Chapter 1
Satellizer L. Bridget
The interior of the main building was painfully decorated, no expense had been withheld. Paintings adorned the walls with colorful flowers, glittering gems, and shining necklaces that caused one to stop every few steps to wonder why someone would wear such a useless accessory. Was this a military facility or a museum? Classrooms were massive, filled with top-of-the-line computers and holo-screens. I even passed by a cafeteria filled with foods I'd never seen before. There were stews, meats, soups, breads, countless variations of noodles and pastas, you could feed a small town for a full year with so much food. I had never seen such ridiculous foods and the smells! I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose in disgust as innumerable aromas I'd never experienced bit into my nostrils.
Adolescent teens walked the halls in what were apparently student uniforms. The females wore dresses with alarmingly short skirts and varying accessories depending upon the person. Some had odd frills at the ends of their sleeves, others ribbons or bands in their hair, different socks, necklaces, earrings, rings, and the list went on.
The males all melded together as well-dressed and mildly attractive individuals.
The male to female ratio was decidedly lopsided, the females heavily outnumbering the male and I had yet to see someone who looked over the age of twenty. Things were not as I had expected, those society drills Pandra had been putting me through the last five months began to make sense.
People stared and muttered as I passed, much like outside in the city.
I wandered for a half hour before I gave in and asked a passing Limiter for directions to the Headmistress' office. He smiled warmly,
"Lost are we?" He laughed,
"Yes." I replied bluntly, "Can you direct me to the Headmistress' office?"
"Of course," He laughed again, an idiot smile dominating his face as he swayed back and forth, waving his hand as if I'd made a joke, "Why just come right this way!" He chuckled, sauntering down the hall, beckoning me to follow.
For six infuriating minutes he spoke, and for six infuriating minutes I was silent. He somehow talked about nothing without ever shutting up, a feat I did not believe possible in any human language. He laughed and smiled too much, it made me want to take his head and squish it between my fists. When we finally arrived at the office, marked by a plaque that read Headmistress and a pair of doors, the buffoon turned to me with a shoddy salute that nearly caused me to rip him in half,
"So what's your name?" He chirped, cocking his head to the side with that damn smile,
"Marine 4," I grunted, "Bye." He took a breath, mouth opening, but I was already gone.
The room behind the doors was sizeable. Bookshelves lined three of the four walls, two doors were set within the left and right shelves to what I assumed were other rooms. In the center was a single desk in front of a large window that made up up the majority of the back wall. The desk was piled with papers, a holo-screen hovering a foot above it. A woman in a white gown sat behind the desk, partially hidden by the paper stacks, I couldn't help staring at the strange headdress she wore. The woman glanced at me through the holo-screen,
"Do they not knock in the Alaskan Research Division?" She asked, folding her hands neatly in her lap. I saluted in response,
"Apologies ma'am I am not used to the environment." I my gaze drifted to the shelves. I hadn't seen so many books in one place, how many were there? Hundreds, thousands of books, the back of my mind began to itch. It'd been months since I'd read a good book. She smiled wryly, cocking an eyebrow,
"You don't seem to have a problem with the books, you must mean the women?" I snapped to her,
"Yes, I was informed this was a military facility."
"It is." She said nodding, "We're very tough on our students." I stared,
"No offense ma'am but I disagree." She replied with a flat look,
"Tell me," She began, "If you were to be ready to be called at anytime, anywhere, to face what could most likely be certain death, would you?"
"Yes." I did not hesitate,
"And would you rather be stuck in a military facility that is nothing but a metal box with people yelling at you all day and night?"
"Yes." Again, I did not hesitate,
"Oh? Why?" She pressed,
"The strong cannot relax. To relax is to become complacent. To become complacent is to become weak. To become weak is to die."
She did not respond, her eyes fixed on me, "I look forward to your time here." She sighed, shaking her head and looking down at the papers. Her fingers darted across the holo-screen, "It says here you've been transferred to act as a limiter and, thanks to your enhancements, you are immune to Nova freezing? You're certainly going to be a one-of-a-kind Limiter aren't you, though I'm not sure we can call you a Limiter now can we?" She chuckled to herself, "Ideally I'd like you to find a partner Pandora however I do not expect it. I'm not sure how you'll handle the baptism though, were your reproductive organs removed?" My brow furrowed,
"No." Her face blanked, I noticed a peculiar twinkle in her eyes,
"Really?" She hummed to herself, "Well this should be an interesting experiment then." She extended a hand with several papers, "This is your student ID, room number, and some other information about the Academy and its officials. At this moment your only order is to become the Limiter, or partner, of a Pandora, any questions?"
"How do I become a Limiter and when do I start?"
"Find out yourself," She said raising a finger, "and you start ASAP." I saluted, turning to leave, "Oh I almost forgot," She gestured widely with her hand, "Expect us to test you against some Pandoras in a battle simulation later. Do you have any requirements?"
"The best you can throw at me," I declared, "I wish to prove myself." A wry smile crossed her lips,
"Of course," She leaned over her desk, flicking a hand at me, "Shoo, shoo, you are dismissed."
I stepped out of the office studying the packet, aside from what she'd told me it contained nothing else of consequence besides a number of rules, regulations, and profiles of certain notable students. Become a Pandora's Limiter, my one order, and how I'd accomplish that seemed to be up to me. I decided to memorize the campus before starting something I knew nothing about.
Common sense dictated I headed to the roof for a raised view of the area so; I found the nearest flight of stairs and walked up to a metal door with "Roof" printed next to it in several different languages. I could hear voices through the door, several men and a woman. I hesitated, hoping to avoid a confrontation. I could just ignore them but I would need to learn how to properly make conversation on my own at some point if I was to effectively gather information. It would be better to start now than later. Opening the door I braced myself for the inevitable, and I saw something I did not expect.
The blonde woman I saw dueling earlier in the park, Satellizer I believe, was sprawled face-first on the ground with her clothes torn and rear-end protruding upwards exposing her undergarments. Another woman and three men pointed strange devices at Satellizer as they loomed over her, laughing. A boy lay on the ground a few feet away from me, struggling against some unseen force. His face was lightly dusted with bruises,
"Cut it out…" He whimpered. I almost laughed, "CUT IT OUT RIGHT NOW!" A blast of unseen force exploded from him and seized me with an iron grip, knocking one of the three men off his feet. I struggled against my invisible bonds but to no avail. My body was immune to Freezing. I could easily resist its influence, so how could this worthless runt suddenly bend me to his will? A man flew past me, screaming. I looked away from the runt. Despite myself, I could not suppress the deadly smile that slowly traced itself on my lips.
Satellizer stood with the heads of the two remaining men gripped in her hands, fingers gouging into their eye sockets like talons turning their eyeballs to red gel. They screamed in terrible agony, writhing in her grip. The other woman's face paled, unable to move from to the runt's Freezing she trembled in terror. I blinked, and in that instant Satellizer vanished. One instant she glared murderously at the woman, crushing the skulls of the two men with her bare hands, the next her fist was connecting solidly with the woman, producing the resounding crack of bones shattering.
Without hesitation Satellizer leapt on top of her victim, brutalizing her further with fantastic blows from her fists that cracked the concrete and shattered the woman's face. For a full five seconds this went on, and for a full five seconds I stood in awe. I shivered with adrenaline, my heart racing and blood boiling as I watched Satellizer absolutely destroy this woman. I could feel her bloodlust like a knife against my throat, pressing closer and closer. I felt a strange emotion I could not describe, Satellizer at its center. She put her hands together and dealt a crushing double-fist blow to the woman's ribcage, a chorus of shattered bone ringing out. Pausing, Satellizer reached for her blade, raising it over her head and aiming it for the woman's chest.
The runt and the woman both cried out in horror, I shook my head in pleased disbelief. The woman begged for mercy, raising her hand in a vain attempt to stop the blow, but Satellizer would not allow such a boon. The blade impaled the woman beautifully, truly a small masterpiece of human mutilation. Piercing her chest cavity, pushing seamlessly through flesh and broken bones Satellizer nailed her firmly to the concrete, pushing the weapon deeper, grinding left and right for emphasis. The woman screamed louder and louder as Satellizer cut deeper and deeper. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her limbs scrabbled frantically across the concrete in a vain to escape. Satellizer watched emotionlessly as her lifeblood gushed out, pooling on the concrete.
The runt tackled Satellizer, pleading for her to stop. I reached out to pull him off when the door slammed open behind me,
"Stop this!" Two women in student uniforms ran onto the roof. They stopped dead in their tracks at the grisly sight before them, "How ruthless," The one in front gasped, a hand over her mouth, "How could you do something so cruel?" All of them turned to me, Satellizer blankly watching while the runt and two women stared at me with mixed expressions of horror and confusion.
I realized I was laughing,
"Who are you!?" The woman in front demanded, "You're not in a student uniform, identify yourself!" I didn't bother removing my smirk, drawing up to my full height,
"I am Marine 4, Astartes. I have been transferred here as a possible Limiter candidate." I gestured to Satellizer, "Ruthless and cruel you say? Do you not wager your life in every battle? How is this not the victor claiming her right to that wager?" I recognized this new woman as one of the notable students in the packet I'd received from the Headmistress. Her name was Chiffon, Student Council President of the Academy, "What is the meaning of conflict if there is no victor, President?" Chiffon recoiled,
"What are you talking about?!" She jabbed a finger at Satellizer, "This isn't war this is murder!" Chiffon turned away from me and opened her hand, lowering her chin she glared at Satellizer, "Drop your weapons and step away from Miyabi this instant! This is a presidential order!" Satellizer sneered, glancing at the bloody body named Miyabi and the runt who stood frozen by shock, before she jumped twenty feet into the air and off the roof.
Chiffon ran to the runt, calling out, "Aoi-kun, are you alright?!" My mind blanked,
"What did you say?" I growled, seizing Chiffon, "Did you say he," I threw my hand violently at the runt, "Is Aoi?!" Chiffon shrank back, shaking me off,
"His name is Aoi-KUN." I ignored her,
"You," I stomped over to the runt, "Your last name is Aoi?" He nodded hesitantly, eyeing me cautiously. I could feel the blood vessels bulging in my head, "Your grandfather is Doctor Gengo Aoi, and your Sister is Kazuha Aoi?" His expression darkened,
"Yeah," He looked away from me, off where Satellizer had gone, "what about it?" I almost threw him after her.
This pitiful, weak, and absolutely worthless runt of a boy was the grandson of the legendary Dr. Aoi, creator of the Pandoras? As well as brother to Kazuha Aoi, The Hero of the 8th Nova Clash, who had given her life so save mankind and my own in the 8th Nova clash? I growled,
"What the hell are you even doing here then, if all you can do is cry when you get a bruise or throw a tantrum when you wanna play hero? How did they even let you in here?" He opened his mouth to respond, but looked past me and gasped,
"Miyabi-senpai!" He cried out. Chiffon and the girl blinked, they'd apparently been so absorbed in the runt and I they'd neglected to treat the Miyabi woman. The three of them frantically snatched her up, carrying her through the door and down the stairs shouting for help the whole way.
I snorted in disbelief, grandson of Dr. Aoi? No wonder the Doctor ever mentioned a grandson to me, he was an embarrassment. The doctor was a hard man willing to do anything in the name of mankind's survival, he saw the big picture. This son of his however, he left much to be desired at the moment.
A long, heavy sigh expunged itself from the inner-workings of my body. This place was too much. I needed to fight something, or someone. It was too tiresome dealing with people outside of war, their flowing blood was much easier to understand. I looked out over the campus of the Academy, studying the pink blossoms blooming on trees that lined tiled paths twisting through the park and between buildings.
Satellizer, I memorized that name.
I'd found a candidate.
