Chapter 16; Recovery and Retribution
Destructing her IS, Maylin dropped to the ground before remembering the injuries she had sustained. Looking down, she brought her hands up to where she had been stabbed. The fabric of her suit was still ripped from the blade, but she only felt unbroken skin underneath. I'm okay she thought in amazement. She remembered the pain from the blow, but the damage was completely gone. How?
Let's just say that I made some creative upgrades to my platform 134 said, sounding proud of himself.
Any further wondering over this was interrupted when Karen appeared in front of her and crushed her in a hug. "Oh my God, Maylin! Are you okay?" she said, stepping back and bending down to examine the tear in her suit. When she realized that all of her friends had surrounded her, Maylin started to feel self-conscious and could tell her cheeks were warming up a bit. "I'm fine," she said, stepping back and patting Karen's shoulder. "Like hell you are," Erin said, looking serious, "I watched that thing stab you. I saw the blood. How are you still alive?" "Erin!" Karen exclaimed, rounding on him. "What? We're all thinking it," he said, glancing at her.
"It's alright, Karen," Maylin said, trying to ease the tension, "To be honest, I don't know how I was healed. Or how I got that new IS." "Are we really complaining about this?" Ludzik asked, walking up and glaring at all of them, "She's still alive, and she kicked that things ass better than all of us combined." Turning to Maylin, his looked hardened for a second before he took three quick steps forward and wrapped her in an awkward hug. "I'm glad you're okay," he mumbled, his tough-guy façade falling away for the briefest moment. For a moment, she was too stunned to say anything. But then she smiled and returned the hug, replying, "Me, too."
Ludzik's completely out-of-character actions shattered the tension the others had been feeling, and Erin was the first to show it. Dropping to his knees, he leaned back and heaved an enormous sigh of relief. It quickly turned into a yawn, and for whatever reason Karen found that incredibly funny. Joshka did, too, and they laughed away as Erin looked at them in confusion. Stepping away from Maylin, Ludzik brought his mask of indifference back out as he looked at the three of them like they were fools. But Maylin saw through it, saw through them all. They were all relieved that they had come through that relatively unscathed. They were all still alive, and that was something to celebrate, if only for a little while.
After they had a moment to bask in relief, they went to work gathering the wounded for treatment and trying to make some sense of the wreck that had been the base. The Harpies hadn't held anything back, and they had struck with brutal efficiency. The first buildings to be destroyed had been the IS repair bay and two of the hangers. The barracks had been the next target, and then they had split into smaller groups as the defenders started to fight back. Their lack of shields had been a blessing, allowing the IISA members the ability to actually destroy a few of the machines. But the overall difference in firepower had been almost overwhelming, and they had lost three people for every machine they shot down.
That is, until Tatenashi came bursting out of the command building. She had been death incarnate, her modified Mysterious Lady cutting a path through the Harpies and leaving bits and pieces in her wake. She had lost her bubbly, flirty attitude thirty seconds into the attack. After the word of the first casualties, she had become the fighter that only her sister and her second-in-command knew; cold, calculating and precise. Kanzashi had, meanwhile, taken a stand to protect the research division. She had sent out several waves of missiles to deter any up-close attacks, and had been able to hold them off rather well for the duration. At the end of the day, as the sun began to set, Tatenashi collapsed in her office chair and heaved a bone-rattling sigh. The final figures had come in, and while they weren't as bad as they could have been, they still left her feeling frustrated and defeated. 23 dead, 35 injured; not to mention the facilities they had lost and the equipment that had been destroyed. If their goal was to cripple our response time she thought as she glanced out the window at the remains of her headquarters, they sure as hell succeeded.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Madoka tried her best not to fidget in frustration. Thanks to Tabane's treatments, she had been able to recover faster than even she thought possible. Now she was trying to sit still while a doctor examined her. He seemed incredibly skeptical about her recovery, almost like he expected her to break at any moment. While Madoka resented the thought, she had to admit to being a little scared about all of this. She could still remember the pain from her injuries, and the fact that she felt none of it now was still a little off-putting. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she tried to focus on what was important; her friends were out there getting stronger to fight these things, and she needed to meet up with them again.
As the doctor finished his examination, he walked over to the table and wrote something down on the clipboard. "Can I go now?" Madoka asked, her patience finally starting to wear thin. "Well, in spite of my skepticism, you seem to have made a full recovery," he replied, heaving a sigh as he looked at her, "My professional recommendation is that you take it easy for the next few days. But, yes, you can go." She tried not to act too excited, but there was no denying the bounce in her step as she got up and walked over to a locker. After the doctor had left, she changed into an outfit her parents had brought over before leaving the room that had almost become like a prison. After signing out at the desk, she immediately hailed a taxi and went to Tabane's temporary lab. She would need help to improve her IS, because she had had enough of sitting on the sidelines.
Time passed, and for two days Maylin and her friends knew some peace. They worked hard to help repair the IISA base, they trained, and eventually they were transferred to a new commander. "Wait, I thought that Kanzashi was the one in charge of us?" Erin asked, confused. They had been called into one of the undamaged hangers after having their other duties cancelled for the day. "Normally, you would be," she replied, leaning back on one of the tables as she looked at them, "But after the damage we took, I need her focused on replacing the equipment we lost. But don't worry, the commander I have in mind is someone I trust." As if on que, another woman walked into the room and stood next to Tatenashi, her arms crossed and the look on her face not unlike what Ludzik used to have. She wore the same kind of uniform as everyone else, except she had decided to go with rather baggy pants. She also had long, silver hair and an eyepatch, which made her look all the more intimidating.
Maylin instantly recognized her as Laura Bodewig from the class photo her parents kept, and she felt incredibly nervous about having to answer to someone like her. If half of the stories about her were true, then they were being handed over to someone who was a far cry from normal. "This is the captain for the IISA's main combat squad," Tatenashi explained, watching their reactions to what she was saying, "Her team is currently being rebuilt, so for now I'm giving her you five. Treat her with the respect she deserves, and everything will be fine." Turning to the other woman, she continued, "Laura, they may have chased off that nightmare of a machine, but they're still kids. Try to go easy on them."
Laura just huffed in reply, her one eye going from one of them to the next as she scrutinized every little detail. Apparently pleased with that answer, Tatenashi left them to get acquainted while she returned to her duties. The six of them stood in an awkward silence for a while after that. The kids weren't quite sure how they should break the ice with someone like Laura, while she was still sizing them up. In truth, she wished that she still had her old team; they had been women she had trained personally, and she trusted each of them with her life. But these kids… Even after reading all of the material they had on them, Laura wasn't so sure about them. Sure, they were all talented pilots, and they had a real knack for working together that just came naturally.
"So, which one of you is the leader of this little group?" she asked finally, her eye immediately going to Maylin. If she was half of the person that her parents were, than Laura knew that she would have some real potential. She was still surprised when everyone else turned their eyes to the girl, while she looked at them in shock. "No, no way," she said, raising her hands and taking a step back, "I'm no leader. I can't be." "And yet they look to you," Laura noted, walking forward to face her, "They clearly trust you enough to follow your lead, even the boy with a sour face." Ludzik remained silent at that comment, since he couldn't really argue with her. "So, from this moment forward you're my second," Laura stated, "Now then, I want to see what my new team is capable of. Everyone get changed and meet at the training field in 15 minutes." "But I thought we were excused for the day," Erin said, deciding to speak up. "You were excused from your daily duties," Laura clarified, "You're not excused from my orders. Also, Maylin, tell your AI to meet me at the grounds. I have a request for him."
And with that, she turned and left them to look among each other in slight confusion. All except for Ludzik, who stepped forward full of his usual confidence. "Well, if she wants to see what we can do, I say we give her one hell of a show," he said, projecting his usual confidence as he followed Laura out. That was enough to shake them from their indecision, although Maylin still had reserves about what had just happened. I'm the leader? There's no way she thought as she walked towards the locker rooms, there has to be someone better suited for this.
For crying out loud, girl! 134 exclaimed, causing Maylin to jump, I thought we fixed this. And yet here you are doubting yourself and everyone else, again!
Well, it's a bit much for one girl, don't you think Maylin replied, trying not to let everyone else know that their 'leader' was really uneasy about all of this, especially since I have to report to Laura Bodewig; not to mention meeting her expectations.
She can't be that bad 134 shot back, sounding unconvinced.
As they got ready, 134 appeared on a holo pad next to Laura in one of the observation booths with his usual look of indifference. "You needed me for something?" he asked, crossing his arms. "I've looked over the training systems you put everyone through," she said without looking at the pad, "It's not bad, considering how little experience they actually have." Even though he wouldn't admit it, 134 actually took some pride in how well those kids had risen to the challenge of his training. "Now it's time to take it to the next level," Laura continued as she typed in a series of commands. Looking over the new parameters, he had to take an extra few cycles to actually verify that she had set them. "Are you serious?" he asked, turning to her, "I don't think I can carry this out."
"I think they can handle it," she told him as she watched the kids enter the field, "Execute the commands." "You realize this could very well end in a trip to the infirmary for all of them, right?" 134 asked, just to be clear about her intentions. "They need a real lesson in combat," Laura said, finally turning to look at his projection, "It's far better to do that under controlled combat than a real battle. Now, execute the program." Heaving a sigh, 134 complied, although he had a very bad feeling about where this would head. Out on the field, the 5 pilots had already summoned their IS in preparation for whatever Laura would throw at them. "We can do this, right?" Karen asked as she shifted nervously. "Well, you might fall short, but I'm going to blow away whatever test that woman has in mind," Ludzik replied. Erin and Maylin just glanced at each other and shared a sigh as the various ports for training bots and targets opened.
Back at the hospital, Simon woke up to a rather stiff neck. He had fallen asleep next to Cecilia's bed the other night, and a part of him couldn't help but admire the irony in that. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat up before feeling something on his hand. Looking down, he saw that her left hand had moved to grip his right hand in the night. Standing up and gripping her hand, he leaned over her bed and brought his other hand up to her cheek. "Cecilia…?" he whispered, hoping that this wasn't a dream. After a few moments, however, she stirred and brought her other hand up to the one he had on her face. A few long minutes after that, her eyes cracked open.
It took her a while, and a lot of blinking, to get used to the light in the room before she could focus properly. But then she turned her head to look at him, and she cracked a weak smile. "Si…," she croaked, her throat unbelievably dry, "…Simon?" He quickly helped her to sit up before grabbing a cup and pouring her some water. The taste of water was pure bliss, and she savored it before looking back at her husband. "Thank you," she said, smiling stronger this time. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he sat back down and took her hand. He couldn't describe how good it felt to have her back, but there was another part dreading what one of her questions was undoubtedly going to be. Glancing around the room, she seemed to notice as she asked, "Where's Maylin?" Yeah, this one's going to be fun to explain he thought as he took a breath.
The next day came around, and through all that time Laura had been putting Maylin and her friends through hell. That wasn't just a metaphor; at one point several of the offensive drones were equipped with flame-throwers, and they made liberal use of them on the five teens. Through it all, 134 watched from the various cameras with a growing sense of unease. He had been tough on them before, it was true, but what this woman was doing bordered on cruel. She wasn't pushing them to their limits; she was trying to break them. Finally, after their fifth attempt ended in yet another failure, Laura said, "Again," without batting an eye. That was when 134 discovered his own limit. "No," he replied, dismissing the drones.
"Was I unclear?" Laura asked, turning to the hologram, "I said do it again." Glancing at her, he didn't even bother repeating himself as his hologram disappeared. Down on the field, he reappeared in Maylin's HUD. "Training's ending early today," he told her, using the IS' audio to make sure the others heard him, "Go take a break." "I thought I gave you an order," Laura said, startling them all. They hadn't realized she had come out onto the field, and she did not look pleased. Projecting himself at full size between her and the kids, he crossed his arms and glared at her. The others may not have been able to tell, but Maylin could see it; this wasn't his usual stand-offish attitude, this was genuine anger. She could feel it through her link to him, and it was actually a little scary.
"You did," he replied, "But I don't take orders from you. And even if I did, I refuse to help you take your frustrations out on these kids." "Is that what you think I'm doing?" "Why else would you be subjecting them to this torture?" he shot back, his gaze never breaking from hers, "I was willing to endure it the first day, thinking that there was some hidden meaning I just wasn't grasping. But after today, I know that you're just doing this because you can." "I'm doing this because I have to!" Laura shouted, startling them all, even 134. Her quiet demeanor was gone, and in its place was someone that nearly trembled with rage. "I'm doing this because these children don't know the first thing about real combat!" she continued, clenching her fists and taking a step forward, "I'm doing this because I'll be damned if they fall into the same traps that I did when we first fought these things. They aren't just some cartoon enemy; they are the enemy, and they will kill you all! So don't think you're in any position to criticize my methods because you got lucky a few times, machine."
Glancing between the two of them, Maylin tried to figure out if there was a way for her to stop this before it went too far. However, it wasn't her voice that stopped their argument. "Are you two done bickering?" Ludzik asked, raising his voice to be heard, "Or should we pull up some chairs and grab a few bags of popcorn?" "You think this is a joke, boy!?" Laura demanded, rounding on him. "Of course it isn't," he replied coolly, "You're Germany's best pilot since the conception of the IS, and 134 is the end result of countless hours of research and development. If this is anything, it's sad; you two should be the best that we have available, and you're at each others throats." Glancing at 134's projection, he continued, "I can understand how frustrated you are, Captain, so how about this? You and I train, one on one, and we leave them out of this."
"You think you stand a chance against me?" Laura scoffed. Without breaking eye contact, Ludzik summoned his IS and drew his sword, motioning that the others should leave. While they did, it was very reluctantly, especially for Karen. "He'll be alright, won't he?" Joshka asked, concerned at what might happen. "Ludzik's nothing if not durable," 134 told them, projection a small hologram over Maylin's shoulder as they walked, "In truth, this might be the best outcome. She can work through whatever it is that's bothering her, and he can get some quality training from someone who fights like him." "If you say so...," Karen muttered, glancing back. Maylin just smiled as they continued on.
As it turned out, it was the best solution to the problem. The next day, Laura gave them some light duty while pulling Ludzik aside for a private session. According to Erin, he had looked like hammered shit when he finally made it back to their rooms. When he had asked, however, Ludzik only replied with, "She's strong." Seeing the way he lit up, even though it was only slightly, told Maylin that he genuinely enjoyed the challenge. It was what he had been searching for at the Academy; an opponent that would push him to his full potential.
But as they were gearing up for their respective sessions, Laura got an unexpected call. And after less than a minute, they watched as the color drained from her face. When she hung up her phone, they were all barely able to contain themselves as she glanced at them with something almost akin to fear. "Where?" Ludzik asked simply, knowing that there was only one thing that would cause this kind of reaction.
It had seemed like a relatively normal day for most of Japan. Even with the rogue IS machines still at large, the people felt relatively safe. News about the raid on the IISA base had been controlled, so no one outside of a select few knew just how bad the situation had gotten. The Japanese government had already sent delegates to a closed-door meeting with several other nations to discuss what measures they needed to take to address this threat, but again, few people knew just how important those talks actually were. In truth, Japan's leaders were scrambling. The autonomous IS had not only been able to strike at three targets within their country, two of which were practically fortresses, they had also been able to avoid all attempts to track them back to their own bases. At present, they were requesting that the U.S. lend their expertise with stealth technology to help with this problem. But such a request had been made far too late to matter.
Looking up in response to a strange noise, one random citizen in Tokyo noticed a large cargo plane flying low over the city. In short order, there were a lot of spectators as this plane did a slow circle before opening its cargo ramp. Before it could unload, several plumes of water erupted from the bay as multiple cruise missiles were launched. They streaked upward for a few moments before arching towards the city as they targeted multiple radio and cell towers, as well as several substations. This chain reaction of explosions sent the citizens into a panic, and at the same time as they were fleeing, multiple objects began to fall from the plane overhead. They were a modified version of the cyber cats that had been used previously; however, these weren't designed as weapons. Rather, they were search and capture units.
The first one landed in the middle of a crowd, sending them scattering in all directions. People were running around and into each other, cars and signs as this machine picked itself up. After running a quick diagnostic to check all systems, it locked onto the first obvious target and fired. The pulse of energy hit a woman square in the back, and she fell to the ground writhing as it scrambled her nerves. Ignoring her, the cat moved to pick off more people in the crowd, and it did so without mercy. Men, women, even children above a certain age were all struck down and left unconscious. By the time the crowd had cleared out, almost 30 people lay in a rough circle around the one machine.
The same thing happened throughout the city as the capture units went to work. At the same time, several submersibles surfaced and disgorged their Harpies to both collect from the population, and to suppress any hostile responses. To their credit, the police attempted to do just that as they tried to direct people to safety. One group of five officers ended up squaring off with one of the Harpies, and they brought all of the weapons they had to bear. The Harpy's armor deflected the bullets easily, and taking aim with its rifle it sent slugs at the officers that were enough to punch through tank armor. Even the few Self Defense Force ships that happened to be in the harbor didn't stand a chance as torpedoes impacted them, snapping them like twigs and sending debris and people up in geysers of water.
Back at the IISA base, Maylin and her friends were looking at Laura in shock as she told them what was happening. For her part, she couldn't believe that the human IS would go this far. Sure, they had attacked a city before, but it had been a small-scale raid. This was a full-blown assault, and judging from what little got out before all communication was cut their objective was to secure more people to process. "We're going to stop them, aren't we?" Ludzik asked, being the only one that seemed unfazed. "I haven't received any orders to stop them yet," she replied. But before Ludzik, or anyone else, could argue that she continued, "But, I haven't been ordered to remain here, either." It took Maylin a moment to understand what she was saying, but once she did she realized they only had one real course of action. "Gear up," Laura said, her normal tone of authority returning, "We're moving out in 2 minutes."
As those left behind begin to fully recover from their injuries, Maylin and her friends make a fateful decision. Can they make it in time? And what will be the result of this next battle? Till the next chapter.
I'm back! Not gonna lie, this story kind of slipped onto a back-burner as other things came up (real life SUCKS). But, I'm back, and I will work to finish this story.
