Chapter 7:

Abydos District, Abandoned Residential Area

Liam Benson, Benson's Buccaneers, Schale

Kivotos Independent Star System Deep Periphery

24 May 3059

Liam wiped his forehead. Even though the Crusader tank was equipped with air conditioning for some reason, the heat of the desert was hell. He had been driving the tank for nearly six hours at this stage. At first, the air was slightly chilly. Some would probably call it relaxing. Then, he lumbered into Abydos proper after the sun had risen. The schizo-tech of the tank was doing little to protect Liam and Wakamo from the heat, and her panting was not helpful in this situation. Liam considered putting on an olive green field cap but shot that idea down. He'd prefer that dry when he stepped outside the museum piece, and it was more for protecting his bald head from the sun than keeping sweat from dripping down.

"Just a little longer now…" Liam murmured to himself as he focused on the empty road ahead. The sooner he got to Abydos' school building, the better.

Liam took a moment to look at the camera feed and frowned. The tank's out-of-place technology showed no one out on the road. All the houses he had passed by were abandoned as well. Liam had seen war-torn residential districts before that would be abandoned, but these buildings were still largely intact. It unnerved him slightly. It might have been a cruel thought, but a part of him wished to see a crater caused by an artillery shell or something that made it someone familiar to him. As it stood, the neighbourhood he was in now resembled one of those horror films Joan used to watch. She always laughed at them; maybe she would have enjoyed this scene more than he was right now.

Liam's line of thought stopped as he noticed a bike come around a corner. He began to slowly stop the tank to avoid a collision with the unknown biker. Perhaps it was a grace in disguise that the tank he had moved so slowly, getting crushed by a tank tread, was a horrible way to die.

As the tank came to a stop, Wakamo bolted upwards and groaned. "Did we finally arrive, darling?"

Liam shook his head and ignored her strange nickname for him. "No, just needed to stop again, didn't want to run someone over." Liam returned to the video feed in front of the tank. "Once this person goes, we can…"

Liam stopped his train of thought as he looked at the individual in front of the tank. She was a student he recognised from Arona's reports and a bit from the vision Seia showed him. Sunaookami Shiroko. The ears were a dead giveaway to him, as was the scarf she wore. Liam could not understand why she was wearing clothing that was more fit for the winter in the morning of the desert. Yet the more he looked at her in real-time, the more he thought she looked very similar to the second girl with wolf ears that seemed poised to kill a version of him. He didn't recall anyone else from Abydos who looked like Shiroko or the unknown girl. Perhaps she was an older sibling who graduated? It would explain why that person wasn't in current records.

His train of thought was interrupted as he watched Shiroko dismount from her bike and slowly approach the tank. "Excuse me," she stated softly as she knocked on the tank, "Who are you? Why are you pulling a trailer with a tank?"

Liam hummed as he reached for the field cap in the tank and put it on his head. He thought it would be better to meet Shiroko face to face. Liam turned to Wakamo and motioned for her to relax and stay in the tank. If that clerk Wakami met was panicked from seeing her, he doubted a school that, from his point of view, was under siege would react any better. With effort, Liam pushed open the tank hatch and climbed out, his skin warmed by the morning sun. He looked down at Shiroko and tipped his hat. "Sunaookami Shiroko, my name is Liam Benson, recently appointed head of Schale." Liam glanced over to her bike. "I apologise for interrupting your bike ride this morning, but this was the fastest route to your school."

Shiroko tilted her head, her confusion evident on her face. "You're travelling towards the school building?"

Liam nodded. "Yes, I received a letter from your school. It was brief and lacked detail, but I gathered that you required a lot of assistance." Liam went into his vest pockets. He was internally glad he kept the letter on his person. Once it was retrieved, Liam extended the piece of paper to Shiroko. "You can take a look at it yourself if you want."

Shiroko blinked once but did not emote more than that. She made an odd sound as she grabbed the paper. "Nn." She looked it over and seemed confused. A frown rested on her face.

"Is that letter mistaken?" Liam asked, slightly concerned. Had he been tricked by a forgery, perhaps? If so, he was being tricked and wasting valuable time that could have been spent elsewhere.

"No…" Shiroko stared as she stared more at the paper, "I just don't remember this letter being made. Ayane wanted to discuss something important this morning, but…"

Either Ayane acted on her own to send that letter first, or what Liam was told was a coincidence. He hoped the former would impress him with her initiative, but the latter would confirm his worst fear. "She might have intended to inform you about that letter today. The trailer is for your school. Since I am going to where you are anyway, why don't we travel along the same road if that would make you feel better about a tank carrying a trailer full of ammunition and explosives in your district."

Shiroko made that strange noise again as she handed Liam back the letter. "That's fine, Liam-sensei. It might be better if we show up together anyway, considering the circumstances..."

A logical conclusion for Liam. If Ayane was the only one who knew about him showing up to their school, that would be another can of worms he didn't want to deal with. He watched as Shiroko walked back towards her bike and began to mount it. He still thought back to the vision Seia had shown him, and a part of him screamed to understand more about who that second wolf girl was. "Before we go, do you mind answering me one strange question?"

Shiroko looked up from the seat of her bike and tilted her head. "No, what is it?"

"You don't happen to have an older sister at all, do you?" Liam asked as he rubbed his chin.

Shiroko looked down at the ground with her ears drooped. "Not that I know of, but…" Shiroko took a breath as she touched the scarf around her neck. "I don't remember much before…"

A case of amnesia, then. Sure, it was a bit stereotypical, but Liam wouldn't belittle someone for falling into a bad situation. "I am sorry if that touched a nerve. I was just wondering, was all. Got a massive sense of, déjà vu for lack of a better term, and wanted to quell that curiosity."

Shiroko blinked again as she looked up to Liam. With a better look into her eyes, Liam swore she had different-coloured pupils. "You met someone that looked like me?"

"It's complicated. Look, I am sorry I asked. I can explain why I asked later if that works for you; the crusader is slow, and I'd rather not make you later than absolutely necessary."

Shiroko mussed to herself, then nodded, "I guess that is for the best, I'll pedal slowly so you can follow then."

Liam nodded with a small smile, "I appreciate that." Liam climbed down, out of the harsh sun and into the relative coolness of the tank's interior. He quickly closed the hatched and restarted the tank.

As the tank rumbled forward, he felt Wakamo staring at him for some reason. Part of him thought to ignore it, but he dismissed that idea. If something was brewing inside her, it would be best to address it now. "Something on your mind?" Liam asked as he slightly turned, still focused on following Shiroko.

"You were rather friendly with her," Wakamo stated, her voice hinting at envy if Liam had to guess, or perhaps jealously?

"We are going to be here for some time. Getting along with those we are helping is important, especially as we don't know how long we will be in this district."

"What do you mean," Wakamo stated as she tilted her head slightly, "I thought we were just giving them supplies?"

Liam sighed at his failure to adequately explain the situation to her earlier. "Partly, yes, but I still believe a grand conspiracy is going on here beyond what you and I can see at surface level. Something that could possibly lead to something far worse if not nipped right now."

"I got that," Wakamo no doubt was pouting now based on her tone of voice, "but I don't understand what that has to do with not going back to Schale. The damage will likely be repaired soon, so can't we just return there after this?"

She did have a point, but that did not sit well with Liam. "There are a few reasons I disagree with that idea, partially logical and partially emotional. For the more vain reason, we have two choices with the tank: either leave this behind at Abydos and hope it isn't stolen while taking transportation that could be infiltrated by the same unknown party I want to quell. The other is we drive it back, taking the same time to go to Abydos and from Schale each day, wasting precious time riding inside the tank just driving. Working in Abydos in a temporary Forward Operating Base would be better based on those two things. We can use one of the multiple abandoned houses for that, and since their old inhabitants don't seem to care that they are there, repurposing them for something useful for a short time is logical to me."

Wakamo hummed and stayed silent for a minute. "What about the emotional reason?"

Liam frowned as he fought the urge to glance down. "It doesn't feel right to be in comparable luxury when I should be doing something. Yes, I admit Schale is an excellent place to be, and that bed was comfy. Still, I can't forgive myself if I am spending a morning in bliss; if Abydos is in trouble, I think it is in, then I am a failure."

Wakamo didn't say anything more after Liam uttered those words. He could always be doing more and should always put his best effort into things, at least he thought he should. Liam might have survived Coventry by pure luck, but his father and the others might have been with him if he had been quicker, more alert, or less lax. Not that he would ever know, and that was the worst thought of all.

Liam watched Shiroko come up to the gate of Abydos, and he took notice of the time. It was well past 0800, and no doubt, coming with the tank made her late to show up. He would have to apologise to her later. The fact he had it dragging a large trailer filled with supplies for their school made the already slow tank move at speeds slower than the UrbanMech, words that should never be uttered.

Still, Liam sighed, turned off the tank and grabbed the field cap again. He looked to Wakamo and considered having her wait but decided against that. Abydos would see her soon enough. Trying to hide the fact she is here would only cause more problems in the long run.

Liam climbed out of the tank and stepped on the sand-blasted pavement of the road. It was clearly not in the best shape, with small piles of sand scattered about, and the look of the unassuming Abydos school building with sand scattered about made it feel desolate. If William had been here, he'd undoubtedly have made some obscure reference about millennium-old pop culture, something about sand getting everywhere. He always referenced things Liam never understood, but that was a bit of his charm.

Liam looked back to the Abydos gate and noticed a girl with short black hair and red glasses walking up to Shiroko. Liam knew it was Ayane, thanks to the files Arona got for him. She had a slightly annoyed expression followed by a look of shock as she looked at the tank. She didn't notice Liam yet, as she seemed more focused on Shiroko and the large tank behind her. Not that he could blame her.

Liam didn't know much about Abydos, but he could guess it might be best to introduce himself. "Okusora Ayane?" Liam called out as he approached the two, "Sorry to interrupt you two, but please forgive Shiroko. I was the one to suggest we arrive at the same time, so I hope you can forgive her tardiness."

Ayane's head jolted slightly as her glasses fell somewhat, held up only by the nostrils of her nose. "Liam-sensei?!" Ayane quickly readjusted her glasses as she looked at Liam. "You're already here?! I thought you would show up next week, if at all!"

"Your letter said you needed help. There was no time to waste. Though I am equally surprised, Shiroko here didn't know."

Ayane shifted away, likely embarrassed about something. "I did want to tell everyone else why I planned for a meeting this morning. Not that I am disappointed in you showing up so quickly, it's just-"

"It caught you by surprise," Liam held up a hand as he guessed what she was about to say. "You asked for help, though, so you get my best. If I didn't do that, I am at fault." Liam looked up at the school building as he tried to see if there were any signs of the other students of Abydos. "I may be so bold as to suggest this, but would you mind if my assistant and I joined you in that meeting? I know of the other students in passing, but I would prefer if we met face to face."

Ayane smiled slightly and gave a nod. "Oh, of course, the Foreclosure taskforce force would…" she stopped as she seemed to process Liam's words entirely. "Wait, what do you mean by assistant?"

In his peripheral vision, Liam saw Wakamo exit the tank as if on cue. She didn't say anything as she stared at Shiroko, who stared back, confused more than anything.

Liam's attention remained focused on Ayane, who, to her credit, hadn't run off or screamed, but that meant little, as she seemed shocked as she looked at Wakamo. "I-is that the Fox of Calamity?"

That was a problem Liam expected to happen. "Yes, that is indeed Wakamo. I know this will be hard to believe, but she's been relatively passive and helpful the past few days. In fact, if it wasn't for her, I doubt I would have been able to read the letter you sent to me, considering my less-than-stellar circumstances."

Even if Liam were to describe Ayane's face as perplexed, he doubted that would adequately describe the expression on her face. Her view shifted to Wakamo and then back to him in a consistent pattern as if she was expecting his words to be nothing more than a punchline that hadn't come yet. When It was apparent to her Liam was not joking, she laughed awkwardly, "I s-see, that's…"

"I am sorry for this shocker, but I promise she will not be an issue. I can assure you she's only here to help."

Ayane still seemed somewhat tense even after his words, but after a few more glances, she focused on Liam again and gave a strained smile. "I-if you say so. Maybe it would be best for her to wait here while we see the others?"

Liam shook his head. "The other students will learn about her sooner or later, and if it is later, that will lead to more drama. She already had a store clerk scream at seeing her simply enter a store. If I can't allow her an opportunity to try and correct what was broken before, how will it ever be fixed."

Ayane glanced down and sighed. Her features softened a bit as she looked back at Wakamo. "Sorry for what I said," she said slowly, "I should have been a little nicer."

Wakamo shook her head but seemed at a loss for words. "It's… alright, and what darling said is true. I would never do anything to disappoint him."

The two Abydos students in the courtyard looked at Liam in confusion. Shiroko seemed the first to do something besides show confusion. "Darling?" She asked subtly.

"I don't know why she is calling me that…" Liam mumbled as he tilted his hat over his eyes as he refocused himself. With a breath, Liam lifted his hat and looked back at Ayane. "Regardless, I'm sure you'd rather be out of the sun as well. If you would be so kind as to lead the way, Ayane, I would appreciate it."

His words seemed to knock Ayane out of her daze as she looked at Liam with purpose again. "Oh right, if you would follow me, Liam-sensei…"

Ayane began to walk toward the entrance to the school building, and Shiroko followed. Liam followed suit as he motioned for Wakamo to follow. When Liam reached the entrance to the building, he tapped his boots on the concrete to knock off any sand he might have picked up, then pushed open the door. To his slight surprise, he saw Shiroko and Ayane take off their shoes at the entrance and put them in the lockers set up. "Sorry to ask," Liam interjected as he watched the two put on slippers, "but why did you two take off your shoes?"

The two Abydos students looked at Liam as if he had just asked something ridiculous. Ayane chuckled nervously as she scratched her head. "I mean, it's just unclean to walk around in shoes from outside, and surely you would have done so before, right?"

"Considering I am the living definition of an alien from another world, no. Maybe they did this in the Combine, but you'd never find me willingly entering Kuritan space." Being a mercenary to the Dracs was an excellent way to be beheaded. "I'm sorry to say I don't own any of the shoes you're wearing."

"Oh, that's okay," Ayane stated as she approached a nearby rack. As Liam looked at it, he noticed that there appeared to be a large variety of shoes of various sizes. "We still have a lot of spares saved, just in case. I am sure we have ones of your size here."

That was convenient. Still, Liam felt weird about taking off his combat boots. He had only ever taken them off before to clean himself or sleep, and the mere thought of just taking them off to enter a school building, of all places, was bizarre to him. Regardless, this building wasn't his own; it was Abydos', and if Liam knew one thing for sure, whoever's territory he was on, it was their rules you should follow. "I would appreciate that." Liam relented as he began to take off his boots. Ayane set a pair of slippers that seemed his size near him, and he set his shoes aside for the moment and put them on.

With the slippers on his feet, Liam followed Ayane and Shiroko deeper into the school proper. Their walk was relatively silent as none made a sound save for the steps they took over the building's floors. Well, enough for Liam. He was not the greatest at small talk, regardless. It also gave him time to examine the interior proper. He noticed equipment like airconditioners working but with clear signs of regular hand-done repairs. He was even sure that he saw a door or two that had also been repaired recently. Some doors they walked by were wide open, each empty save for random pieces of school equipment and metal littered in the rooms that clearly hadn't been used for years if he had to guess. The fact that some of the piles also had signs that someone was scavenging and removing bits from them did little to make him feel better.

He tried to recall the view records that the GSC had on Abydos; save for the standard documentation of students leaving the school and the natural disaster, nothing was reported by the GSC. Did they have to sell bits and pieces of the items on the property just to get by, or perhaps the land itself? He did not see a form for disaster funding requests on record either. Were those never made or deleted? None of this made much sense to his mercenary mind, and that didn't end with some level of corruption.

"We're here!" Ayane said as she approached a closed door, the silhouettes of three others visible behind the door. Based on the two he had already met, Liam knew who they had to be.

Ayane pushed open the door to a room with a whiteboard filled with Japanese writing and a wooden table with five fold-up chairs set up around it. The three remaining students of Abydos, Izayoi Nonomi, Kuromi Serika, and Takanashi Hoshino, were sitting at the table, with the latter appearing asleep. Though Liam still saw her halo above her head, it was either she only wanted to appear to be sleeping, she was still trying to go to sleep, or what Yuuka told him off-hand was false information. He didn't think Yuuka would be that incorrect about something like that, so that was the least likely of the options to him.

"Ah, Ayane, how did Shiroko steal…" The blonde one Liam knew as Nonomi stopped as she looked at him. Nonomi laughed as she focused her vision on Liam. "An adult, Shiroko kidnapped someone!"

"What?" the black-haired cat girl exclaimed as she also looked at Liam. "Wait, why is there an adult here!? Aren't we in enough trouble as is without kidnapping someone!?"

The one known as Hoshino yawned as she shifted slightly in her sleep. "My, you all are so lively today. An ojisan like myself needs sleep, you know." Hoshino's eyes were still closed, and her head was still on the desk.

Liam didn't know why she used that term to describe herself, considering he was sure Sumire taught him that it was meant to mean Grandfather or Uncle. Mentally translating that term into English with what she said made zero sense to him, considering she was still younger than him, and Wojtek still called him a kid. Liam hoped that old veteran was alright, wherever he was now. Maybe he finally went back to Oriente, a crippled old MechWarrior would never be hired for much of anything, so retirement would be the best fate for him now, even though he was an effective coms officer after the ejection incident.

Liam shook his head and refocused himself. "Relax, I can assure you Shiroko didn't steal my tank or kidnap me. I asked her to ride with me to Abydos after all."

His words seemed to wake up Hoshino as she lazily opened her eyes. It did not take much for Liam to understand what she was doing. She was reading him as much as he was her. She hid it well; Wojtek would have been proud of her, but she still had minor giveaways and didn't seem optimistic about seeing him here. "An adult, huh? What are you doing all the way here in Abydos?"

"Wait…" Serika injected as she looked at him more. "Aren't you the pervert who ran around Kivotos?"

Liam really wasn't going to live that down, was he? "I've said this before, but I will do so again. That was only due to a string of unfortunate circumstances and luck. Can we please not dwell more?"

Ayane sighed as well and shook her head. "I can agree to that. I apologise for that reminder, Liam-sensei, especially since you went out of your way to get here quickly."

Nonomi tilted her head as she looked at Ayane. "Wait, do you know why he is here, Ayane?"

Ayane opened her mouth to speak, but Liam held up two fingers. Liam opened his vest and pulled out the letter he showed Shiroko earlier that day. "I apologise for interrupting Ayane, but I figured it would be faster to show you all this letter she sent me."

The three Abydos students seemed confused as Liam set the letter on the table. As a group, they watched as Hoshino lazily lifted up the letter, and then they all silently read its contents. Serika seemed the most shocked as she looked back at Ayane. "You wrote this? When did you do this?"

"In the library, I thought you said you were also there this weekend, Serika."

The girl with black cat ears blinked as she looked away, embarrassed about something. "Well, you see…"

"As much as I would also like to know that, I got other pressing questions," Liam interjected as he frowned. "I believed that you all were being besieged, but from what I have seen beyond your district being rather desolate, I fail to see any signs of a besiegement camp by anyone or conflict. Was I mistaken?"

Hoshino yawns as she waves her hand. "Oh, those people always find a way to interrupt a good nap."

Ayane sighs as she looks up at Liam. "I don't know what you were expecting, Liam-sensei, but I can assure you that what I said was true. The Kata-Kata Helmet Gang have been harassing our school for quite a while. We always have been able to push them back before, but each day we have less and less to push them back with…"

"Thus putting you through a battle of attrition to drain your resources." Liam finished off by musing about that. Considering how durable he has seen the so-called students in Kivotos, it made sense that the best way to win strategically was a war of attrition, with ammo being the deciding factor. It was a Steiner way to conduct battle, but it was effective if simple, even if their social generals were not always up to par. "Then, if I may guess, they are bound to return sometime soon, expecting you to be weaker than the last time and hopefully push you from this position."

The four of the Abydos students blinked at him while Hoshino seemed unfazed. Nonomi, though, appeared to be the first to break the silence. "Now that you mention it, it has been a while since they last attacked the building."

"Then it is only fair to guess they are already coming here for a strike." Liam walked over to the room's window and pushed open the curtains, exposing the courtyard below. "I suggest we prepare a welcoming party for them then."

"Oh," Hoshino murmured as she picked her head up, "and what do you suggest then?"

Liam grasped his hands behind his back as he turned back towards them. "Well, that depends on what you know about how they usually approach, but I can assure you when they see you again, they will be shocked at what they see." Shell-shocked if Liam had any say in it.

Liam sat again in his tank in an abandoned driveway of one of the houses in Abydos. With effort from him and Wakamo, he was able to disguise the tank as a nonfunctional hunk of rust that had been left over. None of the students he had met so far seemed adept at more extensive tactical thinking, and he was hinging on the bet that this gang would pay no mind to what appeared to be a useless hunk of junk. Liam turned on his radio. "Crimson two, are you in position yet?"

Liam waited for Wakamo's reply. As he looked at the window, he told her to enter earlier, his coms received her reply. "I am, though why did you insist on these callsigns, as you call them?"

"Call it extra security if they intercept these communications that they don't know who is who." Liam quickly responded to Wakamo. "Just watch for their approach and act on my signal."

Liam switched the channel on his communicator to the Abydos students. "Azure, this is Crimson. Is the trailer hidden yet?"

There was some noise on the communicator, as there seemed to be shuffling going on. "Ah, Liam-sensei, yes?" Nonomi spoke up on the other side. "It is, but are you sure you want us to go about our day here as usual until they show up? We can do much more to help you know."

"Perhaps so, but I don't want to risk letting them know they're walking into a trap Azure Three." Liam held back the urge to remind them about callsigns while speaking that way. "Though I assume you all found your ammunition on it with ease?"

Nonomi awkwardly laughed. "It took some time. It seemed most of it was for me, though…"

"Correct, when the shooting starts, feel free to use as much as you want. I studied which weapons you all use, and yours is best at suppression."

"Not sure what you mean by suppression, but I will do my best!" Nonomi stated with a cheery tone of voice.

Liam's eye twitched at the lack of understanding, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He switched the channel to the third person of the group on coms, the one who wrote to him in the first place. "Crimson to Skyeye, is your drone up in the air?"

Ayane sighed on the coms. "I don't know why you picked that name for me…"

"Your drone is in the sky giving me eyes, thus Skyeye." Liam briefly explained as he pulled out his noteputer. "I hope that you were able to get this application to work correctly. If not, I'll be blind here."

"One moment," Ayane said as she seemed to do something on her end, "try now; it's up and broadcasting on my end."

Liam hummed as he opened the application. He smiled when he saw the drone's feed displayed on his noteputer. "Same for me, many thanks to you."

"Glad I could assist you. Was there anything else you needed?"

Liam shook his head even though Ayane couldn't see him. "I am solid here. We'll talk more later. Stay safe on your end."

Liam turned off his communicator as he focused more on the screen. If he was going to make Wakamo watch, it would only be fair if he did. He couldn't control the drone himself, but the extra vision was welcome in this situation. The drone stopped moving as it saw motion a few minutes away from his position. The drone zoomed in on them as he saw a bunch of students with white halos and bike helmets. Perhaps he was too used to the more unique halos of those he had talked to, but it would seem, based on the Valkyrie students and the thugs from the first day, that more unique halos were special.

The group of students mostly wore black and yellow. In the centre of them was someone wearing red and a different style of helmet. Perhaps a lieutenant of sorts for them? He doubted that he could capture and interrogate her. He got lucky with Wakamo and couldn't count on getting that lucky twice. Yet he still knew that simply repelling and defeating them was a waste in the long run. He needed long-term results, and doing what the Abydos students did before would not get him anywhere.

'If I may, Liam-sensei, I might be able to help with that.'

Arona could help. He was intrigued by the prospect.

'You know how I got you that info on Abydos, right? If you can get me near one of their phones, I can install a program to do something similar.'

Liam smirked. If Arona was right, he needed to get near the lieutenant. He could let Arona do her little plan and then be able to hear from Arona if there is anything important.

Liam turned on all the channels. "Everyone, change of plans," Liam stated quickly. "People are going by, a bunch of students with helmets."

"The Kata-Kata gang…" Ayane stated over the radio. "I see them on my end, too, Sensei, but why do you want to change plans?"

"It isn't much, but I want to do something more than simply disperse them and push them out." Liam stared at his screen, watching the one in red closely. "The red helmet is a leader of sorts, correct?"

"I think so…" Nonomi stated as she hummed.

That would have to be assurance enough. "Then I know what needs to be done. Crimson two, I want you to focus fire on their leader, take her down, and ensure she doesn't escape until I am through with what I need to do. Azure has the same plan but focuses on ensuring the others can't extract their leader while I work."

"Wait, but darling, what are you doing?" Wakamo's voice is concerned, and Liam can only guess her expression.

"I need access to her phone. Something has to be on it."

"That's a weird request Liam-sensei…" Ayane awkwardly laughs over the coms, "Can you explain why, though, they're just normal gang members…"

Liam cursed himself. He spent more time planning how to repel an attack than explaining what he was doing here in the long term. He planned on explaining things in more detail later, but now he has gotten into this mess. "Trust me, they're too close to be explaining right now, but I will do so afterwards. If you want the short explanation, this situation seems fishy to me."

There was a silence over the comms as Liam felt a rock in his stomach.

"Okay, Liam-sensei." Ayane stated reassuringly, "If that's what you want to do, I will trust you."

Liam let out a sigh of relief. "You have my thanks. I will trust you all to keep me safe once I run out.

"Oh, don't worry," Nonomi cheerfully stated, "we can definitely do that."

Liam smiled as he turned off his comms with the Abydos students. He kept his radio on with Wakamo. She needed to know when to strike. Liam watched at the end of his seat as the group of 'gangsters', as they were called, crossed by where his tank was hidden. He was glad they seemed so engrossed in talking with each other that they did not notice him hiding right next to them. Liam still did not dare to breathe too loudly. He needed them to get into the kill zone he had set up.

The helmeted thugs stopped right where he needed them to be.

They didn't even seem to be taking combat positions.

Those at the front of the group took aim at the Abydos school building.

It was now or never.

"Crimson two, engage, show no mercy."

Thus, all hell broke loose. In an instant, He knew Wakamo used the rifle he gave her and fired off the grenade launcher attached to it. Five explosions ripped into the group as the Abydos students sprang out. Most of the raiders ducked for cover from the hail of fire unleashed without warning. Liam squinted at his screen at the smoke from the hail of lead and explosions. He needed to see where their leader was in that chaos. If she wasn't caught by the initial hellfire, she had to have hidden behind one of the walls of the nearby buildings. "Where are you hiding…" Liam trailed off as he scanned the screen as fast as he could.

A hint of red was in the middle of the street.

He was glad the leader was not near anyone but cursed that she had to be so out in the exposed open. "All units, I see their leader. She is out in the middle of the street. On my signal, hold your fire for a bit as I move to their leader. Once I get there, resume fire and keep the others pinned down or neutralise them if possible."

"But Liam-sensei, that's dangerous!" Ayane screamed on her end, seemingly shocked that he would even suggest the idea.

"I've been through worse, and this is something I have to do. I got no other options that get similar results."

"But Darling…" Wakamo seemed to sniffle, worried if he had to guess or she was upset.

"Wakamo, You have the best vantage point of us all. If anyone takes aim at me, don't hesitate. You got this."

"Yes," Wakamo said as she still sniffled slightly, "I won't let them even lay a finger on you."

Her sniffles turned to giggles. Liam really did get a crazy one to help him.

Liam grabbed his sidearm and laid down his noteputer. He kept the Shittim Chest on him as he would need that for whatever Arona had planned. Once Liam climbed up and opened the hatch of the tank's turret, he saw one of the black helmet attackers panic as she seemed upset over something. Liam couldn't hear her over the gunfire, but judging by the fact that she was holding her helmet and the visor was shattered, she was going through some sort of shell shock. In fact, she did not even notice him peeking out of the turret.

Liam was not gonna allow her the chance to respond.

With no hesitation, he aimed his pistol at the panicked attacker. He knew by now he only, at best, knocked the student out, but that was good enough for him. It made things cleaner and weighed less on him. Perhaps that is why these students were more casual about firing their firearms at one another? Liam thought he read about the history of the Ares Conventions as a possibility for the future, that it would make war more acceptable to humans, but he wasn't sure.

Liam climbed down from the disguised tank and leaned against the wall the knocked-out student had used for cover. He could see their leader from here and knew he could get there in a sprint.

Liam took a deep breath as he turned on his comms once more. "All units hold fire! I am rushing now!"

The Abydos students stopped firing as Liam wasted no time and ran at full sprint. He was surprised that no one even tried to fire a shot in his rush. Perhaps the attackers were shell-shocked or just astonished at what was happening. He dived right next to the leader as he could hear her groans, though her rather plain halo was flickering from what he could see.

Liam needed the others to know. "All units, I am there, resume suppression!"

The Abydos students and Wakamo resumed fire, focusing on the areas near the walls as he got to work. He pulled out the Shittim Chest and started to pat down the leader, looking for her cell phone. After a few seconds, he found the device and held it beside Arona. He hoped that it would be good enough for her.

'It is, Liam-sensei, but I can't protect you as I am doing it…'

An acceptable risk. Liam knew how to stay safe under fire, so all he needed to do was not die, as Arona did her best to finish.

He saw Arona frown at him and sigh before she started. He could not read the Kanji but could see a progress bar on the leader's phone as he knew Arona was forcing a download of something. He was surprised he didn't need a wire to connect the devices. Still, the more Liam saw of Kivotos, the more he was sure their technology diverged from the path humanity went as they took to the stars. A curious development made him shutter and think about what could happen if a Mech could be shut off remotely in combat. What a horrible fate for a MechWarrior to risk.

The progress bar went up quickly, from ten to twenty. It reached forty, fifty. Arona did fast work.

He saw the leader's halo turn solidly on as she stirred awake and looked at him, holding her phone. The helmet obscured her face, but her head shot backwards was all he needed to know that she was shocked. "What the!" She screamed as her fist balled into a fist. Liam did not have time to react more than to move with the punch to try and reduce the damage. "Creep! Stay away from my phone!"

Liam coughed as he tasted his own blood. Liam grabbed his jaw in pain. He no longer held her phone as he fell backwards from her strike. The phone was no doubt in her possession once more. She yelped as someone jumped right on top of her and began to assault her. Liam blinked as he saw Wakamo mercilessly hammer the red-helmeted leader, even breaking the glass on her helmet as she cried for mercy. Still, he didn't want to move after that hit. "Aramris' tits…" He cursed as he tried to recompose himself.

Wakamo stopped hitting the leader and jumped to Liam's side instead. "Darling, are you okay?" she shifted from blood rage to dotting way too quickly in his book.

He could only watch as the leader, whose eyes were now exposed, seemed utterly terrified. "T-the Fox of Calamity!?" She stumbled back up and began to run away. "Everyone, run!" she yelled as she hightailed it out. Some of the other helmet gang members dragged away those not up yet as the hail of fire stopped, and their planned assault turned into a route. The Abydos students stopped their attack and began running to his location. He could only hope Arona got done what she needed to.

'I did, I even got rid of the notification. Though sensei, you're hurt…'

Then the pain would be worth it as he could have Arona read the messages she acquired to them later. Still, an ice pack would not hurt. Liam got up as he stumbled over to the Abydos students. It was time for a more detailed meeting.

AN: Howdy Yinz, welcome back. I thank you all you are sticking around even if I don't post that often, I appreciate it. Helped make me want to try and keep updating despite things on my end getting worse. Nearly lost a family heirloom I keep on my at all times after I posted the last chapter but that is not the worst thing to happen to me. That would be learning my dog has Lymphoma. I got him as a puppy after my mother and childhood dog died and learning that was not the best news I could have received. Sorry you are not hear to hear about my personal life, but I needed to get that off as an apology for the delay this time. He is on steroids right now to treat it, but if I go many months without giving an update, I might be in grieving due to him being put down so I wanted to give a heads up in case that happens. I hope you all are doing better than me, until next time.