Blank Reflection-
By Archangel
[Chapter
Four]
EPO Headquarters
In a small living quarters
August 30, 3085
4:59 am
//
Here I am, sitting here… When… how… did I learn to pilot like that? // Merian
lay upon his bed, watching the replay from the simulation.
// It's like second nature… //
Picking up the remote, he clicked off the
television and the room faded into silence. Looking at the ceiling, he clasped
his warm hands. Closing his eyes, he thought more.
// Am I really a soldier? Am I just… 'The Perfect
Soldier?' //
Turning to his right, he wrapped his arms around
the second pillow.
// Too much at a time… I feel like my head's
going to explode! //
He relieved his grasp off of his pillow and he
put his hands to his head, massaging his temples. He could smell the new
sheets, the newly plastered paint. Putting his head back down to the pillow, he
again wrapped the sheets tighter around him.
// It all seems so familiar… too familiar… //
The sound of knocking at his door ripped him out
of his thinking stages as he got out of bed. Dazed and confused, he stumbled
over to the door, luckily not tripping on anything. When he opened the door, to
his surprise, it was Anna.
"Hey." She nodded, and started speaking right
away.
"You and the other four pilots are going to be
moved to a training camp on Mars." She took a breath, and continued. "We're
leaving now, so get all of your stuff."
// Shit…//
Merian ran over to his bag and put on the first
pair of clothes he could find. Then, he stuffed all the stuff that he brought
back into the bags that he took into the room.
// It's amazing what a person can do with the
right motivation… //
Merian was out of the apartment in less than five
minutes, with the rest of the pilots trailing. Sean casually strolled out, and
he threw his bags onto the floor. Merian, looking around saw Mena.
"Hey," Merian said as Mena interrupted him.
"Shush… She's starting…" said Mena, who was
paying careful attention.
"Everyone's here… Good." Anna flipped through a
couple of other papers and she looked back up. "Follow me, please." She started
off in another direction and the pilots all grabbed their bags and followed.
The pilots, entered a large hangar, which housed many Votals and a small number
of shuttles. The entire hangar was busily filled as Merian saw many men and
women running around performing their errands. Whether it was delivering a
message or tuning up a Votal engine, it had to be done.
// It all looks so familiar… //
He turned to see the other pilots along with
Anna, and Claude who just joined up with them, walking up to a shuttle.
"Wait up!" He started to run over, and then
stumbled and fell upon the steps up to the entrance of the shuttle. Looking up,
he saw everyone turn to at least chuckle or burst out laughing. Rubbing his head,
Merian stepped into the narrow cabin of the shuttle.
// Go to the back. //
Looking towards the back, he saw that there were
a pair of empty seats. Strolling over, he put his bags down and sat down in the
chair.
// Hmm, quite comfy… //
He started to fidget a couple of times, and then
he pushed the chair back like a recliner.
"Heh." Looking at the seat in front of him, he
saw Mena. "Well… Hey Mena," Merian said casually. She turned around, and took a
glance.
"Bonjour." She smiled, then pulled back her long blonde hair. "It is… cold,
don't you think?" Merian nodded, and returned his gaze towards the window.
"Yeah, it's kinda chilly," Merian answered as he
rubbed his arms. "So, you're from France?"
"Oui," she started. "I am from Paris. It's
beautiful there, but I was born around the time when this… beginning of EPO
started and they invaded Paris." She also looked outside, then returned her
gaze towards Merian.
"You have beautiful eyes…" said Merian, her baby
blue eyes focused upon him. A smirk formed upon Merian's face.
"Something is… wrong?"
"No… nobody's said that to me before…" He looked
back at her. Suddenly, Anna's stern voice cut through their conversation as she
began the flight briefing.
"Please strap yourselves into the seats, Ladies
and Gentlemen." She continued, her voice still strong. "When we are entering
Mars' atmosphere, we will be experiencing turbulence. So please stay in your
seats for the entire flight." She stepped to the side to sit down, as the
shuttle began to move. The churning sound of the forward thrusters became
louder as they flew out of the terminal. Once again, the immense darkness of
space surrounded all of them, as the shuttle pointed toward Mars.
After six long hours, the shuttle that held our
pilots started shaking, and jolted everyone out of their sleep. The shaking
coming from entering Mars' atmosphere was just like heading back to Earth.
Seemingly interested, Alec sat by the window, maintaining his calm while
looking outside, amongst the large amount of discomfort that was in the
atmosphere. Anna tried to stand up and gain hold of the microphone while the
turbulence lasted.
// Fun, fun! A joyride! //
Merian sat uninterested as he leaned back and
tried to enjoy the ride.
"Everyone…" She was interrupted by the silence that
engulfed the shuttle.
"It's over…" said Claude, who was also looking
out of the window. Anna disappeared into the cockpit only to come out a few
seconds later. After twenty minutes, the shuttle finally touched down and the
pilots felt the ground beneath their feet. Merian jumped out, and he felt the
warmness of the sun on his face once again. Being cooped up in a small cockpit
or in space isn't really good, especially for a while.
// Sunlight… warm sunlight… //
Starting to walk with the rest of the group, he
looked around his surroundings to find that this was a military base, due to
the fenced in perimeter and the guards with 'MP' on their armbands. Also, large
hangars made up for most of the open space. Small squadrons of men were
running, or exercising as he looked to the sky to see a small number of Votals
flying in formation.
// Wonder what's in there… //
Suddenly, the pilots came up to a small bunker.
"We're staying here?" commented Tara as she
followed Anna in. It seemed that almost everyone but Alec and Merian were
making comments about the small bunker that they were going to stay in.
Stepping into the small building, they found that it was an entrance to a
secluded underground base. The large metal doors slid apart to reveal a large
main lobby, where many people seemed to be doing business. Turning into another
hallway, the pilots came to another temporary living quarters.
"You'll stay here until I send Claude for all of
you. Until then, you can get settled in." She handed out keys and then started
off back towards the lobby.
// Maybe I should make my move… //
Turning around, hoping to see Mena, he turned to
see Alec leaning against the wall. Looking farther down the hallway, he saw her
walk into the temporary quarters that were assigned to her.
"Damnit." He cursed himself for being so slow.
Walking over to his quarters, he opened his door to see a room so similar to
the one he had at EPO Headquarters.
"Sh.." his commentary was interrupted as Sean
came into the room.
"Hey, man." Sean said as he sat down on the bed.
"Yeah?"
"It's really boring here… damn." He looked in
another direction, to see Anna leaning in the doorway.
"We're training now, why don't you wait outside."
She walked out, followed by Sean and Merian to see the other pilots waiting.
Alec looked up, and nodded. The girls faithfully
followed as Anna entered a similar training room.
"I have to assign you numbers, which are to be used in transmissions back and
forth to you people while on missions." She looked through the three men and
three women. "Merian, you are zero-zero-one. Sean, you are zero-zero-two. Alec, Zero-zero-three. Mena,
Zero-zero-three." She took a breath, then continued.
// Boooring… //
"Tara, Zero-zero-Four. And finally, Amy… you're
Zero-zero-six." She smiled, and her stern voice returned.
"Go into the pods which have your numbers." The
pilots automatically split up and ran towards the pods which had their assigned
'nicknames.'
// Whee… I'm number Zero-zero-one! //
He stepped into the pod and cracked his neck.
Putting on the helmet, then strapping on, he shut the pod door and the screen
on his helmet and the view screens in front of him flickered to life.
// How does this feel so similar to me? //
Anna's voice came onto the headset as Merian and
the others listened intently.
"You'll all have to fight a regiment of Valkyrie
types. They have guns; but you have your beam sabers along with wrist mounted
gatling guns. The simulation will begin in five… four… three… two…" Merian
tensed up and awaited the second that he would begin battle with only computer
AI.
"One." The screen darkened into space, and the
handle sticks sank into the board.
// Concentrate, man. //
"Activate Gatling guns." Merian looked upon the
screen for the radar, and he saw a couple of blips.
"This should be easy, right guys?" he saw that
the couple of blips turn to around fifty blips. "Well… that's what a regiment
is…"
"Come on! Let's go!" Merian charged on as Amy and
Alec followed suit. Suddenly, the first shot rang out as a 'Valkryie Type'
exploded, filling the screen with a bright orange light. Outside, the officers
that were monitoring the pilot's vital signs, were amazed. You can all sum it
up in… 'Oooo…'
"If we're going to do anything, we have to work
together!" Merian taunted as he shouted into the micrphone.
"Read ya, Zero-Zero-One!" said Tara, who charged
into the fray, regardless of the danger.
"Activate Beam sabers!" Merian charged toward a
pair of Valkyries and he ripped them to shreds in less than one swipe. After
twenty minutes, the pilots reduced the makeshift regiment to nothing.
// That's it?! It's all gone?? //
Merian switched his view and literally turned the
Votal head 360 degrees to check if it was all done, finished off. The pilots
hovered there, awaiting any other enemies to approach.
"Keep your guard up, guys!" Alec persisted.
"There may be more coming!" He stopped to realize that there was nothing left.
Silence.
Absolute, without a doubt; Silence.
Suddenly, Anna's voice broke through the tense
mood to deliver good news;
"It's done guys, you destroyed the computer
completely!" Merian almost hit his head against the side of the pod it was
getting so boring.
"R…really…" Merian stepped out of the pod,
yawning. He looked around, and slumped to the ground, leaning on the pod. All
of the pilots came around, and Anna started babbling on.
"Good job, guys." She looked around to see Sean
helping Merian up. Well, it looks like a lot of energy got sucked up during the
simulation and through the flight, so I'll let you guys sleep this one day off.
I'll come to get you all tomorrow morning." She smiled, and walked off with
Claude.
Allenson EPO Base
Bunker- Room 001
August 31, 3085
7:00 am
Merian
walked into the small room and dumped his shoes next to the cot. He stretched
out and rested himself upon the tight piece of canvas.
// Damn this place. If I have nothing to do I
think… //
He looked toward the ceiling, which was lower
than he thought it was. Pulling the blankets over him, he slowly drifted off to
sleep.
*Dream:
The
closeness of the cockpit again consumed him as he sat with the helmet on.
"You'll be launched in several seconds…"
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
Merian looked around, unaware of his
surroundings.
// What's happening? Why am I back in the
simulation? //
Suddenly, he realized that he was not alone.
Trying to see the pilot, the mask concealed his face and he could not do
anything.
// Why am I back in here? //
He panicked; tried to move around. Pressing
several buttons, he ended up trying to press the 'Autopilot activation' button.
To no avail, his movements caused no effect to the Votal and it's pilot.
// Check the nameplate! //
Merian looked at his chest, which bore his
nameplate and another plate that said 'EPO Taskforce.'
// That's me? What the hell is this supposed to
prove? //
Looking at the viewscreen, he came to several
images that showed a large number of Votals clashing with the so called Merian
and five other Votals.
// Is this the rest of the taskforce? //
The other five Votals fought valiantly against
hundreds upon hundreds of what looked like Valkryie-Types. All looked like it
was going well; the taskforce was destroying Valkyrie after Valkyrie. The fiery
explosions illuminated the small area as the
sounds of screaming on the transmission channels rang out.
// It's too real… //
Gunfire sped past as the Valkyrie pilots fought
to no avail and were cut down easily. Suddenly, the pilots stopped.
"It's over?" The voice sounded like Mena, who's
voice was so meek; yet strong in many ways. Out of nowhere, a large energy
blast came from an unknown direction.
"Watch out!" Merian quickly moved to the side,
unknowingly leaving Mena who was in a dazed state. The other Votals except for
Mena followed suit, leaving her in the blast range. Quickly, Merian knocked
Mena's Votal out of the way. Suddenly, the blast surrounded the Votal, shaking
it uncontrollably. He looked around. The circuitry was starting to burn up and
the pilot who was supposed to be him was unconscious…
The
emergency siren rang throughout the complex as Merian stood up in his cot.
"What the hell?" Sean opened and looked into the
door.
"Merian! Get out here!" He turned and ran out into the lobby as many people
were running in fear of getting hurt. The two amazed pilots looked out of the
bunker to see Votals battling all over the perimeter and in mid-air. Explosions
followed by more explosions rang out, as gunfire escorted the bright flashes of
orange that illuminated the night. The two powers were clashing with each other
as more violence occurred. Anna ran up, as she was shielding herself from any
falling debris.
"Get to the Votal hangars! We need you people to
help fight them off!" Anna shouted as she looked down a long hallway where
other people in suits that looked like they had circuits on them. An explosion
rocked the installation as the pilots ran through the lobby, trying to dodge
falling rubble. The pilots walked into a large room filled with suits that
Merian saw other men running down the same hallway.
// Damn, this suit is pricking me… //
Merian turned to see Anna grabbing a helmet and
passing it off to everyone.
"Put these on and follow me." Anna started down
another hallway, which lead to elevator. Silently, the pilots strode behind
Anna who entered a large, underground hangar.
// These… are Votals? //
The six soldiers walked up past six towering Votals, all-immense in size.
"You're assigned by your numbers, starting from
here goes pilot one!" She looked toward the hangar exit as it was starting to
open up. "Hurry up!" The pilots climbed up a steep ladder which lead up to the
cockpit.
// … Amazing… //
Merian looked at the sea of wires that were
behind the cockpit chair. He sat down, and the cockpit automatically activated.
He felt the wires stick into him, causing a slight stinging sensation
throughout his body. Suddenly, the frontal view showed up upon his view screen.
"You guys ready?" questioned Merian as he put his
hands on the handle sticks.
"Yeah!" replied Mena.
"Let's rock…" Sean's booming voice rang out.
"Bring it…" said Amy, who was starting to tense
up. As the retro flares lit up, the taskforce's Votals one by one, flew out
into the air, awaiting battle. Out of nowhere, Anna's voice came up in the
pilot's headsets.
"You guys only have two Beam sabers and two gatling
guns on your forearms. The ammo for the gatling guns is limited, so use it if
you need it! Also, don't press the blue button near the monitor!"
"Why?"
"Just don't!"
Merian charged into the fray, followed by the
other pilots.
"Wait!" Anna's voice blasted into the pilot's
headsets, distracting them. "Always be on guard! Make sure you destroy the
enemy before you stop fighting! Get going!" the transmission cut off as Merian
started slicing and dicing through the Valkyrie-Types.
"Rr..ahhh!" Merian's voice rang out over the
other pilot's headsets as they watched Merian fly through many Valkyries at a
time, ripping them to pieces. By his side was Alec who looked like the Votal
was doing a form while destroying the Valkyries. Surprisingly, two Votals were
dodging saber swings as they fired a stream of bullets at their attackers,
which sent them toward the ground in a blaze of fire.
"Tara, Mena, are you guys okay?" Merian mumbled
through as he took a glance towards their Votals, which were hovering over the ground.
// Must… concentrate… //
Merian's mind had thoughts racing through as he
fought with the Votals. Suddenly, his Beam saber's energy ran out as it slowly
shut down. A quick hit to Merian's Votal shook it heavily as Merian hit his
head on the board. Trying to move, he accidentally hit a blue button. Suddenly,
liquid started to leak into his suit and he started to lose thinking. All of a
sudden, his body took mind of it's own and he started to begin a new part of
thinking he had never seen.
"Shit!" Merian blurted out as he tried to think
quick. A Valkyrie rushed straight at him as he dodged and blocked it with the
Votal's arm.
// Hand to hand, biatch! //
Charging toward his previous attacker, he quickly
dodged the Votal's attack and started a devastating combo toward the chest
area. When Merian finished and he went off to attack another Votal, the other
Valkryie's cockpit was crushed and it had short-circuited which eventually
exploded. A hysterical laugh escaped Merian's lips as he charged toward his
next victim.
"Mwhahahah…" He started pounding the Valkyrie's
cockpit into a flat pancake, as the other pilots only turned their backs to see
the carnage that Merian was inflicting upon the enemy pilot. Turning to attack
another victim, the other Votals that prepared to avenge their comrade's death
suddenly turned, and retreated, leaving the pilots alone in mid-air. The pilots
stopped, and the area drowned in silence.
"It's over?" The voice sounded like Mena, who's
voice was so meek; yet strong in many ways. Out of nowhere, a large energy
blast came from an unknown direction.
"Watch out!" Merian quickly moved to the side,
unknowingly leaving Mena who was in a dazed state. The other Votals except for
Mena followed suit, leaving her in the blast range. Quickly, Merian knocked
Mena's Votal out of the way. Suddenly, the blast surrounded the Votal, shaking
it uncontrollably. He looked around. The circuitry was starting to burn up and
everything started to black out…
*Note:
PLEASE!!!!
PLEASE REVIEW, GOD DAMNIT!!!! I've poured all of my time into this and I
receive nothing? Come on! I write this stuff so you people can read something!
Please!!! I'm sorry… I guess I tried in writing this stuff though… whatever. If
I don't get any reviews, most likely more than three good ones, I'll just
abandon this… or should I not… I don't know, it's up to you people.
