Disclaimer: I really need to get an undub of this game for more NORIO WAKAMOTO.
In the ten years I've had to reflect upon since the end of Operation Yggdrasil, there were many actions I took that I now deeply regret. While I can justify what I did–especially in light of what occurred–there isn't a day where I'm not haunted by it.
One thing I do not regret in the slightest, however, is taking that boy with me from that place.
One thing I do, was insisting that I speak with the Director immediately after leaving North Elencia.
Record of Yggdrasil
File 2: The Beautiful Woman Of Alent
Location: 23,000 feet above Northern Elencia
Time: 19:38 Hours Local
Catalina stood with her gaze aimed to the floor of the Bivrost's bridge, unable to bring herself to look up at Director Duminas as she finished giving her report. She had told him everything she had gathered from her investigation, from the truth behind the status of Operation Yggdrasil, to the unlikely involvement of a young boy from Parm and his Adventurer friends.
Duminas had taken the news heavily, and the bearded fat old man was silently contemplating the deeply troubling ramifications of it.
"All of this time, General Baal has been deceiving the Foundation, taking advantage of his distance from us to seize the glory of Operation Yggdrasil for himself," he said sternly, "Yes, my dear, this is deeply troubling."
"Troubling, Director? I believe this is treason itself. The General has effectively led a silent mutiny since the Foundation is hardly a concern to him," Catalina said without looking up.
"It's more than a mutiny, my dear, it is a coup!" Duminas suddenly said as his projection rose from where he sat, "If Baal manages to complete the Spirit Stone, then the unstoppable power of the Angelou, of the Icarians, is at his hand! There would be no force on this side of the End of the World that could stop him!"
Catalina looked up, then averted her eyes again, this time to her right and the beautiful setting sun on the distant sea. "Fortunately, that last piece is out of his hand at the moment. We can have agents in New Parm and combing the Misty Forest in search of him in case he returns."
"You yourself suggested that he was headed for the End of the World. If that is the case, then you must go there as well and intercept him," Duminas ordered.
"I will do that, Director, but there is another matter that I must attend to at the Dom Ruins," Catalina replied, "I need to confirm my theory with certainty regarding Justin's motives. I recommend that agents be sent to the Surt Ruins to do the same."
Duminas hummed. "Very well, but make your business at the Dom Ruins quick. Every moment you waste is another that the boy and his party use to slip from our reach and closer to Baal's."
"Of course, Director," Catalina said, "It shouldn't take me long. The Dom Ruins were exactly what the Ranger equipment was made for."
She glanced at him again, before looking away once more. "With that said, Director… could we end the call so you can um… sit down and resume your bath?"
"Oh?" Director Duminas asked before he realized that he was standing up in his bath, which was mercifully filled with enough bubbles to not completely embarrass him. "Oh! Quite right, my dear, you do your ardent best now! The Foundation, nay the world hinges on your work!"
"Yes, Director," Catalina said before the call ended and the projector shut down.
"That was more of the Director than I ever wanted to see," Hector said.
"I think he was enjoying it," Imogen suggested.
Catalina dropped into her seat, hands over her face. "Oh, I hope not."
"You're really going into the ruins, though? I mean, using the All-Ranger equipment is cool and all but… you're a bureaucrat, not an adventurer," Hector said.
"Even with it, going by yourself is a recipe for disaster. You do remember how many soldiers were lost in the Dom Ruins during the first excavation, right?" Imogen added.
"Seventy-three to all causes, but mostly Orcs," Catalina replied like it was a history class in elementary school.
"Still, it could not hurt for someone to go with you, hmm…?" Hector leaned out of his seat as he pointed to himself.
Catalina stared at him. "No."
The boy nearly fell out of his seat, but recovered. "Aw!"
"Bivrost can't fly herself, as dangerously automated as this ship already is. I'd like for both of her pilots to be alive and available to make sure we don't have to improvise."
Hector pouted and surrendered. "Man, and I wanted to try some cool moves down there."
"Next time, bro," Imogen reassured him.
Catalina hummed. "You are right though… I think I can make something work. What's our ETA?"
"22:45 Hours," Imogen replied.
Catalina got up from her seat. "Plenty of time to make it work. Call me if anything comes up and get the Ranger Equipment ready."
"Aye, aye, sir!" Imogen sang.
…
Location: Bivrost Brig
Time: 19:50 Hours Local
Gontz hadn't slept for very long. The Snooze Spell was a very basic one, and even weaker when used in scroll form, however he had slept long enough to allow Catalina to divest him of his armor and weapons, leaving him in only his shirt and boxers. He quickly sat up and looked around the large jail cell he'd been locked in.
Steel walls surrounded him, but the floor was surprisingly carpeted and warm. His cell door was made of wrought iron bars, and just outside them a woman in a much simpler version of the his Garlyle rank and file uniform–but a dark blue like Catalina's three piece suit.
He could hear the familiar hum of the Grandeur's Icarian Engine, but this definitely wasn't the Grandeur. He got up and walked towards the cell doors and the woman standing guard. "Excuse me, ma'am? Can you tell me in the blazes I'm doing here in this brig? This is the Bivrost, right?"
The woman didn't answer, or show any hint of even hearing him. Gontz walked right up to the bars. "Excuse me, ma'am? I'm a little scared and confused about what this is all about. Why was I taken here? Where's Catalina?"
He reached through the bars, intending to tap on her shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'a–YEOW!"
When his fingers touched her shoulder, a searing heat forced him to yank his hand back before it got badly burned. He stepped back from the woman, wide-eyed. "W-what?!"
His wide-eyes grew even larger, as the "woman" turned her head to the tune of actuators and motors running in her neck. Her head, topped off with brown hair and a Garlyle Helmet, turned a full one hundred eighty degrees, revealing a blank face void of features except for two solid white oval shaped eyes that flashed green, and then red as "she" spoke with an harsh electronic staccato, with a rising inflection.
"YOU WILL RE-FRAIN FROM TOUCH-ING."
Gontz screamed and scrambled back to the far side of the wall, and kept screaming even after the automaton turned her head the other one hundred eighty degrees back to facing forward.
He kept screaming for a full thirty seconds before Catalina showed up. "Stand down, return to your post, Gwyn."
"I O-BEY," the automaton responded before marching stiffly away, her heavy body clanking the whole way.
Catalina watched the Automaton leave, and shook her head, before looking to Gontz. "Hey there, Gontz, sorry about before."
Gontz was still screaming.
"You can stop now," she said.
Gontz stopped. "Wha… what was that?!"
"A Joule Foundation exclusive," Catalina replied, "Something to make work here on the Bivrost easier for its small crew."
Gontz sputtered. "That thing it was… wha…"
"It's more Angelou technology, though not nearly as elegant as the original. Those could actually operate on an internal power source… and didn't overheat like crazy," she said as she unlocked the cell, "Automatons they're called. I call 'em Gwyn tho, that's what their creator insisted."
Gontz calmed down. "So that thing wasn't going to kill me?"
"Maybe if it fell over on you, they're harmless. Not good for much other than manual labor and getting in the way, but I digress," Catalina said, "I need your help."
"What? You assaulted me and kidnapped me from my base!" Gontz immediately protested.
"I didn't kidnap you, I rescued and sort of recruited you," Catalina replied.
"How is using a Snooze Scroll on me and dragging me onto your ship against my will either of those and not kidnapping?!" Gontz argued.
"Because the Garlyle have betrayed the Joule Foundation," Catalina said.
Gontz couldn't believe it. "That's bogus! The Garlyle are loyal to the Foundation!"
"Whoa, watch your language!" Catalina snapped at him.
"I'm sorry!" Gontz said, before he stopped. "Wait, no! You kidnapped me and you're trying to convince me my comrades are the bad guys! That's the height of bogus!"
"Not your comrades specifically! I mean, please…" Catalina stopped, and tried a new approach. "How many Spirit Stone pieces does the Garlyle Forces need to complete the Spirit Stone?"
"One, that's why we were at the Surt Ruins," Gontz said.
"Well General Baal has been telling the rest of the Foundation that they still need three more pieces while having you close in on that last piece. Do you see the discrepancy here?"
There was no way Gontz couldn't. Still, he thought, there had to be a logical explanation for it that wasn't the Garlyle attempting to overthrow the Foundation. He couldn't quite think of one on the spot, though.
"This is over my head… it really is! I'm just a Private, I haven't even been out of bootcamp six months!" he exclaimed.
"Look, you can believe me or not, but now that you've been hanging around me long as you have there's no way you can go back to the Forces and not end up with a target on your back," she said, "I hope you're not that nice kid."
Gontz shook his head. He knew enough about the importance of secrecy and the dangers of knowing too much without authorization. Everyone from the Sergeants to General Baal himself would be taking aim at his back. "If that's the case, then what am I supposed to do?!"
"Here's an option. You'll work for me and the Internal Investigation Bureau. The pay is much better than a sergeant's and you'll get to wear a better outfit than that beige little number the Garlyle pretend is fashionable these day," she said before turned towards the cell door, "But the biggest benefit I can think of, is that you'll be able to help out Justin. He's got that last piece and the Garlyle are going to be gunning for him next time he pops up."
That took the wind out of Gontz's sails. "Justin has it?"
"Yeah, that's what the Colonel and his Lieutenant were discussing when I overheard them. They called off the Luc Village Mission because they realized he had the stone, not the Humanoids."
Gontz gasped, knowing already what the military would do to Justin after everything that's happened so far. "Oh no…"
"Anyway, I have to track him down, and I'm getting started on it tonight. If you want to help him, then follow me out of this cell and we'll get started. If you'd rather stick in with the Garlyle stay in there and I'll drop you off in New Parm so you can decide for yourself what to do next. It's that simple."
Catalina didn't like indecisiveness, so she was rather relieved when Gontz got up and marched right out of the jail cell, his expression focused.
"I'll help you. It's the only way I'll find out what's really going on–and if Justin is in trouble I'm going to look after him," he said resolutely
Catalina smiled. "That's good enough for me. Now let's get you a new uniform."
She gestured for him to follow. "We still have a few hours before we touch down at the Dom Ruins. I want an idea of what I'm working with, before we set out."
Gontz nodded. "My instructors said I was pretty handy with a sword… and I actually know a little bit of magic."
Catalina hummed. "Is that a fact? No wonder you were in the Fae Squad."
Gontz shook his head. "Actually, I became an auxiliary member after I escorted Lieutenant Leen back to her quarters when she was drunk."
Catalina did a double take. "Really! That little thing got herself drunk?"
"Well, someone switched her drink with an alcoholic one during the graduation party for us recruits. She only drank half of it before she was sloshed…"
"I did not know that," Catalina said.
But boy howdy was she glad she did now.
…
Location: Bivrost Stateroom
Time: 22:52 Hours Local
After knowing nothing but a military uniform for months, Gontz felt a little strange staring at himself in the mirror. A young man in a tailed three-piece suit and a matching cloak/great coat combat stared back at him. Like Catalina's suit, it was blue in color, but unlike Catalina his suit came with a black tie.
He kept his Garlyle Forces helmet, though. Thanks to the buzz cut that was required, he felt he looked silly without it on. The boots too, they were just more comfortable… though the beige didn't really go with the suit. He'd have to black them later.
"Well, I guess this makes me a civilian again," he said aloud to no one, as he was alone in what were now his spacious and comfortably furnished quarters aboard the Bivrost.
Better than a deserter or traitor, he thought to himself as he took his Garlyle Saber and tied it to his waist under his greatcoat, before buttoning it up.
Deep in his heart he hoped that this was just a big misunderstanding, and that things weren't nearly as alarming as Catalina believed. If they were, though, then the world was in terrible danger from people who had deceived everyone to make their move… people he had respected and been inspired by.
Even worse, if she was right then Justin and Sue were in big trouble and he couldn't let anything happen to a friend from his hometown.
The only way to find out was to go forward from where he was, and he wasn't a man who shied away from adversity. He joined the Garlyle to support his mother and little brothers after all, even with all the danger that came with it.
With a deep breath to shore up his resolve, Gontz nodded to his reflection in the full length mirror, and then left to the main passage of the Bivrost. Outside Catalina was waiting in significantly different attire.
"Looking sharp, kid," she complimented.
Gontz blinked several times, as he looked at Catalina's new get up. She was wearing a gray sleeveless top, and a pair of blue baggy trousers with color-matched greaves and cuisses wrapped around her shins and thighs. Underneath the sleeveless top she was wearing a blue shirt so thin that it almost looked like her skin. It covered her arms and hands ending in fingerless gloves.
He looked down at himself and his suit and coat. "I feel a little overdressed now."
"You're fine," Catalina said with a chuckle as she gestured for him to follow her.
Gontz let out a sigh. "So what exactly is the plan?"
"Exactly what I've discussed before. We're going to perform a full-scale investigation of the ruins, try to find what Justin and his friends found, which means going as far and deep into the ruins as we can," Catalina said, "It might get a little dangerous but that's why I'm going to be the one in front and you will be support."
"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Gontz asked, "No offense but even with that armor…"
She didn't look like much of a fighter. In fact she looked like she was trying a little too hard.
"Trust me, I've done this before plenty of times. I might not look it, but I've done a bit of adventuring when I was a teenager."
"How long ago was that?" Gontz asked.
"Too long," Catalina half-joked.
Still, at least he didn't ask her outright her age. She'd have to pop him if he ever thought to be that rude.
"We just need to pick up the last few pieces of my equipment and we'll be good to go."
They walked down the wide passage, passing more of those unsettling automatons performing their menial tasks silently and efficiently. Gontz averted his gaze from them, finding them unnerving to look at despite Catalina's assurances that they were harmless.
"How did you get used to them?" he asked.
"Well it helps that their inventor modeled them after me," Catalina said.
So she was easy to flatter, Gontz made a note of that.
"The truth is, they're just machines that do their jobs, like any other," Catalina said, "You learn to ignore them after only a day."
They reached the ship's armory, a large open room with glass-sealed cabinets storing various weapons. Knives, swords, maces, and axes decorated the wall–both standard Garlyle Issue and others appearing more exotic or primitive. On the far side of the ceiling-lit room, a pair of cabinets flanked a door decorated with various signage welcoming anyone to enter but to use caution.
In the center of the room, a tall glass cabinet stood, revealing the rest of Catalina's armor: a heavy-looking armored blue cuirass with a high collar that was split open at the chest, waiting to be worn, pauldrons and gauntlets. Mounted above them was a sloped helmet with a pair of lighter blue panels that sat on the sides of it over a pair of fin-like wings that swept up and back from the helmet.
Catalina began putting on the armor, first the chest armor, revealing it had a long heavy cape that split in two halfway down. With practiced ease she slipped on the pauldrons and gauntlets, before putting on the helmet and placing it on her head. She worked her arms and fingers through their range of motion, before she stepped back from the case with several heavy clanks. The bulky armor made her look almost twice her normal size, and she was already rather tall for a woman.
Gontz stared at her, impressed. "Wow, you look like a knight."
Though not like one of those great heroic wandering knights. If not for the blue coloring, she'd look like something more sinister… a dark knight that stalked the battlefield searching for a fight… any fight…
Catalina turned to him with a slight rustling of the metal, and smiled. "This is the Ranger equipment."
She looked towards the case. "It's built around the…"
She stared at the case. "… Around the…"
Gontz looked at the case. "Around the…?"
"Where's the All-Ranger?!" she exclaimed.
The door that welcomed anyone to come in opened, and another person stepped out from the dark room beyond it. Gontz and Catalina looked over at the sleepy looking person who walked out.
Catalina huffed. "Smalls, what's going on with the All-Ranger?"
Smalls, a short slender androgyne with curly brown hair and perpetually half-lidded brown eyes behind thick-rimmed glasses, walked over to the two, followed by a Gwyn Automaton carrying a long metal container. Smalls wore a pair of black slacks and a gray turtleneck sweater two-sizes too large, and no shoes or socks.
"I've been calibrating it, sorry," Smalls said softly.
Catalina sighed. "You're killin' me, Smalls. I'm about to go on a dangerous mission."
"I know, I know, the All-Ranger is ready to go," Smalls said, before looking to Gontz. "Oh, hello. I'm Smalls, I make things around here."
Gontz gaped at Smalls. "… Uh… hello?"
He wondered if Smalls was eating well.
"Imogen said we had a new crewmember, it's nice to meet you," Smalls smiled kindly to Gontz, "I'm Smalls. I keep Bivrost and her crew running."
"Oh, I'm Gontz…"
Smalls turned back to Catalina. "Gwyn, show her the All-Ranger."
"I O-BEY," the Gwyn answered before standing the case, taller than her, and opening it. Inside the red-cushioned container was the All-Ranger.
It was a huge greatsword with a black crossguard and hilt and a massive blade. It was easily as tall as Catalina was and probably heavier. Gontz' eyes widened.
"I was trying something new with this; it's all lightweight construction but very strong," Smalls said, "The opening feature is now fifty percent faster, and strong enough to do it when you have it buried in a monster."
Catalina took the sword from its container, and despite its size managed to lift it with little difficulty. She then pressed a button on the hilt, and the blade split down the middle, revealing the barrel of a cannon that ran down the length of the blade to the hilt, which was obviously part of the chamber and firing mechanism.
"Wow!" he said in amazement.
He'd seen guns on the Kite Fighters and tanks, and of course the Grandeur, but he'd never seen a handheld gun in person before, much less a gun inside of a sword! "How'd you make this?"
Smalls grinned. "It was rather easy, really."
Catalina was just as impressed as she held it up. "This is fantastic!"
"Thank you," Smalls replied.
"Excuse me, uh… Is it okay for me use any of these?" Gontz asked, indicating the other weapons.
Smalls gave a quiet, quick laugh. "You can take what you like, but if you have a Mark IV Saber then you have the second best blade on the ship. All these others are mostly prizes and mission specific."
Smalls then had an idea and gestured to the sword Catalina took from the case. "If you like, I can craft you an All-Ranger, if you think you can handle it."
Gontz looked at the sword. "It's a little big for me…"
Smalls giggled, and Gontz recoiled when he realized what he'd just missed. "A-ah, wait…!"
"Well I'm going to get back to work okay? Catalina, keep the new guy alive, I want to get to know him," Smalls said while gesturing for the Gwyn to return to the room.
"That won't be hard," Catalina assured.
Smalls nodded and then waved to Gontz. "Good luck out there, Gontz."
When Smalls went followed the Gwyn out, Catalina smiled when she saw that Gontz's face was considerably flushed. "Yeah, Smalls has that effect on people."
Gontz swallowed. "Smalls, uh… is he…?"
Catalina hummed. "Mm? Is Smalls what?"
"Is he eating enough? He's awfully skinny…" Gontz asked, genuinely concerned.
Catalina's expression flickered from concern to surprise, before she broke into a small laugh and patted him on the back. "Smalls eats plenty, don't worry."
"I don't know, if my Mom ever met him, she'd flip out and turn the kitchen into a factory trying to put some meat on his bones."
"That'd be a fight she couldn't win, trust me," Catalina said as she attached the All-Ranger to her back, "If you're ready, we can head into the Ruins now."
Gontz nodded. "Let's get moving then."
…
Location: Dom Ruins Vestibule
Time: 23:10 Local Time
"We're coming down over the Dom Ruins now," Hector reported over the loudspeaker to Catalina and Gontz, who waited in the ship's airlock, "It's pitch dark out so we're taking the approach slow."
"Landing lights are coming on to illuminate the landing zone," Imogen announced.
Flying at just over treetop height at very low speed, the Bivrost approached the sandy clearing that led to a massive mist-shrouded stone gray complex covered in dense vines. On its ventral hull and wings, high power lamps came on, bathing the vestibule of the ruins in brilliant light.
Imogen looked closed circuit televisions showing the landing zone. "Huh, the vestibule is supposed to be clear of plants right? There are a lot of trees down there now."
Catalina looked out the porthole window of the Dom Ruins' front yard, and saw that the tan, sandy ground was covered in trees. She immediately frowned.
"Bring us over to the roof, guys, and we'll dismount there," she ordered.
"Aye, aye, sir," Imogen said as the massive Bivrost swung herself slowly around and came to a hover over the nearest building of the complex, "We're in position, you're clear to drop."
The air lock's external doors opened, and both Catalina and Gontz leaped out and fell the short distance to land on the roof. As soon as they set foot, the Bivrost lifted off and ascended higher above the ruins, to illuminate them from above.
Over the howl of the engines, Catalina called to Gontz. "Are you okay?"
"Yes!" he called back, "Why didn't you jump out front?!"
"Come on!" Catalina called, before she went to the edge of the roof facing the ruins' vestibule.
Gontz followed her, and then gave a start. Standing in the vestibule were dozens of bipedal tree monsters with two heads, branches that extended into grasping, shearing claws, and bright green leaves adorned with red fruit.
"Ents, and there are so many!" Gontz cried out.
"Yeah, we're not dealing with those," Catalina said as the Bivrost retreated to a safe distance for them to talk at normal volume, while still providing bright lights onto the ruins.
Gontz nodded in agreement, and the two headed towards the direction of the rest of the ruins.
The Dom Ruins were a complex of four extremely large buildings that straddled a wide and deep, mist-filled chasm. The Garlyle's excavation of the ruins, several years ago, discovered that the ruins were a deep and winding maze filled with deadly traps, blood-sucking bats, ghosts, and Orcs. Even though the piece of the Spirit Stone hidden there had been found, the price was a grievous one with many casualties.
In Gontz's opinion, the fact that the ruins were orc-infested was the only point of doubt he had about Catalina's theory that Justin had been through here.
Catalina and Gontz crossed over one of the many arches that connected the buildings, passing over passages choked with ents. Gontz peered down at them, and trembled.
At the entrance, numerous trees, stones, and crude furniture had been thrown together as a large barricade. Behind the barricade, which led to the ruins, were numerous orcs–hunched, red skinned, gargoyle-headed dressed in simple spiked plate armor armed with axes, maces, and the occasional short sword. The ents were clawing and tearing at the barricades, ineffectual, while the orcs were reinforcing the barricades and roaring what sounded like insults in their bestial language at the ents.
"I've never seen so many!" Gantz gasped.
"Neither have I," Catalina agreed, "Something must've happened to have Ents acting aggressively like this… or someone."
They kept walking, completely bypassing the confrontation of screaming monsters and crossing the roof of the first half of the ruins. It didn't take them long to reach the other side and the deep abyss that split the ruins. The walls were adorned with large expressionless stone faces, just like in the passages that ran along the passages between the buildings. Above some of the faces, entrances into the other side of the ruins were easy to see, and some even extended into walkways shattered by the ravages of time.
One such path remained intact, two such faces were on the ends of paths that met halfway from their respective sides, effectively creating a bridge across the chasm. Though it was still a considerable drop to it, and four orcs patrolled the bridge, two at each end, which sported torches to illuminate its edges.
Catalina looked back to Gontz, and nodded. Gontz returned the nod, and drew his Garlyle saber. Readying the All-Ranger, Catalina ran to the edge and jumped, traveling in a small arc down onto the two orcs closest to their side.
She swung down her sword, slashing one of the orcs across the chest.
The second orc, turning to face her, growled in surprise, before rays of blue light struck the ground around its feet, creating a circle of ice that launched long spears of solid ice upward, slashing across its body.
Taking advantage, Catalina turned in a full circle, building momentum for a swing that shattered the ice and sent the orc off the bridge and falling into the abyss below.
Gontz landed on the bridge and winced from the landing. He shook off his frost-covered hand, cold from casting the Crackle spell. "Oof!"
"You okay?" Catalina asked as the first orc raised and swung its axe down on her. She blocked the strike with the All-Ranger, before shoving the orc back and turning around to face him.
"I'm fine," Gontz called back before he pointed at the orc, rushing to attack her exposed back. "Behind you!"
The charging orc, snarling and spitting, raised its axe and leaped–right into the onrushing edge of the All-Ranger.
The bisected orc hadn't even touched the ground before Catalina reached the other two orcs, dragging the All-Ranger across the bridge, and leaving a trail of sparks.
Gontz stopped midcast, and stared in surprise at how fast Catalina moved. "W-whoa…"
The two orcs, seeing the armored woman rushing them, answered her charge. The first orc, swinging its mace down on her, lost its weapon to the All-Ranger, before Catalina grabbed it by the back of its head and crashed her helmet into its forehead, the force of her headbutt laying it out.
As the second orc swung its sword at her side, and the blade glanced uselessly off her armor as she turned away into a spinning strike that knocked the orc off the bridge.
After watching the orc fall into the mists below, Catalina held the sword straight up and then dropped it right back into place onto her back. "Good grief, is it over already?"
Gontz looked back towards the direction they came from. "It might not be."
A fifth orc was just inside the archway leading back inside the ruins, and quickly spotted both investigators. It was about to open its mouth to roar, when Catalina quickly drew a long-bladed throwing knife and tossed it into the Orc's open mouth.
"Eugh!" Gontz looked away, as the Orc fell dead.
Catalina lowered her hand. "Well, that's done."
Gontz looked over to her. "You uh… are really good at this."
"I told you, I've been doing this for years."
Gontz shook his head and smiled, as he joined her in walking into the ruins.
…
Location: Bivrost Bridge
Time: 23:22 Hours Local
"Well, they've gone in," Hector said as he kept Bivrost in position, "I wish I could go…"
"Yes, Catalina would love to have someone who runs from slimes to have her back in a fight," Imogen lightly teased.
Hector took offense. "That slime was huge! Catalina would've run from it too!"
He took his hands from the side-stick controls at his console and folded his arms. "Besides, I didn't have any weapons on me, how was I supposed to fight it?"
A Gwyn strode over to the helm with a tray of sandwiches and juice. Imogen smiled when the Gwyn offered her its plate, and graciously took a few sandwiches and a bottle of juice.
"You could've cried on it, slimes don't like salt."
As Hector made a face at her, she took a large bite out of the sandwich, and the crunch of breaded fish fillet and the spicy kick pickled pepper relish jolted her taste buds.
"Mm! So good!" Imogen said, before she asked her brother, "What do you suppose that Justin saw while he was down there?"
Hector took his own sandwich. "Who knows, maybe he saw the spirits?"
Imogen seemed surprised that Hector would suggest that. "You think he might have seen the spirits?"
"Maybe he thinks he can see the spirits or something? I don't know," he replied, "A lot of people who are obsessed with Angelou think that they can see the spirits, even back at home."
Imogen was immediately taken by the idea. "Oh, that sounds romantic! Imagine it, being able to see the spirits and hear them. I wonder what they would have to say…"
"Probably yell at us for messing with their ruins," Hector suggested.
Imogen took another bite out of her sandwich, and quickly scanned her console. "I suppose they wouldn't be happy about that."
She then heard a beep to her side, and then another. Turning her head, she looked over at a screen to her right, showing a green grid with a single dot in the center of it. From this central dot, a pulse of light spread out, all the way to the edge of the screen. As the pulse reached close to the edge of the screen, it illuminated a second dot that had been fading away.
"Contact," she said to Hector.
Hector looked over. "Get a fix on it."
"Roger." Imogen turned to the screen and the keyboard beneath it, and began rapidly typing commands.
A reticule appeared around the dot, and from it sprang a smaller window on the screen, showing a quick database of large aerial objects, first large birds, then the large and deadly Rock Birds made of stone that lurked about the End of the World, then to the sleek, canard-winged Kite fighter, before stopping on a rectangular-winged plane driven by two pusher propellers at its wingtips.
"It's a Bomb Kite, range 95 miles. It's cruising at 33,000 FAMSL, bearing 307, heading 074, speed 210 knots. Looks like it's patrolling for us over the Misty Forest."
Hector snorted. "I didn't think Bomb Kites could get up that high."
Imogen didn't neither, the Bomb Kite of the Garlyle Forces was a Medium-class bomber. Good for terrorizing humanoids by bombing their villages in massed raids, but were so painfully slow and underpowered that they could barely make it above ten-thousand feet without shedding any excess weight–including bombs and extra crew members.
That one could fly so high and so fast was a surprise to Imogen, almost enough to leave her wondering if the radar system of the Bivrost was acting up.
"They shouldn't be able to," she said.
"Keep an eye on it then, maybe we'll learn a little more about what the Garlyle are up to behind our backs."
…
Location: Dom Ruins Interior
Time: 00:20 Hours Local
Orcs are a rare race of humanoid monster that–since the fall of Angelou–have struck fear into the hearts of humans. Hating humans and happily inclined to violence, they waged war on the post-fall survivors with every intention to wipe them out now that they were without the protections of the spirits or Icarians.
For centuries as humans struggled to recover, their wars with the orcs (and other monsters) was what brought them together and unified them. The Joule Foundation's founding over a hundred years prior spelled the end of these wars. Organized under the banner that would become the Garlyle Forces, humans purged the monsters from the Continent of Messina so thoroughly that when they were finished, the greatest threat to any travelers around the towns from that point were insects.
Orcs vanished from their ranges on the old continent, forced into dark caves and deep valleys where humans cared not to go, but their legacy of terror was not easily forgotten. When the New World was discovered, the red-skinned orcs that dominated the land were targeted and wiped out–leaving only a relict population in the vast complex of ruins they became synonymous with.
To this day, I wonder if the orcs gathered to those old ruins on purpose because they knew what sort of secrets were hidden there, and were desperate to ensure that humans never got ahold of that power again…
…
Jaws gnashing, an orc attempted to bite Gontz's face off as he held the monster's axe off with his saber. He tilted his head to one side, avoiding the bite, and then tilted the other way, its teeth snapping tight just inches from his cheek. He leaned back when it tried to go straight in–and Catalina's armored arm collided with its neck in a lariat she used to drag the orc back before slamming into the vine covered, yellow-painted floor of one of the large circular rooms that broke up the monotony of long sloping passages. This room in particular appeared to be an elevator, given the control lever that waited for them to the side.
Panting, Gontz didn't hesitate, leaping onto the orc and clubbing it repeatedly in the face with his saber until it stopped moving. When it was dead, he got up and searched its body, finding only a few gold coins.
"There aren't as many of these as there was during the last expedition," he said.
"Lucky us, huh?" Catalina asked.
Gontz shook his head. "Justin and Sue… they were definitely here."
It kind of scared him. How strong had they become?
Catalina walked over and activated the elevator, beginning a short descent one level to reveal a single doorway–from which a foul smell radiated out, hitting both Catalina and Gontz in the nose as hard as any orc could.
"Ugh! W-what's that smell?!" he yelped as he covered his nose.
Catalina grimaced. "The stench of rot…"
They walked through the door and came upon the source of the stench: a large dead creature bigger than a Garlyle tank lay in the middle of a long room lined with large pillars–unlike any other room they'd seen so far in the ruins. It was monstrous in every sense, having a spike-covered shell of a turtle, and two muscular forearms as big around as Gontz. It had no hind legs, instead having numerous spikes that jutted from its carapace like centipede's legs, and from its body extended a long tail that ended in a spiked club.
The monster had been beheaded, badly burned, its softer parts had throwing knives embedded in them, and large impalement wounds existed up and down its body going through even its tough looking shell.
Gontz whistled. "I owe Justin a beer."
"Are you even old enough to drink?" Catalina teased as she walked over to the dead monster, and pulled a knife from it. She knew that New Parm's greatest adventurer was an avid knife-fighter.
"The smell, the Ents must be drawn to this," she surmised. Ents, despite being plant monsters, were almost unerringly sensitive to smells in the air. "And all the other dead monsters that are all over this place are like an all-you-can eat buffet."
She tossed the knife to herself and put it away, as her bad eye began to water. Gontz's magic use had been irritating it slightly the entire way down, but he'd run out of energy to cast magic over fifteen minutes ago.
"Hff… there's something in the air here…" she said aloud.
Gontz still had his nose pinched. "No kidding?!"
"No… there's something magic here," Catalina clarified as she pointed past the monster's body and through another doorway. "In there."
There was a new feeling that came with her watering, stinging eye, a sensation that unnerved her even more than her allergy to magic: Catalina felt like she was being watched, like someone or something in the room had just noticed her and was eyeing her pointedly.
The fact that the walls were painted with eye motifs only made that paranoia worse.
Gontz looked around behind them, back towards the door they'd entered, and then back to Catalina. "There's nowhere else to go but forward."
Catalina nodded in agreement, before walking forward and through the door. Beyond the doors, was a wide, darkened circular room, with steps leading down towards a depression in the middle. It looked akin a theater, but at its center was a single empty pedestal she and Gontz could barely make out in the low light.
Raising her hand up, she covered her eye as she stepped further into the darkness. It appeared there were no other doors, no sign of disturbance, and definitely no sign of any treasure. Just an empty pedestal and the two of them.
Gontz stepped forward. "There's nothing here."
"No," Catalina murmured.
Gontz turned around to face her. "Is your eye okay?"
"No," Catalina replied. It just hurt now, a burning that she couldn't shrug off like she used to.
"There's something here," she revealed, "Something watching us…"
Gontz reached for his saber, anticipating something going wrong. "An enemy?"
Catalina tightened her palm against her face. "I don't know…"
A tense silence fell after, broken by the rustling of Catalina's armor and Gontz's greatcoat, as they looked around the room. As their eyes adjusted to the room, they could see there was no other presence at all in the room. They were the only ones there.
"Welcome."
And then they were not.
A bright light from the podium illuminated the room blindingly for an instant… before receding to a reveal the glowing projection of a beautiful woman dressed in a purple body stocking, and sheer purple and gold robe. On her head, she wore an ornate red and purple cap, with a long gold tassel that extended from its center, and in her hand she carried a long staff with a fan-shaped end that contained a single blue-green jewel in its center and two small tassels on its side.
Gontz's mouth fell open, partly at the activation of the pedestal, but just as much at the beauty of the woman who hovered before them, staring intently at them.
Catalina's expression darkened. There was so much going on. So much magic, so much power… her eye had gone from hurting to outright throbbing. She could feel a pressure, like her eye was going to pop out of her socket… or explode within it.
"What is this…?" Gontz asked, unable to believe what he was seeing. "This old technology actually works?!"
"Once opened, the door to Angelou cannot be closed," the woman replied to Gontz, "No more than a raindrop cannot stop its fall from the clouds to the ground."
Gontz gasped. "She… she spoke to me…"
He looked to Catalina. "Did you hear…?!"
He immediately stopped, when he saw the pain Catalina appeared to be in.
"Who are you," she asked in a tense voice, "What are you?"
"I am Liete of Alent, I have lived through and inherited the history of Angelou," she replied.
Catalina's uncovered eye grew wide. "What?!"
In the ancient myths, there was mention of a place called Alent. A city that floated in the sky, far higher than even humanity's best technology could reach. Such a thing, however, had long been dismissed as myth–an impossibility even with the miracle of the Spirit Stone.
"Come, tell me, what were you seeking when you came here?" Liete asked.
Gontz was the one who answered, "My friends, Justin and Sue. They left their home to go on an adventure, and it's brought them here and into a lot of trouble. There are powerful, dangerous people after them now… and I want to make sure they're safe."
"Justin, he who holds the Spirit Stone," Liete replied, "seeks many answers. To find them, he has embarked on a long journey to Alent, where I await him."
"Alent is real…" Catalina murmured… "… The vast library of the entire Angelou Civilization. Its history, its technology… every answer is there…"
Gontz shook his head. "Of course, as impulsive and crazy as he is, why wouldn't he do that."
Catalina called to Liete. "The Spirit Stone he carries, it is being sought after by people who wish to use its power and usher in a new era like the Angelou Civilization. This journey east… it's bringing him and the Stone closer to those people."
Liete nodded, acknowledging this fact. "Yes, the Spirit Stone is more intact than it has been since the Icarians shattered it a millennia ago. There is one who is collecting the Spirit Stone in order to revive Gaia, and Justin's journey brings it ever closer to completion."
"Gaia?" Catalina asked. "… What in the world is Gaia?"
Liete grew somber, her expression reflecting the weight of her next words. "Gaia is… the Destroyer of Angelou."
Catalina frowned, and lowered her hand from her eye. "Gaia is a weapon of some kind, then? I don't understand… if it's so dangerous then why have Justin bring the Spirit Stone to where the rest of the Spirit Stone is?!"
"As long as the spirit stone is not complete, then Gaia cannot awaken," Liete said as her gaze focused on Catalina's bad eye.
In that same instant Catalina understood. "… I see. Then I'm going to find Justin, and bring him to Alent."
Gontz looked to Catalina. "You know where it is?"
"No, but if we meet up with him, then we can protect him and get him there definitely before the Garlyle can get their hands on him," she said to him before speaking to Liete, "Then no one on the planet would be able to reach the last piece of the Spirit Stone, right?"
Liete smiled gratefully. "Yes. To reach Alent, you must continue east from here. Over the wall and across the lands and seas that lie beyond. Once there, the spirits will guide you to the final road to Alent."
Catalina nodded. "Good."
Gontz was relieved. "Thank you, Liete, for trusting us with this."
"Only those who carry the blessings of the spirits can open the door to Angelou," Liete said to Gontz.
She then looked back to Catalina, staring her in the eyes as she began to fade away. "Go to Justin; he and the Spirit Stone will be safe in your hands."
With a final flash of light, the room became dark and silent again, leaving Catalina and Gontz alone in it.
"We need to find them, as fast as we can," Gontz said.
"No kidding," Catalina said as she turned for the elevator and pulled out her radio.
As she walked past the dead monster, Gontz a pace behind her, she keyed the Bivrost. "Hector, Imogen, we got what we came for, meet us over the chasm for pickup. It shouldn't take us ten minutes."
"Aye, aye, sir!" Imogen responded.
…
Location: Dom Ruins Chasm
Time: 00:40 Local Time
Without incident, Catalina and Gontz emerged onto the bridge connecting the two sections of the Dom Ruins. There wasn't a single monster in sight, and the mists had cleared enough to reveal a brightly shining moon in the sky–creating perfect conditions for the Bivrost to come in slow and make a speedy extraction.
"How's your eye, Cat?" Gontz asked as they watched the distant form of the airship grow in the sky overhead.
Catalina looked over. "Cat? Please, no pet names."
Gontz was about to apologize, when he saw her smirk, and joined her in a hearty laugh.
"Now that we're out of there, my eye's done bothering me. It was worse than it'd ever been, though. I don't think I've ever been exposed to so much magic before."
Gontz nodded. "Why does it react to magic like that?"
"Don't worry about it, for now, we should focus on what's to come. The Misty Forest is going to be a pain to search, even from the air. Finding Luc Village will be a monumental effort itself, let alone your friends if they've already left for the End of the World."
Gontz silently agreed, but his small frown spoke volumes.
"We'll find them, don't fret too much."
"Too late. To be honest I'm a little shaken up about everything I've learned. It doesn't even seem real anymore. I mean, it was a big enough shock learning about our airships, and that we regularly travel across the End of the World. But… to know that everything we've given up so much for is for nothing more than a weapon?"
Catalina nodded. "I'm afraid to tell you this but you haven't even seen the half of it."
Gontz sighed. "I probably haven't, no."
With the Bivrost closing in, slowing to a near hover to begin the extraction, Imogen kept her eye on the radar screen. The Kite Bomber that they'd spotted hadn't left her screen, judging by its flight pattern over the Misty Forest, it was likely still in search of them.
"Hey Catalina, we're about to lower a ladder, get ready," Hector radioed.
"Roger, we're waiting," Catalina replied.
As Imogen shook her head in amusement at their blind groping, another contact appeared approaching from their left. It was moving fast, much faster than the Kite Bomber… and it was extremely low to the ground. So low that it was actually below surface level.
"That's not right…" Imogen then realized exactly what was happening and looked to her left out the port-side of the Bivrost's bridge… at the chasm the ship straddled.
As the ladder came down, Catalina and Gontz both heard it over the sound of the ship's Icarian Engine and its vertical thrusters. The loud whine of a propeller going at max RPM, echoing off the walls of the chasm. When they both looked up the chasm, the very first thing they saw was a Garlyle Kite Fighter rise from the mists, followed by three more.
"The Garlyle?!" Catalina shouted in disbelief before the lead kite opened fire, its slow-firing but heavy cannon striking against the hull of the white ship.
As the lead Kite pulled up, the other three Kites followed in suit, their shots striking and exploding against or glancing off the sloped and streamlined armor of the ship.
"HOW DID THEY SNEAK UP ON US, IMO?!" Hector yelled at his twin sister.
"I don't know! I don't know!" Imogen shouted. "We should've been able to see them coming from miles away!"
She looked at the radar screen. "W-was I too distracted by that Kite Bomber?!"
No, that wasn't right. The Kite Bomber was the only contact she could see! But then how…?
"Gah, there's no time to worry about it!" Hector growled. "Catalina! Gontz! Get up here!"
Down below, both had grabbed the ladder and held on for dear life as it rapidly winched them up. During their ascent, Catalina looked over at the four fighters as they split off into two groups and began to broadly circle around.
"Those K-Kites!" Gontz shouted. "That's the Lightning Star Squad!"
Catalina blinked in surprise. "Wait, Sergeant Saki?!"
In the lead of the formation, her hand manipulating the throttle and flight stick of her Kite, Saki grinned broadly as she watched the ship pass by her. "Thunder Road Flight, listen up! Focus all fire on the port side of the ship, bring that eyesore down at all costs!"
"Understood!" the three other pilots answered.
The four Kites came back around, and dove for the Bivrost. Their cannons fired, the shells striking and exploding against the armor, leaving ugly black scorch marks against the hull. One shell hit close to the closing hatch that Catalina and Gontz had managed to scramble into, the explosion muffled by the now shut door.
"If this keeps up, we're done for!" Gontz cried out. "Kites have 3-inch guns! They pack as much firepower as a tank!"
Catalina got up, opened a hatch inside her armor, and yanked on a ripcord. In a split second, her armor, sword and all, came off her body and clattered to the floor.
"Yeah, I know," she said before she left for the bridge.
On the bridge, Hector grimaced as the ship shuddered from the hit. "Damage?!"
"Nothing vital to operation!" Imogen replied.
"We're getting out of here, then!"
Catalina came onto the bridge and stood over the two pilots. "How did they get the jump on us?"
"We can argue about that later!" Hector shouted.
"Terrain Masking," Smalls suddenly said, ending all need for speculation.
Catalina looked over to him, as Gontz finally caught up. "What?"
"A practice of avoiding detection by simply using the terrain to block the electronic waves generated by our sensors by flying very low and very fast. In theory, it would allow for a Kite to approach any radar-defended facility undetected and attack." Smalls hummed. "The risks are extremely high, however, you would need to be a very good pilot, that's why it's a theory and not a viable tactic."
As the ship shook again from more hits, Smalls nodded. "The fact that they were able to get the jump on us like this tells me that the Garlyle have been practicing in tactics to fight peer opponents, which is unnecessary."
"The only thing as well equipped as the Garlyle is the rest of the Joule Foundation," Catalina said as anger spiked upward.
Despite the hits, the Bivrost ascended above the ruins and began to accelerate forward, the Icarian Engine generating enough thrust to push Hector and Imogen into their seats slightly and cause Catalina and Gontz to grab hold of something to keep standing.
Sweeping out to its right after making their pass, Saki let out a snort. "They're pulling away but they're trailing smoke!"
She looked upward. "Much as I hate to admit it, you were right!"
"Of course I'm right," Mio said from the cockpit of her own Kite, "The Joule Foundation's ever eager to get their hands on our technology, they hardly bother to explore its potential like we do!"
She looked to the three planes that trailed her. "Midnight Rambler, we will target the wings and engine of the enemy ship!"
Releasing the throttle of her Kite, she reached over and flipped a switch, and the droning hum that went on beneath her seat and behind her suddenly ceased, leaving only the sound of her engine. "Electronic Shadow Disabled!"
Onboard Bivrost Imogen's eyes widened when she saw four more Kites suddenly pop up on radar, in perfect diving position.
"Hector! Four more enemies above us!" she yelled.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Hector yelled. "WERE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SENSORS!?"
Imogen recoiled, and looked at the screen. "Th-they're coming from above and behind!"
"Which side, hurry you idiot!" Hector demanded.
Imogen flinched and watched the screen. "P-port side!"
"Stupid, stupid, stupid…!" Hector growled as he suddenly turned the ship into a left bank, straight into Saki's own attack.
Saki swore as her shells suddenly went outside as the large ship turned towards them. "Break! Break!"
The four Kites scattered, as the maneuver also defeated the shots from Mio's own flight of Kites.
Mio huffed in amusement. "Oh, you think that will save you?"
With deft movements of her controls, Mio brought her Kite into an extremely punishing turn that steepened and deepened until her Kite was literally flying sideways with its nose pointed at the belly of the turning Bivrost.
"Buh-bye," she sang before she opened fire, raking the underside of the ship with her plane's cannons before the Kite finally stalled and dropped towards the ground.
"Gah, hit again!" Hector snapped as he righted the ship. He turned to yell at Imogen again, but this time Gontz grabbed his shoulder. "Hey!"
"Don't yell at her, she's doing her best," he said sternly, despite the desperate situation they were in.
Hector stopped and looked at Imogen, who was now looking at the sensors with a laser-accurate focus, keeping her eyes out for anything that she could possibly miss. Suddenly, he felt like a heel, but before he could voice that the ship shook again.
"Aw, bogus!" he yelped as he maneuvered the ship to avoid more of the fire. "I can't build speed to climb if I'm stuck turning like this!"
"Don't worry about climbing, then," Smalls suggested. "We don't need to go far, just make it out over the ocean."
Hector looked back at Smalls, then ahead. "We're actually doing it… I guess we have no choice, now."
Catching itself before it could crash, Mio recovered from the tumble and all but hovered in the ground before flipping another switch to her right. The exhausts of her Kite's engine suddenly belched out a bright blue flame, and Mio was thrown back into her seat as her Kite violently accelerated.
"Ohhhh, yes~! " Mio purred as she quickly caught up with then passed Saki's Kite like a rocket.
Saki was impressed. "Hey, whatever you did to you your Kite, you're doing to mine you egghead!"
"Admit I'm better at this than you and I will!" Mio said as she placed the crosshairs on the rapidly closing Bivrost's Icarian Engine and opened fire.
"Starboard side, aiming for the engine!" Imogen reported.
Hector dipped the ship, the white-hot tracers from the shells passing above the right wing of the ship.
"She's correcting! Left side!".
Hector swerved Bivrost in the other direction, the shot glancing off the ship's hull rather than hitting the Icarian Engine. A split second after that, Mio's Kite cut over the Bivrost, the blue flames cutting off from the exhaust as she put her craft into a climb.
"Ocean's dead ahead!" Imogen said as Hector righted the ship.
"We'll have to get out a bit, to make sure it's safe," Smalls said.
Catalina gripped the back of Hector's seat tighter. "When we get back to Marna Fortress, we're getting this thing overhauled with some weapons…"
Hector dipped the ship again, and Bivrost passed over the last trees and out to the long, rocky shore that separated them from the ocean. The maneuver helped throw the aim off the last of Thunder Road Flight's cannons, much to Saki's frustration.
"Mio, our ammo's dry… geez, how much punishment can that thing take?!"
"It's still a Grandeur-class," Mio noted. "Luckily, my squad remembered to pack armor piercers!"
"So did we!" Nana then radioed in.
Imogen looked at her radar screen, and grimaced. "Four more fighters, straight ahead. They're barely above the waves."
Indeed, just above the waves, four more Kites closed in head-on, first spread out abreast, but then sliding into an almost perfect straight line. Leading them, of course, was Nana. "Bloody Rose squad, Bloodborne Flight, target the bridge. Fire a burst and break off so the next in line can get a hit!"
"Yes ma'am!" the other pilots answered.
"They're gonna attack head-on!" Imogen gasped.
"Imo, focus!" Hector said in a much gentler tone than before. "We got this!"
Smalls leaned close. "Let them get a little closer, Hector…"
Hector nodded. "R-right…"
"Get 'em, Nana!" Saki said as she pulled to a higher altitude to watch the Kites close in on the Bivrost.
"What will you do, civvies?" Mio said softly. "No matter where you go… we're going to execute you!"
"Throttle back," Smalls advised.
"Roger…"
Nana smiled as the ship slowed down, allowing her more time to let the bridge of the ship fill her sights. "I've got you!"
At the last possible second, before even Smalls could tell him to, Hector found the moment to move. "There!"
Just as Nana squeezed the trigger, the Bivrost pitched downward, its sharpened prow cutting into the water followed by the rest of the ship. It kicked up a great column of spray in its splashdown, one that forced Nana to pull up hard to avoid. "N-NO!"
The lead Kite cleared the column of water, but the three Kites behind her weren't as lucky, crashing straight into the wave one after another and going into the drink.
"It dove in?!" Saki yelled in disbelief and anger.
"… Unexpected!" Mio said. "Did they do it on purpose? Is the Bivrost designed for that?"
She dipped her wing to stare down at the foaming sea. No sign of wreckage other than the three Kites, whose crews were now flailing about in the water to stay afloat.
"Something that not even Grandeur and Lyonlot can do… she really is an advanced ship…"
"That's bogus! They chose the coward's way out," Saki insisted. "Death before humiliation, I guess!"
"Don't just gawk there like idiots! We have to get my men out of there!" An embarrassed Nana yelled.
"Herr Mullen will not be happy to hear this…" Mio lamented, before ordering her men to descend and pick up the crashed pilots.
…
Location: 150 feet below sea level
Time: 01:00 Hours Local
Gontz cracked open one eye, and looked around the dark bridge as he heard the low groan of the ocean pressing against the hull of the Bivrost. The impact had knocked him onto the floor and someone was lying on top of him.
"Is… is everyone okay?" he asked as he reached up to push off the body atop him.
He immediately felt something soft and warm under his hand. It surprised him, and he gave a more investigative squeeze. "Huh…?"
It was at that moment that the lights on the bridge kicked back on, revealing that he was groping a momentarily stunned Catalina's chest–just as she was coming out of said daze.
"Huh-HEY!" she yelped before Gontz could yank back his hand.
She pulled back from him, as Gontz reflexively raised his arms to block a hit. He stopped when he realized she wasn't about to clobber him. "Ah… s-sorry?"
Catalina just kind of gawked at him, before she relaxed. "D-Don't worry about it, soldier boy."
She picked up his helmet and handed it to him, a small flush on her cheeks. "This conked me on the head when we ditched. Keep your chin-strap on, okay?"
Gontz gratefully took it and put it back on his head. He then looked over at Hector and Imogen, who were secure in their seats and panting for breath, and then looked to Smalls–who was still standing.
"We… we really did that…" he said as he got up.
"Bivrost's design is extremely rugged, enough that she can even double as a submersible. She belongs in the air, though, so this sort of thing is only for emergencies," Smalls said.
"I-I see," Gontz said as he looked out the windows and saw only darkness.
Smalls then walked over and leaned over Hector. "Hector, I know we were in a bind, but taking it out on Imogen wasn't only unacceptable, but it did nothing to help our situation."
Hector looked down, and nodded. "I know, I know. I only meant-"
"Of course you did," Smalls said, "But be kinder to your dear sister. You'll work better together in the future."
Hector nodded again, before looking to Imogen. "I'm sorry, Imo."
Imogen looked over and brightened. "It's okay, Hector."
Catalina slowly got up. Bringing a hand to her face, over her bad eye, she slowly shook her head. "This is unacceptable. The entire Garlyle Forces could be rogue, including the Jezebel Division."
"That wouldn't be good," Smalls said, "So what is the plan?"
"Before sunrise we'll surface and take to the air again. We'll contact Director Duminas and tell him of the situation, then resume the search for Justin and his friends. When we pick them up, we go back to Marna Fortress, have Bivrost overhauled to fight, and then go from there to Alent."
Smalls nodded. "Simple."
"Simple is what I prefer," she said. "This will not happen again, and the Garlyle will not beat us to Justin or the Spirit Stone."
…
… Even to this day, I cannot stand how wrong I was…