IV

—The Briefing—

ブリーフィング

Van was hesitant. He'd slowed his pace considerably since leading Thomas back into the building, taking every opportunity to delay the inevitable. He and Thomas had exchanged some small talk, generic stuff one would conjure up while waiting in a doctor's office. Van told Thomas that all of his questions would be answered in a few moments, but that certainly didn't stop the younger Schubaltz from inquiring about subjects that had a story in themselves. Van was biding his time, just waiting for Thomas to ask him personal questions that he wasn't ready for. He was surprised that he hadn't asked where Fiona was yet. The man was surprisingly in a pleasant mood, despite recovering from an anxiety attack an hour earlier. That was just an appetizer. Thomas's world was about to come tumbling down… again.

Van reached the end of the empty hall, hearing nothing but the hum of the A/C and the collected clanking of their boots. A set of dull green double doors were set in front of them with vertical rectangular windows on their faces. He anxiously flexed his hands at his side, glancing over his shoulder to look at Thomas. "Y'know, everything's going to change once you go through these doors… for everyone?"

"I know that." Thomas understood that much. He wasn't an idiot; he was just off-put by Van's reaction. He'd never seen him so apprehensive before. What could be so troubling that had both Van and Dr. D so evasive? And what was with all those annoying ribbons pinned to every uniform the building? "I need to be brought up to speed, Van. I've missed a lot. Unless we're talking about nuclear fallout in our immediate future, then I think I'll be all right."

Van took the dangling keycard that hung from his neck and swiped it through the reader next to the doors. "Then let's get you brought up to speed."

The doors unclicked and swung open. Van stepped aside and let Thomas walk in first before closing the doors behind them. The space beyond the doors was another world for Thomas. It appeared entirely separated from the governmental vibe that shrouded the rest of the building. The room was like an apartment with rooms sectioned off by a thin, single standing wall. An impressive kitchen was set off to the left in a horizontal L-shape with an island in its center. The living room sunk into the floor like a soup bowl, having rounded, cream-colored sofas at the bottom. Stairs led up to the second level with a railed walkway that overlooked the living room. Several bedroom doors lined up the upstairs with names etched into the wood that Thomas couldn't make out.

There was commotion around the corner, laughter and quips that Thomas recognized. He stopping, holding his hand up against the wall. The voices were distinct, belonging to old acquaintances that made his stomach flip.

Why is this so hard? You know them, fought with them. They're your allies.

Van touched his shoulder again, that tenderness still evident. With a gentle push, he eased Thomas around the corner where Irvine and Moonbay were. They were hunched over a wet bar half empty beers in front of them. Zeke was towered over them both, standing behind the war with a cocktail umbrella between his teeth that he toyed with.

Wait, is that even Zeke?

The organoid looked nothing like he did before. His features were more ridged and dragon-like. He was more threatening, an organoid that was be feared. If it wasn't for his mannerisms, Thomas would've thought that Zeke was an entirely different organoid. There was another person as well, but Thomas didn't know him. He was leaning against the wall near Irvine in a black, slim-cut suit with an unbuttoned white shirt at the top. His hair was dark and short with light brown eyes and dimples. He laughed at something Irvine said, taking a quick swig from his water bottle before his eyes spotted Thomas.

Van noticed this, cutting the man off at the path before he said anything. "Look who's awake!"

Irvine and Moonbay turned their necks to see, taken aback by Thomas standing there next to Van.

Irvine coughed up some of his beer, nearly choking on it. Even though Dr. D had alerted them ahead of time that Thomas was selected to be reanimated, it was still didn't seem quite real. Irvine had accepted the fact that everyone he knew prior existence was long dead and ashes in their graves. Seeing Thomas before him was like reaching back in time.

"Holy hell." Irvine stepped down from the stool. "The nerd's back. You thawed well enough."

Thomas pursed his lips. "Very funny." Irvine hadn't changed in the slightest, which was a severe disappointment. He still sported that ridiculous optical eye-patch and unkempt hairstyle. A mercenary can only look so professional. Thomas guessed he would have to lower his expectations, thinking that everyone would've drastically changed somehow. "You're still a cyclops, I see." He analyzed Irvine's brown leather jacket, dark jeans, and work boots. "And you've learn to dress properly. I'm very much impressed."

Irvine cleared his throat, nothing to retort.

Moonbay slapped the bar with her fist in hysterical laughter. She raised her beer to Thomas. "And the square has removed his edges. Well done." She hopped down from the stool and went over to personally shake his hand. "Welcome back, poindexter!"

Thomas sighed and allowed the insult to pass. There was no point of engaging in back and forth quips with them; he'd always lose. Moonbay had retained her personality to Thomas's dismay, but her appearance had changed. Her dark hair wasn't worn in multiple braids, but hung just below her shoulders in soft curls. There was also a healing surgical scar on the underside of her left arm.

That certainly wasn't always there. I wonder why?

"Thomas, there's someone else you should meet," Van pointed with his thumb to the black suited man walking over.

Thomas braced, fists clenched.

The suited man extended his hand to Thomas. "I'm Andrew Xavier, Defense Chief of the Zoids Battle Commission. It's an honor to finally to meet you."

Thomas, reluctantly, took Xavier's hand and shook it. "Yeah, nice to meet you as well." The Defense Chief? Thomas found it odd he was meeting a man of such a title.

"In behalf of the Chairman, I'd like to welcome you. I read your file. It's great to have another Guardian with us."

Thomas wasn't expecting royal treatment, especially not from the Head of Defense or this Chairman that he spoke up. He was waiting for the punchline, for Irvine or Moonbay to burst into laughter and reveal an elaborate practical joke. They weren't laughing, though. Before he walked in, the three of them were laughing and having drinks. What had happened for them to be that relaxed around a person like Xavier? They never once saluted or called him 'sir'. Strange.

"We're just waiting for Dr. D and then we can get started," Xavier made known.

Thomas wrinkled his forehead. "Waiting for what?"

Zeke stomped around the bar and plopped his head on Thomas's shoulder with his raspy growl.

Thomas flinched, still unnerved by Zeke's appearance. He patted the organoid on the snout like he was unwary of a large dog.

"We promised that we'd fill you in on what you've missed," Van clarified. "That's we're going to do."

"Including why your organoid looks like he's about sprout wings and burn a village down?" Thomas asked.

Van nodded. "Yep."

"About time…" Thomas trailed, scanning the room like he'd never seen it before. He looked at each individual for less than a second before meeting Van's eyes. "Where is Ms. Fiona?"

The room fell silent, and everyone's eyes—including Xavier's—went to the floor.

Thomas didn't like that. He knew something was up. Wherever Van was, Fiona wasn't too far behind. She wasn't there when he woke up, she wasn't there when Van met him outside, and she wasn't with them now. Unless she was incredibly occupied, something was wrong. "Is Ms. Fiona okay? Did something happen to her? You have to tell me, Van."

Van issued a false smile and put on his reassuring voice that seemed to make everyone around him believe nothing was wrong and was to be feared. "She's here, but that's also something we'll discuss."

Thomas wasn't buying Van's vague answer. If she was dead, she could've still been here… but in the morgue. He wouldn't jump to conclusions until those very words left Van's mouth. "Okay."

The doors to the room whooshed open. Dr. D came walking around the corner, rubbing what smelled like hand sanitizer on his hands. He appeared drained, like he was dehydrated.

"Sorry I'm late, folks. There was some business I had to attend to." He laughed. "You'd think herbal soup wouldn't do something like that to your gastrointestinal tract, but I suppose I was wrong. Last time I try that concoction." He exhaled heavily. "I'm a little weak."

"Dr. D, if we could begin." Xavier moved across the room and stepped down in the living area.

The three of them and Zeke went down into the bowl with Xavier and sat on the curved sofas. They were a pleasant medium between soft and firm, exponentially more comfortable than the cot Thomas had slept on. He was growing anxious by each passing second.

Xavier hadn't said a word since they'd sat down. He was hunched forward, legs apart, and peered into the screen on his phone. His thumbs pecked the screen at an impressive pace before darkening the screen and slipping the phone into his pocket. He looked up; his eyes went straight to Thomas, eyes that were focused and serious. "Mr. Schubaltz, we understand that you've been out of the loop for a very long time. That's understating it, really. A lot has changed. That's why we're here, to fill you in."

Xavier set a manila folder on the oval coffee table and opened it. "I'm sure you're concerned about how you left things. To avoid suspicion, you, along with Mr. Flyheight, were listed as Missing in Action. The cover story is that you were sent on a mission against uprising rebels but failed to return. You were presumed dead. There was a memorial service."

Thomas accepted that. He couldn't have found a more logical reason to explain his disappearance. The Guardian Force had obviously covered their tracks concerning the project. He figured Karl and Herman knew the official story, being sworn to secrecy by the leaders of their respective nations. Still, being listed as MIA and presumed dead was a pill that wasn't easy to swallow. A tidal wave of questions slammed the shoreline of his mind. He narrowed them down, extracting them one by one.

"Aside from that file there, how do you know the specifics? Unless you were there, which I doubt, there's no way you could have accurate documentation of this."

Xavier smiled. He knew he wouldn't be able to slip anything past Thomas. "Ever since the program began, there has always been someone tasked with overseeing your lives. Over the years—over the centuries—we've always had the very best personnel to monitor your health, keep your bodies from deteriorating, and transporting your pods to an appropriate location if needed. The Zoids Battle Commission was founded six centuries after you were in cryo-stasis. After the war with the rebels had ended, the Republic and the Empire—"

"Just hold on for a second," Thomas interjected. "There's that word again, 'rebels'. It's been written in my notes. I know because I'm the one that wrote it. Who are these rebels? I understand that they forced us into cryo-stasis before we were ready, and they breached a city. That's all I know."

Xavier looked passively at Van, as if asking for permission to continue. He pushed the folder away from himself and leaned back on the sofa. Xavier never liked briefings, whether he was giving or receiving. The ones that asked additional questions to the information usually didn't like the answers they got. But Thomas was a soldier, a Guardian; he was no stranger to warfare and didn't appear put-off by it. There wasn't any need to hold back from him.

"What you're talking about happened well before my time, Mr. Schubaltz. "I wasn't there, but all of you were. I'll let Dr. D explain everything."

Dr. D retrieved his PDA, accessed a file, and tilted the device to landscape mode as the video loaded on the screen. He handed the phone to Thomas with caution.

Thomas cupped the phone in his hands, watching a compilation of clips that depicted gruesome footage of battles taken from news reports, pilot-cams, security cameras, and other visual sources. Various species of Zoids fought viciously, some marked with their respective nations and some that were not. A clip between a battling Command Wolf and Sabre Tiger cut out to show an aerial view of a besieged city that Thomas didn't recognize.

"That, Thomas," Dr. D started, "was the rebellion." He took the PDA back. "With some help from my notes and the Battle Commission's archives, I was able to piece together what happened. Six years after you and Van dispatched this Hiltz and his apocalyptic Zoids, a faction rose up against the then Republic and Empire. They were a small terrorist group made up of deactivated members from a previously defeated organization known as Terra Geist. These members came together to create the Anti-Coalition Federation, or ACF. Our leaders back then still don't know how they came to power without their knowledge. They rose fast, making a name for themselves across the Western Continent of Europa. From there, they spread south to the Elemia Peninsula. They attacked every known Republican and Imperial bases and camps on sight, slaughtering thousands. Is any of this making sense to you?"

Thomas closed his eyes with raised eyebrows and shook his head. "No, but it sounds familiar. I feel like I should remember, but nothing's coming to mind." He turned to Van. "Was that the same for you?"

"Pretty much," Van concurred. "I get fragments sometimes of me fighting, running… That's all, though. There's nothing I can specifically link it to, I'm afraid."

"I know it's aggravating that you're unable to recall these events, but I assure you that we'll try our best to answer your questions, Thomas," Xavier informed.

Thomas doubted that.

"Anyway," Dr. D continued, "the ACF clearly made their intentions known. Their aim was to obliterate both nations and rise to power as a single government over Zi. Typical terrorist objective, right? Well, you'd be wrong. The rebel Federation, albeit small compared to the might of the governments they were fighting, inflicted serious damage. Their attacks weren't limited to merely killing, no; they went after the political officials, the governmental economy, and even the leaders of those nations. A high-point in their rebellion was when they kidnapped President Louise Camford while she was returning from a meeting. They later executed her, subsequently hanging her body on a Republican flagpole." Dr. D took a breath to gather himself. He cleared his throat. "I'm sure that was a difficult day for all of us."
Thomas couldn't believe what he was hearing. In his notebook back in the lab, the simple word "rebels" that he'd written down had catapulted in power and devastation. These rebels had murdered President Camford, the mother of Colonel Herman. He must've been devastated. Thomas had a fleeting thought that he was glad he couldn't remember what happened. On the other hand, he wished he could reach back in his memories to know whether not Colonel Herman found solace. He couldn't imagine that he did.

"To make a long story short, the Guardian Force was heavily involved after the President's death. We fought back, Thomas, winning here and there. It wouldn't last, I'm afraid. What I'm about to tell you isn't recorded in the Battle Commission's archives, but only in the notes I kept to remind myself of our final days. I actually have it dated here—" Dr. D flipped through his own notebook that he brought with him. He stopped after turning an extra five pages. "Ah, here—December 18th of 2120! A splinter team from the rebels attacked one of the Guardian facilities. A lot of people died, including Captain O'Connell. But it was in that attack when it happened."

"When what happened?" Thomas asked, sitting on the edge of suspense.

Dr. D glanced at Van. "Would you like to tell him?"

Van's face reacted contrary to what Dr. D had asked him. He swept his eyes across Irvine and Moonbay, swallowed, and finally marked Thomas. "When the rebels discovered Fiona's powers."

Thomas twisted his mouth with big eyes. Fiona's powers? He only knew of the woman's uncanny ability to smell water from incredible distances and to recall memories and the memories of others by just touching something. Other than that, what else abilities could she have? "You mind telling me what these… powers are?"

"Fiona is a somatic telepath, Thomas," Van revealed to him. "She has the ability to tap into an individual's body and either harm or heal you. Also, she can absorb energy, releasing it in an amplified fashion. I don't remember how it happened, but Dr. D recorded what happened. We were attacked, they tried to kill us, and… Fiona fought back with powers she didn't know she possessed."

"And ever since that incident, the rebels sought her out as their primary target," Dr. D added. "They wanted her power, her abilities. It would give them an undeniable edge in their fight."

"This is why the Guardian Force ultimately green-lit Project BLACK TUNNEL," Van chimed in. "We couldn't stop the rebels from coming after her, and Fiona would never be free of them. So, we devised the plan to jump a millennium into the future. I couldn't believe it when Dr. D explained this to me months ago, but it may begin to make sense."

Thomas groaned with his hands over his face. If he had eaten something before this briefing, he was sure he would've thrown it up. The nausea was there again, and Thomas was beginning to link the sensation to stress-related issues. He was feeling fine before now. Despite that, it was Fiona that surprised him the most. Who knew that she had such power inside of her, and where did it all come from? Sure, Thomas would've liked to see her in action to fully comprehend her level of strength, but he felt that wouldn't be an intelligent idea. And then there was the irritating feeling that he needed to address.

"Couldn't… couldn't we have fought back? You said that the rebels kept coming after Fiona. I understand that, but weren't we talented enough as Zoids pilots to defeat them. We've tackled far more menacing enemies."

Van leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I've asked myself that same question, Thomas. But the fact of the matter is, we may never know the full severity of the situation. Our memories of those days are gone, probably for good. I don't know how we could've felt, how we reacted. I can only assume that we were so pushed to the brink that we had no other choice. We survived."

"Not all of us," Thomas highlighted with disdain in his voice. "Karl, Herman, O'Connell, President Camford; all of them are dead." He tried to keep it together, but the emotions were beginning to boil over. "They fought and died while we were sleeping. Sleeping! We lost everything—our families, our lives. Yeah, we prevented a psychopathic terrorist group from taking Fiona, but did we really have to give up so much? But that doesn't matter anymore. The world has forgotten them, they've forgotten us." He sighed, regrouping. "Did they at least beat them, the rebels?"

"In part," Xavier answered.

Thomas snorted. "What's that supposed to mean? Were they defeated or not?"

"They disappeared," Xavier told him. "Accounts from the rebellion stated that they continued to fight several years after all of you were placed in stasis. But their attacks tapered off, dwindling down to nothing until they suddenly vanished. The Guardian Force suspected that they surrendered, but we of the Battle Commission believe that to be false."

"Why would you think that's false?" Thomas asked. "You said it yourself that the Battle Commission wasn't formed until six centuries later. Why would you care about a rebel faction that vanished?"

"Because we believe they came back," Xavier surmised. "While they're no longer known as the Anti-Coalition Federation, it's thought that they returned under the organization known as the Backdraft Group."

"This is where you should pay close attention, Thomas," Van firmly said. He inhaled deeply before exhaling. "It all started a year ago…"

Neo's Note: A little slow, yes; but I guarantee that it'll pick up. Continue to read & review as the story unfolds. Been working hard to bring you guys the best I'm capable of.