eye of the General's handsome son. That was quickly dashed, because when he showed up to the party he was dressed like some wild man of the forest and made the worst scene.
One that had the General, his father, drawing his sword to put it down.
Suffice to say that night was ruined.
I didn't see him after that night at any other Foundation function, I only heard rumors of a wild brat entering the Garlyle Forces and quickly turning into a refined pretty boy who could flash a smile and soldiers men and women alike would march straight into hell behind him without a second thought. I sincerely didn't buy the hype.
But then I saw the Colonel…
Location: North Elencia Base Hospital
Time: 12:07 Hours Local
With Gontz a pace ahead of her, Catalina entered the base hospital's infirmary to find the scene she had been told to expect but refused to believe it even when she saw it. An extremely handsome blonde-haired, green-eyed man dressed in a regal red officer's uniform with gold-trimmed white cape stood among the hospital beds occupied by wounded soldiers.
In his right hand, he held his unsheathed sword above his head, and the air shimmered in blue lights as rings circled around the blade, casting a powerful healing magic that healed the injuries of many of the men.
Seeing the light, Catalina stepped back from it, bringing a hand up to cover her injured eye at first, but stopping as she stared at the Colonel.
After several moments, the magic spell faded, and the Colonel smartly sheathed his sword. He then addressed his soldiers.
"There, that should be the last of you. As I've said before, I thank you all for your patience and your willingness to put up with what I demand of you–especially when it puts you in harm's way. While this mission was a failure, and many of you suffered injuries, in failure we've learned new information and taken a great leap towards the ultimate goal of a brighter future for all of mankind."
"It is an honor, Colonel!" the soldiers replied.
"You are all dismissed for the day, but I expect you at muster at 0400," Colonel Mullen said, earning cheers from the men.
"Thank you, Colonel!" they chorused, before rising from their beds and leaving the room.
Mullen smiled as he watched his soldiers leave, which brought his gaze to meet Catalina's. He immediately identified her the symbol of a green lightning bolt inside of a brown circle pinned on her suit's breast. "The Foundation's investigator, you got here quickly… did you come aboard Bivrost?"
"That's right," she replied, "The Foundation is concerned about what happened here, what with the breaches of security and the unauthorized flights."
The very first thing that sat at the forefront of Catalina's mind as she kept to her business was how stupidly handsome the man was. It honestly left her a little awestruck.
Mullen nodded and walked over to the large windows that overlooked the gantry of the Grandeur. He leaned forward and saw the white hull of the Bivrost behind it.
"A fine ship, not one you take into battle, but certainly worth her weight in gold," he complimented the vessel before turning back to her.
"Maybe a little more," Catalina replied as she tried to shake off his handsomeness, "But if we can cut directly to the chase, Colonel?"
Mullen regarded Catalina carefully, as he nodded. "Yes?"
"What exactly happened here over the last two days? I understand that North Parm was infiltrated by Adventurers, who then broke out and stole a train?" she asked, "Further, the Grandeur was deployed against the train. Why?"
Mullen smiled. "You came all that way to ask such a simple question. I hope you won't be disappointed by the answer."
Catalina frowned. "I'll be the judge of it."
"The truth is, we were taking part in a top secret mission pertaining to Operation Yggdrasil in the Misty Forest. The theft of the train was staged to ensure the success of the mission."
Catalina looked up from the notebook as she'd almost absently written down what was just said by the Colonel. "… Pardon?"
Gontz seemed surprised as well that the Colonel would reveal such classified information.
"Yes, unfortunately the mission turned out to be a stunning failure, extremely bad intelligence on our objective led us to believe there was a fragment of the Spirit Stone deep in the East Misty Forest, but we were wrong. All in all, it was a very expensive waste of time," Mullen admitted.
Catalina found the answer received very straight forward–refreshingly so. "Can I see your reports on the mission?"
"Due to the sensitive nature of the mission in question, any you request will be redacted to protect secrets, I hope you're comfortable with that," Mullen replied.
"I understand, Colonel Mullen," she said as she realized that he was staring at her eyes. She averted them by reflex, giving away that she was aware of his gaze.
Mullen's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry for that, Inspector… I just couldn't help notice it."
"It's all right, Colonel, you're not the first to stare," she quickly insisted, "I would just like to review your after action report and bring back my final report to Director Duminas, hopefully before my dinner."
Mullen nodded. "Or you could simply have your dinner here, the Grandeur's cooks are some of the best in the New World, they'd be honored to prepare you a meal."
That set Catalina aback. "Did he just make a pass at me?"
"Oh, that's nice of you Colonel," she said as she brushed some hair from her glasses with the tail end of her pen, her face growing warm, "But I don't have much stomach for New World cuisine, it's too spicy."
Mullen nodded in understanding. "If you insist, I only suggested it because there's a lot of information to go over."
Catalina was sure that there was, but an intrusive thought suggested she'd rather be studying Mullen. Or have him studying her, in-depth.
"I'll reconsider the dinner offer, depending on what I end up seeing in the after action reports," she offered, "But only if you'll accompany me."
It was Mullen's turn to be taken aback. "A flattering offer, but I'll have to decline. I have my own reports to be looking forward to and I can hardly spare the time."
Catalina could hear the roar of her kite going down in flames and crashing. Oh well, big girls didn't cry. "I see, well thank you Colonel. Care to see me to the Grandeur so I may await those reports?"
Mullen nodded, and looked to Gontz. "Private Gontz, escort Inspector Catalina and I to the Grandeur's guest cabin and assume guard detail."
Gontz's eyes widened, almost sparkling as he was addressed by name by the Colonel himself. "Y-yes Colonel, I won't let you down!"
Mullen then went for the exit of the hospital's infirmary. "Shall we, then?"
Catalina, understanding why even strapping a young man like Gontz would be so taken in by the charismatic Colonel, huffed in amusement and followed both young men out.
Despite the haze of attraction, however, her mind was working on some things that bothered her. A costly waste of time, Mullen said. Perhaps the Colonel was being too straightforward about it.
…
In hindsight, the reports I received from Mullen over the course of Operation Yggdrasil were without a doubt the most accurate and informative I could ask for. However, he definitely had his Father's knack of telling people exactly what they wanted to hear while keeping more important information to himself.
His report revealed the whole picture: Justin, Sue, and Feena had rescued a child Humanoid–a human-like species normally found on the other side of the End of the World–that had been chased out of the Misty Forest by those Sergeants. The Sergeants, who had been tasked with finding the boy's village, summarily captured them and brought them to the base.
Due to the boy's rough treatment at the hands of his pursuers, he refused to cooperate with the Garlyle and forced Colonel Mullen and Lieutenant Leen to arrange the escape. This worked flawlessly, with Justin's party leading the Grandeur straight to the Humanoid village in the Misty Forest… where their mission failed.
The Garlyle had information regarding this village, called Luc, and the location of a possible spirit stone fragment, but during the retrieval the alleged fragment shattered and revealed that it wasn't. After that, the Grandeur departed due to the increasing mist.
I thought that this was strange. Why scrub the entire mission then, and let those three go? They weren't just gambling on the impenetrable mists of that forest to take care of them for them. What about Luc Village, and the only known Humanoids on this side of the wall? That night I got those answers, and it began my descent into the reality of Operation Yggdrasil.
Location: Grandeur Guest Quarters
Time: 18:49 Hours Local
Catalina had spent the next six hours buried in the reports provided to her by Colonel Mullen. The reports from the three Sergeants, which were a horror to read given their rancid treatment of that humanoid boy, and the train theft and Luc Village mission took up the majority of her time.
"So when was the last time you were back in Northside?" she idly asked the Private as she drummed her fingers on the handheld radio she used to keep in contact with her ship. It was a hand-held radio, whose blue-faced screen flashed white every few seconds.
"Three weeks ago, when I went to visit my family," Gontz, who was seated across from her, said, "Back during the Surt Ruins excavation."
Catalina nodded as she set down the train report on the table. She interlaced her fingers and stared down at the pictures of Justin, Sue, and Feena as she tried to work her head their role in this.
"You didn't see Justin or Sue there by any chance, did you?" she asked.
"Yes, I did actually," Gontz said, "That makes this all the more amazing, you know? They were still just kids playing around on the streets and getting into mischief when I last saw them. Now they're pulling stunts that special operations classes will probably be teaching for years."
That surprised Catalina, it wasn't even that long ago. "Really?"
"In fact, the last time I saw either of them was at the Surt Ruins during the excavation."
"Huh!" Catalina exclaimed in surprise to Gontz, "What were they doing there?"
"Oh, he and Sue came up to take part in the dig," Gontz replied, "They had an official letter from the Curator at the Baal Museum to head in with the Garlyle to dig in the ruins. Sad thing was, they ran right into Nana, Saki, and Mio."
Catalina huffed. "I imagine it was every bit as unpleasant for him as it was for me."
"They destroyed the letter and chased them off," Gontz said, "But they went in anyway and caused a commotion. An hour later they were running like crazy out of the camp, Justin had this big grin on his face like he had the time of his life."
"And three weeks later, they're here…" Catalina said softly.
She turned and looked at her radio. "Say, tell me if this sounds crazy to you?"
Gontz hummed. "What?"
"I think Justin saw something down there, in the Surt Ruins," Catalina suggested.
Gontz blinked several times. "You think so? The excavation found a few more rooms and old machinery, but nothing worth seeing."
"Yes, but I believe he saw something down there no one else had realized, and it inspired him to go straight to Elencia."
She then patted on the reports. "And he went to the Dom Ruins to find something else that the Garlyle missed."
Gontz looked down at the reports, then up at her. "Go on?"
"The Sergeant's reports say that Justin's party picked up the humanoid just outside of the ruins. When they trailed them to the Herb mountains and captured them, they were carrying weapons and items that could have come from the ruins," Catalina patted the reports again, "Earlier I contacted my associates down in New Parm and asked them to gather some information about Justin's movements in the town. I am willing to bet my paycheck that as soon as he was off the boat he was getting supplies to go straight there."
Before Gontz could reply, a blue light on the radio's screen began to blink.
Seeing it, Catalina smiled and pressed the call button. "Imogen, what do you have for me?"
A miniature hologram projection appeared, showing the brown-haired, gray-eyed girl who helmed Bivrost. She quickly waved. "Hello, Catalina! We got a lot of information regarding Justin!"
Catalina smirked to Gontz, before nodding to Imogen. "Go on?"
"Well, his first stop when in town was to go to the Adventurer's Society to meet up with its former president, Gauss and arrange an expedition to the Dom Ruins," Imogen reported, "But he wound up crossing Gauss' son Pakon."
Catalina shuddered.
"After that, he wound up in a fight with Pakon when Pakon tried to force Feena to marry him. He and Sue absolutely demolished the New Parm Church crashing the wedding and pummeling the stuffing out of Pakon's bodyguard."
"Yeah, that sounds like Justin, he won't stop at nothing to come to a girl's rescue," Gontz said with a short laugh.
Catalina rolled her eyes, before she spoke to Imogen, "And then they headed for the Dom Ruins?"
"That's right, and that's actually all we've got. He hasn't been seen in town since and given what happened here he probably won't try to go back," Imogen said.
Catalina smiled. "That's fine, he has no intention of going back. I think his next destination is the End of the World."
Imogen's big gray eyes shifted to show her curiosity at the very idea. "You think he's going to try to climb it, don't you?"
"He will," Gontz said without hesitation.
"If I were feeling invincible after escaping and outsmarting the Garlyle, I'd believe I would," Catalina said as she stood up. "Imo, you and Hector warm up the Bivrost, I want to take a flight to the Dom Ruins."
But first she had to cancel dinner with the Colonel, and with that she stood up. "Private Gontz, I'd like for you to see me to the bridge."
Gontz nodded. "Yes, sir."
…
Location: Grandeur Passageway
Time: 18:57 Hours Local
Walking briskly down the corridor, Catalina brought the radio to her ear. "How long until we're airborne?"
"We kept the engines idling, so five minutes," Imogen replied.
"Fantastic," Catalina replied, "I'm going to report to the Colonel my findings regarding Justin and then I'll…"
An uncomfortable tingling brought her free hand over her old injury. "… Be aboard. It shouldn't take me more than ten minutes."
"Aye, aye, sir! Before you leave can you get me an autograph from Herr Mullen~!" Imogen responded before the call ended.
Gontz had been polite about it up to this point, Catalina's scar and the red color to her eye, but seeing her irritation and figuring this was the last he'd see of her for a while, he had to ask. "Er… Catalina? Is there something wrong with your eye?"
"Aside from the obvious?" Catalina asked jovially back, "It's just an old injury that won't heal."
"Not even magic works?"
"Magic actually makes it worse," Catalina whispered to him, "My body doesn't agree with it."
Gontz was mystified by the very idea. "Gee, I've never heard of that happening before."
"It's a sign of the times," Catalina replied before the irritation got worse. "Is there something going on here aboard this ship?"
She covered her eye, her palm fitting over the entirety of her scar, as she stopped in front of the doors leading to the bridge. As Gontz was to knock and ask permission to enter, Catalina held her radio out in front of him, stopping him. She leaned forward and placed her left ear against the door.
Inside the Command Bridge, which doubled as a private meeting room for General Baal and his subordinates, Colonel Mullen listened to Lieutenant Leen give her report following her mission. Leen, who was dressed in a black body suit she wore a white coat and short blue cape over, , appeared to fidget as she gave her report.
"We searched the area where the mists had been thinning, but a low cloud deck made it difficult. While it may have been the use of magic to clear the mist, the chances are just as good that it was natural phenomena," she reported.
Mullen nodded. "Then for now Justin and the final piece of the Spirit Stone are outside of our reach. We will have to wait until he comes crawling out of the forest to grab him."
Catalina's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"
Leen was concerned, "If we wait too long, the General won't be pleased. He's become impatient, lately…"
"I know, Leen, leave him–and Justin–to me for now," Mullen asked his subordinate, "You've done more than enough at this point."
Leen flushed, her pale skin reddening noticeably at her cheeks. "Thank you sir."
"Father can afford to rest on his laurels for now, we know where the final piece is and it's only a short matter of when and not if we acquire it," Mullen reassured her.
"But what if he doesn't come out of the forest?" Leen asked.
"With everything he's done so far, I'd be more surprised if he didn't. Besides, your sister is with him, and if she's anything like you she'll see him through without a problem."
Leen, ever unused to compliments from her superior, took it graciously and with great humility–though her turmoil was readily apparent. "Th-thank you, sir, but there's still the matter of us taking it from them."
Mullen rested a hand on Leen's shoulder. "I know it's difficult but with willful people like Justin and I there's no doubt that force will be necessary. Your gentle nature is inspiring, Lieutenant. I'm sorry if I make things hard on you."
Leen gently brushed off his hand. "It's all right, Colonel. I knew from the moment I joined, that this would not be easy. This is an awful situation, but we're so close now… stopping simply because of my personal feelings would make all of the sacrifices others have made to this point meaningless."
Mullen never ceased to be struck by this young woman's resolve. He gave her a bittersweet smile, as he nodded slowly,
"If only there were more like you in the world, then we wouldn't have a need for Operation Yggdrasil," he said, "We'd still be living as the Angelou did."
Leen's cheeks turned a shade of red darker as she looked away.
On the other side of the door, Catalina's fingers dug into her head as she stepped back, shocked.
"Catalina…?" Gontz asked.
"I just heard something that I was not supposed to," she realized.
She smartly performed an about face and began marching briskly back the way she came. Gontz grew concerned, very concerned.
"Hey, uh, Cat…?" he asked as he caught up with her. "What's going on, do you need to see the infirmary-?"
He yelped when Catalina grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and pulled him close. "Say Gontz, I think I need you to see me back to the Bivrost."
"But what about the Colonel-?"
"He's not a priority for me right now," she quickly replied as she let him go.
Gontz stopped. "Catalina, what's going on, did… did you hear something in there?!"
Catalina turned to face him, and noticed that his hand was uncomfortably close to his sword.
Catalina quickly brought up her hands. "Whoa… nothing so serious. Just something that we had no business walking in on."
Gontz turned his head slightly away from her, raising an eyebrow.
"Something between him and Lieutenant Leen?" Catalina quickly said, emphatically.
Gontz needed a second to process it, before his eyes widened in shock. "No way… really?!"
Catalina bit her lower lip, and looked aside towards the doors to the bridge. "Mmmhm!"
"Huh… I always figured something was going on between them… but I didn't think they were like that."
"Hey, it happens. Like if I were in the Lieutenant's shoes there'd be no speculation on the matter. None."
Gontz blushed at her insinuation. "I imagine not."
"I would also be dismissed for fraternization, but it would be worth it," Catalina added before she placed her hand on Gontz's back and guided her along with him, "Well then, shall we?"
"R-right, sir," Gontz quickly said as he was led out.
…
Location: North Elencia Base Dock
Time: 19:06 Hours Local
The walk from the Grandeur to the Bivrost was mercifully brief and with little interference from the soldiers who saw Catalina and her escort walk past. By the time they reached the Joule Foundation ship, her Icarian Engine was turning at full RPM, creating an up-pitched version of the droning hum that came from the idling Grandeur.
"It's a shame that you're leaving, it was nice to talk to someone from home!" Gontz called out over the Bivrost's engine.
"I agree on having someone from home to talk to! Folks from Marna aren't nearly as good conversation, and New Parm's too soft!" Catalina replied, "And don't get me started on those Southside hooligans!"
Gontz laughed. "Right?"
As they walked up the ramp and into the airlock of the ship, she pulled out a scroll from inside her suit. "But we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other."
Gontz stopped. "Really?"
She ran her finger down the rolled up scroll, which began to glow in a blue light, water magic. She then tossed the scroll at Gontz, which exploded into a mass of bubbles that enveloped and put him right to sleep.
Covering her eye in irritation, she caught Gontz and helped his sleeping body carefully to the floor as the door automatically swung closed and locked. As soon as he was on the floor, Catalina reached up and palmed the intercom button. "Get us airborne and straight to the Dom Ruins, and put a call ahead to Director Duminas. There's something big going on and he needs to hear it."
"Aye, aye, sir!" Imogen called back.
As the Bivrost lifted off the ground, Catalina took Gontz by his shoulders and began dragging him to the ship's brig, a dark look on her face.
"Desperate about the whereabouts, huh?" she paraphrased Duminas.
She stopped and looked out a portside window, at the distant End of the World, its imposing face concealing the mysteries that lay behind it.
In an emergency budget meeting between the Maesters of the Joule Foundation, General Baal reported that Operation Yggdrasil's progress had been slowed by the Garlyle's inability to locate the remaining three pieces of the Spirit Stone. The Surt Ruins Excavation was funded under the pretense that there were perhaps more clues to the location of those pieces.
The truth was anything but that: Operation Yggdrasil was deep in its final stage, the only piece left for its completion rested in the hands of a young boy, and the Garlyle Forces were deliberately deceiving the Joule Foundation.
There was something very wrong going on beyond the Wall.
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