A/N: Surprise an Authors Note before the start! I don't normally do this as I would prefer the reader enjoy the chapter first before I go through and explain some vague points that may hold answers without ruining possible explanations later in the story, although admittedly that's a difficult thing to achieve in and of itself. I would like to address a recent review. Its nothing bad and I will not be tearing this person down, In fact, I find their insight to be helpful and thank them for it
To FProffitt: Thank you for the insight into the psychological response he would have. I am happy to know I have made an error and will be working to correct it in future chapters (Hopefully without ruining the plot points for each chapter). I would like to ask a few questions though to see what the proper response would be in certain scenarios. From what experience I have gained I am fairly certain, I myself if I were in his situation, having had the life experience I do, I would have avoided any possible evidence that everything I knew was gone when presented an out in order to stave off any possible break down in order to prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation with the truth and its subsequent effect on my psyche. I cannot say this decision would be everyone's choice, however, taking a look at the canon Harry's personality I feel his response in this past few chapters weren't in error. I feel like my characters misdiagnosed the cause of his avoidance of Hogwarts. Harry is portrayed as a very selfless individual, therefore being given responsibility and basically full control (Though that probably hasn't sunk in yet) of this empire would cause him to brush with his saving people thing and make him respond in a way that subverts his own wishes (aka going to Hogwarts or searching for his people) and instead helping as much as he can until the desire to find out the truth becomes too much and he rushes off with no warning to find the truth. I didn't make him a completely OCC character because I want to show the depth of evolution in his character, I want to show him changing form the Harry we know into the one he will become. That cant happen so long as he changes overnight into some selfish headstrong warrior. Don't get me wrong in most cases you are likely correct however humans are strange in that not every single one reacts that same or does the same thing in similar circumstances. His reaction could be the deviation if you will. However, I feel his response in that capacity could be valid later on as more questions are raised and his desire for answers grows. Besides, the kid came out of cryosleep after several hundred years, got control of a space empire and found out he's been displaced through time at sixteen. There is no way he's going to react in that way 100% of the time, it is just not reasonable. besides with all the conflicting information the neural link linking him to literally hundreds of years of thoughts and information it is entirely possible his attention has been strained on more "important" (Read as noticeable) issues, things that are happening in the moment, not the past. Things that desire immediate attention and he needs to look at it. but still thank you all the same for the info, it has given me much to think on especially on how to write future crossovers or stories that have this type of situation.
I am curious as to what you think as you have helped me improve my writing. Anyways on with the story I suppose.
Chapter Seven: Fog Of War
Harry's POV
He shifted in his seat as the hard metal dug into his back slightly. "Are you sure we have to wear these mask's before entering the atmosphere?" He asked Taro getting a small snort in response. "Hey better to have the gear on your face and sealed than to fumble around trying to get it in place at the last second." Taro said simply shrugging as he did so. "Still I thought this was Exo-Suit training, not breather equipment training." He said getting a small nod of the head from his battle buddy. "Exo-Suits are generally supplied to special operations division's and to onboard defense forces for the Navy, regular grunts get the breather equipment and combat armor." Cortex explained sitting across from him. "Really? Isn't the industry strong enough to support the necessary amount of suits for each member?" He asked getting a small snort. "Sure it can, however, if you're in an android body why would you even need it, you don't have organic components to worry about, only Synth bodied people need them." Emmy called leaning back face completely uncovered. "Right, forgot about that." He mumbled getting a small snort from his left.
"Hey give me a break! It's still only been a few weeks for me." He said getting a small sigh. "Shouldn't you have somewhat adjusted by now? This is life now." Taro said making him sigh and nod. "Yeah maybe." He said rubbing a hand over the polarized glass covering his face. "Eh you'll get there, hopefully it wont hit you like a truck though." Taro said checking over the combat armor. "So anyone have any reason why Synthetic Bodies were even made?" He asked getting dead silence through the entire transport. "Why ask that now?" Emmy asked making him cough lightly. "Well we've been stuck on this transport for the past hour, and we were talking about the need of breathing equipment for synthetic's or organics. So..." He said trailing off at the end. "It was a planned initiative by the government, The last-ditch effort to possibly bring back the Human Race. The hope was that we'd find a large group of cryogenically frozen colonists in one of the early colonization projects. The only success was you sir." Emmy explained slowly shifting in her seat slightly. "I understand that a small bit, I mean that was somewhat explained to me on the first day out of Cryo, but why was it implemented before anyone was found?" He asked getting another length of silence.
"We aren't exactly connected to the network here in Basic, so while you would have access to the files involved in the decision and maybe we could look something up we can only guess. The program was suggested after a large cache of genetic material was found in some of the medical centers after the realization period." Cortex explained. He stared at the man with a blank look covering his face. "They found Semen and Eggs?" He asked bluntly getting a small chuckle and nod from the guy. "You don't have to be so gentle with the words I'm not that oblivious." He said having remembered the rush of information about reproduction his neural uplink offered after a stray thought of what having a kid entails in the middle of the night s few days before basic. "Right, the program initially was supported with the idea that Synthetic Bodies would act as carriers for the planned to be fertilized eggs, a small issue was brought up when two things became apparent." Taro explained making him look over in curiosity. "We didn't know how to raise a child from birth in a way that would make them mentally healthy, and their were some concerns about basically raising a puppet to rule at the behest of the current government at the time, free will and all that was a concern to the general populous when it came to that possibility." Taro explained slowly mumbling to the end.
"The second reason?" He asked getting a small cough from his right. "The sperm was sterile." Mitch said his gruff voice carrying through the transport. "Isn't that a bit convenient?" He asked getting a small roll of the eyes. "Maybe, What wasn't understood was applicable storage, at the time a sealed storage method that perfectly preserves sperm wasn't around and humanity died off before one could be created. It's why annual donations became a necessity. The sperm was way past its stored expiration date." Taro explained making him slightly uncomfortable with the topic. 'When I decided to ask these questions, I really didn't expect this type of conversation.' He thought shifting in his seat. "Yep, so your balls are literally the most important thing in the galaxy to this empire." Cortex said with a laugh getting almost the entire ship to erupt into laughter. He felt heat flush his face at the comment and chuckled awkwardly at the statement feeling an almost instinctual need to cover them for safety reasons.
"Well If your intention was to make everyone relax sir, it certainly worked." Mitch grunted out a small smirk covering his face. "Relax, right." He said trying to ignore the thoughts flooding his mind. "Alright, Lock it up! We will be landing in Five Mikes, Go through final prep and rally at Camp Omega, you'll find it marked on your HUD." The Drill Sergeant yelled back through the front door to the transport. He ran his hands over his gear letting his ungloved hands run over the seals and clasps to check their hold. He felt relief for a minute as everything was done and pulled the form-fitting combat gloves over his hands. "Your week training here will be broken up into three parts, basic survival training and field eating for Non-Earth worlds, Hand to hand Combat training in your environment gear, and lastly Emergency field Aid for Synthetic and Organic's." The Drill Instructor explained looking over a clipboard.
He stared at the man's Campaign hat that somehow seemed to never be parted from the guy even on a world where it might be necessary to wear the right gear in place of it. The sound of the buzzer going off made everyone rush to the open ramp and clear the area of the ship. "Alright! Quick march! We got a few miles till we reach home for the next week." The Drill Sergeant said making everyone form up and start moving fast. The weight wasn't as noticeable as the last world and he frowned as that realization came to him. "You noticed it's a little lighter here?" He whispered to Taro getting a small chuckle under the guys' breath. "The worlds Gravitational pull is lower than Earth's, it's not like being on the moon but our packs and weapons aren't as heavy." Taro explained clamping his mouth shut as the Drill Sergeants eyes coasted over them. The familiar feeling of the weapon in his hand and the movement over the slightly uneven terrain was rhythmic to him and he settled into a steady pace, one he had slowly built into form during training.
He glanced from left to right keeping his head facing forwards as he took in the surrounding landscape. It was easy to pick out the possible ambush points but the general idea was that this planet was barren and dead, at least for any oxygen breathing race. "So what kept us from simply terraforming the planet, it's large enough to work as a good agricultural or industry world." He said simply getting a small snort from in front of him. "It was debated, or at least that's the assumption, but odds are the military marked this world as a training facility the moment they saw it." Cortex sighed out shaking his head slightly. "So the typical bullshit then?" Taro asked getting a small muffled laugh from behind. He could see the guys soft grin and rolled his eyes at the man's attempt to look good in front of the female recruits. He shook off the questions and let himself fall back into the run hoping deeply that time would fly by faster than it normally did, although he didn't really hold his breath.
Smith's POV
He stared silently at the wall of specialized monitors. The soft blue glow of the Holographic floor by floor sensor display radiating from behind him thankfully not throwing a glare. "What's the status of the new improvements made by the Commander?" He asked getting a small squeak as a chair shifted in place. "The recent overhaul in sensor units and surveillance packages came through by both Naval and Army Intelligence, Military Intelligence should be by tomorrow for their own package, Naval R&D have installed the Shrieker Attack Package in the Hanger and lastly two of the hidden weapons cache's are stocked." A man droned from in front of the control surface of a nearby security terminal. "Whats the hold up on the rest of the cache's?" He asked getting a slight pause for a moment. "Weapon acquisition is difficult to push through without someone in the logistic's oversight taking a look at the missing inventory. It'd be easy enough to put a Section 8 Seal on it and push back the inquire's but we've been instructed to avoid that possibility." The same voice responded making him frown softly.
"Right, the seal would blow what we are trying to do into the open on the public boards, especially since it's possible the information would spread word of mouth if not legally onto the network." He said waiting in the dead silence as his eyes passed over all the screens. "All emergency defense systems are connected to a backup system correct?" He asked getting a response in the affirmative. "What are their switchover times in case of power failure?" He asked hearing the slight beeps of the contacts to the holographic controls. "We set up a few redundency's, the first generator can hold continues usage for a few days and takes four seconds to connect to the system secondary is half the lasting time and takes eight seconds to connect." The man answered making his frown deepen. "Any, way to reduce the time?" He asked getting a small grunt. "Unless a small generator system were directly wired next to each system in question then no, their current positions are the only locations we can safely place them without their location being compromised to nearly everyone in this building and subsequently the city." The man said getting him to sigh.
He looked over the direct link to each intelligence agency and the all clear signal softly blinking. It did ease many of his concerns about the possibility of the proper warning to the Guard division in the city. He heard the door to the security room open quietly and thumbed the Pistol in his jacket. "Sir! I was told to report here." A voice called from the door. He turned slowly seeing a shorter woman at the door glancing over the room nervousness hidden in her eyes. "New member to Section 8?" He asked simply getting a hesitant nod. "Get in and I'll give you the breakdown." He grunted making the girl move quickly and the door to seal itself. "We've started to beef up security on the behest of the Commander as well as concerns over his protection, of course, if he were to know the full extent we've gone too its possible he would be fairly annoyed with us all." He commented offhand getting the girl to snap her eyes back to him. He glanced at her through his glasses without moving an inch and saw her nod slowly before looking back at the wall. "One thing to understand, I am the Security leader for Section 8, this section is devoted to the protection and subsequent wellbeing of the head of state." He said listing what was no doubt in the main field manual.
"Your new job will be a personal attachment to the Commander when he is performing his civilian duties and, if the need is there, in his military duties." He said seeing her turn to him fully in surprise. "Sir, A personal guard, aren't I a little new for that?" She asked getting him to stare. "We are shorthanded as it is, Section 8 has a high criterion for those who serve in this division, we need a personal guard, and most of those already assigned are placed in the optimal area's as it stands." He said simply getting her to tense up with each word. "I will be expecting the best of you in your movements." He stated getting the nod from the girl and he felt satisfied when it was resolute. He watched as the girl left for the armory to retrieve her duty weapon. "You know the Commander is going to kill you if he finds out you set up an attractive female as his guard." Miyumi called from behind making him turn and stare steadily at the woman. "I have no idea what you are talking about, the governments concern of the resurgence of the human population is not a concern of mine." He said getting silence before a soft held back laugh rang out.
"Right like you aren't invested in his probable love life, It has been agreed slightly to ease him into it, however, this seems like a blatant move." Miyumi stated making him stare at her over the sunglasses. "Ok Kira was certainly not subtle but it's probably a more simple way than this." Miyumi said making him raise an eyebrow. "I will maintain my statement of having no idea what you are talking about." He said getting a small sigh. "Fine, How's the situation here, if possible I'd like to give a short burst data package to the Commander to let him know everything he wanted to be done is getting done, might help ease his mind." Miyumi stated making the frown reappear on his face. "It would probably be best to wait, Basic Training can take a lot of attention and even good news can be a distraction." He said getting a small nod. "Fine." Miyumi said before leaving the room and he returned to his wall. 'However, certain pieces of information can help goad him into working harder.' He thought with an almost invisible smirk.
Harry's POV
His back tensed as a slight chill fell over him for a moment and he glanced around carefully at the nearby surroundings. He could place his finger on it but something tripped his danger senses or maybe they were the annoyance sensors. He relaxed slowly as the nearby area seemed clear and got back to his regular work, that being set up the sealed barracks for everyone. It was a team job so the entire division was working together to get the building set up as soon as possible and seal it, a few were left to run perimeter. "A few more pieces and the building should be set up and ready for sealing." Mitch exclaimed in relief and made him snort at the comment. "Saying something like that just invites something to go wrong." He said getting stared at for a moment. "What?" He asked only to get a small chuckle as a return before Taro slid up near him.
"Well, don't you think that pointing that out is more likely to cause something to happen?" Taro asked making him frown and groan slightly as he realized what he did. "Great just what we needed, Murphy coming to kick our asses for getting a little too relaxed with the situation we are in." He said getting loud laughs from everyone nearby and just turned to grab the next portion. He heard a beep and looked down at the readout only to sigh and throw his hands up. "Well there it is, I've got another twenty minutes before the half hour reserve tank kicks in." He said getting a small wince from the two. "Well we should be done, just hold out for the moment and we will get your canisters back in the pressurizer." Taro said as the barrack's hissed slightly to show it was sealed up. "Isn't that a bit soon?" He asked only to get a shrug. "Eh don't worry too much about that or question it, it's good luck on our side so it isn't anything you really want to question is it?" Taro asked making him sigh and nod along with the comment.
'Every single day its something new. I don't think he realizes I'm so used to shit falling downhill that I am paranoid for that reason.' He thought rolling it eyes before following the guy in and sighing as the scanner read the air as breathable. He reached for his mask only to feel a hand clamp around his wrist. "Wait, sometimes the scanner is wrong, it's better to use the backup first to confirm the readout." Mitch said before slowly letting go of his wrist only to pull out a handheld scanner and reading it over. He waited in silence as the scanner took its time only to sigh in relief as the guy gave the thumbs up. He pulled the sealed mask off his face and breathed deeply for a moment before waiting and nodding as nothing happened. "Alright, where's the station for the tanks?" He asked getting a hand pointed just over his shoulder near the door. He slipped over to it and set the tanks inside the casing and waited as the readout started to slowly rise up on the gauges.
"So the Drill Sergeant said we are free for the rest of the day to settle in, but tomorrow is hand to hand, in our gear." Taro said falling back onto a bunk letting his legs hang over the edge. "Yeah that's true, but we should pick up on our PT, or at least the Synthetic's and Harry should." Mitch said making him raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, actually I am curious about that why do they need to?" He asked getting a small laugh in return from the two. "Synthetics are mostly machine at least in bone structure and certain organs so that they can have 'Immortal' live so to speak, but muscles are organic and still need constant training and upkeep like any real organic to be functioning at top efficiency, it's why PT is still necessary, to make sure any synthetic that joins can achieve the same physical standards as androids or at least close to it." Mitch explained making him nod slowly before laying back and relaxing in the bunk.
"I mean it was explained a bit, but I wasn't exactly well versed in what anything means, I got the gist of it but the more complex parts just lost me." He said getting a small chuckle and he frowned. 'It's almost better if I don't ask, at least then I won't look to ignorant, besides once this is over I should have some time to satisfy my curiosity before Naval Boot Camp.' He thought and grunted as he was nearly pushed off the bed by Emmy. "Budge over, I'm bored and I figured our oh so illustrious Commander could do something to help." Emmy said making him groan in response seeing the glint in her eye. He could figure she didn't hate him or anything but found enjoyment in annoying him a bit, that or making him frustrated beyond belief was something amusing to her. He watched her face morph into a look of pure entertainment and mirth. "Come on Emmy I just want to relax while we can." he said getting sarcastic at the end and getting a small laugh. "Fine, I guess I can let you off this once, but not next time." Emmy said grinning at the end.
"I'll never understand women." He mumbled getting a small snort from Cortex. "Are you supposed to?" He asked almost seeming serious due to his tone but the amused look on his face pushed that possibility away. He rolled his eyes at the guy and flipped him the bird only to get a laugh. It was nice to be around people who weren't intimidated and to be just another part of the group
A/N: To any author using grammerly to assist in making sure your work is well written, it has this annoying habit of marking the end of quoted sentences as incorrect and wants to replace the period with a comma. That would be the case if the writing style for speech paters were writen in a different way. However, the way I write ends up with it saying I have around 40-80 mistakes by the end that I have to carefully comb through to fing the true mistakes. Other than that, Another update should come soon, I've resorted to simply writing on the site instead of a wordpage first since this site will actually tell me how many words or characters were written after a save, which is a nice feature to abuse to get to the amount of words you want before posting.