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Note: English is not my native language, and I lack beta/proofreader, therefore expect mistakes and wonky grammar.
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Some couple of weeks later and by the time she had stepped out of the airship, she was greeted with the disappearing figures of M'naago, a number of Hyur and Gaius himself, departing for what had to be the town hall at one point. It appeared that following the fall of so many of the VIIth Legion's Weapons, many of its citizens have begun joining the 'Revolutionaries'. Werlyt was growing ever more rebellious against the Garleans. It was not a surprising development given all the uprisings flaring up in the many provinces of the Empire.
"The revolutionaries." Severa appeared next to the raen, inclining her head towards the departing group. "With Ala Mhigo agreeing to send weaponry, Terncliff has become the base of operations in earnest."
Kebhut had heard as much on the way. It appeared that she was late to that particular party. And glad she was for it. As of late, these meetings have become something of a staple in her daily routine. "And Gaius is to lead?"
"By their choice, not his."
An ironic twist, some would say – to name their former conqueror, Gaius Baelsar, as their leader.
Briefly, Kebhut mused under her breath on all the far worse punishments the life can offer. She turned her impassive eyes towards the woman. "The note was urgent. The weapon?"
"Yes, but not as you might think." Severa nudged her, guiding her out of reach of curious eyes and ears. It was only when they reached the lower terrace near the cliffs where the sound of waves crashing against the steep rocks was clear and loud, did the woman speak. "It's Allie. She ran back to Castrum."
"When?"
"Some days ago. She left a note." Severa extracted the slip of paper from her pocket, handing it over. Kebhut unfolded the crinkled note, read through it, and then silently, and pointedly, glanced up from the paper and back at the woman.
"He doesn't want anyone to know. The word has reached us that the Telophoroi were going wild. He suspected you might be otherwise engaged," she spoke quietly with an expression Kebhut couldn't begin to interpret, beyond a general sense of stunned anger. "And we have no means by which we could even infiltrate the facility. It would be a suicide run on all fronts."
"If you have no one to fight yet, why send for me?"
"Because we're dragging our feet." Severa rubbed her forehead, where a habit of questioning her certainties had etched her brow with two vertical creases. Kebhut waited her out. "Valdeulin is out, gathering intel. He already sent word that something is off in the Castrum and if an opportunity for an assault arises, your presence would do much to alleviate the fears of a failure."
"When?"
The linkpearl chimed, causing Severa to all but smash the thing while reaching for it. "Valdeulin... what-..." mere seconds later she dropped her hand and turned to the raen. Her face had gone pale, but also hopeful. "There was an explosion in the Castrum. The Weapon is running amok."
Kebhut hummed. The Warrior of Light was, as always, at the right place at the right time.
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While it was true that the interior of G-Warrior has been remodelled to fit two pilots (and she was not informed as to why such a change was necessary), this unique situation did not require them to share the cockpit space. With Gaius manning the flight control (in the genuinely comfortable part of the machina), she was relegated to weapons. She didn't think she could add to the firepower more than Cid had already outfitted the platform with. The sheer amount and size of ammunition that was to be used had her sit on the opposite side, at the tail-end of the platform.
It was a strange choice. Wouldn't Gaius be better for handling weapons? Beyond the fact that her abilities with aether would be better suited to drive the G-Saviour beyond its speed limit, Garleans were renowned for their hand-eye coordination.
The neon glow of the half-lit console illuminated half of her face in the dark of the small space, and she ran her fingers across the smooth surface of the yellow soul stone, absorbing the aether and the knowledge.
It occurred to her then that, mayhap, Cid didn't want to put Gaius in a position where he would be forced to shoot his own daughter. Gaius himself, a soldier, a Legatus, might be mentally prepared, trained, for such an occurrence but it was without a shadow of a doubt that it would have broken him, the father. And broken men tend to make more of the same.
And Cid was a merciful man, even to someone with whom he shared quite the 'complicated' past. He wished no ill will, no more than deserved, to his former paternal figure. After all, if Cid wanted to spare Gaius from going directly against his children and Gaius himself didn't truly want to be the one to do such a thing then her purpose was clear – beyond her obvious combat abilities.
Someone had to pull the trigger. Several times over. All the while tearing the machine apart without harming the pilot.
She closed her eyes briefly.
The pressure of expectation had become something of a day-to-day thing in her life. Maybe today will be the day to tire her out enough to sleep for half a night.
'Is that a gunblade?' A dry comment from a man currently sitting in the machina's cockpit came from the other side of the linkpearl.
"Yes."
'A peculiar choice.'
"You were not the inspiration."
A moment of silence. Probably involving frowns.
'How many other disciplines have you taken upon?'
Krile would say that it was more than recommended for a healthy, and long life. She remained silent though, and then Cid's voice cut through the comms.
'We have sighted the Weapon. Be ready.'
'All systems check.'
"All weapons ready," Kebhut called, reading herself, as the console springing to life around her. Lights for both long-range and short-range weapons illuminating the space. Aiming and tracking systems activated, connecting with her eye movement to allow for greater efficiency. From the reports, this latest model was the most developed so far, and she wasn't going to say 'no' to a bit of assistance.
As it turned out, and it was expected, the damn thing was equipped with just as much anti-aircraft defences as the G-Saviour could fire. At this point, they were duelling with armed ammunition in the air. Add to that the mobility of the machine compared to the massive platform on G-Saviour's back and it was clear that the only reason they were winning was that the pilot lacked skill.
The moment the Weapon slowed and the G-Saviour reached it (with Mark II still nowhere in sight), did Kebhut disengage her seatbelts. "Keep the platform steady," she called over the linkpearl and grit her teeth as she crossed the threshold.
'Stay safe.' Came a voice against her horn. Was it something that has passed his lips unexpectedly, or was it simply something one would wish to a fellow warrior? The connection was cut. Should he not warn her to make certain that his daughter to stays safe? Even if he was curious, it was all but too late for idle thoughts.
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