Due time for a chapter update sorry it took so long. Hope you enjoy!
/Two months later/
Thomas lay down on his bed. It had been two months since the meeting, and while West Genetics was kind enough to provide a dorm for him and his crew, he had to make sure that no sort of incident occurred between the two parties. Although he could trust Alex and Wringe to help keep their side in line, There was no telling how the other Pandoras would react, especially since the pandoras had both ranks and their own pride.
This was stressing him out big time. Since he took it upon himself to make sure that no problems arose for the duration of their stay, Thomas hadn't been able to meet up with Kazuya and the others. He wondered how his new found friends were doing. He recalled the events back in Alaska and wondered how Jiina was holding up considering she was escorted out to be examined more thoroughly before being allowed to join the pandora ranks.
As he lay on his bed in a rare opportunity to get rest, his comms rang. Taking a look at the caller, Thomas took it.
"Wringe, what's wrong?"
"Leader, the engineering team is on the final stages of development. They said Dr. Aoi's Valkyrie units will be fully functional in two days."
"I see, that's good news. " replied Thomas. The news was a good sign that the co-op was working well in at least one aspect of their collaboration with this world.
As he pondered those thoughts, he noticed Wringe hadn't left the channel yet.
"Anything else?" he asked
Wringe's voice hesitated slightly before "Ah-ah right leader! Um, We also got a message from Genetics, its that we- it's that we have too..."
/Elsewhere/
Katelyn chewed and swallowed a bite of salad. Nowadays, only during mealtimes did she feel relaxed. Whenever she was alone, her mind kept drifting to unnecessary thoughts. Too much, in fact, that she had bouts of sleepless nights and even her mind was clouded. Even in sleep she could not escape. The constant and ever tormenting thoughts transformed into dreams and she would continually find herself back in Alaska. Back to the facility in where she fought, where she lost several times, where she should have died, yet survived at the cost of her humiliation.
Gritting her teeth, she whispered "That bastard..." Due to circumstances, yes circumstances, did she allow him to treat her leg. She did so at the price of fighting him again- a fight where she planned to take his head.
That last incident merely added to the growing list of things she loathed him for. And yet, two weeks after almost everyone who survived in one piece had fully recovered, he had not yet shown up. Her irritation was reaching it's peak. She wanted to fight him... No, inexplicably, she wanted to see him again...
/Two days later/
The students gathered in the arena, having been summoned by their superiors.
"Hey, is that a type S?"
"No kidding, I heard that Strega Heavy Industries developed it."
"Really? I wonder what it'll be used for here?"
such questions circled around the location as Kazuya, Satellizer and Rana were seated among them.
"Hey." a voice was directed at the Japanese boy- who turned and saw the voice's owner
"Thomas! It's been two weeks, where have you been?" he answered gleefully.
"Here and there, getting things set up on our side. A lot of things came up, sorry it took so long." replied the other.
"Such as?" asked Rana in a slightly teasing voice. "What was so important that you couldn't visit us your friends?"
"For starters, this I guess. I suggest you listen, they'll be an important asset in the coming battles." replied Thomas.
'Ladies and gentlemen, Please look up! I present to you the new generation of fighters. The Valkyries!'
Above, five silhouettes appeared.
"From the sky!?" shouted a few students, realizing they jumped off the aircraft without a parachute. In fact, aside from a couple of weapons, the only armour they had was a uniform and a mask that covered their faces. All of a sudden, the figures materialized faint wings that slowed down to a safe landing speed and allowed them to touch down safely despite the sudden gust of wind from the starting up Type S.
No sooner had all five reached the ground did the artificial nova open its mouth to fire a particle beam.
"You gotta be kidding me!? They replicated even that!" shouted a student as she along with others futilely tried to shield themselves as the artificial Type S aimed the cannon and fired at them.
As the students along the line of fire closed their eyes to prepare for their deaths, one of the figures moved in, materialized an armor and blocked the beam completely.
"Ara, you based it off my weapon ?" said a voice behind Thomas, who turned and saw Chiffon.
"Not exactly, the design was based off technology we found in another world, no world crisis over there, although like pandoras, that same technology could only be used by women." came the reply of the soldier. "Although, the designs and equipment are different depending on the roles and specialties of the users, such as that." he added, pointing at the other Valkyries, who in turn revealed their weapons and engaged the dummy Nova.
While for a moment the fight was at a stalemate, soon the Valkyries finished off the Type S with one felled swoop amid a cheering crowd.
With the public announcement of the Valkyries, Thomas walked down towards the conference room. Earlier, as the presentation was ongoing, Chiffon had relayed him a message to convene there after. As he reached the door, he gave it three sharp knocks before entering. Inside, he found the different heads of the Valkyrie project; among them Dr. Aoi, Atsuho Seiga, the director of Strega Heavy Industries and Satellizer's father, Howard L. Bridget
"Glad to see you could make it. Thomas" said Gengo Aoi.
"Likewise." Nodded the soldier before taking one of the available seats. As he did, Dr. Aoi spoke.
"Now that we've all assembled, I'd like to begin the meeting without further ado."
"If I'm not mistaken, this is about the integration of the Valkyries to the Pandora squads right?" began someone. "As well as the integration of 'his kind' " he added, directing it at Thomas who gritted his teeth. It came as no surprise however, that there would be prejudice against him and his men, considering they just waltzed into this world unannounced. Before he could retort however, Sister Margaret butted in.
"Gentlemen, prolonging the introduction is not constructive, I suggest that we begin the selection process." -to which the group agreed upon.
"Now then, Mr. Flint if you would." asked the principal.
"Ah yes." replied the head of the engineers brought by Thomas. "You've already seen the capabilities of the Valkyries, but just for review, the 5 Valkyries' arsenal is comprised of several kinds of volt weapons including an S.S.S. and an Anti-Nova. It's well balanced team, and even without reinforcements, as long as their weapons have energy, can rival the abilities of most pandoras." he added.
"However, their greatest asset is also a weakness. The disposable stigmata are easily drained and without power, the Valkyries are as powerless as any regular human being. In lieu of that, we've compiled a pool of 30 candidates to be chosen as the members of the valkyrie-pandora hybrid squad otherwise known as squad 13."
Thomas scanned the pool and found many familiar faces, nonetheless, the selection was comprised of the best fighters among all branches of Genetics. Scrolling down however, he found his own name on the list, though it was met with extreme disapproval from the other members in the room.
Faking a cough, Dr. Aoi cleared his throat to get the attention on him.
"Without further ado, let's begin the selection."
/3 hours later/
Thomas exited and closed the door behind him. Though among the last to leave the room, he was by no means the most tired. The meeting was filled with debate upon debate for each candidate. Thankfully, they crossed out a good half of the them 10 seconds after reading their names. Incidentally, his name only took 5 before being passed over.
As he reached his room, he threw himself on his bed, much like earlier that day, and recalled the final selection for squad 13. Satellizer, Rana, Cassie Lockheart, Roxanne Elipton, Charles Bonaparte and the de facto leader, Yi Suna.
Two surprises came though during the meeting; one being the fact that Chiffon was not part of the squad -perhaps so as not to outshine the Valkyries. Regardless, the other was far more shocking. It was a decision where his detachment, him included, was converted into Squad 14. While it served no other purpose than to formally say that on paper the Malvione corps under him was a part of Chevalier, It also meant that they were to be kept on a leash. The good news, both Dr. Aoi and sister Margaret had vouched for his crew meaning they wouldn't have to be subject to the other branches of Chevalier. But one had to wonder how much influence the two had- or how long it would last.
Sighing, he decided to postpone these thoughts for tomorrow. Training for both squads would commence, the sooner the better after all, they had 2 months before an expected attack would appear.
Closing his eyes, the young officer went to sleep.
Footnotes
*referencing IS
Well: Here's Chapter 18! Sorry guys, Ill admit that had a "little" mental block on this particular segment. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed and I'll be ready with a more exciting chapter soon.
As usual, fell free to review or PM me about issues concerning this fanfic.
It seems my statement in the previous chapter is or may be causing a misunderstanding: I merely wanted to credit them for inspiring me through their fanfics to write my own. Unfortunately I don't know either of them. I do want to see( Nyan) roll out a new chapter as much as you guys but I guess we just have to wait...
Well, I guess that's it for now, hope to be back soon, Ciao
