"Hot, that is the only word to describe it. Thought the cyborg Combat Engineer (designation Beta CE007) as he walked through the radioactive wasteland in what was once the southwest United States. The radiation was bad enough after the collapse, but the bomb that Nexus dropped on the Alpha sight made it much worse. It was still impossible to get within a mile of ground zero due to high radiation levels. All the nano repair bots in the world wouldn't save him from those levels. Though he had little to worry about being over ten miles from there. Orders from the new commander of Beta team, were to establish small radar outposts around the remains of Alpha and Beta sights. Which lead to his current plight. The commander had the transport drop him off by himself not even one escort. I know Nexus has been defeated and the radiation level all but guarantees that there are no raiders left alive, but it is still possible and some of them have some nasty pre-collapse tech. Would it kill the commander to spare a single gunner to provide support. Sighing to himself he reached the designated spot for outpost 9. He would give the commander this, it was a good location. High elevation with clear line of fire for defense turrets. Making final adjustments on his truck turret he began the construction of the first of many defenses for the outpost.
It was well past midnight at the Tristain Academy of Magic. A cool crisp breeze blew across the fields bringing with it the refreshing smells of nature. All within the academy slept peacefully in their beds save for one. A little girl with pink hair lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, known as the Zero by her peers had failed to cast a single spell without causing significant collateral damage in the process. It all came down to tomorrow and the familiar summoning ritual, she would either succeed or be sent home in disgrace. She could already hear the disappointment in her mother's voice and the loud thunderous yelling of her Big Sister Eleanor. No, she would succeed, she had to. She would summon the greatest familiar in the history of Halkeginia, with it she would bring honor to her family, she would be of use to the crown and her childhood friend Princess Henrietta. With the thoughts of greatness, her familiar would bring, she finally drifted off to sleep.
Beta CE007 Finished running the diagnostic on the Wide Spectrum Sensor Tower "Command this is Beta CE007 over." He said, while checking the readouts from the tower. "Beta CE007 this is Command over." Came the reply, "Command this is Beta CE007. The Wide Spectrum Sensor Tower is operational are you receiving radar telemetry? over." Asked Beta CE007 as he checked the radar screen. "Beta CE007 this is Command, Roger we are receiving telemetry. We seem to be getting minor interference. Confirm signal strength over." Quickly scanning the readouts Beta CE007 noted that the signal strength was at one hundred percent as he was about to reply he saw something on the radar screen. There seemed to be vehicles west of his position, but they kept appearing and disappearing from the screen like ghosts or some weird feedback from the surrounding terrain. Keying his commlink he replied, "Command this is Beta CE007, Signal strength is at one hundred percent, also I am picking up strange radar anomalies west of my position. Can you confirm? Over," "Beta CE007 this is Comma.. we have ..st teleme… confirm wh… west of ….. position ..ver" Command this is Beta CE007 say again you are coming in broken say again" In that moment Beta CE007 knew something was very wrong. The comms almost never failed, combine that with the telemetry failing and the anomaly. He looked to the west as if he could see what was approaching, the distance being too great even for his advanced biotics and cybernetics. As he pondered what it all meant, the front line of the outpost's defenses disappeared in a fiery explosion.
Louise stood apart from her fellow classmates trying her best not to draw attention to herself. From her vantage point she watched as her classmates summoned their familiars. There were many of the more common one's cats, dogs and birds. Aswell as uncommon such as Gramont's giant mole and the rare ones like Tabitha's wind dragon. Oh, life was so not fair and Kirche's fire salamander, oh, how she hated that girl. Professor Colbert who was leading the ritual and logging all the familiar runes, asked "Has everyone completed the summoning ritual?" Before Louise could speak or run away for that matter. Kirche in her siren's song voice called out. "I don't think Louise has gone yet Professor" Oh, how she hated that girl. The entire class turned to look at her with a slight fear in their eyes. As she walked towards the circle a few of the braver students decided to poke fun. "Don't blow it Zero!" shouted one boy, "Just give up!" yelled another. Having enough of the taunting Professor Colbert shouted, "Silence this is sacred ritual of the founder, I will not allow any further disrespect! Do I make myself clear!" The entire class went silent. Even idle chat stopped, Professor Colbert hardly ever raised his voice, let alone shouted. As Louise got to the summoning circle, she took notice of many of her classmates slowly backing away. Kirche just stood there with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. Tabitha her nose forever in a book slowly moved to place her dragon between her and the summoning circle. Louise steadied herself took a deep breath and began the chant. "I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar." As Louise spoke the words the air became electrified, the wind howled and the ground shook. Louise then poured more of her magic into the spell and before her a green portal appeared.
Beta CE009 was in trouble. He was actively being jammed and unable to call for reinforcements, if any were available in the first place. For all he knew everyone was being hit as bad as him. The outpost's auto defenses weren't engaging targets, not surprising when you understand that they use radar to target, and the radar couldn't see what was right in front of it. He had some minor success manually targeting and firing but only in the fact that he hit what he was aiming at, the unknown superheavy body type took a direct hit from his three remaining Archangel Missile Batteries and shrugged it off like he had thrown mud at it instead of several high explosive missiles. Another explosion, another turret destroyed. He was fighting a losing battle the auto repairs systems just could not keep up with the damage the enemy was throwing at the outpost. Then he saw them coming low over the horizon. Dozens of VTOLs of unknown body types headed straight for him. But what he saw on their under bellies told him he was dead. Cause if he was right, they were armed with Plasmite Bombs, which could melt the very rock beneath his feet and him right along with it. He took a step back and wondered if he should even bother trying to run away, when he heard a strange voice, "I Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière." Funny he thought that isn't coming from my commlink its coming from behind me as he turned towards the voice, he saw a green portal. "In the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar." Said the strange voice. As the VTOLs roared overhead Beta CE009 heard the distinct sound of the bombs being released, he sprinted for the green portal pushing the limits of his cybernetics to the max. As he dove through the portal the Plasmite Bombs hit right behind him burning hotter than the surface of the sun.
Louise struggled to control the spell, then an explosion unlike any of her others. A fire hotter than any she had ever felt before bursting forth from the portal, she watched in slow motion most of her classmate's dove to the ground seeking cover from the flames. Professor Colbert used his own mastery of fire to push the flames up and away from himself. Kirche likewise did the same, while not nearly as skilled as the Professor she was backed up by her new fire salamander. Tabitha had spun around her dragon staff in hand and erected a wall of ice to combat the intense heat. Louise noticed how the flames licked at her skin but did not burn her. She felt her control slipping followed by a massive explosion that snuffed out the flames.
Kirche fought against the intense flames brought on by Louise's summoning, she watched as the flames surrounded Louise but did not harm her, it seemed to be wrapped around her like a cloak, and in that moment Kirche looked on in awe at just how beautiful it made her look. Suddenly everything disappeared in a cloud of smoke as she was thrown to the ground.
Staring up at the blue sky Kirche sighed deeply, Louise seemed to be just like all other Vallières, one-man forces of nature. Louise's problem was she couldn't control that force, making her more dangerous than her mother the heavy wind or her older sister Eleanor, a woman so violent that even Germanian men wanted nothing to do with her. As she stood back up and brushed the soot from her clothes, she noticed that only a few people had been able to remain on their feet. Professor Colbert wasn't a surprise, he was used to handling Louises mishaps. Tabitha's ice wall had also held, barely if the strained look on her face and heavy breathing was any indication. Even Gramont had erected a small earth barrier to help shield the rest of the class. But it was Louise that drew her attention the most. She just stood there without a scratch on her. The ground round her was scorched save for a two-foot circle at her feet where the grass lay untouched, as if the founder himself had protected her.
Professor Colbert Breathed a sigh of relief as the flames were extinguished in the final explosion. Looking around he was glad to see that none of the students seemed to be injured. Looking toward the summoning circle or more precisely what was left of it. The very ground had melted, small red glowing puddles of melted rock dotted the ground. As he continued to observe he watched as something began to rise from the center of the circle.
Beta CE007 lay face down on the ground. He was alive somehow, his readouts showed less than 5 percent of armor integrity left but the auto repair was already beginning to bring his systems back to fully operational. Standing up he observed his surroundings in shock and awe. It was green, he had heard about it from his parents about the ground being covered in green before the collapse. But being born after the collapse he had never seen it. There was a giant stone structure in front of him and people all around him. His sensors were reading no radiation or toxins present in the air. Just where in the hell was, he. He noticed a little girl with pink hair in front of him talking to an older man, he couldn't understand what they were saying but the little girl walked up to him and seemed to beckon him to kneel to her level like she wanted to tell him something. Taking a knee, he was now at her level. She raised a stick and started speaking again she then kissed the front of his helmet visor. As she did that, info suddenly flowed through his synaptic link. He felt pain on the top of his left hand, and he felt the cyborg armor configuration change slightly, as decorative runes began to appear along the edges. He now knew she was the new commander, that the Project would continue anew in this strange land.