I made a critical mistake. I was elated that Momoka denied Rin's request for a helicopter flight. But I forgot Rin was the Vice President and Acting President. She had the authority to just walk up to any helicopter on standby and immediately commandeer it. Which she did with a gusto fueled with cold fury. This brought me to my current situation, strapped into a death machine as it tried to land just outside of an active combat zone.

My stomach lurched as the helicopter dropped onto the ground, reminding me that I had not yet eaten anything since my arrival in this city. Worse still was the fact that I could also feel the fuel and liquid in various parts of my hull also sloshing about. It made for a pleasantly awful experience when combined together. The pilot barely had the time to say "I can't get any closer!" before I undid the belts and leapt out of the open door.

"Nelson-Sensei," Suzumi said as she hopped from the cabin next to me, concern clearly etched on her face as I fought the nausea away, "Are you OK? I heard helicopter flights can be hard if you're not used to it."

I shook my head, glad for the distraction. "No, I just believe I was never meant to fly. I doubt experience will ever help me."

The one-winged girl reached over as if to give me a conciliatory pat before she straightened up and pulled her arm back. It served to remind me that I was the only Human Adult in the city. She, and the others, were likely still trying to figure out how to act around me.

What the city wasn't lacking, however, was violence. As the helicopter lifted off after the last of our group disembarked, I could hear the sound of fighting all around. In the distance there was the sound of smashing metal, as if a particularly large vehicle just crashed into something else. I could hear gunfire echo out occasionally, both in the distance and close by.

"Come on," Rin said, stepping forward and beginning her determined march towards the Schale club building, "The helicopter managed to put us within a few kilometers of the club building. However, we will need to fight our way past the thugs."

The rest of us continued our march with her, Yuuka moving to the front with SMGs drawn while Chinatsu and Suzumi took up positions besides me and Rin. Behind us, Hasumi unslung her rifle and began scanning the nearby buildings for any signs of activity.

We had made it a kilometer down the street without any incident or complication when a thought crossed my mind. "Ms. Nanagami?" I said, my pace slowing to a crawl. "Our transport, it was a helicopter, correct?"

"Yes?"

"If I recall correctly then said helicopter was painted bright white, had the General Student Council logos stenciled into both sides and the bottom, and was exceptionally noisy?"

At this point, the rest of the group had also slowed down and turned to look at me. Rin rolled her hand, motioning for me to continue. I came to a complete stop, just next to a destroyed storefront, as my head began scanning the area. I could feel the frown bleeding through my composure as the suspicion became pressing.

"And we landed said helicopter just outside the zone of active conflict, in the open, where anybody could just see and report our location? Like the well-armed thugs, who are explicitly attacking this neighborhood to destroy Council property? Who should be running towards our position but, for reasons unknown, have decided to let us walk almost a kilometer into their lines without responding? As if they want us to be here?"

Silence filled the air before the sound of various safeties being disengaged echoed out amongst the group. A second later a poorly thrown grenade detonated down the street from us, shattering the silence. I immediately tackled Rin into the storefront even while bullets peppered our position from the buildings surrounding us. Suzumi took cover behind a pillar in front of the store while Chinatsu and Yuuka dived behind the ruins of a car that had been parked in front. Thanks to her being in the back, I couldn't quite see what Hasumi had done but I trusted she was also taking steps to protect herself.

"What's going on?!" I heard Yuuka shout from her spot behind a car before she stuck a single SMG over the hood and let a long burst rattle out, suppressing an enemy I couldn't see.

"Ambush." "An ambush!" "An unpleasant greeting." Suzumi, Chinatsu, and myself answered at once. Suzumi peeked around her pillar and fired a few short bursts at a target. Chinatsu was trying to keep her head down while taking the occasional potshot. The loud singular retort and familiar sound of a bolt being worked drew my attention to a spot down the street behind us. I took a peek out the storefront to see Hasumi had taken up a spot behind some abandoned sandbags in the back and was calmly placing her shots at thugs trying to shoot at us from above.

"You don't have to tell me that!" Yuuka snapped back, ducking behind her cover to reload, "I want to know why do we have to be the ones to fight them?!"

Rin sighed, trying to look out of the storefront she and I were sheltering in but ducking back right away as shots landed nearby. "If I must remind you, Millennium, defending the club room is paramount if we are to regain control of Sanctum Tower."

"We're also the only Students close enough to follow Rin and Sensei," Chinatsu added. "And we need to act fast before these thugs get to it."

"I get that, but I belong to my school's student council! Why is busywork like this falling to me?" Yuuka complained as she finished reloading both her SMGs and stood up to unleash another burst at the thugs. This time though, they were clearly ready for us. I barely had time to shout a warning as a helmeted thug popped out of a window across the street from our position, above us and behind our cover. They leveled an SMG of their own and let loose a burst at our exposed flank, the rounds striking Yuuka in the side.

For a second, I was prepared to assume the worst, memories of the losses suffered by my crews flashing through my mind. However, we were both forced to pause and stare as Yuuka simply shrugged off the bullets as if they were nothing more than hail.

"Ah, that smarts!" Yuuka shouted in surprise even as Suzumi, Hasumi, and Chinatsu snapped to the flanking thug and unloaded several rounds into the offending party. I watched in horrified fascination as the thug jerked about as they were struck, and not a single bullet penetrated but bounced off instead. The thug's Halo flickered out of existence moments later and they slumped over; apparently unconscious.

The sound of combat leveled off as that appeared to be the last hostile in our area. I watched everyone glance about and, seeming to find it all clear, leave the safety of their cover. Meanwhile, Yuuka had grabbed one of the bullets that struck her and was closely examining it before growling in anger. "What the heck?! Are they using JHP rounds? That's cheating!"

"Just take cover, Yuuka." Hasumi reminded her as she sauntered up to regroup with us. "And besides, hollow-points aren't considered illegal."

"Well, they're illegal at our academy starting right now! That might have left a mark!"

I cleared my throat loudly, interrupting their byplay and drawing the attention of everyone present. I examined each of them closely as they turned to face me and noticed that, aside from some scuff marks, not a single one had so much as a scratch on them. My eyes were instantly drawn to the Haloes lazily floating above their heads.

"I must ask," I began, looking over each of them, "But why did nobody tell me that everyone present is bulletproof?"

They all stared at me dumbfounded before Chinatsu's eyes lit up in comprehension. "That's right," she exclaimed, "you're not from Kivotos." I could see the gears click in everyone's mind at the same time.

Rin was the first to respond, bowing as she turned to face me, "I must apologize. I was so focused on the problem of regaining control of the Sanctum Tower that I forgot to provide you with information about the Students you are expected to teach."

I ran my hand through my hair as I went over what I remembered of the fight. Now that I was thinking of it, not once did I see anyone draw blood despite the insane amount of ammunition expended. "It is equally my fault; I had made assumptions of your abilities without verifying whether or not they were correct."

"Still, we need to remember Sensei is here with us. Her safety is our top priority. Reclaiming that building will come second." Hasumi said, face serious.

I blinked, confused, before shaking my head in disagreement. "No, the mission should come first. If my understanding is correct, the destruction of the club room will permanently prevent the Council from reclaiming control." I looked to Rin for confirmation and, when she nodded yes, I added, "You should focus on breaking through rather than keeping me safe."

All the girls gasped at that but Yuuka was the first to respond. She growled, frustration in her voice as she set aside her gun just to point at me. Despite the gesture, I could see the concern etched in her face. "You can't join us on the battlefield, Sensei, so stay put while we take care of this!"

"Ladies," I replied, voice even and soft, "I insist. You do not need to worry about me. Our situation calls for speed and our limited number means everyone, myself included, must pull their own weight."

"Sensei," Chinatsu said, voice firm as she stepped forward until she was within arm's reach and staring at me in the eyes, "You don't have a Halo. Unlike us, a single bullet could put you in grave danger!"

Item to note, Haloes apparently were the source of their uncanny toughness. I would need to ask for more details later after we get on the same page. I gently put a hand on Chinatsu's shoulder to reassure her even as I looked at the rest of the girls. "… I believe we may have had another misunderstanding again. A single bullet will find it hard to penetrate my armour."

"Your armour?" Suzumi asked, a confused expression crossing her face.

"Yes, my armour." I answered, "I was hoping for a better time to discuss this, but it appears the matter has been forced." I took a small step back and gave the girls a bow, before meeting their gaze with a smile. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is HMS Nelson, lead ship of the Nelson Class of Battleships. The President has called me from afar to assist in these difficult times."

The representatives stared at me with looks ranging from shock to confusion. I stared at them with my smile locked in place. Rin watched on with a pensive frown. Silence filled the ruined store before Suzumi finally sighed and grabbed a seat at a table that was miraculously left standing. She dusted it off before looking back to the rest of us. "Maybe we should take a break and explain everything?"

Yuuka frowned as she went over the notes she had on her smartphone. After a moment she turned to me, confusion clear in her eyes. "So let me make sure I have this right."

"Go ahead," I replied even as I finished writing the last details into the notebook I found in my storage, sitting at the table across from the purple haired administrator.

"You're a battleship." Looks like she went right for the throat. Couldn't exactly fault her for that.

"Correct."

"But you're also a human."

"I would like to believe so, at least."

"But you're still somehow a battleship even though you look…?" Yuuka trailed off, motioning at me with her hands.

"That is an effective summary."

"And because of that, you're bulletproof."

"Among many other very bizarre things."

On my right, the collected group of Rin, Hasumi, and Suzumi watched our exchange. On my left, Chinatsu had taken out several examination tools and was busy trying to verify my claims. Yuuka was left to document them and, if her expression was any indicator, she was equally as confused about it as I was. Yuuka finally stopped going over her notes and, looking back up at me, she gave her final opinion. "This doesn't make any sense."

"I agree." I nodded sagely, finally having found someone who could appreciate the absurdity of the situation. "You must imagine how it is from my perspective, to suddenly awaken one day in flesh and blood what once was steel and oil."

Yuuka turned to look at Chinatsu, the hope in her eyes shining as if maybe the even keeled medic could tell her I was simply delusional. Instead, she was greeted to the sight of Chinatsu staring at a small magnet from her medical bag which had stuck itself to the back of my bare hand. Everyone watched as the blonde girl plucked the magnet from my skin, the flesh indenting like normal, and lifted it a fair distance away and above my hand. She then let it go and everyone stared as the magnet fell down but angled towards my skin before sticking to the back of my palm again with an extremely muffled *clink*.

"Sensei has a normal pulse…" Chinatsu muttered, her voice filled with fascination, "but her body temperature is just 30 degrees. She should have hypothermia but she lacks any other symptoms of hypothermia. Her skin is flexible and responds like normal human skin but it's clearly magnetic."

That was interesting to know, but I wondered if I could get degaussed in this body. Magnetic mines might actually respond to me right now. As I pondered that, Chinatsu grabbed a stethoscope from her bag and glanced up at me with curiosity clear in her eyes. I nodded and she walked around behind me and placed the instrument against my back, right above where my heart should be. I couldn't see her directly, but the way everyone's looks suddenly shifted to one of concern told me enough about Chinatsu's expression.

"Sensei…" I could hear her say from behind me, voice failing as she struggled to find the words, "you… don't have a heartbeat. A human one, that is. It sounds like you have an engine where your heart should be."

"That makes sense," I agreed even as the medic put her tools away, looking at me with awe, "The heart of my hull was a set of boilers. I admit I was not expecting them to literally be my heart here though."

Yuuka turned to Rin with a gaze that begged the other girl for something, anything for her fraying sanity to cling to. Instead, all she got was Rin asking the question all of us were wondering: "But how did the President bring you to us?"

All of us pondered this question for a moment, trying to determine how exactly someone could turn a construct of war into a sentient human being before I shrugged. "How she did it is irrelevant," I declared, "What matters is that I am not as vulnerable as you believed I was."

I flipped through my notes, the questions I had asked about the culture and ability of the Students here. What I was told confirmed one thing for me. For all that they stated they were human, they were no closer to the humans of my memories than I was. I didn't say it, but they were clearly something else.

They were tougher, stronger, and faster than the humans that once made up my crew. I struggled to think of any memory of a crew walking away from a direct hit by a pistol, never mind rifle fire or grenades. Yet according to my new Students, such a thing was not just commonplace but expected. The worst one could expect when a grenade went off next to them was unconsciousness. Deaths as a result of violence were practically non-existent. In fact, death rates themselves were low amongst the populace as a whole and extremely rare amongst the Students.

I glanced up at the black-blue ring that hovered over Yuuka's head. I wondered if the Haloes were what granted the Students their powers, or if it was just an expression of an existing power amongst all of them. And how exactly did they come about to have them in the first place?

"Still," Hasumi spoke up, turning her gaze back to me, "Even if you are bulletproof, how exactly would you help in a fight? You don't have a weapon."

I paused at the question. Did I have any weapons? A quick mental check through the inventory list noted I had quite a few small arms onboard but I had to have something bigger. Something that would let me emphasize the 'battleship' part of my existence. I felt a tug on my instincts and I closed my eyes, focusing on it. I could feel the familiar form of my hull at the edge of my fingers. I just had to visualize it. The main battery, the secondary battery, and the tertiary guns. The smokestack connected to the beating heart of the boilers, driving power to the turbines that spun the propellers. I could feel power swelling from within as the image started to become clear and with a twist of my will-

"Even if you are bulletproof, how exactly would you help in a fight? You don't have a weapon."

Nelson-sensei fell silent at that and Suzumi watched as their teacher's expression turned from confused, to contemplative, and finally to determined. Then, without answering, she closed her eyes and her brow furrowed as if in deep concentration. For a few moments, nothing happened.

"Nelson-sensei?" Suzumi heard Yuuka ask. After another long moment of silence, Chinatsu gently tapped the adult on the shoulder. Nothing.

"She's in some sort of trance," Chinatsu announced, confirming everyone's suspicions.

Yuuka threw her arms up, exasperation in her eyes, locks of purple hair blown astray by the motion as she shouted in frustration, "Great! Just what we needed! Our teacher knocked herself out trying to think of how to fight."

"Hayase-san," Suzumi interjected even as she felt the frown on her face, "We don't exactly know what she is doing. We barely know exactly WHAT she is in the first place."

She felt it was fair to give the strange Adult the benefit of the doubt. While what she claimed sounded like something out of a video game, there were plenty of strange powers in Kivotos. Who was to say that Nelson wasn't from someplace similar? After all, they already had all the evidence that she was decidedly not the same as the rest of them.

Yuuka stared at her for the longest time before the purple-haired girl sighed and sat back down. "I know," she admitted as she leaned back into her chair, "But the last few days have been so stressful and now I have to be one of the first people to meet an alien."

Suzumi didn't feel like that was a kind comparison, but she couldn't argue the accuracy of it. Nelson was, for the literal definition of the phrase, an alien. She didn't operate on the same rules as the students, but she also didn't operate on the same rules as the other Adults. She was someone who simply was foreign to the way Kivotos usually worked.

"Still," Rin's terse voice cut through the silence, drawing everyone's attention to her, "I must ask that you all keep what Nelson-Sensei has revealed to you on a need-to-know basis."

There were various sounds of surprise from the other three girls sitting at the table. Suzumi merely mentally stepped back. After all, she was hardly anyone important enough to be present for this type of conversation.

"And why exactly should we keep this a secret?" Hasumi asked, the older Trinity student looking down at Rin.

Rin met her look, eyes hard, "I will be honest here. Nelson-sensei's claims are absurd. Were it not for what I witnessed; I would think that she's insane. We cannot afford to have people doubt the credibility and sanity of Schale and the General Student Council if we are to stabilize the situation in Kivotos."

Suzumi realized immediately what Rin was asking for: a coverup. The GSC needed legitimacy and that meant covering up the truth of who their saviour was. It wouldn't even be that hard now that she thought about it. There were no other Adult humans without a Halo in Kivotos that she was aware of. The exact ability of someone like that was completely unknown. They could just pin it all on that rather than Nelson's claims. Still, the thought of doing so made her stomach squirm.

Judging from the looks of the actual academy representatives, they shared her sentiment to some degree. But the lack of objections was telling enough. In the silence that followed, Suzumi's eyes naturally shifted to the topic at han-

"What!" She shouted, shooting out of her seat at what she saw. Her cries and sudden move naturally drew everyone's attention and they reacted similarly as they saw the same sight that she did.

Nelson was glowing. No, it was more accurate to say that ghastly flames were licking off of her skin and clothes. Blue will o' wisps, barely visible in the daylight were it not for their indoor meeting, coalesced around the blonde Adult. They gathered about her and began to form translucent constructions that Suzumi could clearly recognize as turrets, a smokestack, and ship hull components. From somewhere both present in the room and not, the sound of a chain being pulled up could be heard. A chill and heavy presence could be felt, building up to a crescendo-

And then, like it was never there, the constructions shattered and faded into sparkles. The fires dimmed and snuffed themselves and the will o' wisps vanished. The noises silenced themselves, echoing into nothingness as the presence left. The light and warmth in the room returned to normal and Nelson opened her eyes.

"It appears that I am unable to-" Nelson started, before she paused as she recognized the looks of shock and confusion on the faces of everyone present. "Is something the matter?"

I twisted my will and immediately, something felt wrong. The image in my mind distorted and fractured. I could make out one hull... two hulls... one hull... three ships... two ships... one ship... and then the image shattered. I felt the power slip from my grasp as I was shocked back to reality, the instinct fleeing from me. I knew, without a doubt, that I had failed to call up the power within me.

"It appears that I am unable to-" I started, looking at the Students around me only to pause. All their expressions had varying levels of concern, shock, and confusion. Like they had just seen something inexplicable. "Is something the matter?"

Chinatsu was the first to recover her wits, running back over as she gave me a look over. Suzumi spoke as the medic checked me for signs of something, "Nelson-Sensei," She began, voice lost as if to find words, "You were on fire."

"What."

She nodded; expression serious. "You were on fire and about to create some sort of miniature ship out of something."

I looked at everyone else in the room and, at my gaze, they nodded in agreement. "But I feel normal?" I offered weakly.

"There's no signs of any burns," Chinatsu announced, face filled with concern, "But you were just in a trance Sensei. We couldn't shake you out of it for-" she paused to check her cell phone, "almost ten minutes."

Well that certainly removed any chances of trying it again in combat. I'd have to see if I could accomplish it once we were in a safe environment.

"If you couldn't do... whatever it was you were trying, could you still fight?" Hasumi asked, clearly trying to move the subject along.

"It is hardly ideal but..." With a twist of my will, I pulled a bolt action rifle out of my storage. The girls all reacted with varying degrees of shock at the sight of a full-length combat rifle simply appearing in my lap. Another twist and a belt of clips fell into my lap. "I could provide support with some of the weapons used by the marines onboard." The admission pained me on a spiritual level, but it was the best I could do in these circumstances.

Still, if this was the case, then I would need the girls with me to make up for what I lacked. "It was my hope that I could act from the front but I believe this may be quite difficult now. I shall provide tactical command while you fi-" I could see Rin start vehemently shaking her head out of the corner of my eyes, "four take to the front with me."

"You're going to take command?" Yuuka asked aloud before her gaze turned thoughtful, "Well… I guess you are supposed to be a teacher."

Chinatsu nodded in agreement. "A student must listen to their teacher. We'll be counting on you."

"Okay. We'll follow your lead." Hasumi agreed, loading up the magazine for her rifle.

"I'll do my best." Suzumi was the last to speak up, but seemed no less enthusiastic than the rest.

It was no Home Fleet but it was the best we had. I stepped out of the storefront, waving the students to follow. "Then let us begin. Try not to fall behind now!"

AN: It was a decision quite early in planning that Nelson would not be able to use her rigging from the onset. There's a few reasons for this. Some of the non-plot reasons are pretty obvious such as power balancing/devaluation of drama/removal of some interesting canon plot events. But the biggest reason was that I feel that level of power should be something that builds up over the course of the narrative rather than being available immediately. This way, it's much more impactful when she finally can use it in its complete state. It'll mean something when it happens.

Of course the plot reasons were a close second. The reasons will become more clear as the story progresses, but there are in-story reasons for it beyond "it's hard to balance around".

But the ability to call forth artillery isn't gone entirely. Just not immediately available. I hope you remain on board as we delve further into what exactly is happening.

Thanks to my friend for beta reading this chapter and listening/helping me work out my rambling ideas into something usable.