Sharon Heim
December 18, 2001
Alaska, Yukon Base, United States Army Sector
"—good, good! Just bring that end over! Watch the booster fins!" Shouts from their mechanics ringed out in all directions behind Sharon, the four Raptors that served her and her unit loyally were being loaded into their temporary hanger just like last time.
"God, it was freaking cold here during September, and now this? I can't believe the people here don't just hibernate through winter." Behind her was her current partner, Leon Kuze. He walked slowly over the thick layer of snow that buried every single piece of land as far as the eyes could see.
"Yeah, I miss Nellis too. Sunbathing in October sure was fun, but out here… hrr." Making a strange noise that she herself didn't understand, Sharon mockingly shivered to juggle her two masses that were covered by her winter flight suit.
She knew her tease was effective when Leon avoided his sight while hiding his embarrassment. Shooting her a shy glare, Leon got in the passenger seat of their jeep as Sharon stepped down on the gas paddle.
That R&R session they had back in Nevada was one of a kind. A full week, the Infinites were free to do whatever they fancied; within limitation, of course, but that was still an exotic break compared to their daily training. Especially that one time when she showed off her magnificent bikini in front of the other males in her team during a swim.
Now nor the team leader Keith, or Guylos, Infinity 3, would admit this, but as long as they were men, there was no way her amazing figure didn't satisfy their vision. Nonetheless, the luckiest one of them all was still Leon, for he got to see what laid beneath her killer bikini, thoroughly, at night after the outing.
"Haaa… this damn place again. Why are we back again?" Leon stared out at the open field with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes, the days they left behind, the days of a friendship that overcame hostility and hatred.
"Can't help it, you know that. Where the Pentagon points, we go. And this time they happened to sell us out to The Company's successor."
"And it's in three days, we only got half a week for packing." Leon sounded a little upset, he didn't enjoy how he wasn't on top of all this mess.
"We don't get to choose these kinda things. Besides, it's natural that he would be wanted for that. There's also the Chinese, the Russians and obviously the Japanese who are all after him." A snort from Leon told Sharon to keep herself quite after that.
Sharon wasn't too involved in politics as her enlistment oath demanded her of this much, however a keen nose wasn't required to pick up the fishy smell of their mission.
The Infinites were ordered to intercept and capture a rogue test pilot in Russia that had stolen the Shiranui Second, it was an easy mission on paper, but that was all it was. They were told nothing else and were only given a date, December 21.
"I don't like it, we know nothing about the situation."
"That's part of the job, right?"
"Keeping us in the dark is fine, but this? Unacceptable. And Yuuya, they must know about who he is and who we are. All they do is stamp this crap classified so it can be passed down to us, there's no way I'm gonna just act like their toy." Leon said that, but even he must know the chance of a reunion was almost impossible.
"Yuuya must have had his reasons… he's not a person to just abandon his duties." The old Leon would be quite upset with Sharon taking Yuuya's side once again, so it was fortunate he had grown a good amount since the last time they visited Alaska.
Leon changed, for the better too after the Yukon Base incident. He eventually accepted the past and released the burden that tied him to that fateful accident, he even joked about taking Yuuya as his wingman if they ever flew together again.
However, just like all disasters, they strike when the people are least prepared. The news of Yuuya's desertion and betrayal shocked Leon immensely, he couldn't believe how a man he deemed trustworthy could turn his back on everything he fought to protect so far. It was intolerable, it was unforgivable.
"They said he turned, he's not part of us anymore. So that make things much easier, either he got a damn good basis for going away or as his friend, I'm gonna bring him down."
Leon declared his intention so devotedly that even Sharon got a bit nervous; for it wasn't loathing or detestation Leon showed, it was a pure will of determination to correct the evil.
"Don't worry, we'll find Yuuya and the truth… together."
"Right, he owes us at least this much."
Cui Yifei
Alaska, Yukon Base, People's Liberation Army Sector
"Ane-san, the J-10s just got loaded in the hanger."
"Hào, tell the mechanics they have my thanks." Yifei was resting on a sofa in her room as Wang, one of her three subordinate gave her a quick update.
"So we're back at Yukon again, Ae? One month and a half and suddenly everything got so coold."
"Yeah… no joke." Yifei was nowhere near happy when chitchatting with Wang.
"How's Commander Wu? Any updates?"
"Mēi, nothing significant yet. He's still recovering."
"Arrgga! To be getting the flu at a time like this! You're kidding me!" Displaying her vexation by slamming the armrests, Yifei pushed back her hair with a swipe of her hand.
It was an exceptionally unpleasant week for Yifei. First, she was told that her husband, Yuuya Bridges had somehow deserted his duty as a test pilot and instead ran off with some Russian girls that she barely met.
Second, she was told that a week after he left Yukon. And third, two days ago her team was ordered back to Yukon from Taiwan just so they can kill some time there and await further orders.
This should had been Captain Wu's job. Unfortunately, he came down with a cold and Yifei was given a temporary rise to Captain in his place.
"Ane-san, you alright? Your face doesn't look too good."
"Of course I'm not alright. He could at least filed for divorce before he cheated on me!" With another frustrated slam on the armrest, Yifei yelled out her inner thoughts.
"Would you have accepted it?"
"Obviously not! I would have dragged that stupid idiot in my room and— and…" Her sentence ended abruptly when the Taiwanese girl couldn't finish that idea.
"Huhuhu, you might very well get your chance soon."
"Yeah, I'll get him this time. And I'll definitely find out just exactly what is happening."
Yifei's final order that she received earlier today, before she forgot; was to head for Russia and acquire the Shiranui Second model that Yuuya took in three days. And she fully intent on capturing every piece of that machine, including its pilot.
Stella Bremer
Alaska, Yukon Base, United Nation Army Sector
"So exactly what is wrong with dropping the soap?" Asked Tarisa in the shower stall next to Stella when she bent down to grab hers off the floor.
"Dunno, I think it's a guy's thing. I dropped it plenty of times and just picked it right up." Instead of washing herself with a piece of soap, however; Stella was cleaning out her hair using its more advanced counterpart, the shampoo.
"Yeah, it really is a guy thing. You ladies just won't ever get it."
"…"
"…" There was an awkward period of absolute silence following the claim of a third voice.
"…What. The. Fuck. Are you. DOING HERE, VG!?"
"Aha… ahaha." Stella remained quite other than letting out a few uncomfortable laughs.
"Oh, don't mind me. Just showering, this is co-ed shower, right?"
"NOT IF WE'RE IN HERE, YOU PASTA FUCKER!" Tarisa screamed at the top of her lungs before almost throwing out VG again in rage.
"Heeey, c'moooon. This will be the last time I can wash myself in at least two weeks, you know? Please let me stay?" Surprising everyone including herself, Tarisa stopped her attempt in booting VG and returned to her stall.
"ARGAaa! Fucking fine! This once, okay!? I'll let you stay!"
"Ara, ara. That's very nice of you, Tarisa. I'm sure VG is also grateful being able to share a shower with us, right?" Nodding his head eagerly, VG peeked over the cover for a sweet view before getting headshotted by a bucket.
Yukon Base, Polestar restaurant
"Here, let's go sit over there." The Argos Flight walked into Polestar with the happy Nepalese in the lead followed by the relaxed Italian, and finally in the rear was the Swedish beauty.
So they sat down one by one, in their favourite table meant for four. Tarisa was next to VG and Stella was on her own across from them. A new waiter, a waiter that wasn't Natalie took their orders and left promptly to prepare their meal.
The diner was completely empty other than the three surface pilots. Argos Flight missed the prime time for lunch and received a private restaurant in return. But being there at 3 O'clock wasn't the only reason they got a vacant place to eat, the recent events at Yukon really caused people to seriously reconsider where they would like to spend their free time.
—
"So this is it then? This is our final supper?"
"Haa… yeah, it really is." Stella answered Tarisa with a scarce moody attitude, even she was prone to depression when powerless.
"Well, can't help what we can't do anything about." Added VG, he too was unhappy about how everything developed.
Before them laid a couple of cheap dishes and three cups of wine, it wasn't that tasty but it was the best this diner could afford as of now.
"Alright… now that we reached here, now that our duty is about to end; I'm really glad to have had the chance to be with all of you." After mentally deciding for a moment, Stella raised her cup first and spoke her heart-felt words.
"We really went through a lot, we did so much together with everyone, with Yuuya." Tarisa was second, she tipped her toes so the cup in her small hands could be kept at the same height as Stella's.
"And now everyone has to pick their own road, huh. I tell ya all, I'll really miss this time we spent." Lastly was VG, he smiled casually and lifted his wine high with the rest.
"To Argos!" A unison sound of three cups clicking together was heard, the surface fighters of the just now retired Argos Test Flight enjoyed their final drink as part of the PROMINENCE Project.
—
"Finally over… what do you all think will happen to this project now?" Tarisa snuffed her nose and asked the other two without letting her sadness leak out.
"Who knows? Hopefully Yui-Hime can get enough support from whatever Japanese organization she was going to and have her program back up and running, don't know how long till that happens though." VG shrugged his shoulder and drunk another cup of alcohol.
"Yeah… that will be good, maybe there's still hope for the 94 Second." Stella followed up on the conversation with a fake cheerful appearance.
"—Hope, huh? I did find something like that, however its price was high." Then a voice from nowhere interrupted their talk, a voice that belonged to none other than the Japanese Royal Guard.
"Ta… Ta… 1st Lt. Takamura!" Acting completely out of her personality, Tarisa rushed Takamura and hugged her tightly.
"Arr—" The newcomer was instantly taken aback by the Nepalese girl who jumped into her chest, Takamura patted her back as well after blushing a little red.
"It's good to be back, 2nd Lt. Manandal."
"Welcome home, 1st Lt. Takamura."
"We missed you when you left, First Lieutenant."
"Thank you, 2nd Lt. Bremer, 2nd Lt. Giacosa. I'm grateful for your kind greetings." Flashing a warm smile the trio of test pilots never witnessed prior, a friendly and kind Takamura sat down in the fourth seat.
"How was your trip to Japan?"
"Oh, right! Was it fun? Did anything happen?"
"You said you found a hope, right? What happened?" Temporary overwhelmed by her team's questions, Takamura leaned back in her seat and recalled her journey.
"Japan… it was… quite an unusual trip, I found some unusual allies… and a chance to meet Yuuya in the near future…"
Shirogane Takeru
Japan, Yokohama Base, Simulation Chamber
"GG, GG! You came and you got some, m8!" I climbed out of my pod and met up with the rest of my crew.
"You cut me, Mitsurugi… I can't believe you did that." Ayamine was already complaining up a storm.
"I find it ironic for you to be the one who complains, considering the fact that you attempted to— urmm… 'team kill' was it?"
"I'm dead now… you hurt my feelings, Mitsurugi." I left those two alone in their playful argument.
For today's practice, we got familiar with the new EMP rounds that will be implemented for our next operation coming up soon. It was a 4v4 with one of each Element on either side, what resulted was one of the most even matches I've ever had the pleasure of participating in.
It was to my surprise that the Elements were so balanced, no one was a dead weight during our game and their team only won because terrain advantage.
"How was it, Sumika? You like the new rounds?"
"They're soooo slooow! I can throw a can faster than that!" I somehow wasn't doubtful about the truth behind Sumika's physical strength.
"Yeah, they're bad, like really bad. I can't believe I actually hit someone with those." Said Class rep, she shook her head in disappointment.
"Indeed, the anticipation required is quite troublesome, to be honest. I have lead my targets for a fair distance before firing." Meiya joined in our conversation.
"Yep, yep. How about you, Tama? Having difficulties?"
"Huh? Aah, no, not really. I can hit the shots consecutively without many issues." As expected of our team sniper.
"Really now, Tamase? Guess I was right in making you Rush Guard then."
"Ahehe, thanks, Takeru-san!" I gave Tama a comfy head-pat for her effort.
"That's so amazing, Miki-san! Good job, good job!"
"Ahhhaa, although I did get a lot of help. My bullets are specially tuned for long-range shooting and go pretty fast and can hit people faster!"
My team's increase in skill could not be denied following the 12/5 incident. They were good, very good indeed. I wasn't a hundred percent sure whether this was solely due to my teaching or the help from me being a causality conductor and all that, although it was most likely the latter.
"Alright then, let's go grab some dinner and hang out." I mentioned for our team to head for the PX.
"Ah, me and Kasumi-chan have something else to do, we'll be going to the Professor's office now."
"Hey, shouldn't it be 'Kasumi-chan and I?" I was kind enough to point out a grammer error to Sumika.
"Haa? What're you even talking about, Takeru-chan? And who cares anyway?"
"Oh… so nobody cares? I see." What a weird topic to bring up in the first place.
"Please eat dinner without us." They were shot many confused looks from everyone else.
"You two? What does Yuuko-sensei want with the two of you?" I sensed some nods behind me that seconded my question.
"It's classified, Takeru-chan! Haha, we can say that too now!"
"It's great, Takeru-san you idiot." Two head chops were properly delivered.
"Owiiiiee!"
"Agaaa."
"You dumbasses. Don't be infecting Kasumi with your stupidity, Sumika! I'll punish you for that later."
"Uuurru…" Sumika stared at me with puppy-like eyes, the cuteness was very effective.
"Ahh, fine, whatever. If it's safe, just go. I don't even care at this point."
"Yaay! See you, Takeru-chan!"
"Bye-bye."
"See you two later."
PX
"No fancy delivery… I am disappoint."
"You are about to have a stick up your own ass if you don't shut up, woman." With that comeback, Ayamine held back meekly and dug in her Yakisoba.
"Oh? Is that Shirogane? And his team too!" Not too far from where I sat, an energetic Hayase dragged a faceplaming Suzumiya toward our table.
"Mitsuki… I told you so many times…"
"Ahaha, don't worry about it! The Phantom certainly doesn't care."
"1st Lt. Hayase! Drop on the ground and give me twenty!" What I received instead of push-ups was a dumb look.
"Umm, Capt. Shirogane, I'm very sorry for her behaviour."
"I will forgive her once I see some muscle stretching." With an unentertained look, Hayase did her push-ups in under a minute.
"Tsk, here you go. Happy now?"
"Not really, but since Suzumiya is cute enough, I'll let this one go." The reaction was mixed from my comment. Suzumiya lightly blushed while Hayase tightened her fist in a threatening manner.
"You have ignored us for long enough, Takeru. Do you mind introducing the two Lieutenants?" Meiya's prompt reminded me of military manner, so I shot off two lousy salutes in quick secession.
"Here's 1st Lt. Hayase Mitsuki and 1st Lt. Suzumiya of the Valkyries, you all know them though. Famous people, after all."
"My pleasure to meet the two of you, I am Mitsurugi Meiya, Second Lieutenant." Meiya stood up and shook with both of the girls.
The rest of my team was also introduced in order, Hayase and Suzumiya displayed some friendly eagerness to know my team during and after their first meeting.
"So I heard your team got an operation coming up soon, got details you want to share?" Hayase smirked with her usual pride and leaned in close.
"I told my team nothing and I'll tell you even less." I pushed her away and took a bite of my meal.
Our current seating plan was a strange one; Suzumiya sat to the left of Hayase who was to the left of me, I got Meiya on the right while everyone else perched opposite of us.
"Ehh? Stingy!" I could only sigh with Suzumiya at Hayase's display.
"Don't be crazy, woman. Even the Honour Guard doesn't know about our little outing, who the hell do you think you are?"
"Am I not your number one star? You should respect me as an elder!" Hayase grinned again, more evilly this time as she wrapped her arm around me much to the rest of my girls' dismay.
"Get outta here, Hayase. You still haven't even beaten me yet." Those were trigger words if someone ever said them to me.
"SHI-RO-GA-NE! You really don't want to live, HUH?" SHe instantly jumped out of her chair and aimed a punch for my perfect face.
"Ahem! First Lieutenant! I believe your display of friendliness was clearly received by Takeru." With the same speed as Hayase, Meiya stood up and seized Hayase's outreached arm before damage could be done.
"Ohh!? Protecting your man, Mitsurugi? You're… brave, I'll say that for ya." And for absolutely no reason whatsoever, an intense staring contest took place between the team samurai and the blood-thirsty Vanguard.
"It is to my understanding that you are First Lieutenant Hayase Mitsuki of the Valkyries, Storm Vanguard 1, correct?"
"Hehehe, you got it. Archangel's Storm Vanguard 1." A match into the air right now would explode the tension created between Meiya and Hayase. Both girls were considered the spearhead of their respective team and had their own pride to protect.
"There shall be a day, when we decide who is more suitable for this title."
"Hooo? Did I hear that right? You're challenging me, Mitsurugi? You who was a cadet only weeks ago?" Just lighting it up in here. I was enjoying every second of this delicious showdown while others either ignored it for their safety or were trying to stop it to no avail.
"It has nothing to do with our time spent, a nation does not sit well with two monarchs."
"That, I can agree to. One of us has to be better."
"Miiiitsuuukiiii… please stooopp." A helpless plea from Suzumiya calmed down Hayase during her cat-fight.
"I have decided, Shirogane! Just like chess, I have to bring down the queen to get the king's head! So you wash your neck and wait, because once I take care of your little pet guardian here, you better show me a good fight!"
"I also just decided, Hayase. I'll spoon feed you those words, one letter at a time." I answered to her smirk of superiority with the same egotism she projected.
"Very soon, 1st Lt. Hayase." Meiya finished off our provocation.
"E-everyone! F-fighting is not good!" Tama also charmed in for some assistance.
"Haaaha, y'all are alright. Once your team comes back, we should be evenly matched. I look forward to finding out who's the stronger one then." Taking her challenge with a concealed joy, I gladly accepted the dare.
"You'll find out in the near future, Hayase."
"That's good, let's go then, Haruka."
"Excuse us, Capt. Shirogane. And good luck on your mission, Archangel Squadron." Leaving those as their parting words, Hayase and Suzumiya disappeared off the scene.
"So that was the Storm Vanguard 1 of the Valkyries! She looks so strong!" I only hoped Mikoto didn't mean it in a physical sense, not like she was wrong though.
"Yeah, they don't make people Vanguard 1 without a good reason. Same is true for ours." I gave Meiya a confident wink following that line.
"Indeed, she is very worthy. However fear not, Takeru. I am more capable, I must be." Arrogant Meiya was also a nice one, I really brought out that personality… somewhere down this road.
"Good stuff, good stuff. I think dinner time is pretty much over by now. Get some good rest tonight because you all won't be sleeping for a while. I have nothing planned for tomorrow so just relax and chill, you all will be called before midnight, that's all. 13th Squadron, dismissed." The team went their separate way after a show of respect.
Hanger
"Here in my hanger, just brought this new YF-23 here. It's fun to fly up here over the Yokohama airspace. But you know what I like MORE than my YF-23? Knowledge."
"…Takeru? Wh-what're… who're you even talking to?"
"In fact, I'm a lot more proud of these seven Lamborghinis here that I use to… urm, carry the new YF-23 I brought. It's like what the billion-brain-cell genius Kouzuki Yuuko says, 'what the fuck are you smoking and does your dealer accept master card?'
"…Hey, hey! Earth to Squad leader Takeru! You're gonna bump into someone like this!"
"Now maybe you've seen my end-of-the-game speech where I talk about how I have a dream once a day. You know, I dream once a day not to show off, it's again about the knowledge. In fact, the real reason I keep this YF-23 here is that it's a reminder."
"Oooh, isn't that Capt. Shirogane and Chizuru! What are you two… what is he doing?"
"Ah, help me here, Kashiwagi. Takeru is acting out or something."
"A reminder that knowledge is still knowledge, because it wasn't that long ago that I was in a shitter timeline with only forty seven points on the mental fortitude ranking chart. I didn't have any parallel universe formulas, I had no badassery."
"Is this what people call being high? You should probably grab someone else from your squad, Chizuru."
"EErr, tell me about it. I just have this one thing show him too."
"But you know what? Something happened that changed my life. I bumped into a time loop, and another one, and another one, and another one. They all showed me what I should do to become a million dollar time-traveller."
"Hey, hey look. He just put away that camera thingy! Are we done now?"
"You're right. Takeru! Is it over now!?"
By the time I finished my recording, there were two girls stood not too far from me; Kashiwagi and Class rep, both were equally confused and maybe disturbed by my self-filming.
"Yep, something Yuuko-sensei wanted me to do for her. About how every time she tries to access a file on her computer this video keeps playing, so she had me make a parody and post it instead."
"I— okay, I won't question it." Her mouth half opened, Class rep decided to not investigate further for her own sanity.
"Then I'll do the same, make sure to show me the final product though, alright?" Kashiwagi winked cutely at me as she laid her demand.
"Yeah, no problem. So what did you want with me?"
"Ah, good. I forgot to get you this earlier, here." My indication was successful in jogging Class rep's memory, she passed me a thin portfolio with almost nothing inside.
"Ohh, what could this be, I wonder?" Speaking with fake enthusiasm, I opened the folder and a single piece of paper was waiting for me.
"Let me see too!" Kashiwagi acted out of her character for a minute there and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me.
"So, what do you think?" Class rep smiled kindly when my mockery turned to genuine surprise.
"Wooow, this is awesome!"
"Like, no joking here. This is actually amazing."
On the sheet of paper she showed me was a beautiful design for our new emblem. The picture had a black void as the background, over top the darkness, right in the center of the frame was a girl.
The girl was alone in the drawing, her lower body shielded by an open transparent oval shell. She was crouched down her kneels with a gentle and kind atmosphere, even if I could not observe her features, that was the air she let off from within the paper.
In her hands she held a circular object, It was the earth; our earth. The girl delicately held our round planet in her grasp and covered it with her body for protection.
Finally, a huge pair of wings spread out from her back, taking over the entire right side of the art. The feathers were pure white, every single strand was drawn with experiential skill and each shined brilliantly as they fanned out from her rare.
"Did you make this, Class rep?"
"Hum… I mean, yeah, obviously!" I was shot a doubtful look by the creator.
"This is wonderful. I'll be honest, I never thought you would go so far just for me." She flustered instant red at my statement.
"Wha-wh-w-w-WHAT! I-I'm not doing this just for y-you, OKAY!? This is for our team, you hear me?! FOR THE TEAM!" In a classic tsundere fashion, Class rep jumped up literally to defend her action.
"Right, so I am very happy that you made this for me. Thank you, Chizuru, it means a lot."
"UUURR… I JUST TOLD YOU IT'S NOT FOR YOU!" If she blushed any redder, we will need to invent a new colour just for that.
"Great, great. Love you too." With a caring expression, I grab hold of both her shoulders and stared powerfully into Class rep's green eyes.
"URRAAAAA!" On her embarrassed instinct, Class rep batted my arms and took off at Mach three, I measured.
"I'm tell the mechanics to paint our TSFs accordingly, okay!?" I shouted after her shrinking shadow as Class rep dashed away out of sight.
"Ara, there she goes. Must be embarrassing for someone like her." Kashiwagi whose voice I hadn't heard in minutes spoke up again.
"Hehehe, she'll get used to it."
"I won't be so sure of that, Captain. I heard you already got yourself a harem, don't you?" Good news sure travels fast.
"True that, the invitation I sent her must had gotten lost in the mail."
"Ahaha, that's quite disastrous. Although Chizuru probably wasn't thrilled at that idea in the first place." We both laughed relaxingly at Class rep's tsuntsun side.
"Luckily I got many more invites left, do you want one?"
"Ahh? Me? Haha, you joking… right, Captain?" When Kashiwagi tried to brush off my proclamation as a joke, my serious gaze prevented her from getting off the hook.
"I never joke about this stuff."
"Err… but a weirdo like me? Aha, I know. You're just trying to get in my pants, aren't you?" Chuckling teasingly again, Kashiwagi tipped her chin with her finger in a motion like how an old man would stroke his beard.
"And there's something wrong with that?"
"Wha…? Ehh?" Finally, a fluster rose to her face as I stated my belief without faltering.
"Well yeah, you got a pretty face, a fit figure and curves at all the right places. I would tap that, indeed I would." Dropping that line, I took a brave step forward and was within arm's reach to Kashiwagi's face.
"Hihi-hihi-hi… m-maybe ne-next time, Capt. S-Shirogane. I'll be going now, bye!" And like that, she escaped from my comfortable grasp, for now.
Kagami Sumika
December 19
Kouzuki Yuuko's office
"If you two say no now, I would be quite upset." Sumika was nowhere near entertained by that joke.
"Kouzuki-sensei, please just continue."
"Huhu, you can be demanding when need be, huh? Alright then, here you go, Yashiro. Make sure you live long enough for me to collect some information."
"We'll be fine, Professor." Kasumi pocketed the device that Kouzuki carefully designed for her use.
"Here's your dose, Kagami. It's very different from what Yashiro has to use so you two better not trade them."
"I know." Sumika too carefully placed the mini bottle in her clothes.
"Now I don't want this drug to be recorded by your suit's database so make sure to inject yourselves manually with a syringe or an injector, got that?"
"Yes, ma'am." Both girls answered in unison.
"Then everything is ready. Really now, I still can't believe you two learned it in two days."
"We had to, it wasn't a choice." The usually timid Kasumi showed no fear when she spoke.
"Ahh, guess that's cool. Your TSFs have been modified to work with this ability, so that obviously means you can't use Prafka unless the other frame is also modded. Any questions then?"
"No, thank you very much, Kouzuki-sensei."
"Thank you." The two girls bowed gracefully to an amused Kouzuki.
"Then go, I have nothing else to tell you two that you don't already know. Make sure to come back with my data and I won't count this one against you."
Shirogane Takeru
Shirogane's room
Shake, shake. Shake, shake.
"Muum… I didn't know there is night service as well."
"Haha! You're welcome, Takeru-chan!"
"We came to get you." Two greetings as per usual.
"Great. Time?"
"It's seven O'clock and we have to get ready for the mission soon!" Sumika should seriously learn to not spill her hype wherever she goes. I may or may not have over slept, by ten hours.
"Good, good. I'll finish the final preparations, let me get up first though." Lazily pulling myself out of bed, I again lazily dressed in my uniform before combing my hair while the two waited.
"So we'll be leaving soon, right? I'm excited to go to Russia!" I disregarded Sumika's comment completely and opted to care for Kasumi instead.
"Hey, Kasumi, you're okay with this, right?"
"Does it matter?" She returned some expected salt.
"No, no, not really. Even if you disliked this mission, you're still coming."
"Then it's fine, the past doesn't matter." That was a little sad for me to hear, nevertheless, Kasumi was with me now and she will always be safe under my care.
"Alright, I'll go make the final adjustments, you two go fetch me some food." Leaving behind a cheerful nod, Sumika took Kasumi by the hands and exited my room.
Hanger
"…That's my Yakisoba."
Moseying into the hanger with my two escorts by my side and a piece of Yakisoba dangling in my mouth, Ayamine called me out for stealing her food.
"Here, you can eat this end." I offered her the other side of my bread which she accepted without showing emotion, we then finished it together with a kiss on the finale.
"Ummm… I shall spar you seriously one day, Ayamine." Meiya, being Meiya was seriously challenging Ayamine to a duel.
"…Come at me." That was a good standoff I got going on.
"You shall wait… patiently for your downfall."
"Not worried, you'll cushion my landing."
"A-A-Ayamine! Stop showing such indecency in p-public!" It was Class rep who flustered up to her ears with her shaking hand pointing at the two of us.
"…You're just jealous you're not getting any." Oooh, that one was a critical hit.
"Wh-wh-WHAT are you saying! IDIOT!" I allowed the following catfight to take place without interruption. Class rep and Ayamine went back and forth like they always do until Tama and Mikoto finally arrived after too long.
—
Under their frames stood eight Eishis, each with their mission planned out and ready to deploy.
"Alright, before we sortie I should go over the loadout once more. Since resupply is impossible during this mission, we'll be carrying the most ammunition possible in case of engagement.
"Archangel 1, 2, 5, and 7 will run with Strike Vanguard, Archangel 8 is soloing Rush Guard and the rest are Gun Sweeper. Sorry Kasumi, no spam attack for you." With absolutely no emotion on display, I concluded for Kasumi to be around 0.4% sadder.
"As you all can see, other than Meiya's unit; all the Shiranuis were renovated with combat paint. Meiya's is too, actually, it's just purple paint. There's also no marking on these whatsoever for clear reasons, just don't get left behind and we won't have any problems. "
"Now go grab your guns and equipment right over there." I guided their gaze with my fingers onto a small pile of weapons laid out on a rack near us.
—
The girls came back quickly with their submachine gun in one hand and their belt in the other.
"You all know this from training; H&K MP7. Even though Germany as a whole is deep down in the dumps, literary, the company still make good guns." During another info dump, Meiya threw me my piece and gear from the same stand.
"Simple stuff here; silencer, extendable stock, twenty in the mag plus one. Can be hung to the pouch on the left of your seat once you sit down. Unbuckle the top buttons on the top and the weapon can be pulled out, make sure to hook them back during TSF combat for obvious reasons."
"This little waist purse here contains five mags for the gun, two flashbangs and a pair of handcuffs. Standard gear, no lethals abiding by mission orders. Anything I missed?" We stared at everyone else for an awkward five seconds until the team brought their focus back on me.
"Good, Archangel Squadron, lock and load, we're moving!"
"Yes, sir!"
Airport
"Alright, everyone strapped in? You don't want to fall out over the ocean now." While warning them, I checked the security harness that tied my TSF down to the re-entry shell of this An-225 Mriya. We had four planes in total carrying us out so each Element shared a ride with their partner.
"Archangel 2, tied."
"Archangel 3, secured."
"This is Archangel 4, I'm all good."
"Archangel 5, I am secured as well."
"Archangel 6, all tied down, no problems!"
"Archangel 7… I'm good."
"This is Archangel 8, I'm secured too!" It appeared nobody will be swimming with the fishes tonight.
"Archangel Squadron, all confirmed. Time sync, 2359 hours, 50 seconds."
"Synced." I heard response from every girl on my team including our pilots.
"All status green. Go for take-off." The rambling noises of the engines roared as I felt the slight G-force of us being lifted into the dark sky of this night.
Another stage welcomed our presence, another performance we shall show to awe the world.
Yuuya Bridges
December 20, 2001
Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, Ц-04 Frontline Supply Base
The sky above him was pitch-black except for a couple of tiny stars that shined high in the air, as if they could overcome the consumption of their light from the darkness, the stars burned futilely just a little longer. Maybe he too, wished for her to burn just a little brighter.
Yuuya laid on the roof of a structure in the ruins of the Ц-04 Base, his thoughts scrambled to a mess that he himself cannot decode. The night would surely be cold without his flight jacket that bore the symbol of his former alliance, now it was nothing but another thorn stabbed in his cracked heart.
After some worthless time spent stargazing, Yuuya slowly descended down the oval roof until he reached the unit that he used to climb up, a Su-47 Berkut. Yuuya hesitated for a short while before finally deciding to come aboard the TSF, he entered the cockpit in reverse and flew it down to ground level.
"Hey, sorry for making you wait, Cryska. I just kinda wanted to see the sky a bit closer, naturally." It was true that the monitor of a TSF wasn't the best option when viewing the sky.
"You remember the song Inia always like to hum, right? Lt. Colonel— ah, guess she's only Major now, ahaha. Demotion really strikes at any time, huh? Anyway, Maj. Latrova told us the meaning of that song the last time we met, I think it's call the Snow Maiden, about the nature and the season of winter. Ahe, I'm actually not that good at understanding this kind of stuff… kinda hard for me, really." It was a lie, Yuuya's lie.
The song was about a lonely snow maiden who knew no love, who had no friends and no family. Until the day she fell in love with a boy, they laughed, played and shared joyful times together. However, as a being of ice, it was the warmth from the girl's own heart that doomed her, for the moment her cold heart received the boy's kindness, herself melted, as a being of snow.
Yuuya understood the fairy tale perfectly, and he knew such a story wasn't suited for Cryska. It was too fitting, it hit too close to home.
"Inia must have heard it was she was young, probably from where you two were born, right? Sorry, I probably shouldn't bring this up so soon. With all the delays we had, we can finally set out to go there tomorrow after Maj. Latrova delivers us some supplies. I wanted to have gotten this done about a week earlier, but… things got a bit difficult."
"Guess I shouldn't bother you all that much, Cryska… I… just sometime… miss the old days, that's all. Although since I can't go back anymore so it's really pointless just thinking about them, right? Sorry, let's talk about another topic."
"Inia really grew over the past week, you know? She doesn't get scared of piloting alone anymore and is really skilled, it's funny, really. I always thought you did most of the piloting since your seat is above hers, kinda make you the higher person, you know? As for us, Inia's support and reaction time is really good, we really do work well as a team, all thanks to you, Cryska… I really, really miss—"
"Yuuya, Yuuya! What're you doing in the Berkut?" For the first time in a long while, Yuuya heard his own name called by another.
"Ah, Inia. Sorry, I was just… checking the specs and fuel."
"Okay then, when will you finish?"
"Yeah… I'm done, coming down now." With those words, Yuuya disembarked the Su-47 and joined Inia on the ground.
"So we're going tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, tomorrow is the date, Maj. Latrova said she'll drop by and bring us some supplies around two AM, should be here any minute."
"That's great! I'm sure that Cryska would—" Then Inia suddenly stopped speaking, her expression froze as if time itself stopped for the esper girl. Her stare turned blank in an instant with both arms hanging lifelessly by her sides.
"Ah— Inia! INIA!" Yuuya dashed to her under a second, he's own appearance was that of fear and panic.
"Hey, HEY, INIA! You okay!?" He shook her back and forth without adding too much or too little force.
"Inia! Don't do this—"
"Why…? Who… are you? Ah, Trista… is that you? You are here too?" Yuuya had absolutely no clue as to who or what Inia was referring to, so he could only kept silent and allowed her to snap back on her own account.
"…Why… is there any colour for him? Yuuya, I don't know what to do…"
"What?! What're you talking about?!"
"He… he doesn't have it… he doesn't have any colour."
Shirogane Takeru
"—Time on target, sixty seconds." My comms announced the Captain's update.
"Currently arriving three thousand metres AGL to your AO."
Kasumi, confirm for me again.
"We arrived, they're here. I can feel her. I know it." Kasumi was doubtless in her claim.
"I can feel it too, Takeru-chan. There're two person— no wait, there're three things down there." Two validations were better than one.
Good, then we'll execute as planned, got that?
"Copy that."
"—alright, people listen up! We have our objectives: seize control of the two TSFs our targets possess, execute capture order on the HVTs and exfil after securing the LZ for pickup." As I ran down the list of our mission goals, I performed multiple system checks to ensure no accidents could take place before and after dropping.
"Time on target, thirty seconds."
"All units, engines up and unhook your harness." I also activated my own Arondight with the rest of my team.
"Time on target, fifteen seconds. Re-entry shell door opening."
"—Archangel 2, unit up."
"—Archangel 3, up and running."
"—Archangel 4, system is green."
"—Archangel 5, engines all good."
"—Archangel 6, running on all systems."
"—Archangel 7, frame confirmed."
"—Archangel 8, all system green."
The seven verifications ensured me of my team's knowledge of procedure and their safety.
"All units, prepare for drop in five… four… three… two… one… slides disengaged. Good luck, Archangel Squadron." A massive rush of G-force pushed us out of the shells and right into free-fall with a downward acceleration of nine-point-eight-o metres per second.
My Arondight cut through the invisible air and dark clouds with great velocity as the wind gusted us by, the sensors slowly picking up the massive earth after we exited the atmosphere where the clouds resides.
"Two thousand metres until landfall! Control your descent! Stay in formation!" We flew and flew, the endless ground covered by a black curtain of the night shielded us from unwanted attention.
"One thousand metres until landfall! Hitting terminal velocity in six seconds!" Our TSFs were in a nosedive position to reduce as much air resistance as possible so we could reach zero metres as soon as possible.
"Three hundred! Reversal maneuver now!" On my mark, my team boosted their frames collectively and flipped their machines right-side up for landing.
"Control your impact! Landfall in three… two… one… touchdown!" A fraction of a second before my line, eight machine giants smashed the surface of the planet with just enough pressure to avoid damaging our TSFs.
"CS, MO. Spread out and search for the HVTs!"
Author's note
And now we fight, I know you guys will look forward to that.
This is also where all the Total Eclipse VN readers would want my head on a platter. Well, you know what? Tooooo bad, the canon is being broken up, oooooh noooooooo!
Unfortunately, the next update will be at least two weeks from now. I need more time to procrastinate and play some games. Maybe finish Haruko Maxis or whatever and start the days after… haha, won't do that, too depressing.
So rain favourites, follows and reviews down upon me! So I can be more lazy and write less! Cause that's how the methodology works, apparently.
Seriously though, always I'm very thankful. When I called you all out last time for leaving me hanging, we got past the 200 view count on opening day for the last chapter. Niooce!
BETA done by chad001, I wanna make a joke about ya mama but don't want to sound like an 11 years old squeaker, difficult is life.
Also, important call for potterharry9418. I sent you a PM to your actual account, check it and get back at me, brah. Stuff on the TE visual novel, last chance for me to make changes.