/

Platoon 13: Valkyries

Waypoint Zulu

60 minutes after the start of the training exercise

/

On the ground, the five valkyries led by Ouka stood against a type-S. The group, having trained together previously before being introduced to West Genetics, moved with a sort of unorthodox formation letting one cover another's blind spots. As the Nova turned to attack the Japanese Valkyrie, the British one, blocked a beam with a well timed punch coupled with her plasma weapon- a new type of armament developed specifically for the valkyries. Akin to but at a higher level than the Pandora's volt textures, the valkyries held their ground with relative ease thanks to the Faylan generators installed throughout the battlefield which supplied power to their "battery-like" stigmatas.

Bam! Crash! *deflect

The battle between the valkyries and the type S was favoring the former as Ouka charged up her finishing move Tachyon Strike and pierced the Nova through and through, shattering the core and showering the area with bits of Nova.

"This Nova's signal is going offline. That leaves three more! exclaimed Franka the German Valkyrie as the Nova powered down. Ouka however had different thoughts despite the enemy's defeat.

'Even with no restrictions to our movement, our bodies can't last much longer at this rate, we need to finish this quickly.' she thought to herself as her hands shook from the aftereffects of the battle. Activating her communicator, she signaled the control room.

"Main Bridge, send us the coordinates of the next target." she said.

"Bzzzzt... Sit... unkno...Maintain pos... stand b..." came the muddled reply.

"Main Bridge, please repeat... Do you read me?" pinged Ouka once more before a sudden black smoke blanketed them and disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"What was that!" she shouted. "Main bridge respond!" she added but only received static in reply.

Christine, the British valkyrie however shouted too, averting Ouka's attention to a scene where pieces of the destroyed Type S began resonating reshaping themselves into saurian like forms.

"W-what the hell..." she uttered. as her communicator sputtered to life.

"Bzzt... Valkyrie Unit, Be advised, the Nova has split up. More than 100 N-1's have appeared on radar."

"Watch yourselves!" Shouted Ouka as she jumped to avoid an attack, reigniting the clash between the two sides.


/

Command

Control room /The Main Bridge

70 minutes after the start of the training exercise

/

"Doctor!" shouted somebody as Dr. Aoi exited the room, seemingly leaving everyone to handle the situation. The doctor however had much more on his mind at the moment.

'In the chaos of all this, every pandora will be annihilated. Valkyries were meant to be an alternative, but the situation is progressing too quickly. Surely what's happening now could help those who survive transcend." he thought to himself as he descended an elevator, knowing full well, without proper intervention West Genetics would fall that day.


/

Green team: Thomas

2 miles to waypoint Echo

70 minutes after the start of the training exercise

/

"Nghhh..." Grunted Thomas as he felt his body burning up. His vision was hazy and he felt sweaty inside the confined recesses of his suit. As he shook his head in an attempt to get his head in the game, a figure appeared at the corner of his vision. Alerting himself, he turned his attention to the animalistic figure running alongside the convoy yet the figure was nowhere to be seen.

"You okay cap'?" asked Cammy, the driver.

"Yeah I'm good." He replied. "Though after this sortie I think I'm gonna need some R&r." he added reluctantly as he swiveled himself back to watch the front of the vehicle.

Glancing at his side once more for good measure. He spotted the grey skinned figure running alongside them. Immediately recognizing it, he rotated the gauss turret at it and fired as he shouted "Contact, left side!"

BAM!

The bullet hit the beast, the ogretail, the thing that should not exist here at the center of its torso. The aragami slowed and veered off. Not wanting to let it escape, Thomas fired round after round at it although the hog swerved left and right as well, keeping him from hitting the target.

"Cammy, hold it steady!" he barked. "I'm shooting that aragami down!"

In response, the warthhog jerked to a stop, throwing his aim off one last time before the aragami disappeared into the surrounding vegetation. Scanning for the target, Thomas was suddenly tackled from the side, yanking him off his spot and onto the ground.

"The only thing you're eating is a knuckle sandwich!" he grunted as he swung his fist in an attempt to get it off him. The ogretail dodged and grabbing hold of his arm in it's teeth, smashed its tail into Thomas' face, knocking the foxtrot commander unconscious.


/

Green team: Cammy

2 miles to waypoint Echo

70 minutes after the start of the training exercise

/

"Nghhh..." Grunted Thomas

"You okay cap'?" asked Cammy, the driver.

"Yeah I'm good." He replied. "Though after this sortie I think I'm gonna need some R&r." he added reluctantly as he swiveled himself back to watch the front of the vehicle.

Cammy shrugged it off in agreement before suddenly her leader shouted "Contact, left side!" and fired the turret at the Wraith, Smashing armor and heavily damaging the frame.

"Friendly Fire! Friendly Fire!" shouted Sid, the Tank's driver as he swerved to away in an attempt to evade any more shots.

"Cap' what the hell is wrong with you!?" she shouted as she veered left and right to keep him from shooting anyone else.

"Cammy hold it steady! I'm shooting that aragami down!" shouted Thomas in response

'You gotta be kidding me!' thought the driver as she skidded to a stop at just the right time, sending Thomas' shot a few feet above the wraith, just narrowly missing and delivering the final blow. Jumping off the seat, Cammy swung around and tackled the foxtrot commander to the ground who reacted by throwing a punch. Twisting her body, she grabbed the arm in a leglock and using her momentum, smasheshed her elbow onto Thomas' helmet, knocking the poor soul unconscious.


"Ughhh..." Thomas shook his head, recovering. Remembering he was about to be eaten by the ogretail, he struggled to get up, only to find the members of green team surrounding him with his limbs held down.

"Thomas, you back to the world of the living?" asked Luke.

"Ughh, yeah I guess. Thanks for the save. By the way, where's the aragami?" He replied

"You don't remember? There was no aragami. You shot the wraith." replied Cammy.

"Shit... I think i was hit by that illusion attack that affected the pandoras." said Thomas. "Don't worry guys, I'm back. No need to keep me bound like this" he added.

The group relented and Thomas tried to get back onto his spot at the turret before being stopped by Luke.

"With all due respect Thomas, you ain't fit for turret duty. Stan'll take your place. Join the others in the troop hog. You smashed up the wraith too much for it to be combat ready." he said.

"You're right" replied Thomas before making his way to the other vehicle. Once inside, he did a visual sweep of the area and found the still- smoldering wreck of the wraith. It's rear end had a hole punched straight through.

"Hey Timothy, you okay?" asked the foxtrot commander, feeling he had almost hit the poor gunner.

"Don't worry 'bout it." replied Timothy before lightly tapping the other's helmet. "Consider us even."

"Got it." replied the other. With the group moving once more, Thomas asked "What's the current sitrep?"

"Dunno. We lost contact with Command." replied Luke. "Last we heard was more Nova appearing. That was after we managed to hold you down."

"I see, then we better hurry. I got a bad feeling bout this." replied Thomas.


/

Platoon 1: Katelyn

Waypoint Echo

75 minutes after the start of the training exercise

/

"N-no! Stay away!" cried out Katelyn as she swung her blade furiously to ware off that man. "Y-you can't be here!"

*Slice

One of her swipes connected, severing him in half. But mysteriously, he continued speaking despite having his upper body laying on the ground, the lower half continuing to approach the girl.

" Indeed, I am something that shouldn't exist in this world anymore. fufufu..." echoed the man's words. "After all, you know fully well why I shouldn't be here."

"No! Don't! Please..." She begged the anomaly.

Another attack connected at the walking lower half but at the same time did not. The volt weapon merely passed through his legs like it was thin air.

"SAY IT!" the voice boomed out. "Tell the world why?! hahahahaha!" the disfigured body was now a meter away from her.

Dropping her weapon and at the same time, falling to her knees. The girl replied shakilly. "...ed... you..."

"I can't here you! Say it louder!" said the voice.

"I...I ... killed you..." she said tearfully.

"Down here!" the voice cried out. Katelyn complied and was greeted with the grotesque face of her brother, tears of blood trickling down his eyes and mouth.

" Yes. It was you. YOU who killed me." said the bloody face. "To kill your own flesh and blood brother... kukuku... a crime of the worst degree."

Those words struck the girl to her very core. The pandora, an ice cold woman who had shielded herself from the world. One who would go toe to toe with a nova and spit on the face of death without so much as a quiver of fear was trembling at the mere sight of him.

"A ...crime?" her mouth moved slowly as if she were a toddler trying to understand an unfamiliar word.

"Yes a crime dear sister. A crime that can only be meted with your own death." replied her brother. Picking up the pandora's fallen blade, he then said. "Take your weapon and slit your own throat. Only then can justice be served."

Katelyn's arm moved. In the middle of the battlefield a girl, kneeling on the ground, unresponsive to the fight going on around her, without so much as questioning the sanity of her own decision, grasped the handle of the weapon she trusted her life to.

Weakly at first, then finally securing her grip on the blade, the girl's arm steadily moved towards her neck. All the while her brother stared upon her, eyes growing in anticipation. repeating two words over and over again.

"Do it. do it do it do it do it do it DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DOITDOITDOITDOITDOITDOITDOIT!" his voice, reverberating like the sound of drums beating faster and faster, spurred her on. Not much longer. The blade mere inches from pressing upon the soft tissues of her throat. The blade glistening in the glow of the sunlight.

"STOP!" A voice cut through the booming sound of her brother's voice. A hand grabbed onto the blade and pulled, preventing her from committing the deed. At the same time, a boot stepped in, crushing her brother's face into the ground. The disfigured body in question exploded into black smoke and dissipated.

Katelyn recognized the boot. The color and shape matched their armor, but only he had the guts to step in like that. Slowly the world came rushing back into her broken sense of self. As she slowly scanned her surroundings, she noticed the battle still taking place around her go about in slow motion. The blood and tears being shed by the members of her platoon. The bolts of plasma being fired by members of his platoon. The unlucky who were laying in a pool of their own or in their partner's blood. She turned her gaze up. From above, his eyes, the most visible feature shown through his visor, were staring at her. His hand firmly grasping her blade. The other outstretched to offer support.

"Come on, the fight's not over just yet." he said

The girl took his hand and steadied herself back on her feet. Relieving him of her blade, Katelyn put on her airs and replied. "Can't leave me out of it huh dick head?"

"Can it for now." Retorted Thomas. "Let's get things back to working order before we finish that fight once and for all."

"Yeah. " She replied before adding ever so silently. "B-but still ... thanks..."

"Hmm? What was that ?" came the answer of the Malvione soldier.

"Nothing! I said sound's good to me." she said in a tone of annoyance. "Now pick up the pace or we're gonna get killed." she added as she dodged a piece of debris seemingly launched at the pair.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." came his reply.


A/N Well, back after 2 months. Sorry my writing is really inconsistent, procrastinators united will apologize later...

Anyway, here's chapter 21. A bit of backstory on our heroine's past. Tad bit too dark for my taste though. Lighthearted ending... or is it?

So That's that . Bye for now, hope to see you in a month hopefully XD