Chapter One: Miltian Conflict - 14 Years Ago

A/N: Takes place during the beginning on disc one. Happy reading.

"What you're seeing here is actual footage from the violence that erupted before dawn this morning. These seemingly coordinated Realian attacks were reported throughout Federation territory, prompting government officials to consider this movement an act of terrorism,'' a newscaster said on the monitor. The camera behind the newscaster showed the city of Miltia in a riot committed by many Realians. "Their response to these Realians has been—There's been a new development… As internal agencies continue to analyze these violent events, a flash action report within the Federation—and obtained by this station—indicates that only Realian models created within the last two years or those receiving adjustments in the Miltian Star System have been implicated. Although this is not a complete list, we have obtained a partial list of units matching these criteria. This list includes… DZ-1006448, DZ-2000330, DZ-1001007." A man with orange hair prepared himself as he watched the news report on the monitor then watched the report change to Representative Helmer's face. "Today was just the beginning of the ensuing violence. These Realian outbreaks are spreading like wildfire. They'll be reading off plenty more model numbers in the media tomorrow, I can assure you,'' he said in a somewhat worried voice.

"So, what does that have to do with the operation?'' The orange-haired man asked.

"I'd like to know why I was chosen for this mission. I'm told that the military has detained all of its Realians. I find it difficult to believe that they don't have any misgivings about us." "Canaan, you're a Realian who's been especially created and configured by Vector itself. I've been given the CEO's personal guarantee that you won't be affected like the others." Canaan looked back at the door as a white-haired boy with dark skin walked inside the room. "Besides, no ordinary pilot could possibly control your craft. That makes you very vital to the operation,'' he said in a gentle but military-esque voice. Helmer looked over at the boy. "I don't believe you two have been properly introduced yet. This is chaos. He'll be joining you onboard as your navigator,'' he told the orange-haired man. Canaan chuckled lightly.

"I appreciate the offer, but you may want to reconsider,'' he said in a smug-like voice. "A regular human can't ride in that thing.'' ''Right. That's why I'm here. Don't worry." The orange-haired man looked at chaos and sighed. "All right, it's settled then,'' Helmer said. "Good luck to both of you."

--

"As mentioned in the briefing, this is a top-secret mission. All IFF code transmitters will be switched off, and under no circumstances will you receive backup from this vessel,'' An male operator said as he looked at the hologram of a dark grey and black A.M.W.S unit. "You will have to manage your descent and return on your own. You can expect heavy resistance from both U-TIC enemy craft and Federation military units deployed throughout Miltia. It's gonna be dangerous. So watch yourselves out there." Inside the machine, Canaan shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm coming back,'' he reassured the operator. "Operator, requesting confirmation."

A monitor appeared in the white-haired boy's front view as he pressed the buttons on the monitor.

"We are to head to point NN441, correct?" He asked the operator. "Correct. The U.R.T.V. force is currently deployed at the target location. Your primary objective is to retrieve them. Protecting them should be your first priority."

"All of them?"

"Affirmative," the operator confirmed. "If the situation allows, you will then infiltrate U-TIC's motherframe and acquire the Y-Data—the root of this conflict." chaos nodded his head. "Roger. We'll do what we can." Canaan typed on the console next to him, looking from the monitor in front of him and back to the console. "E.S. Asher start-up sequence complete," he said as the machine shook slightly. "Requesting launch."

"Launch request confirmed. Now guiding E.S. Asher to Deck B," the operator confirmed. E.S. Asher was moved into Deck B as the ship's dock bay doors opened, the machine getting ready to launch. "Defensive shields deployed. Ready when you are." Blue-green shields went around E.S. Asher. "Roger. Initiating launch procedure. Good luck!" chaos smiled lightly at the operator's comment then braced himself against the several amount of Gs as Asher took off and descended down to the skies of Second Miltia.

--

"Currently passing through the troposphere. Outer hull temperature returning to normal. Adjusting descent path by 0.22. This should get us closer to our target,'' chaos said adjusting the descent path. Soon, E.S. Asher was already in the atmosphere. The white-haired boy sighed a breath of relief only to be startled some by the alarm. The green monitor in from of him detected enemies--several A.G.W.S--approching them. "Approach warning. Incoming craft detected. They're on an intercept course. There are—"

"We'll take them all out. Stop counting and take control of the shields," Canaan ordered. "We'll use the shockwave to gain advantage on them. You've got control of the weapons." He readjusted his grip on the flight controls as chaos nodded. "Roger. It looks like they're unmanned. With no G-force limit, they can outmaneuver us. They might pull some crazy moves out there, so be careful." The enemy mech crafts began to fire red-violet lasers at E.S. Asher. "It just makes them all the more predictable." Canaan pulled back on the controls, making the machine dodge the enemies' attacks. chaos, from his seat, locked on to a target and pressed a side button as E.S. Asher fired its laser cannon at it. It was destroyed instantly then the A.W.M.S turned slightly and fired at another mech craft, destroying it also. A third craft fired lasers at E.S Asher only to have the machine dodge its attacks. Pressing the same button, the A.W.M.S fired its laser cannon, destroying two more enemies. chaos sighed heavily as the monitor showed more enemies coming towards them.

"There's no end to these guys. And we don't have much A.B.R. energy left, either," he said. "Let's find someplace to set it down." The reinforcements from the radar appeared as E.S. Asher continued to dodge enemy fire. Inside, chaos closed his eyes. He opened them again quickly, the machine firing its laser cannon at four consecutive enemies, destroying them all at once. Another enemy then appeared, flying at E.S. Asher. The A.W.M.S turned and fired its laser cannon again only to miss. The white-haired boy gripped the controls slightly. It seemed like he was shaking.

"We're empty..."

The enemy continued to come closer as Canaan immediately thought of another idea. He raised E.S. Asher's arm and impaled the enemy with the laser cannon, releasing whatever power reserves were left and destroying the enemy craft in the process. "All enemies destroyed," chaos said with a sigh of relief. He looked down to the orange-haired man and smiled some. "It's true. You really are as good as they say." He looked back up at him. "How are you handling the feedback?" he asked him. "You know, a normal person would've probably passed out by now. I don't want you jeopardizing the mission." Canaan pressed a few buttons on the left side console as an arm blade appeared on E.S. Asher's right arm and a machine gun--possibly automatic--appeared in the machine's left hand.

"I'm fine," chaos told Canaan. "It feels like it's had some special tuning, but that just makes it more interesting."

"I see. Well, if I get anything unusual from you, I'm cutting the bypass to the navigator imediately. I can operate this thing fine by myself."

"Roger."

--

Soon after, E.S. Asher landed on one Miltia City's many roads, releasing the booster pack from its back in the process. Later, the machine walked down the street, searching through the new and unpopulated area. chaos looked around outside. Small fires burned near the A.W.M.S machine's feet, an act of defiance and what horror was to befall this city next. "Looks like we're pretty far out from our objective. Plus, I'd say the defensive network we saw on the way down takes out the idea of an airborne approach," he said. "We'll go by ground then. Fortunately, the rubble from the burned out buildings should provide us enough cover to cross the city unnoticed," Canaan told him as he looked around.

"Agreed. We'd better get moving. We don't have much time." The orange-haired man looked back at his younger subordinate with a confused look on his face. "Not much time? Does this have something to do with the U.R.T.V.s? Those designer children?"

"Mm-hm. Yes. That's right. We need to protect them from the coming crisis, if and when it occurs."

"You do realize that's a different story from what I heard in my official briefing." chaos nodded. "No doubt. As the Federation government's special forces, the U.R.T.V.s were sent in ahead of the invasion," he explained. "I'm sure you understand what they represent in the conflict against the U-TIC Organization." Canaan turned back to look at the darkened skies above and nodded. "Right. I understand that they're bioweapons sent in to sever the link between the U-TIC's mobile weapons fleet and their source of power, the Zohar."

"The higher-ups have complete confidence in the U.R.T.V.s—they are the military's trump card. Unfortunately, the brass are also blind to the potential dangers of the U.R.T.V.s." The orange-haired man's hands gripped the controls tightly. "Fascinating. I hadn't realized the situation was so desperate.." The two continued to pilot the E.S Asher and moved on to the next area.

--

"So tell me…what exactly are we expecting to happen here?"

"Well, the problem is that the U.R.T.V.s aren't merely machines," chaos told Canaan. "They're real people with their consciousness intact. The system that currently controls the Zohar was actually designed to be used for the U.M.N. transport system. However…" His blue-green eyes moved to the side. "Yes?"

"Well, they experimented with the transport of living beings numerous times, but every attempt ended in failure."

"According to the records, 99.76 of them were killed instantly," the orange-haired man said. The white-haired boy nodded. "However, it seems that a very rare occasions, there were survivors. They didn't exist as people anymore, though. They were just things, never able to recover their consciousness—the very element that made them human."

"Mental breakdown…"

"Lieutenant General Helmer concluded that if contact with the system led to the destruction of the human mind, then even the U.R.T.V.s, created as the system's antithesis, might be affected," he said. "Therefore, if the U.R.T.V.s were to suffer a mental breakdown, then likely the Zohar, a source of infinite energy, would stand out of control. That would be devastating." Canaan shook his head slowly. "And yet the General Staff's decision wasn't overturned. I suppose that's where we come in…" The A.M.W.S moved onward until a loud beeping noise from chaos' monitor shook him from his thoughts. He looked at the monitor then gasped. "Enemy A.M.W.S.!"

"Come in contact with an enemy to initiate combat. Let's go!" An mech craft ran from around the corner, carrying a machine gun in its hands as it fired at E.S. Asher. The machine dodged out of the enemy fire then immediately shot it with its machine gun, hitting the A.W.M.S several times in the chest and head, destroying it. chaos sighed softly as Canaan said, "After a battle is over, enemies will be unable to detect us for a little while."

"So, during that time, we won't get into another battle even if we come in contact with an enemy."

--

In the next area, a bright light appeared and illuminated the entire area as strange music could be heard. Canaan raised his head, looking at the light. "What is it? A pillar of light? And that sound… It's more than that. Music?" chaos gripped his controls tightly. "It's…the Song of Nephilim," he said slowly as he looked at the light as well. "You know what it is?" The orange-haired man looked up at him, watching his younger subordinate shake his head. "I can't believe it. Even U-TIC has to be aware of the danger of the song. What could possibly make them…" On the roof of a building, the pillar of lights began to brighten. chaos nearly came out of his seat.

"No! If this keeps up--" Next thing that happened, a tank truck blew up causing flames to appear on the highway. Then, enemy A.M.W.S.s appeared at the scene, surrounding E.S. Asher. Canaan looked around at them. "It looks like they think we're the enemy. Any ideas?" The enemies held up their machine guns and opened fire on the machine only to miss as Asher jumped back and landed safely on the ground. In the cockpit of Asher, chaos looked to his side as he typed hurriedly on the console. "Yes, send an emergency IFF signal to let them know we're on their side," he said answering Canaan's earlier question. "We can't let anything stop us. We have to reach our objective." E.S. Asher moved away from one of the enemies firing its machine gun.

"They should be receiving our IFF signal."

"Wait. Something's wrong." On both of their consoles, it shows in white bold letters ''Receiving Device'' but it showed the soundwaves in emergency status. Canaan narrowed his green eyes. "What is this? What the…what's going on with them?" He asked aloud. "This is…" chaos gripped the controls tightly as his eyes widened some. "It can't be…" Suddenly, one of the enemy A.W.M.S's machine gun attack shot of E.S. Asher's right arm, losing its arm blade. The machine kneeled to the ground as Canaan held his head, feeling strange. "Wait! Canaan, no! Don't listen to it! Close your mind!" The white-haired boy cried out. Soon, the E.S. Asher began to glow. As the enemy units began to close in on the downed mecha, sword slash marks appeared on the enemies and they blew up. Behind the smoking remnants was an A.M.W.S with a sword in its hand stood. Canaan looked at the mecha as he regained his senses.

"Is he with us?"

"I don't know," chaos said then looked at the console. "But he's broadcasting an IFF." "Attention, unidentified craft," the pilot said on the radio. "I've reached your IFF signal. The other crafts have been tainted, but you seem unaffected. Are you an ally?"

"Well, it looks like this one's still sane. What do you think?" Canaan looked back up at chaos who nodded. "Getting out of here is our first priority right now. I think we should stick together."

"Agreed." The orange-haired man pushed on his hand and feet controls to make E.S. Asher stand up. "Confirmed. IFF signal accepted. Stand by. I will now eliminate the affected Federation units." The ally A.M.W.S with the sword quickly turned around and sliced the incoming enemy mecha's torso in half. Then, with its machine gun, Asher fired at the other enemy crafts coming towards them. After several minutes of fighting, E.S. Asher and the ally A.M.W.S finally defeated the infected enemies as the pillar of light vanished.

The ally A.M.W.S moved slower then kneeled, the other mecha doing the same. chaos and Canaan got out of E.S. Asher as the pilot from the A.M.W.S with the sword got out as well. Suddenly, another infected enemy mecha appeared and made a grab for the unknown pilot. At the pilot's side, a katana was tied to his belt as he grabbed the hilt and unsheathed it. In one fluid motion, the infected enemy mecha was sliced in half and destroyed. The two subordinates watched in awe. The pilot sheathed the katana and looked at them.

"Impressive," Canaan said. "I guess that pilot is just as effective on foot as he is in his craft."

"Truly amazing." The pilot walked over to them, taking off his helmet. He had black hair with long bangs on both sides of his head and tied back in a ponytail. chaos bowed slightly. "Thanks for the assist. And you're?" The pilot smiled lightly and tucked his helmet under his arm.

"I am Captain Jin Uzuki," he said introducing himself. "You don't look like you're with the regular forces. Well, whoever you are, if you're still operational, I advise you to leave. This place…affects people. Some stop being people altogether."

chaos looked at Jin confused. "They stop being people?" Canaan shook his head. "Unfortunately, we can't leave. Not until we've completed our mission," he told the captain. "Your mission?" The white-haired boy bowed again. "Forgive us, Captain. I am chaos, and this is Canaan. I suspect that you're part of the landing operation, aren't you? Do you know where the U.R.T.V. force is now? If so…"

"U.R.T.V.s? Ah, the special units—said to possess an anti-U-DO retrovirus."

"Our mission is to protect them," Canaan told him. "Please, if you know where they are, tell us."

"Hmph. Well, this is quite a coincidence." Captain Uzuki looked up at the darkened sky as it began to rain. "Although, it's more than that—fate perhaps. In any case, I will take you." As the newly formed group began to walk away, the destroyed enemy craft blew up and destroyed the highway path that was behind them.

--

"So this entire thing was a set-up?"

Captain Uzuki nodded. "Exactly. It's all part of an attempt to make the U-TIC Organization, or should I say, all of Miltia, into a scapegoat," he said. "Even the Realian violence that we're seeing right now is nothing more than a brush stroke in the larger picture."

"But who's behind this? And why?" chaos asked. "U-TIC is undoubtedly a cover for a greater power still operating in the shadows. I believe that this power is manipulating the conflict between the Federation and the Miltian system, driving a sequence of events in order to get their hands on something very specific."

"Like what?" The Federation captain stopped walking then looked back at them. "The Y-Data." "The Y-Data?" Uzuki reached to his left shoulder and pulled out a black disc. "I relieved an operative of this disc," he said to them almost smiling. "And though I was only able to decode it partially, I discovered that all manner of data from all existing phenomena is gathered together within an area of space. And beyond that lies a special place only described in the Y-Data."

chaos looked at him, narrowing his eyes some. "..Captain Uzuki, how in the world did you acquire this information?" He simply shrugged and said, "I have my ways." Canaan and chaos watched Captain Uzuki walk away, following him to the next area.

--

In the next area, the three men stood outside a building with a winged statue near a tunnel. Uzuki turned to the other two. "All right. Here it is. You will find the U.R.T.V.s in the lowest level." chaos nodded and bowed in gratitude. "All right. Captain Uzuki, thank you for bringing us this far. We'll take things from here."

"Of course. As I said, it was fate. I wish I could go with you further." He looked at them again then looked over to his left shoulder and took out the black disc from before. "However, it's imperative that I complete my work on this data," he told them. "I want to completely expose the shadow behind this conflict and drag it into the light. To do this, I'll have to access the mainframe here. Also…" Captain Uzuki looked to Canaan. "...What?" Then, a lightning bolt struck the winged statue's head as it crumbled to pieces.

"I gave you far too much credit, Uzuki," a male voice said. "I thought you were smarter than this. A better thief. I never once thought you'd just come walking in through the front door." He walked out of the shadows wearing a higher ranking Federation uniform. He had burgandy hair and fierce dark violet eyes. Captain Uzuki smiled some as he shook his head some.

"Well, I thought you might be getting lonely, Colonel, so I figured I'd come pay you a visit." The man chuckled coldly. "Hmph. Same old Uzuki. Neither your attitude nor your ability to bluff have shown improvement. No matter. The data you possess is no threat to us. You've got nothing."

"Precisely why…I have some unfinished business here." Uzuki's hand grabbed the hilt of his katana. "I see. You know what this means." The man reached over to his left side and took out a sword with a sheath. He grabbed the hilt tightly then unsheathed the sword, throwing the hilt away. A furious look was on his aged features.

"Uzuki!"

He yelled as a red aura similar to fire appeared around him after he unsheathed his sword and rushed at the group.

--

After chaos and Captain Uzuki defeated the colonel, the captain jumped to the upper roof of the tunnel as the infuriated colonel jumped after him. Canaan and the white-haired boy watched the two ex-subordinates began sword-fighting furiously, clashing blades with every attack. The colonel jumped back and shot a fireball at Captain Uzuki, hitting him in his left side. Above them, a structure began to topple over from the force of their attacks as the colonel and captain jumped out of the way before it could crush them both. Uzuki landed near chaos and Canaan, glaring at the colonel.

"You're a sad sight, Uzuki, even with your so-called reinforcements," the burgandy haired colonel told the dark-haired man. Jin breathed heavily. "Pathetic. You're out of your league. Why, it's clear now that you never even had a chance." chaos looked at the young captain to see a gash on his left side. He gasped.

"Captain, you're hurt!" Jin winced then looked to his side, narrowing his eyes. "It's…it's from earlier," he reassured the two. "It's nothing to worry about. If you'll pardon the cliché, it's just a scratch." chaos nodded some then looked around as the ground began to shake.

"Hmph. So it's begun." Captain Uzuki clenched his hold on the wound, standing back up slowly. "This planet is finished. There's no point in staying any longer. I think it's time we ended this…once and for all!" The burgandy-haired colonel readies his sword as Jin readied his katana.

"You dare face me, maimed as you are?" He asked laughing coldly. "The only thing you've mastered is the art of futility." Uzuki chuckled lightly. "You never know until you try, Colonel." He growled lowly at the dark-haired man's response. "That's enough!!" The burgandy-haired colonel readied his fire attack while Captain Uzuki readied his ice attack. The two released their attacks as they exploded once they made contact with each other. After that, Uzuki fell to his knees and the colonel had a bloody cut on the right side of his face, his right eye closed. He growled then chuckled lightly.

"Now you see your death," he said. He watched the two subordinates help the wounded Captain Uzuki up. "I have always been your better, in every way, Uzuki. It's something that old fool couldn't--" The burgandy-haired colonel looked down at the ground as it began to crack.

"What the--"

His eye widened, the allied group jumping back and watched the ground collapse, taking the colonel with it.

--

"Canaan." The orange-haired man turned to the wounded captain as he took out the black disc from before. "Take this," he told him. Canaan nodded slightly and plugged the disc's plug into his circuit on the back of his neck, taking it out. He then looked at Uzuki who threw away the black disc.

"Is this..."

"Storing it with you is safer than carrying it around. Besides, there's somewhere else I must go," he said closing his eyes. chaos looked surprised, shaking his head. "What? You're not serious." The white-haired boy stepped closer to him. "Look, we're still mobile, Captain. You could come with us." Captain Uzuki shook his head slowly and opened his eyes.

"No. This is my own way of atonement. I can't turn back now."

"But..."

"Please, go on," he told chaos and Canaan. "Bring the truth of this conflict--the truth hidden in that data--to light. Please, do this thing for me." Uzuki sheathed his katana then looked to chaos who had a worried look on his face. "Captain Uzuki..." "I'm counting on you. So, farewell." He smiled lightly then jumped onto the statue and vanished into the shadows. Then, black fog appeared around the two subordinates as chaos gasped at the sight.

"Canaan! Look at that!" The two watched the black fog engulf the entire area. Maybe, they thought, that whatever caused the black fog to appear possibly engulfed the city and its enhabitants with it.

This would be the end of a entire planet and the beginning of a horrible, monsterous race that turned humans into salt or something far worse...

A/N: Now, does everyone know who the colonel was? No, it wasn't the Colonel from KFC. It was Margulis 14 years ago. Anyway, I hoped you liked the first chapter because it was pretty long to write. R&R.