Black Feather: Episode XXVI
"The Far-side of Earth"
Global Cortex Surface Base Transport Runway GCWC-SB-N/TRN03
7:21 a.m., 03/18
Everything seemed like a dream. Things changed so suddenly, I convinced myself that I really must have been dreaming. And in fact, I was. But, it felt as if I was reliving this event in my memories. I never realized how close to the truth I was until the end of the mission.
Virgil's face adhered to the viewing glass. Paige waved farewell as the transport took off into the horizon. Virgil longingly waved back. The way he was acting around Paige annoyed me, although I didn't really know why.
I glanced at the mission summary on the on-board monitor, just to make sure everything was in place.
Mission: Explore Unknown Region
Operation Name: Geo-Alpha
Client: Mirage
Advance: 0c
Reward: 150,000c
Requesting Figure: Paige Anmus
Opponent: Unknown
Time: 8:40 a.m.
Time Limit Upon Arrival: Three hours
Theatre of Operations: Uncharted Region LR-UR/74
Briefing:
"Over the past five years, much of the exploration efforts were forcefully left in the hands of Sphere. Because of this, much of the resources were claimed by Sphere before any other corporations even heard. However, we noticed a large uncharted region in the far west hemisphere. Sphere's current erratic behavior has put a halt to exploration. We would like to take advantage of this situation and explore the uncharted region before Sphere has any chance to, and claim any resources it might hold. Your mission is to explore as much of the area as possible in the set time limit. Staying too long in the area will arouse suspicion from our competitors. Good luck."
-END MESSAGE-
Iris was looking around the passenger cabin. Virgil was nowhere in sight.
"Rose? Where's Virgil?" Iris casually inquired.
"Oh, that nitwit? He's in the lavatory. Either he's airsick or crying for that Mirage representative. He sure has it bad for her..." I turned my attention back to an interesting magazine article. "You should stay put. It'll be hours before we get there." I looked back at Iris again and found her leaning back in her seat, ready for a nap, since we had to get ready at 6:00 a.m.
I finally had some peace and quiet. The only sound was the soothing whisper of the transport and the scarce air whispering on the wings. After finishing the magazine article, I looked out the window. Cotton-thread clouds bathed in the abundant sunrays. Endless seas blanketed the view beneath; feathers of sunlight dangled on the ocean surface. The magnanimous view beckoned me into slumber. Sleep was something I needed to catch up on, so I did so instantly.
_____________________________
"Sayuri, are you sure about this?"
"Iris is my best friend! Of course I'm going... That's a no-brainer, right?"
"You can't be too careful about these kinds of decisions. Admit it, aren't you a bit scared?"
"I'll be fine! Don't be so worried, Yuka-chan! I'm grown up now..."
"I know... Now, you get some sleep, alright? I'll wake you up in the morning so you don't miss your plane."
"Arigatou."
"Doomo. Oyasuminasai."
"Oyasuminasai..."
The door closed behind a person named, 'Yuka'...
_____________________________
"Now, you be careful, okay?"
"Hai..."
"And if you need any help or assistance, don't forget old Yuka, okay?"
"Hai..."
"And... Take this watch."
"For me?"
"Yes... It'll be a keepsake. And, it brings good luck. It did for me, so it should do just as well for you."
"Doomo arigatou!"
"Doozo... Ima... nan-ji desu ka?"
"Ichiju-ji... hachi-fun."
"That's right... Take good care of it and yourself."
"I will..."
"Sayuri-"
Flight 542 to District 2 Elevator Terminal is waiting for all passengers. All respective passengers, please board Flight 542 from Terminal 08.
"Shitsurei shimasu! Sayonara!"
"Sayonara!!"
Oh, Yuka-chan, did I really forget you? You've disappeared from my reality, but you still thrive within my dreams... _____________________________
"Shi... tsurei... shimasu...... sa... yona...... ra........."
The sun was rising when I fell asleep, and began to set when I awoke. Virgil shook my shoulder. Iris was already awake and gazed thoughtfully through the window.
"You were talkin' in your sleep?"
"Huh...? No... No, I wasn't... Was I?" I rubbed my eyes.
"Yeah, you were! In that strange language, too."
"Can you repeat it for me?"
"No can do. I didn't understand one word you said. But, uh... 'sayonara'? I think I heard that somewhere before."
"You know, let's just drop it for now. We've got a mission..."
"You're right. We're almost there. Get ready and we'll be off in a minute." Virgil was now back to his normal seriousness. I wrapped my left wrist with my watch. It was silver and narrow, with platinum linings and a rose in the center of the tiny clock. It was 5:11 p.m.
"Go-ji juu-ichi-fun..." My voice wandered...
"Did you say something?" Virgil turned to me again, with a puzzled expression.
"Oh... huh? Did I say something?"
"...Nevermind. Just get ready."
"I know."
Iris unbuckled her seat belt and led us to the hangar, where our ACs were waiting.
A look at Iris' Silvermoon reminded me of the incident at District 2...
"Iris here. Landing is imminent. I'm heading out first." Silvermoon leapt out of the transport. Virgil and I followed.
Dry winds lumbered through the desolate land. The terrain was lifeless and the arid ground cracked under our feet.
"Alright, Virgil here. Everyone, turn on your recorders. Mirage needs the visual data." I listened, pressing a combination of on-screen buttons.
There were abandoned cities and stations scattered about. From the looks of the everything, whoever built it must have technology similar to our own. Virgil mapped the area with his fat MHD-MX/RACHIS. As we made our way into the region, Iris called to our attention. In front of her was a mechanical unit.
"An AC..." Iris sounded like she was out of breath, but intercoms tend play around with voices.
"No way... Look at its parts! I never dreamed of seeing an AC like this one." Virgil spoke in disbelief. The AC's armor was charred and partially molten. Its right arm was absent, but its left arm caught my attention. There was an emblem. A corporate emblem, in my opinion. The letters were barely legible.
"...Z... Zio... Zio Matrix? What a weird name..." Everything was so new and fascinating. I couldn't wait for what was next. We proceeded into the territory, finding relics of a lost civilization. Their technology was strikingly similar to our own.
"Hey, look." Virgil's AC, Requiem, pointed to the depressed sky far ahead of us. There stood a ponderous structure. It was like a segmented snake rising all the way up into space. And in truth, I was closer to the truth than I thought. Scarce platforms stuck out from the body. Iris found large letters on one of the distant segments and sent it to us to see. "Rapture." This place was full of funny names. But, what happened next wasn't.
Virgil picked up something in the sky. I looked up at the visible extremity of the so-called "Rapture" and couldn't believe my eyes. Objects were falling from the top. My radar suggested the objects were massive.
"Under us!!" Yellow dots on Virgil's modified radar popped up all over the place. Movement was sensed in the ground. Suddenly, creatures shot out of the ground and those objects in the sky added to the surprise when they landed. All of them resembled the creatures from District 2. I screamed in horror.
"This... will be interesting..." Virgil switched to combat mode. Iris and I followed suit.
"The Far-side of Earth"
Global Cortex Surface Base Transport Runway GCWC-SB-N/TRN03
7:21 a.m., 03/18
Everything seemed like a dream. Things changed so suddenly, I convinced myself that I really must have been dreaming. And in fact, I was. But, it felt as if I was reliving this event in my memories. I never realized how close to the truth I was until the end of the mission.
Virgil's face adhered to the viewing glass. Paige waved farewell as the transport took off into the horizon. Virgil longingly waved back. The way he was acting around Paige annoyed me, although I didn't really know why.
I glanced at the mission summary on the on-board monitor, just to make sure everything was in place.
Mission: Explore Unknown Region
Operation Name: Geo-Alpha
Client: Mirage
Advance: 0c
Reward: 150,000c
Requesting Figure: Paige Anmus
Opponent: Unknown
Time: 8:40 a.m.
Time Limit Upon Arrival: Three hours
Theatre of Operations: Uncharted Region LR-UR/74
Briefing:
"Over the past five years, much of the exploration efforts were forcefully left in the hands of Sphere. Because of this, much of the resources were claimed by Sphere before any other corporations even heard. However, we noticed a large uncharted region in the far west hemisphere. Sphere's current erratic behavior has put a halt to exploration. We would like to take advantage of this situation and explore the uncharted region before Sphere has any chance to, and claim any resources it might hold. Your mission is to explore as much of the area as possible in the set time limit. Staying too long in the area will arouse suspicion from our competitors. Good luck."
-END MESSAGE-
Iris was looking around the passenger cabin. Virgil was nowhere in sight.
"Rose? Where's Virgil?" Iris casually inquired.
"Oh, that nitwit? He's in the lavatory. Either he's airsick or crying for that Mirage representative. He sure has it bad for her..." I turned my attention back to an interesting magazine article. "You should stay put. It'll be hours before we get there." I looked back at Iris again and found her leaning back in her seat, ready for a nap, since we had to get ready at 6:00 a.m.
I finally had some peace and quiet. The only sound was the soothing whisper of the transport and the scarce air whispering on the wings. After finishing the magazine article, I looked out the window. Cotton-thread clouds bathed in the abundant sunrays. Endless seas blanketed the view beneath; feathers of sunlight dangled on the ocean surface. The magnanimous view beckoned me into slumber. Sleep was something I needed to catch up on, so I did so instantly.
_____________________________
"Sayuri, are you sure about this?"
"Iris is my best friend! Of course I'm going... That's a no-brainer, right?"
"You can't be too careful about these kinds of decisions. Admit it, aren't you a bit scared?"
"I'll be fine! Don't be so worried, Yuka-chan! I'm grown up now..."
"I know... Now, you get some sleep, alright? I'll wake you up in the morning so you don't miss your plane."
"Arigatou."
"Doomo. Oyasuminasai."
"Oyasuminasai..."
The door closed behind a person named, 'Yuka'...
_____________________________
"Now, you be careful, okay?"
"Hai..."
"And if you need any help or assistance, don't forget old Yuka, okay?"
"Hai..."
"And... Take this watch."
"For me?"
"Yes... It'll be a keepsake. And, it brings good luck. It did for me, so it should do just as well for you."
"Doomo arigatou!"
"Doozo... Ima... nan-ji desu ka?"
"Ichiju-ji... hachi-fun."
"That's right... Take good care of it and yourself."
"I will..."
"Sayuri-"
Flight 542 to District 2 Elevator Terminal is waiting for all passengers. All respective passengers, please board Flight 542 from Terminal 08.
"Shitsurei shimasu! Sayonara!"
"Sayonara!!"
Oh, Yuka-chan, did I really forget you? You've disappeared from my reality, but you still thrive within my dreams... _____________________________
"Shi... tsurei... shimasu...... sa... yona...... ra........."
The sun was rising when I fell asleep, and began to set when I awoke. Virgil shook my shoulder. Iris was already awake and gazed thoughtfully through the window.
"You were talkin' in your sleep?"
"Huh...? No... No, I wasn't... Was I?" I rubbed my eyes.
"Yeah, you were! In that strange language, too."
"Can you repeat it for me?"
"No can do. I didn't understand one word you said. But, uh... 'sayonara'? I think I heard that somewhere before."
"You know, let's just drop it for now. We've got a mission..."
"You're right. We're almost there. Get ready and we'll be off in a minute." Virgil was now back to his normal seriousness. I wrapped my left wrist with my watch. It was silver and narrow, with platinum linings and a rose in the center of the tiny clock. It was 5:11 p.m.
"Go-ji juu-ichi-fun..." My voice wandered...
"Did you say something?" Virgil turned to me again, with a puzzled expression.
"Oh... huh? Did I say something?"
"...Nevermind. Just get ready."
"I know."
Iris unbuckled her seat belt and led us to the hangar, where our ACs were waiting.
A look at Iris' Silvermoon reminded me of the incident at District 2...
"Iris here. Landing is imminent. I'm heading out first." Silvermoon leapt out of the transport. Virgil and I followed.
Dry winds lumbered through the desolate land. The terrain was lifeless and the arid ground cracked under our feet.
"Alright, Virgil here. Everyone, turn on your recorders. Mirage needs the visual data." I listened, pressing a combination of on-screen buttons.
There were abandoned cities and stations scattered about. From the looks of the everything, whoever built it must have technology similar to our own. Virgil mapped the area with his fat MHD-MX/RACHIS. As we made our way into the region, Iris called to our attention. In front of her was a mechanical unit.
"An AC..." Iris sounded like she was out of breath, but intercoms tend play around with voices.
"No way... Look at its parts! I never dreamed of seeing an AC like this one." Virgil spoke in disbelief. The AC's armor was charred and partially molten. Its right arm was absent, but its left arm caught my attention. There was an emblem. A corporate emblem, in my opinion. The letters were barely legible.
"...Z... Zio... Zio Matrix? What a weird name..." Everything was so new and fascinating. I couldn't wait for what was next. We proceeded into the territory, finding relics of a lost civilization. Their technology was strikingly similar to our own.
"Hey, look." Virgil's AC, Requiem, pointed to the depressed sky far ahead of us. There stood a ponderous structure. It was like a segmented snake rising all the way up into space. And in truth, I was closer to the truth than I thought. Scarce platforms stuck out from the body. Iris found large letters on one of the distant segments and sent it to us to see. "Rapture." This place was full of funny names. But, what happened next wasn't.
Virgil picked up something in the sky. I looked up at the visible extremity of the so-called "Rapture" and couldn't believe my eyes. Objects were falling from the top. My radar suggested the objects were massive.
"Under us!!" Yellow dots on Virgil's modified radar popped up all over the place. Movement was sensed in the ground. Suddenly, creatures shot out of the ground and those objects in the sky added to the surprise when they landed. All of them resembled the creatures from District 2. I screamed in horror.
"This... will be interesting..." Virgil switched to combat mode. Iris and I followed suit.