Xenoblade X: Interim

by Classic Mecraphone

The problem with happy endings is that nothing is ever truly over. With the Ganglion under the thumb of a ruthless new leader, and the unpleasant reality of Cross's past being brought to light, NLA's brief moment of peace has ended. Rating: contains themes, language and violence prevalent in the game

8. Chapter 8: Prelude to WarAnd a Date

Ch 8: Prelude to War…and a Date

"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."

― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life

"Last time I saw this much brass I was in a museum showcasing old bathrooms."

"Second-hand though, right?"

"Well duh. Dunno how that particular bit of info made it onto the Lifeholds, but there it is."

"Well obviously it's of critical importance that Humanity know of the benefits of using brass when building a crapper."

"Ah, I should have known. The future where our asses are chilled by metal instead of hardened plastic and porcelain must not be far off."

"Keep it down you two, the meeting's starting!"

Me and Doug share a glance at Wolf's growl and then turn our attention to the center stage.

Three days after the halted advance on Sylvalum a massive meeting is being held in the BLADE cafeteria. More than a hundred people are in attendance, Humans and Xenos alike.

I spot more than a few familiar faces throughout the crowd, such as Kirsty, Tobias, Hugo, Tan' Celeg, Veven, Ackwar, Sun'Barac, Sevvy Belgazus, Elder Nan and pretty much everyone who was part of the initial Squad formation plan I was a part of. This many people in one room can only mean one thing.

The Ganglion are knocking, and they're doing it with a hammer, not a fist.

I give a small shake of my head and focus as Chausson, Nagi, Vandham and Eleanora all walk onto the slightly elevated platform that holds a massive holographic display. My nightmares have still been sticking with me, and I was almost ready to check in with a psychiatrist until the meeting was announced, which put things on the back burner.

Clearing his throat Chausson speaks up, his voice amplified by a hidden boom mike.

"I thank you all for coming, we have much to discuss and not much time to do it, so we will appreciate it if all questions are held until our initial explanation is complete. Is that understood?"

There's a brief murmur of acknowledgments and Chausson nods to Nagi, who steps forward with a serious expression on his face.

Well…more serious than usual at least.

"Let's not mince words here. The Ganglion have mobilized almost four-fifths of their remaining mechanized forces, and as of this moment are congregating in Sylvalum's Anvil Rock One stronghold."

While there's a few unhappy murmurs, most of the crowd seem to have already heard about this in one form or another. The rumor mill is running at full power it seems.

"We believe that in a short time they will launch from said fortress and begin to advance on NLA, with the intent of wiping out the city entirely. Our best estimates place the final Ganglion total, once all their forces combine, at one hundred twelve Qmoeva frames, forty Galdrs, twelve Seidrs, four Quos, thirty-six Fal-Swo, and four Xern's."

There's a stunned silence once Nagi finishes his rundown of the Ganglion numbers, and I feel my jaw clench. While the Qmoevas may not be anything too special, all the other variants, never mind the goddamn mobile fortresses that the Xerns are, will seriously tilt the odds in the Ganglion's favor. I do a quick bit of math in my head, accounting for Skells that need to stay and defend NLA, stand guard at the Lifehold Core, and machines that are currently damaged and being repaired right now.

It ain't pretty.

At the most we'll be able to field around a hundred or so Skells, roughly half of the Ganglion's Skell forces, and that's discounting their variety of machines and simply going by the numbers.

Man we are so screwed.

Quickly speaking up Nagi raises his voice and says, "That is not all. To cover some of the Ganglion's more specific strengths I hand this conference over to Slovity Pagus, Erio and Lyvia. They have been spying and raiding the Ganglion for many weeks now, and have important information for us."

I shift my gaze over to where Nagi is pointing and see two Definians alongside a Prone woman walking onstage.

Slovity is looking even more imposing than she was before, with her skin darkened a bit by Mira's sun, and a freshly acquired scar running down the side of her face. Clearly she's been quite the busy body.

Erio and Lyvia appear pretty much the same as always, although they're currently wearing their Human disguises, so it's kinda hard to tell exactly how much they might have changed, if at all.

"Greetings fellow warriors of NLA. As Secretary Nagi says, there is much to talk about."

I don't quite manage to hide my smile at Slovity describing everyone in the room as a 'warrior'. The idea of Elder Nan firing a gun at a Grex leaves me chuckling.

Tapping in a few commands to the projection board a succession of images pop up, showcasing several different Ganglion military machines and an overlay of Mira.

"Newest information from raids suggest Ganglion gathering forces from all over planet. Prisoners and freed slaves from raids gave numbers. Other information from computers gave more specific details. Ganglion will launch attack in eight days at earliest. No sooner."

There's more mutters once she gives the deadline. Eight days isn't much time to prepare for the end of the world. Erio and Lyvia step forward with nervousness at being the center of attention evident on their faces, Lyvia in particular.

"T-the information we got from the Ganglion network is quite detailed. W-we, uhh, we…"

I shout, "You're doing great Lyvia!", and there's a few scattered laughs throughout the crowd as she and Erio both shift awkwardly.

It's sort of a public secret that the two Definians have a bit of an infatuation with me, for some reason I've never really picked up on. Taking over Lyvia's spot as she tries to find her voice Erio picks up the thread of the conversation, enlarging each image as she begins to speak about it.

"We discovered a list of all of the Ganglion's active military forces as well as their current leaders. We also discovered some rather disquieting information about certain machines that will be taking part of the assault on the city. Firstly, the Xern that was Luxxar's own private base. From what we've been able to glean, this Xern has heavier armor and is about half again as large as a standard Xern. The more worrying of these behemoths is leva'el, The Terminus. While it was originally no different than any other Orion-type Xern, The Ganglion have taken advantage of recovered Vita weaponry, specifically it's Satellis drones. If the specs are to be believed, the shield offered by this Satellis will render bombardment by almost all known weaponry largely useless."

While sucky, that seems like a fairly accurate assessment. During the fight in the Lifehold Core, the Vita's little drones had created a shield that withstood constant barrages from seven Skells with no discernible drop in shield strength. While the Drone itself had been easy to destroy, I don't think that it's going to be so simple this time around. Getting enough machines through a Xern's defensive gun arrays to destroy the Sattelis and then take on the Xern itself would be an expensive undertaking.

Again, that's ignoring the two-hundred other Ganglion that'll only be too happy to shoot you down as you perform the equivalent of a Death Star trench run.

Without the force to help you.

I heave an internal sigh and focus back on the meeting. Lyvia said that there were three things we had to be worried about, and trouble does seem to come in threes.

"The last war potential is a Skell of the Almandal variety. The Ganglion refer to it as Nardacyon, the Shadowless. This Skell has quite the history behind it, and none of it good. The current pilot is a Milsaadi called Nahum, and she is currently the leader of the Ganglion, as well as the architect of the Ganglion's recent change in tactics. The machine itself is very powerful, and has been involved in dozens of Ganglion subjugations. Each time it conquers a species, Nahum has added additional enhancements to the Skell, adding only the best to Nardacyon in order to make it an amalgamation of each species strengths. Nahum herself is a phenomenal pilot and should not be underestimated…if I were to compare the machines performance to the Skells we currently use…I would say that it easily equals twenty such machines."

I glare at the gold and black highlighted machine with disgust. This time there's no small mutters or uncomfortable shifting of weight. Half the room seems to start talking at once, a few people even shouting in dismay.

Which I can totally understand, since all this new information seems to do is confirm the, 'Oh shit, we're so dead' line of thought. I'll keep my panic to a minimum until Nagi and the rest finish their briefing though.

"Everyone remain calm. Yes, this is hardly good or hopeful news, but at least we are forewarned of it and can plan appropriately. And don't worry, we have a solution to these seemingly insurmountable odds. Vandham? If you will."

Crossing his arms Vandham steps up to the display and drawls, "Alright people listen up and stop being such a bunch of scaredy-cats. First things first. Nardacyon. A pretty nasty machine right? Well we got one of our own."

My eyebrow shoots up, probably with a lot of other people's as well.

The only machine that leaps to mind is the Prog Ares, and last I checked it was a total wreck, sequestered away in the bowels of the restricted hangar. But is it worth twenty machines on it's own? I mean Elma, Lin and myself took it down on our own, I dunno exactly how high-spec it is.

I turn back towards Vandham who's wearing a predatory grin the size of a building.

"And we have just the pilot for it. I'll put cold hard cash on our new model knocking the crap out of this Nardacyon or whatever."

I see Wolf raise his hand.

"So who's this magical pilot?"

I'm kinda wondering about this myself. I take a glance around the room and see plenty of potentials. Elma and Irina are top contenders obviously but Doug has-

Why is everyone staring at me?

I glance toward the stage and see everyone with an expectant look on their face.

"You're joking."

"Nope."

"Then you're crazy."

"Pretty sure we're not kiddo."

I hear a few chuckles from the audience and immediately scowl.

"Why me? For crying out loud you have people like Doug and Irina here! Oh, and that one person who showed us how to build the things in the first place, what was her name? Oh right, ELMA."

Vandham just laughs while Nagi and Chausson smile.

"Kiddo, we ran this by the people you just listed off. They were all in favor of this."

I try not to gape at the three of them, although Doug is close enough to me that he see's my gaping expression and snorts. Irina and Elma are also grinning at my shocked reaction.

Elma speaks in a reassuring voice, "As one of the people who 'built the things' as you put it, I think I'm quite qualified to decide who's best for the job. You're it Cross."

I open my mouth to respond and then resignedly shut it with a sigh. If everyone is actually on board with this then I'm only gonna look like more of an idiot arguing against something that's already decided.

Triumph in his voice Vandham looks away and speaks to the room at large.

"Alright with that out of the way we got any more questions before we go over the rest of the plan?"

I hear a voice near the back of the room ask, "Have the Ganglion been locked out of FrontierNav? That's played a crucial part in their recent victories."

Vandham nods towards Kirsty and she stand with her face equal parts ashamed and pissed.

"After going over FrontierNav's security systems and periodic reports, we realized that the Ganglion we're using a data probe we thought destroyed to access the system and alter it from within."

Her eyes flash and there's a definite hint of steel in her voice.

"I promise you, the Ganglion will not be accessing FrontierNav anytime soon."

Seeing as how Kirsty treats FrontierNav as her own flesh and blood, I don't think anyone disbelieves her.

Vandham glances around the room.

"Anyone else?"

Silence.

The predator grin returns as he continues with, "In that case, let's move on to how we're gonna deal with those Xerns, eh?"

He taps the control panel with one meaty finger and a new schematic shows, showing several different Skell class weapons that I haven't seen before.

I take a closer look at the things and feel my eyes narrow in approval.

Yah, those babies are gonna cause some pain.

---

After the meeting is dismissed I move to talk with Vandham and Nagi.

I notice Vandham smirk at me as I draw closer. He probably already knows what I want to talk about.

"Lemme guess, you want to now if we're absolutely sure that you're the right guy for the job?"

"Well the entire room seemed to be onboard with it," I respond wryly, "so I can't exactly argue now can I? Actually I came by to check when this mystery machine is gonna be available for some test flights. Unless you're planning on having me get some on the job training, courtesy of several angry Ganglion."

Nagi smiles at my joke and replies, "It should be ready in another day or two. We'll send you a message as soon as possible."

"Got it. But what's up with all the sparse details? No name, picture, specs or anything. Is this Skell really that big of a secret?"

Vandham shrugs.

"Not particularly, but the less chances the Ganglion have of finding out any information on it is better for us. But mostly I just want it to be a surprise for you."

I roll my eyes as Vandham grins and Nagi resignedly sighs.

---

About two hours after the meeting I decided to go ahead and catch up on some more reading, which I've honestly fell behind on the past few weeks. I pick up my reading tablet and take a look at my 'to do' list and tab through what's on the top of my chart. The Old Man's War series, A Song of Fire and Ice…my attempt at making a decision is halted once my comm starts beeping, clamoring for my attention.

Throwing aside the device I take a look at the caller I.D. and feel a thrill of anticipation in my chest.

Tatsus calling.

Stabbing the accept button I immediately ask, "Do you have it?!"

He responds with more than a little annoyance in his voice.

"Yes friend, Tatsu has special flower. Took many days and many close calls, many run ins with dangerous beasts and several sleepless nights…but yes. Tatsu has friend's stupid flower."

I can't stop the childish grin that spreads across my face.

"You rock buddy!"

"No, Tatsu is not Rock, Tatsu is Tatsu!"

I roll my eyes at the Nopon's shaky understanding of Human expressions and instead ask, "So where are you right now? Are you in the city?"

"Yes, Tatsu is outside friends bear racks, where is friend right now?"

"Close enough. Stay right there."

A few minutes later I spot Tatsu loitering in front of L's shop, perusing the usual shmorgishborg of things the eccentric Xeno comes up with. The variety has gone down the past few weeks since the guy is still who knows where with Professor B, but that merely means there's a ton of bizarre stuff leftover, as opposed to a surplus.

"The Hibiscus wasn't enough, now you want even more exotic crap?"

"Hmph! Friend Cross obviously doesn't appreciate lengths Tatsu went to retrieve gift! Perhaps Tatsu just leave without giving Cross what he wants!"

My smile transforms from friendly to predatory.

"Oh? Well if you're not here to actually deliver anything, then I can always let Vandham know that a Nopon courier just arrived in the city who has nothing better to do. Heck, you're our liaison to the Dodonga Caravan. I'm certain they'll have you out of the city within minutes, carrying all sorts of things that have to be delivered physically. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

The look of abject horror on his face is reply enough, and he quickly searches his backpack for my order. A few seconds later he produces a fairly plain wood box, about a third of a meter length and width.

"Friend Cross is perfect fiend… " he mutters as he passes it to me.

"Don't worry Potato Head, I told Lin you would be back and guess what? She's making dinner just for you spud bud."

His eyes light up this.

"Hoo hoo! Lin Lee feast is happening! Tatsu see you later!"

He sprints off and I can't help but roll my eyes at his bipolar nature. Turning my attention to the box I gently cradle it and slowly lift the lid.

It's beautiful. The pure white petals are unblemished, while the veins of the flower glow with a silver shimmer, creating a crystal lattice like structure that glints in the sunlight.

There's a reason I chose a Hibiscus apart from every other flower on this planet. Apart from their rarity, Hibiscus are almost alarmingly resistant, despite their fragile looking beauty.

The Nopon like to brag that Hibiscus are immortal, as long as you take care to submerge their roots in water once a week and expose them to plenty of sunlight.

Given most Nopon's penchant for saying almost anything that'll get them a sale aside from an outright lie, I assume 'immortality' means a few centuries instead of forever. Which is close enough I guess, since most species we know of tend not to live for more than a few hundred years.

Personally I'll just be happy if I make it to my midlife crisis.

Excitedly placing a call on my comm to Celica I wait a few seconds while it rings before I get an answer.

"Cross? To what do I owe this pleasure?"

She sounds slightly out of breath, so she must have just finished her routine work out session. I try not to let the image of her wearing her usual tight fitting workout spandex eclipse my thoughts, and don't quite succeed.

Easy does it tiger.

"I was wondering if you're busy at all today, I have something to talk to you about."

"Unfortunately I'm busy for the next three or so hours, but Rock and I will be at Deliverance Park after that. Do you wish to meet then?"

"I'd be more than happy to do so. See you then?"

"Not even providing a hint?" she asks with a sly smile, "Very well, I'll see you then."

I hang up and feel a tingle crawl up my spine. Is that excitement? Nervousness?

Probably a mix of both.

---

I let out a shaky breath and turn towards Rock, who's currently carrying several different tables and chairs.

"Do you think he suspected anything Rock?"

"I dunno" he says as he scratches behind his ear, "He certainly seemed to buy it. Dunno how he could have figured out anything really. Don't worry about it Celica, let's just focus on getting everything set up, alright?"

I look at the familiar faces helping set up several different plates of food and drinks and can't help the delighted smile that crawls up my face.

Cross won't know what hit him.

---

The weather couldn't be any more perfect for this little confession I have planned. Clear skies aside from a few drifting clouds, a balmy twenty-one degrees and a pleasant breeze to top it all off.

At least Mira's on my side for this.

"Looking for someone?"

I smile as Celica suddenly appears at my right elbow, somehow sneaking up on me.

Which is kinda weird when you consider what I was raised to be, but whatever.

"Indeed I was. She's a very pretty young woman who has a sharp wit to match her beauty."

She smirks and replies, "Then I am at your service. Flattery aside, although I do enjoy that, you needed to talk to me about something?"

I dryly swallow my nervousness and say, "Yah actually…mind if I ask where Rock is first?"

"Oh he's farther down the park. Want to meet up with him?"

"Yah, what I wanted to talk about actually concerns him as well, so…"

She raises an eyebrow but doesn't ask any more questions, instead linking her arm in my own and leading me towards the heart of the park. I push my nervousness aside and simply enjoy the feeling of her arm and my own touching.

We walk along in silence for a few minutes before my gut starts to tell me that something's amiss.

"Celica," I carefully begin "Are you leading me into something dangerous that I should be aware of?"

'Dangerous? Of course not. Well…at least not for me."

With a happy smile on her face there's a sudden shout of, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I'm temporarily at a loss for words as more than a dozen people I know suddenly shout at me, and I barely manage to catch a cylindrical shaped hat that's chucked at me. I shoot Celica a shocked glance and she breaks out laughing at my shocked expression.

"So this is what you were busy with…"

"Me and everyone else here that is."

I'm kind of at a loss for words here. Elma, Lin, Doug, Hope, Irina, Frye, Phog, Gwin, Vi, Julun, Mia, Rock, Tatsu and Yelv are all standing around the several tables laden with food and drinks, all wearing the same self-satisfied smirks at my toungue-tiedness. Frye saves me from my awkward moment though.

"Quit standing there and head on over man! I'm starving!"

I snort and reply, "I'm curious where you found my birth certificate though. I figured that thing would be under lock and key."

Hope looks rather sheepish and says, "Well we didn't find anything like that really…we figured the easiest date to go by would be when you were first awakened from the stasis pod, but we missed that day already, so we decided better late than never?"

I smile as Hope starts to look worried that maybe I won't appreciate what they're doing. As if.

"Well I can't argue with that logic, besides that means my next Birthday will come even sooner. Or at least whenever we get a calendar for this planet."

There's more than a little truth to that statement. Mira has a much longer rotation around it's sun than Earth does, roughly two and half times as the best guess puts it at. That made the Earth calendar useless, so NLA is currently in the process of making a new Miran almanac, hopefully one that everyone will get used to. Most people figured we could just borrow the Nopon's calendar, but that idea was quickly abandoned once it became clear that all the caravans had their own specific calendars, none of which resembled each other and often had completely conflicting information.

My thought's are interrupted as I'm suddenly dragged by Yelv over to the center table, where there's an impressive looking cake sitting in the middle. I snort as I see the icing's decoration. There's a midget sized Formula with the quote, 'Sugar is good for your Skell-eton!' drawn in the center.

That must be Lin's handiwork. Slapping my back Yelv happily shouts, "Happy first birthday pard! Congrats on making it through your first year!"

Gwin smirks as he puts a single candle onto the center of the cake and I raise an eyebrow at all the alcohol on the nearby tables.

"Is it a good idea to give a one year old booze?"

"You never drink anyway man."

"Fair point. All though I think that's mostly because Frye monopolizes it all."

Lin claps her hands and then shouts, "Alright everybody time for the birthday song! Then feel free to help yourselves!"

I take a look around and notice all the Xeno attendees except for Elma looking lost at Lin's mention of the 'birthday song'. I guess they forgot about that little detail didn't they?

---

"Aaaahhhh…that hit the spot, lemme tell yah."

"I'm surprised at how much solid food you actually went through Frye. Normally you just stick to a mostly liquid diet at parties."

"Ha! I'm with your little brother on this one Frye, normally you don't bother with anything you spend more than a few seconds chewing!"

Doug, Gwin, Vi and Rock all lean toward me and Gwin whispers, "Are they always like this?"

"Believe it or not, this is one of their more relaxed conversations. Not to mention all of the furniture is still intact. Well except for that one chair."

Rock grins sheepishly.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going to carefully and, well…"

I smile and swat his massive leg.

"Don't worry about it pal, I think you constructing several buildings and roads on the whole balances out pulverizing the occasional chair."

Vi laughs and says, "What was it one of your authors said? Re-arranging the furniture is the key to life?"

"Beats me. Haven't heard that one before. I guess that would make Rock a minor god, and drunk Frye ruler of the universe."

That earns a few more laughs and Doug turns to me.

"Sorry we couldn't get more people to show up, but what with the upcoming battle and everything only a few of us had this afternoon with nothing to do."

"Considering that I wasn't expecting anything like this in the first place, all I can say is you guys are the best. And by the way, what the heck is up with you guys giving me this super badass Skell everyone is talking about? I still think Elma would have been a way better choice."

"If we were going by raw piloting skill, then yah. Me, Irina and definitely Elma would have been better choices. But we still went with you. Wanna guess why?"

"Rougish charm?"

"Adaptability. While the three of us may be better pilots, even if only by a bit, that's with our current generation of Skells. I can't get too far into detail, mostly because I don't know too much myself, but this new model is a whole different beast. New controls, new engines, new weapons. Even for Elma this thing is new territory. We need someone who's both a fast learner and a good pilot. That's you pal."

"Well I'm honored to be the Guinea Pig then. And thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Anytime bud."

"Well with all the touchy feely crap out of the way…let's talk about touchy feely crap! Pard! I hear you still haven't asked Celica out. What gives man!"

I turn to Yelv who apparently snuck on over with Frye and Phog when I wasn't looking, an expectant look on his face.

"Well I actually have that covered Yelv, but you mind telling me who it was that suggested this little intervention?"

I take a look around me at the semicircle everyone's formed and quirk an eyebrow in Vi's direction. I think I have my first culprit.

He raises his hand's peaceably and easily replies, "It wasn't me, but rather it was Rock who suggested doing this."

I don't even come close to hiding my surprise and look over my shoulder at the massive Xeno, who's awkwardly scratching his head.

"Well Celica likes to talk about you, and you helped the both of us since we first arrived in the city so…"

I feel a slight blush of embarrassment rise to my cheeks and ignore the amused looks around me.

"Rock" I say gently, "I really do appreciate your frankness, but if Celica and I do end up in a relationship, you know that that might change the dynamic between the two of you."

He simply smiles.

"I know, and I'm sort of hoping for that."

I give him an incredulous look.

"Well you see, Celica has always been looking out for me ever since we met. She's spent so much of her life working towards my happiness, I sometimes worry that she ignored her own. She doesn't need to keep looking after me now that we no longer have to run from the Ganglion."

I frown and am about to speak when Frye growls and says, "Listen here big guy, I can't pretend to know you two as well as Cross does, but I do knowsomething about family, and how it works. Does Celica really seem like the type of person who would consider it a burden or hassle to help someone who was really in need of it?"

"Well no but-"

"Then case closed! You're not an unnecessary burden on her, and even if you were, that's what family sometimes is. Maybe you get angry with each other over a misunderstanding, maybe you feel like a drag on their life, and sometimes you even hurt them through your own stupidity. But you don't just cut them off and pretend they don't exist! You try to help them as much as they've helped you, end of story!"

He's quiet for a moment as he realizes we're all looking at him and then embarrassedly coughs.

"I uh, might have gone off on a bit of an unrelated tangent there. Sorry."

Phog chuckles and gently says, "It sounded like one born of personal experience."

"Yah alright laugh it up little bro, I'll let you have this one."

Snorting to myself I look back at Rock, who still seems to be in a mild state of shock.

"Maybe not the most eloquent of ways to put it, but Frye's absolutely correct Rock. It's fine if you want Celica to not, 'look after you' anymore, but don't you dare do so because you think she's tired of doing it."

Rock's silent for a few moments before he gives an odd hitching growl that makes us all jump in our seats. It isn't until I see him wipe away a tear as big as my bicep that I realize the big lug is actually crying.

"T-thanks guys, I n-never really had anyone say it to me like that before…"

The girls look over at us in concern from their table a couple of meters away and I give a thumbs up in their direction.

Shrugging, they go back to their conversation and I breathe out a quick breath. Crisis averted.

Rock gets ahold of himself and takes a deep breath as we all pat him on whatever limb is closest. I shake my head at how ridiculous this must look. A bunch of humanoids a tenth of Rock's size all crowded around him and trying to calm him down while he sobs his eyes out. Aye Caramba.

That out of the way Gwin looks at me and asks, "So now that you've earned the families approval, have conquered the demons of your past and saved the princess in the tower, what else could possibly be making you think this relationship would be a bad thing?"

I notice Yelv smirking in my direction, clearly just waiting for me to offer up some kind of excuse. Instead I merely reach underneath my seat and pull out the box and open it, showcasing the Hibiscus.

Their eyes widen and I hear Rock breathe out a 'wow'. Grin turns to me and haltingly asks, "Is this…Is this a?"

"It is indeed. And it's for you Gwin. Give it to Irina."

He looks at me with his mouth hanging open and I break out laughing.

"It's not for you dumbass. But I'll put in a good word for you with Tatsu if you ever want one. And I was actually planning to ask her out today, but the party put that on hold for another few hours. Once it's over I'll ask her."

Yelv heaves a disappointed sigh and complains, "Dammit pard I had a whole roast ready for you, way to put all that hard work to waste."

"My deepest condolences Yelv."

Vi sighs.

"To be gifted such an astounding specimen…if you don't mind me asking Cross, you never told us exactly why you were so attracted to Celica, especially given the rather short time you two have spent together."

"Coming from the guy who was swept off his feet by Gu Ladha in a single night."

He shrugs and Frye takes over the conversation with, "Guy has a point Cross. I always thought you would end up with Elma or Lin, they've been with you since day one."

I'm about to respond flippantly when I realize this actually deserves some real thought.

Slowly I reply, "I never really felt that way about Elma, if only because I admired her so much. Her assuredness, leadership skills, charisma…I think I wanted to be like her, not with her. Besides if we had ended up dating, poor Doug over here would have needed up single his whole life."

There's a few laughs and a scowl from Doug but I ignore him.

"As for Lin…well at one point I did have a bit of a crush on her, but after hearing about her parents, as well as how she kind of viewed me as a father-brother-hybrid thing, I was happy to take on that roll. She deserves it after all she's done for me."

I take a deep breath and collect my thoughts before speaking.

"For Celica…I guess it's as simple as we're alike in some very important ways. False modesty aside, we like to downplay or deny how selfless we actually are, and definitely don't like admitting that we're more at ease solving others problems than we are our own."

Frye snorts at that and I give him a look.

"Lastly, and don't take this the wrong way, we're both kind of isolated from others in NLA."

I hold up my hand as Doug goes to ask what I'm talking about and he falls back in his seat with an unhappy look on his face.

"I don't mean that we're lonely or anything like that. You guy's are my buddies, my hombres, through thick and thin. And there's dozens of others who aren't here right now that I feel the same way about."

I sigh.

"But you can't deny that I'm missing something important. Years of living on Earth, seeing it's sights, living in it's cities, breathing it's air…and it's destruction, and what that meant to everyone."

They all shift uncomfortably, which I can understand.

---

The exodus from Earth created a powerful, shared experience that every Human in NLA could relate to on some level.

EVERYONE left something behind on Earth. Homes, pets, friends, family…there simply was't enough room on the Ark ships to afford free passage to those who couldn't carry their own weight.

I wasn't there for any of that. I can't relate to the feeling of having to leave loved ones behind to die, of having no choice but to soldier on, with no guarantee of ever finding a new home.

It's not the missing culture, the lack of social experience or anything along those lines that truly leaves me feeling ostracized from my own species.

It's not remembering anything about our home, or how it hurt to leave it behind that truly leaves me on an island of sorts.

I remember one day asking various BLADEs about the last days of Earth, and what they remember about it. Every one of them got a haunted look in their eyes and refused to talk about it.

But I can imagine.

With the construction of the ships nearing completion, and the Ganglion and Ghosts appearing in the skies, people would obviously panic and try to board the ships no matter the method, ships which could no longer take on passengers. Doug and Lao never talk about what they had to do when they were guarding the ships before takeoff, and I never want to ask a second time. My imagination and their blank expressions painted a clear enough picture.

But then again, that's the point. I can't simply read up on what it felt like to leave Earth and it's billions behind to perish, I can only offer empty platitudes and pretend to know what it was like.

---

Frye gives me a sympathetic look and says, "Damn Cross…I never thought of it that way. I guess that's a pretty big hurdle to jump over huh?"

"It is what it is Frye. And don't feel sorry for me. If anything I should be pitying you guys. But then it's almost the flip side for Celica."

"How so?"

"I don't remember anything about my home that was destroyed out of the thousands that survived and feel excluded because of it. She remembers everything about her home, and could maybe be the last one of her species to remember it, which leaves her just as ostracized. Two sides of the same coin much?"

Everyone is quiet as they consider that.

---

"So how's the squad doing Julun? Cross never tells us anything."

"It is quite interesting. Many brushes with death, plenty of close calls and more bad jokes than I care to remember."

"Yah that sound like an organization Cross would be in charge of alright."

Irina turns to me and asks, "So Celica, I hear you got your Skell license, congrats and welcome to the big leagues!"

I smile and playfully answer, "It was only due to Mia's extensive experience with Skells prior to the exam that I was able to do so."

"Aw c'mon Celica it's bad enough that Chief gives me crap about that all the time, not you too!"

Lin laughs and jumps in with, "Don't worry about it Mia, I was talking to Walter just the other day and he said he'll start taking bigger payments out of your jobs so you can get rid of the debt faster."

"Man you guys are harsh…"

Julun takes pity on her and turns her attention to Irina.

"So how is trainee squad now that Wrothian and I no longer there?"

"Ugh, it's downright embarrassing. Without you two there to show the kiddies how lame they actually are I have to settle for yelling at them until they get it."

Elma laughs at Irina's complaints.

"Now you get a taste of what it was like training you guys back on Earth. You were quite the handful Irina."

"Colonel! I wasn't anywhere near as bad as these new recruits!"

"Oh yes you were. Always asking questions and wondering why we have to do things my way instead of the 'right' way."

Irina looks scandalized as we all laugh at her expense.

"Was I really that bad?"

"You absolutely were."

She shakes her head in disbelief while Hope looks back to where the boys are sitting and apparently deep in some conversation.

"I wonder what they said to Rock that made him so upset. I've never actually seen him cry before. What was that about?"

I simply smile and reassure with, "Likely nothing important. Besides he seems quite happy now, I wouldn't worry overmuch."

"Well if you say so."

Lin suddenly turns to me with a sly smile on her face.

"So Celica, how are you and Cross doing lately? Any progress?"

I feel a slight blush start to form as Lin poses her question. I was just wondering when she was going to bring this up.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean Lin."

She rolls her eyes and replies, "Oh c'mon Celica you know exactly what I'm talking about. You and him have been dancing around this topic for more than a month now! When are you two going to start dating for crying out loud!"

Julun snorts and amusedly says, "Been wondering that for a long time now I have."

Mia of course can't resist adding her own two cents and playfully says, "At this rate the two of them will start getting wrinkles before they even get to second base."

I feel myself flush bright red and immediately reply, "I think that's enough of that. And why do you all seem to have such an interest in the two of us?"

Hope smiles sweetly at me and happily replies, "Because the two of you are dear friends to us, and we'd like the two of you to be happy. If that means we need to push and tease the both of you, then so be it."

Lin rolls her eyes.

"I still don't know what you see in him Celica. Ok he's got a pretty face, whoop-dee-doo. He's also painfully oblivious."

Irina looks pensive for a second and asks, "How did you two even end up attracted to each other? Didn't you first meet less than, what, five months ago? Not to mention the both of you have been pretty busy with your own tasks, it's not like you were spending every waking minute together."

I can't help but smile as I remember our first, and rather awkward meeting. Elma and Lin glance at me and have similar expressions on their face, no doubt remembering the same thing.

"Actually Irina, when we first met it ended rather uncomfortably for poor Cross…"

---

Rock and I had been on the run in Noctilum for months, avoiding Ganglion patrols as well as Mira's more aggressive denizens. It had been a fairly normal morning, creating a campfire and then preparing a morning meal…until several Marnucks had spotted us. In retrospect it had been foolish to use dry, old wood. The smoke was visible for kilometers around us, a giant sign pointing to where we had been.

Thankfully we managed to stay ahead of them for several hours, but they had slowly surrounded us, forcing us to run into a cavern. We had started to slow down, mostly due to my exhaustion and Rock's dislike of enclosed spaces, when they finally caught up to us.

A single gunshot landed right next to my feet and I froze in fear, Rock stopping right beside me.

"Stop right there! Take another step forward and the next one goes through your leg!"

Swallowing my terror I had turned around and stepped in front of Rock, trying not to shake as I counted twelve Ganglion soldiers.

"You've led us on quite the chase little lady! Quite impressive considering you had that giant tagging along with you. Unfortunately we're also pretty upset with you now because of that. You know what that means?"

I settled for glaring at him instead of answering.

"It means that if you listen to us and don't struggle, we take you to our bosses safe and sound. Fight us, and we'll hurt you. Badly. Don't give us that excuse."

My shaking had started in earnest then, and Rock had whimpered. I knew what being captured by the Ganglion meant, and I was even more frightened for Rock, as the Ganglion would almost certainly punish him for his earlier betrayal. Although to be fair I probably wouldn't have been much better off, the Ganglion aren't gentle with escapees.

Desperately trying to think of a way to run, the Ganglion didn't give me the opportunity to do so.

"Shrak, get the binders on that girl and make em tight. We don't need that little whor-"

Whatever rude term the leader had been about to describe me as was lost to time as his upper half suddenly came apart in a spray of disintegrating biomass, coinciding with a sudden roar coming from farther down the cavern. Said roar had been caused by a small humanoid wielding a weapon almost as large as it was, which was currently spitting fire at the remaining Ganglion who immediately scrambled for cover. One more didn't make it, losing an arm and then his head as hail of gunfire took him down.

Quickly finding cover among the scattered boulder one Marnuck had leaned around the rock and gasped, "Humans?! What are they doing here?!"

No one was able to answer him as his head had suddenly snapped back and then forward, a geyser of blood shooting out of the newly created hole in his cranium, courtesy of a crimson clad figure with a smoking weapon.

I barely noticed however, my blood running cold at the mention of Humans. There was no other race among the Ganglion that inspired such a mix of both hatred and fear. Rock and I had heard of Human's creating a city on the planet, and had taken care to avoid them as thoroughly as we did the Ganglion. Rumors among the many member species of the Ganglion all seemed to agree that the Human's killed first and asked questions never.

Back then I hadn't even thought to question such hearsay. After all, any species that could give the Ganglion such a fright must be brutal beyond belief.

Regardless, I had assumed Rock and I were simply trading one enemy for another.

The Manuck's had started returning fire from their position, causing the two Humans to retreat around a corner.

There had been a second of tense silence before several spherical objects had bounced around the corner and then exploded, throwing up a massive dust cloud and briefly stunning several of the Ganglion with the ensuring shockwave. Rock and I had retreated around an outcropping farther up the cavern to hide, mesmerized despite the direness of our situation.

Apparently using the dust as a form of cover, a dark green figure had suddenly appeared, sprinting towards the Ganglion with frightening speed. Several of the Marnucks had taken aim at the being, and I had assumed this particular Human was done for.

I was quickly proven wrong as the figure leaped to the side, avoiding the initial volley. The Human's two allies had also opened fire, taking advantage of the Marnuck's distraction to take down two more. Closing to around fifteen meters away from the Ganglion's position, the charging Human suddenly ran up the wall, running at a ninety degree angle towards the Ganglion. In three bounding steps the Human had taken aim at the Marnuck's, taking advantage of their shock to open fire with it's two guns.

Two Ganglion had fallen, several bullet holes showing in the gaps of their armor. Quickly holstering the weapons, the Human had closed the remaining distance and threw itself into a spinning kick that brought the heel of it's boot into contact with the face of a startled Marnuck.

The Ganglion trooper had been thrown back several meters, it's face a crater of blood, bone and teeth from the force of the impact while the Human had landed in a crouch, facing the two remaining Ganglion, who were quickly backpedalling and bringing their weapons to bear. Not giving them a chance to fire, the Human had leaped towards the closest one, drawing the two swords on it's back in one smooth motion. The Marnuck the Human had targeted never even had a chance to cry out. With a single slash the Human's sword had sliced through the creature's wrists, and the other sword had pierced through it's mouth into it's brain before it even had time to scream.

Quickly turning toward the last Marnuck, the Human's swords were suddenly torn from it's grip as the Marnuck's gunfire caught the blades. The gun suddenly cycling open as the ammo ran out, the Marnuck contemptuously threw it aside and snidely remarked, "Ha! Probably not so tough without your little weapons now, are you vermin?"

I wasn't of the same opinion, in fact this particular Human seemed far more dangerous than any other Ganglion soldier I had the misfortune to see before. I saw no reason to disabuse this particular trooper of his opinion, however, seeing as I was not the one fighting.

The Human had simply stood completely still during the Marnuck's posturing, not making a sound.

"Hmph! No words before you die? THEN DIE!"

Pulling it's plasma saber from it's belt and charging with a load roar, the Marnuck made a vicious downward swing towards the Human's head…or at least it had tried to. The Human's hand had blurred as it grabbed the Marnuck's wrist, halting the swing's momentum as it latched onto the soldier's arm. Quickly pulling on the Marnuck's limb the Human threw it's hip into the shocked Xeno's, leveraging it up and over it's shoulder, only to slam it onto the ground with enough force to stun the Ganglion trooper.

Not waiting for the creature to regain it's senses the Human brought it's leg up and slammed it down on the Marnuck's face, creating a loud crunching noise and putting an end to fight. I had quickly glanced towards the other two Ganglion only to find that they had been dealt with by the Human wearing red along with backup from the Human toting the large weapon.

The armored alien had taken a quick glance around then shouted, "Clear!"

I had flinched at hearing the slightly artificial tone the Human had spoken with, and in my panic induced state, had assumed it was some form of war machine. It made sense at the time. The Human's had obviously used it to draw the Ganglion's fire, as well as distracting the larger group of soldiers with it so they could eliminate the smaller group with ease.

Regardless of my hysteria, when that armored form had turned towards me and started moving in my direction, instinct took over. Quickly grabbing a dropped Ganglion assault rifle I checked the safety and aimed at the approaching figure.

Suddenly halting and raising it's hands peaceably, the 'robot' had backed off a few steps.

"I'm sorry if we frightened you, my name is Elma. And you are?"

She had turned to face the Human wearing the red clothing and suddenly realized she had been holding her breath, letting it out and suddenly gasping for breath. The last few minutes had been…stressful.

"Are we correct in assuming the Ganglion are after you? If so we might be able to help. We come from a planet called Earth, but now we're fighting the Ganglion here on Mira."

Rock had perked up at that and excitedly asked, "Really?"

"Pay them no heed Rock!"

"But Celica, they just beat up those bad guys!"

"It matters not, I will not be fooled again."

Trust hadn't come easily to me then, and no doubt still being in a state of heightened anxiety wasn't making it any easier. And these were Humans we had been talking about. I had thought Rock was being too trusting at the time.

Naturally, his instincts would later turn out to be correct.

The smaller Human had spoken up with, "Well either way it's not safe here."

I couldn't exactly disagree with that, but all of a sudden the 'robot' had carefully spoken up with, "Are you sure you two are ok? You both look as if you've been on the run for days."

My temper had flared and I shouted, "Don't flatter us with your hollow kindness!"

The figure had flinched at my yell and took a quick step back and looked away. Again, if I had had my wits about me, I would have found it strange that a machine would actually show fear and hurt at my words.

Not my proudest moment.

It didn't help that the smaller Human looked angry at my shout and was about to say something when what I assumed to be the leader spoke up with a calm voice.

"Look, I understand that it may be hard for you to trust a pack of random strangers, but we really do want to help if we can. I hope you can believe us."

It had taken a little more convincing, but eventually Tatsu and Rock brought me around to the idea of staying in NLA.

I remember arriving in the city and being overwhelmed by the myriad of races living in the city, as well as the overall friendliness of it's population. It was a far sight different than what the Ganglion had often described.

The true moment of awkwardness was yet to come however.

Elma, Lin and the man I still didn't know as Cross came to check on Rock and I once we had travelled to the city.

"Hello everyone!"

Rock had looked up from the many Ma-non and Nopon who were looking at him with amazement to shout, "Hey! Over here!"

The three had walked over and Elma asked, "How do you like the city so far?"

"It's rather overwhelming to be honest, but Rock seems quite content so…we'd like to stay, if that's permissible."

Lin had happily replied, "Of course! And whatever you need, just let us know, ok?"

There was a few more polite words before I turned to the young man and carefully said, "Forgive me if I'm being rude, but I'm afraid we haven't met yet, may I have your name?"

There was a look of confusion among the three before Elma said, "Actually he was with us when we saved you and Rock. This is Cross. He was the guy in the armor…"

We all seem to have the same epiphany as we realized I never actually saw him without his helmet, nor ever heard his name. My face turned bright red as I bowed in a hurry, saying, "Please forgive me, I was still in a state of panic after the attack, and your helmet made your voice sound artificial, so I thought you were a machine, and-oh no, I'm sorry I was so rude to you and-"

My tirade was cut off as I heard Lin laughing hysterically and poking Cross in the side.

"You need to work on your personality if she thought you were a robot! Oh my god, that's just too much! Haha!"

Cross had looked rather sheepish and scratched the back of his head in a motion that was almost an exact mirror of Rock's

"I guess I didn't really make a good first showing then huh? And don't worry Celica it's fine. I could have solved the whole issue if I'd just had the brains to take my helmet off, so no harm done."

I still remember how quiet and friendly his voice was. There was a slight accent to it different from Elma and Lin's, but not an unpleasant one, in fact it was almost lyrical.

The two women had just shaken their heads and Elma sighed.

"Cross you really need to work on your social skills. For heaven's sake, she thought you were a machine."

"I can be perfectly likable when I need to be."

"Oh really? Prove it prince charming."

"If you insist."

He had turned to me with a disarming smile that was equal parts mischievous and honest.

"You mentioned being slightly overwhelmed by the city. If you and Rock are up to it, I can show you around the city as your own personal tour guide, completely free of charge and I'll even buy lunch. And yes, I'm aware that Rock can likely eat enough for thirty, my statement still stands."

I smiled at his offer, genuinely given even though it was obviously just to one-up his friends. I went along with it because I did actually want to see the city, and because I still felt guilty about not even learning his name the first time around.

Turning to Rock I had asked, "Rock, do you wish to take Cross up on his offer?"

He had turned to look at the both of us and after a moment gave a toothy smile and said, "No that's ok Celica, you go on ahead with him. I still have a lot of names to learn over here anyway!"

I had been momentarily surprised by Rock's decision but nodded and smiled anyway.

"Then I shall see you later today, with a list of places to visit courtesy of my guide."

"Ok, see you later Celica!"

Turning to Cross I said, "Well, I am in your capable hands Cross. Shall we depart?"

Giving a smaller, but more genuine smile he had replied, "We shall. How does visiting the cities park sound for starters?"

As we had walked off I heard Lin quietly say to Elma, "Ok, I'll admit that was actually pretty slick."

---

Mia and Irina are laughing hysterically once I finish my recounting of events.

"Hold up hold up…so the first time you and the Chief met, not only did you pull a gun on him, mistake him for a robot, you also shouted and scared the crap out of him?! Oh my god, that's AMAZING."

I can't help but blush as I remember how ridiculous our first meeting was, when looked at it through the lens of hindsight.

As Mia and Irina calm down a little, Hope smiles and asks, "While it's no slaying the dragon and saving the maiden in peril kind of fairy tale, I still find it romantic in a strange kind of way. Was that when you first fell in love?"

I shake my head.

"It was a sort of gradual feeling. We would often meet up and just walk around the city, or occasionally take the random Prospector or Curator mission together. He loved to hear about my home planet, always seeming so enthusiastic when learning about it. Then one day I was shopping with Rock and without realizing it was asking him a question about one of your planet's products, completely forgetting he wasn't even there."

I give an embarrassed little shrug.

"It was a very small and inconsequential thing, but it made me realize just how much I'd come to rely and take for granted his aid and company."

They're all quiet for a moment until Mia sniffs and says in a teary voice, "Well when you put it that way, I kinda wish my soulmate would show up already…"

Julun gently laughs and gives Mia's arm a squeeze.

"No need to be in such rush. You will find mate who will appreciate you one day. Besides, Celica can agree with me on this. Men can sometimes be massive pain in ass."

I break out laughing at Julun's sage advice, and look over to where Cross is currently shaking his head in exasperation as Yelv tries to convince him of something, obviously not buying whatever it is Yelv is trying to say.

"No, I can't really disagree with her at all."

---

I stretch as Yelv gives up on trying to convince me that holding a gun sideways improves your aim and check my timepiece.

Ok, no more putting this off.

I quickly stand up and say, "Alright guys wish me luck. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes look for me hanging from a tree branch."

Gwin raises an eyebrow.

"Dark. But good luck to yah bud, we'll be waiting right here."

I make a quick stop by the drink table to down an entire glass of water and then head to where the girls are seated.

I think the only time I've ever been this nervous before is when testing one of Lin's new inventions.

I walk up beside Celica and try not to wince as several different pairs of eyes swivel in my direction.

"Hey Celica, do you mind if we have that conversation now? It shouldn't take too long."

I don't quite miss the quick glance she gives the others and I try not to audibly swallow.

"Certainly Cross. Lead the way."

I try not to walk like I have a stick up my ass as Celica follows me a little farther away, sheesh this is nerve wracking. After we're about ten or so meters away and covered fairly cleanly by a tree's branches I turn to Celica and clear my throat.

"So uh, Celica…"

I find myself staring into her dark blue eyes and quickly lose my train of thought. Screw it. Let's go with the bold.

I hold out the box and open it, showing the Hibiscus that gently glows in the slowly setting sun. Her eyes widen as she looks at it in shock.

"I'm not sure if Qlurians have any sort of tradition for this kind of thing, lord knows Earth has like a billion different customs, but I thought this would make a fitting present. And now I'm rambling. Celica, would you like to start dating? Officially?"

Jesus suffering Christ. That was an awful confession. Fucking kill me.

Instead of laughing at my ludicrous attempt, she instead gently picks up the Hibiscus and lifts it to her nose, gently inhaling and smiling.

She truly is a goddess. Now hopefully she doesn't strike me down.

Giving me a somewhat arch look that also manages to be endearing at the same time she playfully says, "I can't imagine this was easy to come by."

"Indeed it wasn't. The Ruler of Fates itself didn't wish to part with such a magnificent specimen, I barely got away with my life."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Actually I asked Tatsu to find one. I couldn't find the time to travel all the way to Noctilum and back what with everything that's going on."

She chuckles and gently put's the Hibiscus in her hair, pinning it in place. She takes a step back and asks, "How do I look?"

"I find my meager vocabulary insufficient, so I'm going to steal a quote. 'Had the price of looking been blindness, I would have looked'."

She carefully looks at me for a second and just as I start to wonder that I did something wrong she takes a quick step forward and kisses me full on the lips.

…Wow. Just…wow.

My mind distantly registers the sound of a camera shutter clicking, but I so don't care right now. Right now is about me and the one person on this planet who I can honestly, unreservedly and completely relate to. No ifs or buts about it.

I'm not exactly sure how long the kiss goes on. It feels like an eternity or three, with a small dash of forever thrown in.

So likely just a few seconds.

After we gently pull away I wrap my arms around her and she softly whispers in my ear, "Just in case that wasn't clear, my answer is yes."

I can't help but chuckle and reply, "You seem to completely understand just how dense I can be sometimes."

"Aren't you lucky to have me?"

"Indeed I am."

We stand there intertwined for maybe a minute before I sigh dejectedly.

"I suppose we should head back now. We'll never hear the end of it if we don't give our dear friends a chance to ruthlessly embarrass us."

Her smile effortlessly turns into a smirk.

"Who says we have to take it lying down? That was a camera during our kiss just now wasn't it? Running such a highly private moment is worth a little indignation don't you think?"

A smirk of my own grows and I kiss her on the forehead.

"I like the way you think."

---

Our carefully constructed plan of moral outrage sadly turned out to be unneeded. Everyone was waiting and cheering as we walked in hand in hand.

So much for that particular scenario.

I clear my throat and say, "So as of today-"

Yelv cuts me off and immediately yells, "You two are a thing now, yah we get it, never mind that Pard, get on over here and open up your present!"

"Present?"

"You know, that thing you get on your birthday!"

Huh. I totally forgot about that. Elma walks on over and hands me a wrapped package that's about the size of a standard portable viewing screen. I take off the wrapping and find a matte black personal data device, obviously built to last.

Turning it on I notice that it's wirelessly connected to several different comm devices, with one file already created with over four hundred and fifty photos stored.

At my questioning glance Elma smiles and says, "We couldn't decide what to get you, and seeing as how you're pretty wealthy on your own, we decided to go with something money can't buy. That device is connected to several different comms, and we can freely share data to it. Anytime we want to share something with you, we can."

All I can really do is give a small smile and reply, "Thanks guys…this means a lot to me."

"To borrow one of your phrases, 'friends for friends', right?"

---

About an hour later we're all cleaning up our little party, stacking the tables and chairs with Rock carrying them back to the storage shed. Drifting off in twos and threes, eventually it's just me and Celica left over while Rock ambled on home.

I think everyone planned it that way.

"Hey Celica, are you busy tomorrow?"

"I have nothing planned, why?"

"Well I was hoping we could maybe go on an actual date tomorrow. Seeing as how we'll likely be too busy preparing for the battle afterwards, I think we should take this opportunity while it's there."

"What a coincidence, I feel the same way. Do you have a plan or do I need to chaperone you?"

I smile at her snark and reply, "Have no fear, I have the whole day planned out in excruciating detail. Meet at 0900 in front of Galactic Parking?"

She smiles and gives me kiss.

"Agreed. I'll see you then Cross."

She walks off while I stand there, motionless.

It's a damn shame it's not raining right now, otherwise I would be breaking into a dance number that would make Gene Kelly weep with envy.

---

Back at the barracks I plop down onto my bed after fighting off Zippy's lick attack and open up my newly received present, tabbing through several of the photos and laughing at how ridiculous most of them are.

There's ones of me and Phog carrying a passed out Frye, holding back Yelv from tackling a random stranger, meditating with Bozé, desperately rolling around on the ground to put out a fire one of Lin's failed contraptions caused…all sorts of memories, ones that I'm quite glad I never have to stress about losing anymore.

I'm just about to put the pad away when a beep signifies a newly uploaded image, and I take a look at it.

My eyes bug out as I see it's a photo of me and Celica kissing, and I suddenly remember the sound of the camera shutter during our moment. It had understandably seemed inconsequential at the time.

I take a look at the text attached to it and read, "It looks like you're trying to eat each other's faces! Should probably frame this one, since all jokes aside it's really beautiful. Congrats on finally growing a pair!"

I shake my head at the message, which is obviously of Lin's creation. I take a closer look at the photo and find myself agreeing with her conclusion though. The two of us are framed in both shadow and sunlight, as the trees and setting sun create a natural filter effect. The Hibiscus in Celia's hair looks as if it's on fire, and the look of utter peace on both our faces rounds out the scene quite nicely.

I decide to forgive Lin for the spying and instead turn over on my side to hopefully fall asleep, despite the temptation to relive that particular moment.

It takes a few hours.

---

My lackluster knowledge of fashion has never really caused trouble for me before. I would either wear armor or BLADE casual wear, with the occasional civilian clothing for the odd night out.

Of course now I feel like slapping myself for not learning about this stuff, seeing as how this morning is kinda important and all, what with the first ever date of my life occurring.

Forget it.

I just run with a plain blue tank top and cargo shorts with sandals to round out the whole ensemble.

Simple is best.

---

I wonder if fear, nervousness, excitement and elation are normal emotions teenagers feel when they're about to take their girlfriend out on the first date. If they are, then i'm thirteen years old all over again.

I nervously transfer my weight from one foot to another and mentally remind myself for what feels like the hundredth time to chill. Being a bundle of nerves isn't going to make me a very good conversationalist.

My train of thought is interrupted as a familiar voice speaks up behind me.

"Waiting for someone?"

I turn around and quickly find myself floundering for words. If I'm a fashion beginner then Celica is clearly an expert. She's wearing a simple forest green Midi style dress that blends perfectly with her tan skin, while the Hibiscus stands out brilliantly, gently swaying in the light breeze. She also straightened her hair, pulling it behind her head instead of leaving it in the usual cascade around her face.

Personally I think her usual style fits her better, but this new look accentuates her beauty and fully exposes both of her eyes. Put all together, she draws more than a few second looks from people around us, which fills me with a sense of smug pride that I managed to be the one she fell in love with.

Uh oh. Not even a day into this relationship and I'm already thinking like an overly possessive boyfriend. We'll need to work on that.

"I was, but someone far more interesting came along. By the way, you're absolutely gorgeous today. And that's the least interesting thing about you as well."

She chuckles shyly and happily replies, "Laying on the compliments fast and thick, aren't we? Planning on making me pay for lunch?"

"Perish the thought. Someone other than random passerbyhad to draw attention to just how stunning you are, and I'm honored that said someone happened to be me."

She shakes her head in disbelief at my flattery and I decide to lay off for now. Offering my arm I smile and ask, "Shall we?"

Taking my arm she smiles back at me and says, "We shall. And if you don't mind me saying so, you look rather nice yourself."

Simple really is better.

---

I smile in contentment as I lean back in my chair. Today has been stellar so far, and I think the latter half is only going to get better. We'd spent the first half of the morning touring Ruby Flower Co. and then Ginerva's clothing outlet. While Celica did admit that I did a good job with what little I had available, she was quite adamant that I get more than just a few casual clothes in my wardrobe, or she would dump me faster than I can say, 'bargain bin'.

Needless to say, I didn't argue. Like, at all. Now the proud new owner of a few button down shirts, a pair of slacks and a new jacket I suppose I could be presentable at a slightly more formal function. Celica seemed to have quite a bit of fun having me try on every different type of apparel, so I guess that's what really counts.

The Blue Pocket's waiter comes by to take away our cleaned out plates and Celica happily stretches her arms and back, giving me a very lovely view.

"So what's next on your agenda Cross? Today has been wonderful so far, what's your finale?"

I take a look at the sky and see that it's almost sunset, we spent quite a bit of time perusing the Commercial District, more than I had expected we would. I have a moment of indecision before I smile and say, "How do you feel about seeing something I've kept secret from everybody else in the city?"

I see a slight twinkle enter her eyes and she playfully says, "You have my attention…"

---

"This is amazing…how did you find this place?"

"Well I didn't actually find it per se. More like I convinced a fellow partner in crime to create it, their way of thanking me I guess."

The two of us had just teleported onto the deck of the Ma-non ship, where I used to keep my secret hideout. Maybe not so secret now that two people know about it, but I'm more than happy to share it with Celica. Besides, her obvious excitement at finding such an awe-inspiring vantage point makes it worth it.

"I can see why you would want to keep such a view to yourself…" she briefly glances at me with a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

"Are you sure it's alright to show me this? This must have been an incredibly private place for you."

I smirk at her and gently place a kiss on her forehead. She's just the right height to do so, which is quickly becoming a favorite hobby of mine.

"Of course I'm certain. Keeping a place like this to myself would be satisfying in it's own way, but sharing is caring after all. And I think I'll enjoy the company more than I will the solitude."

She seems reassured by this and we both turn to watch the sun slowly dip behind the horizon. I take a glance at her and notice she seems slightly chilled by the wind. Well not that I can blame her. It's pretty cold up here, and not everyone has the advantage of a cybernetic body. Plus I just really like the cold.

Grinning I scoop her up in my arms princess style and ignore her protests as I walk over to my usual recessed alcove where there's a break in the hull. Sitting down I pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her, staving off most of the wind and sharing my body heat.

Well mostly I just want to hold her in my arms, but it's nice to have a legitimate excuse. I feel more than hear her laugh and she then says, "Was it really necessary to carry me all of the eight meters to this spot?"

"Necessary? No, but highly enjoyable. And don't think it hasn't escaped my notice that you've probably spent more time carrying or helping me off of the ground than is advisable. I need to even out the scales somehow."

"Oh? Just a few weeks ago I seem to recall you carrying me across a very busy battlefield, getting hit with gunfire the entire time. I suppose that doesn't count?"

"Funny you mention that, since I also recall you and Vi pulling me behind a boulder before I got perforated by several different Ganglion munitions. And not to mention all the other times you've saved my butt from angry Indigens. I think the ratio is firmly in your favor still. So let me have my moment."

We both share a laugh at the pointless conversation and spend the next dozen or so minutes watching the sky change, the moons rise and an aurora spread itself across the sky. We stay that way for a awhile longer before Celica shifts and quietly asks, "What are you thinking about?"

I inaudibly sigh at her question. Go figure she would be able to tell the difference between me being quiet as opposed to contemplative.

"I can tell you, as long as you don't mind me rambling or getting all abstract."

"Hit me with your best shot."

I smile at how quickly she's picked up some of our more colorful phrases and then lose the smile as I look up at the spiraling colors cascading across the sky.

"I guess…it just seems so unlikely, when you stop to think about it. Who knows how many stars, with who knows how many planets, and we end up on one with such astounding beauty, at the same time as several other species find their way to the same place. I mean, what are the odds?"

Seeming to pick up on where I'm going with this, she softly says, "And just what are the odds, exactly, that the two of us would have met…it does seem almost like fate."

I snort at that.

"Fate. Every existentialists worst nightmare."

Amusement coloring her tone she replies, "I would never have imagined you being partial to such large scope thoughts."

"I can take on a broad view when needed."

"Hmm…if you say so."

I smirk and playfully nip the edge of her ear. To my complete surprise she gives a startled yelp and jumps in my arms as soon as my teeth make contact, almost giving me a heart attack.

She whirls on me with her face an alarmingly bright shade of red and stammers out, "W-what was that for!"

I'm struck dumb for a second before I burst out laughing. Ok, that was just too damn cute.

"Cross! That wasn't funny!"

Which of course only make me laugh harder, causing her to growl and then grab my ear and give a sharp twist.

"Owowow! Ok I give I give!"

She releases my ear despite me still chortling and looks away in embarrassment.

"What in Qlu's name gave you the inspiration to do that?"

I gently stroke her ear instead of biting it this time and that seems to mollify her a bit.

"Sorry, that was just on an impulse. If you don't want me to do that again let me know and I'll take it off of my list of teases."

She averts her eyes and quietly says, "Well, it wasn't really unpleasant, just surprising."

I smile and file that particular tidbit away for future use. I gently tilt her head back and softly kiss her, which she responds to with mounting enthusiasm.

What follows is a particularly enjoyable make-out session.

---

I smile contentedly as I walk back into the BLADE barracks, still smelling of lavender and and vanilla. My mind is in about twenty different places right now so it takes the person trying to get my attention about a whole minute before I say, "Huh?"

Elma and Lin both sigh in unison and ask, "We said, how did it go?"

"…I suppose my utter stupor didn't give you enough of a summary then?"

"Oh it did, but we want to hear it from your lips directly."

I smile smugly and reply, "Well since you asked so politely…tell you what, the the two of you get boyfriends, I'll spill the whole story. Deal?"

Lin looks scandalized before shouting, "That's so not fair!"

Elma just rolls her eyes and asks, "Want to keep the memories to yourself then I take it?"

"Right the first time leader. Now if you'll excuse, I have to go take a cold shower and prepare for tomorrow. This super secret Skell isn't going to fly itself."

Elma never loses her smile and merely gazes at me with a smug look in her eyes.

"That's a good idea Cross. Lin and I will be there tomorrow morning at the trial, so you had better get some rest. We'll make sure your test run is very thorough."

My brain grinds to a halt as I just realize I brushed off the two people who'll likely be putting me through my paces tomorrow.

Well poop.

Sighing I morosely say, "Slight change of plans then. I'll take a cold shower and then up my life insurance."

Elma pats my cheek while Lin predatorily grins.

"Good idea Cross. See you then."

---

"So how many people have you had to shoot for finding out too much about this place?"

"Talk too much about what's going on in here, and you'll be the first."

I roll my eyes at the less than humorous response from one of the Restricted Hangar's technicians. In between the dour expressions MIM repair center workers have, as well as the no nonsense attitude these Skell design teams partake of, I'd hazard a guess that not having a sense of humor is pretty much a required trait for those jobs.

My guide enters a long and complicated password into a nearby panel, submits to a retinal and palm scan as well as voice recognition before the door slowly grinds open.

"I'm surprised it didn't want a stool sample as well."

He ignores me and I decide to simply stop trying. Leading me further into the hangar I eventually spot Vandham, Elma, Lin, Alexa and Veven all standing around a darkened Skell holding rack.

"Hey look who decided to show up! Our very own crash test dummy."

"I'd like to pretend that's a joke, but this place seems to be short on irreverent statements."

"Careful what you say around these parts, or you might find your organs harvested."

"Again, wish that sounded like a joke."

Alexa gives a frustrated noise and says, "Can we please get on with this? I so want to see this baby in action!"

"We better not keep Alexa waiting guys, or she might just hop in the Skell herself."

That earns me a scowl from her as well as a quick few chuckles from the others.

"Alright to business then. Feast your eyes on this kiddo!"

With a dramatic flair he gestures towards the concealed alcove, and with a snap the lights come on, illuminating an intimidating figure.

I give a low whistle of approval.

Lin grins maniacally and says, "Say hello to the Ares 90, the baddest machine ever produced by NLA yet."

I run an appreciative eye over the Skell. The designers must have taken the recovered Prog Ares frame and used it as the baseline for this one. It largely looks the same, except for quite a bit of additional armor and a slightly more streamlined shape. The armor itself is slightly chrome, and the pitch black color scheme causes my eye to keep sliding off of the edges of the thing.

"It's actually pretty intimidating."

"Well we didn't build it to rescue trapped puppies and kittens. We built it to burn down the shelters said pups and kitties are sleeping in."

"Charming. So how about we fire up this bad boy and see what it can do?"

Alexa turns and gives me a high five.

"Now that's the Cross I know!"

---

I slowly breathe out and key in my BLADE I.D., causing a quiet hum to sound throughout the hangar as the Ares's reactor comes to life. I take a glance at the readouts and lose some of my initial nervousness. The Ares is using a dark matter generator similar to the one employed by the Vita, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if the engine was quite literally just transferred over. The said, using an unknown power source that is technically still in the 'might spontaneously combust' stage is slightly nerve wracking.

Veven's nervous voice comes in over the speakers with, "It turned on ok right? Right? Nothing uh, blew up did it? Or catch on fire?"

"I don't like the fact that you sound surprised that none of those things happened. But no. Everything's working just fine so far."

Elma takes over the conversation with, "Ok time to take her out for a spin Cross. Keep in mind the locomotion is different from most other Skells. The Ares uses anti-gravity as it's main mode of thrust, similar to Ganglion machines. Gravity repellers on it's feet, arms and back provide most of that power. Walking will likely take a bit of getting used to."

"Well you have to learn how to walk before you can run. In this case quite literally."

I tentatively move the machine out of it's rack and take the first step. I feel the leg slightly slide across the floor, almost as if it was coated with oil. Elma wasn't kidding when she said it'd take some getting used to.

I spend the next few minutes conversing with my observers, working out the motions of walking smoothly, then running. Within half and hour I'm smoothly gliding around the room in a sort of exaggerated jogging motion, almost like an ice skater.

"How's it feel Cross? Any problems so far?"

"Nope, give me another day or two and I'll be taking home the gold in figure skating. I've got the movement down, talk me through the weapons."

Vandham eagerly cuts in with, "Glad you asked, cuz those are a beaut. First up is your close range sword, the M-Blade. It's Ether coated and has a diamond composite edge, it'll do just fine against most armors. The M-Blaster is a step up from most Skell rifles, it's long range, accurate and powerful."

I give an appreciative nod and tap one of the weapon icons, causing four targeting reticles to appear on screen, coinciding with the appearance of four wheel like devices on the machines back that start to twitch, as if seeking a target.

"How about these things?"

"Those would be The Avatara Drones. Those are a new type of autonomous weapon we're working on as opposed to gun drones that are all the rage now. Their edges can be heated up five thousand five hundred celsius, not something most alloys can handle for more than a split second."

"Yah no shit, as hot as the surface of a star? Is that even safe to be messing with?"

Veven jumps in with, "Well we were pretty concerned with those at first, because that's, you know, pretty hot. But the containment fields are second to none, and if they fail the drones will immediately shut off, so nothing to worry about! Right?"

"…If you say so."

"Anyway next up is the Vajra Flail. It's pretty much what it sounds like, a flail that discharges electric shocks when it strikes something. Except those shocks are delivering just shy of ten thousand megajoules of energy in each swing. If you smacked a Qmoeva with that thing it'd be torn in half, your own little lighting strike on command. Just don't hit yourself with it."

"Duly noted" I reply dryly.

"The Agni Gatlings aren't anything too complicated thankfully. They're short range weapons that fire compressed Ether rounds at a nice pace, anything that get's too close to those is gonna find itself unravelled pretty damn quick."

I'm smiling like a schoolboy that just scored the winning touchdown and notice that Vandham didn't mention the last icon.

"So what's the story on this last bit here? The nuke button?"

" Actually kiddo, those are the Aghasura Cannons. Three Ether cannons working in tandem to produce one very powerful and very long ranged beam. I wish I could give you more specific details, but we haven't really wanted to risk trying them out before. That's your job."

I raise an eyebrow.

"You mean I get to pull the trigger before anyone else does? That sounds awesome."

"So how do you feel about ditching the training wheels and taking to the sky?"

"You read my mind commander."

I start making my way out of the hangar, trying not to break into a run. All these new toys to play with, and so little time to practice! Once I clear the last set of doors and walk out onto the hangars launch pad I gently engage the engines and carefully fly my way out of there. Quite a few of the mechanics turn to stare, open amazement on their faces at the sight of the Ares. I chuckle as I hit open sky and mess around with the controls a little.

Having the gravity repellers gives me a lot of maneuvering options, since they can provide 'thrust' from any direction. The Ares' flight pack is also quite versatile if I'm reading the schematic right, since it can provide almost 150 degrees of forward facing power.

The dual engine system is probably what I'll be practicing the most in the coming days.

Lin's voice snaps me out of my funk as she slyly says, "What are you, some old grandma? Cut loose with that thing would yah?"

I hear Vandham about to say something that'll probably be along the lines of, 'don't listen to that crazy kid', and decide to follow Lin's advice while I can.

I orient myself upwards, make sure there's no other air traffic and open up the throttle as wide as I can.

The sudden burst of acceleration SLAMS me into my crash seat and I nearly black out from the G forces, even with the MIM's natural toughness helping me out. I glance at the display as I rocket up into the sky and simultaneously grin and wince. This thing is going almost thirty-two thousand kmh, with no sign of slowing down, which means I'm pushing around ten gravities now. A normal human would need quite a bit of protective gear to keep their blood where it's supposed to be, never mind the sudden shifts in direction that would probably carry enough force to snap bones.

This. Is. Awesome.

I ease off the engines once I break through the cloud cover and take a shaky breath, trying to calm my racing pulse. Goddamn that was fun! Now that I'm not in a state of euphoria though I hear an angry voice coming in over the speakers.

"Dammit kid I was telling you to stop! What part of, 'experimental equipment' don't you get?"

"My bad my bad…that said you know the saying, 'what comes up, must go down'?"

"…Don't you even think about it kid."

"Doing it anyway."

Screw the consequences, I'm having way too much fun to stop now. Cutting the engines and letting the Ares begin a gentle fall towards the surface I feel an unstoppably huge grin crawl onto my face.

I wonder if this is what roller coasters are like?

Pushing the throttle as hard as it can go I again get mashed into my seat, but this time I'm prepared for it and holy crap I can't stop grinning like some demented monkey with a motorcycle as I scream towards the ground like a meteorite.

Ten seconds from impact with the ground I slam on the metaphorical brakes, aiming the repellers downwards and cutting the engines. Yet another brutal maneuver that throws me against my restraints and causes a sudden burst of pain as they dig into me, but oh so worth it.

The Ares floats to a stop a couple hundred meters above the ground and I use a shaking hand to push my hair back.

Adrenaline highs man. It just doesn't get any better than that.

My comm crackles to life and I hear Alexa, Veven and Lin laughing and highfiving in the background. Vandham, on the other hand, sounds like he's ready to rip my arm off and beat me to death with it.

"If you're done disobeying orders and clearly trying to overtax an experimental machine, how about we move on to the weapons test?"

Despite the ensuring lecture I just know I'm gonna receive I smile and reply, "Yes sir, on my way now."

So, so worth it.

---

Pulling up alongside Eckart, The Indestructible I take a moment to check in with Vandham, eyeing the giant tyrant with some modicum of pity.

"So he's the subject of today's test eh? Seems a shame to have to pull the trigger after so long."

"Well he's never really been a problem before this last week. Recently he started attacking BLADE vehicles, and just two days ago trashed a base camp while the occupants were off on a mission. Cinicula's are already pretty hardy critters, and Eckarts a league all unto his own. A Skell team tried taking him out two days ago with nothing to show for it except some busted machines and wasted ammo. That thing's armor took a rail cannon shot with barely a scratch."

"Hence the nickname I suppose. Well let's get the show on the road then."

I float to about a thousand meters in front of the beast and slowly drag the reticle directly over it's head. Right now it's ignoring me, lazily digging a hole into the ground, probably about to go into a state of quasi-hibernation for awhile.

Either way, he's about to get a heck of a wake up call. I wait until there's a lock-on tone and then hit the trigger, feeling a slight shudder as the three cannons on the Ares' back align and then fire.

Ether is pretty weird. And that's an understatement of the century.

Ether was just one of the many new energies discovered on Mira, but had a nasty trick to it that gave it the potential to become an extremely deadly weapon. Ether, when condensed enough, acts as a sort of unravelling agent on a molecular level. What makes it so lethal is that the density or strength of a material makes no difference to compressed Ether. Hide behind three meters of starship battle plate and three meters of cotton when someones firing an Ether gun at you, you'll find no difference in the quality of protection. The plating will unravel just as easily as the softer stuff.

What's even stranger is that when Ether comes into contact with said materials, the unravelling process doesn't release heat. Rather, uncompressed Ether is released into the air, giving off a strange glow of light as it does so.

Not to say Ether is the perfect weapon. In fact it's downright finicky and rather limited if we're being honest here. Ether weaponry is limited by three very important factors.

Range, upkeep, and conflicting Ether.

First off the issue of distance. Compressing Ether is an unnatural action, and like anything else in nature being unnaturally used, it tries to return to it's normal form as quickly as possible. Most infantry sized Ether weapons don't have a range farther than one hundred meters, not exactly great for most long range shootouts. Skell sized weapons have a bit longer of a reach, but it's still only about three hundred meters. Considering that the Ares has quite a bit of Ether weaponry I'm curious to see just how far they can fire.

The upkeep is a second strike in my book. The technology required to fire highly condensed Ether bolts is bulky and fragile, and can easily backfire on it's user if things go wrong. After all, when your gun that fires disintegration bolts suddenly goes haywire, things can get interesting real quick.

The third reason pretty closely ties into the second. While deadly, there is one very specific, very powerful counter to the condensed energy. Which is Ether itself. Creating a passive Ether field around yourself or your Skell can stop Ether weaponry cold, as the fields will reflect off of each other, rendering the weapon useless.

So in summary: Lacks range, pain in the ass to keep working, easy to defend against as long as you're forewarned.

I'll take good old fashioned ballistic weaponry over that stuff any day.

Which is also why I'm massively surprised that when the Aghasura Cannon fires from more than a thousand meters away not only does the beam stay compressed, it drills through Eckart and shoots out of it's back, tearing through a tree trunk and causing the thing to collapse.

Eckart falls flat with an anticlimactic thud, barely even making a sound since the beam went right through it's brain.

I'm silent for a moment as I take in what just happened. I'd test fired the cannon at fifty percent power for a fifth of a second, and that blast had killed a previously near unstoppable Tyrant with barely an effort.

At all.

Alexa gives voice to our reactions as she breathlessly says, "Holy crap…".

I'm inclined to agree.

"Commander, you've been holding out on us with this thing. In between the weapons and propulsion systems you could revolutionize our entire Skell force. What's the catch?"

It's actually Elma who answers with, "Mostly because we don't have the manufacturing capability to build something like the Ares 90 yet. Most of the tech on that Skell is irreplaceable for the foreseeable future. It's kind of a Frankenstein with tech from the Vita, Xe-Doms and Seidrs mixed together."

I sigh and reply, "So this is what we've got for now huh?"

"Indeed. So don't break it."

"I'll try my upmost. Besides, I think I'm falling in love with this thing."

"Don't let Celica hear you say that."

I roll my eyes and turn around to head back to the city.

I think I'm going to enjoy my time training with the Ares very much.

---

The next four days set a hectic and busy pattern. Wake up at 0530, consider checking in at the city psychiatrist for my nightmares which still haven't abated, then realize in a few days time we'll all be dead or we'll be alive, at which time I can then solve my mental issues.

Until 0900 I'll be in meetings with various military planners, usually including Nagi, Vandham and H.B., who was promoted to second in command of NLA's armed forces.

I never thought it was possible for H.B. to become more self-confident/absorbed, but that just goes to show how little I know, now doesn't it?

Said meetings are usually devoted with tactics and strategies revolving around my preparation with the Ares, and ways to ensure that I can face Nardacyon without any other Ganglion interfering.

No pressure there.

From 0900 to 1500 I'll be practicing with the Ares 90, getting as much practice in as I can before we actually go into combat. After a short break at 1530 I'll meet up with my team and we'll practice Skell maneuvers until 2100, usually having mock dogfights with other teams.

I hate the fact that after finally getting the balls to ask out Celica, the little time we get to spend together is largely restricted to training and discussions on squad tactics. That's not to say we never get to have any relaxing conversations though. The five of us manage to have fun even in the middle of pretty Spartan training, which keeps me sane since I have to deal with the humorless drones from the Restricted Hangar for six hours of the day. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss just having time for the two of us though.

From 2200 to 2400 I meet up with Zo Ozuchi, Gi Zang and on two separate occasions Nagi for personal combat training. I'm by no means the best infighter on this planet, and until the time I can beat Zo Ozuchi in three consecutive matches, as well as beat Nagi in Kendo, I'm going to keep on getting better. Gi Zang is an excellent sparring partner, just good enough that he can occasionally win against me, and quite knowledgable of guerrilla tactics that even Ozuchi and Nagi didn't know of.

From 0100 to 0300 it's study time, catching up on Earth literature and movies. Can't neglect that stuff, even if armageddon is rolling closer. Thank God I don't need to sleep much.

We got a pleasant surprise on the fifth and sixth days however.

---

"Cross you've got incoming friendlies at two o' clock, mind running escort duty?"

"In this thing? Wow, someone's been saving their VIP points big time."

"We here at NLA offer nothing but the best in customer satisfaction and care, of that means we have to send out a highly deadly and experimental Skell to play tour guide, then so be it."

I snort at the operators banter. It feels good to actually have a human speaking over the intercom for once when I'm piloting the Ares, instead of the usual robots. Orienting myself I goose the engines and start flying towards the oncoming cloud of friendlies, wondering where this many machines are being transferred in from.

I take a closer look and realize they're flying in from Oblivia, then smile as I figure out what that means. Sure enough once I get into visual range I count eighteen Caladors flying in formation, with the Vasara leading them. I open up a communication's channel and then grandly state, "Welcome to NLA your highness, home of your most humble allies and a place of many species to gather and find friendship. We also have the best food."

Amusement in his deep voice, Ga Jiarg replies, "I have room in my kingdom for a court jester. Would you consider taking over the position Cross?"

"Knew it was me huh?"

"No one else I'm familiar with manages to speak so much yet say so little."

"Ouch. Well if the whole 'warrior of Humanity' gig falls through I'll happily take you up on that offer."

Ga Buidhe laughs along with a few others as I pull the Ares alongside their formation.

"Good to see you haven't lost your sense of irreverent humor."

"And it's very good to see you too Ga Buidhe. Been keeping the Prince out of trouble?"

"Wroth only knows I've tried. But I think we both know how receptive he is to people telling him not to take risks."

"About as receptive as I am then. My condolences."

"I thank you for your understanding."

Clearing his throat Ga Jiarg interrupts with equal parts amusement and irritation.

"It's reassuring how comfortable my retainers feel around me, seeing as how they are so bold with their statements in my presence. Moving on, that is an interesting Skell you're piloting Cross. Is it a new design?"

"You bet it is, and boy is it a piece of work."

"Very compelling. All for the coming war yes?"

"This machine and a few others, but overall that's an affirmative. I take it you and your soldiers are here for a piece of the action?"

"How could we turn down an opportunity to simultaneously aid our allies and wipe out the damned Ganglion?"

"Works for me. And to be totally honest I'm relieved as well. Have you seen the size of the force we're up against?"

"I was given a brief explanation, but not a complete accounting. Is it that much of a numbers disparity?"

"…pretty much, yah. So like I said, glad to see you guys."

There's sudden boisterous laughter over the comm.

"Then it is quite fortunate for you that we, the Three Talons, have come to aid you in your time of need!"

"I think I'd rather take my chance with a sleep deprived Nopon behind the controls than you Da Naguth."

"An Insult?! As soon as this battle is over, we shall have a rematch to determine just who was aiding who!"

I hear Da Gihri snicker and say, "He still hasn't gotten over how we had to accept your help when killing the Jacul Queen. These past few months he's been training as if possessed."

Da Zeulbe offers his own amused comment of, "Is it possession or simple jealousy that fuels his recent drive? We can only wonder…"

"I see Cross is not the only one who is asking for a lesson at the hands of Da Naguth! You two shall be right behind him!"

As the three continue to bicker I give an amused look towards the Vasara, and if I ddin't know any better I'd say the machine looked defeated.

As if to confirm that notion I hear the Wrothian Prince mutter, "These are some of the finest Wrothian soldiers? Starts have mercy on me…"

---

It was on the sixth day, one day before we were scheduled to leave for the waters between Primordia and Sylvalum that we got our last surprise.

And wow, was it an unexpected one.

After the Wrothians had arrived morale in NLA shot up by a noticeable amount, and it showed in the inter-squad competitions. My team and the Fenrirs, Wolf's own group, had been locked in a tense aerial duel for almost three straight minutes when our comms blared to life.

"All Skell teams outside the city limits! I repeat, all Skell teams outside the city limits! We've received data that indicates four Xe-dom are approaching the city, with one Skell class unit leading them! All current assignments are suspended until further information is available!"

I inwardly curse at the news. We'd hoped that the Ganglion would be too busy with their own mobilization to mess with ours, but apparently that's not the case. Even worse, they sent four Xe-dom to screw with us. If our intelligence is up to date, that's a whole third of known Xe-dom that the Ganglion have repurposed to their own needs.

While not quite as bad as a Xern, Xe-dom have their own unique brand of lethality that makes them absolute terrors on a battlefield. Aside from the impressive laser and beam weaponry that manages to be both powerful and accurate, their arm appendages can contract and extend at astonishing velocities, easily tearing right through the armor of a Skell. And speaking of armor, their exteriors are ridiculously strong, easily shrugging off bullets and missiles with barely a scratch.

While that's all well and sucky, that level of armament would merely make them extremely dangerous. What graduates them to the level of straight bloody nightmare is their ability to manipulate gravity in a limited space around them.

Getting within fifteen meters of a Xe-dom is generally not advised, since they can suddenly increase the gravity around them by almost twentyfold, turning you into something resembling a liquid pancake if you're unfortunate enough to be caught inside of it. Or, just as annoyingly, instead of crushing you, they'll just smash whatever projectiles you fired at them with machine like precision with said field.

Engaging Xe-dom with anything less than two full squads of heavily armed Skells is widely considered to be an incredibly retarded life choice.

And apparently there's four of the damned things headed our way. Stellar.

The one Skell accompanying them is kind of weird, but until we make visual confirmation I can only guess as to what it's story is. Dammit if only I was piloting the Ares right now…then again it'd make for a pretty lopsided mat if I was piloting that thing against the other teams.

Wolf's voice snaps me out of my reverie and he barks, "Ok kiddies listen up! The rest of the cities defenses are coming online, our job is to scout out exactly what we're up against and maybe run a little misdirection. DO NOT attempt to engage. That clear?"

"Yes sir!"

"Excellent, now let's move!"

We slide into formation with practiced ease and accelerate towards the oncoming intruders. Once we enter visual range we kill our speed and take a moment to size up the approaching force. A quick scan shows the four Xe-dom as expected, but immediately I notice something strange. There's one Xe-dom of each crest color floating along.

One gold, silver, black and crimson apiece. Which is bizarre, since Xe-doms tend to be color coordinated by each continent. It's not a full-proof system, but definitely a good rule of thumb. Seeing four different variations in one group is straight up unheard of. Ignoring the Xe-dom for now I turnkey attention to the Skell…and sigh dejectedly as everything suddenly makes sense.

I open up a comm channel and tiredly say, "Stand down everyone, they're friendly."

I hear practically hear Wolf frowning an he dubiously replies, "You sure? That's a mighty big assumption we're taking."

"Don't sweat it, I'll prove it to you right now."

I open up a channel to the outrageously purple Amdusias and say, "Long time no see L. Just thought I should let you know, right now you're IFF tag is deactivated, and you're about to be blown into next week."

"Heavens! We could have sworn we turned the infernal contraption back on after…and voilá! All spit and spandex now!"

The Skell suddenly displays a green tinged I.D. tag and I hear a few relieved breaths over the squad communications channel.

"So it looks like you and Professor B have been busy for the last few weeks."

"Most certainly! It has been a wonderful time exploring the planet with my newest colleague, so many impressive sights were seen!"

"Good to hear."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…you gonna tell me why four Xe-dom are following you around like trained puppies?"

"Oh certainly! We were merely waiting for you to ask! We had been scouring the just deserts of Oblivia when we, quite by accident, stumbled upon a cave of wonders containing these lovely machines!"

"By accident?"

"Perchance we, hmm, 'freedomed' said information from some woefully negligent Ganglion asscaves! Thus, before they knew what smacked them we had absconded with their prize!"

I snort at L's typical flair for the dramatic, but can't deny the results.

"Hey move aside already would yah? I need to talk to the kid for a second."

"How crude! We are less than an hour from the city, you could simply wait as opposed to-"

"Yah yah very uncomfortable touchy feely and all that. Hey kid! I know I'm the president of a company and all that, but a &#*$^! of ten robots is a little excessive don't yah think?"

"Actually your machines IFF was deactivated, so we were actually ready to blow you to pieces."

I hear him mutter under his breath for a few seconds before saying, "Knew we were forgetting something dammit. Ah well we brought something interesting back with us, maybe that'll net me a nice bonus paycheck."

I snort and look at the four monolithic machines.

"Trust me Professor, I'm certain you're going to be very well compensated. I think Veven's gonna wet himself with excitement."

---

The day of departure. I sigh and run a hand through my hair as I walk onto the main launch pad, where dozens of Skells of various designs are currently waiting for takeoff. I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn't a little anxious about my coming role in the battle ahead, since a fairly significant part of the plan is hinging on me.

…Ok, maybe very anxious.

Not that I'm gonna show it. It's subtle, but there's a certain tenseness to the various BLADEs getting their machines primed to launch. Not that I blame them, rumor has it that the lowest casualty estimate is a lucky two-fiver.

Meaning one out of four BLADEs will certainly 'die' in the coming battle. And, just to repeat, that's the lowest estimate. Some pessimistic bastard even predicted that eight out of ten BLADEs would be waking up in the Lifehold, an insanely high casualty rate.

I wrench my thoughts away from the coming battle and try to focus on something else. Spotting a group of Human, Prone and Wrothians in front of a few helicopters I walk on over, curious as to what their purpose is. Getting closer I notice that I'm familiar with almost every one of the people currently present. I recognize Garroway and his soldiers, Slovity Pagus, Zarch Quokett, Gi Zang, Zo Ozuchi, Gi Ziorde and Gi Ziordo. I smile as Zarch and Slovity try their hardest to ignore each other and not attack one another. As I get closer I notice Zarch's trained Suid, Odsent suddenly stand up and start nuzzling my hand with his massive snout.

A proud look on his face Zarch says, "Oh ho! Looks like Odsent remembers one who bested him many times! Well met Cross!"

"Good to see you again Zarch. What are all of you doing here?"

Gi Zang saunters over with a smug look on his face and humbly says, "Ah well you see, not all of us were to be graced with the presence of a Skell. Thus, us mere foot soldiers will have to content ourselves with raiding largely emptied Ganglion bases and seizing them from second-rate guards who won't even know what hit them."

I take a glance at everyone assembled and can't help but agree with that assessment.

"Cross, are you feeling well?"

"Why, do I look weird?"

He quietly looks at me for a second before shrugging.

"Normally you would have some snide comment or rebuttal. Instead you merely seemed content with my explanation."

I'm about to retort with something more in line with his expectations but suddenly find it way too troublesome. Plus Gi Zang would probably see right through it anyway.

"I guess I'm a little preoccupied, tense even. Which is new territory for me honestly. Normally I can ignore my fear with zero issues, but this time? It's not so easy."

He nods and consolingly says, "If you don't mind me saying so, perhaps now that you care about a great many people, this large of an operation has you more aware of how many might not make it back. Don't take this the wrong way, but when we first met you seemed to have a far smaller circle of friends."

I wince as his words seem right on the money, judging by how much hearing them sucks.

"That sounds about right, as painful as it is to admit." I glance at my timepiece and sigh.

"Alright I need to get moving, it's almost time for us to head out to Alpha Base."

He nods and clasps my shoulder.

"Good hunting Cross. And bring yourself back in one piece."

I return his gesture and reply, "Same to you. It wouldn't be fair for you to go off and die after telling me that I'm freaked because of such a scenario."

He snorts and waves me off. I give a nod to everyone else and they return it, with Garroway giving a lazy wave instead. Arriving at the Ares 90 I hop onboard and start the machine, feeling some of my anxiety drain away as the reactor begins to gently hum. Amazing what having an awesome weapon will do for one's self-confidence.

"Assault squad one you are cleared for departure. Launch by squads."

There's a sudden howl as twenty Skells engage their main drives and lift off from the launch pad, then orient themselves towards Sylvalum. Slowly accelerating in lines of five the whole group proceeds to hit cruising velocity. Five more groups and change just like this one will eventually be leaving the city, totaling at one hundred forty two machines once all forces are accounted for, including the garrison already at Alpha Base.

As we fly over the city walls I take a look at the four reasons we can field this many machines and smile appreciatively. The four Xe-dom L and Professor B brought back are patrolling the walls in a rotating pattern, freeing up the Skells that were pegged for guard duty to join the main force.

There was some debate over whether to include the Xe-doms in the main force, since their presence would massively impact the battle overall. That idea had been shot down once Professor B and Veven had intervened. While B had managed to do some basic programming, enough of their systems were new to him that he couldn't do a complete job.

The fact that B finds the Xe-doms systems unfamiliar is just one more mystery on the slowly growing mountain we already have.

Regardless, with only very limited commands available, no one wanted to risk them suddenly going all Skynet in the middle of the battle, so they're holding down the fort instead, letting us focus on doing our jobs without worrying about home.

…Home. I wonder when it was that I first started thinking of NLA as a place to come back once the day was over, rather than just a backdrop to work in. You'd think that would be an important moment for me.

Or maybe not, actually. It very well might have just happened gradually without me being any the wiser. Strange world.

"Something on your mind?"

I glance out of the corner of my eye and see Celica's image on one of the viewscreens and give a bemused smile.

"How is it that you somehow always seem to know when I'm thinking about deep matters?"

"We'd be a rather miserable couple if we weren't able to read each other at least a little bit."

"Can't argue with that logic…I was actually just wondering when I started to think of NLA as home."

"Is that the sort of thing you can just narrow down to one moment of realization?"

"Probably not…do you have a moment or event that let you realize this was your home?"

"I do actually" she grins in a self-satisfied way. "But it's a secret."

"Well that's no fair."

"I'll tell you when we get back, how does that sound?"

"What a wonderful motivator. I think I'll do just that."

We banter back and forth as we continue our flight, leaving our home behind to slowly fade away over the horizon.

But only for now.

---

Whew, finally got the correct file to upload. Apologies for the rushed job there but I've come to realize that I take deadlines almost seriously.

Almost.

I actually don't have much to say in this little afterword, so hmm...What to do.

Q&A time then!

A guest reviewer recently asked why Earth meat was considered so rare given it's constant use in the storyline. Ideally it shouldn't be considered a rarity, but since the Lifehold is non-operational still, the ability to create Earth fauna is a no-go (What DID ever happen to that cat they left floating in one of the baths? I assume it'll show up as a DLC boss). And after a year plus change, stocks are running low.

In response to VentusBrawler: You guessed it, I didn't even know that Justin had a second quest. I've run past him so many times with no further quest mark I assumed his story was over (obviously still missing some pre-requisites then).

So yah, next chapter will be the showdown between NLA and Nahum's army. Prepare for Skell combat galore!

(Insert words of thanks for reading story here)