Disclaimer: I don't own Xenosaga I-III
'Thoughts'
"Words"
Xenosaga III: Es last Sich Nicht Lesen
Also Sprach Menschheit
By: Nim Maj
Chapter 2: Demonstration
Having finished updating Gaignun of the more mundane issues concerning the running of the Kukai Foundation, Katsu was meeting once again with Wilhelm, President of Vector.
"So it's complete?"
"Yes. I believe we've really outdone ourselves. We certainly couldn't have done it without vector's expertise. Now all we have to do is make the sales pitch to the Federation.
Indeed. So, tell me about these new machines." Wilhelm prompted while sitting back in his chair.
"My personal favorite is the Erde Kaiser Solomon. It is a variable fighter capable of changing configurations between fighter, AMWS, and a form of both called guardian. I was … inspired by a Lost Jerusalem design (1). It would not have been possible without the original Erde Kaisers. I was rather involved with this design. The Solomon emphasizes speed and adaptability. It can fly as fast as a fighter, but has as much firepower as an AMWS. It also has a heavy assault configuration that acts as extra armor and allows it to carry anti-ship payloads. The mass production type modeled after the Solomon is currently called a Princeps. After the tests, I intend to acquire it for my personal use." Katsu concluded while grinning.
"I can see now why you were personally involved." commented Wilhelm as he chuckled wryly. "And the others?"
Next, we have the Erde Kaisers Charlemagne, Alexander, and Barbarossa."
"Ahhh, named after Earth rulers. Fitting."
"Yes. The Charlemagne is a Commander type that focuses on area control. Of them all, it carries the most Airds, 16, to help with crowd control. This is also why it is a 3-seater and carries the least and weakest weapons. It is meant to thin out swarms of enemy fighters and AMWS. Its' successors are called Conquerors. Next we have the Alexander. This is the real ES killer. It focuses on speed, maneuverability, and melee combat power. Jin Uzuki helped design it and it is based on the Reuben. It carries an assortment of melee weapons and a few missile pods but that's it. Oh yes, if there are no ES's to take out, it also carries an anti-ship sword. The production types are called Magnies. (2)"
"Impressive."
"I thought so too. Then we have the Barbarossa. This one is the heavy fire support of the Erde Kaisers. It was designed to use lots of ammunition shooting down opponents. We had a bit of trouble with it and actually had to switch to beam weapons. It's got gatling lasers, missile pods, and can even recombine its' main guns to different configurations. The production series are called Devastators."
"And the fifth?"
"That's the Erde Kaiser that Prof. Dark mostly worked on. My second favorite, Erde Kaiser David.
"David?" Wilhelm asked.
"Named after the king who founded the First Jerusalem, King David." Katsu said matter-of-factly. "The Erde Kaiser David dwarfs the previous Erde Kaisers by a ratio of 6 to 1. It is the only Fortress-class Erde Kaiser. It actually transforms from a mobile fortress to an AMWS. It's got lasers, torpedoes, missiles, the works! It even has that experimental anti-matter cannon on its' back that your techs came up with. But what sets it apart form the others is its' shielding systems.
"That's… quite impressive. Give my regards to the teams who worked on this project. I look forward to seeing them in action at the demonstration."
"I will sir." Katsu said as he got up to leave. "Thank you for your time!"
"No, thank you. If this is successful, we could quiet down Vector's critics in the parliament."
"Well, good luck." Katsu said as he left.
On the day of the Demonstration, Katsu was talking with Helmer at the lobby of the CAT Testing Center. They were discussing recent events when he spotted a pleasant surprise coming his way in the form of Allen Ridgeley and Shion Uzuki. 'Well well! He's finally making a move! About damn time too.'
"Allen Ridgeley, Shion Uzuki, how fortunate to meet up with you! Shion, you're looking well. Allen, you seem to be making progress. Keep up the good work!" Katsu greeted them with a warm smile.
"Ehehe, hey Katsu." said an embarrassed Allen.
"Katsu! You seem to be doing well for yourself." Shion greeted politely.
"Thank you! It's been a while since we last met. Oh by the way, have you met Representative Helmer? He's been a big supporter of the Foundation. He agreed to let me join him in his private viewing booth." said Katsu as he introduced Helmer.
"Representative." acknowledged Allen and Shion.
"Hello you two! I've heard nothing but glowing reports of your efforts. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"We've also heard a lot about you. Your support has been greatly appreciated." replied Allen.
"So what are you two doing here?" asked Katsu.
"I was going to show the Chief some of the demonstrations today, especially KOSMOS since she worked so hard on her." Allen admitted.
"Alright. Why don't we all go to my booth? We can talk in private there." suggested Helmer.
A chorus of agreements met his proposal.
After settling into the booth Shion was the first to speak up. "That's the exercise area? It's larger than I expected." she commented to herself. "It's almost like an army bombing range."
"Yes. They're promoting it as an activation test along with a mock battle that's every close to real combat, but… Togashi thinks it's a demonstration by the Salvator faction. If funding gets approved, the military intends to start mass production of the new unit immediately." explained Allen.
They were interrupted by the announcer and soon their attention was drawn to the test area where a single pillar rose from the ground and revealed a hidden platform that raised a white haired figure in revealing swimsuit style dark purple and black body armor.
"That's…KOS-MOS?!" gasped Shion.
"Are you surprised? She looks just like KOS-MOS." said a sullen Allen. "Development code TP-XX, also known as T-elos, the ultimate finished unit. A startling advancement in science as they say."
" T-elos. So, this is the source of your worries?"
"Yeah, well, that's half of it. She's one-half of the new anti-Gnosis weapon system that was brought in to replace KOS-MOS as the core of the Zohar Project."
"Half? Wait a minute. I don't understand. You mean there's another one?"
"Yes. This one's fine. The problem lies with the other one." he paused. "Well, soon you'll understand. But don't be surprised if it shocks you when you see it."
"Hmmm, this is the first I've heard of it. The Kukai Foundation hasn't really been privy to this part of the Zohar Project. We're just the custodians of the Emulators, even if we can hold them all." Katsu said.
"They've also been pretty tight lipped about it in the Parliament. I don't think anyone really knows what's going on except the President and the involved committees. Especially with Yuriev's influence. He managed to install himself as the Project head after all." informed Helmer.
As the demonstration began, swarms of Gnosis were released and began to circle T-elos like vultures. "Those are Gnosis! And there's so many of them! But why are they here?!" Shion asked, surprised.
"The military requisitioned them from Vector for this demonstration. Although Chief...I believe that you would know more about that than me." Allen explained.
"Gnosis...Gnosis seized by Vector!" said Shion as she put the puzzle together. She then put on her glasses to get a closer and clearer look.
Some broke off and opened fire on T-elos' position, briefly obscuring her from view. When the smoke cleared, she was unharmed while the platform she was on was heavily damaged. The Gnosis, seeing their attack fail resorted to swarming all over her, only to be blasted into the wall by what could only have been the Hilbert effect, except powered to the point of causing damage to the Gnosis, not unlike the Rhine Maiden pulse.
Beginning her counterattack, T-elos simply placed her middle and forefinger on her visor and began charging an unknown weapon. After charging she lifted her hand away and all the Gnosis began taking damage from being surrounded in globes of energy. The explosion was just settling down when a survivor attempted to rush her, only for T-elos to simply dodge upwards in a long ascent. The Gnosis tried to follow her and catch her in the air, but was intercepted by T-elos who annihilated it in midair after deploying her sword.
Even Katsu was clapping politely at the display.
"Amazing! Her speed is incredible!" said an awed Shion.
"According to the specs, both her reaction time and Hilbert strength are three times KOS-MOS's version 3 combat frame. She's the Galaxy Federation's trump card."
"Who designed her?" asked Shion.
"No one knows. Not even the staff was informed of where she actually comes from. If we could take apart the OS, we might be able to guess based on how the code's written, but the environment's proprietary, and we can't get anywhere close to it."
"Well that was interesting." commented Katsu.
" I agree." Helmer said with suspicion in his voice.
Soon KOSMOS' test began. As she walked to her starting point, Shion couldn't contain herself any longer. "KOS-MOS!" she cried out.
"Whoa Shion, calm yourself. We know you're anxious to see her and what they have planned for her but you should calm down." Katsu soothed.
Soon the test area changed configuration, pillars rising from the ground creating a small maze and in one area, the floor retracted as a platform was raised. A familiar dull-golden colored form with yellow lights running all over its' body. Proto Omega.
"What the hell Allen?" asked Katsu as he gripped his chair's armrests, bad memories surfacing.
"Calm down Katsu, I can explain." Allen said nervously.
"Go on." Helmer prompted.
"They're calling it Omega Res Novae." Allen began. "None of us at Vector knows exactly where they got the designs for it."
Narrowing his eyes, Katsu quickly assessed the situation. KOSMOS versus Omega Res Novae... a mismatch if he had ever seen one. The Omega should never have been pitted against KOSMOS. It reeked of stupidity, or worse yet, politics. From what he could remember from Allen's conversation earlier, he suspected the latter. Time to see if he could pull off an upset… "Allen, could you connect me with Togashi and KOSMOS?"
"Huh? Uhm, alright, hold on." As he busied himself with contacting Togashi, Shion looked at Katsu. "What are you trying to do?" she asked.
"An upset. This is a mismatch. Allen?"
"Ah, here you go!" Allen said as he handed the connection gear to Katsu. "Thank you." Katsu replied taking it from Allen
"Togashi, KOSMOS, this is Katsu. Can you hear me?"
"Affirmative" replied KOSMOS.
"Yes sir" answered Togashi.
"Good, first, this is a mismatch. Short of KOSMOS Tertiary weapons, nothing she has stands a chance of punching through Omega's shield as evidenced when the X-Buster failed to do more than cosmetic damage."
"So what do you suggest, sir?" frustration and worry evident in Togashi's voice. "Dont bother punching through. Power for power, strength for strength, the Omega just eclipses KOSMOS. So KOSMOS, use your mobility to maneuver yourself behind the Omega and latch yourself onto a blind spot on the Omega. Use your R-Blade or Plasma Scythe to penetrate a weak spot in the Omega's armor and enter the Omega. Wreak havoc on the Omega's systems, and remove the pilot. Gently of course."
"Alright KOSMOS, you heard him! Commence operation!" Togashi said as he got into the spirit.
"Affirmative. Commencing operation."
Taking a running leap, she knocked Omega flat on its' back. Deciding to go for more power, KOSMOS activated her Plasma Scythe and plunged it into the neck of the hood, pulling it back and into the dome of the "head." A few more cuts and she was inside just as the Omega began moving. Summoning her chain gun, she unloaded into the delicate electronics of the Omega's interior. Making her way into the cockpit, she activated her Scythe once again and cut another hole to enter it. She then proceeded to blast her way out of the mech while carrying the pilot in one arm. Adjusting her passenger so she could carry the both of them away from the wreckage, KOSMOS landed lightly on top of one of the towers in full view of the observers, a confused and disoriented Abel in her arms.
"Oh this can't end well." Katsu mused as the stunned audience began shouting. The rest of the demonstrations were called off as Dmitri Yuriev and the heads of the Zohar project were detained for war crime investigations (3).
A/N
1- Can anyone guess what inspired him?
2- Alexandros Magnos: Alexander the Great
3- I'm pretty sure that using normal children as child soldiers is a war crime. The way Yuriev was using Abel is a blatant violation of Abel's "human" rights, insofar as he is a human (with a special connection to U-Do, but I'm pretty sure he would pass all definitions of the term "human"). It's amazing no one ever blew the whistle on it, even if only he could pilot the Omega Res Novae competently. Either way, because KOSMOS' demonstration was publicized (in this case broadcasted), the entire Federation and even Ormus now knows who the pilot is. This will lead to quite the public outcry and the Salvator faction will lose a lot of support for using child soldiers, even if the Gnosis are whittling away at the Federation. It's one thing to use child formed Realians as weapons, but an entirely different matter to use real 10-12 year olds to fight. Yuriev didn't even clear it with his superiors due to the need to keep what Abel is secret for his plans to work. And that will now work against him.
Oh, and a shout out to Also Sprach Mina. Congratulations on graduating!
Dimitri Yuriev's Salvator Faction, the first to fall!
Please tell me what you think so far!
