Aldnoah Zero Knights of Earth
Chapter 10
The Truth
A/N: I have a couple of things to go over before we begin so first I would like give a bit of a shoutout to Kimek for helping me come up with a certain machine that will be featured in this chapter.
We also have a much deeper dive into Aldnoah as well those that may have created it, some of you may like it some of you may hate it, but I hope that everyone will think that's better than what we got in canon.
A forewarning there is a scene with disturbing content, it'll be marked so if you're at all squeamish you can skip it.
-UFE Death, Captain's Office-
It had been only a few minutes since Inaho and the others had returned from the battlefield but Inaho along with his team had already been dragged in front of Captain Magbaredge and Colonel Braddock. Considering that Asseylum was in the room along with her maid it was clear that the captain and the colonel already suspected that at least Inaho knew of Asseylum's survival given how he had continued to interact with her.
The instant that Marcus saw the princess his hand almost instinctively went to his sidearm but he managed to restrain himself for the time being. He also managed to keep himself completely silent and resisted the urge to scoff repeatedly as the little brat continued to recall how it had been the Martian Knights who had orchestrated her assassination attempt. While such a thing was hardly surprising, the average Versian would probably sell their own parents out for their own personal gain. Then again it was just as likely she was bullshitting them.
She went into detail on how she and her maid had disguised themselves as refugees and how Inaho had helped them. Once again Marcus felt his anger flare towards the spoiled brat increase exponentially. He started to wonder just how long that bitch had been using the kid, worming her way into his head and taking advantage of him. It wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to act like a friend or even something more in order take advantage of Inaho.
Marcus knew that he couldn't exactly confront the little bitch here, he'd have to wait for a more opportune time but he'd make damn sure that she understood the consequences of manipulating the kid in such a fucked up manner.
As she continued her little story Marcus wondered just how in the hell anyone was expected to believe her. The brat just conveniently got sick and somehow managed to avoid getting caught up in the assassination. Sorry but Marcus didn't buy a fucking word of it. She was up to something and he was going to ensure that she wouldn't become a threat to anyone especially not Inaho.
Mizusaki then made the argument that if they could broadcast the Princess' survival it might cause at least some the Orbital Knights to stop fighting. While that did seem to be the most obvious solution there were still some very serious problems, problems that Captain Magbaredge immediately pointed out. The biggest was the fact that almost all of the regular satellites and telecommunications lines underwater were destroyed. The only ones that were left were a number of military outposts and satellites hidden in or on asteroids in the debris field and they didn't have access to any of those.
Not to mention that their long range transmissions were useless thanks to that jamming signal that was being put out by one of the Landing Castles, possibly one that was currently in orbit.
Colonel Braddock then decided to inject his own two cents "Besides there's no guarantee that we'd get our message out to the proper agencies. It would only paint an enormous target on our backs."
It was then that the colonel said something that Marcus didn't expect "Our plan was to make our way to the UFE headquarters so for the time being you can consider yourself our guest and under our protection."
When that was spoken Marcus appeared to be both shocked and appalled by the decision. They actually believed a word out of this bitch's mouth. She was playing them and they were falling for it hook, line and fucking sinker. He looked like he was about to voice his own objection to that order when Captain Magbaredge turned her attention to Inaho and Rayet a stern expression on her face.
"Now then Lieutenant Kaizuka, and you…" she trailed off not having heard the girl mention her name before. She shrugged before she introduced herself "Rayet Areash."
"Thank you. Now, you and Lieutenant Kaizuka seemingly neglected to inform the rest of us about this-" Inaho rather unwisely at that point decided to interrupt the captain causing his sister and Marcus to face palm almost in unison. "I didn't neglect to inform you I deliberately hid it from you."
Inaho spoke with all the tact and subtlety of a brick being thrown at a pane of glass that was equipped with a particularly loud alarm system. Almost immediately Magbaredge narrowed her eyes at the boy and looked as though she was about to tear into him for such flagrant disobedience to military protocol when the Versian Princess came to his defense, "Look it was my decision, we were concerned about there being possible assassins on the ship and-"
It was at that point that Braddock decided to interject "Your highness I can understand your concerns but the fact of the matter is that First Lieutenant Kaizuka is not your subject and therefore under no obligation whatsoever to follow whatever decision you make. Under normal circumstances I would have you put in the brig for that regardless of your social status for interfering with a military operation."
Braddock let the threat hang for a moment and while the Princess' maid was utterly outraged and looked like she was about to tell him where he could take his threats. Fortunately Asseylum placed a restraining hand on her shoulder and Eddelrittuo kept her mouth shut but continued to glare daggers at the colonel allowing him to continue.
"However I recognize that the situation was highly unusual, so I will be lenient, this time. You may stay as a guest aboard the ship and have the same access that the civilians do but I'm warning you right now, break any of the rules that the civilians have to follow and there will be consequences. Am I clear?"
Asseylum curtsied politely and said "Very clear, thank you for your hospitality."
After they were dismissed Rayet brushed past her and muttered something that made the Versian Princess' eyes widen "All Martians are the enemy."
0000000000000000
The instant that Asseylum and her entourage had left the room, Second Lieutenant Graves instantly turned to his two commanding officers with an utterly confounded expression on his face. "Sirs, request permission to speak freely?" he asked. Braddock had more than an inkling of where this was headed but gave a nod regardless.
While Graves seemed to be barely restraining his anger towards the Versians he managed to at least keep his tone relatively even "I think that this is an extremely bad decision, letting a damn Versian anywhere on this ship that isn't the brig or better yet, the airlock."
Braddock arched an eyebrow at the display "Second Lieutenant, I think you should remember that this woman is technically speaking a VIP and quite possibly one of our best chances at ending this war before it truly causes irreparable damage."
Marcus looked utterly incredulous at the words that were coming from his old friend's mouth "Sir with all due respect this is insanity! To let one of those bastards run around the ship may as well be letting a fox into the henhouse while covering the hens in barbecue sauce!" he all but exclaimed.
The second lieutenant looked as though he was about to continue on his tirade when Colonel Braddock signaled him to be silent and almost immediately Marcus seemed to calm down somewhat. When Braddock spoke it was with an ice cold tone that brokered no argument "Second Lieutenant because of the effects the last few days' events have had on everyone I'm going to pardon that outburst. Now, I suggest that if you have any objections to my current decisions you file a report on the matter when we arrive at Headquarters. You are dismissed."
Marcus wanted to start up again but he knew that it would be a terrible idea for him to even bother at this point. Besides it was obvious that the colonel wouldn't budge on the matter whatsoever. He'd have to keep an eye on the little bitch himself. Perhaps he could offer a…friendly little warning to her as well.
As Marcus left, Colonel Braddock let out a brief sigh. His old friend was always bullheaded, especially when it came to those he cared about. Still though he supposed that considering what happened to him during Heaven's Fall it was only natural.
Colonel Braddock then shook himself from that line of thinking and instead decided that he would have to pay a visit to the interrogation cells where a certain Orbital Knight was being held at. That particular prisoner could very well be a wealth of information for the future and he had every intention on utilizing it.
-UFE Death, Access Corridor 12-B-
(Warning: Disturbing Content)
For Countess Femieanne everything around her was little more than a blur. Everything in her vision was blurred and spinning. Despite this though she barely able to make out two individuals in UFE uniforms dragging her through some metal corridor. They were wearing standard UFE navy uniforms and clearly didn't care for how they were treating her. Femieanne wanted to struggle against the two but found that her body wouldn't do what she wanted it to. In fact her struggles were so weak that the guards taking her either didn't notice or didn't care and she could make out some of what they were saying.
"So where are we taking this whore?"
"To the interrogation section, for questioning."
"Why bother? We got the bitch, let's kill her now!"
"Calm down man they're giving her over to Lieutenant Wilkes."
"That psycho? Ho-leeee shit, I wouldn't wish her on my worst enemy, but I think I'll make an exception on this one."
It was then that the seemed to have noticed that she was no longer unconscious but also listening in to their little conversation. When they looked down at her, they seemed to consider her little more than a bug to be squashed, which did nothing but cause her temper to rise. If she was still in a position of power she would have had them both flogged to death for such an affront.
"Hey she's awake, think we should give her a little…anesthetic, for the pain?"
Femieanne was struck on the back of her head and then once again, everything went black for her. Though before she fell into sweet unconsciousness, she thought she heard one of them say "Nice punch," with a sadistic cackle.
She didn't know how long she had been out but when she started to come to, she could tell that she was standing up, or at least she sort of was, her hands were hoisted above her and were restrained by metal cuffs. Everything was blurry when she started to come to, however she could distinctly feel someone running something wet running along part of her face. When she realized that, her eyes snapped open completely and she found a female blonde haired UFE officer licking her cheek.
"W-what?" she managed to gasp out, causing the officer's eyes to turn to look more directly into her own and her smile reminded Femieanne of a blade. The officer stepped back and leaned forwards somewhat and Femieanne could see the nametag on her uniform "Lieutenant Wilkes, M."
This must have been the 'lieutenant' that those two guards were talking about. However Femieanne didn't have any time to say or do anything because the bladelike grin on her face widened as she said "Oh good, you're awake, I was beginning to worry that the guards had used too much force in making sure you were properly…sedated. I just thought I'd let you know that last night was simply amazing."
Femieanne's eyes widened as she quickly realized that she was completely naked and there were multiple bruises on her person. She didn't know if it was from the crash or…something else. The Orbital Knight immediately tried to put up a brave front "W-what have you done to me you worthless-"
She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence as the woman in front of her jabbed her in the gut with something metal and hard. Electricity arced across her body as she felt her entire body jerk and spasm uncontrollably. She screamed her lungs out for what felt like an eternity until it suddenly stopped. "Uh-uh-uh, you won't be making such nasty comments for a while now, because every time you do I'll be introducing you to my personal friend, Mister Taser."
Femieanne's head lolled downwards to the point where all she could see was her naked body and the metal floor and couldn't muster the strength to raise her head upwards to give a look of hatred into the eyes of her tormenter. However it didn't matter for very long as Wilkes grabbed Femieanne by her hair and forced her head up so that she would look her tormenter in the eyes again.
"Oh no, I'm afraid that you won't be falling asleep again for a while, I have a lot of fun activities for us both." She opened a small capsule filled with a strange smelling material that reeked of ammonia. It reeked so much that she found herself completely conscious.
It was then that the sound of metal grinding against metal filled her ears. From the edge of her vision Femieanne could see the door leading into the interrogation room open and a man wearing an officer's uniform walked in. When she got a good look at him, Femieanne could safely say that the man had what many would consider an expression of utter disgust and contempt the instant he laid eyes on her.
At that moment Femieanne finally managed to speak "Y-you can't do this. I-I'm a prisoner of war, I have rights, you're violating the-"
Femieanne never managed to finish her sentence as this time the newly entered officer slammed his fist into her gut, knocking the wind out of her. He moved so fast that the Orbital Knight didn't even have time to register the motion before she was gasping for air. When the man spoke his voice was filled with barely contained rage and hatred "You filthy, disgusting whore, how dare you try and use any international treaty to try and shield yourself while you and your friends were breaking every single treaty and convention regarding warfare since you started this conflict."
She was still gasping for air as he continued "Let me explain something to you, you sniveling little coward. We will be interrogating you in whatever means we deem necessary and you will be answering our every question honestly and completely. If you lie or if we think you are lying, well…I'm sure even you are smart enough to guess what will happen next. But before that, we're going to soften you up a little. Lieutenant, please, begin."
Lieutenant Wilkes blade-like smirk grew ever further as she approached the prisoner with a pair of needle nose pliers in one hand while grabbing Femieanne's left hand with her other. "Just hold still, I'm only going to give you a manicure; well at least to start out with."
The pliers went above and underneath Femieanne's finger nail and she knew then and there just what was in store for her. Wilkes pulled back on the pliers and it was then that Femieanne's screaming truly began in earnest.
(End of potentially disturbing content)
-Count Cruhteo's Landing Castle, Cruhteo's Office-
For the past several hours Cruhteo had been waiting for something, anything in regards to the search for those ships that had escaped the city. He had made a vow that the city's leadership would be captured and interrogated to gain insight into the identities of the assassins that killed her majesty. Unfortunately now it seemed as though that goal was becoming less and less possible with every passing moment.
Still though, Cruhteo wasn't about to give up the hunt, not even for an instant. If he had to chase those fools to the very edge of the known universe and then into hell itself he would do so. Unfortunately determination still didn't get him any closer to apprehending those responsible for her highness' death. Still though perhaps with a little luck this would change once the search parties he had sent out found something.
Cruhteo was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. He knew that this was probably another update on either the search or the current occupation of the city and allowed the individual on the other side to enter. Whatever Cruhteo was expecting, it certainly hadn't been what awaited his eyes.
Before Count Cruhteo was one of the technicians –Styles if Cruhteo remembered correctly– that he had ordered to work on getting information from the Nilokeras' Black Box, more specifically the encrypted comms transmissions that were going from Trillram's machine to some unknown party. The young man was clearly anxious about something and it was quite obvious that it had something to do with the Black Box.
"Technician Styles, I assume you have something important to tell me." It wasn't a question.
The technician looked as though he was trying to draw on some fount of inner strength before he could speak. When he did however there was a look that was determined yet fearful at once "Sir, before I say anything, I want your oath that you nor anyone under your command will harm me, no matter what news I bring."
Cruhteo certainly hadn't been expecting something like that and was honestly more than just a little insulted that the technician thought he would harm one of his own men for bringing ill news. However he managed to keep a reign on his temper though his eyes narrowed ominously at the insinuation "I'll pardon that insult against my honor Technician Styles for now. Nonetheless you have my oath that no harm will come to you. Now, speak; explain to me what you have found."
The technician let out a bated breath "You wouldn't believe me if I told you sir but I found this transmission while going through the Nilokeras' Black Box."
Styles brought up a small recording device and pressed the play button. Cruhteo listened to the recording of the conversation between Trillram and Slaine. He could scarcely believe what he was hearing, one of the Orbital Knights was admitting to being part of a conspiracy to murder the future Empress of Vers. The technician was right, he would never have believed it if he had heard it second hand. The shock and outrage must have been evident on his face because Styles looked even more terrified than he had been earlier.
For several seconds Cruhteo had a look of complete and utter rage on his face as he clenched his fists in anger. Then he forced himself to calm down. He had much to do. He had to contact the UFE for a ceasefire –at least among his own forces- in order to locate the princess. Cruhteo also needed to find Slaine and get him back to the Landing Castle, and when that boy arrived Cruhteo had every intention of making sure that that boy received a title of nobility for his actions. The same would be done for the technician who had gathered and presented the information in the first place. The young man was clearly scared out of his wits when he first came here, possibly believing that Cruhteo may have been part of the conspiracy and would have had him killed for discovering it.
The Count gave the lowly technician a calm and almost proud look "Thank you for bringing me this information, you may very well have helped save the Empire from a coup d'état. I will personally see to it that both you and Slaine are rewarded with titles of nobility and more."
That didn't seem to really excite Styles at all, perhaps the young man was simply just that loyal. However the look of nervousness about him didn't seem to abate, instead it only seemed to get worse "W-well sir, I can't speak for Slaine but there's only one thing I would like from you and it's not a title of nobility."
Cruhteo looked curious at that and realized that Styles was perhaps nervous about the potential of accidentally insulting his superior's generosity but Cruhteo felt no insult from his words. Instead Cruhteo decided to reassure him "Very well then, you may relax technician. You may inform me of what you would like some other time. For now, there is work to be done."
The Count gestured for the technician to follow him to the door leading to his office. From there the pair headed straight for the nearest elevator and the Count selected the bridge. The elevator continued upwards in a grim silence as Cruhteo began to think of the deeper, more horrifying meaning behind what the technician had found in that recording.
Trillram had been contacted through a ridiculously encrypted communication line, one that would take a lot of time and effort to decrypt via normal means. And even if that wasn't the case, Trillram could have been acting alone, he didn't have the cunning to pull something like this off. He was someone else's pawn, which only lead to even more troubling questions. Chief among them was who else was involved in this? And how long had they been planning something like this. Not only that but there must have been infiltrators on Earth long in advance in order to pull something like this off. Then there were the other Orbital Knights; how many of them were involved in this? One? Two? A dozen? All of them?
He had no idea who he could or couldn't trust, and until he did he would have to do something rather drastic, to say the absolute least.
When the elevator opened Cruhteo stepped out onto the bridge of the Landing Castle and marched into the con while the technician waited near the elevator. The bridge crew was more than just a little bit surprised to see their lord arrive all of the sudden. However they didn't have much time to wait before he started giving orders to everyone, only they weren't what they had been expecting "I want to open a channel to the nearest group of UFE forces, I want to initiate a ceasefire."
Everyone on the bridge was utterly shocked by the command and just gaped at their lord in shock for a brief moment before he continued on "Did I stutter?! The Princess is still alive and the true culprits behind her attempted assassination were with the Orbital Knights! I will have heads roll for this affront against the honor of the Vers Empire! Now contact the nearest UFE military group!" He ordered.
There was a brief delay before the bridge crew did exactly as they were ordered. Unfortunately just a few moments later one of the members of the bridge crew reported back to his lord "My lord we can't open a channel anywhere, we're being jammed! And sensors are down too!"
Cruhteo was shocked by this new piece of information and was about to demand to know what in the hell was going on when he heard a faint 'boom' in the noise seconds before the Landing Castle was rocked by an impact. "What was that?!" he demanded.
"We just got hit by some sort of artillery, we just sustained moderate damage to section twelve of the Landing Castle and-"
More explosions rocked the Landing Castle and the bridge shook from the bombardment "Where is this coming from?!" Cruhteo demanded. It took a few moments but eventually they got an answer, it was an artillery barrage from various positions several miles away. "It must be some new kind of artillery that the UFE are using on us."
Immediately Cruhteo barked out orders for all forces to be scrambled immediately but they were to show mercy to any surrendering UFE soldiers. They still needed to negotiate a ceasefire and perhaps showing mercy to defeated foes would at the very least help attain that. With that having been said, Cruhteo then started to make his way to the elevator "Inform the hanger crews to ready my Tharsis, I will take to the field myself!"
The Count of the Orbital Knights marched into the elevator and was somewhat surprised to see that Technician Styles was still in the elevator looking more than just a little bit anxious by what was going on around him. The surprise must have been evident on his face because Styles immediately gave what was quite possibly the most professional salute of his entire military career "My Lord I was merely waiting for more orders and I stayed in the elevator because I didn't want to get in your way."
The young man seemed just as nervous as he was earlier and Cruhteo began to wonder to himself if the fellow was simply anxious all the time.
Still though Cruhteo kept a relatively calm expression on his face and said "Very well, I am headed to the hanger, you will assist the crew during the battle as best you can."
"Yes my lord!" Styles declared.
The elevator continued downwards for several minutes, even as more explosions rocked the Landing Castle but Cruhteo didn't seem to flinch in the slightest every time the Landing Castle shook. In fact if it was even possible at this point, Cruhteo looked even more intense than he usually did.
Eventually one of the impacts that shook the landing castle felt disturbingly close to the elevator. Then there was another one, and this time the elevator stopped completely. Cruhteo looked utterly furious at the mechanical failure and immediately pushed down the "talk" button on the elevator's intercom. "What is going on up there? Restore power to the elevator at once!" He ordered.
There was no response and it seemed as though the power had been cut from the elevator completely.
What many people failed to realize about Aldnoah was that while it did provide a limitless source of energy, it still needed to be connected to the devices it powered in order for them to function properly. If the cables that crisscrossed the entire Landing Castle were severed or destroyed then the devices they were connected to would no longer function. This was the case with the elevator as another impact, -this impact felt slightly different than the others- severed the power cables connecting the elevator with the power source, turning it off entirely.
The lights in the elevator went out and the transport started to descend faster and faster before it finally came to a screeching stop, causing both men to lose their balance and almost fall to the floor. The pair managed to regain their balance at least partially and almost immediately Cruhteo snarled and made his way to the elevator door. There was an emergency box mounted on the wall near the door. It contained several items that could be used during an emergency, but the one that Cruhteo grabbed was the most obvious, a crowbar.
Immediately Styles stepped out of the Count's way as he pushed the business end of the device in-between the gap between the elevator's inner doors and began to pry it open. The lord struggled with the metal device for a moment and found that little progress was being made. Immediately Styles came to his lord's assistance and helped pull back on the crowbar.
After a few moments of exertion the pair managed to force open the door. It wasn't perfect by any meaning of the word but it did allow them to get a better view on what was going on outside. What they saw shocked the both of them.
Just a few meters outside of the elevator the rest of the deck that they had become stuck at was gone, completely and utterly gone. It was as though a good chunk of it had just been, for lack of better word 'erased' from existence like the Nilokeras had smashed its way through the Landing Castle with its dimensional barrier activated. In fact so much of it was gone that one could easily see outside the Landing Castle itself and the city beyond. Both Cruhteo and Styles felt the cold wind blasting in their faces.
They didn't have time to appreciate the view however as a black armored Martian Kataphrakt flew upwards and began hovering upwards menacingly. Styles had no idea what the machine was nor did he have any idea who it belonged to outside of the fact that it clearly wasn't made by the UFE.
"The Dioscuria…" Cruhteo muttered, completely and utterly bewildered at what he was seeing right in front of him. For several moments he wondered whether or not he was hallucinating or if the Count Saazbaum had come to their aid.
Any chance of either was swiftly dashed as the energy blades in both arms of the Dioscuria activated and the machine charged straight at the Landing Castle. The impact from the Dioscuria's assault caused the elevator to start falling once again and once it impacted everything went black for Cruhteo and Styles.
-UFE Death, Mess Hall-
The Mess hall of the UFE death was almost exactly the same as the Wadatsumi's in both design and layout, only this one seemed to be more capable of providing at least somewhat better food to those on board. The tables were full of off-duty sailors and soldiers and hungry refugees. At one of the tables sat Inaho Kaizuka and his friends, all of whom were already chowing down on the food they had received from the kitchens.
Among Inaho's friends were Nina, Inko, Calm and Rayet, the latter of which seemed very tense and even quieter than she usually was. Nina was in the middle of rambling on to everyone about the uniforms that they had been issued and how they weren't nearly as…cute as her school uniform had been. The conversation about the uniforms that the teenagers had been assigned had continued for a time until an unexpected visitor came up to them with a tray of food in her hands "Excuse me. Are any of these seats taken?" asked Asseylum, she was wearing a standard issue naval uniform. Next to her was her ever faithful maid Eddelrittuo who had her own tray, though she still had her own maid outfit.
Inaho's friends were all surprised by the fact that the formerly hidden member of Versian Royalty was asking for a seat at the table.
Of the group Inko was the first to speak "Uh, no go right ahead." She stated gesturing to a spot that was right across from Inaho and Calm. While Inko, and Nina wore expressions of surprise, Inaho was as blank faced as normal while Rayet seemed to be forcing herself to look similar. Calm meanwhile had an expression that was very much unlike his namesake.
"I think that I need to get ready for my shift in the hanger. I'll see you guys later" he stated. Inaho looked over at his friend and blinked "But your shift doesn't start for another hour and a half," he stated bluntly.
Calm just responded "Still have to get ready, besides suddenly I'm not feeling all that hungry." With that having been said, Calm picked up his tray and took it over to the return bin before heading out of the Mess Hall.
Asseylum's face took on a confused and mildly hurt expression "Did-did I do something wrong?" she asked. Inaho's friends looked at one another for a few moments before Inko rubbed the back of her head for a moment before letting out a bated breath. "Calm is…upset for lack of better words at the Versians because the first Orbital Knight we had to deal with killed a very good friend of ours and he…took it hard."
Asseylum's eyes widened and looked like she wanted to say something, anything "I-I am so sor-".
However before she could finish her sentence Inaho just stated in his standard blunt fashion "Did you kill him?" he asked. Asseylum blinked, caught off-guard "N-no."
"Then it's not your fault, you didn't pilot the machine that killed Okisuke. You have nothing to apologize for."
Rayet was still completely silent with an unreadable expression on her face. She also seemed to be gripping her eating utensils much tighter than previously as her knuckles had already turned completely white.
Nina, having noticed the somberness that had overtaken everyone decided to try and change the topic of discussion to something at least a bit less, depressing "So uh, your Highness, what happened to that dress you were wearing earlier?" She asked her eyes having begun to sparkle at the memory "It was amazing!"
Asseylum simply stated that she had changed clothing as she had been wearing her more formal attire for days now and desired something new. "Of course all they had was something that wasn't worthy of Versian Royalty," Eddelrittuo stated in frustration.
The Versian Princess barely managed to resist the urge to sigh when she gave a response to her faithful attendant "It wasn't like they were expecting to host someone from Vers, let alone a member of the Imperial Family."
The short maid still shook her head "Even so, there must have been something more befitting her status somewhere on the ship or on the base we just left."
This time Asseylum actually did give into the urge to sigh at the maid's comments. "Eddelrittuo, please…stop," she said almost exasperated. The royal maid looked as though she wanted to argue but a firm look from the princess silenced any would-be complaints on the matter.
Deciding to change the direction the conversation had been heading Asseylum addressed Inaho directly and oddly enough she seemed somewhat nervous doing so "So, um…Inaho do you think it would be possible for you to show me around a bit?" she asked.
Inaho shrugged "Okay, Seylum," seeing no problem with the request, despite not having as much knowledge as others might of the ship. Though in truth, he did like spending time with her. It was surprisingly nice meeting someone who didn't think he was weird because of his…unique personality.
Inaho was by no means stupid, he knew that his social skills were nowhere near the level of most people his age and that most tried to stay away from him for it; while his friends either ignored it or were simply so used to it that it didn't bother them all that much. This was probably the first time he had ever met someone aside from his sister who simply didn't care. It honestly made him more than a little happy.
The Princess meanwhile seemed to look relieved at the answer while the maid seemed all but aghast at his lack of decorum when addressing her liege. "Y-y-you dare address her imperial highness with such familiarity?!" she all but shrieked at Inaho who simply had the same near-blank expression on his face.
Again Asseylum simply waved off her maid's words "It's fine, I actually like it." The maid looked utterly nonplussed at her mistress' words. In fact she still looked dead-set against Inaho referring to her in such a manner.
Inko meanwhile was looking at Inaho with a look so bland one may have wondered whether or not the two were related before sighing and turning her head back to the princess "Inaho likes giving some people nicknames, and considering how his sister calls him Nao; Calm and I think that it's probably genetic."
Asseylum found herself silently wondering whether or not that was a good thing but hoped that it was. Inko then turned back to her friend with a deadpan expression "At least your nickname isn't as bad as the one he gave me…"
Inaho didn't even look in her direction and instead simply stated "I still don't understand what you thought was wrong with it."
Inko's face became utterly incredulous "You called me Inky!" she declared in exasperation.
Asseylum felt that there was some kind of bizarre story with that one but didn't dig any deeper. Instead she turned to look at Nina and asked her "Does he have a nickname for you too then?" Nina finished taking a bite out of her meal and said "Pigtails. Though he doesn't call me that all that much for some reason."
Well, that was actually milder than what it could have been.
"I was hoping it would be fashionista…" Nina muttered quietly though everyone could hear it. While the conversation was still ongoing, Rayet had quietly picked up her tray and left the group, something that did not go completely unnoticed by certain members of the group.
-UFE Death, Interrogation Room 101-
Breaking the Orbital Knight that had been brought in was even easier than Colonel Braddock had ever thought possible. Most of the people that he had brought in for a little 'chat' with Wilkes were hardened terrorists and rebels but they managed to stay in one piece for at least a little longer than what they had just dealt with. In fact it had only been a few short hours since the prisoner was brought in.
It made the colonel wonder; did the Orbital Knights even bother training their number in how to resist interrogation techniques? Or were they so sure of their own superiority that they thought such a thing impossible due to how 'inferior' their enemies were that they didn't even bother considering it? Braddock supposed it was just another difference between them, as every officer, especially those in high-ranking positions was trained to resist interrogation and torture.
It seemed as though in spite of their ability to dish out pain and misery the Versians were clearly unable to take it, at least those in the upper echelons of society. It was quite the irony in many ways especially that once again their boasts about their innate superiority have rung hollow. Femieanne was only able to stay upright due to the shackles she was in, and was barely conscious after what she had just been put through. In fact she would have fallen unconscious several times over during the interrogation but smelling salts and other stimulants prevented such a thing. Of course given what Wilkes and her cohorts had done to her it would be hard for anyone
Each of her fingers no longer had their nails and were permanently forced into unnatural directions; her head had been shaved bald; from head to toe she was covered in deep cuts and dark and was soaking wet from ice-cold water from multiple 'showers' as Wilkes called it.
The colonel had left early in the interrogation as he had other duties to attend to but returned after Wilkes had gotten everything that could be gleaned from her. When Femieanne looked up at the colonel and Braddock noted almost immediately how much the prisoner's demeanor had changed over the course of just a few hours. Where before she was wild and defiant, now she was little more than a broken hollowed out shell of a woman. It was utterly pathetic in his eyes.
Still though from what Wilkes had told him there was next to nothing else that they could glean from this prisoner outside of how what they truly needed would most likely be in the hands of the de-facto leader of the Orbital Knights and the reason that this particular knight was even on an isolated island out in the middle of nowhere; Count Saazbaum. Apparently she had been requested to secure the island because the fool's betrothed had died on it during Heaven's fall. The waste of resources was staggering in the extreme for something so sentimental in the conflict. It was a weakness that Braddock would be more than willing to exploit.
Of course Braddock wasn't completely finished with the prisoner, at least not yet, there was one last thing he had to do before she was disposed of. "P-please," she managed to out even as Braddock looked at her in the same way she used to look at every Terran before her capture, with utter disgust and disdain, "N-no more, p-p-please."
Braddock dragged one of the chairs, the metal legs loudly scraping against the floor until it was just a few feet in front of the prisoner. "All in due time, all in due time. But, before we are done, I'd like to share a revelation I had several years ago. It occurred to me when I was trying to classify your species, as the Versians have claimed that they have evolved beyond humanity and I realized that you were not actually mammals."
Femieanne looked puzzled by what the colonel said but he continued anyways; "Let me explain so you might be able to understand, every mammal in existence naturally develops an equilibrium with its environment but you Versians do not. Instead you move to an area and you multiply over and over until every natural resource is consumed, and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area."
Colonel Braddock leaned in and grabbed Femieanne's chin and tilted her up so as to ensure that she faced him directly when he continued "There is another organism in this universe that follows the same behavioral pattern. Do you want to know what it is?"
The Colonel didn't even wait for a response as his answer was as simple as it was direct "A virus." He then began to continue with his monologue on the matter "Versians are a disease, a cancer upon the universe. You are little more than a filthy, disgusting plague."
Colonel Braddock stood up, looking down at her in the same way she had done to him and his comrades such a short time ago. "And we, are the cure." He finished.
With that he turned to his second in command and simply stated "Dispose of her, make it as excruciating as you can."
Wilke's blade-like smirk returned once again and she eagerly complied.
As Braddock walked out he ignored the prisoner's screams and as he did he imagined for a moment that it was actually the old fool that was sitting on a throne on Mars. Ah but such things would need to wait for the time being. Even if he had the means and the capability to inflict the same kind of suffering on that bastard's grandchild he would have to wait. After all Asseylum might prove useful without such 'persuasion' and playing the charismatic and benevolent officer towards her for the time being may be a good way to gain her trust and cooperation. At least, until it was too late for her.
He might even consider giving her a quick death after everything was said and done. If he was feeling particularly generous towards her that was.
He had waited ten years for this. Ten, long, AGONIZING, years for this, he could afford to wait just a little while longer before delivering justice to every one of those walking, talking tumors.
-UFE Death, Hanger-
True to his word, Inaho began to show Asseylum around parts of the ship right after he finished with his meal over the course of the next couple of hours. The first place that Inaho really thought to show her was the hanger. Granted she was just enjoying the company he was providing rather than the sights. He was unlike any other person she had met. True he was very blunt and had trouble expressing himself nonverbally –especially with facial expressions- but Asseylum found that actually somewhat refreshing. After dealing with her grandfather's court and all of the sycophants therein, it was a delight to meet someone who was willing to speak with her plainly even if it was something that she didn't necessarily want to hear.
Of course, Eddelrituo wasn't nearly as fond of it as the princess and made it known several times during their little jaunt around the ship.
When Asseylum entered the hanger she was actually somewhat surprised that it seemed to actually be bigger than the Wadatsumi but then chastised herself for thinking that. The Death was larger than the carrier they had arrived to the island in.
Then there were a number of other things in the hanger besides a fair number of Areions, Dyauses, Embarrs and even a few large, six legged Kataphrakts that none of the teens had ever seen before in their lives. They were easily as tall as the Embarrs but were longer and there were also a pair of folded railguns or missile launchers attached to their backs. The arms were also thicker and hands didn't resemble that of a person's like the other Kataphrakts did. Instead there were four fingers but were done in such a way that they more closely resembled the manipulator claws of a machine rather than a normal human hand that most Earth Kataphrakts were designed with.
"Inaho, what's that?" she asked. "It's a Kataphrakt," Inaho replied simply "But it's unlike any model I'm familiar with."
"That's because it's a new one," said a voice from behind them and they both turned to see one of the mechanics looking at them "It's called the Hrimfaxi and it's our brand new artillery unit. This beauty can hit a target several miles away with a variety of different shells or missiles. It's gonna tear those bastards a new one when we get them out into the field."
Theoretically Inaho knew such a thing was more than possible. Most of the Martian Kataphrakts that they had encountered thus far were primarily designed for direct combat, not anything in a supporting role at all. Therefore things like artillery shells being fired at them from miles away could very well be an effective means of engaging them with relatively minimal risk. Of course that didn't mean that it would mean that it would be easy for them. Artillery was still vulnerable to air attacks and close combat. It wouldn't take much for the Versians to send out one of their Sky Carriers for a bombing run or something similar.
Asseylum's eyes however quickly caught to something or rather someone else. There was a man standing nearby one of the machines, one that she had trouble recognizing at first but quickly recognized him as Slaine's father, Doctor Thomas Troyard. True he appeared much older than when she had last seen him but the resemblance was too clear to be anything but the Slaine's supposedly deceased father.
Almost immediately Asseylum moved towards the man as quickly as she could. She had been hoping to meet him at some point but had been repeatedly denied access to the areas that he was working. While Asseylum had understood the reasoning behind it –government secrets and all that- she still needed to speak with him. If not for herself then definitely for Slaine.
"Doctor Troyard!" Asseylum called out as Inaho and Eddelrittuo followed close behind her. As she approached the differences from when Asseylum had last seen the good doctor were like night and day. When the princess had last seen the scientist, he had been easily in his mid to late thirties but now he looked as though he had aged a good twenty years. His face was haggard, his hair was graying and he seemed tired, and not just because of a lack of sleep.
When Troyard spotted Asseylum his face changed from a neutral expression to one of genuine surprise. He clearly hadn't been expecting to meet with the princess or at the very least not expecting her to seek him out. Though in retrospect he thought it was perhaps inevitable.
"Princess Asseylum as I live and breathe," he stated, more than just a little bit surprised at how much the kid he once knew had grown up. Asseylum also noticed that there was a rather complicated expression on the man's face. At once he seemed happy to see her but also upset for some reason. She didn't really understand and wanting to know why he was acting this way was one of a million other questions she meant to ask him.
Asseylum struggled to maintain her composure and make sure she wouldn't say or do anything foolish "D-Doctor Troyard, it has been several years sir." She said.
The doctor nodded still trying to find his voice out of the shock of seeing someone who should have been dead in front of him before saying "I honestly found it hard to believe that you were still alive, let alone onboard the Death even after everyone was talking about it. It would appear that I was wrong."
Asseylum desperately tried to find the words to the question she desperately wanted to ask him but she apparently didn't need to even bother when he spoke next "I'm guessing you're wondering how I'm back here on Earth let alone still breathing."
Under normal circumstances Eddelrittuo probably would have protested at the doctor's informal tone but she was just as shocked as her liege was, and understandably so. Doctor Troyard was supposed to have died years ago. The fact that he was here now talking to them, it could only be impossible. There was even a brief moment when Asseylum thought she had gone utterly insane and had imagined everything she had heard back on the bridge.
"Well, that's a bit of a story," he said before gesturing to some crates nearby "I'm sorry if the seating is not to your liking but there's quite a bit to go over." He had a seat on one of the crates and soon everyone did the same. "Yes!" Asseylum exclaimed, "What happened? Everyone said that you and your entire research team died in a lab accident!"
At that Troyard chuckled sardonically, "Lab accident, is that what they told you? Let me guess it was some kind of an explosion right? One in which was so devastating that there were no remains left to bury?"
That was in fact what the official story was and the story that had been fed to Slaine and everyone else. The coffin that was buried back on Mars was empty because there simply wasn't anything left to bury.
"Well at least they used kernel of truth in what really happened. Before we begin I have to ask you highness, do you know why exactly your grandfather allowed me to go to Mars?" he asked and Asseylum looked puzzled, "It was because you saved Count Saazbaum's life during the first war and he vouched for you to take your son and research team to Vers to continue your work."
Troyard shook his head in denial "That was just an excuse. After the destruction of the Hypergate your grandfather had every scientist Vers had reexamining the Aldnoah Drives." That was definitely news to everyone listening. "Why would he do that?"
The scientist looked at the teenager incredulously "The Hypergate just exploded and to this day no one is exactly sure of the exact cause, yes there was fighting on the moon, yes it was more than likely that it occurred because of the fighting but would you want to take the chance that it was something else. After all when your entire society is only able to function on technology you only have barely a rudimentary understanding-"
"Only a rudimentary understanding?!" Eddelrittuo exclaimed in outrage and looked like she was about to launch into a tirade before Troyard continued in a tone that a teacher would have to a student that simply didn't understand a simple concept.
"At any point in time did you or anyone the Versian government figure out how the Aldnoah Drives truly worked? Or intricacies of the technology that you essentially copy and pasted onto your machines truly functioned? Because they certainly had next to no idea how when I was there, no matter how much they tried to deflect their ignorance." At that Eddelrittuo only sputtered not giving him any real answer. Before Eddelrittuo could utter so much as another word Asseylum looked at her and said "Eddelrittuo please let Doctor Troyard finish."
At that the tiny maid resisted the urge to pout but did as she was told.
"Like I was saying, they couldn't find anything wrong with the Aldnoah devices themselves and were positive that due to fighting and how both sides were trying to either close or keep the doorway open, but your grandfather wanted a second opinion. He didn't want to take any chances that something like that might happen with the Drives themselves at some point. For several years I looked over the devices and technology that they allowed us to examine and could find nothing wrong with them, until of course one day I got a call from your grandfather about something that had been found in a newly opened mine…"
Doctor Thomas Troyard hadn't known exactly what was going on when he and the rest of his research team had been dragged from their lab and taken to a nearby mineshaft but they were told that the miners that had opened a new shaft had found something they needed to examine. They had also been told that the Emperor himself had wanted them to examine it first.
Troyard could only assume that the miners had discovered some new kind of Aldnoah based technology and had done what was expected of them and reported it. Whatever it was it must have been very important on some level.
It was a good two hour flight from their laboratory in the capital to the mining site where they were expected to examine this new find.
What they found, certainly didn't disappoint.
The miners had broken into a long undisturbed cavern, or at least that was what they believed when they found it. Instead what they found was something amazing. The entire place was old, dust was everywhere and strange pylons littered the room at certain areas. There were strange obelisks littered throughout the room, what purposes they served, none knew. In one of the corners were a series of human-sized glass lined containers that had long ago shattered.
At the far end of the room was a standing stone made of some kind of pitch black material. It was the only thing in the entire room not covered in any dust or debris. It was easily a good ten feet in height, five feet across and appeared to be roughly a foot thick. However what got everyone's attention was what was on the other side of the room directly across from it.
There was a large archway that was large enough to fit several people inside of it, but directly in front of it was an Aldnoah Drive.
Troyard looked around at the area and had more than a sneaking suspicion as to what this place was but could not be sure until the drive itself was activated. Troyard immediately turned to one of his colleagues and asked him to contact someone high up on the chain of command and ask them to send down someone with activation rights. The look in the doctor's eyes was one of wonder and excitement. He just knew that whatever they had found in this place would change the course of history as they knew it.
Troyard was brought himself back out of the past with a sigh "Of course it did change everything, just not in the way I wanted it."
He turned to look directly Asseylum and asked "Do you know one of the biggest reasons I decided to come to Mars besides studying Aldnoah?" He asked to which Asseylum merely shook her head. "I was hoping that it would be the first step, towards real peace. I was hoping that by either discovering and fixing any problems or ensuring there weren't any with the Aldnoah technology, I could use that as a bargaining chip to maybe convince your grandfather to at the very least send a token of goodwill towards the UFE, something that would help them rebuild."
Troyard scoffed, "I was a naïve fool for ever thinking that he would ever even consider that. Let alone letting us live after he found what he needed…"
It had taken several hours before someone with activation rights finally arrived. In that time Troyard and the other members of his research staff that had come with him from Earth had already finished setting up their equipment and were going over everything, trying to figure out just how old the place really was. They had only just started working on things but there was already a sense of wonder regarding this room. One not seen since the day that the original Hypergate was discovered on Earth's moon.
Which made everything ironic given how they had just found another Hypergate, albeit one that was much smaller and different than the one found on the Moon. While the Hypergate found on the moon created a truly massive portal many miles above it allowing for the mass transit of ships, supplies and people, this one acted more like a gateway and wasn't nearly as large. At most a couple people could fit in at once. Whatever this was, it was definitely something that while similar, was somewhat different in design. Perhaps it was something for more personal use by whoever, or whatever used this place.
However while most were gushing over the newly discovered gateway, Troyard was looking at the standing stone or monolith as he liked to call it. There something about it that simply drew him to it. Call it intuition, gut instinct, a hunch or any other such things but he had the feeling that besides the most important thing in the room.
"Doctor Troyard we have the drone powered up and ready." Called out one of the other researchers. Thomas Troyard turned his head to look back at the member of his research team, Clarke his name was and said "Just a moment please."
He still needed to have one last look at the thing, especially now that it had been powered up. It was emitting a slight hum that could only be heard when one got close to it, perhaps he could check to see what kind of energy it was emitting…
While moving to get a scanner from his pocket, his hand brushed the surface of the monolith. When it did, Troyard thought he caught a flash of something that almost caused him to jump in surprise. Troyard saw flashes of something playing over in his mind. At first he thought he imagined it before realizing that this monolith was showing him something. With scientific curiousity driving him forwards Troyard put his hand on the monolith. A light began to emerge from the corners of the scientist's vision and visions a time long past filled his mind.
He was seeing through the eyes of a man, or entity or something, standing in front of the activated gateway. It was like looking into a mirror made out of water. The entity that was standing in front of the gateway covered in some kind of skintight bodysuit. Its face was concealed by a strange, featureless helmet. Despite the suit obscuring its features, it was remarkably human in appearance. It had two arms and hands, five fingers on each one, two legs and a rather lean physique that made it difficult to tell whether or not it was male or female.
In its hands was a familiar sphere. It was smaller than any of the ones encountered before but what else could it be? It was an Aldnoah Drive. The figure walked into the portal that parted much like one would put an object into water.
There was a flash of bright light the instant it faded, the figure was in another cave. The figure walked for a few moments onwards before coming to the cave's entrance. The figure continued onwards without pause or delay. Soon though it was a good distance from the cave in a nearby clearing. There were a group of fur-clad prehistoric humans gathered in a small valley and when they saw him approach they seemed almost reverent towards him.
One of the cavemen approached as the figure held out the tiny Aldnoah Drive for the nearest one to touch. The Neanderthal put his hand on the device and it began to glow, a clear sign that the machine was activating. The Aldnoah Drive began to glow and the cavemen began to come forwards to see this strange device. The being reached out with its left hand and tapped the Neanderthal on the forehead. All of the sudden the Aldnoah Drive stopped glowing and the Neanderthals looked startled. Soon though another walked up and touched the device. At first nothing happened but after few moments of tapping at the device it caused it to activate.
There was another flash suddenly the being was back in the laboratory looking over a holographic display of the solar system and there were numerous runic symbols and markings. Behind the display was the same tank of liquid that Doctor Troyard had seen in the lab earlier. Only this time it was filled with a strange bluish liquid and within he could see a Neanderthal suspended inside with a breathing apparatus strapped to his face.
The being made several sweeping gestures with its hands and the runic symbols were replaced with what appeared to be two separate DNA sequences. Both of the sequences were similar yet different. It didn't take Doctor Troyard long to suspect that these strands were of the Neanderthal and whatever was working on this equipment. Several theories began sprouting in Troyard's head even as with yet another sweeping gesture from the being's hands, the hologram's winked out of existence.
The individual started to move towards the tank and as it got closer Troyard found that he could see the being's reflection in the glass. It reached its left hand to the back of its neck and pressed down on something that caused small amounts of gas to hiss out of area where the mouth would be.
It was then that Troyard got the shock of his life, and saw something that could very well shake the very foundation of everything that humans thought they knew about the universe.
The helmet began to collapse inwards, as though folding into the suit that the being was wearing. Once it had finished though, Troyard got a good look at the face of the being and couldn't believe what he was seeing. The entity that he had been watching, was almost completely human!
There were differences of course, for one there wasn't a single hair on the being's face. Instead there were a series of runic symbols on the scalp and running from the cheek bones, and across the nose. The face itself had sharper features than most humans but it was the eyes that truly stood out. The sclera was completely black but the iris was a green that looked as though it was glowing.
The being began to run its hands on the tank, almost like it was caressing the Neanderthal behind the glass. Not like a lover, but more like a parent might a newborn.
"Doctor Troyard what's wrong!"
Troyard was broken out of his vision when he felt someone pull his hand away from the monolith. He turned to see one of the researchers on his team, one John Planck who was staring at him with a very concerned expression. Troyard felt his mouth open and close but no words were coming out. It took a moment or two but Troyard found himself speaking again, "I saw-I saw, well I'm not entirely sure what it was; but it looked like I was seeing the memories of whoever was working in this place."
He then went into detail on what he had seen, and everyone was completely speechless. Even the accompanying Versians were incredibly speechless by this. Eventually though, once the commotion had died down Doctor Troyard and his team set about their work and began to start studying everything that they had found.
For three days this continued, and Troyard and his colleagues continued to work. It was quickly discovered that this much smaller variant of the Hypergate went directly to Earth, more specifically a small cave in North America. As they continued their research, Thomas continued his own research into the monolith. Using it to try and get more of an insight into what could very well be the creators of not only Aldnoah but also the Human Race itself. Unfortunately the only thing that it provided was more questions than answers.
The language itself was so utterly alien that a full translation, if it could even be done, would take years, possibly decades. Instead all Troyard could really do was speculate as to why these entities were guiding human evolution. Were their species slowly starting to become extinct and were they doing this to start anew? Were they trying to create some kind of slave race for themselves? Or maybe it was for some unfathomable reason that they simply couldn't understand. Whatever the case may be, the answers wouldn't come for years, possibly generations, if they ever did.
Eventually though a day came when a group of armed Versians stormed in and held them all at gunpoint.
The researchers were all stunned by what they were seeing. However they quickly recovered and Doctor Troyard demanded to know what was going on as they had permission from the Emperor to work in the area unmolested. The leader of the group, a smug looking nobleman if the flashy clothes were any indication simply walked to the front of the guards and smirked at them.
"It would appear that Emperor Rayregalia's priorities have changed, you have fulfilled your purpose and you also know far too much to be left alive. Besides it's not like we would ever allow monkeys like you to defile our home for very long anyways."
Before the soldiers could open fire, several of Troyard's colleagues dove for their assailants weapons. While several were gunned down, there were more that simply didn't expect it. What was supposed to be a quick execution turned into a chaotic brawl as some of the 'researchers' managed to pry weapons from their supposed killers and start using them, though they weren't very successful. Planck meanwhile grabbed Troyard and dragged him behind a rock column just as the shootout began.
As they took cover Planck pulled out a small mining charge and Troyard wondered how in the hell he had managed to pocket it. As if reading his mind Planck said "I grabbed it when everyone was distracted days ago."
Troyard found that very improbable but took what he could get. Planck then started speaking in a matter of fact tone "We're making a run for the gate and we detonate this behind us."
Troyard was horrified by what his colleague was suggesting. He couldn't leave without his son, he would never leave him in this place to fend for himself "We can't, my son is-"
Planck didn't let him finish "Your son is dead! Do you think they'll let him live if they are willing to kill you?!" he demanded. Troyard felt his heart drop into his stomach and his hands become numb at the thought. No, no his son couldn't be dead! He couldn't be! Troyard felt as though he couldn't breathe.
Troyard's colleague dragged him out of cover and the doctor didn't or couldn't resist it due to the horrific revelation he had just been forced to confront. The fighting continued and even though the Versians did open fire on them sporadically, they were still caught up with dealing with the few scientists that were fighting back.
Once they reached the gate, Planck pushed Troyard through and tossed the mining explosive onto the floor, the timer set to go off in five seconds. Without any hesitation Planck jumped through the gate as well, with only a literal moment to spare.
The instant that they were both on the other side the gate's water-like portal vanished. Immediately Thomas Troyard collapsed into a sobbing wreck. He had failed his team, he had failed his son! Hell he may as well have killed Slaine himself by taking him to that hellhole.
Eventually the doctor's colleague explained that he was part of a black ops unit sent along with Troyard to observe and gather information and if necessary, get him back to Earth by any means necessary. Each and every member knew that it would likely be a suicide mission but given how none of them had any family left after Heaven's Fall.
From then on he would help the UFE develop whatever it was they needed to prepare for whatever the Versians decided to throw at them.
To be continued.
A/N: Now before everyone starts grabbing the pitchforks and lighting the torches, I want to make something very clear. We only have the word of one smug prick of a noble that the Emperor wanted Troyard and his pals dead. Is it possible or even likely that Rayregalia ordered it? Yes. Did he order it? Maybe not.
After all, Troyard had just stumbled on something that may very well have helped to undermine Rayregalia's complete control over the Versian Empire.
The alien guy with the Neanderthals was taking away the activation rights of the one cave man that could do it and after a short time, a different one's genetics was accepted. If this kind of thing got out and became common knowledge, well I think we're all smart enough to figure out what might happen if the more power-hungry individuals on Vers might try to work it to their advantage.
And as for what happened to Count Cruhteo and the faithful technician, well...you'll have to wait for next time to find out.