Shirogane Archangel 1
Sumika Archangel 2
Kasumi Archangel 3
Sakaki Archangel 4
Meiya Archangel 5
Mikoto Archangel 6
Ayamine Archangel 7
Tamase Archangel 8
—
Takamura Yui
December 20, 2001
Yukon Base, Polestar restaurant
"Choosing real alcohol this time, First Lieutenant? Not a bad pick at all." Yui, who wasn't drunk in the slightest heard a muffled call that somewhat resembled a sentence.
"Whaa…? Hic—! Nuubudy is druuuk! Douut tell merr that!" She was only waving her hands crazily and dirtying her hair as a greeting to the newcomer.
"This is… impressive in its own way. Mind if I join you?" Due to the poor lighting of the bar and the constant earthquake around Yui, it took her much longer than a second to realize her companion was Second Lieutenant Sharon Heim of the US Army.
"Ahaa-hahaha! Ouuukay! Lonnng tumee no seea!" Sharon sat down like a ghost to Yui's left, not saying a word or making any noises. What she definitely didn't do was laugh at the less-than-honourable Honour Guard to her side who was still very not drunk.
"Whaa'ca getting, 2nd Lt. Sharrron! It's ooon meee!"
"…Huhuhuhu, I actually brought my own drink, see here?" When she held up her left hand again, there magically appeared a bottle of scotch. It obviously wasn't carried in by Sharon, cause that would make too much sense.
"Haa! Wull doune! Lettme have a teast tooo! Hic!"
"We probably shouldn't do that… although taking a break is a much better alternative." Carefully, Sharon pushed away Yui's fifth almost empty beer mug to the bartender.
"Uuuuu! Drinnk! Me bottttleeee! Secnod Lieuutennat is suuuuu meeean!" After flapping her arms around some more, Yui fell powerlessly on the table by accident.
"Oucchiee!" And then she just laid there, unmoving and quite wasted in Sharon's opinion.
"Emm, why… don't you come with me first, 1st Lt. Takamura? Let's get you cleaned up a bit, or maybe a lot."
—
"So you're a happy drunk, huh? Can't say I saw that coming, heheh."
"…Please do not let that spread… for all of eternity. Or else… I really will have to commit Seppuku …" With tears in her eye socket, Yui did her best to look strong and not be made the laughing stock of the century.
"Hahaha, don't worry. My mouth is sealed." All Sharon did was shine a kind smile as she held Yui's arm and assisted her out of the washroom.
Now that her mind was cleared, Yui realized how absolutely terrible and hilarious she looked when drunk, neither of which she would ever want to be spread. Having finally recollected herself, the pair treaded their way back to the table. Yui sat down and again placed her cheek on the hard wood surface out of self-disappointment this time around.
"Do you think the bartender will tell on me?" She surveyed around for the new barkeep hired after the Yukon Base Incident, who was nowhere to be found.
"It's fine, it's fine! I already talked with her for extra tips. Your secret is buried, First Lieutenant." With the same smile on her face, Sharon gave Yui a few pats on the back with her right hand for comfort.
"…My head hurts, a lot."
"Then why… did you drink that much?" The logical inquiry from Sharon should have been expected by Yui, yet she was unable to provide a sensible answer within a reasonable time.
"I… hate myself." Seeing that telling Sharon about her great adventure in Japan could be considered as a betrayal to her new employers, Yui elected to bypass the question as a substitute.
"You should really take a break, 1st Lt. Takamura. Everyone has their own limits when it comes to liquor." The suggestion from the American Eishi didn't do well in pairing up with her action. Sharon took the bottle in her left hand and delivered herself a deep mouthful of scotch.
"No, I'm still well enough. My recovery is at least on par." Pairing that statement while practically fusing her face with the counter didn't help her argument.
"Well, good for you! Ahaha." Sharon just seemed genuinely happy.
"Aruu… I am late on the greeting, however I must still say; welcome to Yukon Base, 2nd Lt. Heim. What brought you here?" At last, Yui remembered her manners after making a complete fool of herself.
"Huhuhu, sorry but can't say. Work related. How about you, First Lieutenant? Have you travelled anywhere since we last met?"
"Indeed I have. Just returned from Japan two days ago." The last time these two met was during the closing hours of the terrorist attack.
"So what're you up to then?"
"Unfortunately, that is classified. I do pray for it to be something favourable." Yui and Sharon spoke no more after that. The fact was that one of them was unable to pick herself up from the bar table didn't help with developing their friendship.
"So err… why did you bring that drink with you?" Still, the silent atmosphere was much more painful to bear in comparison, thus the new icebreaker from Yui was said.
"Oh, this? Fuuuu… it's all Leon." Having just rested enough, Yui finally got off the counter and started a normal conversation with the American.
"How can this be related to… errm, Second Lieutenant… Kuze?" While her sight was still fuzzy, Yui's memories served her well.
"Well… ay, guess I tell you. We were sitting up the mood with a little drink, right? I even had candles prepared since it's been a hard time for him. But the idiot fell asleep while drinking, before we could start the foreplay."
That paragraph of explanation was quite confusing for someone like Yui. She worked her brain intensely to understand the supposed meaning of their activity.
"So were you two planning on…"
"Yes, we were about to sleep together."
"Ahaaa… so you were…" Happy for her correct guess or saddened by other reasons, Yui wasn't sure. But hearing anything sexual just threw her off her game generally.
"Huhuhu, even I get embarrassed if you don't say something after that, First Lieutenant." That tease struck Yui in her mental Achilles heel.
"Ehh? Err…errr— I-I… g-good for you and 2nd Lt. Kuze! Yes! It is important to keep an in-intimate relationship! Yes, that's it! It is vital to take good care of your b-b-body!" Her hot, flustered cheeks gave away the sudden awkwardness Yui underwent.
"Ahahaha… thanks. Soooo… did you and Yuuya get together… you know, before he left?" Starting to get a little drunk herself, Sharon asked what could be considered an insensitive question.
"Ah… no, no such event took place." The extra layer of red couldn't be noticed on top of her already existing blush.
"Aww… don't worry though, I think you'll get to meet him soon." What Sharon said next in her slight intoxication was alarming enough for Yui to snap out of her dizzy mood.
"Wha— yes, that's true. But how did you know…?"
"Huh? You know about our missi— No, wait. Do you— do you know about that?"
Both girls stared at each other in confusion as the tension rapidly raised high the clearer their thoughts became. By now, the air was starting to become smothering for a normal person. Yet Yui and Sharon studied the one in the opposite seat profoundly without losing concentration.
"Do you think… you'll meet Yuuya in the near future?" The professedly random question from Yui was a test, in her effort to dig whatever she could out of Sharon seeing the blond was relatively drunk at this moment.
"I… am sure that I'll meet him under suitable conditions, 1st Lt. Takamura." Regrettably, the Infinites test pilot lacked the sufficient amount of booze in her bloodstream for her to spill that secret.
"Very well, I do believe it shall be better if we both excused ourselves. I hope to return to my room and rest." Both female Eishis understood there was a dangerous path before them if they kept discussing the forbidden topic.
"Yeah, yeah I'll do the same. See you next time, 1st Lt. Takamura."
"You as well, 2nd Lt. Heim."
Yuuya Bridges
December 20, 2001
Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, Ц-04 Frontline Supply Base
There was no time to react. A buffer period for mental and physical preparation was not given to the two rogue surface pilots.
Eight TSFs broke through the heavens as they descended down from high above the skies, breaking apart the clouds and scattering innumerable sum of birds into the air. At the same time countless animals fled from the uncalled commotion, a muted roar of engines barely reached far enough for Yuuya to heed.
The American pilot felt the ground shaking when a storm of snow and dust blew from ground-zero of their landing zone, his mind went into overdrive without missing a beat. For he knew, the newcomers' intention wasn't to make friends.
"Inia! Come on, get yourself together!" His first priority was to ensure Inia's safety, the girl returned to her senses after her name was repeatedly called for a few more times.
"Ah- what's happening…?"
"I don't know, I think they really just can't let us free. Get in the Berkut and go somewhere safe, I'll head for the Shiranui." Keeping himself as calm as he could under the situation, Yuuya scuffed through Inia's hair when he ordered for her escape.
"…Are you sure you can make it?" Inia was indeed very concerned for Yuuya's welfare.
"Yeah, don't worry about me—" However, the fact of the moment was that Inia really needed to worry about Yuuya.
Before he could even finish that sentence, the thin sheet of metal that used to be a reinforced wall burst apart revealing a TSF, as if Yuuya was staring into a mirror of his own machine, the frame that torn down the wall could had only been his Shiranui Second.
"What the—! Inia, follow me and run!"
"Awwa!" With his reflex already taking over, Yuuya took Inia in his arms and carried her away princess style.
"—umm… you two down there, freeze, please?" From the loudspeaker on the machine came a very unprofessional warning, Yuuya heed no attention to the words of the face Shiranui Second's pilot and instead sprint as fast as his legs could carry him to the central building that was only fifty metres away.
"Yuuya! Yuuya! Cryska! She's still back there!" Inia called out, reminding the young man of the girl that he left behind.
"We… we have to get away! We'll come back for her later!" As Yuuya leap over a multitude of debris and wrecks into a crack in the wall of the main building, he swallowed the pain of abandoning the female of his life.
Shirogane Takeru
"—Archangel 1 to all units, Su-47 secured. Two HVTs have escaped into the command building, Archangel 5 and 6 will disembark and search on foot with me, the rest will continue hunting for the final target and Shiranui Phase 3." I gave out some simply orders using the microphone attached to my fortified suit.
"—Archangel 5, copy."
"—6, copy as well."
"—Archangel 2, roger. Will take over command for rest of the squadron." It was a little concerning having Sumika in the lead, then again, I had to give that girl some responsibly in due course.
From the corner of my sight, I spotted Class rep and Kasumi's units gathering by Sumika. They were discussing briefly a tactic for finding the last HVT and TSF on our list.
"Meiya, Mikoto, you two are on me. Check your weapons and disembark."
"Roger."
—
"This bloody base is a mess. You two, keep sharp and watch for any movements."
"Understood." The two girls behind me replied the same thing at the same time.
Following who I assumed to be Bridges and Sestina, my team also entered through the same break in the wall they used a minute earlier. The inside of this structure was no better than the outside, broken doors, windows and general concrete shattered all over the floor with evidence of a bombing run lying above them all.
I read in a report about the Ц-04 Base Incident and how the Soviets just bombed the shit out of everything after the base evacuated, but they didn't do a very good job from the looks of it.
"This must have been where they traversed." Mikoto pointed her flashlight onto a path of newly formed footsteps that led further down a hallway.
"Alright, let's get after them then; safety off, just don't shoot all willy-nilly." After some entertained glances from both of the girls around me, we all ran down the dark hall that Bridges travelled.
Yuuya Bridges
"Haa… haaa. Yuuya! Wait! It's a dead end this way!" A huffing voice called out to Yuuya, the girl running with ragged breathing was having trouble catching up.
"I know, it'll be fine. The Shiranui Second hanger is just through this wall." Yuuya checked his six before pushing off a piece of rock that covered a small crack in the wall.
They were in an office at the end of the hallway, there was no longer anywhere else to escape to if the pair were to be cornered at this time. The single corridor behind them was long and narrow, not suitable for an advantageous gunfight.
On the other hand, the hole in the office that Yuuya just uncovered was befitting for a small girl to crawl under.
"Inia, go through here and get to the 94 Second." Yuuya shot another tense look to the entrance as he gently held Inia's shoulders.
"Eh? Then how about you!?"
"I'll be fine, Inia. I can find another way. Besides, once you get the Shiranui here those people won't even be a problem." Yuuya's gruelling smile didn't hide his uncertainty too well.
"…Okay, I'll get the 94 and come back for you! I promise!" Even so, Inia was mature enough to not get in his way.
"That'll be great, and I promise I'll be fine before that."
"Be careful, Inia."
"You too, Yuuya. Don't let them get you." The young girl didn't waste any more time on sentimental farewells, instead she quickly got down on the floor and disappeared into the building.
Seeing Inia depart left Yuuya just a little feeling of loneliness, however the man knew what he must accomplish to secure a future for them both.
"Ahaaa… can I call myself a cool guy now?" With nobody left to hear his joke, Yuuya laughed dryly as his only audience.
No matter how little time he had left, there must be something he could do to defend himself with. Yuuya truly believed that. So with only a handgun and two grenades left on him, the former test pilot wasn't going down without a fight.
Shirogane Takeru
We spent a couple more minutes jogging vigilantly down multiple halls with our flashlight as the only illumination source. Eventually, the long, isolated passage ended to a single double door.
"You got the construction schematic, Mikoto?"
"Yeah, the blueprints show this room to be a dead end." Mikoto responded in her serious voice.
"Stack up, on me." Two wordless nods answered me and the girls moved next to the door.
No matter how one was to use their imagination on this situation, it was obvious the duo of escapees ran through here. Since we saw the structure of this building from outside and from the map, we presumed for them to have hid somewhere in there and were awaiting our entry.
"Breach and clear." Without communicating in words, Meiya and Mikoto readied their firearms.
"Blinder, ready." From her tiny waist purse Mikoto carefully pulled out a M84 stun using her left hand, she then bit the safety pin off with her mouth and primed it for detonation.
Besides her stood Meiya, the other girl slowly gaped the door a slim bit, just wide enough for the grenade to go in.
"Go on three… ready?" Both girls nodded once more.
At that time, I wasn't sure if what I felt was tension or excitement. A mixture of both was probably the best guess. If I ever done something similar to this mission before I sure as hell didn't remember the details. So for the first time in possibly centuries I was getting to experience a new thrill.
"Three… two—" But a sudden flash of white just had to ruin my fun and instantly cut off my countdown.
Before my eyes, the world spun in haste like the fall during a rollercoaster ride. A precipitous, unanticipated force pushed my body downwards and into the air at once. Disoriented, I stumbled around, hoping to find my balance but failed and landed hard on my back not a second later.
"Errga! Shit the flashba—" I briefly heard Mikoto's shout of panic from somewhere across the doorway, her fast reaction was what saved me from falling victim to our own trick.
Even with my vision shielded by my arm, I still felt the second wave of burning white light and the thundering boom followed by the intense ringing of my ears. Half of the room's door was weighting down on my body, I could barely spot the blasted pieces of the rest of this door and part of the other one.
As I recovered from the temporary blindness, the shadow of a running man followed by his heavy footsteps sprinted away from us and down the hall where we journeyed minutes earlier.
"—fuck! Meiya! Mikoto!" While I had the mad urge to chase after our target who just duped my team, these two were the more important priority.
"Go! I got Yoroi here! Just go!" By good luck, Meiya also regained her senses and was already tending to Mikoto who the stun went off closest to.
"Make sure to catch up!" Exercising all the muscles in my legs, I burst out from under the collapse and dashed as fast as possible in pursue of the HVT.
—
A left, a left, a right and straight ahead. I chased his silhouette for a few good hundred metres throughout this maze of a base. During this hunt, we exchanged a couple of blind shots as a try of slowing down the other, it was lucky and unlucky that neither of us hit our mark.
Nevertheless, no race goes on forever. By the end of my hunt, I cornered the target when he ran into a dead-end created by fallen debris. The walls around him confronted my prey and allowed no easy way out.
I took half a second to catch my breath, he did the same when we both realized the blockade was immoveable for the time being. A short rest later, I raised my PDW and took aim. Looking down my barrel, the pistol in his hands was also visible with its iron sight trained in on me.
"Second Lieutenant Yuuya Bridges! We have orders to take you in, stop resisting or this could turn ugly very fast." The first words I ever spoke to another male in quite some time were a warning, a serious one at that.
"Who are you and what do you want!?" A classic question Bridges cried back while not taking his finger off the trigger.
"We're here to protect you, if you actually believe that." He shot me a smug smile, thinking I was joking about the matter.
"Pointing a SMG my way doesn't really sound so kind!"
"Well, you should try and not shoot at your bodyguards next time."
"Damn it! You people just had to come over and ruin everything!"
He was upset; that much was obvious, yet his anger wasn't directed towards me. The American was grieving over another matter entirely and I didn't understand his reason for doing so.
"Would you please cooperate? I don't want to make this painful, for the both of us." Bridges' countenance altered for a blind look, he appeared hesitant about trusting my words.
"Alright, I'll go with you." Then all of a sudden, Takamura's Eishi slowly surrendered his hands into the air as he declared, the pistol still hanging by his finger.
"Huh, that would be great. Drop your gun." The clink of metal hitting floor sounded once. How wonderful that he decided to work with me instead of continuing to put up a fight, if he really was giving up, that is.
I strapped the MP7 by the leash to my shoulder and approached Bridges cautiously. The pair of handcuffs taken from my pouch was spun open to seize his wrists. He offered his arms as a sign of giving up, the lighting from my new angle made it difficult to make out his face.
"So just who are you people?" Bridges asked again when I was about to cuff him.
"Classified."
"Then guess the deal is off." That surely was what he said, Bridges said that when the metal edge was about ten centimetres away from his forearms.
Truth be told, no part of me took his abdication soberly. Or maybe I just thought how boring it was be if Bridges seriously gave up right away, that would make this trip of ours very much wasted.
So for the next spilt second, I swung up the shackles in my right hand and lurched them around to smack his face with the metal end akin to brass knuckles. However, a moment of scepticism overcame me when all he did was reach out his left hand like a foolish method of protection.
Then I noticed it, something shining around his middle finger, and it sure as hell wasn't an engagement ring.
It was the pin of a grenade.
"Oh fuck reall—" Another cling chimed out, this one was much more deadly than the last.
My survival instinct kicked in immediately and my body dived away from the source before I even noticed. That move turned out to be a mistake on my part.
As I leaped backwards for safety, Bridges actually surged forward over the frag he just dropped seconds ago. The target was holding some sort of pipe-like object in his right hand and pitched it right for my face.
One way or another, my combat aptitude acted out with full force. Moving by almost in-human impulsive speed, I brought up my gun at the last second to block the force that would have surely sent me flying.
"Arck!" Defending a full-on swing and dodging one were two different businesses, the sheer power of his attack broke my last-minute guard and I stumbled a few steps back in the hallway as a result.
Advancing by his attack, Bridges aimed his weapon again and was determined to send another hit my way. However, taking two strikes in one day was just too much for my pride.
"MEIYA!" The time was right to pull my emergency backup.
All it took was one shout. As if I summoned my samurai girl from a magic circle, Meiya was there with a sword in her hands the next second, protecting me. I didn't see where she came from or how fast she reached me, still, all that mattered what for her to be where I needed her to be.
I fell down on the floor when two armaments crossed path above my head, Meiya's katana against whatever Bridges was using. Surprisingly, what I thought was only a pipe didn't break or even crack when bashed by her legendary Japan soul.
"Wha—?!" When Meiya reached us with the speed of light, I wasn't the only one shocked.
"If you do not wish to unsheathe that blade, then do not blame me for your disadvantage." Meiya's sword flashed right in front of my eyes as she jumped to reflect Bridges' attack, after hearing her words, I also noticed it was a sheathed katana that he hit me with.
Bridges plodded backwards with his sword in hand, he heedfully drew the silver weapon and threw the sheath a few metres off the side.
The scowl he shot each of us as we turned the tide on him was humorous, yet dangerous; this man was not a simple prey and I understood that the minute I entrapped him, Bridges was a fighter, a very competent one at that.
However, I too, am a combatant, and there is no hunting like the hunting of man.
"Jesus Christ. That was good thinking there, dropping a dud on me. Scared me shitless if you must know." I regained my composure and half-heartedly joked.
"Heh, thanks asshole." He whiffed back at us in anger and exchanged glares of menace with Meiya.
"So… wanna work with us now?"
"I still refuse."
"Hoo? In that case, how do plan on escaping from here, ex-Second Lieutenant? Break a hole in the wall?" Bridges only observed us up and down without an answer. So we stared intensely at each other for a good minute, he was rigid and strained as can be while I finally got to enjoy every moment of our standoff.
"Takeru, Meiya-san!" Another sound echoed quietly within the short hallway, a rushed Mikoto caught up and was alerted to our enemy.
Now that my party had gathered in full, we lost our only reason to drag out this fight.
"Alright, this is taking a long time. Meiya, apprehend him." By my words, Meiya pulled her trusty katana out of its scabbard and changed her stance for offence.
"As you wish." Meiya took an intimidating step forward when Bridges prepared his own sword. The two locked eyes with one another, both ready to attack or defend all in a moment's notice.
I never thought an American soldier could be to any good with a Japanese saber, yet the atmosphere Bridges processed declared otherwise. Meiya too picked up the fact that she wasn't fighting against some random ninja-wannabe as well, her movements became prudent and her gaze sharper than her sword.
They both waited for the right moment, the perfect time to strike. And as fate would have it, the dual received their signal when gravity pulled another piece of the structure down and impacted the floor with a thud.
Meiya took that chance and instantly closed the three metres gap with a single leap, her katana outstretched to the right was brought down hard upon Bridges who guarded against the overbearing force. He twisted his body rapidly and spun away from Meiya's second charge. Already prepared to turn the tables, Bridges returned with an uppercut that was avoided when Meiya leaned to her left.
Off on the sideline l watched the performance that transpired before me, it served to remind me just exactly how skilled Meiya can be with the appropriate tools in hand.
Metal sparks flew in all directions from the conflict of swords, it was a masquerade for the steel, a dance of life and death.
"What do you think, Mikoto? Good fight?" Mikoto who was too engrossed by the flash of blades in her observation failed to answer me immediately.
"Ah, y-yeah. Meiya-san is really good… w-w-wait! That's not the issue right now! Aren't we supposed to capture that person?! Do something, Takeru!" This chick was toooo demanding for someone who didn't even swipe a knife.
"Tsssk, fine, fine. Meiya, finish this and let's go home!" My shout caught the attention of both combatants as they lowered their swords for a short period.
"Very well, Takeru. —You're quite proficient with a Japanese steel, young man. It is indeed an honour duelling with you." Abruptly, Meiya sheathed her sword once more and faced Bridges directly without a weapon.
"What are you…?" Bridges tightened his defence when a clear murderous aura could be detected from my samurai.
"It has been a while since I last had the pleasure to contend against a valuable opponent."
"Yeah? I didn't think there would be people better than her too." With a snort, Bridges picked up on Meiya's statement.
"Tactlessly, I do not have the time nor luxury to further engage in this dance with you. So I ask, would you accept one final clash?"
Meiya tensely lowered both hands until she griped the handle with one and the tip of the scabbed with the other. Her legs spread slightly and her body relaxed to pour strength into the muscles around those areas.
"He, you're confident, huh?!"
"But of course, I do not lose my battles." It was Bridges' turn to formulate himself this time. He took the katana firmly in both hands and steadied it right down the middle, once he was sure of his posture, not one part of his body moved an inch.
"I'll accept your challenge then." The time was now, the time to end their duel.
"The name is Mitsurugi Meiya, HERE I COME!"
"Come on then!" A deafening roar overtook the room, a bright flash of light beamed down from above the stage. Then the battle was over, a victor had been decided just then.
From the ceiling, a lone katana hanged with its tip stuck between the cracks. Down on the floor, Meiya held her outreached sword with one hand after a horizontal draw strike.
"Haa… guess you won then." Bridges carefully lifted both of his empty hands into the air as if he surrendered, hopefully for real this time.
"You have my gratitude for that match. Excellent performance." Meiya's blade was stashed for the second and final time. She readjusted her stance and handcuffed Bridges who willingly assumed capture without further resisting.
"What do you want with me?" Once Bridges was brought before me, I calmly studied him for any possible hidden tricks.
"Where's the girl?"
"What girl?" It really pissed me off when people decide to play dumb, especially if they obviously know it's pointless.
"I mean the girl that ran away when you distracted us, smartass. You really think I didn't know?"
"Tch, bastard…" Luckily, he wasn't foolish enough to let his upset be shown, or else this would be really uninteresting as a show.
"Now now, let's all calm down okay? No need to—" Another occurrence interrupted my half-spoken sentence. The ground below our feet suddenly shook violently like never before.
The couple of us took a second to rebalance ourselves and I immediately watched for any suspicious movements from Bridges. It was an explosion, no doubt, the question was where and who.
"—Archangel 1 to all units, report in!"
"—Archangel 2, I'm with Kasumi-chan and we know nothing. Check—"
"—agra! This is Archangel 4, we're under attack! Repeat, we're under attack! Hostile numbers, unknown! Appear to be Russian TSFs!" Another radio signal cut off Sumika's update. Its shouter was Class rep, and the situation didn't look good.
"Archangel 2 to 1, HVT 2 secured. Requesting order."
"Archangel 1 to all units, Arc 2 will escort HVT 2 and rendezvous on my marker in sixty. I'll be heading out with Arc 3 and assessing the circumstances."
"—Archangel 3 understood."
"Archangel 4, copy!"
"Got it, Takeru, let us hurry." Kasumi, Class rep and Meiya all replied positively to my orders.
I motioned for the girls to bring Bridges along as we moved for the entrance. Now that we caught our guy, there was no need to go quiet. I tore down some of the lighter walls in our way and was finally reunited with the outside air.
Just like we agreed, Sumika and Kasumi's TSFs surfaced into my view slowly, carefully and steadily with a silver-haired girl in one of the machine's hands.
"Looks like we just caught your Russian girl, Bridges. This could get interesting now, and I know you want to see this."
Inia Sestina
Non-chronological
Hanger wreckage
Inia was on a mission that she alone could accomplish, she ran down past some blockades formed from rubbish on her way towards the hanger where the Phase 3 was parked at. Inia was going to help Yuuya, finally she could repay him for all that he given to her.
The inside of the broken down hanger was dim, expectedly so. Inia warily paced over to where the TSF should be based on her memory. When the silhouette of her and Yuuya's frame ultimately came into her line of sight, the excitement Inia felt made her oblivious to what was obscured in darkness.
"—you won't make it, Inia." A tiny, almost insufficient voice called out to her at the last second from somewhere in the shadow. It was a voice Inia hadn't heard in ages, yet she still remembered it like yesterday.
"Trista… is that really you!? So you really did come here!" Overjoyed at her long lost twin's presence, Inia happily galloped in her direction until she was stopped by the sight of the cold barrel of a suppressor.
"…Trista—?"
"Inia, we came to bring you in." Trista stared at her indifferently with her usual stoic emotion, yet even when she knew that was exactly what her sister was like, Inia couldn't help but feel a sudden shock at her twin's action.
"…Why are you doing this, Trista!? Are you here with that person…?"
"Da."
"How can you stand being around that?! It… it doesn't have anything."
As the words flew out from her mouth, Inia was suddenly assaulted by a sense of anger and peril. Now Trista didn't take a single step from where she quietly stood, but Inia was sure that her mood changed greatly even when her appearance stayed the same.
"That's because you don't know anything, Inia. You are only a child." It should have been seen as an insult which was thrown at the ex-Russian pilot, but for some reason Inia felt that her sister said those words with its intended meaning.
"How are you so different!? We're the same, Trista!"
"That's not true, my name is Yashiro Kasumi. And we're very different, everywhere." She said a name, a name Inia didn't even understand. Then she denied their link, a link formed from their blood.
"We came from the same place! We lived at the same home for a long time! How can you not know that!?" Inia was earnestly unhappy now, her sister who everyone else forgot, avoided or disliked when only she commemorated was refuting the time they had together.
"Those days were hollow, I don't have them anymore. I live for a different purpose now, I only want to finish this past."
"Then… who am I…?" Inia felt dejected, she was not a part of her memories anymore.
"A shadow… I don't remember you anymore… prastíte (sorry)." Seeing their saddening conversation had came to an end, both esper girls were ready to follow their obligation.
Inia was going to reach the Phase 3 placed a bit further away from where she was, she had to, and she must. She also understood that Trista intended to shoot her the moment she made a move, her eyes told that much.
So the two esper girls stood still, glaring into each other's pupils. Inia didn't bother budging a muscle as she had no chance at outrunning a bullet, be it supressed or not. She wasn't sure how accurate Trista was; holding that MP7 with one hand. Albeit she did look a bit tired, she was nowhere near powerless enough to drop her gun.
"Inia, give up… and come with us. You have no tomorrow otherwise." Trista was clearly not the best at negotiation, making Inia only feel affronted by that request.
"I refuse! You and your—"
Inia's sentence was never finished. Before she could offend Trista and her associates, a giant piece of the building shredded down when a TSF's hand reached in and forcefully pulled apart the rest of that construction.
Inia gazed on as the surface fighter watchfully entered through the newly founded hole and realized her existence, the machine bent down near Inia who only stared emotionlessly as its cockpit opened gradually, revealing another surface pilot.
The newcomer to the stalemate was a powerful girl, that was the first thought to pop into the esper's head. After she took a couple of steps outside where the moonlight shined at a right angle for Inia to study her features, she couldn't fathomed just who exactly was waving her hand dynamically at both her and Trista.
"Ahha! You look just like that girl we're supposed to catch!"
For a good dozen seconds, Inia completely froze from hearing such a nonsensical line. She was quite confused, as a matter of course; this girl piloted a TSF into the hanger and utterly wiped away any sense of tension.
"…What are you doing, Sumika-san? I was in an important talk." Trista seemed to know this person quite well, must had been another of her friends that no doubt came to take Yuuya away from Inia.
"Aha-ha! Sorry, Kasumi-chan. It was just taking so long and we didn't find the third target anywhere." Trista nodded lightly and the two conserved a bit more about topics that didn't interest Inia in the slightest.
"That's what Takeru-san calls irresponsible. He'll punish you for sure."
"Eeeh?! Will he? I feel that I'm helping you out right now though!"
"Then go ahead; help me."
"—what's your name, little girl? You look just like Kasumi-chan!"
Eventually, the conversation between the two invaders was directed back to Inia. She didn't actually think she could use this chance to escape so she just stood there until the red-haired pilot noticed her again.
"…Who are you and what are you doing here?" Firing back her best attempt at an angry glare, Inia's sign of hostility was missed by the immature pilot completely.
"My name is Kagami Sumika! I know this sounds weird but will you come with us? We promise to treat you nicely and won't hurt you!" With that, this Sumika beamed off the most energetic and innocent smile Inia had ever seen; second to Yuuya, obviously, but it still took her off guard that she just appeared so friendly and harmless.
"Why… what do you want with us?" Inia instinctively took a few small steps back.
"Huuuuh? Did you not explain this, Kasumi-chan?"
"No." Sumika gave Trista a blank look before coming even closer to Inia. She placed both her hands on her shoulder and locked eyes without all while keeping her happy attitude.
"You see, Inia-chan, we're here to take you guys somewhere safe because we think some bad people are coming to hurt you, you know? So Takeru-chan wants us to take everyone here somewhere safe where we can find out exactly what they want with you all!"
The newcomer's explanation was… simple, to say the least. Inia thought how foolish the girl must be if she wanted her to believe such clarification even for a second, yet it was Inia who felt quite foolish at this moment as she was believing it wholeheartedly.
"…How do you know my name?" That was also an important question which Inia missed until now.
"Huh? Your name is your name, right?" It was this time that Inia finally realized what the strange feelings she discerned from the red-head was.
"You… are not human… but, you're not like us…"
"Oh, that's right! I'm a super robot! Take a look at this!" With a swipe of her hand, the empty TSF behind her suddenly jumped to alive and straightened up from its kneeing position.
"It's awesome, right? I can read people's mind too, and make locked doors open, and make passwords go away and all the good stuff!" Inia didn't say a word, only because she was too amazed to remember to comment.
"…Then why do you want us…?"
"Ahaha, we're trying to protect you three, dummy! Like I told you, some bad people asked us to come and get you, but Takeru-chan didn't trust them and so we're coming here and finding out exactly what happened!" There was no way Sumika could be telling the truth, Inia didn't want to trust her.
"Will you believe us, Inia-chan? We're really trying to help."
"Please trust her. Please trust us."
"…Okay." However, somewhere within her recently healed heart. Inia recognized what true honestly was like, and the silly-looking girl that was generously offering her aid was all that and then some.
More importantly, Inia and Yuuya weren't going to make it without outside help, they both knew that perfectly. With the Americans, her former comrades and some other agencies all after the 94 Phase 3, any help was appreciated to their cause.
"Yaay! Thank you, Inia-chan! Then let's get going, I'll talk Takeru-chan to not treat you friend too—" Things had a habit of surprising Inia out of the blue on that day, a random explosion shook the earth not too far from where they were.
For a second, Inia thought she saw Sumika's expression change as she spoke into her microphone on her reddish fortified suit; then after a blink, the robot girl was smiling heart-warmingly back at her again.
"Guess we got a couple of problems to take care of, Inia-chan, would you go with Kasumi-chan? She will bring you to your other friend."
"Please come with me, Inia." Trista's previous gun was nowhere in sight.
"Okay, you will take me to Yuuya, right?"
"Yes, Takeru-san just found him. Let's go and meet up with them."
Tamase Miki
Field
"—Aerr, patrol pattern Echo complete. No sign of target."
"—Archangel 4, copy. Continue searching, move to pattern Charlie."
"Archangel 8 understood." Switching off her comms with a swift flick of her fingers, Miki surveyed her surroundings vigilantly while scanning with the detector in her Shiranui.
Her current post, this operation, everything in general was going pretty fast around Miki for the past few days. Takeru informing them of this mission about two days before it had to be commenced meant there was very little time for the 13th to prepare themselves.
Still, Miki was excited to be deployed again. Even if her team only graduated for roughly two weeks, it didn't change the fact that they survived a BETA attack on their own base before learning about those foes. Her and her friends trained very hard to become fine Eishis after the promotion, their effort and energy were not wasted on working themselves to the bones trying to master the controls of a TSF.
With that rationale, Miki assumed the reward for their sweat was manifested as a secret mission Takeru had entrusted them with. Sure, it was nothing fancy for the wartime soldiers. But this operation stuck the sweet spot between a boring job and a deadly suicide run, hopefully it wasn't too dangerous for the recently promoted Eishis or too pointless for them either.
"—Sector C-11 cleared, no sign of targets." It was Ayamine's voice that Miki discerned, she reported her condition quickly and went off their comms just as stealthily.
"Archangel 4 copy. Move to D-2"
The abandoned base was silent as could be, rightfully so. It hadn't even been five minutes since they landed on the base and both Takeru and Sumika had already ran off stalking their objectives, leaving Miki's team behind to look for the last HVT that had yet to be sighted.
"—Archangel 8 to 7, do you think everything will go smoothly, Kei-san?" Miki's visual communication section of her screen lid up and connected to Ayamine's camera.
"Don't know… Takeru said we should be fine."
"Ahe, hopefully so. If Takeru—"
"Cut that off now, Archangel 7, 8. We're still on mission." A warning fired by Chizuru interjected the two girls during their short chat.
"Sorry, Sakaki-san."
"Shove it." Now that was a classic outcome of their interaction.
Leaving them with her archetypal sigh, their temporary leader ceased further communication.
—
Miki rerouted her thoughts one more time before she seriously returned to her supposed duty. The night sky was spotless above her other than the gigantic moon and blazing stars that shined its luminosity down upon the ruined base, the earlier clouds they dived through have long since dispersed.
Looking down across the horizon, tall forests and shallow hills made up most of the landscape. Between all the pieces of terrestrial lid by rays of moonlight, there was a single oddity far, far out in the distance.
Miki zoomed in her scope for a clearer view on the strange happening she noticed. For others on her team they wouldn't be able to spot anything more than a few grey dots zapping in and out of forests. Since Miki was Miki, the residential sharpshooter who had eyesight better than anyone else, she knew what she saw wasn't just nature's trick, it was the trail of a dozen TSFs.
"—Archangel 8 to Archangel 4, I think there're TSFs coming our way. Distance, approximate three thousand six hundred metres." So logically, Miki reported her finding to their leader.
"—huh? Did you say TSFs, Archangel 8? We shouldn't have any—" A sudden flash of blinding light cut through the air, on a second look it was a long range 120mm shell that exploded a couple metres away from Chizuru, which brought down her counterpoint before she could make it.
"Awuga! —Shots fired, shots fired!" Chizuru recovered promptly and raced for shelter behind some buildings.
"All units move for cover!" The three TSFs scrambled rapidly and headed toward the safety of tall structures that were still standing.
"—Archangel 1 to all units, report in!" Takeru's sudden shout overtook the radio links when Miki found her own cover.
"—Archangel 2, I'm with Kasumi-chan and we know nothing. Check—"
"—agra! This is Archangel 4, we're under attack! Repeat, we're under attack! Hostile numbers, unknown! Appear to be Russian TSFs!" A few more 120mms landed all around them, blowing dust and earth high above the air.
"Archangel 2 to 1, HVT 2 secured. Requesting order."
"Archangel 1 to all units, Arc 2 will escort HVT 2 and rendezvous on my marker in sixty. I'll be heading out with Arc 3 and assessing the circumstances." The first set of orders was given to Sumika's group of two.
"Archangel 4, have your team retreat back to my position." A cool, calm and collected Takeru quickly gave out some instructions.
"—Archangel 3 understood."
"Archangel 4, copy!"
From the other side of the thick forest on top of a steep hill, the thundering of mechanical engines raced their way to Miki's ear through her sensor, a rain of dirt blew up by the 120mm fell gradually over their frames.
"All fireteam members! We're falling back! Go, go, go!" Chizuru repeated Takeru's command as she provided a quick burst of cover fire for Miki and Ayamine to escape.
The situation changed at turbo speed for the cat-eared girl and her temporary Flight. They were calmly patrolling an abandoned base only seconds ago and now just got thrown right into a battle with bullets whizzing past their heads.
"We're clear! Move away!"
—
"—Archangel 1 here, report." Takeru's black frame rode up next to Miki's and crouched down similar to herself.
After retreating to a safer location from where they were getting supressed, Miki and her team regrouped with Takeru and the others.
"—I have no clue. Those guys, whoever they're just appeared outta nowhere and shot us." Answered Chizuru in an unflustered, but clearly aggravated voice.
"Tama, you saw them, right? Tell me what emblems or signs you saw."
Shirogane Takeru
"Ermm… I only caught a few glimpses as well, I think that's a sword…? Yeah, it's a burning sword with some number on the side. It definitely started with the number 2 though." I was racking my brain for a few seconds over who exactly felt the need to shoot us.
"How much did you see there have, Tama? And what models were they using?"
"About at least two dozen. And I'm pretty sure they were mostly Su-37s and Su-27s." Those surely must be Russians with that kind of gear.
"Russians and Burning sword… aren't those Soviet's Zhar Battalion? Fuck, thought they were decommissioned sometime during August." That was the only link I could connect in my head.
"Archangel 3, you got the HVTs?"
"Yes, they're secured by me." Kasumi's location was pinned on my map, she stood right next to Sumika's Shiranui somewhere further in the base than us.
"What should we do, Takeru? Maybe announce our mission and ask them to retreat?" That suggestion was overlooked the second it came out of Class rep's mouth. It maybe could work if we were a regular unit, but we stood on Soviet soil without as much as a bottle of vodka for a present.
"Negative on that. —this is Archangel lead to all units, we'll be engaging incoming hostile Battalion."
"—Eeeh?" For no good reason my crew got surprised yet again.
"What? We're not here for picnic. Use of lethal force has been authorized, although let's try and keep them alive, for Mother Russia. Anyway, here's the combat plan." I then sent over some maps and drawing over the data link to teach my squad a fast lesson.
This was going to be a good fight, for those Russians. Because it was just gonna be an easy fight for us.
—
Shirogane Archangel 1
Sumika Archangel 2
Kasumi Archangel 3
Sakaki Archangel 4
Meiya Archangel 5
Mikoto Archangel 6
Ayamine Archangel 7
Tamase Archangel 8
—
Author's note
This chapter… nothing really happens, huh? No, no. It's true, this chapter is just kinda… meh. Don't worry though, the next chapter is already good to go. Just let me reap the rewards from this one and the next chapter will be uploaded before week's end.
This really makes no sense to someone who binges through the story, must be confused as to what I'm talking about… don't worry about it. Just don't even look at this part.
Before my regular BETA shoutout to my guy, I just wants to say that; while he does a great job, and I mean a great job at finding all my fuckups, he can't find them all. If you, or your dog, your cat, your grandparents find a mistake in the story. Please let me know, I'll tape your name on the chapter you proofed and the people behind you won't have to deal with my bullshit English, thanks.
So people asked me why I don't respond to reviews, the answer is… I'm a piece of shit and lazy. Unless you have a serious question, then I'll actually just PM you so that's not a case. Maybe a guess review asking a serious question will be answered here, if not. Thanks for your thought, but I really got nothing to say. You know what I mean? You like the story; I like the story, everyone likes the story so we don't have problems!
Another thing, the first review to this chapter will be the hundredth one, I'll call the guy out for fun, so that's that. (I may or may not be intoxicated right now, don't worry, it's light)
A shoutout to my newly found fact-check guy, potterharry94. Guy probably knows Japanese and helps with some of the details of this arc. Also have his own story on Muv-Luv, go check it out and you can be the judge. But more importantly, thanks to you, I can write more delusions for self-pleasure!
Finally, BETA done by chad001. You see, I tell you bro, you're beautiful like a hundred times and you won't listen. But I just say you're fat once and you remember it forever
Because elephants never forget.