A/N: Well, here's my first Infinite Stratos fic, and my first fanfic in a LONG time. Still, here's hoping it entertains you all somewhat!

I do not own Infinite Stratos, obviously. Also, the slightly AU setting is curtesy of EthernalRain.

Crticism and reviews much appreciated!

Chapter 1: Permission to Attend

"The development of Infinite Stratos changed the world. The White Knight incident proved the machine's superiority over all conventional weapons. In a single strike, Japan became immune to any attack, protected by the technology of Tabane Shinonono. Foreign relations became strained, as with such a weapon, Japan could potentially dominate the Earth. Yet as an act of peace, all the major nations of the world received a selection of IS cores, wondrous devices that not only acted as the generator for the lithe machines, but also as their piloting computers.

And all of them shared a single feature which to this day has not been explained – they only permitted women to utilize the IS. Whether this was intended as a limitation or an insult to the predominantly male armies of the world, it is impossible to tell. What is known however is that whatever the intention, this limitation did not prevent the IS from being deployed as a weapon of war during the First and Second Conflicts, culminating in the Alaska Treaty."

Joseph West, lecturer at Oxford University, UK.

It was a quiet night at the IS Academy. Which was a rare occurrence these days. Ever since Ichika Orimura transferred in, the concept of peace had gone out the window. Indeed, he know had the loyalty of five personal IS users, more than enough to start and win a small war. And all this in addition to him owning a fourth generation IS. Maybe it was karma then that he was so clueless. With a word he could level an entire country, but he never would. He was too much of a nice guy. Good news for the world. And yet he constantly found himself in such situations. Looking up awkwardly at the cold glares of Houki, Ceilia, and Lingyin, with a half-nude Charlotte on top of him. No amount of explaining was going to get him out of this one. Not that he wouldn't try of course. "Um, well you see..."

"Hehehe...Ichika you damn pervert," said Lingyin coldly, the Dragon's Cannon already forming behind her as she manifested her IS to give the boy a taste of what a woman scorned could do. Next to her, Cecilia was glowing red from embarrassment and anger, her Blue Tears also forming and powering up. Houki was silent as always, but her grip on her wooden katana was shaking slightly. In that moment, Ichikia knew he was doomed.

It was a quiet night at the IS Academy. Which was surely a calm before the storm. As if on cue, a section of the dorms exploded outwards, scattering tiny slivers of debris in all directions. Out of the haze fell the Byakushiki, chased by the Shenlong and Blue Tears. Sitting in her office, having a clear view of the commotion, Chifuyu Orimura sighed as she pressed a small button on her desk, one she had recently installed just in case of such situations. Already a teacher in a training IS would be deploying from the staff headquarters and head off to resolve the commotion. Having so many personal IS users in one place was troublesome enough, but throw in the mix of feelings they were all going through and it was a miracle there had been no lasting damage to the Academy yet.

She turned her attention back to the folder she had been leafing through. Information regarding someone or other who wished access to the Academy. It was not unusual – being technically an independent state made the IS Academy a place that sparked much interest, in governments, research institutes and the media. Of course, the various IS' used here also attracted attention, but in the end only those with very good reasons to be at the Academy ever made it onto the grounds, most often only to the Arena to watch the students perform and scout them out for their various employers. With the Alasaka Treaty, the Academy was also responsible for ensuring no IS technology or pilot was taken by any group which was deemed unsuitable. But with the fall of VEIL and the enforcement of the Treaty by STASIS and FRACTURE, such groups were rare.

The teacher sighed once more as she looked over the file again. Not another transfer student luckily. This year was rapidly turning into havoc, with not only the enrollment of the first ever male student, but no less than three representative students, and the possible inheritor of a major corporation. No, this was something much more understandable. An engineer from Eastern Europe, Piotr Koval. A name that meant smith in his native tongue apparently. Fitting, Chifuyu supposed. The man had sent a letter of request, asking permission to come to the IS Academy to study the various machines and the manner in which they interacted (read: fought) with each other. It was a fairly typical request, and one he was well within his rights to apply for. As part of the agreement that continued the IS Academy to exist was the sharing of knowledge. Of course that knowledge was carefully monitored and the people chosen to receive had to have at least three recommendations from other trusted people and organizations.

Still few such requests were granted. After all the Academy was still a school, and nothing could be allowed to disrupt the students' learning. But Koval had the necessary recommendations, and a convincing argument to back up why his request should be chosen. Hailing from Poland, one of the countries which did not receive an IS core to experiment on, having as much information on the machines was clearly a high priority. Several Eastern European countries, as well as many African nations did not receive an IS core, lacking the infrastructure or funding to fully utilize the gift. This led to several imbalances in world power, resulting in the First and Second Conflicts. Of course, all countries without their own IS forces were now allied with those that did, though that often meant that the nation with the advanced technology could essentially demand whatever they wished from those they were protecting.

Chifuyu threw down the folder belonging to Koval and glanced at the several other dossiers resting on her desk. Each one was related to a member of the engineers retinue. Each one had a flawless record, and the request had clearly outlined the measures Koval and his people were willing to go to in order to come here. In the end, no one in the Academy had seen an issue with letting him come onto the campus, and appropriating one of the hangers that was currently disused. Ten different teachers were required to give their approval though, and she had been chosen as one of the ten. She rolled her shoulders and quickly skimmed through all the dossiers one more time, making sure she hadn't missed anything.

Piotr Koval, Polish engineer. Hardly spectacular though favored by the government.

Sasha Beloi, a Russian IS pilot. It appeared as if she would come along with a second generation mass produced IS, and would not enroll as a student. Thank god. No more transfer students.

Luke Mason, British soldier. Apparently fought during the clash against VEIL alongside STASIS forces. Cross-reference information with Kyuukai Tokiwa.

Henry Mason, British programmer. Brother to Luke. Worked as a software programmer before being hired by Piotr.

Oleg Zoktavir, Lithuanian engineer. Assigned as an aide, representative of the Lithuanian armed forces.

Orsus Strakhov, Russian soldier. Assigned as protection and a representative of the Russian Federation armed forces.

Gregor Harkevich, Russian soldier. Veteran of First and Second Conflict.

A predominantly Eastern European team with two specialists. And an IS test pilot. Of course there were other technicians but it was these few that caught her attention. They could be trouble, but so far they had done nothing suspicious. The teacher rubbed her temple and glanced outside. The Blue Tears and Shenlong were having a standoff with a teacher piloted IS, whilst the Byakushiki hovered behind it. One less crisis to worry about.

Well, the Academy had learned how to deal with the unexpected since Ichika had enrolled, Chifuyu thought with a smile, before organizing the papers in front of her into a small stack. She signed the form that had come with the folders and placed it on top. Satisfied with the evenings work, she stood up and stretched before heading for the door, pausing only long enough to switch off the lights. Darkness fell on the room, with only a single beam of moonlight falling onto what she had written on the form.

Request Approved.

The wind of Chernobyl still had that curious tingling taste. Even after all these years the radiation had not faded away. Not that the local wildlife cared. There was something eerie about the vegetation and animals wandering the abandoned town, It was a place that had not been touched by man for years, a place where nature had begun to reclaim what was once it's. And in one of the crumbling buildings was Koval's workshop.

A nice, quiet and abandoned place which no one wanted. It was perfect. He could run tests without fear of civilians blundering onto the territory, or exposure to the media. His current project was nowhere near ready for the public eye, which is why he lived in this wild wasteland. Beneath one of the garages, he had set up his engineering workshop with the aid of the Russian government. His current project was a joint operation between all the countries of Eastern Europe, something to challenge the technological dominance of Western Europe.

Koval tilted his head to one side until he felt his neck crack. He'd been awake for too long. But the latest data from the Maiden needed to be processed as quickly as possible. There was no delaying the march of progress. Seeker sat on the opposite end of the machine, his laptop hooked up to the IS core. The youth's hands danced over the keys, inputting various commands and calculations to correlate with the data being downloaded from Sasha's suit. The girl herself was still asleep, tired from the various exercises she had to do the day before. Luke was probably keeping an eye on her, and Koval had no idea where Zoktavir, Strakhov and Harkevich had gotten to. The less he knew about Zoktavir's doings, the better, and Strakhov was most likely in the chemical lab. Harkevich...well, he would be either asleep or tinkering like always.

Suppressing a yawn, Koval focused his attention on the screen in front of him, listing endless figures. Complete and utter gibberish to those who had no idea what they were looking at, but he didn't even see the code anymore, just the results he wanted.

"Koval."

He blinked and jerked slightly in response to Seeker's voice before composing himself and peering over the top of his wire rimmed glasses. "Yes, what is it?"

Without looking up from his work, Seeker replied. "We just got confirmation that your request was approved."

"Which one?" responded Koval, turning back to his work. He had mailed out a lot of requests, for more men, supplies, access to restricted data, as well as take-aways and even a repairman for whenever Sasha's TV would break down. It seemed funny to need a repairman when they were all qualified engineers, but knowledge of IS and weaponry did not let one repair a HD television without turning it into some kind of explosive.

"The IS Academy," came the cold response. Koval blinked in surprise, taken aback at how little Seeker cared that he would be going along to one of the most prestigious places of learning in the whole world, where elite IS pilots were crafted, where numerous representatives gathered, and where the first male IS pilot had been sent. Then again Seeker was gifted with a mind that existed in the present, allowing him to devote himself to the current task with no thought of causes nor consequences. The Polish engineer shook his head and ran a hand through his brown hair as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well that is good news. Once we have the data from the Maiden, pass the word to the rest and prep our gear for travel," he said, spinning in his swivel chair several times as his computer shut down. "I'm going to rest for a bit so wake me once everything's ready to go, and don't forget to rest yourself sometime."

"Understood," replied Seeker, not looking up from his work. Koval suppressed another sigh as he stood up and left the hangar, heading for his small room at the end of the corridor. It wouldn't hurt him to at least show some emotion from time to time. As he traveled down the dark corridor he could just make out the form of Harkevich, leaning against the wall, eyes closed. Whether he was lost in thought or asleep was beyond Koval's ability to ascertain, so he just passed him by quietly.

"Nice try," grumbled the burly Russian. Peeking at the Pole from beneath the brim of his black cap. His face was shrouded in shadow and the great black beard he bore, leaving only his twinkling green eyes visible. "Finally decided to call it a night?"

Koval nodded, yawning for emphasis. "Yes. Also we got confirmation. We'll be transferring over to the IS Academy in Japan as soon as possible," he explained without stopping, keeping his voice just barely above a whisper to ensure the other man heard him clearly. "So if you aren't going to sleep, start packing."

Harkevich just nodded silently before slipping away into the dark, leaving Koval alone to enter his room and flop down onto the bed, falling asleep instantly.

Ichika sat on the bed in the infirmary, crestfallen. Next to him sat Charlotte, not quite able to keep a small smile off her face as she glanced at the bruised and battered boy. She couldn't help it. The youth had in a burst of gallantry carried her away from the rest of the vengeful girls in a bridal carry. Which was probably a good thing, since the amount of destruction the trio had unleashed had obliterated their room. And so they were now spending the night in the infirmary whilst the staff urgently tried to organize a replacement room for them. Or more likely, contract some workers to immediately repair the current wreck. With the larger amount of power being directed towards the window, the room could easily be fixed up if they rebuilt the wall, added some new wiring and piping, and just worked tirelessly for several hours. Which the IS Academy could afford. Well, the three girls could afford, since they were being charged for the damages. Personal IS user or no, when damaging Academy property they were still as readily accountable as anyone else.

Though Charlotte hoped Houki wouldn't be made to pay the fine, since she didn't really cause that much damage. Not after what the Blue Tears and Shenlong did anyway. She couldn't help but laugh slightly at the memory of the girls being apprehended, and their shame for their actions being rapidly replaced with outrage when they realised they were going to be held responsible. Of course Ichika had gotten some words of warning from one of the instructors, but they were wasted on the clueless youth. He just sat there, cradling his head in his hands. The French girl couldn't help but hug him, much to his surprise, considering the yelp he emitted when she pulled herself against him.

"W-w-what?" asked Ichika, faintly red at the intimate contact, looking down where Charlotte rested her head against his shoulder, smiling. She stayed like that for a moment before replying, her eyes closed and still smiling like a kitten, content. "C-Char?"

"Thank you," she replied, before turning her head so she could look up at his face. Her smiling face filled Ichika's vision and he instinctively leaned his head back to put as much distance between his and hers. The boy looked away from her soft features and stared fixedly at the opposite wall.

"For what?"

Her smile turned slightly more playful as she noted his reaction, quickly pulling on his arm enough to yank his face down to her level to plant a quick kiss on his cheek, making Ichika turn completely red switch his attention from the wall to the girl. "For being my knight," Charlotte answered with a laugh. "Carrying me away like that in your arms..."

Words seemed to fail Ichika for a moment, his mouth hanging open. Then he seemed to remember himself and snapped it shut, turning away from Charlotte. "Um, well yeah, things happened so fast, I guess I forgot you're capable of looking after yourself..." She was after all a much more experienced IS user, worthy of being a representative pilot for France, and though unable to use the same defenses as the Schwarze Regen, her abilities would surely have put her out of harms way much more effectively than his own attempts.

"Still, it was nice of you to do so," Charlotte countered, hugging him again. "So thank you."

"C-Char..! T-they're rubbing against me..."

"Ichika, you pervert."

"H-hey!"

Next time! Tedium! Lessons! Lunch on the roof! Guest speakers! Tune in for Chapter 2: Student Life!