CHAPTER 11

THE MYSTERIOUS FIGURE

(18 years ago)

The night was pitch black, only lighting up by the sudden flash of a thunderbolt. Rain and wind buffeted the hull of the aerial transport but still it pressed on. Unlike most aircraft, instead of Mana Engines it flew through means of VTOL propellers. Inside, Jasmine sat back and listened to the chatter of the men and women she had selected for the mission. It had been a hectic two years for the young commander. Not only was she the youngest appointed Commander or Arzenal at the age of 20. She also had the responsibility of hiding and assisting her new allies, the Ancient Humans. Over a year ago Arzenal had been visited by a mysterious flagship called Aurora. The men and woman on board were like them, unable to use Mana but unable to cancel it out like the Norma could. They had revealed the truth of this world to Jasmine and the rest of Arzenal's leadership as to why the Norma were used to fight the DRAGONs. And now, just a few hours ago she received an email from an anonymous person revealing they knew about their alliance with the Ancient humans and the formation of Libertus. He also claimed he had a Norma baby with him. It was a very serious matter. If one human could jeopardize Libertus then they needed to be taken out.

"Commander, we're almost there," said a tall man in a black tactical suit.

"Understood Captain Zoltan," Jasmine addressed the Norma and Ancient folk. "Alright listen up everyone, I want all of you to keep your guard up. We could be walking right into a trap."

"Yes Ma'am." A short while later, Jasmine felt the ship descend before it landed with a soft thud. The boarding ramp opened up and the away team Jasmine had assembled disembarked onto the rain-soaked sand.

"Hannibal, take point," Captain Zoltan ordered. "The rest of you spread out and search the island. Night vision and motion sensors on. Watch for any movement." Splitting up into three-man teams, the squad dispersed into the woods while Jasmine, Captain Zoltan, and Private Hannibal went on ahead. At least the canopy offered some shelter from the rain. They had only walked about three minutes however before Hannibal gestured for them to stop.

"Something's up ahead," he announced. Taking up her night vision binoculars, Jasmine zoomed in on her twelve and was able to make out what looked like a log cabin under construction. 'Who would be building a house all the way out here?' she wondered. If this was part of the trap it seemed a bit excessive.

"Commander, Captain," one soldier broadcast through their earpieces.

"What is it Istvan?" Captain Zoltan asked.

"We're on the southwest coast of the island. We just picked up a heat signature in a cave down by the tide line."

"Affirmative. Hold your position until we get there. All others continue reconnaissance but stay on alert." Making their way through the darkened forest, Jasmine kept her ears up for any disturbance that might signal an ambush. Occasionally, the underbrush would rustle, and they'd ready themselves, only for it to be a pig or a deer passing through a game trail. Finally, they reached Istvan's position where he and his team were waiting. Crouching down, Jasmine and Zoltan crept forward and Istvan gestured to a rocky section of shore where a soft light shone out of a small cave.

"Istvan," Jasmine ordered. "You, Jacob, and Vanessa move in and secure the cave. Do not open fire unless he makes a hostile move." Slowly, the three of them approached the cave across the algae covered rocks until they found themselves at the entrance. Istvan peered in and saw a broad-shouldered man standing over some kind of workbench. An oil lamp hanging from a hook set into the rock provided illumination while around the man's front, the green aura of the Light of Mana shone over whatever he was working on.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," he suddenly called. Surprised that he had heard them approach, the three soldiers stepped into the open, their guns trained on the man.

"Turn around slowly," Istvan ordered. "And drop whatever it is you've got in your hand."

"I can't do that," he said rather calmly.

"We're not asking!" Jacob snapped. "Don't think we won't hesitate to shoot you." The man sighed and raised his arms over his head, revealing that it wasn't a weapon he was working on. Rather, he was using his Mana to heat a baby bottle full of formula.

"It's the last I've got and the little one is hungry." The three looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Commander, Captain," Vanessa called, "we have the target detained. He's unarmed."

"Good work soldier." Captain Zoltan praised. "Keep your weapons on him until we arrive." Gaz meanwhile examined his three guests. All three wore ponchos while underneath, the men wore some kind of black tactical suit with red lining. The first was tall and athletic with dark blonde hair and looked to be in his mid-20's. His comrade was shorter with spiked up light brown hair but appeared to be a similar age and build. The woman still looked to be in her late teens and was rather beautiful with long dark brown hair. Unlike her comrades, she wore a pink plug suit that was rather revealing for a soldier. Shadows outside signalled the approach of two others as a man and a woman entered the cave to join the first three. The man was tall, middle aged, with grey hair and a long scar that ran down his right eye. The woman was slim and of average height with blonde hair and was wearing a white uniform trimmed in black. She was also quite the looker as well.

Once inside Jasmine gave the man a look over. He didn't look much older than 30 and had a muscular build with dark brown hair. "I take it you're the one who sent the message," she said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Gavin Wright, but you can call me Gaz. I'm a former associate and bodyguard of the Norma Management board. I've been hiding on this island for over a month. I also know about the DRAGONs that come to our world which you Norma are forced to fight."

"I see. Well Gaz, I'm Commander Jasmine of Arzenal, and this is Captain Zoltan."

"You said you had a Norma child with you," Captain Zoltan interrupted. "Where is she?" Gaz beckoned towards a small wooden box on a metal table set against the cave wall.

"Istvan, Vanessa go check it out." Jasmine ordered.

"Wait don't hurt…" Gaz tried to say as he stepped forward, only for Jacob to lunge forward and pin him against the wall.

"Don't move!" He warned. Reaching inside the crate, Vanessa pulled out something wrapped in a fluffy blue blanket, a crop of spiky black hair sticking out the top.

"He wasn't lying Commander he does have a baby with him."

"At ease Jacob." Jasmine said. Gaz was released and he rubbed the wrist that Jacob had bent behind his back. "Is she yours? Did you flee from your kind to protect her?"

"No, he's not mine. But I promised his mother that I'd protect him."

"Wait. Did you say 'him'?" Zoltan interrupted.

"I did. That child is a male Norma." A collective gasp echoed around the cave as Jacob raised his gun and aimed at Gaz's head.

"You're lying! I knew this was a load of bullshit. I bet this was a scheme to lure us out of hiding!"

"Jacob put it down!" Istvan yelled.

"I don't take orders from you!" Jacob spat back. The sudden uproar caused the baby to cry out in fear as Vanessa tried to calm him down.

"Shhh, it's okay," she gently shushed as she rocked him back and forth.

"I can prove it," Gaz offered. Jasmine approached the baby in Vanessa's arms and removed the front of the blanket, confirming that it was in fact a boy.

"Go ahead." Jacob stood aside as Gaz raised his free hand and manifested a small barrier from his palm. Approaching the baby, he gently touched it to the infant's forehead, and it shattered on impact.

"I…I don't believe it," Istvan gasped.

"It can't be." Zoltan gawked.

"I thought it was impossible too when I first set eyes on him," Gaz said. "But it's true."

"Why didn't you tell us this when you contacted us?" Jasmine asked.

"Because I didn't think you would believe me. I had to make sure the child wouldn't be harmed."

"Why though?" Istvan wondered. "Why did you bring him here instead of letting your kind send him to Arzenal?"

"Because they were planning to kill him. They felt he'd be too much trouble and dangerous to have around in this world."

"That's awful," Vanessa gasped.

"Sick bastards the lot of them," Jacob spat.

"I think the others need to see this as well," Jasmine said. And so, the rest of the squad were called in to be brought in up to speed. Gaz heated up a kettle of coffee as he looked over the ensemble that had answered his call. All the men and some of the older women wore the black suits. The younger girls however wore the same bright colored skimpy plugsuits as Vanessa. If he had to guess, the younger girls were all Norma from Arzenal. None of them looked as if they could be any older than their early 20's and most of them were still teenagers.

Vanessa meanwhile had offered to feed the baby while Gaz explained the situation. Nearly all of the Norma wanted to hold him, but Vanessa shot them a warning look which made them back off, much to Istvan's amusement. She was quite well known for being a mother figure to the children of Arzanel. It was one of the things that attracted him to her. And somehow, seeing a baby in her arms just felt right to him.

Jasmine still couldn't comprehend that she was witnessing a male Norma. How was this even possible? "Why are you protecting the child?" she demanded. "And why here of all places?" Gaz sighed and wiped his face.

"Because I promised his mother that I wouldn't let my people kill him. When I met her, it opened my eyes as to what you Norma are. You're as human as anyone else in this world, Mana or not. You don't deserve to be treated like this just because of how you were born." This shocked everyone. Never in their life did they expect they would actually meet a Mana user who was actually sympathetic to them.

"What about Libertus?" Zoltan asked. "How did you find out about it?" Gaz smirked and pointed to the workbench where a disc shaped object about 30 cm across rested on its side.

"I've been watching you all for a month from a Mana drone I cobbled together. I overheard a few interesting conversations and I thought you could use some help."

"Oh yeah?" Istvan asked. "What kind of help?"

"With the light of Mana, I can hack into top military channels in the Misarugi Empire. I can use them to provide you will all kinds of supplies and information." Jasmine nodded in agreement. Such a connection would be a huge help to them.

"And what do you want in return?" Zoltan asked.

"The truth of the matter is I'm short on baby formula and other supplies," Gaz admitted. "I only had enough time to gather a small amount before fleeing on a boat. I can't leave the kid alone, but I can't take him with me either due to how crappy the weather's been the last few days."

"We have plenty of that at Arzenal," Vanessa said as she burped the baby. "But what do you plan to do with him? And what about his mother?" Gaz hung his head and sighed in grief.

"She died," he told them. "I tried to save her, but it was too late. But I promised her I'd protect him with my life. As for now, I intend to keep him with me. If he goes to Arzenal, even if the humans decide to leave him there, sooner or later he'll wind up facing those DRAGONs. I'm sorry, but I won't let him be endangered like that." Jasmine and Zoltan exchanged looks before they excused themselves to talk outside.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"He's a strange one," she admitted. "But I don't think he's an enemy. If this was a trap, he would have used a female Norma. There's certainly no shortage of them. Let's tell him the whole truth and gage his reaction. If he's sincere, then he'll react appropriately." Zoltan nodded in agreement and they walked back into the cave. "Gaz, we have something to tell you. The Norma, the Light of Mana, the DRAGONs; it's only a fraction of the entire truth." Gaz gestured to the table.

"Take a seat," he invited. "I'm listening." And so Jasmine and Zoltan told him everything. About Embryo, the fall of the Ancient Human's civilization, the rise of the Mana using humans, and Embryo's implementation into the collective consciousness of humanity that the Norma were violent degenerates. Throughout the story, Gaz's mood changed from interest to disbelief and denial before finally a resigned acceptance.

"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked.

"I…I don't know," Gaz said as he rubbed his temple. "Everything…I thought I knew the truth but…it's really all a lie?" That proved his sincerity to Jasmine. If he was sent to deceive them, he would have claimed to believe everything they told him.

"That boy isn't a lie," she told him as she took his hand in hers. "And neither is your desire to protect him." Gaz looked up and managed a smile as he grasped on to hers. Now that she knew she could trust him, Jasmine had to admit he was actually rather handsome. "Tell me, who was his mother? Was she a relative of yours?" Gaz sadly shook his head.

"She was a Norma like you who had been caught by the Management board. However, instead of being sent to Arzenal she was taken to a secret facility. The Board wanted to see if Humans and Norma could interbreed. There were others like her, but he was the first to be a success. They called him Subject Alpha, and since he was male the scientists believed he could use the light of Mana. When they found out he was a Norma they decided to euthanize him." Gaz clenched his fists in anger and Jasmine felt her insides begin to churn. She herself knew how heartless humans could be but this was abhorrent even for them.

"My plan was to get them and the other Norma out of that place. But there was a fire and I only managed to save the boy. His mother and the others perished in the flames." Gaz paused as he wiped at his eyes. When he looked up, they burned with a fierce determination. "I want to help. If the boy is going to have any chance of a real life than this Embryo has to be dealt with. Besides, there are a lot of innocent girls and women who can't rest in peace so long as he's allowed to have his way." Jasmine looked around at the others. Some seemed convinced of his intentions. Others however appeared as if they were still hesitant. But one thing she knew for certain. If Libertus was going to succeed, then they would need all the help they could get. Rising up out of her chair, Jasmine offered her hand to Gaz.

"Welcome to Libertus," she said. Gaz smiled and stood up to take her hand in his.

"Glad to be aboard." Once arrangements were finalized, the team returned to the transport. Vanessa however was reluctant to let the baby go until Istvan persuaded her otherwise. As the others boarded the aircraft, Jasmine stayed behind to talk with Gaz. "We'll send you a few supplies to keep you going in the morning," she promised. "I'll also speak with Captain Zoltan about getting you some non-Mana transportation so you can run to the mainland for emergencies. If we give you aide too often, Arzenal's inspector will get suspicious."

"I understand," Gaz said as the baby slept in his arms. "And thank you."

"I never asked," she realized. "What's his name?"

"His mother never got the chance to give him one. But I call him Cal."

(Present)

Since Cal arrived, Jasmine had often thought back to the day she first met him and Gaz. She still had a hard time believing that Gaz was gone. Right to the end he had been one of the finest men she knew. Turning her attention to the task at hand, Jasmine handed Commander Jill the checklist for the supply shipment so Jill could sign off on them. "Everything seems to be in order," Jill nodded. "It will keep the Inspector happy at least."

"About time too," Jasmine said. "We're running low on a lot. Cal and the others are going to have their work cut out for them tomorrow." As the older woman left, Jill turned to her desk console so she could check weather forecast. Nothing but clear skies for the next week but she always worried this time of year. Once summer ended the storms and high winds came around, often without warning. She then checked the security footage from all across Arzenal. Everyone was either wandering the hallways or doing their own thing, but she caught one that was on the northwest side of the island. A group of kids had gathered in the patch of land Ersha had purchased for her garden and atop a pair of stepladders, Cal was picking apples from the trees and dropping them into the baskets they held out.

Jill sighed lighting up a cigarette. 'That boy is too selfless and kind for his own good,' she mused. 'He'll need a good kick up the ass before I even think of giving him Siegfried. Istvan didn't pilot that machine out of all the other ancient humans just because of skill. He knew what was a stake and had a knack for thinking realistically.' Turning away, Jill rolled her eyes as she saw the command staff watching that particular camera screen with stars in their eyes. "Will you three stop daydreaming and get back to work!" Jill barked, snapping them out of their trance.

Summer would be coming to an end soon and Ersha wanted to pick out the last of the fresh produce from her garden before autumn would set in. Cal was picking out the last of the juicy red apples from the orchard and tossing them into the baskets. The kids had made a game out of seeing which ones they could catch while Naomi stood to the sides taking scores. Ersha didn't complain since the kids were having fun. Finally, only one was left. It shined like a ruby and was the biggest juiciest apple he had ever seen. 'That one is mine,' he thought.

He was about to grab it until something very strange happened. The bright afternoon had turned grey as if the colour had been sucked out of the environment. The sky turned dark but as Cal looked up to his confusion there was no clouds. Not only that but Naomi and the kids had disappeared into thin air.

'Where did everyone go,' he wondered as his body suddenly felt light and empty. The entire world was standing still as if time itself had stopped. Cal was in the midst of climbing back down to the ground when he felt a funny prickling on the back of his neck. Almost as if he was being watched. He sensed a presence behind him, and his hand reflexively clenched around the handle of his knife. He peered over his shoulder and standing behind a large tree about 50 yards away, Cal was just barely able to make out the figure of a tall slender man or woman. He squinted his eyes and could just make out a pair of emerald green eyes staring back at him as if studying him. Cal stepped backwards as his foot missed the step and he fell back to land on the grass. The sudden jolt seemed to break whatever hold had been put on him as colour, light, and movement returned to the world. He looked up and the others were standing around him in a circle.

"Oh my Cal are you okay?" Ersha worriedly asked.

"Yeah. I just tripped." Naomi helped him up as he looked around and saw the figure was gone. Was he daydreaming? Or maybe it was a hallucination? Shaking his head to clear it, Cal put it out of mind and packed up the step ladders. "Well we're all done here. What's next?"

"That would be the tomatoes," Ersha answered as she led Cal, Naomi and the kids to another section of her garden which Cal was still amazed by. Nestled on a ledge overlooking the northwest coast of Arzenal; rows of cucumber, tomato vines, stalks of corn, and heads of lettuce sprouted all along the carefully tilled ground. While the kids picked out the last of the tomatoes, Cal carried the baskets to one side and found a patch of ground that was entirely empty.

"Hey Ersha, what's going on with this piece?"

"Oh I just brought that plot. I thought I might try growing strawberries next spring. Before that the soil still needs to be tilled and fertilized. Could you and Naomi take care of that while the kids and I pick the corn?" Cal didn't hesitate and followed Naomi's lead as they scattered the powdered fertilizer across the barren soil. As they began hosing it off so the nutrients could soak in, Naomi kept glancing at Cal as a warm fuzzy feeling come over her. Every time she looked at him, she thought back to her kiss she had given him and how happy she felt. Cal meanwhile had taken note of her distraction and grinned to himself as he sprayed at Naomi's boots.

"Oops my hand slipped," he joked. Naomi narrowed her eyes and sprayed him back in the face, laughing wildly. Before Cal could strike back, she wrapped her slender arms around him to hold him in place.

"Alright kids get him!" she called.

"Hey wait a minute!" Cal protested, surprised by her strength and unable to break free as the kids broke into playful laughter and sprayed Cal with the hoses, all while Naomi used him as a shield from the water. By the time Ersha thought enough was enough and calmed the kids down, both Naomi and Cal were drenched.

After dropping the kids off to Ms Mary and the baskets of food to Jasmine, Cal and Naomi hit the showers. With their back to each other, Naomi couldn't help sneaking a few peeks to examine Cal's body which she noticed had become more muscular lately. After changing into some dry clothing, they decided to buy their dinner from the vending machines and headed towards his room. Cal had taken the liberty of buying his own data disk player, just like the one back at the cabin. He had missed watching his favorite show 'Elite space' and invited Naomi to watch it with him. The two sat on Cal's bed with the disk player resting on his desk. Naomi had never seen 'Elite Space' before and it wasn't long before she was sucked into the anime. She looked up at Cal and knew something was bothering him.

"Thanks for helping today," she said as she snuggled against him. "I had a lot of fun."

"No problem. It was fun for me too." However, Naomi didn't let him go. "What's up."

"Cal, if there's anything bothering you, I hope you know that can tell either me, Salia or Ersha. We know you're still having trouble coming to terms what ever happened to you." Cal frowned and Naomi wondered if she had pushed too hard. "Just don't keep it bottled up. We're here for you. If you do it'll just become harder to deal with."

"I know," he said. "It's just…can we just watch the show?"

"Sure," she agreed as she rested her head on his shoulder. After a few episodes, the two dozed off. And when Cal woke back up, he checked his watch and saw it was 11:20.

"Hey Naomi, wake up." He shook her lightly as she peacefully slept on his shoulder.

"Huh?" she yawned. "Wha…What's going on?"

"Its past curfew hour. The inspector will throw a fit if she catches you."

"Oh shoot!" she panicked. Naomi got off the bed and was about to leave until an idea crept into her head. "Erm Cal," she said rather shyly. "Can I…maybe stay the night in here?" Cal looked at her with a stunned expression.

"You mean…?" he started to ask.

"No no oh no not like that!" she stammered, her face bright red. "I mean, like a sleepover." Naomi mentally kicked herself. Could she have said anything lamer?

"Oh yeah sure." 'You could sound a little disappointed,' she sulked to herself. For sleepwear, Cal loaned her one of his casual shirts. The size difference made it practically a nightgown with the bottom almost down to her knees. Cal meanwhile began arranging some spare sheets on the floor.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Oh I can take the floor," he told her. "This way you can have the bed."

"Actually," Naomi fidgeted, "I…I wouldn't mind sharing?" Again, Cal shot her a questioning look.

"Are you sure? I mean…"

"It's fine," she assured him. "I trust you Cal. I know you wouldn't do anything unless I asked you to."

"Okay then," he agreed, though Naomi noticed a slight blush on his face as well. Allowing her into bed first, Cal climbed in beside her. "I just wish we had some way to tell Ersha. I wouldn't want her worrying if you don't come back to your room."

"I'm sure she already knows where I am," Naomi giggled. "Plus, it'll be nice to have 5 minutes extra sleep for once." As Cal turned off the light on his nightstand, he felt Naomi press herself against him, her breasts pushing against his chest. "'Night Cal," she sighed as she fell asleep. Cal lay awake for a few minutes longer, taking note of how Naomi felt against him. She was warm and soft, just like with Captain Zola. But whereas with Zola he felt only pleasure, with Naomi he felt at peace, like an empty space inside him was suddenly filled up.

"'Night Naomi," he said as he kissed her forehead. And for once, he knew for certain the nightmares wouldn't come tonight.

"Will you get out of the way!" A certain red haired shouted.

"You're the one in my way!" Cal snapped back.

"Will you two stops arguing and get it in gear!" Salia yelled from her terminal. In an attempt to try and build bridges between Cal and Hilda, Salia had assigned them to team combat in the simulators. Vivian and Naomi were their opponents and Cal and Hilda's inability to put their egos aside was becoming more and more of a hindrance. Already they were on their fifth match with a 5-0 win in Naomi and Vivian's favor. Shoving Cal aside, Hilda shot off towards Naomi, her halberd opening into its axe form as she struck at her opponent.

"Coming in for the win!" Vivian sang as she swooped in, her boomerang angled to take off Hilda's head when Cal got between them and managed to kick Vivian's Razor away. Before she could recover, Cal drew his newly purchased dual blades, smaller than his former sword but much faster on the attack and began rapidly striking at Vivian's boomerang.

"Give up?" he asked as their weapons locked with each other.

"You wish!" Vivian countered as she separated her boomerang into its dual blade form. Spark rained down from the sky amid the symphony of ringing steel. Meanwhile, Hilda finally found her opening when Naomi overextended a swing that left her left side exposed. A roundhouse kick sent Naomi into a spin as Hilda charged in and cleaved through Naomi's Glaive.

"Aw man!" Naomi cried as her simulator went blank. On her console, Salia was monitoring Cal's progress against Vivian. Despite her Razor's advantage in speed, Cal was matching her blow for blow. 'He's defiantly gotten smarter on weaponry tactics,' she thought. And his Glaive did have superior strength so as long as he conserved his strength, Vivian's energy reserves would soon run out and he could score a decisive hit. Unfortunately, Hilda had taken the opportunity to sneak up behind Vivian and drive her halberd in sword mode through her back.

"No fair that was mine!" Cal moaned.

"Stop moaning and be thankful we actually won," Hilda gloated. It had been a while since she last defeated Vivian in simulation combat.

"Yeah whatever..." he muttered under his breath. Stepping out of the simulator, Cal took a sip from his water bottle and wiped his forehead with a towel.

"Awesome fight Big Bro," Vivian praised, raising her hand as Cal high fived her. "We'll settle it next time." Meanwhile, Hilda climbed out of her simulator with a slight spring in her step and a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Well you've got me to thank for that win," she gloated. "You owe me."

"I don't owe you anything. This is just training," Cal pointed out. Hilda pouted and was about to argue back until Zola wrapped her arms around her.

"Well it's nice to see you two working together for a change," she said.

"Well hang on a minute it was only 1 win out of 6," Naomi interrupted.

"Hilda, this is unacceptable," Salia scolded. "If there is a DRAGON attack and it's just you and Cal then who are you going to depend on when you're in trouble?" Hilda dismissed her concern with a wave.

"Nothing I can't handle. I've been working hard ever since that Brig got the jump on me a few weeks ago."

"That's not the point!" Argued Salia. "We're all a team and Cal is a part of that team whether you like it or not! It won't be long until we get new recruits and you of all people need to set a good example."

"Now, now Vice Captain, no need to get too tense," Zola assured her. "The first squad has never lost a new recruit since I became Captain. And since our number one stud is getting better every day I don't expect we will anytime soon." She smirked seductively at Cal who blushed.

"Well when I get my Razor fixed, with me and Big Bro's badass skills, we'll be an unstoppable team." Vivian boasted. Ersha giggled as Rosalie and Chris rolled their eyes at the young Norma.

"Yeah right." Naomi said.

"Well I'm off for a shower before Jasmine busts my ass for being late." Cal said.

"Hang on I'm going in first." Hilda said.

"Why? You and Salia are the only ones who don't come in." By now, first squad had gotten used to Cal and were perfectly fine with letting him shower with them. Only Salia and Hilda still refused but each for different reasons.

"Well I'm not waiting for your smelly ass to get rid of your stink. You take forever," Hilda scowled.

"You're one to talk. You smell worse than me." Vivian snickered and Zola grinned at Cal's joke. Hilda however began to simmer.

"You know arrogant punks used to have their heads stuffed down toilets. Want to give it a try?"

"No thanks. If we put something as horrible as your head down the poor toilet it might be sick." Cal joked. Hilda went redder than her hair with embarrassment as Vivian fell to the floor howling with laughter. Hilda meanwhile kicked him up his rear and chased after him.

"Honestly it's like watching an old married couple in a soap opera," Zola joked.

"I heard that!" Hilda yelled from down the hanger as she ran after Cal.

Though glad he didn't have to wait any longer, Cal had to admit being in a shower with six naked girls always pressured him to finish as quick as he could. It didn't help much that Zola always offered to bathe him like Rosalie and Chris did for her. She even at times tried to seduce him into bathing her but he always resisted the temptation.

"You're two minutes late boyo," Jasmine said as he arrived for his shift.

"Sorry," he said. "Had a little dispute with Hilda earlier."

"So I heard," she smirked As Vulcan came trotting up to him. Cal smiled as he bent down and scratched under his ear, causing Vulcan's tail to whip back and forth. Now that he had gotten over his fear of dogs, Cal found that he enjoyed being around him.

"Alright enough playing around or I'll dock your pay," Jasmine warned. "We have a big order today so no slacking off. I want the shipment cleared off the tarmac in half an hour tops."

"Yes Ma'am," they all said. As Cal helped load the new inventory onto the forklift and hand carts, he watched as Jasmine was showing Vivian a new weapon, a very large mini gun to replace the rifle. To his relief Vivian instead choose to buy her boomerang back, though Cal was still dumbfounded how Vivian had so much money. To his chagrin, Cal saw his next assignment was stocking the contraceptive shelves. It had become his least favorite part of the mall as every time he found himself eyed by many Norma sporting hungry looks. Finishing quickly, Cal was about to leave when one girl his age stepped in front of him holding one of the boxes.

"Hey", she said. "Wanna come to my room and have some fun?" She had long brown hair and her body was riddled with scars, a prominent one running across her eye. Cal recognized her to be Sadie from second squad who had a reputation of being one of the scariest and toughest Norma on Arzenal.

"Erm sorry, I'm busy for the rest of the day," he gulped as he dashed off. 'I'll get you sooner than you think,' She thought with an evil grin. 'It never ends with these girls,' he groaned as he rubbed his temples. His next stop was the clothing racks and he had almost finished when he heard a noise inside one of the changing rooms.

After failing to convince Vivian to upgrade her firearm, Jasmine looked up to see none other than Salia walking towards her with a package under her arm. "The usual?" Salia gave a slight nod. "All the changing rooms are free so take your pick." Salia handed her a stack and took her usual booth on the far right. Pulling the curtain, she set down the latest volume of the 'Holy Knight Pretty Lilian' manga and changed into her costume.

"Glaring with the light of romance! Winning battles with the power of love!" Salia quoted. "I'm Holy Knight Pretty Salia! Charging right at you!" Already she could feel the aggravation caused by Hilda and Cal's little scene earlier melting away. "I will magically make you fall in love with me. I will show you the way of love and make you into the strongest bravest knight the land has ever seen oh brave sir Cal." In her mind, she pictured Cal dressed in a tactical black and red suit flying beside her in Siegfried as she was dressed in a white and blue plug suit piloting Villkiss. Her cheeky grin spread across her face, only to fade away when she saw a glimpse of something in the mirror. Between the wall of the changing room and the curtain was an eye. A sky blue one. Salia went bright red, her heart pounding against her ribs as she reached out and grabbed Cal by his collar. Pulling him into the changing room, she slammed him against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing you perv!" she hissed.

"I'm sorry…I just thought..." He pleaded, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Start explaining yourself now!" She warned, pressing the toy wand against his throat like a blade.

"I was just working, and I heard something. You were kind of loud so I got concerned."

"Not good enough." Salia said, a death glare in her eyes.

"Whatever you're doing I promise I won't tell anyone I swear!" Salia calmed down slightly. She knew Cal wasn't the type of person to tell other people's secrets. But she was still embarrassed she had been discovered by him of all people.

"You promise?" she warned on her tip toes.

"Yes, yes, yes I promise!" It was then he noticed his hand was over something small and soft. He pressed slightly and Salia turned even redder as she covered her chest.

"PERVERT!" She shrieked, swinging the toy wand at him. His vision exploded like fireworks before everything went black.

Walking down the empty hallway, Cal felt a bad headache coming on as he held an icepack to the black eye Salia had given him. 'What was that all about? And why was Salia dressed like that? Was she trying to put on a cosplay for the kids like Ersha does with Perolina?' Cal wanted nothing more than to go to his room and lie down when a door swung open and a pair of hands grabbed hold and pulled him into a dark room. He felt himself pushed into a chair as something wrapped around arms, abdomen and legs; tying him in place. Finally, a light flickered on and Cal saw he was in a storage closet. And standing over him was Sadie with a ravenous look on her face.

"Sadie what the hell are you…" before he could finish, Sadie stuffed a sock in his mouth and muffled his voice.

"Oh I'm gonna enjoy this," she said as she straddled him. "Let's see if you're as good as your slut of a captain says." Opening up Cal's tunic, Sadie began raking at his chest with her nails as she leaned in and began kissing his neck. Cal struggled and screamed as loud as he could, but it only seemed to excite her even more. "Time for the main course," she purred, her hands drifting down to his belt when the door suddenly flew open with a loud bang. A tall figure stood in the doorway and Sadie went blue in fright as Ersha cracked her knuckles.

By the time it was over, Sadie wound up in the infirmary with a broken nose, wrist, and collar bone. Due to the circumstances Ersha escaped punishment but Sadie was in big trouble. Both Zola AND Scarlett when they found out went to the Commander who agreed to put Sadie in solitary confinement for a week. Cal had heard it was one of the worst punishments you could receive around Arzenal. Sitting in a cell all day with no shower and nothing to eat but bread and water, Cal would feel sorry for her but agreed she got exactly what she deserved.

"Come on just three more." Scarlett barked. "Don't wimp out me now!" Sweat dripped off of Cal's body which shook from the strain of bench pressing the 50 kg barbell. With a final heave, he completed his third set and Scarlett helped set it back into place.

"I swear," he wheezed. "Some days I feel like you're trying to kill me."

"Oh shut up you wuss! If you don't keep pushing yourself, you'll never see any improvement." With his training with Scarlett over for the day, Cal guzzled down his water as Scarlett toweled herself off. "Hey, are you still a little shaken up after what Sadie did the other day?"

"Nah. If anything I was more scared by what Ersha did to her." He didn't even think it was possible for a human spine to bend that way. "I'm just glad she happened to be walking by when she did."

"Well don't worry. Once she gets out of the hole, I'm going to PT her until she can't even walk. So why don't you tell me what's really on your mind."

"Is it that obvious?" he asked as Scarlett sat down beside him. "It's Salia. I did something by accident that made her really upset. I've tried to apologize but she won't even talk to me."

"What exactly happened?"

"I promised Salia I wouldn't tell but I basically saw something I wasn't meant to see. On top of that Inspector Emma has been riding my ass for every little thing. Between all of that and Sadie, this whole week has been nothing but a mess."

"Don't worry about it. She's more annoying than strict so consider yourself lucky. We all do when it come to the inspector."

"What do you mean?" Cal asked.

"Well…you see we've had more than one inspector over the time I've been here. It used to be that an inspector would come visit only once a week to make sure we were working. So long as we kept killing DRAGONs Arzenal was allowed to be mostly autonomous."

"So what happened?"

"The rules changed 10 years ago, and they had one stay in permanent residence. Most were just busybodies like Emma, but we had one in particular we were glad to see gone." Scarlett grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Just remembering that bitch got her seething.

"Was she that bad? Even worse than Emma?"

"Emma is nothing more than an annoying babysitter," Scarlett pointed out. "But there was one who was the biggest toughest bitch I've ever met. She had a knack for brutal punishments and liked to traumatize late comers by giving them a full cavity search."

"What kind of cavity?" Scarlet raised her hand and made a thrusting movement upward. Cal got the message and felt a shiver race up his spine. "I remember those girls crying themselves to sleep for weeks after that. And the commander couldn't do anything to stop her since humans can do anything to us Norma." Cal knew what that felt like back when they almost killed him, and he lost Gramps. But having to put up with someone like that for who know how long was something he couldn't imagine.

"How bad were her punishments exactly?" Scarlett took in a deep breath and stood up.

"Lift the back of my sports bra." She turned her back to Cal and he lifted her top up to the nape of her neck, revealing pale scars criss-crossing all over her back. "I bet you've seen them on Zola's back too. I've got more on the back of my legs. Not all those are from a bad sortie though. Our former Inspector really liked to use her whip."

"That's horrible," Cal whispered.

"Even worse was she went out of her way to make our lives hell. Especially Zola. Zola had a knack for talking back, so she got the worse of it out of all of us." Scarlett was shaking as she talked, almost on the verge of tears. "She was the reason Zola lost her eye. One day she whipped her so bad she could barely stand, much less fight in combat. But she sent her out anyway. Zola was never the same after that. It's where she decided that the only thing to look forward too was pleasure. I tried to bring her back around and so did our other friends. But I knew I'd lost the Zola I fell in love with and eventually…" before Scarlett could finish, Cal leapt up and pulled her into a hug. Cal could tell she had kept all those emotions bottled up for a long time and all he knew to do was hold her. Finally, Scarlett managed to calm down and he felt her relax.

"I'm sorry Scarlett. It's really sickening that the humans think they have the right to treat us like that." He felt sick with anger. Why did they have to suffer just for how they were born? It wasn't as if they asked to be Norma.

"It's fine kiddo. We're all damaged in one way or another. But even with the short memories I have of my parents I know that not all of them can be bad. It's just the way this fucked up world is." Cal knew what she meant. He had always wondered why his Gramps loved him even though they weren't biological family. But he did and had done everything in his power to keep Cal safe.

"Listen to me though," she continued as she took her hand in hers, "I don't know if it will get worse in the future, but like I said you should consider yourself lucky. Salia doesn't have someone like that one Inspector to pull her down and she has a great friend like you to comfort her. If you can't talk to her about being sorry then why don't you show her. Life's too short to feel regret and you don't want to end up like me and Zola. I can't tell you what to do with Zola, but I know you'll find someone you love eventually. Just don't limit yourself to being her plaything." Cal started to think Scarlett had a point. He did rather enjoy his time with Zola, but at times he felt somewhat empty and lonely afterwards when they had sex. Would it be different if he found someone he genuinely loved? "So do me a favour and don't take things for granted. Because you never known when they'll be taken away." Cal nodded and the two hugged again.

"Thanks Scarlett, I think I know what I need to do." After hitting the showers, Cal wandered around the mall. Thankfully it was mostly empty since everyone was eating lunch at the mess hall. In the book section he found what he was looking for, a manga book with a girl on the front wearing the same dress Salia had been wearing. Having to buy this in front of Jasmine made him feel embarrassed, but the older woman gave him a knowing smile as she bagged it for him.

"Hope it works kid," she told him.

September was drawing to a close and with it the last of the summer days. It never got too cold at Arzenal, but Salia always hated this time of the year. The high chance of storms made combat and training even more grueling, so she always liked to check the weather on her laptop when she wasn't using it for paperwork.

However, paperwork was the last thing on Salia's mind. She had been a nervous wreck ever since Cal had discovered her secret. She wanted nothing more than to explain herself to him. Especially since she knew Cal hadn't told anyone since she hadn't become a laughingstock across the base. But every time she looked at him, she felt overwhelming shame and humiliation. 'Having Cal find out about my secret was bad enough,' she thought. 'But if Jill finds out she would be so disappointed in me.' In order to clear her head, Salia decided to go for a walk only to come face to face with him. She was trying to figure out if she should flee back into her room or ignore him and just walk past him when Cal called out to her.

"Salia wait please. Look, I'm really sorry about the other day." Salia took a deep breath and pushed down her ego.

"It's fine," she told him. "it was an accident so…just let me be for a few days."

"Salia come on. I know I wasn't meant to see that, but I promise if I ever knew I wouldn't think of you any less." This made Salia feel a little better, but she knew she was way too old for her hobby of hers. "If it makes it any better I would rather have you in that costume than grabbing my butt all the time like the Captain." Salia couldn't help but smile a bit as Cal rubbed the back of his head. "And to be honest…I think you looked…really cute in that dress." 'Cute,' she thought with a blush. 'he thought I was cute?' "So let me make it up to you. I've got a surprise for you."

"That's okay. I'm the one who should be sorry for hitting you."

"I'm not taking no for an answer," Cal interrupted putting a finger to her lip as he leaned in closer to her ear. "Bring your costume to my room where we won't be caught," he whispered grinning broadly. Salia went crimson and before she could ask why, Cal ran off to his room. Not knowing what else to do, Salia returned to her room and pulled out her the parcel she kept hidden on the back shelf, far out of Vivian's reach. It wasn't until she began to make her way to his room though that she began to wonder what Cal might have in mind. 'Does he want to see me in that again? if so, why his room of all places? He said for some privacy but why?' Salia worst nightmare had come true. She had failed him. Zola had turned him into a sexual beast. No, she wasn't going to allow it, no matter how much it appealed to her. She was going to go to his room and knock that out of him. Even if she had to beat him to a pulp. Standing before his door, she checked to make sure the coast was clear before she knocked.

"Okay I'm almost ready," Cal called from behind the door, probably naked or waiting for her on his bed. "Okay close your eyes and no peeking." Salia decided to play along and made up her mind she would hit him if she saw what she knew she would see. She opened the door and quickly closed the door behind her. "Okay open your eyes now."

She looked up and wasn't prepared at all for what she saw. There in the middle of the room stood Cal with his arms stretched out, dressed in an all coverall light blue cat costume with a huge bright red bow tied around his neck, complete with tail and ears. "Ta-da!" Cal cheered. She recognized the character Cal as 'Muffin the Cat', Holy Knight Pretty Lilian's loyal companion who assisted her on her many adventures.

"Wh…Why are you dressed like that?" Salia asked.

"Well I did promise you a date and this was the best I could think of to make it up to you." Cal said as he rubbed the back of his head. Salia's heart felt as if it swelled three times its size. She could almost cry out in relief. "So are you going to change into Lilian?" Salia got dressed into her costume as Cal turned around to give her some privacy. Once ready, she and Cal began rehearsing lines from the manga almost like a rehearsed play. Salia was having the time of her life. Getting someone else to do this with made all her stress flow away. Cal on the other hand felt more than a little embarrassed that he was doing this but if it made Salia feel better he could put up with it.

"So Muffin," she quoted as she posed, "don't you think I'm the most beautiful knight in the valley?"

"You definitely are Salia," Cal, realizing too late what he said. "No! Wait! I meant Lilian! No! I mean… you're always beautiful Salia." Salia went red but felt on the verge of tears as she leaped onto Cal and they fell back onto his bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck as Cal gasped in surprised.

"This is the best date ever!" She squealed, smothering her head into his chest as she giddily kicked her legs. It was like watching a child that had been given the best gift in the world.

"You feel better now?" Cal asked. Her hair brushed against him and he noticed the smell of vanilla that rose off of it.

"Thank you," she said as she raised her head off of his chest. "I really appreciate you doing this for me." Cal sighed and patted her head.

"You're my squad mate Salia. And you've done so much for in helping me to become a better pilot. I just wanted to something for you for a change." Salia cupped his cheek as her other hand stroked his chest. As if pulled by an unseen string, she began to move her face closer to his, both their faces going deep red. Salia stared into his sky-blue eyes and Cal could feel Salia's hot breath as her lips drew even closer to hers when a loud knock on the door made Salia jump straight off of the bed.

"Hey Big Bro!" a familiar bubbly voice called from behind the door. "Guess what. Mei got my Razor repaired back to tip top shape!" Salia growled as her temple began to throb. She was so close and Vivian just HAD to spoil the moment. "Big bro? Are you in there?"

"Yeah! Hold on Vivian!" Cal shouted as he leaped off the bed and began struggling to get the costume off. Salia did the same, not caring in the least that she was undressing in front of Cal. If Vivian of all people saw them then her secret was as good as out. The doorknob began to creak and Salia couldn't believe she had forgotten to lock the door. "Vivian wait! I'm getting dressed!" Cal shrieked. "Hide behind the door," he whispered. He had just gotten his foot out of the costume when he lost his balance and fell back, banging his head on the metal bed frame with a loud clang.

"Big Bro are you okay? What's going on?!" The door flew open and as quick as he could, Cal grabbed Salia's dress and the cat costume and threw them into the bed. He had just barely enough time to cover them with the bed sheet as Vivian charged into the room, only to freeze as she saw Salia standing in only her bra and panties and Cal sitting in bed in his underwear.

"Oh my!" Vivian squealed.

"This is not what it looks like I swear!" Salia cried. But before either of them could explain, the alarm blared throughout Arzenal

"First Encounter confirmed," Pamela's voice broadcast. "First Squad report to launch bay."

For once, Cal was glad to know he was about to be sent out into combat.

Lighting a cigarette, Jill hunched over her desk as she checked over the damage and repair reports from the armorers. Autumn had finally arrived and as expected, a sudden squall had formed right over Arzenal. Rain drummed on the observation windows of the command center as the wind whipped the sea into a frenzy.

"What's the weather forecast?" Jill ordered. On her console, Olivier pulled up the data from the observation tower.

"It'll be raining on and off for the next two days with wind speeds of 70mph." Definitely not favorable conditions for combat. Just then, the phone at Inspector Emma's station rang. As the Inspector was elsewhere, Jill answered and grimaced as she received confirmation.

"Scramble first squad," she ordered. "We have a singular forming 6 km out"

As the children huddled around Naomi and Mary, Ersha played the music box she kept on hand to try and soothe their anxiety from the thunder outside when the sudden blare of the alarm echoed through the base.

"Alright kids I need to get going." Ersha said.

"Please be careful." Abigail said.

"Don't worry we are the best after all." Naomi reassured, as the two ran off. The kids meanwhile ran towards the class window so they could get a good view of the first squad take off.

After a vigorous session with the girls, Zola liked to unwind with a soak in her hot top. To her left, Hilda leaned against her while Rosalie and Chris huddled against her right. "You were certainly energetic today Hilda." Zola sighed. "Are you feeling a little competitive?" Hilda didn't answer. She had put in the effort to ensure her place in Zola's circle and was exhausted. "You know, you all don't have to wait every time I'm with Cal. I've spotted you two in particular peeking in though my door." Zola said with a sly smirk towards Rosalie and Chris.

"Well," Rosalie blushed, "we just wanted to…you know…make sure everything was okay."

"Well next time why don't you join us," Zola offered. "I've taught him well on how to pleasure a woman. And his stamina is truly impressive." Rosalie beamed at the idea and even Chris seemed keen at the possibility. Hilda however didn't like the idea of having a man touch her in that way. Thinking about it just brought up bad memories. Besides, she had only experienced women. That was what she was used to and didn't want to change that.' If they want to have their way with him then count me out.' she thought. Suddenly the alarm blared and all four jumped out of the tub. Hilda and the girls got into their underwear while Zola threw on her robe before they ran down the hallway to the locker room still soaked from the bath. Inside, the others were already changing, and Zola took a moment to admire Cal's naked bare butt before giving it a slap.

"Damn you Captain with your little sneak attacks!" Cal growled. Zola just chuckled as she along with everyone else changed into their plug suit, though they heard Cal grunting and struggling with his suit. "What did laundry do to this thing?".

"Well I wouldn't go blaming the wash love," Zola cooed.

"Scarlett's training is really starting to show," Rosalie agreed.

"Really?" he asked. "I guess I never noticed."

"So oblivious." Hilda groaned. In the flight hanger, the noise from the storm outside was even louder but Cal had a feeling fighting DRAGONs wouldn't be called off due to bad weather. Mounting his unit, Cal smiled as he checked over his new cannons. Now that he was light artillery, he couldn't wait try them out.

"First squad ready," Zola called as they were taxied into position. "Launch!" One by one, their engines kicking up a trail of water in their wake, the Para-mail shot out of the hanger and into the storm.

Cal grit his teeth as rain lashed his skin and the wind buffeted his unit from all sides at once. Within second, they were all drenched and shivering. "Hang in there. We're not far from the enemy." Zola announced. Cal's sensors detected multiple hostiles ahead, but between the rain and the clouds they could barely see more 50 meters ahead.

"Captain I'm picking up a new contact." Salia announced.

"What's its location?" Salia wiped her blurred, wet screen and saw it was directly at their position.

"It's either above or below us." However as everyone checked their screens, they saw that the first enemy group was holding position. 'It looks like 10 hostiles up ahead,' Cal thought. 'So why weren't they closing in?'

"Everyone, head above the clouds," Zola ordered. "I'm willing to bet these bastards are using them to stage an ambush." The Squad angled upward though Cal was having trouble with the drag from his new cannons. Even Chris was getting ahead of him until she vanished from sight. He attempted to locate them on his scanners but something strange was wrong. His screen had turned completely blank and he once more had the same weird feeling from earlier.

"Unit Zola, Salia, do you copy, over?!" No one answered and Cal felt himself start to panic. He never felt so alone in his life, as if he was trapped in some sort of limbo. Something loomed in front of him; the silhouette of a Para-mail frozen in place. Cal wiped the rain off his visor to get a clearer look and saw the same figure from Ersha's garden standing on top of the Para-mail, its glowing emerald eyes piercing into his very being. Cal tried to rush forward but a sudden flash of lighting cut across his vision as the figure vanished and the world once more returned to normal.

"AMBUSH!" Zola shouted.

"Targets off port!" Hilda yelled.

"Second wave coming in," Naomi reported.

"Unit Cal where are you?!" Salia cried. Cal finally breached the clouds and emerged into daylight where the others were engaging a swarm of 30 schooners and 3 Corvettes. Seizing the still slippery control rods, Cal shifted to Destroyer mode and with his new cannons, took out two Schooners that were attempting to blitz Ersha from behind.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. "I think I got lost in the clouds.

"It's a category 2 so don't let your guard down," Zola warned as she fanned her gun. "They keep trying to dive back into the clouds to attack from below." As she spoke, three Schooners suddenly erupted from the clouds underneath only for Vivian to throw her boomerang and shred them all in one hit. With Hilda drawing its attention, Zola managed to take out one Corvette, only for a second to rush them from the right, grazing Zola's Arquebus with his wing claw as it passed.

"Captain!" Chris cried as she fired her cannons. She managed to score one hit when a Schooner tackled her from above, throwing her off balance and accidentally shooting off Ersha's right leg.

"Unit Cal on your right!" Salia warned. Cal was in the midst of flying back so he could group another bunch of Schooners when he heard Salia's warning. From off of Starboard, the third Corvette was launching out of the clouds towards him. However, it misjudged its angle, causing it to miss Cal's cockpit and instead latching its mouth onto the muzzle of one of his cannons, allowing Cal to blow apart its head before it could release. Blood and Viscera flooded his canopy and Cal was forced to convert back to flight mode so he could see and came a hair's width of colliding with Vivian

"Watch out Big bro."

"Sorry Vivian." Ersha's damaged Para-mail flew by, the flames making him flinch as the scenery changed into a burning forest. "No not now!" Cal spat, shaking his head to bring his senses together.

"Alright only 5 left," Zola called. "Huddle together and finish them off!" Zola ordered.

"Yes Ma'am!" Rosalie managed to shoot down one that got a little too close to Chris while Salia, Naomi, and Ersha each targeted a Schooner. Once they were taken out, all that was left was the final Corvette.

"He's mine," Hilda said as she flew up to its belly and shot a freeze bullet right into its abdomen. Shards of ice shot erupted from its body, but the DRAGON refused to go down. It charged towards its attacker, but that was just what Hilda wanted as she fired an RPG. The already half frozen Corvette took the grenade head on and its body exploded. Shards of ice shot out in every direction and amidst the pelting of shrapnel against her hull, Hilda heard someone scream.

"Cal!" Salia shouted. "Cal what's wrong? Answer me!"

"I'm hit," he hissed. "I don't think it's fatal, but it really hurts." Zola flew over to Cal's blood-soaked unit and saw that some of the shards had hit him, leaving cuts and gashes around his right flank, one big one in particular left a large gash in his shoulder. However one frozen shard had lodged itself in his right flank just below his rib cage. As she watched, Zola could almost see the ice turning red in color.

"Are you able to fly?" she asked.

"Yeah…I think…so," he winced.

"Don't try to remove it," she ordered. "If you do, you'll bleed out before we can get back to base. Chris, Rosalie, box him in so you can catch him if he starts to fall." Gritting his teeth, Cal gripped his controls and followed after the others as they headed back to base. The pain was unbearable. Every time he moved it felt like the shrapnel was going deeper into him.

"Big Bro are you okay?" Vivian asked. Hilda couldn't help feeling guilty. Sure, it was never a guarantee that you would make it back from a combat mission, but it was supposed to be the DRAGONs that did you in. Not your own squad.

"Yeah…don't worry…I'm fine Vivian, I'll be fine." Cal said with a slur.

"Just stay awake." Zola shouted. "We're almost back to base."

The fight was over, but Jill could tell from how he spoke Cal's injuries were anything but minor. "All enemies defeated." Pamela reported. "Unit Hilda took minor damage. Unit Cal is injured."

"Send word to Maggie." Jill instructed, blowing out a puff out a smoke from her cigarette. To her left, Inspector Emma Bronson who had arrived shortly after the alarm rang looked quite tense and asked for a glass of water. As the two officers left, the Command Staff huddled together to talk.

"I hope Cal's okay," Hikaru worried, her heart pounding.

"I hope so too," Olivier agreed. "After our shift ends, we'll stop by the infirmary to check on him."

The moment First Squad landed, the armorers got to work repairing the damaged units but most of them were more concerned for Cal who was being helped off of his Glaive by Naomi and Salia. "Lay him down here!" Maggie shouted. By now, the shard had melted enough that it fell out on its own, blood pouring from the hole in his side. Cal was walked over to a gurney and two of Maggie's nurses applied pressure to the wound to halt the bleeding as they rushed him to med bay. Outside the operating room, the squad waited patiently for nearly half an hour. To their surprise, Jasmine and Commander Jill showed up as well before Maggie finally exited carrying Cal's bloodstained flight suit.

"He's okay," she told them, eliciting a collective sigh of relief. "I've stitched his wounds up well as expected. Thankfully, the ice just lodged itself in his muscle tissue. He's lucky though. If it were angled just a little further in it would have punctured his liver."

"Can we see him?" Vivian asked.

"I'm afraid he's still under anesthetic," Maggie said. "For now, he needs his rest. You all can come back in the morning."

"You heard Maggie," Jill ordered. "Everyone to your quarters. We'll decide what to do tomorrow. Dismissed." With a great deal of disappointment, the rest of the squad filed out as Jill lit a fresh cigarette.

"Well no one was killed which is good," Emma said. "I'll type up a report for the Management board."

"Isn't that sweet," Maggie teased. "I knew you had a soft spot for him Inspector." Emma harrumphed in annoyance as she walked out the door.

"He must have one hell of a guardian angel," Jasmine said. "To survive everything that he has is pretty impressive. Maybe he has what it takes after all." Jill didn't answer though something in her eyes told Jasmine she didn't share the elder woman's sentiment

Alone in the shower, Hilda leaned against the tile wall as the water trailed down body. She had never felt so ashamed of herself. She had been saved by Cal once already and now she was the cause of him being injured. In all likelihood he'd be benched for a few days. Except sick days didn't exist on Arzenal. Each day out of commission came with a one million cash fine. She felt disgusted with herself that she had been such a bitch to Cal when he first arrived but now, he was going to be in debt because of her. 'I guess I'll have to take Zola's word and pay him back some other way,' Hilda realized.

Though she knew she'd get in trouble for it, Naomi opted to stay behind and wait for the Commander and the others to leave. Once Maggie had gone, she crept into the darkened med bay and made her way to the closed curtain at the far end. Peering around the edge, she saw Cal asleep on the bed. Moving quietly so as not to awaken him, she saw how much he was sweating. Between his injuries and the rain, he must have caught a fever. Taking a paper towel from a wall dispenser, Naomi wet it at the sink and wiped his brow. Cal shivered and Naomi made up her mind that she wasn't going to leave him like this. She stripped out of her clothes and climbed in next to him, pulling the sheets over them as she pressed against him to keep him warm.

"I'll never let you go Cal," she promised. "So don't you let me go either."