--
"There!" A man shouted. "The tracks end over there, you were right. It was man made!"
"Man? These foot prints are of a child. Press on, let's see if the pour soul is alive."
"Yes, Sir!" He ran forward and stopped short of the end. The ground had burned and refrozen many times. He knelt down and scanned her. "She's alive, some how."
The older man called up a screen. "Medic team, here are my coordinates, send care at once."
"Yes, sir!" The team responded on the other end.
"How can she still be alive, sir?" The young enforcer asked. The older man knelt down beside the body. He felt the dirt and looked down the path of burnt ground amidst melted snow.
--
Years later.
Nanoha Takamachi walked through the kitchen area and into the hallway. She had finished carrying boxes into their new residence. There was much on her mind as the new quarter started. "Fate-chan, are you in the bedroom?"
"Yes, the bed is wonderful."
"Mind if I join you?" Nanoha teased.
"Only if you bring strawberries." Fate joked in return.
Nanoha laughed, "Aw, I ate those for breakfast." She walked into the bedroom and sat beside her best friend. They were to be combat instructors this year as Ace Commanders of Stars and Lightning divisions. Riot Force Six would gain new students soon and the missions would start in haste. Fate reflected on this. "I'm surprised you are as thrilled as I am to be a combat instructor this year." Nanoha confessed. She picked up the brush from the nightstand and ran it through her hair as she mused over that thought. She had looked over the biographies and reports on the cadets and she had to be honest. She was worried about one of them. She sat upon the bed.
"You are worried about me?" Fate offered her hand. Nanoha looked into her deep red eyes and smiled. She handed over the brush and tossed her hair behind her shoulders. Fate repositioned herself behind her and began brushing. "I will do what I learned best from my favorite teacher."
"Lindy?" Nanoha smiled.
"You, silly." Fate laughed. "Lindy-mama was a fine teacher and she'd still give you a good one two."
Nanoha laughed this time, "I suck at mahjong."
"Yes you do."
"Don't agree with me." Nanoha stuck her tongue out. They both laughed and took a moment to reflect. "Tempest is..."
Fate frowned and stopped brushing. "Cadet Fury Tempest. She was abandoned on a remote nonadministrative planet." She didn't like the story and she was sure Fury Tempest hated it even more. "We were unable to trace her back to which group was responsible, unfortunately. She might be an artificial mage." She thought about it, "She was the only survivor. There must have been a hundred children who died in that cold. I guess they didn't know what she was capable of." She smiled, "She is special. Although, I'd like to say all our cadets are special. We look after the best and brightest candidates the TSAB comes across. We were accepted into the force after all." She smiled.
"We were. A lifetime ago. Nyahaa, that is so funny to say when you are 19."
"It is, but I'm glad we spent it like we did." Fate started brushing again. "Despite everything."
"So am I. That girl's powers manifested on that planet?"
"That's the theory. Her will to live is extraordinary."
"So was yours." Nanoha turned her head and smiled one of her trademarks. Fate lost herself in it for a moment. "Oh, Vita asked to watch the infamous city destroyer with you today."
Fate blinked. "We're using the holofield so the destruction will be controlled. Still, I was afraid she'd break our budget." Fate sighed.
"Poor Hayate-chan."
--
Later on that morning.
Hayate walked into her office and closed the door behind her. "Good morning Rein-chan." Hayate smiled. She saw rein at her new desk and had to tease the little girl.
"Good morning to you, Hayate-chan!" Rein laughed.
"Enjoying your new desk?" She knelt down to it.
"I love it!" She spun around in her chair once.
Hayate laughed and sat at her desk. The desk phone beeped. She pushed a button. "Shari has arrived." Her secretary spoke.
"Please, Let her in." Hayate smiled. Her door opened, "Shari! Welcome."
"It's good to see you, Hayate. I've come to watch the training."
"I will be hosting." Rein smiled.
"I've been hard at work on Cadet Tempest's four core system. They act as regulators for her inate mana affinity."
Hayate nodded, "To think she'd walk around with a constant flame aura if not for the devices. Is there a threat of burn out?"
"I believe so. I am not sure how much mana she can expend until then." Shari ran theories through her head, but gave up. She wasn't here for that. "One thing I thought of tho, her Linker Core has been in a constant on state since she was young. She was found in a scorched puddle on an icy planet. They even tracked the path she walked, must have been five miles before she collapsed."
"Remarkable. I wish we could find her former masters. Slavery is a horrible thing."
"It is. The constant on status of her Linker Core, it's not training in the usual sense, but perhaps it's like doing pushups every waking moment. Her limits are wider."
"Always amazing people to find. Think she will be a star someday?"
"She doesn't look like a leader to me. The S exams require more than just magical prowess." She nodded, "S magic is not out of her reach."
"If she does gain S magic, she will get limiters. I'm afraid she won't take to that."
"Such a rebel." Shari sighed.
"Showtime!" Rein's face appeared on a floating screen. These two cadets would join the vacant positions in Lighting Squad where Fate was their squad leader and teacher. That is if they could pass this test. "Cadet Hana Seabring, it is a great pleasure to meet you again." Rein bowed.
"I am pleased to see you today, Miss Rein." Hana curtsied. She was from an allied world, one of the oldest allies in the treatise. Many mages were scouted from there, but Hana was a summoner. A rare talent that many in the military greatly respected while others envied. It was no secret her family had money invested into the TSAB.
Rein smiled. She really liked this cadet and if it weren't for her partner, she would have passed on the first try. Rein bit her breath as the devil herself ran into view. She sighed at the long track of scorched concrete behind her. It couldn't be helped.
"Fu-chan." Hana smiled.
"HA-CHA~N!" Fury shouted. She had her arms raised and her lips were puckered.
Hana didn't blink, "I am so glad you could make it." Hana side stepped. Fury fell on the ground. She nearly broke her nose on the pavement.
"You tricked me!" Fury shot upwards and went for another hug only to miss again.
"CADET FURY TEMPEST!" Rein shouted through the com. It felt like de ja vu. This very scene happened twice before.
"YES MA'AM!" Fury saluted her. Rein wondered if the girl's memory was as short as her fuse.
"Better." Rein crossed her arms. She knew she wasn't supposed to be their teacher. Fate would have an earful from her later. She looked over the two cadets once more and sighed. Hana was the picture of grace and elegance. Her fashion consissted of a long Celtic styled dress in shades of green, accented by lace and it gave off a silken sheen. Her device was the storage boost type. There were 6 gems, two at her wrists, two at her ankles, one in a necklace and one at her waist. They were once a collection of jewelry handed down by her family, but now they were outfitted with deep emerald colored gems that served as a boost to her latent powers.
Her hair was a lavish dark green with a traditional Celtic braid crowning her hair and keeping it from her elven face. A light green ribbon tied the braid off in the back and was let loose down her hair to her shoulders. She favored taking things slowly and surely. She loved animals and had a mana affinity towards the nature she so loved. Rein was excited to see her in action.
Fury was another story altogether. She was a slave survivor found by mere chance on an abandoned, icy outpost planet. It was still out of range of most TSAB ships. Short spiked three toned red hair, bright red eyes, and a toothy smile made for a face that hated authority, reason and logic. Her armor was blatantly red, emblazoned and skin fitting. To top it off she had black warpaint on her face and arms where skin remained. Two compact gauntlets with large cores covered her forearms and two more slightly thicker gauntlets with large secondary cores were attached to her legs. A close range protege preferring to punch and kick her way through everything. Her devices were also the storage type, but she was hoping for an upgrade. Naturally, she had an affinity towards fire. Although, not rare her affinity towards it was unusually high.
"Fury if you blow up another building, I will have to, once again, dock points on your attempt. Hana, I know you have given your answer once before, but for the record. If you wish a partner transfer, one may be provided."
"I, respectfully, decline." Hana smiled.
"Yes!" Fury jumped. The ground below her charred when she landed.
"Recorded. Alright, for your fourth attempt!" A map appeared on another screen. "You have ten minutes to neutralize 50 enemy targets. You have 25 friendly targets mixed in. The faster, safer, more accurate run scores the highest. So, protect each other, do your best and have fun." Rein smiled.
Fury tried to high five Hana, but was ignored.
"One more thing. Just to be clear. Fury," Rein took a deep breath, "DO NOT BLOW UP THE BUILDINGS!"
"Damn." She smiled.
"Do you agree to these terms?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" They saluted.
--
Fate and Vita approached the entrance of the training platform. Fate had done this three times before and knew well the cut off date was fast approaching. She might have to select another candidate. She blew air from her nose in dissatisfaction; she really hoped to have Cadet Seabring on her team. She heard a rumor one of her summons was a falcon known for speed.
She wanted to race it someday.
"This better be good." Vita cracked her knuckles. Five screens spanned in front of them.
"Rein here! They are ready!"
"Good, I approve of training." Fate keyed into one screen. Her cadets saluted her, "Make me proud."
"Yes, ma'am." Hana smiled. Fury just grinned from ear to ear. She loved this course and started bouncing on her feet back and forth, her fingers were also moving quickly. Her grin bared teeth and her eyes were wide.
"Countdown commence in three...two...one..." As soon as one was counted off, Fury vanished. Smoke raised in her wake. "commence..." Fate blinked. "Vita, was that a false start?"
"I blinked." Vita frowned.
"I hope they pass." Fate frowned.
Rein also loved doing commentary on the events and after survivng three prior ranking attempts, she was getting good at it. "And Fury is off. She isn't a flier so she used her contact detonation technique to launch herself into the air. She's already smashed through a window into the middle of a crossfire. Another detonation bounced her off the ceiling and then off a wall. The shots missed completely. Five enemies are down in succession. Fury, don't gloat to the cameras!" Rein scolded.
"Hehe," Fury gave a thumbs up to one of the tiny camera orbs. Her first run proved just how deadly accurate she could be. Many of the cameras were taken out despite their discreetness.
"What is she doing?" Vita was pointing to Hana on another screen. She had her eyes closed and her hands clasped.
"She's a summoner, but she has good long range magic. She can assist without being in the fight for a longer period of time."
"She still needs to show teamwork, application and whatever this time." Vita gave Fate a questioning look.
"She is, just watch." Fate smiled.
"Fury just cleaned through another long hallway with incredible speed. Ah, she almost smashed into a friendly target! Careful you fool!" Rein shouted. None of this could be heard by her, of course. Fury patted the friendly on the 'head' and dashed towards a large room.
A huge vine ripped through the ground and curled upwards. It split the room into quadrants. Fury blasted into the air and detonated off of the vine and into a wall. She detonated off her feet and into an enemy. Once again bouncing from foe to foe and back into the vine. She laughed as the explosions echoed around her in the large room. She loved this room and Hana knew just how to make it fun.
"Ah, but thats not it?" Vita asked.
"No, not all. She should be ready by now." Fate was confident.
"Another room cleared and only two cameras destroyed. That's a new record!" Rein facepalmed. "Shari, could you add a few more cameras out there just in case, thank you." She smiled sweetly and then returned her serious face for the commentary, "Fury are you lost?"
"Ha-chan!" Fury blasted to the roof of the building. She had seen a shadow pass outside. "Great vine work there."
On the roof with her was Hana's falcon summon, Hugin. He blinked his eyes and regarded the girl. "Fu-chan," He relayed Hana's telepathy, "There are three large drones with heavy AMF waiting near the exit. You've been shot down by one before."
"You have a plan? I know I have a plan."
"Anarchy is not a plan." Hana sighed, "Yes, please run distraction until I arrive with Fenrir. I'll also clear the rest for you with Hugin."
"Good, cause that chicken looks like he's hungry." Fury ran off the side of the building and cratered the concrete below her.
"Its not a chicken!" Hana covered her mouth at the outburst. "Sorry. Hugin, engage the combat drones in the east side sector. Relay your sight to me." Her gems illuminated her dress in a remarkable fashion. A large magic circle spun around her and gave off a green hue. "Targets sighted, dodge, strike..." She commanded her summon. She raised and lowered her arms, took a step back and turned.
"Dancing?" Vita smiled.
"You could say that. Shari was ecstatic when she coined the term 'piloting a falcon'. Personally, I think she is guiding it while using it's eyes. They work together."
"I just hit things." Vita shrugged. "That Fury seems to understand."
"I wonder."
"Fu-chan..." Hana sighed as another wall caved in from too many blasts. Shots rang out in all directions as Fury dodged them and blasted through another window. She shoved her hand through another minor AMF field and detonated. The drone smashed into the wall and impacted there. "Ha!" Fury laughed. "I better pass this stupid test. I forgot how many times I'm allowed to take it."
Fury blasted outside again and shot down the street, "Besides, Hana promised me a kiss, finally!"
Vita blinked, "She isn't even taking any coherent path!"
"She's always moving. It's a valid technique, but it also makes her late to pretty much everything." Fate nodded. "I can work with that."
"Plan on passing her already?"
"She shaved twenty seconds and caused less destruction up until this point."
"And?"
"Those." Fate changed the screen to the three large round drones with the heavy AMF fields. "Extra difficulty, more points."
"Three at once?" Vita nodded, "I see you also learned the ways of the White Devil."
"Nanoha was my favorite teacher."
"It hurts, but it works." Vita nodded knowingly.
Hana opened her eyes and raised her arms. "Great mother Gaia, I ask for your blessing. I call forth Fenrir!" A large green summon circle appeared before her. An enormous wolf materialized, reared up and howled.
Vita laughed uneasily, "Is she showing off?"
Rein shoved their screens aside, "I'm commentating! Fenrir, the large wolf summon has been called forth by the Celtic beauty, Hana Seabring! The wolf is matched only by our fan favorite Zafira in strength and speed. The white and grey furry warrior has seen many battles as her personal protector. Word has it she befriended him while on a journey through the woods and called him her personal spirit guide. Her tribe then called her a woman, so awesome!" Rein eyes went wide as the wolf pounced onto a drone and tore it apart like a puppy and a Barbie doll. "AIIEEE!"
"Rein, calm down!" Vita scolded gently. "I swear, Shari needs to have a look at her."
Fate only smiled. "She's showing her strengths one at a time. I don't believe she will summon her largest one."
"She has a large one." Vita was showing teeth now.
"J?mungandr, the giant serpent. It still needs studied, but rumor has it it can take your attacks for nearly an hour."
"Does it hit hard?"
"It's not fast."
"So it does." Vita nodded.
"OK! They are approaching the boss!" Rein pumped her fist in the air.
Fate sighed, "It's not a game, Rein." Rein pouted and ignored her.
"Ha-chan. Where are you?" Fury smiled and bashed through another wall. There were plants growing all over the inside of the building. Many of which were holding the building together. Hana wasn't sure if that was cheating or not, but Fury had to smile at the thought. That girl always looked after her no matter what. She'd get that kiss and more someday. A large energy blast shot through a window. Fury blasted in reflex and flailed inthe air. She spun and landed on her butt. Another blast fired and she counted the time it took between blasts without a thought.
She blasted, ducked and weaved between the successive blasts. She knew what it felt like to be hit by one and that she couldn't just deflect it with her contact detonations. All she had to do was run distraction, but she wanted a piece of it.
"Root grapple." Hana commanded. She was walking with Fenrir outside, not far from the battle. Large vines ripped through the ground and worked their way around the three drones. Fury grinned and blasted through the wall just as the vines closed the way behind her. Hana was almost surprised.
"You idiot." Vita was dumbfounded. Fate could only shake her head.
Rein. however, was shouting at the screen, "YOU IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT!"
"Shari...." Fate frowned.
"Yes, yes." Shari bent down and tapped on her desk. "May I?"
"Fine." Rein smiled.
"The three drones have their AMF on full. Their arms have little range of movement. Fury has started running in a circle. Detonation strikes are too slow. The vines will no doubt catch fire and the building will be destroyed along with the drones. Oh, this is cool, the suffocation of oxygen will make the fire inside erupt full force once that opening she made is reestablished. The temperatures in there will be hot enough to melt, well." Shari thought for a second. "I'll call tech support, this might damage part of the holofield." She walked away from the screen.
"Shari! None of that happened yet!" Rein complained and flailed her arms. "You're doing it wrong! Mou!" she puffed her cheeks out.
"But..." Vita frowned, "Aren't they disqualified for destroying a building?" Vita asked as the building exploded. Fury climbed out of the rubble and coughed. She laughed and ran over to Hana, now as charcoaled as the ground she walked on.
"Vita, this entire block was destroyed last time." Fate pointed out the areas on the map. "It won't be a high score, but they might pass." Fate blinked as another wall near the beggining collapsed.
"Whatever, you're teaching them." Vita lost interest and placed her hands behind her head. "Let me know if you want me to pound them."
"Yes."
--
"Ha-chan, Kiss, Kiss!"
"Your breath, Fu-chan." Hana blocked her lips with a finger and turned aside.
"Mou!"
--
That night.
Nanoha laid on the bed laughing. She couldn't get enough of this. "Rein was having so much fun out there!"
"Yes, she was. I had to fail them again." Fate sighed. "Cadet Seabring only did enough to pass. She made no mistakes on her own. Together with Fury her marks were, well... That final battle was a strategically insane." Fate raised her eyebrows. "I can't give a good score, despite how effective it was."
"Cadet Tempest didn't look too hot afterward." Nanoha blinked and started laughing again. "Nyaha... but I know what you meant. They will be defending friendly territory some day, so that technique is a terrible idea. Still, they might need it someday. I approve of them as teammates, if you ask me."
"If only Seabring keeps stringing her along with that promise of a kiss." Fate laughed. She calmed and looked at Nanoha. "Her injuries were minimal, thankfully." She shrugged, "Fury's currently under Shamal-sensei's care for smoke inhalation. She forgot she had to breath. Shari did say she will augment her jacket to compensate for smoke better." Fate sighed, "I compiled the results of the four tests. I will turn in the report first thing tomorrow morning to the head office and recommend they be put under my command."
"Seriously?" Nanoha blinked again.
"Yes."
"No, seriously." She dodged a pillow tossed at her. "Nyahaha." She grabbed another and flung it.
The pillow slid off of Fate's face and into her hands, "Alright, now you've done it." She jumped on the bed.