What Once Was Lost

by mythireandfire

Fourteen year old Hiromi Kimura is no stranger to the war between the IMC and Militia, having been born and raised on a planet that has the IMC's interest and the MIlitia's protection. Except for a distant skirmish or two the Militia has kept the planet from IMC control, but soon all of that will change and Hiromi will be tested in ways he's never imagined.

The Emerald Colony

Chapter 1

Dappled light from the rays of Naredis' two suns filtered through the leaves in the canopy to dance across the wide path. A slight breeze blew through the branches, making the limbs of the tall, black barked trees sway gently to the wind's rhythm. Tiny multi-colored lizards called, Jeweled Laces, that measured the length of a finger or smaller used the wind to their advantage and flitted from branch to branch on gossamer wings, their musical, if not a bit squeaky, chirps humming in the air. Sharing the trees with them were squirrel like creatures with wide silver eyes and dull brown hair, and every now and then you would hear a squabble erupt if one animal got too close to another's tree.

I smiled as I heard such a squabble erupt within earshot but away from sight, odd ticking squeals as if from broken bells and clocks echoing through the forest. I laughed quietly as I imagined the squirrels—shritens, as we called them—chasing and slapping at each other like children. It was tempting to stray from the path and find them just so I could witness it, but the soft tinkling of glass in my satchel kept my feet on the path.

Still…

I tipped my head back and stared up into the dark green leaves that were translucent from the light of the suns. Inhaling deeply I could smell the must and rot of rich soil and deadfall, and a sweet smell from some nearby flowering plant. Other creatures besides the shriken and flying lizards lived in the forest, and I could hear the various tunes of the wildlife that teemed in the trees.

Exhaling loudly, I started to lightly jog towards my destination. The faster I got there and completed my task, the more time I would have exploring the woods.

An hour into the trek the wide trail in front of me took a turn and then ended abruptly at what appeared to be an abandoned single home dwelling, abandoned that is if not for the immaculate condition of the surrounding fauna. I walked through the well groomed garden that lead to the sliding hatch that would allow me in. Studying the rusty but up kept home, I noticed that the tenant had added a few more hand-carved wooden chimes to their outside décor.

I gave a soft knock on the door of the old home, calling out as I did so, "Ms. Colemand? It's me, Hiromi. I've got your refill on your prescriptions and it's time for your check up."

There was no sound from the other side, but within a few seconds the hatch slid to the side to reveal an old woman wearing faded, but clean, Militia military fatigues. Janice Colemand had tanned leather skin you could only get by spending years—and then some—out in the sun. Colemand was at least one in a half meters tall with boots on and ninety pounds soaking wet, but the ex-Pilot still gave off the impression that she could snap your neck in ten different ways. Her yellow-white hair was pulled back into a bun so tight it pulled parts the skin on her face taught, and while said face seemed to lie in a permanent scowl, her browns eyes glittered mirthfully.

Colemand gave me once over before lightly grunting as a way of a hello. She stepped to the side and motioned for me to enter, saying, "Don't stand there all day, boy, come in. You dawdle any longer and the rest of my youth will be gone before ya reach the threshold."

I wiped my boots off before walking in, and then turned to her with a wide grin. "You still have some youth left, Ms. Colemand? You should have told me sooner cause I had no idea."

The smack she gave the top of my head made me laugh, and I didn't try to hide my mirth even as she said, "You still have that mouth on you, huh?"

"Same mouth I was born with, yes mam." I quipped while rubbing the spot on my head she had smacked me—it had had some force to it and actually smarted. Worth it.

She huffed and started walking through the hallway towards her kitchen area. "I'd tell you to watch that tongue, but I frankly don't give a shit as long you don't get too smart with me."

The kitchen was small and consisted of a stove, cold storage, sink, and a tiny round table with two worn metal chairs. Her whole house was like that; simple, minimal, and clean, yet still giving off a homey feeling. The most elaborate thing about her home was the garden outside, where the old woman spent most of her time anyway.

Colemand slid into one of the chairs and placed her right arm on the table; elbow down and forearm slightly raised. "Let's get this poking and prodding session out of the way so I can move on with my life."

I chuckled and placed my satchel on the table, pulling out the various instruments I would need for the checkup. Colemand had always hated her monthly medicals—hated them even more when Dad would do them—but she never fought me on it. She bitched about it a lot, but never forbade me from "entering her abode", as she puts it, like she did Dad. I never asked what had happened between them, and at this point didn't really care, but I was glad she allowed me into her home.

"I don't know why I have to have these so often," Colemand muttered in discontent as I pressed the blood pressure reader to her arm. "Back during the Titan Wars the only time we saw a doctor was when you were shot—or missing a limb."

"Oh, but for the good old days when you had to be majorly incapacitated to visit a doctor. At eighty-nine things are bit different, Ms. Colemand." I pulled the reader off after I heard a soft beep and looked at the results. "Blood pressure is a little high, but heart rate and blood sugar is normal." I pulled out a body scanner and set the controls. I held it to her head for a few seconds while it calibrated and then slowly moved it from her head to her toes.

I could feel Colemand's eyes on me while I focused on the sensor in my hands, and I felt like she started to say something but then stopped herself. Curious, I glanced at her to find Colemand staring over my shoulder with a nostalgic look on her face. Turning to see what she was looking at, I felt a tight knot of dread form in the pit of my stomach as my eyes fell onto the Pilot helmet sitting on a shelf alone. It was a piece of the house that I tried to ignore every time I set foot in it, but this time I couldn't quite look away. The black and yellow paint was barely there on its scraped and beaten exterior. One side of the helmet was almost completely caved in, the durable material crumpled and cracked, and I felt my throat close up at the thought of Colemand's head being encased in it.

"You know," Colemand started softly in a wistful tone that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, "I won't say that those days were good, but I do miss them. Joker and I were one hell of a team during the wars, and even though the things I saw—the things I did—were the stuff of nightmares, the bond we had kept me from falling apart at them."

The sick feeling in my gut grew. My eyes didn't waver from the helmet, and as I envisioned how that concaved place on the helm happened I heard myself ask, almost against my will, "Who was Joker?"

"JK-7216 Atlas Warrior Class Titan. He was my first and last Titan. It's extremely rare for a Pilot to keep their original Titan throughout their service, but we somehow managed." She shook her head sadly. "They don't make em' anymore, the Warrior chassis, though you'll see one every now and then. They might not have been as fancy as the newer chassis they've come up with, but they were sturdy and dependable, and lasted a hell of a lot longer in battle I can tell you that."

"Were you…" I stopped, my voice trailing off as I swallowed thickly. I had to fight the lump in my throat to even speak.

"Was I what?"

I didn't want to know, not really. If I did then I would have asked the first time I'd seen the helmet when I'd visited her, hell the first time I'd found out she was a Pilot I would have asked her if I really wanted to know bad enough. But at the same time, there was some part of me that was rearing its head and was suddenly morbidly curious. "Were you…attacked by another Titan? Was it a Titan that did the damage of…?" I trailed off again and motioned at the helmet.

Colemand gave a firm nod, her lips tightening. "The last battle I was in, yeah. I don't remember that fight very clearly, but I do remember Joker doing his damned best to protect me, even as his hull was ripped off. I remember the hand of the IMC Titan—I think it was an Ion—reaching for me and wrapping around my head. Next thing I knew, I wake up in a Militia hospital six months later unable to talk, unable to move anything below my shoulders."

I watched her hand clench into a fist on the table. "It took me several days to find out that Joker had been destroyed protecting me. They were all ready to tell me what was wrong with me, how I was paralyzed and might never walk or talk again; how the battle had ended with us winning, but they didn't think for moment that the first thing a Pilot wants to hear about is their Titan." She drew in a shaky breath and my instruments quietly notified me that her heart rate had accelerated slightly. "Joker and I were a team and one of the longest running ones as well. All those years Joker and I served together, all the missions we upheld—and I was told about his death in some offhand manner by some grunt that was sent because the higher ups couldn't be bothered."

I forced myself to look away from the helmet and focused on the light beeping coming from my scanner, trying to ignore the cold sweat that had broken out and began trickling down my forehead. I could admit to myself that the conversation had gone long enough and I didn't want to hear any more. "I'm sorry they treated you like that, but we might want to change the subject—your blood pressure is rising even more."

Unexpectedly, Colemand let out a bark of laughter. "Bullshit about my blood pressure, boy, you just don't want to talk about anything that has to do with Titans."

I felt the sting of truth behind her words but I still tried to deny it. "That's not it! I just can't get an accurate reading if you're making yourself upset by talking about what happened to you."

Her face unexpectedly softened and she reached over and patted me on the knee. "It's alright, Hiromi, I know it makes you uncomfortable. I'll shut this old mouth about the good ole' days. Sometimes I forget that you're only fourteen, since you act older for your age."

My face flushed red at that, and I couldn't help shifting from foot to foot, uncomfortable with the sudden mood in the room. Colemand could always glean something from me every time we spoke, and for the most part I never needed to say a word for her to learn something—like my aversion of Titans. I had made it rule not to talk about it in front of her, since I respected the fact that she was an ex-Pilot and war veteran who clearly loved her former Mech, but apparently it had come through anyway. I wasn't surprised; there were some things I just wasn't good at hiding.

I cleared my throat and began shutting down my equipment. "Most of the results came out looking fine, but it looks like your right knee is still swollen a bit with your arthritis and there appears to be some inflammation around the first thoracic vertebrae."

"My knee has been acting up," she admitted, her hand reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck, "and damned if my shoulders haven't been burning lately."

"I can give you a shot for your knee like last time," I said as I was already prepping the cortisone injection, "but you'll have to take some pills for the inflammation."

Colemand mumbled, "Damn pills," under her breath and I grinned at the distaste in her voice.

"I'll leave a note on your cooler to help remind you to take them," I said, kneeling down and rolling the pants leg up on her fatigues. The injection was quick and painless and I was up and putting the syringe before she had time to react—not that she would have. I pulled out the prescription bottle dad had already predicted she would need and set it on the table. "Take two pills every day; one with breakfast and one with supper. The instructions are on the bottle as well."

"Dammit, boy, I'm old not senile," she snapped at me, snatching the bottle off the table as she stood up. "I think I can remember how to take a pill."

"That's what you said last time a few months ago, but you never finished your antibiotics and that infection came back. Then you had to take twice as many." I wrote down, Don't forget your pills! –Hiromi, in large cheerful letters, ripped off the sheet of paper, and then held it out to her expectantly.

With snort of amusement she took the paper from my hand and slapped it onto the cooler. Colemand turned back around and the mirth was back in her eyes, the crow's feet crinkling as she smiled. "Who would have thought I'd have a fourteen year old pill pusher ordering me around, hmm?"

"Who'd have thought I'd be looking after a crotchety old Pilot at fourteen, hmm?" I said back, mimicking her tone.

She laughed and walked forward to ruffle my hair. "You know, boy, I may not think much of your old man but he sure did right by you. And you're a good son to help him out as much as you do."

Despite myself, I felt a warmth bubble up and envelop me at her words. Colemand was course, blunt, and had probably killed hundreds of people, but she was also warm and caring. If anyone's opinion of me mattered it was hers.

I had to hold myself back from giving her a hug, knowing she wasn't much for touching, and settled for a grin. "Thanks, Ms. Colemand. I'll let dad know there's still some hope for him yet as there is apparently one thing he did right."

She stabbed her finger at him in mock anger. "You'll do no such thing. I don't want some notion getting in his head that I approve of him. He might come down here to talk to me if that's the case." Her crow's feet crinkled as I laughed at her. "You're a handful, boy. Now get out of here. You've done what you've come to do, and you need to be home before dark."

I let her walk me to the door and see me out. She followed me through her garden but then stopped at the edge and looked out in the woods.

"Don't go off the path today, Hiromi."

I blinked. "What?"

"Don't what me, boy. I know you like to go off the path and explore the woods after our visits. Normally I'd encourage that spirit, but The Canopy's not been safe lately; and no doubt you've heard about the disappearances that happened recently?"

I gave a solemn nod as I looked out into forest that Colemand had made her home in. The Canopy, as the massive temperate forest on Neradis was named, was largely uncharted and unexplored. We had satellite images of the woods, but what was held in them we barely had an idea, and recently two colonists had disappeared as they'd set out to harvest some of the edible flora in the region. They were yet to be found, and left little trace to figure out what had happened to them.

No matter how much I wanted to watch the animals in the woods, I wasn't stupid. I leaned up and gave Ms. Colemand a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, mam, I don't plan on straying today. I'll go straight home."

She swatted him away, but didn't look displeased. "Good. Now get, before I lose my patience."

I gave her a sharp salute that had her smile and said, "Yes, mam!" Turning away, I began to make my way back to Gaulder.

Gaulder, a small colony that was built on the edge of The Canopy, was home to maybe three hundred settlers tops, most of them farmers. Apparently it had once been larger, but when the IMC came one day eighteen years ago, they had decimated most of the population. No one knew why, for usually the IMC came when a planet had a valuable resource to offer, but Neradis had nothing to give really. It was uniquely beautiful but it lacked in oil, had no remarkable deposits of ore, and was too remote for a larger colonization attempt.

The IMC had held what settlers were still alive under an iron thumb, until the Militia stepped in. The battle for Gualder had not been long, but it was bloody—or so I was told by Dad since he and Mom had apparently been there for it. The Militia promised to protect Gaulder, and while there have been a few tries from the IMC to retake Neradis, the Militia held their word and kept them at bay.

Four years after the initial battle I was born, but Mom passed shortly after. Even Dad's advanced medical training wasn't able to save her. I wonder if he blamed me for her death…

Wow, what a train of thought. I shook my head and focused on the teeming forest around me. A few laces drifted close, their delicate wings giving a soft flap every few seconds to keep them afloat. Their iridescent were slightly translucent and I could almost make out their bone structure and see their tiny hearts beating rapidly. They angled sharply away from me, sailing deeper into the forest, and I had to fight the urge to follow after them as I would on a normal day.

I had promised Colemand I wouldn't do anything stupid and I was going to uphold that promise. Especially since the disappearances.

I began to hum to myself to occupy my thoughts, because I began speculating on the missing people the woods would start to unnerve me. Before long it worked and the mindless tune let me enjoy the rest of the trek back to Gaulder.

However, after an hour of travel I emerged from the forest and stumbled to a standstill when a large shadow fell over me that certainly wasn't natural. My humming died instantly as I halted and looked up to see the blue optics of a Titan staring down at me. My heart stopped too, and then restarted at frantic pace even though the various shades green and black paint on the chassis were familiar to me.

"Good afternoon, Hiromi Kimura. I hope your walk was pleasant." The Titan's mechanized male voice caught me off guard simply because I could never get used to them being able to talk—it was akin to my rotor bike asking me how my day was. I was also caught off guard because I was not expecting a Titan to be anywhere near here.

I took several steps back until I had a good ten meters between me and the mech. I narrowed my eyes at the Tone class Titan, distrustful. "It was, uh, it was fine. What exactly are you doing here? I know you patrol the outskirts of Gaulder but I've never seen you patrol around The Canopy."

"Captain Dravis was aware that you were tending to Pilot Colemand today. He ordered me to keep watch over The Canopy and to report back to him if you did not arrive within a designated time."

My eyes narrowed further. "Captain Dravis has never cared about me arriving home safe and sound before, why care now?"

The Titan blinked once. "I believe Doctor Kimura requested that the Captain see to your safety, as there have been several disappearances in the forest as of recent. And your statement is incorrect—the Captain has shown concern over your exploits into the Canopy in the past. If you wish, I can pull up my video logs to demonstrate his—"

I waved at the Titan dismissively, turning away to begin walking towards the colony. "I don't really care, so you don't need to. Well, I'm here safe and sound so you can go back to do whatever it is you Titans do when not following kids around. See ya."

I jogged forward a ways to put some distance between the Titan and me. I could see the rooftops of Gaulder ahead of me, though most of the colony was shrouded by the many natural rock arcs that peppered the grasslands that made up most of Neradis, and began looking forward to getting home. Before I got very far though, I realized that I could hear a steady rumble behind me. I twisted to see with irritation that the Titan had started to follow me, its long legs catching up to me with little effort.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?"

"Following Protocol two: uphold the mission. Captain Dravis issued that I see you back to the colony safe and unharmed."

"This is bullshit," I muttered under my breath, but continued walking. "I've been making this route for two years and nothing's happened to me."

"Two years ago civilians were not disappearing in the forest."

I scowled, but was willing to concede. Just because I didn't like Titans didn't mean I couldn't admit I was in the wrong. "Point to you, but sending a Titan out to be my guard dog is a bit overkill. Tell your Dravis that next time Dad asks for you to babysit me to just decline."

The Titan was quiet for a few moments before stating in a curious tone, "Your voice patterns indicate that you do not trust me and your body language reveals that you would prefer to keep an amount of distance between us."

My lips pressed together and I kept silent as I stalked down the road, trying to ignore the impact of the Titan's footfalls behind me and how with each step I had to fight from flinching from the crushing thuds.

"I have gone through my records to see if I have offended you in some manner but we have had little to no interaction to have caused such an encounter. Conclusion: you are fearful of me. If need be I can—"

I spun around and pointed my finger at Titan, causing the mech to halt abruptly. "I am not afraid of you!" Okay so maybe I wasn't as ready to admit when I'm wrong, but oh well.

The housing that held the Titan's optic tilted in apparent curiosity. "My vital scans are picking up an increased heart rate as you confront me. I am only aware of fear being the cause of this reaction. If there is another cause I would like to be enlightened."

Damn if this giant robot isn't right. I pushed the thought back—and tried to settle the frantic pounding of my heart. "Anger is also a very good heart accelerator just so you know, uh…Titan." I paused as I realized I was trying to name it, and I tried to recall what I'd overheard Dravis call it.

"My designated serial number is OZ-4283"

I blinked. "What?"

"You seemed to be having difficulty in addressing me. You may call me by my serial number, though my Pilot regularly refers to me as 'Oz'. You may use this nickname if it will make it easier to converse."

I shook my head and put my hands out in a stopping motion, realizing that what was happening and it was ridiculous. "I don't need a name to call you by, alright? I just want you to understand that I am not in any way, shape, or form afraid of you; if anything I just don't like Titans."

"Could you elaborate?"

"No." And with that I turned on my heel and continued to march down the trail. "I know you have your "protocol" to complete so I won't stop you, but you can do it from way back there," I pointed to a relative spot farther up the path behind the Titan, "and we'll be good. Okay? Okay."

"If this will make you more comfortable with my presence then I will comply," the Titan, or Oz as it referred to itself, responded amenably. "Please do not wander from my line of sight or attempt to run away as I do not wish to have to pursue you in such a manner."

I felt my heart that I'd manage to somewhat quiet start pounding again as the image of the Tone chasing after me came to mind. I put my head down and picked up my pace, hating the feeling of fear that rushed through me.

"Trust me, Titan, I wouldn't want that either."