Chapter 27: Dragon Song
Night ops were a task for which Cipher was well suited. Embryo's envoy may have preferred taking action in the cockpit of the Siegfried, but his primary task involved keeping tabs on certain persons of interest. His master could be quite the fickle one for sure. Calling off the capture of the Wyvern was an unexpected change in plans but whatever Embryo was planning, another chance would no doubt present itself in due time. For now, his task was keeping watch on Julio. Since the attack on the Dawn Pillar, there had been concern over the young Emperor's mental state and Embryo was not a man who liked his pawns to behave rashly. And the boy's wounded ego would doubtless come into play in the coming response to the unprecedented attack. 'My other concern is the captain of the guard. Riza Randog,' he thought. 'Something about her presence has always come off as too convenient. Least of all the level of trust that boy puts into her.' Holding position just above the parapet of the royal chambers, Cipher adjusted one of the dials on his mask, shifting its sound detection to pick up anything coming from the room below him.
"… I can't believe I couldn't dispose of that rotten Norma." 'Speaking like some child,' Cipher scoffed. 'If only the royal court knew how their Emperor behaves around his personal aide.'
"You did well, Julio." Riza's voice told him. Cipher lowered a snake wire down over the edge, the camera attached to it sending a feed to his mask. As he expected, the Emperor and his aid were in bed together.
"Really? Did I? I'm so happy. Mother would never praise me. She always favored Angelise. She even died protecting her." As Julio spoke, Riza raised a hand, and the camera's low-light mode caught some kind of liquid drop from her nail and into the Emperor's mouth. And as the young man let out a groan, wings unfurled from the woman's back just in time with a flash of thunder. 'My suspicions were on the mark. She is one of them.'
"Now, it's Mama's turn to ask a favor."
"I know. You want me to open another Singular, right? Right on top of Arzenal?"
"Good boy."
'So that's what they were planning,' Cypher mused as he opened a radio channel. It was safer than using a Mana line and risk blowing his cover prematurely.
"Yes Cipher. What do you have to report?"
"Our suspicions were correct. Riza Randog is one of them. She's been using some kind of venom to keep Julio Misurugi under her thumb."
"I see." Embryo answered. "What is she doing now?"
"If I had to guess, she's going to have Julio open a singular directly over Arzenal so the DRAGONs can launch an attack."
"Interesting." his master mused. "This could be the opportunity we've been waiting for. I still need to secure candidates for the Ragna-mail. But after those two escaped from Arzenal, it would raise too many questions among the world leaders if any more Norma vanished. Do not interfere. Let events play out as they will."
"Isn't that risky?" Cipher asked. "What if all the Norma are killed?"
"Think of it as quality control." Embryo chuckled. "Any who survive are obviously more deserving. And don't worry, they have both the Villkiss and the Wyvern. No matter what those 'animals' have managed to scrounge up, I doubt they'll be able to inflict too much damage."
"As you wish." Cipher confirmed. As he cut the line, a sudden cry of shock and fear followed by sounds of a struggle breaking the quiet of the night. Turning back to his camera, Cypher saw that Julio's younger sister had walked in on them and had seen Riza for what she was. Before Sylvia could flee, Riza had already seized her and was force feeding the same substance she used on Julio. 'Yes,' he thought. 'Just a little while longer and everything will finally come to fruition.'
Another, much quieter yearly tradition on Arzenal was something only a few Norma observed. That being the day of the first Libertus and the Disaster of Farbanti. On that day, the survivors took the time to honor the dead as with any other case. But, for Norma like Alain and Salia, today had particular meaning to it thanks to their families' status. And it always started with picking flowers from one of the patches that grew topside.
"Look, it's Mistress Salia and Big Brother Alain!" As the two were at their task, the voice of a child from the passing by education group caught their attention. "Salute the Captains!" As the lead girl's call followed with the other kids saluting, Alain and Salia stood to return the gesture.
"Man, Salia's so pretty and awesome!"
"I'm totally going to join Garm Squadron! I wanna be just like her!" Salia watched the girls leave with a warm smile on her face.
"Y'here that?" Alain asked as he playfully tapped her on the butt. "All of 'em look up to you now. Quite a change in position isn't it?"
"Shut it." But there wasn't hiding the pleased look on Salia's face. "Come on, let's get to the graveyard."
"Yes ma'am."
While the general plan was wider grave visits to their parents, when the two arrived at the graveyard the first row they headed towards was at the behest of Mei, finding the Armorer already present at the grave of her elder sister, Zhao Fei-Ling.
"Here." Salia went over and set a patch of the flowers she picked down next to Mei's own set. "For her."
"Thanks for doing this every year." Mei said, just before she noticed that look come back to Salia's face Alain saw earlier. "What's with the face?"
"The girl's from the Education Group called me "Mistress." Am I really that old?"
"You're only seventeen." Mei said.
"You mean I'm already seventeen." Salia corrected. With how short life could be on Arzenal, it genuinely was something of an achievement to even make it to the ages Alain and Salia were. Even rarer to live as long as Jasmine. "I'm the same age as Alektra...back when..."
"Yeah… I remember." Alain brought a hand up to his scarf, pulling it up past his mouth. It wasn't a day he liked remembering, but it always stuck out so freshly in his mind…
From the balcony overlooking the beach, Salia was able to see two machines coming in. The Villkiss and the Wyvern, both of them trailing smoke as they shakily lowered, crashing into the beach as Jasmine, Maggy, and various Armorers rushed out to the damaged machines.
"That's Alektra's machine." As the cockpits were opened, Salia grabbed the still sleepy Mei by the hand and hurried down onto the beach. By the time they made it down, Jasmine had pulled an injured Alektra out of the Villkiss and to the sand. Her normally beautiful black hair was stained in blood and she was clutching the stump of what had once been her right arm. And to Salia's shock, tears were streaming down her face as she spoke to Jasmine.
"I wasn't good enough." Salia heard her sob. "Fei-Ling, Vanessa, the knight's family, so many others… they're all dead. I couldn't handle Villkiss. I wasn't good enough!"
"That's not true!" The two older Norma looked up as Salia stepped through the commotion. "Alektra is strong, beautiful, and awesome! You can do anything!"
"Who is she?" Jasmine asked.
"Salia, from the primary group. She's one of Alain's friends." Alektra said, her voice a bit weaker.
"What kind of DRAGON was it?" Salia asked, tears in her eyes. "How big was it? How tough? I won't forgive it. I won't forgive it for doing this to you!" Salia wiped the tears off her eyes, steeling her gaze as best she could. "I'll avenge you, Alektra!"
"Heh… I'm counting on your, Salia." Alektra put her good hand to Salia's head just as a new commotion grabbed everyone's attention as Wyvern's cockpit finally hissed open.
"Mom! Dad! Come on, we're back at Arzenal, keep your eyes open!" The Armorers rushed over as Alain's hoarse shrieking rose over the beach, his arms and legs flailing in a desperate attempt to get away as they pulled him out. "Let go! Let me go! They're fine! Mom and Dad are going to be fine! They can't be… they can't! Wyvern's lying, he's lying!"
"Alain." Salia whispered. She may have been a child but living at Arzenal meant death was something they all saw firsthand.
"What… attacked us…" Alektra muttered. "Jasmine… I'm, so, so sorry… we couldn't… It's my fault, I'm why this happened… not even Marcus was enough for it. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." By now, Alain had stopped struggling and collapsed onto the sand.
"Why?" Salia heard him wheeze. "Why why?! Mom and Dad are the best! How… how did that red guy beat them?! How?!"
"Alain…"
"I'll beat him…" Salia flinched when she saw the burning expression in Alain's eyes. "When I can pilot… when I can use Wyvern...I'll beat that thing myself!"
'I swore revenge that day. But now I just don't know.' Alain lowered his scarf as the not so pleasant reminiscence ended. It was almost a wonder that in all that time since, he'd come face to face with the Siegfried and had so much of that conviction shaken up. But now he was starting to think that may not have been so bad in the long run.
"I barely even remember any of that." Mei said.
"It can't be helped. You were only four at the time." Salia said.
"But my clan's duty, my sister's wishes… I've inherited them. As an Armorer, I'm going to free the world with Villkiss and Wyvern. For my sister too. And you two, as Riders, for your parents and Alek-I mean, Jill."
"Inherited wills, huh?" Alain hummed, looking skywards as a gust blew past him, stopping as Salia and Mei moved on. "Then… I guess it's safe for me to say the will I inherited was my parents' love for the sky. I'll reach them, Dad, those unknown skies you told me about. I'll find out what they are once we're free… because I think that's exactly what you meant now."
The day had been rather quiet while waiting for any sign of another singular. So quiet in fact that the operators had started goofing around at their posts. Oblivious to Emma who stared at the three girls in annoyance.
"Major, I'm sorry you have to see such a thing." Emma muttered.
"It's fine." He said. "I've spent some time aboard ships before, and radar duty can be a rather boring task during slow times. It's common to try and pass the time while observing."
"I suppose that isn't incorrect." Emma sighed. "I'm still surprised you're so understanding at times like this."
"Despite my background, Ms. Bronson, I do understand the mindset of those of us in the military. They may be Norma, but they follow many of the same procedures we do. Even if there are aspects of their life here I find more than problematic." Leon ignored the cross looks he was given for his cold remark. All part of the act after all. But that frosty air changed when the radar suddenly pinged.
"Wait, isn't this…?" Olivier stopped filing her nails and got to work as Pamela turned.
"It's a singular!" Pamela said.
"Location?" Jill asked.
"It's… it's right on top of us!" Pamela said.
"W-What?!" Emma yelped. "How? We didn't even get a call! Which Squad is on deck right now?!"
"Grabacr is already deploying!" Pamela said. Leon shot from his seat and ran to the consoles, looking out from the view area as the sky split open. "Enemies incoming. Schooner Class. Numbers… 21… 65… too many to estimate!" As the numbers came in, Jill grabbed the mic for the intercom.
"Commander to all personnel." She said. "I'm ordering all units to enter Battle Mode, Type 1. I repeat, Battle Mode, Type 1. This is a direct attack on Arzenal. A Singular has opened above the base and a massive number of DRAGONs are descending. Garm Squadron, Snowbird Squadron, and Mobius Squadron, head to the hangar and deploy! All other personnel prepare for ground combat! You are authorized to use anti-air weapons. Destroy the DRAGONs at all costs!" With the attention focused on the incoming swarm, Leon took the chance to activate his wrist radio.
"Momoka!" he whispered. "Momoka come in!"
"I'm here Sir Leon," the maid answered. "What's going on?"
"A massive DRAGON horde is descending on us right from above. Where are you?"
"I'm just outside the mall. I was running an errand when the alarm rang." Good. At least she wasn't topside where she could get snatched up.
"Listen carefully Momoka." Leon ordered. "Get down into the base as deep as you can and hide. Don't come out until after I call you, understand?"
"Alright." the maid said. "Sir Leon, please make sure Lady Angelise is safe." Cutting the line, Leon turned around just as the operators opened a cabinet along the wall and started gearing up.
"But who'll defend the base if we deploy all of the Para-mails?" Emma asked before Pamela tossed her a rifle. "Huh?! Major, surely we can't…"
"Fall in line or get out of the way!" Leon snapped as he chambered the rifle he had been given. "Commander, I presume the Norma have been prepared for a situation like this?"
"Yes." Jill said. "We've run drills for potential invasion events before. You can never be too sure."
"Good… look out!" Leon shoved the green haired operator near him out of the way as he saw a Schooner rushing towards the command deck. The DRAGON crashed right through the glass as they ran for cover. Emma froze as the beast roared right at her and her eyes went blank. Before any of them could stop her, Emma lowered the rifle and started firing wildly in every direction. Leon and the operators ducked for cover as Jill knocked the woman out with a hit from her prosthetic before drawing her revolver and nailing the beast between the eyes. Once it was safe, Pamela went to the nearest console and frowned as she attempted to get it working.
"Commander, the communicator and radar…"
"Abandon the command center." Jill said, turning to Leon. "Further orders will be issued from emergency command. Leon, let's consider any operations on hold until this emergency is over."
"Not like we have much of a choice." Leon sighed, turning around to notice the operators shooting him some rather confused looks. 'So much for maintaining my cover.' Leon thought as he bent down and hoisted Emma's unconscious form over his shoulder. "Save it for later." he told them. "Now move out!"
"Don't go giving orders to my troops!" Jill snapped as they started off.
"Too late to complain Jill!"
With the sudden emergency sending the base into full uproar, getting the Para-mails launched was becoming a total nightmare. Grabacr Squadron had been slated to launch that day anyway, so they'd gone up first, followed by Snowbird. But Garm was stuck in the hangar as the Schooners attacked, gunning at the DRAGONs as they came near. Alain, meanwhile, was running last checks on Wyvern. They had to move it out of lower storage since there had been plans to run tests on the Twin Drive system that day.
"Gagh, talk about a mess! How the hell did something like this happen?!" Alain ran his fingers across the screens as quickly as he could. "Mei, get me up in the air!"
"Working as fast as I can!" Mei shouted.
"A Singular appearing over Arzenal is most irregular." Wyvern said.
"No shit!"
"Which leads me to believe this was somehow planned."
"Huh?!" Alain gasped. "Are you saying the DRAGONs actually launched a tactical strike?"
"I would need more time to analyze the readings before I can give a definite answer. For now, our priority is defending Arzenal." Alain nodded in agreement. "Mei, are the connections back where they belong? I agree with Alain. We need to get in the air as soon as possible."
"Just finished! Get up there while we finish prepping Garm!" Mei leaped from the Wyvern and dashed away into the clear zone.
"Right! Wyvern let's go!" Alain slammed the throttle and roared out of the hangar. But as Wyvern shot out the hanger, the Schooners started to pull away from the base. "What the… Wyvern?"
"I am picking up a transmission from the Singular. Playing the reading now." A whine from feedback and a hiss of static echoed through the cockpit before Alain heard something faint. 'What the hell?' he wondered. 'Is that singing?'
Kaze ni toban el ragna, sadame to chigiri kawashite.
Kaze ni yukan el ragna todorokishi tsubasa.
Within their cell, Ange and Hilda tried to get whatever view they could get from their window. From what they had overheard, it seemed as if a singular had opened right over the base and an entire swarm of DRAGONs were attacking. But now, the sound of gunfire and artillery had stopped and in its place was singing. 'That melody,' Ange thought. 'Is that Eternal Story?'
Hoshi ni toban el ragna, banri wo koete kanata e.
Hoshi ni yukan el ranga, setsuna eikyuu wo.
Nagare nagare itsukushim mata seishi no yurikago de yawaku, awadatsu
Alain couldn't understand the language it was being sung in at all. Yet, like with Ange's song and its odd feeling of nostalgia, a part of him felt like he was recognizing something in this one as well.
"I know this language." Wyvern said as Alain gave a perplexed stare.
"You do? How?"
"I'm not entirely sure. This language does not register in any of my data banks, yet I can translate it easily. Warning. Four new objects detected."
"More DRAGONs?"
"Negative. These readings are similar to a Para-mail. And one of them bears a signature identical to my own."
"WHAT?!"
Nagare nagare itsukushim mata seishi no yurikago de yawaku, awadatsu
As the singing continued, something stirred within the singular and Alain;s eyes widened in shock. Descending into view were four machines, the thrust from their four wing-like engine pods radiating like angelic halos. The one on point, most likely the leader, was red with two horns running along its crown and an armored braid trailing from the back of the head. Two others, green and blue, each had a single horn. On each of their backs was some kind of long rifle Alain had never seen before while a short golden blade was affixed to their right forearms and a smaller arm mounted gun on their left. Bringing up the rear was a fourth unit, grey and orange. And from what Alain could see, the exact same drives as Wyvern were visible between its wings.
Aa sen no toki no rinne no tabi, tsunagi au te to te sagashi motome.
Kokoro kawashi Ibuku kaze yo, arata na sekai wo tobe.
"It can't be," Alain thought. All this time, they had thought the DRAGONs were just mindless beasts. Ones that could learn perhaps, but they'd never considered them possessing more intelligence than that. 'Unless…' Alain thought, 'it isn't as special of a case as I think with her.'
"Warning. Warning. Detection of space time disruption. Activation of Discord Phasers confirmed." As Wyvern's alarms blared, the red machine in the lead began to glow, its frame turning gold as its pilot continued to sing while its shoulders opened out and light began to spark from the exposed apertures.
"Discord Phasers… the same weapons from back then…" Alain's blood went cold as images from Farbanti flashed through his mind. Ground torn asunder and warped, bodies melded into the wreckage like sculptures out of hell. And the black machine responsible for that destruction hanging in the air. "Like hell… like hell I'm letting that happen here! Wyvern, we're rushing past and taking that thing out before it can fire!"
"I do not advise such an action. We should express caution."
"Screw caution! If those things fire do you know how many are going to die?!" Alain switched the machine over to Assault Mode and shot off, past the forward Para-mails as the now golden machine started to spark. "Not this time! So help me damn it!"
"Understood. Parameters have been met. Activation of ARISE System authorized… usage of "Bael" Module authorized. Engaging ND Burst System."
As the Discord Phasers of the lead enemy sparked, Alain rushed forward right as they fired. The wings of the Wyvern flared outwards, the particles streaming out from them turning from an ebb to a flood, waves of light pouring out and spreading out around the Wyvern and those around it as the spiraling vortexes of spacetime collided.
"I'm not letting them die!" Alain yelled as he pushed his throttle forward. The stream of particles grew even more intense and the blasts that were only being held back split. His vision went white as the Wyvern was shaken back and forth. When things finally went still, Alain lurched forward as he panted, blood dripping down from his nose and to the cockpit floor. "What the…?"
He sat up and checked his rear view. Any Para-mail that had been caught up in the particle burst was completely unscathed. As for Arzenal, most of the damage had been caused to the surrounding reefs. Part of the northeast mesa and its mountain range had been shorn away but from what he could see, it didn't at all look like any other major damage had been caused.
"Just… what the hell… was that?"
"The module designated under code "Bael" within the ARISE System: ND Burst." Wyvern said. "The Discord Phaser Countermeasure system. Accessed through temporary synchronization of the ND Drives." As his head began to throb and the adrenaline wore off, Alain's breath became ragged as the implication of what happened finally sunk in.
"This thing… can stop Discord Phasers?"
When he'd seen the Wyvern rush out, Leon had felt nothing but panic run through him. He'd seen the destruction at Farbanti so he knew all too well what Discord Phasers could do. There wouldn't have been anything left of whatever was caught in their line of fire. 'How the hell could the kid be so reckless?! Is he trying to get himself killed?!' But what he'd seen just then could be called nothing short of a miracle. Wyvern had glowed red and then emerald, and that glow had expanded into a barrier that diverted those terrible weapons. They had always wondered just what Wyvern was made for and If it had the potential to match the Ragna-mails or not. And in that flash of light, he'd seen just that. But one thing still troubled him. 'I thought Embryo was the one who created those weapons,' he thought. 'So where did the DRAGONs get them?'
"W-What did Alain's machine just do?" Hikaru asked.
"He gave us an opening." Jill said. Leon looked to her and as the woman's eyes stared off at the Wyvern, he saw a tenseness in them. Like something inside of her had just been shaken to the core. "What are the damage reports?"
"Minimal!" Olivier said. "Among the Para-mails, Grabacr squadron lost two. All other deployed units are still flying!"
"He did it… the kid actually fucking did it." Leon muttered. "Jill, he just might actually be someone who can turn everything around."
"Maybe." Jill muttered. "But we'll need more than defense to survive this. Get Salia on the line! Tell her to find Ange and deploy her in the Villkiss. We need every machine we can get in the air. I'm authorizing Hilda's release as well!"
'You're frustrated.' Leon thought. 'You're so focused on Villkiss you've hardly thought about Alain and Wyvern, despite knowing what it could possibly do. And seeing that, I can only imagine how much it shook you, Alektra. Because just then, even if for a split second, Alain overcame the thing we call "Divine Judgment." That's why you want Villkiss up there… to prove yourself right. To prove Villkiss is still the sole key to victory you want it to be. Though… I hope that I'm wrong.'
Whatever it was that had happened, Ange and Hilda felt like they had been sent bouncing off the walls. First there was a flash of light brighter than the sun and then an impact like the entire island was shaking apart. Then all was quiet once again before the sounds of gunfire renewed itself.
"What the hell just happened?" Hilda stood and got on top of the toilet to look out the bars as best she could. 'Damn this side of Arzenal not being near anything!' It was mostly just open sea. No sooner had she did then a Schooner came careening out of nowhere. "Shit!" she yelled as she jumped to the side just before it went crashing through the wall, its momentum carrying it on to break right through the gate of their cell. "Agh dammit, that could've killed us!"
"Some people probably wouldn't have minded if it had." Ange commented, stepping past the wreckage.
"Hello!" a familiar voice called. "Is anyone here?"
"Momoka!" Ange called. She and Hilda rushed out of their cell and towards the door of the prison ward just as Momoka came running up to the gate.
"Oh thank goodness!" the maid said as the Light of Mana enshrouded her hand. "Open!"
"Thanks, Momoka." Ange said. "What the heck has been going on out there?"
"I'm not really sure," Momoka said. "Sir Leon sent me down here to hide but I got lost in all the chaos. He gave me this communicator in case of emergencies so maybe I can reach him." Momoka pulled back her cuff to reveal the wrist communicator, pressing its button as she pulled it to her face. "Sir Leon? Sir Leon, are you there? It's Momoka! I've gotten Lady Angelise and Miss Hilda from the cells!"
"That's perfect," Leon said. "Ange, Hilda, you hear me, right?"
"Yeah. What the hell is going on out there?" Ange asked.
"Long story short, the dragons have Para-mail of their own. And one of them is equipped with a WMD. If it wasn't for Alain, we'd all be dead." Did Ange hear him correctly?
"What happened to Alain?" Hilda demanded, her voice betraying her concern. "That idiot didn't get himself killed, did he?"
"He's alright," Leon assured her. "Wyvern has a defensive feature that allowed him to divert the worst of the DRAGONs' blast. But I wouldn't want to gamble on him being able to do it twice. You two need to get to the hangar now. Alain and the other two squadrons are still fighting but that one machine could fire again at any moment."
"I get it," Ange answered. "Tell Mei we're on our way."
"But uh, maybe you should take a bath first!" Momoka said, her nose wrinkling. "Not to be rude Lady Angelise but you two do smell a little ripe."
"Huh," Ange said. "Oh yeah, I guess I didn't notice since…"
"No time for that!" Hilda snapped.
With the lull in the action that had come thanks to Alain, the Armorers had been able to get Garm's Para-mails loaded and ready to launch. But Salia was feeling uneasy about things as her Arquebus was raised into position.
"Salia." Jill's voice coming over the line made the feeling only worse. "We're getting every wing we can up in the air. Ange is being reinstated into the squadron. Villkiss is the only thing that can stop that machine."
"What?!" Salia gasped. "But you saw what Alain did! Why do we need Ange if he was able to stop that attack?!"
"There's no guarantee he can do it twice. I'm not taking chances on a sudden unknown variable like that. Get Ange back into the Villkiss."
"If we need it so badly, then I'll pilot it."
"Shut up." Jill's suddenly harsh tone got Salia to flinch. "Follow your orders."
"Am I not good enough?" Salia asked. "I've always wanted to be useful to you. I've worked so hard. And in the end, it's still Ange? Ange is kind of good at piloting, but she violated orders and deserted! She's in detention. And it's still Ange you want?!"
"That's right." Jill's calm affirmation was like an icicle right in Salia's heart.
"You think I'm stupid?" Salia growled as her fingers tightened on her controls. 'Enough of it. What makes her so special?! Why her? Why her why her why her?! I can pilot that thing too! It's not just about being useful to Jill. I want to match him; I want to be able to fly alongside him and not feel like I'll fall behind! I can't do that without something better than this!' Steeling her resolve, Salia leapt out of her Arquebus, eyes on the Villkiss…
Once the lull had passed, the air had turned back into a furball as the Schooners shot back into the fray, the sky turning into a mess of thrashing DRAGONs and gunfire as the Para-mail buzzed about. 'As powerful as the Discord Phasers are, it also works against them,' Alain noted. 'Something that strong can't be used continually or rapidly.' Alain checked his own reads as he alternated between dodging and shooting down the Schooners that swarmed him from every direction. Whatever the ND Burst was, a new display was visible on his console that showed the particle levels of the drives, and they were below what he'd regard as its usual operational level.
"Wyvern, what the hell is with that display?! The damn frame feels slower than it should right now!" Alain groaned as he pulled past a Schooner, the response feeling like the machine was fighting him every step of the way.
"The ARISE System functions by overclocking the limiters to allow higher than normal output on the Drives." Wyvern explained. "However, this causes them to use up more particles than they generate. Were you to use ARISE Mode normally and exhaust its usage time, the results would be the same as they are now: Weakened performance as the Drives recharge. Particle levels will return to normal in around one minute. ARISE will be unusable for another three afterwards."
"So it's a race against the clock between me and that red machine." Alain noted. As his eyes went to the enemy Para-mail hanging back in the sky, his eyes went to the grey and orange one. 'So what about you huh? The frame looks different from here, but it has the same Drives as Wyvern. What is that thing? Who or what is controlling those machines anyway!?'
As he was trying to figure that out, he caught the twin-drive machine drawing the rifle on its back. Wyvern's warnings flashed, and Alain hit the brakes hard, a crimson beam splitting the air in front of him. Wheeling back, Alain turned to face the machine as it lowered the rifle when a signal pinged on his comms.
"What the…?"
"A text message has been sent from that machine. Displaying it now." A window opened on the display, Alain's eyes focusing as text crawled across it:
Pilot of the Missing Machine, face me.
"A challenge?" Alain muttered, looking to the other machine, which now seemed to be staring him down in particular. And then he felt a sudden rush of excitement. "Well then… if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. Wyvern, we can manage so long as I don't push it, right?"
"At our current particle readout, yes."
"Then let's go!"
One of Wyvern's beam sabers ignited as the machine rushed forward and the opposing machine responded in kind. The beam sabers of the machines collided, and as their particle drives whirred into action, twin rings of light spread from them over the battlefield in the sky.