CHAPTER 16
THE HARD TRUTH
As the blare of the alarm echoed throughout Arzenal, the Armorers raced back and forth across the hanger to prep the line of 10 Para-mail chosen for the mission. "Hurry up girls!" Mei barked. "Get them fitted and reloaded now." Once each machine was fueled up and fitted with their weaponry, the elevator carried them up to the launch deck where first squad was waiting for them.
"Alright newbie," Zola announced, pointing to a dull grey and light blue Para-mail in the very middle of the arrangement. "That one is yours. This is when we see if you have what it takes to fly with us."
"Yes Ma'am," Miranda nervously confirmed. Her hands had begun to shake, and her stomach was collapsing into itself. 'C'mon Miranda pull it together,' she told herself. 'This is your first combat mission. Cal and the others are counting on you.'
"Everyone, mount up!" Zola ordered. As everyone mounted their respective Para-mail, Miranda plugged in her chamber cord and gripped the handles tightly. "Alright listen up! We'll be in formation Echo," Zola announced. "Newbie you'll be providing cover fire along with the artillery units."
"Yes Ma'am," Miranda gulped as she looked to her right in time for Ersha to give her a reassuring smile. She turned her head to her left and there was Cal. But unlike everyone else who was ready for action, he seemed strangely gloomy and drained. And judging by the huge bags under his eyes he hadn't slept well in days.
"All units you are clear to take off." Pamela announced.
"Let's move out!" Zola ordered. Their first sortie since the Category 4 attack last month. Zola shot out the hanger first, followed by Salia, Hilda, Vivian, and Rosalie.
"Unit Cal take off." Hikaru announced only for Unit Cal to remain on standby.
"Cal, what are you doing, take off!" They all heard Zola shout.
"Cal hurry up you're holding us up!" Chris called from behind where she Ersha, Naomi and Miranda were waiting.
"Cal we can't get out until you launch!" Ersha yelled.
"Cal what's wrong?" Naomi asked. Off to the side, Mei grimaced as she turned and raced to the control board. As much as she hated to do it, desperate times called for desperate measures.
"What is taking him so long?" the voice of inspector Bronson yelled from the hanger intercoms. "The Singular is about to open." 'Sorry about this Cal,' Mei thought as she unlocked the panel and unlocked the emergency control handles.
"Everyone, stand back!" Mei called, as she turned to large wheel like switch. "Emergency launch activated!" In an instant the launch pad under Cal's para-mail lurched forward with jolting speed which snapped Cal out of his trance as he gave a startled yelp. Sparks flew everywhere behind him as the launch pad blasted out onto the tarmac and over the edge to splash into the water below. Snapped back to reality, Cal pulled up and shot off into the bitter grey skies as the rest of First squad followed behind him.
As first squad vanished into the distance, Emma sank into her chair annoyed. "What is up with that boy?" she frowned. "The first combat duty he has in a month and he's already causing trouble."
"Pull it together Inspector. At least he's up in the sky now." Jill pointed out which did little to assuage Emma as she crossed her arms.
"I would have hoped Captain Zola would have made sure her squad mates were fit for combat."
"I'll be sure to tell her." Of course, Jill knew exactly what was wrong with Cal and that he was still coming to terms with what she, Maggie and Jasmine had told him three nights ago. Even his training had suffered since then, which Zola and Salia had both pointed out to her. 'He had better get his act together.' Jill thought. She had too much on the line for it to all come crashing down just because some child couldn't cope.
"What do you think is up with Cal?" Oliver whispered to Hikaru and Pamela.
"I don't know," Hikaru said. "But he's seemed really down the last few days."
"What do you say we visit him afterwards?" Pamela suggested, as the two nodded in agreement.
The cold evening winter air hit Miranda like a thousand ice cubes as she began to shiver rapidly and gripped the handles even tighter out of fear of falling off. This was the real thing now. She brought up the rear along with Ersha, Chris and Naomi while Rosalie and Cal flew ahead of them, the latter of whom seemed to lag behind slightly.
"Unit Cal, you're out of sync, get into position!" Zola barked.
"Cal c'mon pay attention!" Salia called.
"What is he doing?" Hilda asked. "Is he sick or something."
"Alright everyone, concentrate. We're coming up on the singular." Zola announced. Miranda looked ahead and saw to her horror a swarm of pink dots appear out of the red ring in the sky. "Category 1, 3 Corvettes and 21 Schooners." Hikaru announced over the radio.
"Easy day everyone," Zola ordered. "You know the drill. Stay clear of the Corvettes until we take down the little ones." Zola ordered. All around Miranda, the others converted to destroyer mode and she followed suit. She gave a slight jump at the roar of gunfire, but she had to admit it wasn't as loud as she thought it would be. But now wasn't the time to be nervous as the Schooners began to close in, some even flying over the top of the squad.
"Yahoo!" she heard Vivian call. Moving like a pink lightning bolt, the Razor darted from one end of the swarm to another, her boomerang shredding everything in its path like a tornado. Two Schooners attempted to sandwich her from both sides, but Vivian cut her engines and dropped, causing them to crash into each other as she opened fire on them from below. 'Is she really only two years older than me?' Miranda wondered. A short distance away, Rosalie and Naomi hovered back-to-back, their cannons firing into those that circled around them. They had just eliminated half of the Schooners when the Corvettes finally reached them.
"Alright, split into groups of 3." Zola ordered as she zoomed out of the way of one Corvette. "Hilda, Rosalie with me."
"Yes Ma'am." Meanwhile, Salia, Chris, and Vivian split off towards the second while Miranda held back with Naomi, Ersha, and Cal. The three formed a kind of protective circle around Miranda as they began to shoot down the Schooners. Suddenly, one of the Corvettes broke off from the other two and began to close in, a sigil ring forming around it's gaping mouth before a jet of flaming energy broke Zola's formation.
"I'll keep it distracted, you two find a clear shot to take it down." Zola ordered as she sprayed the DRAGON's face and drawing its attention towards her.
With her long-range rifle, Salia began to pick off the Schooners that huddled around the 2 Corvettes. "Have you got a clear shot Chris?" She asked.
"I can hit them from this distance, but all my cannons will do is give them a brief shock." Chris told her. "Their weak spots are out of my line of sight."
"Then let's try and separate them." Salia decided. "That way we can hit them from both sides at once.
"Leave it to me guys." Vivian piped as she began to fly circles around the Corvettes, riddling their bodies with bullets. Finally, one had enough and turned tail to chase after the pink Razor, roaring madly in fury.
"Vivian try and get it above us," Chris said. "That way I can nail it right in the gut."
"Can do!" Vivian answered as she pulled back into a loop that took it over her pursuer. The Corvette craned its neck to adjust its aim, leaving it wide open as Chris fired her Hauser's canons. The blast tore right through the exposed underside and the DRAGON didn't even have time to cry out before its insides poured out the gaping hole in its belly.
"Shit!" Chris realized as the corpse began to fall towards her. Shifting to Flight mode, Chris dashed out of the way and while she was able to avoid getting crushed by the Corvette, she wasn't able to miss the rain of blood and viscera that poured onto her cockpit like something from a bad horror movie. "Eww gross." Chris cried as she wiped the blood from her visor. The smell was so bad she nearly gagged. 'I hope Mei doesn't charge extra for the mess.' She hoped.
"Woah Chris you look like a rotten tomato." Vivian joked.
"Not now Vivian." Salia scolded. Salia turned her Arquebus to her left where half a mile away, the third Corvette flying towards the huddle of four Para-mail shooting down the last of the Schooners.
"Miranda, don't stay still in mid-air for too long!" Naomi called. "You'll become an easy target."
"Oh…okay!" Miranda stuttered as she tried to steady her aim while moving around. Cal was in the process of taking out the ones diving down from overhead as Miranda was trying to look for a clear target. She spotted one Schooner dart around in an almost mocking way as she began to miss shot by shot and her ammo counter began to reach critical levels. 'I'm sorry I'm no good at this.' she thought. But as she was about to give up, she saw the small keychain of the first squad placed near her indicator, the gift Coco had given her.
'It was a gift from Cal. He said it would bring me luck and I think you need it more than me.'
Miranda felt a sudden boost of energy as she looked up to see the Schooner charging towards her. Without even realizing it, she aimed her rifle, held steady, and shot it down before it could leap onto her Glaive. 'Coco was right. It does bring me luck as long as I believe I can do it!' Two more Schooners flew in to avenge their comrade only for Miranda to shoot them down as well. "I got them!" She beamed.
"Great shot Miranda." Ersha praised as she took out one of her own.
"Guys watch out one of the Corvettes is on your four!" Salia warned them. Miranda turned and closing in on them was one of the larger grey DRAGONs, a sigil forming in front of its mouth as it blasted its attack right at them.
With almost all of the Schooners taken care, of Cal heard Salia's warning just before a ball of flaming orange energy come straight towards him when a face suddenly appeared on the blast's surface. Blackened and burnt with red hot blisters and those familiar sky-blue eyes filled with fear and pain. Sweat began to drip down Cal's face as he began to hyperventilate. 'No please go away.' Cal begged, closing his eyes tightly.
"CAL MOVE!" Salia bellowed. Cal's eyes shot open to see a wall of flaming orange filling his vison and yanked his controls forward as hard as he could, his Glaive darting upwards as fast as it could go, the fireball narrowly missing him. "Cal wake up will you!" she shouted.
"Look out!" Naomi warned. To Cal's right the Corvette opened its mouth ready to take a chomp. Cal pulled back and swerved to the left but before he could fire his artillery cannons at it, the Corvette's jaws clamped around Cal's torso and began to squeeze, his console beginning to scream warnings as his cockpit began to screech and bend. "Let him go!" Naomi yelled. Dashing forward, Naomi loaded up her freeze bullet and planted it right at the back of its head. The sudden shock to its brain forced it to let him go and Cal pulled away to fire the killing shot when a shadow of a tall, stockily built man appeared before him. 'No, no, please not again!'
"You disgust me boy." Came the echoing voice of his Gramps drowning out the gunfire and DRAGONs' screeches. "What, did you think I could ever love an abomination like you?" Gramps cackled. "Your nothing but a filthy Norma, No worse! You're not meant to exist!"
Cal let go of his controls and put his hand to his ears. 'This isn't real it's not happening!" A sudden scream cut through his confusion and he opened his eyes to see that the last of the Schooners had pounced on Miranda, their claws raking at her canopy in their efforts to get at her. The world vanished into a haze of red as Cal rushed forward and grabbed onto the pink DRAGON. The creature screeched in alarm and frantically struggled to get away as Cal screamed and yanked his controls as hard as he could, tearing both wings straight of out their sockets. Before Miranda and Ersha's eyes, Cal pulled one of his short blades and began stabbing at it over and over until the corpse was little more than a shredded lump of meat.
"Cal stop!" Ersha pleaded. Throwing her Hauser's arms around his Glaive, she grabbed a hold as he continued to attack the mutilated DRAGON. "It's over." Finally, Cal stopped fighting and hung limp in her arms as he dropped the Schooner into the sea below. From within her cockpit, Miranda could only stare in shock and horror. The simulations had never been anything like this.
Attacking from both sides at once, Hilda and Rosalie planted their freeze bullets into the Corvette's flanks as ice sprouted from its body and it crashed into the waves. "Great job Girls." Zola praised. It looked like the others had gotten the other two so all they had left was to mop up the stragglers. It was then they heard the scream of rage and looked over just in time to see Cal rip the last Schooner in half before stabbing it in a rabid fury.
"What the hell?" Hilda grimaced.
"Isn't that kind of over doing it?" Rosalie asked. Sure, their job was to kill the DRAGONs but going that far just seemed sick. Zola frowned as she watched. First Cal had lagged behind in formation, then he had almost gotten eaten by a Corvette, and now he had gone stab happy in front of a rookie. At least the fight was over, and they could go clear their heads.
"This is Captain Zola," she called base. "All enemies down."
"Well done," Commander Jill replied. "All units are clear to return to base."
Jill pinched the bridge of her nose as she snubbed out her cigarette. The command staff were frozen in shock by what Cal had done and Inspector Bronson looked like she was about to be sick. It wasn't the first time she had seen this kind of behavior. Zola herself went through a similar phase when she had lost her eye, back when Inspector Jadis was in charge. Jill felt a boiling sensation at the memory of the woman who had gone out of her way to make their lives even more of a hell than they already were. At least Cal didn't have to deal with her. Knowing Jadis' fetish for young boys she probably would have reduced him to being little more than a pet.
'C'mon kid snap out of it!' she thought angrily. 'Libertus could very well depend on you.'
As first squad landed and dismounted, Hilda smiled as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "Finally!" she cheered. "It's been too long since we got paid." From around her Glaive, Chris walked up still covered in blood from the Corvette. "You look like shit." she joked, making Chris pout.
"Don't worry Chris, the smell is worse than the look." Rosalie reassured her, which did little to make Chris feel better. Their conversation was halted by the sudden loud smack and they turned to see Zola had slapped Cal hard across the face.
"What were you thinking!?" Zola scolded. Cal didn't answer. He simply stared at her without the slightest hint of emotion. "I don't know what it is wrong with you, but you'd better get it together. I am not going to let one person endanger the entire squad. Is that clear?!"
"Yes Captain," he said impassively.
"Cal," Ersha urged. "Please, whatever it is just tell us and we'll try to help you." Cal didn't answer and Zola frowned. She had seen the look on his face more times than she cared to think about, usually when a Norma had had enough and either threw themselves off the cliff or let the DRAGONs tear them apart.
"Go and get some rest," she told him. "But as your Captain, I'm ordering you that before you do anything drastic you come talk to me. Do you understand?"
"Yes Ma'am," Cal said before he walked off. Something was very off. Cal was usually full of joy and mischief. Seeing his mood change so suddenly just wasn't natural.
"Captain may I go now?" Chris asked. "I need to take a long shower."
"Go ahead." Zola nodded as Chris hurried off, hoping not many would see her in this state.
"I'll come with you." Rosalie called running after her as Hilda approached Zola. Seeing the tone her Captain used with Cal brought back unhappy memories of a time long, long ago.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Hilda asked.
"I don't know but all I know is he needs to snap out of his funk." Zola sighed. "I know first-hand what depression does to you when you feel alone and unworthy of living." Zola scowled as she remembered the feeling of being whipped and beaten down by a certain Inspector and tried to think of something else.
"Don't worry he'll be fine," Hilda pointed out. "Just give him some sweets to stuff his face and he'll bounce right back to normal."
"Is that so?" Zola smirked. "Anything particularly sweet you'd like to give him?"
"Gross!" Hilda shot back, only to gasp when she felt Zola's hand grope her rear.
"Why don't we go release some stress," she offered, nibbling on Hilda's ear.
Mei grunted in frustration as she looked over Cal's Glaive. The cockpit had been warped by the Corvette's bite force and would have to be replaced. Further down the line, Salia was busy looking over her scratched up Arquebus. "Don't worry Salia," Mei told her. "I'll have those scratches repainted over in no time."
"Thanks," Salia said, "At least the repairs won't be too much." Mei chuckled but seeing Salia's sore expression knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Did you find out what the commander, Jasmine and Maggie said to Cal?" she asked.
"No," Salia answered. "But I know it wasn't anything good. He's become practically a shut in since that night." A few of the other armorers called Mei over and she patted Salia's back.
"Just look after him will you. If he's really going to pilot Siegfried, then he can't afford to lose confidence." As Mei walked off, Salia wondered what could she possible say to cheer Cal up. She wanted to ask him herself what had happened but feared it would make things worse. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ersha, Vivian and Naomi walking out of the Hanger and ran to catch up with them.
"Pop question." Vivian chirped raising a finger. "What's bothering Cal?"
"I don't know Vivian." Ersha said. "He's definitely not been his usual self for the past few days."
"Do you think he ate something bad?" Naomi wondered. "Or maybe someone hurt him?"
"I swear if Sadie has something to do with this," Ersha vowed.
"I doubt it." Salia said. "She wouldn't dare. Especially with Captain Scarlett keeping an eye on her."
"I wonder what's bothering him?" Naomi said sadly. "I hope he's okay."
"I hope so too." Salia sighed feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. The night when Cal came storming into Jill's office demanding the truth; she had begged Jill to stay after Jill had knocked him out cold. But Jill had told her it was none of her business and had dismissed her and Mei. Whatever Jill, Jasmine and Maggie had told him about his gramps it hadn't good. 'It's probably best if he tells me himself, he's not in a good state to relive whatever he was told.' she concluded as she and the rest of the squad headed to wash up from combat.
Chris sighed in relief as the steamy hot water began to wash away the thick blood caked on her hair and skin while Rosalie helped scrub her down. When they had entered, Cal was just coming out and even with the shower he looked terrible.
"I wonder what stick is up his ass." Rosalie as she lathered the shampoo through Chris's long silver hair.
"I have no idea, but I hate seeing him like this," Chris agreed. "Have you noticed he's barely eating." Normally the sight of Cal shoving his food down was always a laugh, but now he seemed to only eat out of the vending machine. "Hey Chris, why don't we invite him to watch 'Elite Space' again? If I remember Dom the Bomb is set to battle Professor Hades."
"That's be great. It's been years since I saw that episode." Chris said excitedly. "Let's go to Cal's room see if he's feeling better. He might even get him to come play at the arcade."
"I was planning on seeing if he wouldn't mind us bathing him like we do Zola." Rosalie said.
"Yeah," Chris giggled. "It's fun watching him squirm."
Ever since the night Jill, Jasmine and Maggie told him about Gramps' past and his reasons for saving him when he was a baby; Cal had barely slept. Most of the girls tried to get him to come out of his room, including Hikaru who tried to bribe him out with a box of chocolates, but Cal had kept himself locked away and refused to come out. 'Why can't I get over this...?' He wondered. 'All I keep thinking about is Gramps. Was it all just an act? Did he really care about me?' At least the nightmares made sense now. That screaming, burnt woman really was his mother. And it was Gramps' fault she had died. Cal's stomach started to churn as if he was about to vomit as he pushed it away and closed his eyes.
Sleep came very quickly, and Cal found himself in a black void. Beneath him was a surface that looked almost like mirrored water. And in the distance was an orange light. Cal began to walk towards the light and then broke into a run. He didn't know why but something about that light seemed familiar. However, he stopped in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice
"What a waste of my life." Gramps sneered. "Taking care of a freak."
"That's not true." Cal began to cry. "Please, leave me alone!"
"I wasted all my life protecting you, something that was never meant to live. And you couldn't even protect me in return."
"SHUT UP!" Cal screamed, holding his hands to his ears falling to his knees. The light became brighter and when Cal looked up, saw his Gramps engulfed into flames.
"If it wasn't for you, my wife, my best friend and his brother and your mother would still be alive. All because you had to exist." The flames faded around Gramps' face and in its place was the blackened burnt visage of his mother as she lunged towards him with a noiseless scream.
"NO!" Cal bolted upright and found himself back in his quarters, drenched in sweat. Wiping his face, Cal thought he would be sick. 'It's not fair.' Cal thought his mind spinning. 'All my life I thought I was just different. But it was all a lie.' Anger like a hot coal began to burn in the pit of his stomach. 'I though he loved me, but he just did it because he felt guilty. I'm nothing but a freak accident that was never meant to exist!' Peeling himself off his bed, Cal got dressed into his training gear. It was a good 30 minutes before waking up, but Cal needed to clear his head.
"What do you mean he just went on ahead?" Zola barked at one of security staff.
"He just got here early, and we assumed he was waiting for the rest of you," the guard said. "Before we knew it, he headed off to the training yard."
"I'm gonna kill him." Zola groaned. "Come along girls." After 10 minutes of running through the rocky crevasses Zola notice a pool of vomit and pressed on hoping that Cal wasn't too far ahead. 'Something is not right with that kid,' she thought. And somehow Salia knew what it was. Zola had seen the look of guilt on the girl's face but when she had pressed her, the Vice Captain had claimed not to know anything more than Zola. Finally, at the end of the track, they found Cal perched on a large rock. With a beckon for the others to hold back, Zola walked up so she could talk to him without them listening in. "Cal, I want answers!" Zola demanded.
"I just needed to clear my head Captain, that's all." He said not looking at her.
Zola lifted his head by his chin to meet her gaze. "Cal, you need to snap out of this, it will get you killed or worse." She said in a low tone. "Because now I'm starting to become impatient. So, get your act together or I'll have you reassigned to base maintenance." With a grimace that almost made Zola deck him one for insubordination, Cal picked himself up. Training didn't go so well that morning. During combat training, Cal couldn't land a single hit on anyone. Even Miranda managed to win 3 to 1 against him which even Hilda was embarrassed by. During breakfast he barely touched his food and sat on his own at the furthest table in the corner of the Cafeteria.
With the wind rushing through her hair, Scarlett spun round and sliced the oncoming Schooners. It was a breath of fresh air having some simulator training for herself. "Captain, we've finished formation Bravo." Vice-Captain Betty said through their visor.
"You girls go ahead and wash up; training is done for today." Scarlett told them. "I'm not done yet so wrap up."
"Thanks Captain." Cheered Sadie. After another hour of gruelling simulator battles, Scarlett exited her simulator and saw that some of first squad was finishing up their training. Hilda, Rosalie and Chris were off chatting on one end of the Hanger. Scarlett smiled seeing Vivian being her typical bubbly self. However, she noticed Cal at the far end on his own being sick in a metal bucket. Cal hadn't shown up for their regular workout sessions and Scarlett could tell by his body language and face that he was depressed. She had seen it on more than one comrade far more times than she cared to think about.
"Hey there girls." Scarlett greeted them. Ersha smiled at seeing her old big sister figure again.
"Hey Scarlett!" Vivian waved excitedly.
"How have you been lately?" Ersha asked.
"It's been hard with losing 2 squad mates but I'm getting through it." Scarlett said, pumping her muscular arm. "I've been working my girls' tooth and nail, so we're prepared."
"I hope we get another swarm like that," Vivian cheekily grinned. "I earned a real load from it." Scarlett and Ersha rolled their eyes at the young Norma as Ersha shooed Vivian off by having her check on Miranda's simulation progress.
"I've seen the score charts and by the looks of things you're above Zola." Ersha giggled
"I have to set an example. After all, I was the muscle of the squad back when you first joined." Scarlett joked. But Ersha did not laugh when the sight of Zola peering behind Scarlett appeared, followed by Scarlett yelping as Zola slapped her buttocks. "Oi! Do that again and I'll give you 2 black eyes!" she snapped.
"You weren't saying that back a few days ago." Zola retorted with a dirty grin. "Those scores will be back the way they were soon." The three older pilots broke into laughter and began to talk about old times, until they heard Cal spewing once again.
"Do you two know what's going on with that kid?" Scarlett asked. "He hasn't shown up for his weight training for days now."
"He's been like that for the past week," Zola said. "It just came out the blue. And he's been slacking off in more than weight training."
"Has anyone talked to him?" Scarlett asked.
"We've tried to," Ersha said. "But he just says he's fine and then shuts himself in his room all day after training."
"I guess he's just having a bad time," Scarlett supposed. "We've all had them. He'll get over it eventually."
"He'd better," Zola hoped. "He may be my little stud but I'm not coddling him. Especially since I've got a new recruit to focus on." Ersha however had her own ideas. 'It all started around the time I showed him the new babies that were brought in,' she remembered. 'And then there was that kiss. Could I have caused this?'
It was ten minutes to closing time as Jasmine watched over the last few customers in her mall. Business had declined a bit lately. Ever since that night Cal had stopped coming to work and had avoided her at every opportunity. Not that she blamed him. With what he had leaned; he, Maggie, and Jill were probably the last people he wanted to talk to. As if sensing her distress, Vulcan nudged her with his nose. "Sorry boy," she said as she patted his head. "Looks like he's not here today either." Vulcan gave her a disappointed whine as Jasmine looked up and saw Naomi coming over with what looked like a box of chocolate eclairs under her arm.
"Are you planning on eating all of those?" Jasmine teased as Naomi pulled her money from her satchel.
"No," she pouted. "I just thought maybe Cal might like these." Jasmine felt nothing but gratitude for the girl. She was probably the only one to bring Cal around. Not only were they close but Naomi had always been a sweetheart by nature.
"Hope it works," Jasmine told her.
"Do you know what's wrong with him? He's never like this."
"I can't really say," Jasmine said, hoping her lie wasn't too obvious. 'Any kid who thought the world of their parents or guardian would be react the same," she thought. "Promise me you'll look out for him. He's going through a tough time and I think he needs you and the others to support him."
"Don't worry. I'll always be there for him." Jasmine grinned seeing Naomi's cheeks flush.
"Tell you what. If you help me close up, I'll give you these as payment." She offered. Naomi nodded enthusiastically as she along with the rest of Jasmine's helpers began to chase residents from the departments as they closed them off. But the moment Jasmine caught sight of Cal beside the vending machine, she immediately went over to talk to him. But as she got closer, she saw how much of a mess he was.
"Cal, are you…" But she stopped as she saw the anger in his face, how he was slightly tipsy and the whites of his eye were red raw. "Cal have you been drinking?"
"I might have had a few." Cal slurred. But Jasmine could smell the stench from his breath that he had drank himself silly.
"Cal please, you need to stop." Cal scoffed, as he defiantly bought not just food but a 6 pack of beer from the machine. "Cal I'm begging you…"
"Who do you think you are? My mother?" he spat bitterly. "Oh, wait no I forgot, she's dead because of Gramps!" Jasmine flinched at Cal's tone. Never had someone spoken to her like that before.
"Watch your mouth Cal!" Jasmine warned.
"Why, you got more secrets you're keeping from me, or did Gramps tell you he was only pretending to love me because I was a replacement of his daughter?!" A hot prickly feeling of shame spread from the top of Jasmine's head all the way down to her body. Clearly Cal was not in his right state of mind, but the alcohol was helping all his bitter, resentful thoughts pour out. And now some of the girls were starting to stare.
"Cal, I know it's awful, but he cared deeply for you, if he didn't then you wouldn't be standing here." Jasmine said.
"It doesn't matter, I would have either ended up dead on that island or I end up dead here." Cal grimaced. Jasmine would have preferred him to yell. This cold resentful self-loathing was worse than anything. "Don't try and kid yourself, I'll end up dead, torn to shreds by the DRAGON's or…"
"That is enough!" someone yelled, making Cal do a double take. It wasn't Jasmine who had yelled but Naomi whose expression was both fuming and hurt. "Why are you doing this?! It hurts to see you like this, but you won't tell us what's wrong! How can you be so selfish!?" The mall was so quiet one could hear a pin drop, but Cal simply took his food and beer and walked away. "Cal come back." Naomi pleaded as she ran after him. 'What a mess.' Jasmine groaned to herself. 'It's beyond cruel what those disgusting pigs did to Cal and his mother. But Gaz changed. And it wasn't just because of his daughter but because of you to Cal. He loved you like his own flesh and blood because you gave him a reason to live.' Jasmine felt Vulcan rub his head against the side of her leg and felt a sense of ease. He was always very special to her since he was a gift from Gaz. And in a way, it was almost as if Gaz was still there to comfort her.
As if stuck in a soundless blurry void, Cal felt as if everything moved in slow motion. Coming to his room he clumsily opened his door but as he began to shut it behind him, found something was preventing him from closing. Cal turned to see a shoe in between the door jamb before Naomi shoved her way in. "Cal don't ignore me! Why did you speak to Jasmine like that!" she demanded.
"Because I didn't want to hear what she had to say." Cal said defiantly as he was about to take a sip of beer before Naomi snatched it away.
"Stop it!" Naomi, she yelled. Before he could grab another, Naomi threw the entire pack into the garbage bin. "I've had it. I'm not leaving until you tell me what is wrong with you!" Even with the alcohol dulling his senses, the sight of Naomi actually furious seemed to snap him back to reality.
"It's none of your business so just leave me alone."
"Well then we're in for a long night because the only way I'm going out that door is if you throw me out. And if you do, I'll raise such as scene that the entire base will hear me."
"Even if I did you wouldn't get it!" he yelled. Naomi crossed her arms indignantly.
"Try me." she stated. Again, the Commander's story played across his mind and Cal felt like his head was spinning.
"It was a lie," he finally said.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. "What was a lie?"
"Everything! My whole life is nothing but an accident."
"So what?" Naomi asked. "We're all accidents in the humans' eyes! You really think you're the only one who's been hurt by them?"
"It's different!" Cal yelled feeling all his negative emotions released.
"How?"
"Because I was a mistake!" Cal snapped, making Naomi flinch. "You want to know? The truth is my Gramps never loved me. I was just a replacement!" Naomi's look of anger melted away to one of confusion.
"What? Why would you say that?" she asked.
"The Commander, Jasmine and Maggie told me. I overheard a conversation between them, Salia, and Mei. So yeah, my life is a lie. My Gramps never loved me. He only saved me because he lost his daughter. Because the other humans let her die for being a Norma."
"So what?" Naomi said toning her voice down. "He took care of you all those years so clearly he cared about you."
"That's not the point," he argued. "I thought I was something special, but the truth is I'm just a mistake."
"You are special," Naomi said. "You're the only male Norma in the entire world."
"And that's why I'm a mistake!" Cal yelled. "I'm a failed experiment! The humans wanted to see if Humans and Norma could breed to produce humans. When they found out I was a Norma, they deemed me a failure and wanted to exterminate me! Gramps wasted his life and died for nothing. It would have been better for everyone if I didn't exist!"
SMACK!
The impact of Naomi's palm across his cheek snapped Cal back to reality as the sting began to break through the initial shock.
"STOP IT!" She screamed, not caring if the whole base heard them. Hot tears spilled from her purple eyes as she cupped his face in hers. "You're not a mistake! All the things you told me, Ersha, Vivian and the others about your Gramps and all he taught you. It wasn't fake. Don't you realize how lucky you were? We would have given anything to have the kind of life you had? He took care of you all those years when he could have easily brought you here or abandoned you." Cal saw how upset she was and felt a pang of guilt as he realized the difference between him and the girls here.
"I…I just don't know what to believe anymore," he said as he plopped onto his bed. "When Gramps saved me, he caused a fire that killed my mother. For all I know he only took care of me out of guilt. And in the end, it cost him his life."
"That was the humans' fault not yours," Naomi said as she sat beside him. "And no matter what his reasons were, you owe your life to him. And it was because of him that we were able to meet. So don't tell me that you would be better off dead because the truth is…if you were…I would be incomplete!" Cal looked up to her and saw just how much she was hurting because he was hurting. And it dawned on him how much of an ass he had been to her and the others.
"I'm sorry." Cal choked as he began to cry. "I just…I just don't know who I am anymore." Something pressed against his face and Cal opened his eyes to see Naomi had buried his head in her bosom.
"You're you," she told him. "And I don't care if you were meant to exist or not. You're here with me and that's all I care about." Cal's vision began to blur as he threw himself against her and they both collapsed onto the bed. Naomi stroked his head as he continued to sob into her chest until he finally drifted off to sleep. Setting him aside, Naomi stripped him out of his uniform and herself as well before crawling into bed beside him. 'You're not a mistake Cal. And even if the rest of the world says you are, I'll always love you.'
Mid-December was always a headache for training. The cold bitter weather made the morning run a nightmare since the rain would turn to slippery ice which tripped up almost everyone. Inside the first squad's locker room, Ersha was in the mid of wrapping Vivian's grazed knee with gauze as a result of her sprinting ahead so fast that she had slipped slid down the steep rocky hill which would up knocking over everyone in front of her like a row of bowling pins. Zola simply laughed mockingly finding the whole scenario hilarious. "Well, it will teach you all to have a steady balance." She laughed.
"Do you have spikes under your feet that you're not telling us about." Cal joked back. Well at least Cal seemed to be coming back around to his normal self. Salia was certainly relieved to see Cal up to his usual antics though there was a slight awkwardness between them which confirmed to her that his wound had not fully healed. As everyone changed, Salia felt a slight tug at her sleeve jacket.
"Salia, may I have a word?" Naomi whispered.
"Of course," Salia permitted, waiting for everyone else to leave the locker room. "What is it?"
"It's about Cal." Naomi said which put Salia on guard. "There's something he told me which I think you should know." Salia gulped nervously. Of course Cal would open up to Naomi first but how much had he told her? Thankfully, as it turned out Cal had kept Siegfried, Villkiss, and Libertus to himself. But when Naomi told her of Cal's past and everything the three older women had told him, Salia felt she could cry. "Oh my god." Salia gasped holding back tears. "I can't believe this, why would Jill tell him that?"
"I don't know," Naomi sighed. "But Cal's pretty angry at his Gramps. I tried telling him that it didn't matter but it's not like we could possibly understand what it's like to lose a parent. Much less that they were keeping something like that from us."
"I know, poor Cal." Salia said. Salia felt especially disgusted with Jill. Jasmine had said Jill would have twisted the story to her own advantage. Was it possible that Jill had her own agenda when it came to Libertus?
"Salia I know you're close to the commander." Naomi pointed out. "You've idolized her since we were kids. But right now, I feel like giving her a piece of my mind."
"Please don't." Salia panicked. "It will get you into trouble. I'll have a word with her." But her doubts were only growing stronger. 'What exactly is Jill planning?' she wondered. 'Is it possible she's only using me as well?'
"Okay," Naomi relented. "I'm sure if it's you she'll listen."
"I'll do what I can," Salia promised but looked at Naomi suspiciously as she saw her cheeky grin.
"You know next time you go on another date with him," Naomi giggled, "maybe I could join in as 'holy knight Maya.'"
Wha…wha…what!?" Salia gasped as her face felt like it was on fire.
"Salia you're my best friend, I know everything." Naomi smirked. "Relax I won't tell. But maybe next time Cal could be Kamen Fencer and we could make it a three way." Despite Naomi's assurance, Salia felt like crawling into a very deep hole. She wasn't sure what embarrassed her more. That Naomi knew her secret, or that the idea of all three of them had a certain appeal to it.
No sooner had they left the shower, Ersha grabbed Cal's hand and dragged him after her down the hall. "Ersha what is this?" Cal demanded.
"You're making up for lost time," she told him. "The kids have been sad since you stopped coming to see them and it's time you made it up to them." Arriving at the classroom door, the school children bolted out of their seats as they saw who Ersha had brought with them.
"Cal!"
"Where were you?"
"We thought you didn't like us anymore."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I haven't been feeling good the last couple of days but I'm better now."
"Mary," Ersha offered, "how about we take the kids to the clubhouse for a few hours." The kids cheered at the suggestion and Mary was more than happy to have some time to herself. Once the door closed, she waited until she was certain the coast was clear and took out the sketchpad so she could finish the drawing she had been working on of Cal in a somewhat idealized depiction.
"Abigail looks a lot better than usual," Cal noted as the kids dispersed around the room.
"Yes, I think she's becoming more confident around everyone." Ersha agreed, though Cal felt a little guilty. He and Abigail had a lot in common, being sheltered from this place and losing their loved ones.
"Does she still have her moments?" Cal asked.
"She does," Ersha nodded, "It's gotten better but she still sometimes cries herself so sleep. I've tried to sooth her, but she won't tell anyone anything about her life outside of this place."
"Maybe I could get her to open up." He suggested. "After all I know what's it's like to be torn from your family. I just hope I don't say anything that will upset her even more."
"I was hoping you would," Ersha beamed. "But I doubt you'll say anything to upset her. Before that however…" Ersha beckoned over to Coco who shyly came up to them then. "Well go ahead," Ersha urged.
"What is it?" Cal asked.
"I got a 79% on my exam," Coco announced in a cheer.
"That's great, I knew you could do it." Cal praised.
"It's all thanks to you." Coco said. "I just hope it will be enough to get me into the first squad when I turn 12 next month."
"Don't worry about it. You'll be a great pilot if you're in the first squad, second or third." Cal assured her. "It wasn't because of me though. It was all you. You'll get where you want if you continue to work hard." Coco smiled and looked like she was about to cry when she suddenly jumped up and grabbed Cal in a squeezing hug.
"Thank you, I'll continue to do my best as long as you keep cheering me on."
"Of course, I'll be counting on you then if you are to fight alongside me." Cal said trying to loosen Coco's grip from his neck.
"Thank you Cal-senpai." Coco said enthusiastically, Ersha found the whole situation adorable, though she could tell Cal had no idea what that meant.
Deep beneath the lowest hanger, lines of Para-mail that had yet to be assigned to a pilot were parked in storage. Hardly anyone came down here so Salia had requested Jill to meet her here. "Commander how could you have told him that. Can't you see how it affected him?"
"What'd done is done Salia," Jill said dismissively. "It's not my job to coddle him. If he can't deal with the truth, then that's his problem."
"But you didn't have to tell him that way!" Salia argued. "Cal thinks that his whole existence is a mistake now because…"
"Enough Salia!" Jill barked, making her flinch. "Why Gaz saved Cal, why he raised him the way he did, none of it matters. He's gone and Cal is going to have to live with it. Would you rather I told him when he first got here? He wouldn't have lasted five minutes in combat if I did. So I don't want to hear any more of it. Is that understood!"
"Yes commander." Salia saluted her mouth twitching in frustration. They continued to walk further and further into the deepest recesses of the Hanger where they came across Mei working on one unit in particular. Slightly larger and more robust than even a Hauser, it's black armor helped it remain unseen all the years it had laid waiting for a pilot.
"How's it coming?" Jill asked.
"Just another few tweaks and this guy will be good as new." Mei said with a flashy smile. "After which, Villkiss will be next."
"Good work." Jill said naturally.
"Jill, about that, if Cal is to be Siegfried's pilot." Salia said, her heart thumping nervously. "Then it needs Villkiss to fly beside it, we could do it together when the time is…" But before Salia could continue, Jill shot her an annoyed look.
"I told you once and I will not tell you again. You can't do, what you can't do. All you can do right now it prepare him to what's to come." Salia flinched a bit but then she realized what Jill was really hinting at.
"Do you mean…?" she asked as Jill lit a cigarette.
"Yes, even before he arrived both Cal and Gaz were a part of Libertus. And I think it's about time he knew what we're planning. I'm counting on you to ensure he knows to take it to his grave. Can you do that?"
"Yes Commander." Salia said as Jill turned and left. Atop the bulky Para-mail, Mei hopped down to the deck.
"Don't worry Salia. I know Cal won't tell anyone. And he'll definitely be the one to get Siegfried back into action."
"I hope so." Salia sighed.
Once back in her office Jill watched the plume of smoke from her cigarette trail up to the ceiling as she reflected on what she had told Cal about Gaz's past. She fully understood what Cal was feeling. The sense of betrayal, shame and reality of how cruel humans could be. But now was not the time to be emotional otherwise it would just get him killed.
The memories of that jet-black machine flying beside her all those years ago made her feel sad and guilty. From within her centre drawer, Jill took out a small thin pick which she used to unlock a secret compartment from which she took out a file detailing Siegfried's design. Atop the file was a photo was of her younger self dressed in a black and purple flight suit. Standing beside her were two others. The first was a tall athletic man with dirty blonde hair dressed in a black and red tactical suit. The second was another young woman who pressed up against the man, her long brown hair draped down her back and over her pink flight suit.
Jill sighed as she pulled out the second item in the compartment, a small black case which she opened to reveal a black metal bracelet with a small crimson gem the size of a walnut. Along the gem was a crack that ran slantways along its face. 'I'm sorry Istvan,' she thought. 'But if Libertus is to begin again and with Tusk gone, Cal is the best shot we have at reviving Siegfried,' she thought.
Suddenly, the image of a handsome man surrounded by a white light appeared before her. Pale blonde hair framed his face from which shone a pair green eyes that were both mocking and assuring.
"Poor Sweet Alektra don't cry, everything will be fine. Leave all your trouble to me," that cold heartless voice echoed in her head.
"I swear, I'll make you suffer you bastard!" Jill growled clenching her mechanical fist so hard the metal began to creak.
Snapping back to reality after feeling a sudden pinch on his arm, Cal winced as he rubbed the spot. "Don't drop off you have to finish." Ersha warned, making the kids laugh, all dressed in the pajamas and nightgowns. It was bedtime and Ersha had persuaded him to read a bedtime story for the children.
"Sorry." Cal snickered as he rubbed his eyes. The story was the usual fairy tale stuff. A beautiful princess being rescued by a handsome prince. It was so saccharine and sanitized Cal could feel his brain cells dying as he read but the kids seemed to enjoy it, so he put up with it. After he finally finished, he and Ersha tucked them in and noticed Abigail looking rather down. "I'll deal with this." Cal said to Ersha which she gave him a reassuring nod. "Hey there," Cal said gently, "It's time for bed now."
"I know." Abigail said. "I just find it hard to sleep sometimes."
"So I've heard. Do you want to tell me what's bothering you? It might help you sleep better." Abigail cast her gaze down and Cal feared she wouldn't open up like he had hoped.
"I just miss my mother and Auntie." Abigail sniffed. "But I don't know if they miss me. They gave up so much to try and keep me safe…maybe they're happier without me."
"That's not true." Cal interrupted gently. "I know how it feels, but they did it because they loved you and they wanted to protect you." This managed to reassure Abigail slightly as Cal saw her face lift. "Just remember that you're not alone. You have friends, and also me and Ersha. So don't let it get to you okay?" Abigail managed a smile as he tucked her in as he handed her teddy she kept under her bed.
"Goodnight kids." Ersha waved as her and Cal began to leave.
"Goodnight Miss Ersha. Goodnight Cal." The kids called.
"Night everyone. Now go to sleep all of you, or I'll throw away your stuffed animals." Cal joked making the kids giggle, which earned him another playful pinch from Ersha as she shut off the light and closed the door.
"Thanks for giving Abigail a boost." Ersha smiled.
"It's fine. I just don't want her to go through the same mindset I went through. It definitely wasn't doing me any good." Cal told her. But unknown to her a fierce battle was raging inside of Cal's brain.
'Gramps protected you.'
'He only did for his own selfish need.'
'But he could have given you up at Arzenal or to the Humans.'
'Only because I was a replacement for his daughter.'
'But he always took care of you and taught you to survive.'
The constant back and forth in his head gave Cal a throbbing headache and the stress just made him tired. "I'll see you tomorrow," he told her. "I need to relax in the onsen."
"I'll leave it to you then. See you in the morning." Ersha kissed him on the cheek and making Cal go slightly pink before he turned the corner to the locker room. Lucky no one else was in so he could have it all to himself. After washing himself off, he lowered into the hot boiling water, the steam shielding him from the cold winter night. He felt his muscles ease as the bath seemed to wash away his negative thoughts.
After almost 30 minutes Cal decided to call it a night when he heard the sliding glass door open and guessed it would be Zola. However, when he turned his head, he saw standing in front of him an embarrassed Salia who was covering her front with her towel. "Oh…hey Salia." Cal gulped as Salia's face reddened. "I was just about to leave."
"No, it's fine." Salia said her heart leaping in her chest. "I don't mind if you use it a little longer." Cal could see she was still embarrassed about being nude in front of him and turned away to give her some privacy. With his back towards her, Salia lowered herself into the onsen and to her relief saw that she could barely see him through the thick steam. "Hey Cal." Salia called.
"Yeah."
"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I heard what happened. About what you were told." Cal didn't say a word but sighed heavily. "I didn't know."
"You've got nothing to be sorry for." Cal replied. "You and Mei didn't know. You would have told me if you did." Salia felt her heart flutter as her body began to heat up from something other than the onsen.
"I appreciate that. But I feel I could have done something to make what you went through easier."
"It's fine. I can't forgive or forget what I was told and all those things Gramps kept from me, but in the process, I forgot what was important."
"And what was that?" Salia asked, inching closer to him.
"My friends. All of you." Cal said. "You've all done so much for me, and all thought about was myself. I never even gave consideration to how worried I made you all." Cal felt something soft caress his skin and he looked down to see Salia's hand resting on his shoulder.
"We were all worried about you," Salia told him. "And I felt partly to blame since I didn't know what to say. But I really apricate that you didn't tell Naomi about Libertus or Siegfried and Villkiss."
"Well it's not like I could tell her much anyway," Cal supposed. "Besides, I didn't want to get her, or the others involved in something that might get them in trouble with the Commander." Moving away from her, Cal leaned on the rock ledge that overlooked the ocean. "But I don't want to live in the past anymore. You guys are all I have left. I don't want any of you to end up like Janette and Selina. I would feel alone if any of you were gone. Even Hilda." Salia felt she could cry at Cal's words. "So I'm going to train harder than ever, not just for me but to protect you all. It's the best way I can repay you all. Especially since I've gotten this far because of you Salia." Without thinking Salia rushed forward and hugged him. Cal felt her slender arms wrap around his shoulders as her small but soft breast pressed up against his back.
"Thank you, Cal." Salia half sobbed, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'll always be here whenever you're down. You don't have to bear anything alone." She felt she could pass out touching a man like this. But even despite his muscles being so hard they had a warm and comforting feel to them which made her feel like she could melt like butter. "You're don't deserve to experience all this pain you feel because of the humans. And I'll be there to help you however I can,' she vowed. 'I know you'll be the right person for Siegfried.'
"Thank you, Salia." Cal held her hands that were wrapped around him still. After a few minutes, Cal took his leave but not before planting a kiss on Salia's cheek, making her turn maroon. "I'll see you in the morning. And next time I'll be the winner in our simulator sparing matches." But Salia didn't answer. As Cal headed back inside, Salia's head was going in circles. 'He kissed me,' she squealed to herself. "A man actually kissed me.'
Feeling refreshed and a lot happier, something he hadn't felt in days, Cal made his way back to his room. 'What would I do without them.' Cal wondered, having people to care for, comfort and argue with made it all worthwhile. No matter how bad things got.
Unlocking his door and entering his room Cal turned on his light and noticed something was out of place. There on his desk was an identical set of keys and beneath his bed sheets was a noticeably large lump with a fluff of pink hair sticking out of the top.
"Hmm…was this you're doing?" Cal asked as he walked over to his bed. "I bet you managed to persuade Jasmine somehow to give you a set of keys for my room." Cal began to tickle the lump as he heard excited giggling.
"Aren't you going to answer Naomi, or are you playing hard to get?" Cal teased, yanking the blankets up and to his astonishment saw Ersha clad in her orange pyjamas. Still in shock, Cal was caught off guard as she grabbed him around his neck and pulled him into her bosom.
"You look surprised." Ersha giggled as he looked up. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"No…I mean yes…no!" Cal stuttered in embarrassment. "I mean…how did you get in here?"
"Well, as you guessed Naomi managed to persuade Jasmine to give her a copy of your keys since she was worried about leaving you alone. And I asked if maybe I could see you tonight instead," Ersha told him pulling him into a long kiss. It was certainly different. Unlike Zola where it was a battle for dominance, Ersha seemed fine with letting him take control. Once they finished, Ersha lay on top of him, her face buried into his neck. "You seem better now." Ersha sighed. "I'm glad. We were all really worried."
"Yeah sorry," he admitted. "I guess I lost sight of what matters. If I ever do something like that again, don't hesitate to give me a Total In-Ersha okay?" Ersha blushed a bit as she lifted up to a sitting position to straddle him.
"Actually," she blushed. "Maybe we could try a different set of moves. I talked with Naomi. She said she's fine with sharing you. If you want." Cal looked up at her. He didn't deny Ersha was a beautiful girl. Plus, she had a warmth about her that put one at ease. Rising up, Cal cradled her against him and began to kiss her. Slowly, he began unbuttoning her pajama top and Ersha began to shake from nervousness.
"Don't worry I'll be gentle." Cal promised. As they continued into the night, it felt as if nothing in the past or present could bother Cal now.
On the outskirts of the Velda Dynasty, the beautiful tropical beaches were now thick with dirty ice and slush as their dazzling palm trees laid leafless and lifeless in the icy winter. Layers upon layers of used fireworks were dotted all around the slushy sands as the citizens retreated into their houses from celebrating a new year once again. Past the beaches most would think there was nothing but leagues of sea. But just off the coast was a rocky island, the inside of which had been hollowed out as a base for the Norma Management Board's security division. Used as a training facility for his personal squad, Dutch had taken Jeffery here to ready him for when it was time to retrieve subject Alpha.
Dodging left and right Dutch easily avoided every kick and jab from the young man. "Come on, hit me!" Dutch goaded, easily blocking each strike. Panting and sweating, Jeffry threw a punch to Dutch's face, who avoided them with ease and made Jeffry irritated. "Clear your mind of emotions and concentrate." Dutch guided, as he swung his leg around to the back of Jeffry's knee, making him loose his balance. Staggering Jeffry lunged to upper cut Dutch which he felt graze his chin as he dodged and planted a knee into Jeffry's stomach, causing him to double over onto the training mat.
"Pathetic." Dutch spat. "Norma are half your size and you wouldn't last ten seconds against one." Slowly, painfully, Jeffery picked himself up and readied himself for the next round.
"Let's go." Jeffry growled.
"Good attitude," Dutch praised. The boy was coming along well. What he lacked in experience he made up for in sheer determination. Dutch could tell the young man was still sore over finding out his father was killed by a traitor protecting a male Norma of all things. He even managed to land a few hits on Dutch though Dutch made sure to pay him back with interest. The boy didn't complain or give up however so at least that was promising. Finally, Dutch called time and sent him off to the showers.
"Having fun I see," someone said. Dutch turned around and walking towards him was Jadis in a tight black sports bra and training shorts. Behind her were 3 huge men built like gorillas, all of whom lay sprawled across her training mat.
"Nice to see your skills have stayed with you after 10 years." Dutch noted.
"You know damn well I don't let things go to waste. Even Norma have their uses." Jadis smirked. The memories of her old job as Arzenal's inspector truly were fun times for her. How she wondered how her favourite plaything Zola would react if she came face to face with her after all those years. "I still don't see why you waste your time with that kid. Why him of all people?"
"I owe it to Standall," Dutch said. "Besides, I see a bit of myself in him. I'd like to be the kind of guidance I wish I had when I was his age." Jadis sighed and shrugged.
"You always were the sentimental type. Whatever. I guess we could use him as a meat shield in case we get in a firefight." Dutch was about to respond when a Mana message came through. With a groan of disgust, he opened the link and was greeted to the sight of who else but Blackadder.
"Ah, Mr Villson," he greeted.
"Major Blackadder." Dutch saluted. "I have my team assembled and are currently training at the Velda facility. I want them to be prepared for what we could be fighting against."
"Impressive." Blackadder said blankly. "Master Embryo is in quite a good mood and has decided to give you full control of the operation." Well that was certainly unexpected, not that Dutch was complaining.
"Is that so?" Dutch asked. "You can assure him I won't fail a second time."
"I'll hold your word to that," Blackadder warned. "Especially since even Master Embryo's patience has its limits. For now, he wants me to monitor the operation's progress. All reports are to be made directly to me."
"Understood," Dutch said with a salute. "I'll send you the information regarding possible locations of this terrorist group." The message was cut, and Dutch frowned. 'Cocky little punk. Who the hell does he think he is? When I retake Subject Alpha, I'll be the one giving orders.'
"Well, it seems everything is going as well as expected." Behind Blackadder, Embryo sat in a chair going over various files on his mana screen. "Still the way that fool lets his personal emotions get the better of him is rather tiresome."
"I know you have your reasons in keeping Villson away from Subject Alpha but how long do you think you can keep him on a leash?" Blackadder asked.
"If he oversteps his mark, I won't have any more use of him." Embryo said casually finding the whole scenario trivial. "He and his team are just a pack of expendable fools. His brother was the one who would have been more use to me in my future plans." Embryo began to flick through the files of Dutch's team and stopped at one in particular. "However, this Jadis does seem like a promising candidate, given her past history with the Norma and those apes."
"Do you think she'll go along with your ideals more than Villson?"
"I fear she's a bit too brutish for my long-term plans," Embryo mused. "But for now she certainly has her uses. Just keep observe them. I want you to note every detail on their behavior, ideals, and desires. I've waited far too long for this plan to come to fruition so even the slightest abnormality must be considered."
"I found it concerning that Humans would betray their own kind just for their own personal reasons." Blackadder admitted. "Nevertheless, I will be sure to keep a sharp eye if he or his team does anything that could cause us problems."
"Excellent." Embryo said as he stood up. From within his blazer's pocket, Embryo pulled out a black metal ring etched in gold with a Circular Sapphire blue gem set in its crown which he placed into his subordinate's hands. "Take this and use it well."
"I will Master Embryo," Blackadder nodded. "What about Subject Alpha? If I encounter him how should I deal with him?"
"Why do you ask?" Embryo wondered.
"This Alektra you told me about…don't you think she'll groom him into the very thing that might pose a threat to us? Allowing her even the slightest chance to use the native's machine and Villkiss against us might pose a problem later."
"We don't have to worry about that." Embryo assured his lieutenant. "With everything that has been kept from the boy, he'll just need a little persuasion to come around."
