Reassuring the fiery redhead that no, these weren't Terminators, no, there wasn't Skynet around, no I hadn't kidnapped Einstein and offered to settle her debts in exchange of 'favors'. That yes, this was legitimate job with a paycheck, and yes, it included housing, was a task and a half. But I managed while Naki finished installing Yua's new wireless module. Turns out it had managed to warp her primary motor control and the secondary control failed to engage.
The poor android woke up as if she came back from hell, shivering and panting. Damn, I guess the isolation affected her worse since my androids have had sensory inputs since the start and only dive into the dataspace for fun. But Yua had spent two days (from her perspective) with damaged hardware and no input or output, basically in sensory deprivation. Naki hugged her sister in a quite human gesture, which made me smile at seeing the usually stoic android show so many emotions.
But as much as I wanted to spend more time with them, we needed to move. "Naki, are the Railguns ready?"
She nodded while still hugging Yua. "Yes, the last batch was loaded into the Condors before I came here."
"Yua, will you be ready for deployment or do you want to sit this one out?" I heard Tesla being to make questions before Einstein put a hand over her mouth. "You might need new Combat Platforms, or you might want to take a rider belt with you…"
"Belt… I will take my belt…" Yua's voice managed to sound hoarse and quite strained. Oh boy. Naki looked at her sister with surprise.
"Are you sure?" Yua's nod was quick and decisive. "Then I'm coming too."
I guess Naki discovered familial instincts….
"So, you're the one making people panic about aliens invading?" Tesla's question was loud in the control room, I went over a brief recollection of the ongoing situation. Tesla and Einstein both looked at the battle data, our forces specs and what we had gleaned from the Honkai samples analyzed, and our troops distribution. "This is… how the hell did you figure out the Carbon Nanotubes and mixed them with piezoelectric actuators?"
"I cheated."
The got me a glare from the short redhead. "Figures, Ein's thesis was about the viability of mass producing the thing but this…" She took a deep breath. "This much rearrangement of Carbon molecules shouldn't be possible in this scale… the fact that you use them as both Armor and fibers is… frankly, a bit frightening."
"Why?" I asked sincerely, I knew giant robots were scary, but I think modern armies could well take on them.
"Lightweight armor comparable to titanium, not as heavy, strong enough to hold its shape where the square cube law says it should tear itself to pieces. Put this in any vehicles and you got a makeshift APC that is evenly matched with the real thing." Einstein's words were monotone. "Sell this by the sheets and you could make soldiers into juggernauts by putting a few layers on them. It's a peacekeeping force's nightmare." She pointed at the guns on our flight units and the TSA's assault cannons. "Energy weapons small enough that can keep firing long enough to make their adversaries run dry. Compact power sources that outperform any mobile generator on output and no fuel dependency. You are lucky the monsters appeared, or you would be hunted down for this technology. You might still be once the monsters stop appearing."
"They won't, in fact, they might appear more often." I was reeling… Liz's words painted a bleak picture that I could see happening in my old world, or any world for that matter.
"Can you prove it?" she kept going.
"I don't need to, the last eruption only had undead and beasts no taller than 4 meters, this one already had fliers and 8-meter-tall beasts, and that's with taking into account Bixi…"
"Bixi?" Tesla asked from her screen, still looking at our Pelican's engine blueprints from what I could see.
I pulled a photo of the monster. "This SOB, who now rules the land and sky with photonic power. We tried some good ol' artillery on it and didn't even get the dust off it. We will try the Railguns from afar or failing that we rush in and make it swallow a nuke." The looked at me like I was crazy. "What? That always works! If the armor is though enough that it survives nukes, then detonating one inside would amplify the power turning its insides into slurry." I remembered something else. "Well, if we manage to get into its mouth and not get slaughtered by the horde it most likely caries inside" I pointed at the shell the thing carried on its back. "My guess? There is a void between the outer shell and there is an inner shell. And the inner shell is lined with gestalt beasts that would rush out once the outer shell is penetrated."
They both looked at me in horror and then at the beast with wide eyes. Our orbital scanners hadn't been able to penetrate the armor Bixi carried around, but they had managed to measure it was 2 meters thick at least. The Railgun was needed to drill into that amount of armor and the Avengers were going to have to tank its Laser beam for us to get close and make it go boom.
"The sheer strength of the material to keep its shape at those volumes…" Tesla muttered aloud.
"Take into account that there is some Honkai energy physics bullshitting involved." They looked at me again. "From what we could figure out, Honkai Energy obeys its own version of the first law of thermodynamics, can be converted into electricity and heat with some trickery involved, and its just as dangerous as radioactive vapor, but it cannot be destroyed. It also reacts to Consciousness of any kind: animal, human or digital, it doesn't matter. To some degree, as long as you can think, and you don't get killed by it, Honkai energy is psychoreactive." I told this with as much seriousness as I could muster. Honkai energy was the anime-physics enabler of this world. It also was the thing that made up its worst enemy.
"Just knowing that much… how in the world can something like that exist?" Tesla's breathless question probably echoed how some of Fire Moth's briefing went over.
"Something not of this world, I guess."
"…Just tell us what you need from us." Einstein interjected before I could send her friend into another panic attack.
"I need you to keep an eye on the readings the scanners will give. Once we figure as many properties as possible from Bixi's armor's chemical composition, figure a way to exploit any weaknesses you can think of." Their eyes gained a bit of a gleam. "If you want, you can come with us to the States for more direct observations…"
"We're coming." Both said with no hesitation.
"Sure, you will, but now that you're Steel Locust, you've got to look the part, don't you?"
Contrary to most girls, these two didn't look enthused to try on new clothes.
"Huh, I thought military clothes were supposed to be… stiff or something."
"Oh, then you don't want to try infantry boots. Safe as they might keep you, they also are some of the most uncomfortable things you'll even wear."
The Muvluv universe, being a VN, provided some awesome outfits, not even counting the Fortified Suits, the UN uniforms were well made for things designed to be eye-candy. Tesla and Einstein had changed clothes to some uniforms that I had printed, while it felt wired getting their measurements from the cameras around us, it let me create clothes that perfectly matched them. They had chosen to put on lab coats that if it weren't for their hair colors and shorter stature, would remind me of a certain mad scientist from that hell of a universe.
We boarded a Condor, already loaded with gear and carrying a Warthog. Yua was already on the troop bay and I couldn't see Naki anywhere. She appeared from a hallway, running while dragging a pelican case that sparked against the floor. She looked at me. "Apologies, but I had to finish one last project." She didn't elaborate on what that project was, she just secured her case and… huh I just noticed she too wore the same ML UN Officer Uniform and lab coat combo. Yua was wearing some combat fatigues reminiscent of those her alternate wore in the movie. I wore a Flight Jacket over some fatigues too. We looked every bit as ragtag as you could get.
"Alright. Everybody strap in, make sure nothing might hit you. Pilot, take us out and ready for beam." I ordered as I grabbed one of the ceiling rails. The piloting android's voice answered the radio.
"Understood sir. Beginning Takeoff" They sounded as young as they looked, much to the surprise of the humans accompanying me. Our ship lurched a bit as the climate of the northern pacific made itself known, but in a minute, we were ascending far above the clouds. My companions didn't fail to notice this tidbit.
"Wait… this plane has orbital capabilities?" Tesla's voice was disbelieving, but the small port on the bay door didn't lie, we were rapidly leaving the atmosphere towards one of our satellites, Ark's, going by its white color. I connected to the cockpits front camera to see the eye beginning to glow as our transit lane was cleared.
I simply nodded towards Tesla's question, for in the next moment, a soft reddish glow shrouded us as the world stopped existing for an instant.
The next we knew we were above the northern Atlantic, about 300 miles off the coast of New Hampshire. While this was a bit of annoyance, I had chosen to heed Einstein's warnings about the intelligence community and appear to come from another route. We were now racing towards Dobbings AFB, with the Condor's full power propelling us towards our next gamble.
Now the base looked a like a brand-new city, if it were crisscrossed with runways, mortar emplacements, anti-air turrets and bunkers everywhere one could see. The walls surrounding the sprawling complex were at least 2 meters thick and covered in weapon emplacements manned by soldiers. Our bird cleared us for landing and we quickly located our merry little corner. Obviously the one where you saw the giant robots, sci-fi jets, and enormous dropships parked. Our LZ was clearly marked with an enormous letter H painted on it, so we set for landing. I turned to look at my fellow passengers, Tesla was gripping her handles tightly enough that she would dent the titanium, Einstein's eyes were wide as saucers, Naki had her emotionless mask on and Yua was shaking her head.
As we landed, they all shook away the jitters. The ramp lowered and I stepped out of the Condor's bay to a parade of white-haired androids, carrying their shotguns as if they were ceremonial rifles, their boots clacking as they stood at attention and saluted were oddly endearing. I heard gasps from behind me as the humans got down as looked at the assembled two hundred-and-some androids receiving us. I saluted and they simply stood at attention. I looked around but I couldn't see my fellow head roommates or White. "Where are the Cores and Cdr. White?"
An android with a uniform resembling ours stepped closer. "Sir. Operator 23O, please, follow me."
I looked at the gathered operatives. "Dismissed!" They broke rank and went back to whatever tasks they had been doing. 23O guided my group to a building next to some hangars, where from the height I guessed the TSFs were stationed. The building was quite big for being a prefab, and… oh. There is an almost exact replica of the Command room in Arsenal City. Same blueprints, probably. I saw White at the furthermost end from the giant screen that took on whole wall. Multiple terminals with androids typing away at them or some passing tablets around the Operator Models. I stepped in quietly to avoid any incidents, my companions look din awe around the room before focusing in the large screen, the androids, or the terminals. The terminals looked like old CRTs from my childhood but that was because of the amount of idiot-proofing we put on them, not even a tank rolling on top of them could break them. White turned to face me as soon as she saw me and saluted. I answered with my own and signaled to my following entourage. "Hello Renee, how are things going?"
She gestured to a smaller screen closer to her, various positions over a map were lit red, the whole southern part of Florida a big stain that glowed menacingly. "So far, the Herrscher has not moved from her position over Miami, we had report of small groups of Honkai prodding along the defense line and some hunting survivors. Our rescue parties have dispatched them without problem. Honkai Super-Heavy Biological Fortress Bixi also remains static over Jacksonville, creating a no-fly zone of 40 kilometers in radius. Recon units on the ground report several hordes gathering below the best but not advancing." Arrows signaled where some of the recon units were moving and what they had reported. I could see Archangels, Templars, Crusaders and some Ballistae, but close to no undead… weird. I watched recordings of our TSF and Flight units thinned the herd from where Bixi wouldn't (Couldn't?) fire on them. The hordes didn't rush to meet the provocations, that was… worrying.
"Where are Ark and Zea?" I asked the android leader, her uniform thankfully wasn't the one she wore in the games, but a white version of the MuvLuv UN with white lines instead of the usual blue. Her teal-colored eyes searched mine and soon I heard a transmission on my head, I put my hand next to my ear to mimic an earpiece for the sake of appearances though.
"We saw you arriving. Sorry for not coming to greet you but we have something to show you! Meet us at the Avengers' hangar! Sending route." Zea's voice was… chipper. It felt odd not having her answering like usual, but now she wasn't restricted to my head and I guess having familiar tasks assigned to her was good. Both Satellites were growing in leaps and bounds now that more hardware was available to them. Their voices almost sounded human if not for the odd inflections here and there. their voice still sounded a bit childish but more like middle schoolers or something. That kind of voice that still hasn't managed to become that of an adult.
I let the two humans accompanying me towards a couple of empty terminals. "You will find you access to the battle network is a bit limited due to bandwidth issues, but don't hesitate to request help from the aides. I might have to keep mobile so you can just ask for Yua or Naki for a direct line to me." The two girls nodded and sat on their chairs, that while Androids didn't mind ergonomics that much, well calling them expensive gaming chairs was one way of describing them.
Tesla's sigh of relief was louder than I thought she meant it to be. "No more plastic chairs for me! Oh… I had forgotten how good lumbar support feels…"
Einstein's retort was quick. "Aren't' you a bit young to be complaining about your back, granny Tesla?" she snarked but her own face relaxed as she sank into her own chair.
I let myself out of the room as the two began bickering, Naki and Yua at my flanks as some of the androids going around the base's hallways stopped and saluted as we passed by. Soon we were outside and walking towards on of the massive hangars containing our war machines.
The hangars were impressive and so were the massive bays containing the Avengers. Multiple walkways and stairs took you to the top of the machines' frames. Their shoulder modules were being cleaned and given thorough inspections to ensure the power channels wouldn't fry the articulated mounts they rested in. Several of the colling solutions and heatsinks were being loaded as if they were ammunition, having multiple barrels in case of overheating and several heatsinks in case of emergency cooldown was a good idea.
Coming down from one of the walkways, I saw a mop of black hair among a sea of white. The blue streaks trailed behind her like neon signs as she dropped down a set of stairs. Her new platform was… well. A recolored version of the standard YoRHa Battle model, a bit shorter than normal, but she looked like a tall middle schooler wearing a uniform that in another time would be reserved for nobility. A purple and red IRG (Japanese Imperial Royal Guard) uniform clung to her as she expertly maneuvered around the androids carrying crates of parts around the hangar. Seeing Izu's face in that uniform… damn she rocked it. "Father, I'm glad you made it safely. Do you like my new platform?" she made some poses that vaguely looked like mine. Which was odd, considering she could have recreated those perfectly… ah, she's trying for more human mannerisms… "I told Ark that we should make these for use in this base! Aren't they awesome?" her eyes sparkled a little.
I smiled. "Yeah, they are. Battle type?"
She looked giddy. "Nope! Assault! Oh, Naki, how are you? Yua you came too!"
The mentioned androids looked at the Core, her odd behavior and reacted much like puppies would: A tilted head and confusion on their faces. "You asked for us, why are you surprised?" Naki's deadpan voice made the delivery even funnier than it should be.
Zea took us to Ark, (who rocked a similar platform, only with the collors inverted), her red highlights shone somewhat on the American southern sun. She was dual wielding a pair of Attache Caliburs and holding back a trio of assault type wielding their own swords. Her movements were powerful, precise and held a tiny bit of savagery that wanted to be unleashed on her foes. Her fellow androids were completely demolished and as a silent signal went off, they all returned the corners of their little arena. A quick salute and they returned to their units, who were observing from atop a few creates. Ark wiped some nonexistent sweat from her brow and turned towards us. Her smile lit up as she saw me and the three androids next to me. She ran for a moment and finally met up with us. She looked… happy. There was other way to say it. She was happy. And I hoped she would be that way for as long as possible "Father!" She enthusiastically voiced. "And everyone! Why are you here? At this stage of the plan you could be still at Arsenal, me and lil' sis got it covered." She said that but…
"I got two new recruits, human ones, I will try to procure some supplies for them and for the base. Naki here brought some stuff for you… I think. And Yua wanted to see her work in action I guess?"
The machinist nodded as the researcher opened the enormous pelican case she lugged around, even now. She lifted the lid and pulled out… Forcerisers? "I thought you might need these." She gave the pair of devices to the Cores. I think she might have noticed my look going by her next words. "Do not worry, I removed the forceful network connection function. It will be painless, for human and android both." That assuaged my worry somewhat but…
"Don't worry, we have bee training for this!" Zea's enthusiasms was… comforting. She took the Riser from Naki, who then produced two keys. A yellow one for Zea, and a purple one for Ark. Wait aren't those… Rising Hopper and Sting Scorpion?
"Father, would you kindly allow me your key?" Naki looked at me with eyes only daughters could pull off to make their parents comply. I guess she has been around the internet… I pulled out my blue key and handed it to her. "As I thought… you never gave it to me for maintenance…"
"Something wrong?" I asked. Her voice had taken a strange tone at the end.
"Yes, multiple micro-fractures along the outer shell and the Key Connector seems on the verge of burning out…" she muttered that last part. Damn, I cant believe I forgot something as simple as maintenance! "Give me the Magnum and your Riser too. They might also have invisible damage. I will finish repairs before any operation takes place. Zea, where might I install the necessary tooling?"
"Let me show you! Yua, you come too! I made something extra special for you!" Zea gave me a look. "See you later, father!" She gave me a hug and practically skipped towards her destination with the two younger androids following her. Ark came closer to me and hugged me too, she looked more flustered about that action than Zea, but she didn't let go until a few minutes had passed.
I'm glad she discovered a nice way to deal with her emotions…
"Sir." White interrupted me, her face appearing in a window on the corner of my vision. "Apologies, but I have received transmission from the American Military leaders, they wish to gather for full debriefing." I see, they really needed it, and maybe just having Mei presenting might not be enough for some of the skeptics.
"Understood. I'll be attending." I looked towards Ark "You coming?"
The nod was very enthusiastic
"Representing the United Nations Special Task Force Steel Locust: Major Edward Yinsen."
Welp, guess I got promoted.