Data File 1819: Automated Combat Androids/Spectre Project

Following the Third Battle of Fallujah, Hammond looked for alternatives for sending soldiers to very high risk zones. Several contractors submitted designs for a bipedal weapons platform, infantry size. Hammond selected the design from (CLASSIFIED), and began trials on the design. It proved a resounding success, and was deployed to hot zones or Hammond interest areas. It was majorly successful, and soon they were mixed with a human leadership for more effective controlling. Soon, the Second Generation was designed, tested, and mass produced. These units come armed with a wide assortment of weaponry, but the standard is a primary weapon and a Anti-IS weapon. Units can be assigned as all robotic companies, and be sent to deal with high risk targets in what Hammond calls 'fire zones'. All robotic units are armored and quick, able to jump up a three story building. They can be hacked via Wifi virus, but no country has been able to break the code to do so.

Mall, ISA City

Cecilia fired another plasma bolt at a Spectre hiding behind cover. "That's sixteen!" She shouted in glee. "This is too easy!"

Kanzashi was less enthusiastic. "They're only probing our defenses. Hate to rain on your parade, but this isn't the full scale of what they can do."

"Really?" Cecilia asked. "Damn, I thought I was doing good."

"Ichika was the same way."

On the other side of the roof, Laura and Charlotte were having the exact same conversation.

"This is too easy! What happened to Hammond?" Laura asked, sounding worried. "Unless they're probing our defenses, this is a cakewalk!"

"They are probing our defenses!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Keep firing!" She fired more assault rifle rounds at the surrounding horde.

"Where's soldat!? He should be helping us!" Laura exclaimed.

"He's dealing with forces on the ground-" An explosion rocked the two. "What was that?!"

They looked down to see Gio had fired his Trebuchet at a group of cars. Near the wreckage was a large group of Spectres and the remnants of what looked to be an anti-tank gun.

"Keep an eye for those things! They'll screw you up if you're not careful!" Gio ordered.

"What are they?" Charlotte asked.

"Anti-IS cannons. Light enough to be carried into battle, heavy enough to kill and IS pilot with a well placed shot." Gio explained. "If you see a group of Spectres congregating behind cover, blow them to hell!"

Laura nodded, and looked out in the parking lot. Smoke was billowing into the air as cars burned. The asphalt was cratered, and Spectres were thrown all over the place. She zeroed in on a group of Spectres wheeling out a cannon. "Got you." She fired her railgun, and the shot detonated the cannon. Spectres were thrown into the air, and a car exploded next to the group.

"Good shot!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Do you think we're pushing them back?"

She was answered by the sound of something falling from the sky, and several objects impacting the ground, throwing up a smokescreen. "Oh no."

"Charlotte…" Charlotte looked at her partner, and was shocked to see her looking fearful. "Contact the ISA right. Now. We have a situation, a really bad one."

"What is the situation?" Charlotte asked. She heard metal clanging, and heavy footsteps.

From the smoke, emerged another group of Spectres, and two Kaiser Titans.

Cecilia nearly dropped her rifle. "Titans!" She shouted.

Rin and Ichika turned around, and came face to face with the huge mech. It aimed its 50mm cannon at them.

"Rin?" Ichika asked. "You still think China is better than Hammond?"

Rin merely shook her head.

"Figures." Ichika and Rin quickly dodged out of the way as the 50mm shot impacted the ground. The other one quickly began leading the Spectres.

"Sonofabitch!" Gio shouted, firing another Trebuchet round. "This is bullshit!"

"I thought Hammond wasn't keen on deploying Kaisers outside of SPECOPCOM missions?" A voice said on Gio's comm channel.

"Ms. Orimura?" Gio asked with uncertainty. "I really don't have time for a lecture right now."

"I'm on my way with more IS pilots." She reported. "I have a feeling they're done probing."

Gio dodged a 50mm shot. "Yeah, you're onto something there."

"Keep them busy. ETA is less than a minute."

"Wilco." Gio fired another Trebuchet shot at a group of congregating Spectres. "Get your shit off my ISA!"

"Gio, Ichika and Rin are in trouble!" Kanzashi shouted from the roof. "We can't provide support unless we kill those Spectres!"

"I got my own problem right now!" Gio shouted, running from his cover towards the Kaiser. "Gimme a second!"
"You better not do a nuclear punch again!"

"The one time I pull that, I swear to god." Gio jumped up and punched the Kaiser across the cockpit hatch. "You piece of shit!"

"Engaging hostile IS. Hostile IS, deactivate immediately and surrender." The mech threw a wild haymaker.

"Not happening!" Gio caught it with his right hand. He brought up his left, which was armed with the gatling gun he captured from the Monarchs. "Eat shit and go fuck yourself!" He fired, the bullets impacting the robot's shields.

"Critical shield damage, changing tactics." The titan kicked Gio away, and fired more 50mm shots.

Gio ran in circles around the IS, the shot impacting behind him. "Resilient fuck." He brought out his broadsword and ignited it with a thermite charge. "Try me now." He boosted towards the Kaiser, and swung across the midsection of the mech. The blade impacted the shields, but at the last second it chipped armor.

"Shield depleted. Switching to unarmored combat."

"What?" Gio asked, and was hit by a swinging punch to the back. "Ugh!"

"Gio!" Kanzashi shouted.

Gio faltered, and turned around to face the Titan. "That smarts." He twirled his broadsword. "Let's try something new." He ran at the Kaiser, and swung across the cockpit hatch like he did when he punched the mech.

"Critical damage, seek cover."

"Nope! Not today big guy!" Gio boosted behind the Titan, which predictably turned around. Gio was already hopping up, and landed on top of the Kaiser. He used his slash mark as a handle, and hacked the Titan from the inside out. "You're mine now!"

He enabled controls, and aimed the Kaiser's Trebuchet to point at the other Kaiser. Kaiser two looked to see the Trebuchet fire, and the round went straight through the shields and out the back of the Titan. The Titan exploded, and the wrecked chassis fell to the ground.

"Good work, Kaiser. Here's a reward." Gio shoved his gatling cannon through the gash on the cockpit hatch, and fired rounds into it. The mech shuttered and sparked, and Gio jumped off of it as it fell over and exploded.

"Damn…" Rin said, amazement in her voice. "What the hell is he?"

Charlotte shot the last Spectre, as Laura detonated another Anti-IS cannon. "Now, I think it's over."

Laura nodded.

Cecilia dropped to the ground. "Good lord, that was them probing defenses?"

Kanzashi nodded. "It could've been worse. We probably wouldn't have survived a full attack."

Ichika stared at Gio, who was now checking himself over for any injuries.

"Ichika, stop staring at me. That's a rude thing to do." Gio said. "And your sister will be here…"

A car pulled up to the wrecked parking lot, along with several groups of IS.

"..now." Gio turned to Chifuyu. "You're late as hell."

Chifuyu stepped out of the car, katana in hand. "There was a problem with getting pilots. I didn't want to come unprepared."

"Whatever, fighting's done." Gio pointed to the parking lot. "I'm not sure if my government will pay for this."

"I believe they would, some persuasive diplomacy will make them pay." Chifuyu said. "Let's focus on that later. We need all of you back at the ISA for an AAR."

"Understood."

Sector Serbia, Hammond Republic

"Mission successful." Commissar Fauzer stated. "We got the Nashorn back, and we reminded the ISA of our power and reach."

"Commissar, was any of this wise?" A subordinate asked. "We already had the ISA on edge after the Monarch Incident, why attack the ISA again?"

"Repetition will keep them on their toes." Commissar Fauzer said. "They will expect an attack at every waking moment. They'll wake up everyday, hoping that it isn't their last. We will attack and attack until they are nothing but husks of stress and deprivation."

"Really?"

Commissar Fauzer turned to face the subordinate. "Of course not. We only attacked the ISA to test Orimura and Inferno, as well as our new automated units."

"The Kaisers didn't do well…"

"Expected. They are better when piloted." Fauzer waved off the statement. "The fact that Orimura was tied down by one shows that it is still a promising unit."

"The Anti-IS cannons didn't even get to be used."

"Those things? They weren't cannons, they were artillery pieces. They would fire blanks and were only there to test Inferno."

The subordinate turned to Fauzer. "So...how'd they get the idea that the artillery pieces were Anti-IS cannons?"

"May have hacked Inferno's TCC to identify them as such." Fauzer said. "Only could do it once, sadly. He'll suspect it if it happens again."

"I see. What about the rest of the pilots?"

"I have no care for the others save for the one called Laura." Fauzer turned back to the screen. "They are inadequate for my needs."

"Right. Yes, Commissar Fauzer."

ISA

The group landed at the ISA, and were immediately greeted with a host of students asking millions of questions at once.

"Jesus, if I had known this was gonna happen I would've landed at the hangar." Gio mumbled.

"Everyone calm down!" Charlotte tried to calm the crowd. "None of us were hurt! The threat has been dealt with and the enemy was pushed back!"

The crowd died down a little. Questions were still being thrown at them.

"Was it Hammond?"
"Did civilians get hurt?"
"Was this Inferno's fault?"

Gio whipped around to face the student who asked that. "My fault, my ass!"

"Inferno…" Kanzashi cautioned. "They don't know what happened."

Gio growled, but relented.

Kanzashi turned to the crowd. "Inferno was not at fault for what happened. He devised a plan to defend the mall and fought valiantly with us! You will not accuse him for what happened!"

The crowd was cowed at this. Ichika and Laura raised their eyebrows. When had Kanzashi gotten so fiery?

"The threat was indeed Hammond." Laura began. "They sent no humans, but groups of automated combat troops. They were armed with Anti-IS weaponry, and came with a complement of two Kaiser Titans."

The crowd gasped. "You fought one of the most advanced Anti-IS units in the world!?" Someone shouted.

"Correct. Pilot Inferno is now accredited with two more Titan kills." Laura smirked.

"Gio: five. Hammond: zero." Gio smiled slightly.

"We don't know civilian casualties, but we believe that their target was Inferno and Sarashiki." Laura finished.

The crowd mumbled to one another.

"Inferno is a Hammond pilot, so they were probably testing him without his consent. Sarashiki has Hammond tech, so this was a test for her as well." Laura began again.

"How do we know a second wave isn't coming?" Someone asked.

"According to radar, there aren't any units inbound." Chifuyu walked from behind the IS group. "Skies are clear, except for allied aircraft and IS pilots now starting daily patrols."

"I heard the second part of the attack dropped from the sky!" Another person shouted.

Chifuyu looked at Gio, who walked to the front of the crowd. "I can't say how that happened."

"What do you mean?" Chifuyu asked, eyes narrowing.

"I mean, I literally can't tell you." Gio explained. "I don't know."

"Wait, you actually don't know?" Chifuyu asked. "Like at all?"

"Yeah, this is all new to me. Titans and infantry dropping from the sky? Impossible." Gio waved it off. "Probably an aircraft dropped them off."

"Like a paradrop?" Laura asked. "Your country was testing to see if that was feasible during our time in the field exercises."

"Yeah...yeah, that's right." Gio agreed. "I guess they were airdropped."

"But how did nothing notice them? We have the best radars!" A technician shouted.

"If you don't think Hammond has stealth aircraft operating at all times, then you are hopelessly naive." Laura said, narrowing her eyes at the technician.

"Oh." The technician slinked away, obviously defeated by Laura's declaration.

"While she is correct, I want you all to know that they don't operate above the ISA." Gio stated. "We made a deal with the ISA about airspace regulations. No Hammond aircraft is to enter ISA or ISA City airspace. We honor that deal."

"That deal was made for Gio to come here." Chifuyu further explained. "If they break it, Gio gets pulled. That's all we are allowed to disclose about the deal."

The crowd started murmuring again.

"Alright, everyone back to their dorms! We still have a beach trip coming up!" Chifuyu said. "Pack your bags, we leave in two days!"

"Moving up the schedule, are we?" Gio mumbled.

"Yes ma'am!" The class responded, and everyone went their separate ways.

Gio and Kanzashi walked back to the garage to deal with any problems with their IS. As they were walking, Kanzashi turned to Gio. "Is it possible that more enemies are going to come?"

"I have no idea." Gio answered. "It is absolutely possible they are waiting to strike."

"Inferno." Gio looked behind him to see Chifuyu.

"I figured." Gio sighed. "I'll get packing."

"Wait, what!?" Kanzashi shouted. "What do you mean?"

"If it was Hammond aircraft that dropped those units that attacked the mall, then Inferno can't be here. They violated the contract." Chifuyu explained. "Inferno will stay for the beach trip, and will be removed from the school effective immediately."

Gio said nothing, only nodding at the ultimatum.

"But he defended the mall! Doesn't that count for something?" Kanzashi asked.

"The Treaty of Novi-Sad and Tokyo decrees that it is superior to all but extenuating circumstances. This violation is the exact reason why I'm moving up the schedule for the Beach Trip." Chifuyu continued. "We'll allow you to come with us, but you're being picked up by Hammond Naval Forces when we leave."

"Very well." Gio turned back, and continued walking to the garage.

Kanzashi was not so compromising. "He defends your students, your own brother, and you let the school toss him aside like he's nothing?!" Kanzashi exclaimed, her face becoming red with anger. "This is a joke! It has to be, right?!"

"I'm afraid not." Chifuyu sighed. "The school is being forced by both the international community and the Japanese Diet to expel him. I was only able to secure this extension because he defended you and the rest of the pilots."

"So that's it? We just let him go?" Kanzashi asked, dejected. She summoned her IS. "There's nothing we can do?"

"Unless something big happens on the trip, it's out of our hands."

Ichika and Gio's Dorm room

"I can't believe that we survived that." Ichika sighed, falling onto his bed. "It's all so surreal."

"What, the fact we were attacked by a real enemy?" Charlotte asked, standing in front of the bed. "Or the fact we were attacked by units that regularly fight and destroy professional IS pilots?"

"Both." Ichika answered. "I also can't believe Gio's own country would attack him out of the blue like that."

"Well, Hammond does work in mysterious ways." Charlotte sighed. "We don't know how bad it really is."

"Yeah...hey wait a minute." Ichika sat up. "If Gio could only be here provided Hammond doesn't fly over the ISA, and they flew over the ISA to drop those units, doesn't that mean Gio's gonna get pulled from the ISA?"

Charlotte paused, and realization hit. "Mon Dieu! You're right!"

"You think the ISA has figured that out yet?" Ichika asked.

"They already did." Laura leaped into the room from the open balcony door, surprising both Ichika and Charlotte.

"Jesus, Laura! Why did you do that?" Ichika asked.

"I was listening in on the conversation. I just returned from eavesdropping on a conversation between Soldat and Instructor." Laura sighed at this. "She did the best she could, but could only secure an extension for him to come on the beach trip with us."

"So after the beach trip, he's leaving?"

"Not even. He'll be left behind, and the 15th Fleet of the Hammond Navy will pick him up." Laura sighed. "Unless something big happens."

"Well, what could be bigger than defending ISA City?" Ichika asked.

"That's what got him the extension." Laura explained. "They were quick with this. Not even had we landed did the ISA begin the papers for expulsion."

"I feel like someone at the ISA doesn't want him here." Charlotte said. "The ISA is never this quick."

"It's probably a big PR problem for them. Hammond isn't exactly well liked, but one of their pilots being kicked out of the ISA? Big problem." Laura continued. "The ISA is probably running serious damage control right now with the Hammond diplomats."

"Do you think the 15th Fleet will come back?" Charlotte asked.

"Most likely, the 15th Fleet is the main powerhouse in the Pacific. If Hammond needs to get a point across, the 15th Fleet will show up as a show of force." Laura said. "It's the same way with the 1st and 3rd Fleets in Europe."

"Hammond has fleets specifically for this purpose?" Ichika asked.

"Technically, no." Laura answered. "The 15th Fleet is the main fleet in the Pacific. The 16th, 14th, and 13th Fleets are the same setup, and they all are the West Pacific Fleet Group. Hammond has three other fleet groups in the area, so in total there are sixteen Hammond fleets in the Pacific at any given time."

Ichika wondered how a nation could produce so many ships, and so quickly as well.

"So...Hammond has more carriers in the Pacific alone as America has carriers overall?" Charlotte asked.

"Hence, why no country will go to war with Hammond. At least, no asian country will." Laura finished. She seemed pretty proud of herself until she suddenly looked confused. "What were we talking about again?"

"Gio's being kicked out of the ISA." Ichika deadpanned.

"Oh...right."

The ISA Garage

"Hm...the barrel aligner has been damaged." Gio looked over the report of his IS. "Explains why the shots seemed a little wide…"

"You barely used your Trebuchet." Kanzashi deadpanned. "How would you know if the shots were wide?"

"Because they were." Gio answered. "So I stopped using it."

"I guess that makes sense?" Kanzashi said, confused. "Anyway, your IS seems fine. Even a punch from a Kaiser couldn't have stopped you."

"It seems that way." Gio narrowed his eyes. "Except…" He tapped the area where he was hit with a mechanical extension, and the armor plate gave away and fell to the ground. "Didn't think so."

"What...would've happened if a normal IS took a hit?" Kanzashi asked, fearful.

"A good chance, but not a high chance, of vaporization of the pilot on the spot." Gio said nonchalantly.

"Oh…"

"Look at it this way, we beat a small Hammond attack, and now we get a beach trip." Gio said, grabbing a welding helmet and welding tool. "I think it's good timing." He put the helmet on, flipped the protective visor down, and picked up the fallen metal plate. He began welding it back on.

"At least we get a beach trip." Kanzashi said. "Hey, Gio?"

Gio finished welding on the plate, and flipped the visor up. "Yes?"

"Are you rooming with anyone on the trip?"

"I think I'm not. Since I'm technically not a student, I can't room with anyone in the school. Knowing Ms. Orimura, I'll probably be sleeping on the beach." Gio sighed. "But what can ya do?" He shrugged.

"So...I could technically come visit you?" Kanzashi asked.

Eh? "I guess you could?" Gio responded, unsure of where this was going. "I don't see why not."

Kanzashi nodded, and went to go work on her IS.

Gio looked at Firestorm. He was going to have a nice...chat...with his commanding officer about what the actual hell happened today. "What bullshit will the good general say this time?"

SPECOPCOM Main Communications Hub

General Hadese looked at the blue global map hanging on the wall of the communications room. He watched the pings from active missions of the Hammond Special Forces. He watched as Ghost Division squadrons left India, no doubt with their objective complete. He took note of another Jaeger Waffen squadron heading towards Europe, probably to skirmish with Schwarzer Regen again. He sighed as a ping for distress from an Albion Division squadron was answered by a nearby squadron of the same division.

"Sir, we have an incoming transmission from the ISA. Clearance level and source designates it as Inferno's." An officer reported.

The general gritted his teeth. "Answer it, I have a feeling I already know what he wants."

The officer nodded, and patched Gio through.

"Ah, Captain Inferno-"

"What the fuck is with you and sending something to fuck with me?" Gio said, his double use of 'fuck' emphassising his disdain for the general.

"I assure you, I had nothing to do with that." General Hadese said, hoping Gio would buy it.

"Bullshit! You have your hand in every fucking operation in SPECOPCOM. It's why your brain has a fucking mini-supercomputer in it." Gio said, the sound of him slamming his hand on his desk accompanying his statement.

"Inferno, watch your tongue."

"Or what? You'll send the Jaeger Waffen after me? Fat chance, I already know they're too busy screwing around in the Big Three's borders to stir up trouble." Gio snarled. "Don't even try to say you'll pull me from the ISA, they're already kicking me out."

"Why is that?" General Hadese asked, genuinely confused.

"The ISA assumed that Hammond airdropped the units, meaning you violated the ISA airspace rule in the treaty." Gio explained. "So unless there is something you want to tell me, I have reason to believe them."

"All in due time." General Hadese waved off the statement. "Nothing to worry yourself about."

"It's getting me kicked out of the ISA. The hell you mean-"

"Enough, Captain Inferno." General Hadese ordered. "I know the ISA means a lot to you, but we have our own agenda here. If our agenda is leading to you being removed from the ISA, then so be it."

"...Yes sir."

"Glad we could come to an understanding." General Hadese kept a straight face. He had one this battle, but with Inferno, everything was a fight. Him stationed here was a constant war between the General and the talented pilot. "We'll see you when you get back."

Gio answered with a grunt, and the call was dropped.

"Sir?" The officer from before started. "Why is Captain Inferno so adamant about staying at the ISA?"

"A multitude of reasons, of which is classified to all save a few and Inferno himself." The general sighed. "I couldn't even tell you."

ISA

Gio stared down at the computer-briefcase he used to contact SPECOPCOM, silently growling at the fact that they, basically, told him to go fuck himself when it came to the ISA throwing him out.

"'Then so be it', he says." Gio snarled. "Bastard."

He shut the briefcase, and put it back under the drawer. "I have limited time, but I really want to tell her I feel."

"Tell who how you feel?" Laura asked, laying down on Gio's bed.

Gio turned around, and aimed his P2016 at Laura. Laura responded by just raising her hands in faux surrender. "I'm only asking a question, Soldat."

"Laura, mein Gott, don't sneak up on me like that." Gio didn't lower the pistol. "How much did you hear?"

"I already knew you were with SPECOPCOM. I still don't know exactly what the extent of this 'agenda' I heard about." Laura answered. "This person you conversed with seems like an...what do they say? Oh, an asshole. But what do you mean he has a supercomputer in his brain?"

Gio sighed, lowering the pistol. "Exactly as it sounds like. Each commander of a branch, including the Combat Commander and Special Operations Commander, have implants. Enough said."

"Very well. I don't feel like that's safe."

"Oh, it isn't. But no one has died." Gio reassured, waving off the fears. "At least, not to my knowledge."

"That's not very reassuring…"

Gio shrugged. "Doesn't matter. What does matter is that you will tell no one of what you heard and saw here."

"I will not tell anyone." Laura promised.

"Good. Now, what can I do for you here?" Gio started drinking some water.

Laura smiled. "I want to know how you're gonna ask out Kanzashi."

Gio started to choke on water.

"Ah, you have no plan, do you?"

Gio recovered quickly. "You could say that."

Laura smirked. "Perhaps we should work on a strategy to win this?"

"Laura, I appreciate the effort, but this isn't something you just strategize." Gio started. "This isn't a battle, it's a simple question. It just happens to be a very nerve wracking one."

Laura looked at Gio like he was on the brink of insanity. Which, considering what he had done and seen, he might as well have been.

"Look, I'll figure out something, okay?" Gio waved her off. "Could you imagine if we were dating?"

"Hmm…"

"Rhetorical question, Laura." Gio sighed. "Don't get any ideas."

Bus, enroute to beach vacation spot

Gio sat in the back, next to Ichika. The two boys were trying to figure out how to survive the beach trip. Well...how to make sure Ichika would survive the beach trip. Gio had his own plans, like trying to get Kanzashi to go out with him.

"So...what do I do if I become overrun by students?" Ichika asked Gio.

"You'll shout my name, and I will appear with Firestorm and scare them with Hammond's best strategy: brute force." Gio explained.

"Sounds good. You always seem to have your IS ready for a fight." Ichika complimented.

"It's all in the training. I'm full of paranoia and anger." Gio shrugged. "What else is there to it?"

"Uh…"

Gio waved him off. "Relax, we just need to keep you safe. Nothing else matters right now."

Ichika narrowed his eyes. "What about your sudden removal from the ISA?"

Gio winced. "Well...that's a good point. Not important right now, however."

"I feel like it is."

"Overruled." Gio said, dismissively. "End of topic, change subject."

"Okay...where are you staying?"

"Not sure." Gio shrugged. "Probably gonna just sleep on the beach."

"That seems a little extreme." Ichika remarked.

"I've been through worse." Gio said, waving off another statement.

On another portion of the bus, Laura and Charlotte were talking.

"I think Soldat is trying to prove something." Laura assumed.

"What gives you that impression?" Charlotte asked.

"He's resorting to sleep outside, instead of with the ISA group in the building. He's been working on his IS more than usual. And if I remember correctly, he's brought numerous weapons with him. One of them is stolen from the US." Laura explained.

"He stole a weapon from the US?!" Charlotte hissed, not wanting to cause a scene by shouting.

"Relax, it's not a big weapon. He took an M249 from a US soldier." Laura shrugged. "He said it was for Firestorm."

"Meaning he's gonna make an IS size variant of the weapon." Charlotte deadpanned. Some of the students sitting next to her paled. The words 'Gio' and 'Weapon' were dangerous when used in the same sentence.

"Correct." Laura said. "But back onto our topic. Soldat is distracted right now. I fear it may be a combination of being kicked out of the ISA, returning to Hammond, and Sarashiki."

"What's Sarashiki have to do with this?"

Laura pulled out a small notebook. "Soldat is starting to show feelings for Sarashiki, and I'm worried he's becoming distracted from his missions."

"Are you sure you're just worried he's not paying enough attention to you?" Charlotte asked, arching an eyebrow and smirking slightly.

"What could you possibly mean?" The sentence went over her head, as she was looking over her notes.

"I know he means a lot to you." Charlotte began. "I know that 'help me experience a first time' was just a ploy for you to sleep with him."

Laura looked up from her notes, paused, and began to blush a little. "...Perhaps…"

"You're not a good liar, Laura." Charlotte smirked.

"I know…"

Bridge of the HNV Odin, Carrier One of the the 15th Fleet

"Sir, we are approaching the beach resort now." The Surface Warfare Officer in Charge (SWOIC) reported.

"Excellent, move to keep us hidden from the guests there. Remember, we are only to intervene if something happens." Fleet Admiral Jonhuen ordered. "Captain Inferno is already in enough trouble with the ISA as it is."

"Well, us arriving in force could be very convincing." The SWOIC remarked.

"No, bad idea." Admiral Jonhuen said. "We will not be showing up to a beach vacation trip with battleships and anti-IS weaponry. We technically won't be showing up at all. Our job is to get Inferno and get him back to Hammond."

"What if something changes?"

Admiral Jonhuen looked down. "Improvise, adapt, and overcome then."

"Yes sir." The SWOIC turned to look at the ocean again. "Any news on our hunt for her?"

"Jaeger Waffen would usually handle hunting people down, but they've been reassigned to handling the new operation. Ghost Division, with support from Albion Division, have been assigned to hunt her down. We've ransacked maybe hundreds of safehouses by now." Admiral Jonhuen ran his hand through his hair. "She's nowhere to be found."

"Well, guess we keep looking?"

Admiral Jonhuen nodded. "No point in giving up this far in."

"Why do we need her again?" The SWOIC asked.

"That's classified." Admiral Jonhuen answered sternly. "I can't tell you, unfortunately."

"Yes sir."

Admiral Jonhuen nodded. "Good, dismissed."

"Sir?"

"Dismissed, Captain Evert."

The SWOIC nodded, and left. Admiral Jonhuen walked up to the window for the bridge of the ship. "What to do now? What is the Supreme Commander planning?"

Beach House

"I was kidding when I said I'll sleep outside." Gio said, looking down at the tent that was set up for him. Granted, it was close to the beach house.

"Well, we can't just put you anywhere." Chifuyu started. "You technically aren't a student after what your country pulled."

"I know...but could've hurt to buy a bigger tent?"

"We had to make do with the budget we had."

"It was just whatever was in Miss Yamada's wallet, wasn't it?" Gio deadpanned.

"I cannot confirm nor deny that." Chifuyu said with a straight face.

"I knew it." Gio took his suitcases and put them inside the tent. "These cannot get wet."

"What about you?" Ichika asked. "Can't we store those in the beach housing at least?"

"I don't see why not." Chifuyu shrugged. Gio grabbed his suitcases, and walked towards the beach housing.

"Don't you feel a little bad for him?" Miss Yamada asked, coming up behind Chifuyu. She was already in her hoodie and swimsuit. "He's one of two males to go pilot an IS, and he's getting kicked out of the ISA because his country couldn't follow the rules."

"I guess." Chifuyu watched him store his suitcases with Ichika. "He's just an unfortunate casualty."

"How long will he play that role, Chifuyu? How long till he snaps back at those who are hurting him?" Ms. Yamada asked.

"I don't know."

Later…

Gio walked out onto the beach, his gauntlet on his hand. He looked down at the piece of metal, and made a fist. The gauntlet glowed, and Firestorm was summoned into existence. Gio flexed his right hand, looking down at the reinforced palm. He summoned a thermite projectile, and waved his fingers slightly, and it molded into an arrow. Gio narrowed his eyes, dismissing the thermite arrow.

"It's possible." Gio mumbled. He closed his eyes, reaching deep into his mind. He felt the fire surround him as Canto 34 replaced Firestorm. He opened his eyes, and looked down at the claw-like fingers of Canto 34. Gio narrowed his eyes again, and flexed his fingers.

The claws ignited, and Gio smiled. He got into a fighting stance, grabbing no weapons.

/-/

When Chifuyu walked out of the building, she didn't expect to see Gio swiping the open air, the afterimage of fiery claw swipes following his hands. She watched, silently judging his fighting style. Unlike other users who used a certified or officially recognized technique, Gio used street fighting form. Sloppy punches, swipes and scratching, dirty tricks, and generally fighting like the average gang fighter would. While anyone else would be at a disadvantage when fighting like that, Gio flourished. He kept enemies on their toes, his IS's weight a threat to anyone trying to fight him in CQC. His punches, which would be weak from a normal IS, could hurt the pilot of an IS. Absolute Defense never really could keep up with the pain of gravity and physics of a punch.

She noticed something odd with Gio this time. He seemed to be pushing himself this time. For what, she didn't know. He suddenly boosted backwards, and summoned a bit of thermite. Chifuyu thought nothing of it until he fashioned into a spear and threw the damn thing. It impacted the ground, and exploded.

Chifuyu was suddenly afraid of what Gio could do with that kind of technique.

The spear flew through the air, piercing an IS and pilot, and exploded inside the pilot's body…

She narrowed her eyes. If he was experimenting with tactics and techniques this brutal, then something was up. But what, she didn't know. She continued to watch as the sun set, ignoring the blue haired figure walking towards the behemoth of an IS pilot.

/-/

Gio knew Chifuyu was watching him. He didn't care, nor did he care for that look on her face when she watched him use the spear. Gio already knew she was thinking about what he was going to do with this newfound power. Unbeknownst to her, he had been thinking about this idea for a while now. He had theorized, hypothesized, and experimented using computer models. Of course, this was the first time it actually worked.

"Gio." Gio turned around to see Kanzashi had done what Chifuyu couldn't. "What was that?"

"It's…" Gio suddenly stopped. Should he tell her? He had yet to tell the reason for this development. His backup plan for...him. "I…"

"Gio, are you making yourself a one-off weapon?" Kanzashi asked. "Is that it?"

"I…" Gio's right arm pieces fell off as Canto 34 began falling apart. "What do you want to know?"

"Are you making that to counter Ichika's IS?" Kanzashi asked. "Are you planning something?"

Gio could see where she was coming from. He had just been thrown out of the ISA, and it wouldn't be hard for one to leap from angry to downright murderous. "Kanzashi...it's not to kill anybody...I swear." Canto 34 finished falling apart, pieces dispersing into light blue particles. "It's...I have a bad feeling about this trip." Gio explained. "I need to be ready for anything."
"So it is to kill something?" Kanzashi narrowed her eyes.

'Shit.' Gio thought in his mind. "You are correct."
"Gio." Kanzashi said, closing her eyes. "I'm going to ask a question then. You will answer honestly, okay?"

"Okay."

"Are you…" She bit her lip, like she didn't want to ask the question. "Are you going to use it against the ISA?"

"No." Gio said, his voice stable and true.

Kanzashi stayed silent, as if she was deciding whether he was telling the truth or not. She walked up to him, standing right in front of him.

"Gio…" She said. "What are you planning?"

Gio looked down at the blue-haired girl, his gauntlet beginning to glow again. "I can't-"

"Gio, I don't want another mall battle on the beach."

"I know...but this is…" Gio's gauntlet glowed. He brought it up. "Huh?"

"What?" Kanzashi asked, looking at the glowing piece of metal. "What is it?"

Gio closed his eyes. "Listen closely."

Kanzashi did, and she could hear something...falling?

She looked up as Gio backed away, Firestorm coming into real-space. She thought they were comets. Until she saw the spikes on the bottom of the 'comets'. "Are those-"

"Incoming Hammond forces, alert the others." Gio said, his eyes looking like fire as they reflected the setting sun. "Get ready for a night fight." He suddenly went stiff, Kanzashi mimicking him.

Hammond SPECOPCOM

"We've launched drones to attack the ISA. Spectres and Titans are moving to attack the students." An officer reported.

"They know their mission?" General Hadese asked, pulling out his lighter to light the cigar in his mouth.

"They are to capture Pilot Orimura." The officer responded. "Sir, one of the fleets is near the beach resort...should we be worried?"

"They were to pick up Pilot Inferno, but if they become problematic we will dispatch some of our...more experienced units to deal with them." General Hadese assured. "Make sure Orimura is captured, this is not up to debate."

"Yes sir."

"And the force attacking the ISA campus, what of them?"

"We have two Ghost squadrons currently on their way to deal with them at this very moment." The officer smiled slyly. "And what of the Viper Squadron?"

"That's for our guest that will surely come out of hiding to save her."

ISA

The sound of engines roaring over the campus awoke the students who were still there. Some looked out their windows, others went outside. They were greeted with a flyby of IS mechs over their heads. They were so low the windows rattled all over campus. Students thought it was just some delinquent pilots, until four of them landed in front of the campus gates, where tourists had been getting ready for campus tours.

The tourists thought they were a greeting party, until they saw the models were gunmetal black, and bearing a white Hammond insignia on the left part of their chest pieces. The tourists realized this was no greeting party. These were Malware model IS Hybrids, and they were holding XO-16 Chainguns at the ready position.

"Good morning, random citizens." The lead pilot said, smiling predatorily. "Who wants to become a statistic?"

At that moment, streaks of fire rained from the sky as Titans fell from the atmosphere, landing in and around the campus.

Hammond had made a daring move, and if all went to plan…it would start a world war.

ISA Resort

"We got incoming IS signatures, they match Viper Squadron signatures." An operator reported. "Three squadrons, possible Kaiser signatures as well."

"Kaisers? Why would Kaisers attack first year ISA stud-" Chifuyu suddenly went silent.

"Ma'am?"

"They're here for Ichika." Chifuyu mumbled in shock. "They're gonna take Ichika!" She shouted to the crew. "Alert the ISA!"

"Ma'am, the ISA isn't responding!" Someone shouted.

"Turn on the news!" Another shouted back.

Chifuyu went and turned on the small TV in the room, the static clearing as it acquired a signal. "And we are coming to you live from our studio in Tokyo, with breaking news!"

"What's going on?" Someone asked.

"Good evening everyone, we are going to get straight to it. Currently, the ISA is under attack. We have footage coming to you live from our newscrews on the ground."

The screen changed to one of chaos. The cameraman was obviously hiding behind a wall, but was able to get video of everything. The ISA was on fire in multiple places, sporadic AA would come up from the ground as defense systems tried to do something against the attacking forces. The sounds of chainguns and IS CQC was heard, the occasional stray rocket flying into the air.

"Oh my god…" The radio operator mumbled.

"It's a two pronged attack." Chifuyu scowled. "They planned this. They're gonna take Ichika and whatever is at the ISA and get the hell out of dodge."

"Can we stop them?" Ms. Yamada asked.

"Not likely, these units are most likely SPECOPCOM's units." Chifuyu pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're gonna need to contact the JSDF if we want a chance to get out of here."

"Ma'am, enemy units are five minutes out!" The radar operator shouted.

"Prepare whatever IS units we have, and get ready for intense and elongated combat!" Chifuyu shouted. "We'll hold them here, and we'll make sure they have to fight for every inch of this place!"

"Yes ma'am!" The crew shouted.

Beach House

"What's going on?" Houki asked as she and Ichika were running towards the beach.

"I got a text from Charlotte. She said Laura left their room in a hurry, her IS dormant form with her." Ichika explained. "Charlotte thinks Laura's gonna do something rash."

They turned a corner, and were met with the sight of a night sky full of fire. Streaks fell around the beach, throwing up sand in a giant dust cloud. Other streaks fell into the shallow beach water. Ichika's eyes widened as Spectres walked out of the dust clouds and water.

He looked away as Gio and Kanzashi landed next to the two, already clad in their ISs. Gio looked down at the two, his face neutral. "I understand now."

"W-what?" Ichika stuttered.

Gio's face suddenly changed, he now smiled predatorily. "I understand everything now." He turned to Houki, his smile not leaving his face. "It's so simple."

"What are you saying?" Houki asked, backing away from the pilot.

"They're not here for Ichika and I at all, or at least...not truly." Gio said, Kanzashi behind suddenly mimicking his face.

"K-K-Kanzashi?" Ichika stuttered, looking at the blue-haired girl.

"Of course, what a grand plan…" She muttered.

Gio pulled out his sword. "We have our orders."

Kanzashi pulled out her XO-16. "Yes...we do."

Ichika and Houki turned around, running almost straight into Laura's IS. "Laura!" Ichika shouted.

"Sorry Ichika." Laura said, looking down at the two. Her one eye suddenly glowed red as rockets started to fly into the sky towards the Beach House. The duo turned around, only to see Gio and Kanzashi's eyes were the same, the smiles gone.

"By the order of the Supreme Commander of the Hammond Republic, Ichika Orimura and Houki Shinonono, you are to come with us. Don't make this harder than it needs to be." Gio stated, his sword igniting into flame.