Chapter 8
Frontline
(8:46 A.M. Controrado Base)
Yuki held my hand as we entered the base. Matt, Izumi, and Emma followed close behind me. "Here we are Yuki, our new home." I told her. A man with dirty-blond hair approached us. I noticed a scar across his face. "Welcome to Controrado Base." he greeted us. "Sergeant First Class Blaze Hamilton reporting for duty, sir!" I saluted him. "Corporals Matt Soma and Emma Datura reporting, sir!" they saluted him. "Private First Class Izumi Curtis reporting, sir!" she saluted. "At ease, I'm not like other officers. Here I treat everyone as equals. I'm Commander Todd Novak of Omega Team, your squadron leader. Pleased to me you, kids." he offered his hand. I shook it. Novak? Wait, I think I've heard that name before but, where? "Follow me, I'll introduce you to the rest of your team." he instructed.
We followed him to a large hanger housing a state-of-the-art ship where he introduced to a rowdy group of soldiers. "That's our ship's pilot, Fredrick Emerson." he pointed to young man with dyed green hair and grey-blue eyes. "Yo," went Fredrick. "Over there is Alice. She's in charge of communications." he stated pointing to a girl with a red and blue flower bud tattoo on her forehead. "Konichawa," she bowed. She appeared to be of Vodarac decent. "Lloyd, our weapons expert." said Todd pointing to a man with a beard. He simply grunted. "Jacobs, navigation." said a friendly looking man. "That's Hax, radar, and Cipher, our engineer. Don't ask their real names." he pointed to a short man holding a Compac Drive and a tall man with golden shades.
"I'm the ship's doctor, Rin Egan." stated a young teenage girl with light red hair. "You're a doctor? Aren't you a little young?" remarked Matt. "Fine, then don't come to me when you're on the brink of death. Hmph!" she turned and stormed off. "Don't judge a book by it's cover. Rin's one of our military's best doctors. She graduated medical school when she was only 14. She's the definition of a child prodigy." Todd told Matt. "Over there are the twins, Rob and Kelly. Rob pilots the Guardian typeX606 while his sister pilots the typeX808." he pointed to pair dark-skinned teenagers with headphones in their ears. "The guy with the camera is Che, he's a photojournalist." the commander pointed to a scruffy looking man with a jaw stubble. Novak, Emerson, Egan. I've heard these names before.
(A/N: All of these characters, with the exception of Alice, are descendants of GekkoState. Todd is a descendant of Holland and Talho. Fredrick is a descendant of James "Moondoogie" and Gidget. The twins are descendants of Matthieu and Hilda. Hax is Woz's descendant while Cipher is Jobs'. Jacobs is Hap's. Lloyd is Ken-Goh's. Rin is Misha and Greg's descendant. Lastly, Che is Stoner's descendant. Looks like everyone's together again, huh?)
"Hey Todd, who's are the new guys?" came a voice from behind. It sounded familiar. I turned around my eyes widened. I found myself face-to-face with one of my childhood friends. "Oh, and this is TheBELLONA's ace pilot, Dahlia Sorel." he stated. Dahlia turned pale. "What's wrong, Dahlia? You look like you just saw a ghost." went Todd. She opened her mouth to speak. "I'm Blaze Hamilton and this is my little sister, Yuki. Pleased to meet you, Dahlia." I quickly said and offered my hand "Err…yeah, likewise." she stammered and shook it.
(A/N: Dahlia is of course Anemone and Dominic's decedent. TheBELLONA's design is somewhat based off TheEND. Bellona was an Ancient Roman war goddess.)
Matt could see that I must've known her so he suggested to Izumi that they check out their new quarters. After they left I turned to Todd. "Commander, would it be alright for her to show us the ropes. Maybe give us a tour of the base." I suggested. "That's a good idea. Whaddya say, Dahlia?" he asked her. "Um…sure." she agreed. "Then I'll leave them to you." said Todd and he walked off.
"Hi? Hi Thurston?" went Dahlia once we alone. I nodded. "Dahlia!" went Yuki leaping into her old friend's arms. "It is you! My god, I thought you were dead!" she cried hugging Yuki and I back. "This is bad, she knows who you are." Emma whispered in my ear. I shook my head. "We'll be fine." I assured her. "Dahlia is a childhood friend. We've know each other since we were babies." I explained.
I turned to my old friend with a stern look upon my face. "Dahlia, I need you to keep our identities a secret. You can't let anyone know who we are." I instructed. "Why?" she demanded. "Because, technically I'm not old enough to join the IEF." I informed her. "So, you chose to enlist under Lillian's last name?" she asked. I nodded. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut." she agreed.
"By the way, this is Emma." I introduced her. Emma looked uneasy as she held out her hand. "Emma Datura. Nice to meet you, Ms. Sorel." she said. "Just Dahlia, hun. I hate formalities." she insisted smiling as she shook her hand. "So, your last name's Datura, huh? I guess we have something in common then?" she mused. "What do you mean?" wondered Emma. "We're both named after flowers silly!" she laughed. "Really?" went Emma. "You mean you didn't know?" remarked Dahlia sounding stunned. Emma shook her head.
"Do you know the meaning behind a Datura?" asked my old friend. "Dahlia, don't." I mumbled. I knew the meaning. Emma shook her head again. "Disguise." she stated. Emma's eyes widened in horror. "That's enough, Dahlia!" I snapped. Dahlia stared at me. So did Yuki and Emma. What's wrong with me? "Sorry, did I say something I shouldn't have?" she wondered. "No, it's just…" I stammered. "Just what, Hi? Jeez, I was only having a little fun with her." she listened raising an eyebrow. "Nothing." I muttered. She continued to study me. "Anyway, I suppose I should give you that tour of the base, huh? Follow me." she shrugged.
Yuki tugged on my shirt. "What's wrong, Hi?" she asked in a concerned tone. "It's nothing." I assured the little girl. She didn't look convinced. "Really?" she pressed. "Yeah, really. I'm fine, Yuki." I nodded. She frowned, disappointed. She could probably tell I was lying. After all, Yuki knew me better than anyone. I faked a smile. "If you say so, onii-san." she replied.
As we followed Dahlia, I noticed Emma kept staring at me. It was unbearable. "What?" I finally asked. "It's just a name." she simply said. "I know but, it felt like Dahlia was trying to insult you and...aw hell, I don't know. Something just came over me." I explained scratching my head. "Hi, I understand, or at least I think I understand. You felt like you needed to protect me, right?" she whispered. All I could manage was a nod. She smiled. "I appreciate it, I really do but, I think you should apologize to her. She's your friend, you said so yourself." she requested. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I sighed.
"Hey Dahlia?" I called to her. "Hmm?" she went without looking back. "Sorry, for snapping at you." I apologized. "Can, I ask you something?" she wondered. "Um…sure." I replied. She turned around to face us. "Is she your new girlfriend?" she inquired. Emma and I blushed. "Uh-huh, that's right." went little Yuki. "Y-Yuki!" I stuttered. A wily grin formed on Dahlia's face. "Well, that certainly explains a lot." she remarked. "What's that supposed to mean?" I/Emma demanded in sync. "I think you just answered your own question." she grinned. Now our shared blush turned crimson. "By the way Emma, I want you to know that if I somehow offended you then I'm sorry." she apologized with a bow.
A little while later…
Our accommodations were certainly better than our old dorm. The food, equipment, training, and my personal favorite, pay would probably be better too. "Well, it's not exactly first class, but it beats the training camp." Matt said setting down his suitcase. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "We're supposed to be sharing the room." he stated. "Oh no, we're not. Not while Yuki's here, get out." I picked up his suitcase, gave it to him, then shoved him out the door and closed it. "Aw, come on man. I thought we were friends." he protested from behind the door. "We are but, I'm not having another male share the same room as my kid sister. Find someplace else." I told him. "Fine then, jeez." he grunted and kicked the door before storming off. I looked around at our new home. Two beds, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Not too bad.
Meanwhile…
Emma
"Wow this is nice, a lot nicer then that rat hole I used to live in." I set my things down by a bunk bed. "Yeah, not too shabby." agreed Izumi. There was one other girl in the room who soon greeted us. "Hey, you must be Emma and Izumi. My name's Kelly, we met earlier." she held out her hand. Izumi shook her hand first. "Pleased to meet you. You're one of the twins, right?" I recalled. "Yeah, the smarter one. Make yourselves at home." said Kelly with a smile.
(The next day, 0907 hours, Briefing room 17)
Hi
Kelly was sitting on a desk, Rob was standing, while the rest of us were sitting at our small desks. "So, I heard you pilot the GD X606 and GD X808." I said attempting make conversation. "Yeah, that's right and Todd over there pilots GD X909, the lucky bastard." Rob informed us. "What do you ride?" inquired Kelly. "My LFO's custom built, inspired by the Nirvash." I lied. "Cool." remarked her twin. We began introducing ourselves until the door opened and walked in Scott, our Colonel.
We all took our seats and waited patiently for our mission. I looked over at Emma and Matt and saw excitement in there faces. "First things first, welcome new pilots of Team Omega. Alright now here's your mission." the lights dimmed and the holographic screen lit. "Kalzas City has requested us to provide protection for a certain Vodarac cargo ship en route to the Tresoir Laboratory." he started. "Our first mission is babysitting?" Matt said clutching his fist. "That a problem, Corporal?" went Scott. "No, sir." he sighed. The Colonel continued.
"First, you will rendezvous with Alpha and Beta squads in Kalzas City. From there you will escort that cargo to Tresoir." he ordered. "Why all the extra security, what's so important about this cargo?" inquired Todd. "I'm not at liberty to say." responded Scott. "So in other words, this mission is top secret?" remarked Jacobs. "Should you encounter any Image you are to fend them off. Protection of that ship is top priority, Image are second. Never forget, that as members of Team Omega you are our first and last line of defense. Guard that ship as if your very lives depended in it. You leave tomorrow at 0900 hours, dismissed." stated the man.
I looked over at Emma and Matt again to see their excitement drained and worried expressions replacing it. So I knew that both Emma and Matt were scared. I was scared myself too. "We'll be fine, right guys?" I turned to them. "Y-Yeah," went a nervous Emma. "Rob, since Matt doesn't have an LFO I want you to take him to the base's hanger. Let him get anyone he wants." said the commander. "Yes sir." was the Private's response.
(8:56 P.M. hanger)
(Matt)
Rob took me to the hanger as ordered. As we walk in to the opening hanger I saw a large room with dozens of columns with two types of LFOs on each side. "Wow, I wonder which one I should get." I was so excited I couldn't think. "Here's some advice." I turned to look at Rob to see what he had to say. "Choose the one that speaks to your heart." he said. What's that suppose to mean? I stared at him for a moment with a confused expression. I gazed around the hanger and saw Gauntlets (Spearhead successor), Strikers (Mon-Soono successor), Heavyarms (VC10 successor), Guardians (Terminus successor), and even Reapers (Wyvern successor), which by the way only a suicidal idiot would pilot. But none of them felt like they were speaking to my heart.
Just then I saw some thing out of the corner of my eye. I walked to the mech and gazed up at it. Covered by what looked like a tarp was an old Guardian typeA505. "Hey Rob," I called to him. He walked over to see what I found. "I'll take it." I said in a positive voice. "Well I'll get the paperwork." he said. "Paperwork? For what?" I asked. "Well if you want it you have to sign some papers that say it belongs to you." he informed. I looked at the mech again. "Makes sense," I responded.
(The next day, 9:15 A.M. hanger)
(Hi)
I was loading my ammo in to the Nirvash's rifle when Yuki waddled over to me holding the doll that Emma gave her. "Big brother, where are you going?" she asked. "I'm going on a mission." I said kneeling down to eye level with her. Her face went from curious to sad. "You're leaving me?" she worried. "No, of course not, I'll be back before you know it." I assured. "You aren't going to leave like mama and papa did, are you?" she asked again. Tears filled my eyes as I wrapped my arms around her. "No Yuki, I'll never die and leave you. I'll make it back, I promise." I swore to her. A relieved smile formed on her face.
"Who's the squirt?" came a voice from behind. I turned to see the Commander and Jacobs. "This is my little sister, Yuki. You met her when we arrived, remember?" I answered. "Oh yeah, that's right. Hi there, Yuki-chan." Todd said to her. Yuki just backed behind me scared. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. In fact, I had a little sister about your age." he said attempting to coax her out. "Had? Where is she now?" she asked looking up at him. His friendly demeanor disappeared. "C'mon, Blaze let's go." he growled and left.
Jacobs sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't take it personal, kid. Image killed his sister." he explained. "You see that scar across his face? He got that when the Image attacked our home town. Took out fifteen of them on his own." he stated. "Wow," I stared at the commander with newfound respect. He looked over at me. "What's the hold up, rookie?" he yelled. "Right, sorry, commander." I answered. I turned to Yuki. "I have to go now, Yuki. Why don't you go back to the dorm and wait for Izumi to pick you up." I said sweetly. "OK, big brother." she nodded and ran off.
I boarded the XL-1600 Mk-IV military ship, Eclipse, and waited patiently for the rest of my team in the hanger. (The Eclipse resembles the Moonlight/Gekko. It's basically a better version of the SL-1200 Mk-II) I looked over at Emma, she had her hand on her Flestnia X. What's she doing? I gazed up at Nirvash and touched her. "This is it, Nirvash, our first mission. You ready?" I said to the mech. "Hey guys sorry to keep you waiting." came the voice of Matt on the radio as he and Rob parked their KLFs. "Were the hell have you two been?" scolded Kelly. "Sorry, I took him to the shop so he could get a Rail gun." explained Rob.
The bridge…
Todd Novak sat in his command chair. "I want a status report before we launch." he barked. "Jacobs, how are our trapar values?" he asked. "Readings are good." reported Jacobs. "Cipher, how are our engines?" he radioed. "Reactors are stable." reported Cipher. "Hax, anything on radar?" he asked. "The skies are clear." answered Hax. "Lloyd, what about our weapons?" he asked next. Lloyd gave him a thumbs up. "Kelly, Rob, our KLFs secure?" he radioed the hanger. "Yes, sir." reported Rob. "Alice, anything from the tower?" he asked. "We're good to go anytime." she stated. "Good." he said.
Just then Todd's voice came on the loudspeaker. "Our mission is simple, protect the cargo ship. Should we encounter any Image I want you to remember, don't be a hero. We are brothers and sisters in arms now...comrades...a team. And as members of Team Omega, I require one thing of all of you: Don't die. That is all. Raise the catapult." he ordered.
The catapult raised. "Fredrick, take us up." he ordered. "Yes, sir." responded the helm's pilot. The boosters roared, the sound was nearly deafening. "Higher than the sun!" yelled Eclipse's crew, as it was their custom. And the XL-1600 Mk-IV lifted off.
45 Minutes later, the ley-line over Kalzas City...
Eclipse's Hanger...
(Hi)
Emma was trembling. "You nervous?" Dahlia asked her new comrade. "Is it that obvious?" she asked. Dahlia gave her a comforting smile. "You'll do fine, hun." she assured her. I placed a hand on Emma's shoulder and her trembling stopped. She gazed into my eyes. "Don't worry, Nir–Vendetta and I will protect you." I stated. "TheBELLONA, too." added Dahlia. "Thank you." she told us. Matt looked over at us from inside his LFO's cockpit.
(Matt)
I looked at the photograph Izumi had given me before I left. It was a picture of her. "Good luck," was written in the upper left corner the photo. In the bottom right corner was a small heart with a XO (kisses and hugs) along with ~Iz, her nickname. I tucked the photo in my mech's control panel. "Wait for me, Izumi. I'll come back to you, I swear." I vowed silently to myself.
The bridge...
(Todd)
*Beep, beep, beep* "Sir! We have an incoming transmission!" reported Alice from her station. "Patch it through." I ordered. "This is the leader of Team Omega. To whom am I speaking?" I said into the headset. "This is Obito, Alpha Team." said a voice. "And Kakashi, Beta Team." said another voice. "The Image have appeared over Kalzas City! We are under attack! Repeat, we are under attack!" reported Obito. "We've lost two thirds of our forces. We're being overrun!" went Kakashi. "What the? They're attacking the Vodarac ship?" reported Obito's voice. "Can you assist, Omega?" asked Kakashi. A wily grin formed across my lips. "That's why we're here." I told Alpha and Beta before switching off the intercom. "Lloyd, prep the ship for combat." I told the weapons' master. "Aye, sir." he grunted. "Fredrick, take us down. We're going in...hard." I barked. "You got it, boss man." he responded. "All hands, prepare for battle!" I yelled into the loudspeaker.
Hanger...
Hi
The catapult lowered. I sat in the Nirvash, awaiting my orders. My breathing was heavy and my heart was pounding, tension gripped me. I was half excited, half terrified. "It'll be okay. If I do it like I did in the simulations, it'll be okay." I told myself. Todd's voice came over the loudspeaker. "The Image can only last for 1246 seconds. You need to last longer." he ordered his crew. "1246 seconds, that's all I need to last. I can do this. I did fine in the battle simulations, didn't I?" I told myself. I could the red Image sphere hovering above the city of Kalzas. "They're the enemy of the planet, my enemy. Mindless beasts, nothing like Emma. They're the Image." I told myself. "Vendetta, you're ready for sortie." Alice radioed me. I looked ahead. "This is Sergeant First Class, Blaze Hamilton. Vendetta, heading out." I said. Nirvash speed off the launch circuit and deployed her board. This was it.