Post by Gundam Revival GM on Dec 9, 2012 21:42:01 GMT -5
Dmitri stood in the cold morning watching as the sun rose on a new day. The sky’s cascading hues of red and orange were ruined by the enormous ship now lurking close by in space. His titanium fist creaked he was clenching it so tight. He hated this. This situation, the helplessness he felt, even this day. It was Sunday, a day for most would be for rest and rejuvenation. But over the last five months it had been a weekly reminder of the hold in which what was commonly referred to as the ‘Planet Vessel’ now had over Earth. With the barrier the ship was emitting around the planet, nothing could get in or out. Not even communications could penetrate the shield. Except for the Drones, MS-sized fighters that black-out the sky with they’re staggering numbers.
Better start preparing for the battle to come, Dmitri thought, the anger and anxiety building in his stomach. With one last look at the Planet Vessel, Dmitri turned and walked back into the hanger where his MS was waiting.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” High Admiral Kofista blurted out at President of ESUG, Jaeven Florenton’s decision.
“I am quite serious, High Admiral,” Florenton said matter-of-factly, his tone unwavering, “that is my decision. I have the support of the majority, as well as final word.”
Florenton sighed hard, sitting down with almost an air of defeat to him, a complete attitude change, “we have no choice but to somehow contact and surrender to our captors. It is either that or let more Mobile Suit pilots die every Sunday… until we have no pilots left to fight back.”
“When that day comes,” Kofista growled, “I’ll get in an MS myself. The people of Earth need to be protected, and I don’t see any mercy in the way they send those drones down every Sunday. We need to come up with a plan of attack, not tuck our tails in and bow.”
“High Admiral…” Florenton calmly warned.
“I have reports of one of my men being able to get through the barrier. If we can find out how he did it, we can mount an…”
“That will be all, High Admiral,” Florenton said authoritatively, his decision final, “as of now, Earth is in they’re hands.”
Trent sat in the cockpit of Prophet of Sorrow, the hatch open, his gaze fixed upon the Planet Vessel taking up most of the sky. He could see it in his mind as clear as if it were yesterday, Hiro latching on to one of those drones and coat-tailing it right through the barrier. For five months now Trent has been trying to follow Hiro’s lead and duplicate what he did to get through the barrier. Either the drones were reprogramed to not allow such a thing to happen a second time or Hiro just got lucky. Whatever the case, Trent had no luck in his endeavors, and had almost gotten caught up in the drones’ self-destruct on numerous occasions.
Maybe today…Trent thought to himself solemnly as he flipped the switch to close the hatch.
If you’re still alive, Hiro, hold on… I’m coming for you.
Hiro laid on the cold steel floor of his prison cell. His vision was blurred, his muscles weak. Even though they had fed him enough to stay alive, he was badly malnourished and severely weak. His mind raced, making up for his slowly attrophying arms and legs. He must remember every detail for when he gets out... if he ever did. As strong as he was, Hiro was technically still a kid, and his resolve could only hold out for so long. After five months of scarcely eating, sleeping when he could on a steel floor, and random beatings from his captors... he was starting to lose hope.
How long has it been? Hiro thought, struggling to keep his mind sharp. Hiro's body shuddered as a flash of memory from his last beating took over his thoughts, why? They never question me, so it's not an interrogation. They just continue to push me...
Just then, through the haze of his thoughts, something clicked, they're testing me.
Hiro smiled weakly for the first time in months, well I'll show them how strong we are.
Culas sat in his office in the the Pax Pacis Headquarters on Colony L7. he was slouched in his chair, hands crossed in front of his face. The past five months had been a challenge for him, since he pretty much had to take over the management of the colonies since most administration was trapped on Earth.
His head pounded with frustration, his thoughts racing between managing the daily needs of the colonies and his futile plans to arrange some kind of retaliation against their new enemy. In the five months that have passed since the Planet Vessel had arrived, Culas had gathered every MS pilot he could find outside of Earth, whether they be affiliated or not. At a moment’s notice, Culas could mobilize over forty-thousand Mobile Suits and a quarter as many fleet ships to make an advance on the Planet Vessel, but without some way through the barrier protecting it and confining Earth, they had no chance against the overpowered behemoth of a ship.
A wave of anger waved over Culas, his fist slamming down onto his desk with a solid thud. He took a deep breath and sighed hard, hope those three are having better luck.
Razel, Hal, and Ramsi had been walking for hours in silence. They’re blank stares told the story of the last five months trapped inside the Yggdrasil, they’re silence understandable with what they had learned in the past five months.
They all carried a fuel canister in each hand, barely enough to get them back to Earth, but all the Preserve had to offer. Most of the last five months had been spent acquiring the fuel to make the trip home. They had been chased, imprisoned, and finally met someone who ended up helping them. His name was Lorin, and he showed the three a whole new world. And they would never be the same.
Hal stared at the ground as he walked, his mind reeling from all the information he had learned recently. He was both intrigued and scared at the same time, but of course his scientific curiosity got the best of him, the possibilities...
Razel thought of yet another joke concerning his personal experiences inside the Preserve. Still, he remained silent, the slight smile quickly disappearing from his mouth, replaced by a nervous and uneasy, almost ashamed expression. He honestly didn’t know what to think, other than he would probably never tell another living soul what he had done.
“There,” Ramsi said plainly, pointing ahead, his mind the only one not full of fear and uneasiness. He was the only one not really bothered by the truths they had learned, not really anyways. In his mind, his job was still the same, to get out and get back to Earth. Then come back and make them pay.
Hal looked up to see the body of water the trio had stashed their Mobile Suits in five months ago.
Finally, he thought, my feet are killing me.
Auray laid awake in his bed aboard the Valiturus 2, which currently resided inside the traveling Colony X-10. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, recalling the words Kalios said before he took his last breath.
“It should not be death you are afraid of...”
Auray replayed Kalios’s voice back over and over in his head, the words getting even more foreign with each remembering. He could not wrap himself around what Kalios was trying to tell him in his final moments. Auray’s mourning was ruined by his dying Uncle’s last words, and even though he truly felt emotional pain from the loss of his final known relative, in the back of his mind he couldn’t stop thinking about those last words.
“It should not be death you are afraid of...”
Auray shot up from his bed, having enough of this, he headed for the door. Before he could reach for the handle, a knock came from the opposite side. Auray opened the door to see both Xiefall and Akujin standing in the hall.
“Sir..” Akujin started, then hesitated, his expression showing how uncertain he was about what he was to say next.
“How... are you?” Xie finished for Akujin, awkwardly.
At that moment they both looked at him as a friend, genuinely concerned for their friend. They knew how much Kalios meant to Auray, and wanted to show their support.
“I’m,” Auray started, about to say ‘fine.’ Instead, Auray’s face loosened and he sigh before saying, “I’ll miss him.”
Before either Xiefall or Akujin had a chance to respond, Auray’s com on his desk began to come to life, beeping for his attention. Auray nodded at his comrades and turned, walking towards his desk. Flipping on the com, he immediately saw one of his sensor techs on the bridge of the ship, his complexion pale.
“What is it?” Auray said plainly.
“Sir,” the tech started, obviously shaken from something he was looking at, “there’s something headed our way.”
Just then the tech switched the display on Aurays com to show what he was currently looking at. In the distance but rapidly approaching, Auray could see a spaceship headed straight towards them.
Natalya waddled her way through the corridors of the Pax Pacis Headquarters, her pregnancy in it’s third trimester, and her belly showed. Like Emma said at least five times a day, it looked like she was about to pop. Thanks to Culas, she and Emma had been being taken care of for the past five months. Even though Culas had no connection to the two, he did know of Hal and had worked with him to protect the world on more than one occasion, and for this he felt he should make sure the two women should be taken care of. After the invasion, Culas returned to Zero Heaven and moved both Natalya and Emma to Colony 7. Thanks to him, Natalya had the best of care from the doctors of Pax Pacis. She would soon have a perfectly healthy baby, gender volunteeringly unknown. She didn’t feel right knowing the gender without Hal also knowing.
She stopped in the hall to take a rest from walking, sitting on a nearby bench attached to the wall. Emma and her had not mentioned Hal since Zero Heaven. Neither of them knew how to talk about him, especially now that five months had passed. Emma was sad a lot, her depression growing steadily since Hal had gone off to save the world once again. She didn’t talk much, even when Natalya tried to keep her in good spirits by bringing up the baby kicking. Emma loved babies.
But the thought of her brother missing in action kept Emma from smiling for the entire five months. Natalya, on the other hand, had high hopes for Hal’s condition. She would say to Emma, “he’ll be back, just wait, you’ll see.” There was not a doubt in her mind, Hal was alive.
The baby kicked hard, reminding Natalya that she still didn’t know who the father was. She tried to push the uncertain thoughts away, replacing them with a fantasy of seeing Hal again. She smiled, whispering to herself as she ran her hands around her belly, “I miss you.”
The weekly battle against the swarm of drones had begun, in normal fashion. the drones blackening the sky with their numbers. Dmitri began to think of these weekly battles as therapy that wasn’t getting anywhere. Each drone he destroyed, he could feel himself letting go of his anger, just to have ten more take its place and the process repeated itself. The pointless repetitiveness of their attacks were finally showing their true purpose, to wear them down mentally. Dmitri realizes this and begins to go on a rampage, destroying every drone his weapons could touch.
“Dmitri, you’re drifting from your section,” one of the Royal Army techs said plainly, “please, get back so the formations hold.”
Dmitri smashed one more drone with his heat rod before turning and firing his jets to get back top the castle.
Trent flew around sporadically, firing in every direction and destroying multiple drones. He watched the time on his console, knowing these attacks only lasted for a few hours before they retreated. He had to destroy as many of the drones as he could, while still leaving at least one to “hitch a ride” from through the barrier. Maybe today would be his lucky day.
Hiro, just hold on...
“Everyone to battle stations!” Auray called out on the loudspeaker. He began to shout off orders to his techs aboard the Valiturus II bridge. Without even looking at Xiefall and Akujin, the pair were off to the hanger to prep their MS’s, knowing their leader’s orders before they were even given.
The two hopped into their MS’s and prepared for their departure.
“Ready when you are,” Xiefall said, strapping into his cockpit chair.
“Just give us the word,” Akujin said as the bay doors to space opened.
“Hold,” Auray said, sounding distracted, “wait for the order.”
Auray felt smaller than he ever had, seeing what was heading their way. The ship was unlike anything he had ever laid eyes on, a behemoth of a vessel, even putting the size of X-10 to shame. The ship itself had to be almost as large as Earth, mass-wise. Auray took a deep breath before ordering the tech infront of him to try to hail the ship on the com-screen. The tech went to work, trying to contact the ship. A few moments later the tech turned to Auray, “Sir, we have contact.”
Auray motioned to put it up on the big screen, clearing his throat. As the screen came to life, a beautiful woman with hair as white as snow appeared. She smiled, and greeted Auray personally, “Hello, Auray, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Kofista hurried through the hall leading to the ESS war room, his fists clenched with anger, his face about to explode into obscenities. He burst through the door to see President of ESUG, Jaeven Florenton standing before the main screen, his hands crossed behind his back.
“What are you doing?” Kofista snarled as he walked up to President Florenton. A moment passed before Florenton turned to meet Kofista’s gaze.
“High Admiral,” Florenton started calmly, “I have taken control of the ESS forces under stipulation 27-B of the United Charter of Earth Sphere, which states that if the commander of the ESS forces can no longer perform his duties, President of ESUG has the responsibility to assume command of said forces.”
Kofista stared at Florenton in disbelief.
“Please leave this room, High Admiral,” Florenton said straight into Kofista’s eyes, and at that moment Kofista saw the desperation in his leader’s eyes, “or I will have someone remove you.”
Kofista stared at Florenton for another moment before turning and leaving the war room.
Florenton turned back towards the screen before him, the remorse on his face noticeable, “All forces stand down, start waving the white flags.”
Trent slammed his hand down on the console of Prophet of Sorrow, “What?!” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, they were to stand down and surrender to the drones? Shutting down the com-screen, Trent continued to fight his way through the hordes of drones, ignoring his orders. As he did he saw others retreating to the ground and dropping their weapons in surrender.
Damnit! What the hell is going on?!
Culas opened the com-screen, a scientist in a lab coat standing there. He was sweating profusely, clearly the temperature was high where ever he was. Before talking, the scientist wiped his brow with a handkerchief.
“Sir, reporting from Solaris One. Temperature is reaching one hundred degrees, the highest it has been since we ran out of portable NPLs to cool the engines. The station cannot handle these temperatures for much longer, sir.”
Culas rubbed his temples, a headache growing once again. That trio had taken the original NPL into the Planet Vessel five months ago. Solaris One only lasted this long with the help of every MS NPL they could get their hands on, but it had been a month since the last batch they had quit on them. Since then, the temperature had raised daily, and they were getting to a so called ‘boiling point.’
“Hang in there,” Culas could only think of one thing, evacuation. Even though there was already too many people living on L7, thanks to the barrier around Earth, he still had to save the people aboard Solaris One.
“We’re on our way. Prepare for evacuation.”
Auray stared with disbelief at the woman on the screen, who still smiled. He didn’t know what to say next.
How does she know my name!?
Auray opened his mouth to speak, but instead, she spoke, “Please prepare for Levatio to bring in your vessel. Once on board, we will meet you in the docking hold. Welcome, friend.”
She smiled once more and the transmission cut.
Auray stood there, questioning the motives of this woman. And who was ‘we?’
“Prepare the Colony for docking,” as soon as Auray said this, he realized how absurd it sounded. What could they do to prepare?
“Auray,” Akujin said from Auray’s com-screen, “what’s going on?”
Auray sighed, “It appears it is taking the Colony aboard. I want you two to remain in your MS’s until further orders.”
Akujin nodded and disappeared.
Auray gave orders to everyone on the bridge to stay, just in case they had to run with the Valiturus II. “Be ready for a hot exit,” he said as he left the bridge. On the way to the main docking bay floor of the Colony, Auray called upon a regiment of troops to escort him, still wary of their new ‘friend’s’ intentions.
As he walked his out of Valiturus II, he could feel the Colony settle inside their host’s ship. With a bit of a shake, the Colony had stopped moving forward for the first time in six months. Auray could hear the engines of the colony wining down, until finally he couldn’t hear them at all. All Auray could think as he waited for the bay doors to open was this was the end of an era.
Lord Kraeos stood rigid on the main bridge of the Yggdrasil, what the people of Earth called the Planet Vessel. His Ersatz, the drones by the millions, were losing to the people of Earth. This was no surprise to him, as it was all part of a long-term plan.
And then he saw it, MS’s beginning to withdraw from battle and laying down their arms. A smile lacking joy creased his face, “Withdraw the Ersatz, Phase 2 begins now.”
As the other Veluka go about calling back the Ersatz, Lord Kraeos continues to watch the screen, showing the Ersatz begin to return from battle.
Just a matter of time, now, Kraeos thought to himself, his massive body swelling at the thought of battle. His glory was soon at hand.
Better start preparing for the battle to come, Dmitri thought, the anger and anxiety building in his stomach. With one last look at the Planet Vessel, Dmitri turned and walked back into the hanger where his MS was waiting.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” High Admiral Kofista blurted out at President of ESUG, Jaeven Florenton’s decision.
“I am quite serious, High Admiral,” Florenton said matter-of-factly, his tone unwavering, “that is my decision. I have the support of the majority, as well as final word.”
Florenton sighed hard, sitting down with almost an air of defeat to him, a complete attitude change, “we have no choice but to somehow contact and surrender to our captors. It is either that or let more Mobile Suit pilots die every Sunday… until we have no pilots left to fight back.”
“When that day comes,” Kofista growled, “I’ll get in an MS myself. The people of Earth need to be protected, and I don’t see any mercy in the way they send those drones down every Sunday. We need to come up with a plan of attack, not tuck our tails in and bow.”
“High Admiral…” Florenton calmly warned.
“I have reports of one of my men being able to get through the barrier. If we can find out how he did it, we can mount an…”
“That will be all, High Admiral,” Florenton said authoritatively, his decision final, “as of now, Earth is in they’re hands.”
Trent sat in the cockpit of Prophet of Sorrow, the hatch open, his gaze fixed upon the Planet Vessel taking up most of the sky. He could see it in his mind as clear as if it were yesterday, Hiro latching on to one of those drones and coat-tailing it right through the barrier. For five months now Trent has been trying to follow Hiro’s lead and duplicate what he did to get through the barrier. Either the drones were reprogramed to not allow such a thing to happen a second time or Hiro just got lucky. Whatever the case, Trent had no luck in his endeavors, and had almost gotten caught up in the drones’ self-destruct on numerous occasions.
Maybe today…Trent thought to himself solemnly as he flipped the switch to close the hatch.
If you’re still alive, Hiro, hold on… I’m coming for you.
Hiro laid on the cold steel floor of his prison cell. His vision was blurred, his muscles weak. Even though they had fed him enough to stay alive, he was badly malnourished and severely weak. His mind raced, making up for his slowly attrophying arms and legs. He must remember every detail for when he gets out... if he ever did. As strong as he was, Hiro was technically still a kid, and his resolve could only hold out for so long. After five months of scarcely eating, sleeping when he could on a steel floor, and random beatings from his captors... he was starting to lose hope.
How long has it been? Hiro thought, struggling to keep his mind sharp. Hiro's body shuddered as a flash of memory from his last beating took over his thoughts, why? They never question me, so it's not an interrogation. They just continue to push me...
Just then, through the haze of his thoughts, something clicked, they're testing me.
Hiro smiled weakly for the first time in months, well I'll show them how strong we are.
Culas sat in his office in the the Pax Pacis Headquarters on Colony L7. he was slouched in his chair, hands crossed in front of his face. The past five months had been a challenge for him, since he pretty much had to take over the management of the colonies since most administration was trapped on Earth.
His head pounded with frustration, his thoughts racing between managing the daily needs of the colonies and his futile plans to arrange some kind of retaliation against their new enemy. In the five months that have passed since the Planet Vessel had arrived, Culas had gathered every MS pilot he could find outside of Earth, whether they be affiliated or not. At a moment’s notice, Culas could mobilize over forty-thousand Mobile Suits and a quarter as many fleet ships to make an advance on the Planet Vessel, but without some way through the barrier protecting it and confining Earth, they had no chance against the overpowered behemoth of a ship.
A wave of anger waved over Culas, his fist slamming down onto his desk with a solid thud. He took a deep breath and sighed hard, hope those three are having better luck.
Razel, Hal, and Ramsi had been walking for hours in silence. They’re blank stares told the story of the last five months trapped inside the Yggdrasil, they’re silence understandable with what they had learned in the past five months.
They all carried a fuel canister in each hand, barely enough to get them back to Earth, but all the Preserve had to offer. Most of the last five months had been spent acquiring the fuel to make the trip home. They had been chased, imprisoned, and finally met someone who ended up helping them. His name was Lorin, and he showed the three a whole new world. And they would never be the same.
Hal stared at the ground as he walked, his mind reeling from all the information he had learned recently. He was both intrigued and scared at the same time, but of course his scientific curiosity got the best of him, the possibilities...
Razel thought of yet another joke concerning his personal experiences inside the Preserve. Still, he remained silent, the slight smile quickly disappearing from his mouth, replaced by a nervous and uneasy, almost ashamed expression. He honestly didn’t know what to think, other than he would probably never tell another living soul what he had done.
“There,” Ramsi said plainly, pointing ahead, his mind the only one not full of fear and uneasiness. He was the only one not really bothered by the truths they had learned, not really anyways. In his mind, his job was still the same, to get out and get back to Earth. Then come back and make them pay.
Hal looked up to see the body of water the trio had stashed their Mobile Suits in five months ago.
Finally, he thought, my feet are killing me.
Auray laid awake in his bed aboard the Valiturus 2, which currently resided inside the traveling Colony X-10. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, recalling the words Kalios said before he took his last breath.
“It should not be death you are afraid of...”
Auray replayed Kalios’s voice back over and over in his head, the words getting even more foreign with each remembering. He could not wrap himself around what Kalios was trying to tell him in his final moments. Auray’s mourning was ruined by his dying Uncle’s last words, and even though he truly felt emotional pain from the loss of his final known relative, in the back of his mind he couldn’t stop thinking about those last words.
“It should not be death you are afraid of...”
Auray shot up from his bed, having enough of this, he headed for the door. Before he could reach for the handle, a knock came from the opposite side. Auray opened the door to see both Xiefall and Akujin standing in the hall.
“Sir..” Akujin started, then hesitated, his expression showing how uncertain he was about what he was to say next.
“How... are you?” Xie finished for Akujin, awkwardly.
At that moment they both looked at him as a friend, genuinely concerned for their friend. They knew how much Kalios meant to Auray, and wanted to show their support.
“I’m,” Auray started, about to say ‘fine.’ Instead, Auray’s face loosened and he sigh before saying, “I’ll miss him.”
Before either Xiefall or Akujin had a chance to respond, Auray’s com on his desk began to come to life, beeping for his attention. Auray nodded at his comrades and turned, walking towards his desk. Flipping on the com, he immediately saw one of his sensor techs on the bridge of the ship, his complexion pale.
“What is it?” Auray said plainly.
“Sir,” the tech started, obviously shaken from something he was looking at, “there’s something headed our way.”
Just then the tech switched the display on Aurays com to show what he was currently looking at. In the distance but rapidly approaching, Auray could see a spaceship headed straight towards them.
Natalya waddled her way through the corridors of the Pax Pacis Headquarters, her pregnancy in it’s third trimester, and her belly showed. Like Emma said at least five times a day, it looked like she was about to pop. Thanks to Culas, she and Emma had been being taken care of for the past five months. Even though Culas had no connection to the two, he did know of Hal and had worked with him to protect the world on more than one occasion, and for this he felt he should make sure the two women should be taken care of. After the invasion, Culas returned to Zero Heaven and moved both Natalya and Emma to Colony 7. Thanks to him, Natalya had the best of care from the doctors of Pax Pacis. She would soon have a perfectly healthy baby, gender volunteeringly unknown. She didn’t feel right knowing the gender without Hal also knowing.
She stopped in the hall to take a rest from walking, sitting on a nearby bench attached to the wall. Emma and her had not mentioned Hal since Zero Heaven. Neither of them knew how to talk about him, especially now that five months had passed. Emma was sad a lot, her depression growing steadily since Hal had gone off to save the world once again. She didn’t talk much, even when Natalya tried to keep her in good spirits by bringing up the baby kicking. Emma loved babies.
But the thought of her brother missing in action kept Emma from smiling for the entire five months. Natalya, on the other hand, had high hopes for Hal’s condition. She would say to Emma, “he’ll be back, just wait, you’ll see.” There was not a doubt in her mind, Hal was alive.
The baby kicked hard, reminding Natalya that she still didn’t know who the father was. She tried to push the uncertain thoughts away, replacing them with a fantasy of seeing Hal again. She smiled, whispering to herself as she ran her hands around her belly, “I miss you.”
The weekly battle against the swarm of drones had begun, in normal fashion. the drones blackening the sky with their numbers. Dmitri began to think of these weekly battles as therapy that wasn’t getting anywhere. Each drone he destroyed, he could feel himself letting go of his anger, just to have ten more take its place and the process repeated itself. The pointless repetitiveness of their attacks were finally showing their true purpose, to wear them down mentally. Dmitri realizes this and begins to go on a rampage, destroying every drone his weapons could touch.
“Dmitri, you’re drifting from your section,” one of the Royal Army techs said plainly, “please, get back so the formations hold.”
Dmitri smashed one more drone with his heat rod before turning and firing his jets to get back top the castle.
Trent flew around sporadically, firing in every direction and destroying multiple drones. He watched the time on his console, knowing these attacks only lasted for a few hours before they retreated. He had to destroy as many of the drones as he could, while still leaving at least one to “hitch a ride” from through the barrier. Maybe today would be his lucky day.
Hiro, just hold on...
“Everyone to battle stations!” Auray called out on the loudspeaker. He began to shout off orders to his techs aboard the Valiturus II bridge. Without even looking at Xiefall and Akujin, the pair were off to the hanger to prep their MS’s, knowing their leader’s orders before they were even given.
The two hopped into their MS’s and prepared for their departure.
“Ready when you are,” Xiefall said, strapping into his cockpit chair.
“Just give us the word,” Akujin said as the bay doors to space opened.
“Hold,” Auray said, sounding distracted, “wait for the order.”
Auray felt smaller than he ever had, seeing what was heading their way. The ship was unlike anything he had ever laid eyes on, a behemoth of a vessel, even putting the size of X-10 to shame. The ship itself had to be almost as large as Earth, mass-wise. Auray took a deep breath before ordering the tech infront of him to try to hail the ship on the com-screen. The tech went to work, trying to contact the ship. A few moments later the tech turned to Auray, “Sir, we have contact.”
Auray motioned to put it up on the big screen, clearing his throat. As the screen came to life, a beautiful woman with hair as white as snow appeared. She smiled, and greeted Auray personally, “Hello, Auray, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Kofista hurried through the hall leading to the ESS war room, his fists clenched with anger, his face about to explode into obscenities. He burst through the door to see President of ESUG, Jaeven Florenton standing before the main screen, his hands crossed behind his back.
“What are you doing?” Kofista snarled as he walked up to President Florenton. A moment passed before Florenton turned to meet Kofista’s gaze.
“High Admiral,” Florenton started calmly, “I have taken control of the ESS forces under stipulation 27-B of the United Charter of Earth Sphere, which states that if the commander of the ESS forces can no longer perform his duties, President of ESUG has the responsibility to assume command of said forces.”
Kofista stared at Florenton in disbelief.
“Please leave this room, High Admiral,” Florenton said straight into Kofista’s eyes, and at that moment Kofista saw the desperation in his leader’s eyes, “or I will have someone remove you.”
Kofista stared at Florenton for another moment before turning and leaving the war room.
Florenton turned back towards the screen before him, the remorse on his face noticeable, “All forces stand down, start waving the white flags.”
Trent slammed his hand down on the console of Prophet of Sorrow, “What?!” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, they were to stand down and surrender to the drones? Shutting down the com-screen, Trent continued to fight his way through the hordes of drones, ignoring his orders. As he did he saw others retreating to the ground and dropping their weapons in surrender.
Damnit! What the hell is going on?!
Culas opened the com-screen, a scientist in a lab coat standing there. He was sweating profusely, clearly the temperature was high where ever he was. Before talking, the scientist wiped his brow with a handkerchief.
“Sir, reporting from Solaris One. Temperature is reaching one hundred degrees, the highest it has been since we ran out of portable NPLs to cool the engines. The station cannot handle these temperatures for much longer, sir.”
Culas rubbed his temples, a headache growing once again. That trio had taken the original NPL into the Planet Vessel five months ago. Solaris One only lasted this long with the help of every MS NPL they could get their hands on, but it had been a month since the last batch they had quit on them. Since then, the temperature had raised daily, and they were getting to a so called ‘boiling point.’
“Hang in there,” Culas could only think of one thing, evacuation. Even though there was already too many people living on L7, thanks to the barrier around Earth, he still had to save the people aboard Solaris One.
“We’re on our way. Prepare for evacuation.”
Auray stared with disbelief at the woman on the screen, who still smiled. He didn’t know what to say next.
How does she know my name!?
Auray opened his mouth to speak, but instead, she spoke, “Please prepare for Levatio to bring in your vessel. Once on board, we will meet you in the docking hold. Welcome, friend.”
She smiled once more and the transmission cut.
Auray stood there, questioning the motives of this woman. And who was ‘we?’
“Prepare the Colony for docking,” as soon as Auray said this, he realized how absurd it sounded. What could they do to prepare?
“Auray,” Akujin said from Auray’s com-screen, “what’s going on?”
Auray sighed, “It appears it is taking the Colony aboard. I want you two to remain in your MS’s until further orders.”
Akujin nodded and disappeared.
Auray gave orders to everyone on the bridge to stay, just in case they had to run with the Valiturus II. “Be ready for a hot exit,” he said as he left the bridge. On the way to the main docking bay floor of the Colony, Auray called upon a regiment of troops to escort him, still wary of their new ‘friend’s’ intentions.
As he walked his out of Valiturus II, he could feel the Colony settle inside their host’s ship. With a bit of a shake, the Colony had stopped moving forward for the first time in six months. Auray could hear the engines of the colony wining down, until finally he couldn’t hear them at all. All Auray could think as he waited for the bay doors to open was this was the end of an era.
Lord Kraeos stood rigid on the main bridge of the Yggdrasil, what the people of Earth called the Planet Vessel. His Ersatz, the drones by the millions, were losing to the people of Earth. This was no surprise to him, as it was all part of a long-term plan.
And then he saw it, MS’s beginning to withdraw from battle and laying down their arms. A smile lacking joy creased his face, “Withdraw the Ersatz, Phase 2 begins now.”
As the other Veluka go about calling back the Ersatz, Lord Kraeos continues to watch the screen, showing the Ersatz begin to return from battle.
Just a matter of time, now, Kraeos thought to himself, his massive body swelling at the thought of battle. His glory was soon at hand.
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