Chapter eight: Day one:
The beginning of something new
Do you ever get that feeling that you could have just done something but you didn't?
You know, the one where you feel full of regret when looking back and you commonly say to yourself: “Why didn't I think of doing that instead!”
Then you realise that if you did, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did. Then you feel either grateful or full of wonder….
Or you realise that the idea you just had was pretty stupid and wouldn't work in the first place. I get that alot too.
Oh, what was I thinking?
I was just thought that, well, the IWEC had created a heap of ships capable of leaving earth, so “Why couldn't we just grab one of those, prepared ourselves and flown off the earth anyway!”
Smart in theory, dumb in execution.
You see, if we did, we would have run out of fuel way before we came across the next inhabitable planet. Not to mention water, food, exedra.
We needed those teleportation devices to do anything.
Still though, could have been a worse time. At least it makes a good story, right?
Speaking of which, let's get back to it, shall we?
...
Although the clanking, jittery, unstable ship stuttered violently as it skittered along in the air, the four didn't seem to care. Ronnie, Ryu, Crystal and Davis all had one thing on their mind.
Crystal: (Sat with a book covering her eyes) ‘Urghhhh…...are we there yet?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Not yet…’
Bored out of their skulls, the four couldn't bring up the energy or the excitement to do anything.
Staring out through one of the small, tinted glass windows, Ryu was left deep in thought. With this mission he knew, unlike before, that he had to take charge now more than anything.
Previously, with strength in numbers, Ryu could easily stand his ground with confidence. Now, with only four of them this time, that confidence was slowly sinking.
However, now wasn't the time to lose it all. Without confidence, they were sure to fail.
Davis: ‘This must be it…’
Through the front windscreen of the ship, new japan was now in sight.
The team were awestruck.
Through the lower levels of the clouds, a gigantic mass of rock and earth hung suspended in the air. Covering the sky, the layers upon layers of jagged, clustered rock formed into many different sized platforms, in which the different parts of japan where held upon.
The outskirts (Also know as the smaller clusters of floating rock) housed the many different villages and farms, whilst the internal cluster held the major city. Each of the clusters were either bound together with giant metal plates, or were connected with giant bridges.
However, the amount of ships flying past suggested that these bridges were for those traveling on foot rather than with a vehicle.
Crystal: (With bursting excitement) ‘OMG that’s so cool!’
Davis Drafter: (With a very, very small hint of awe in his voice.) ‘*Hmph*, it's something.’
Ronnie Manning: (confused) ‘How do you think they get them to float like that?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘I don't know, but I think we will find out soon enough.’
The closer the ship flew to the floating rocks, the more the team could see. Flying above the smaller clusters, they stared down at the many different fields of green which dotted the outskirts. Farmers were using cattle to plow down fields, whilst others were tending to the harvesting of crops.
Yet, this civil, old fashioned way of life disappeared the closer you got the center of the “Country” (Not really sure if you can call a floating, broken up area a country, but we will go with it to avoid confusion.)
The green land was replaced with a towering city, filled to the brim with civilians, guards, robots… it seemed more like a swarming mass then people.
As the team approached closer, the driver informed them to keep their heads down and stay quiet.
Joining the network of other vehicles, the driver swerved his way through traffic, making a few sharp turns, but staying fairly low to the ground. Eventually, he drove down an alleyway just on the outskirts of town. There, he cut the engines to allow for a safe landing.
Driver (Yep, he’s different to the guy in the submarine. He’s a bit more…. rednecky.): ‘Here’s your stop. Just knock on the door there and you'll get to our contact. Good luck!’
Thanking him, the foursome jumped off the ship. Then, it pulled upward, steering around the corner violently, scraping half the side against the wall.
Needless to say, Ryu was now happy to be on solid ground. (Ironic considering that the ground below him was still floating.)
Without hesitation, Ronnie made a dash to the door, where he relentlessly knocked until a frail, older man answered. He was fairly short, with a long black beard, which faded to grey the further out it went.
He stared at the four young ones for a few seconds, checked left and right, then invited them in with a simple hand gesture.
The inside of the building was almost expected. All the Furniture inside seemed as old as it's owner, and yet maintained to near perfection, with no signs of wear. Instead of traditional walls, each segment of the room was blocked off by thick paper backgrounds, adorned with many different symbols and images of lakes, rivers and birds.
Although there were two regular armchairs in one corner of the room, a set of five cushions around a small table was wear the older man guided the four.
Upon the team taking a seat, the man shut the door, then joined them.
In a rather rough, deep, but unusually calm voice, the man spoke.
Edmund Walganus: ‘I'm sorry for the lack of accommodations. It's very rare that I get any guests. Would any of you care for a cup of tea?’
Ryu and crystal accepted, whilst Davis and Ronnie refused.
Shifting slowly, the old man reached the kettle, and poured three small cubs of herbal tea. After handing the two their drinks, he sat down with his own.
Edmund Walganus: ‘I hope you don't mind me asking, but Mr Manning, you are the one with the network security codes in his finger, Correct?’
Ronnie nodded, with a scared and confused look on his face.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Have we met before? How do you know my name? Are you psychic! Please tell me your psychic!’
Edmund gave a jolly chuckle.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Oh, do forgive me, but I read into your profiles before you all arrived. I just wanted to know who to allow in and who not. You see, the IWEC have been patrolling allot more recently, so I don't want to accidently let in the wrong people.’
Ryu Jianar: (confused) ‘Wait, so we have profiles? I never remember giving consent to having my information documented.’
Edmund Walganus: ‘It's simply a way for the Capt’n to keep track on where everyone is. Think of it like his personal notes on each of you.’
The old man took a sip of his tea with his withered lips. Then, he removed a sheet of folded paper from his left pocket.
Edmund Walgnaus: ‘Now, I always keep my paswords safe on paper, just in case I forget them with my old age.’
He handed the paper over to Ryu.
Ryu Jianar: ‘What's this for?’
Edmund extended his arm and pointed towards one the the many portraits hung around the room. This in particular one had a phoenix bursting into flame drawn upon it.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Look behind it’
Standing, Davis moved over and carefully took the picture off the little hook it was attached to. Behind, was what seemed to be a small console, with number pads.
Ryu went over and inputted the numbers.
As soon as he entered the final digit, the group were surprised to wat a small part of the wall slide aside, revealing an entryway into another room.
Edmund Walganus: ‘The four of you will be sleeping in the Hud room for now, just in case of surprise inspections. I trust you can make yourselves at home.’
Allowing the four to proceed through alone, they were greeted with a rather pleasant surprise.
Unlike the feast of the house, things were much more accustomed to the way the team was used too. Although there were no windows in the room, it was brightly lit from the lights embedded in the ceiling.
A single desktop with four separate holographic screens was located on a desk in the centre of the room. Even with the more advanced atmosphere, the individual beds were still separated by the same thin paper walls, however, these didn't have any symbols upon them. Peering at the beds, three of them seemed to be well made up, with a sturdy frame, whilst the fourth one was a makeshift duvet.
Edmund Walganus: ‘ I have this room mainly for guests and such. And please excuse one of the beds. I initially only expected three of you, but the Capt’n made some last minute changes…’
Crystal: ‘It's completely fine. Thank you.’
Edmund Walganus: ‘You're very welcome. That being said, you should check the databases on the computer for all that we have on this mission. Even though I have been here since the earth was risen I still can't put my finger on where they are hiding that facility.’
Nodding, he slowly turned around and closed the door behind him.
Almost instinctively, Davis moved over to the furthest bed. Laying down, he placed his arms behind his head and let out a deep sigh.
Crystal: ‘Don't tell me you're already going to sleep!’
Davis Drafter: ‘Have you got a better idea?’
Crystal: ‘Well, yeah! You could…. I don't know…. Be social for once!’
Davis waved her away.
With a deep sigh, Crystal moved over to the central computer, where Ryu was already accessing all the files available to him.
Crystal: (Rubbing hands together) ‘So! What have we got?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Sadly, not allot. Seems like we only have the normal daily cycles of the section rotations, the sections themselves, and the guards used. There's a bit here that is supposed to summarise the information, but again, it's not much.’
Crystal: ‘It's better than nothing! Read it out.’
Ryu Jianar: (Reading) ‘ Although studies have been able to identify a source of pattern in the IWEC’s shifting of the sections in new Japan, we have been unable to exactly pinpoint where this facility would be. However, we have been able to devise that each section works in the same way as the solar system, where the lesser yet more fractured and farm like clusters of the country from the outside ring, whilst it grows thicker in both population and technological breakthrough as you get further into the country. In the centre of this floating city does lie an incredible piece of technology known as the liphsorb, which is magnetically generated to keep this whole place afloat. Unfortunately, we have been unable to study it due to our lack of staff, plus the potential risk of detection from the IWEC…’
Crystal: (Cutting in excitedly) ‘...Well maybe it's there! You know, inside the liph-thingymobob!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘let me finish! (Back to reading) ...However, with what we can gather from external sources, the inner core is solid, and too small to fit the labs required to create aircraft's….’
Crystal: (Cutting in again) ‘So if it creates aircrafts, then it must be somewhere high so they can test them!’
Ryu jianar: ‘Firstly, do you listen to yourself when you talk? We are in the sky! Everywhere around here is a suitable test ground!... Secondly, stop cutting me off!’
Crystal done the motion of zipping her lips shut, then threw away an imaginary key.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Right, well… (Back to reading) ...in any case, the only hint of trace we can think of is to use the regular dates and movements of the floating country. By our estimations, the whole country rotates in the external rock moving faster, and the internal slower. The external is split into fourty different segments, the middle two in twenty then ten, whilst the layer just before is split into three very closely spaced, large pieces. With this format of complication, we are yet to figure out the pattern at where each individual segment is at depending on the time of day, however, we have found that all segments return to the same starting positions at exactly noon.
Crystal: ‘ Well, this sounds pretty complicated. ‘
Ryu jianar: (Passive - aggressively) ‘What happened to keeping your mouth on lock?’
Crystal: ‘I keep a second key. ‘
Ryu Jianar: ‘*sigh* don't worry, that's about it. Nothing else to go on really.’
Crystal: ‘There must be something more to go on, surely!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Not by the looks of things. Everything else here is all research and daily intermissions.’
Crystal: ‘ (Arms folded) ‘Well, I guess we have allot of work to do.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Indeed. For now, let me look a bit more into all these files.’
Typing away, Ryu searched deeper into the files, passing through each one and making sure to double check the data before complying it into a useful and nonuseful section.
Before long, he was done…
Two hours later.
Ryu Jianar: *cracking Knuckles* Right, who's ready to here what we have?’
Nobody answered.
Searching the room, Ryu found Davis completely asleep on his bed, Ronnie playing with the touch-lamp in the corner of the room, and crystal was nowhere to be seen.
Ryu Jianar: ‘*deep sigh* I guess it can wait for tomorrow.’
Meanwhile, just in the room opposite, Crystal was having a delightful conversation with Edmund.
Edmund Walganus: ‘...and after pressing with the brush lengthways, you continue by using a sidewards stroke to create the feathering effect.’
Crystal: ‘(Taking a swig of her tea) Wow, so you can use that with both ink and watercolor to create an imprint?’
Edmund Walganus: ‘Precisely. However, make sure to use less ink, otherwise you could end up with a blotchy coating.’
Since the two were sat next to the window, they watched as the sun slowly fell beneath them as it melted over the horizon.
Crystal: ‘So, Edmund, what brought you out here anyway? I mean, living as a spy must be uncomfortable.’
Edmund Walganus: ‘Uncomfortable? How come?’
He smiled.
Edmund Walganus: ‘My dear, I have everything and more here then I did in my previous home. Ever since the IWEC took over, it's been particularly hard to find anywhere … Well… nice.’
He seemed to stare out of the window, as if he was in the room, but his mind wasn't.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Everyone's constantly living in fear. Nobody feels safe, and yet everyone puts on the same face and get on with it. For me, I guess my old age is an advantage, since I'm not forced into work. Yet, I do wish that things went back to the way they were.’
His attention snapped back into the room.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Thats why I'm a spy. Then again, I'm not exactly a very good one. So, in my spare time, I just draw what I can see out this window.’
Crystal: ‘But, doesn't it get lonely?’
Edmund Walganus: ‘Sometimes. But that's just a sacrifice I'm willing to give to see things back to the way they were. Back when people smiled.’
He took the final sip of tea. Then, got to his feet slowly.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Well, if you would excuse me, it's about time I retired for the evening.’
Crystal: ‘But it's just coming up to seven.’
Edmund Walganus: ‘I'm tired in my old age. Energetic at times, but still old.’
He laughed to himself as he slowly made his way to his room.
Crystal: (Calling after him) ‘Goodnight!’
Edmund Walganus: (Faintly from the other room) ‘Goodnight.’
Left alone in the room, Crystal pondered the idea of the mission at hand in her head, as she slowly stirred her tea with her finger.
Staring out the window, down at the deep vastness of the ocean in the distance, and the steel ledge only blocked by a simple railing, she thought the same thing that was on the whole team's mind…
“Where the hell do we start looking first!”
...
As the sun settled itself below the shroud of the ocean, The city centre of new japan began to settle. The last remaining ships in the sky were either refueling for the long evening nights ahead, or parking for a night's rest in sanctuary.
However, one in particular ship, an IWEC troop transporter on a tight schedule, had made another unscheduled stop to refuel.
And the leader of this vessel, was unhappy.
Andrack: (Exiting the side doors of the ship, shouting) ‘...But not only are you maggots useless, but you couldn't keep your heads together for one set of fucking terrorists. We are losing one set of facilities after another, and each one sets blame on my head. You hear me, mine, not yours…’
He paused to take a breath, then looked back at the group with his fists clenched.
Andrack: ‘So what do you know, The head calls us back to have an important meeting. *slight breath of laughter* you know what that means right? It means we failed! And now, i'm going to be demoted, or worse, paired up with another bunch of insolent fools like you!’
Everyone was in no place to say anything back to Andrack, who was not taking the past losses lightly.
However, out of everyone, Leilei Couldn't help but hang her head in shame. For she was the one who had forgotten to refuel the ship at the first stop they made.
Andrack: ‘And as for you…’
Slowly, Andrack walked up to Leilei, so that he was invading any kind of personal space she had.
Andrack: (Silent, but aggressive) ‘...You only had one task hmmm? What was it? Go on, tell me.’
Staring at the ground, Leilei tried to mutter, but her words came out mumbled and jittery.
Andrack: (Shouting) ‘Tell me!’
Again, she tried to speak, but she felt way too short for breath. With tears in her eyes, she stared hard at the ground below her and gripped tightly onto her sleeves.
Andrack: ‘That's what I thought. Your nothing, aren't you? Just an inbreed piece of shit with less brain then your mother! Why do you think you were the last of your litter to be drafted into a group, hmm? Because your nothing. Not to me, not to anyone!’
Helpless, all Leilei could do was take the words straight heart. The poor feline felt her heart breaking faster and faster with every word.
But standing beside her, with his fist whitening, was Muco.
Every vile word the Cyborg spoke lit a spark inside him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't contain his rage.
As Andrack raised his hand to Leilei, Muco didn't want to hold back anymore…
Yet, as the cyborg’s hand thrusted forward, it was caught by another, more metallic arm.
Pint, who had been watching Muco’s rage grow, couldn't let the boy fall under the hammer again, like the many times before this one. Likewise, he didn't want to see the only innocent party member get treated like dirt. So, he intervened.
Pint: (Remaining calm) ‘Hey lad, no need to get so violent, hey? We’re just trying to do as you command, nothing more. I mean, it might not be that bad, mr… eh... Andrack sir.’
An intense moment of silence occurred, as Andrack stared silently at the tiny mech.
Slowly lowering his arm, Andrack seemed calm enough. Turning his back, Andrack began walking away.
In a sudden, violent turn, Andrack rammed his fist straight through pints left eye, sending the shrapnel parts of his face flying. Then, pinning the helpless mech to the ground, he continued to savagely tear the mechs right arm directly out of it's socket.
Left in nothing but his own injection fluid, Pint could do nothing but lay still in agony.
Slowly, Andrack bent down.
Andrack: (Quietly) ‘If I ever see you again, I will make sure I will be the last thing you do see. You're just like the other scumm on this disgusting planet of ours. Nothing.’
He got back to his feat, then delivered a sharp kick to Pints stomach.
Andrack: ‘You're relieved of duty. And don't worry, I will make sure your face is deleted off every record. (Laughing) Mainly because I don't think you will survive this. I mean, after all, who’s going to help a nobody like you, huh?’
Expectantly, Andrack looked at the rest of the crew. In shame, all of them hung their head. Even Matchbox couldn't help put stare in disgust at Andrack.
But, They were powerless to do anything.
Andrack: ‘That's what I thought. Now let's get moving! We have one hell of a long flight ahead of us, and i'm not taking any more of this shit from any of you. Get moving, now!’
After boarding their ship, and disengaging all the fuel deliverance pipes, the team flew out of sight, leaving new japan, and pint, behind.
With nobody to help him, the shattered mech picked up his other arm, then slowly began to crawl towards the major section of the city. He knew where to go to get a quick fix.
It was just a matter of crawling...
Chapter Eight, Day two: Drink to drown it all
New Japan tends to be a place of habit. Every morning, as the sun rises slowly from it's sleep, so do the citizens, guards and cattle alike. Each morning, everyone raises to the circling mass beneath them, floating without effort, allowing for these people to make a semi-healthy living.
Yet, unlike the rest of the early rises, four people remained distant from the waking world, remaining in their slumber.
It was too dark in the side room, with the only light coming from the very dim screen on the computer.
Silently, a small holographic face of Yuuto waited and watched the time.
That is, until eight am.
Sounding off a loud buzzer and switching on all the lights, the team all jumped out of their skins. The noise even disturbed Davi for about four seconds, then he rolled onto his side and covered his ears with a pillow.
Yuuto Ito: ‘(Switching off the alarm) Did you miss me?’
Ryu Jianar: (Driery) ‘No, not really. How did you…’
Yuuto Ito: (Cutting in) ‘Turns out all the anti-collective transmitters can carry over mini holograms to other computers connected to the system. So I can go between them without worrying about getting deleted because my backup copies back at HQ. Well, here I am, ready to keep you four on track.’
Crystal: (Sarcastically) ‘That's great.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Sure is!’
He paused, then began speaking again after seemingly checking something.
Yuuto Ito: ‘I see you have already accessed all the information regarding the facility Ryu. So i'm also guessing you all know everything we have so far?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Yeah, but I haven't gotten around to telling everyone yet.’
Yuuto Ito: (Sarky) ‘You really couldn't find time to tell them a few things in eighteen hours? Guess it's my job to pick up the pieces for you then.’
Suddenly, the screen flipped so that it was facing upwards. Then, a holographic image of the whole of new japan filled the centre of the room.
Yuuto Ito: ‘To cut out all the complicated stuff, we basically have no exact leeds on the location of the facility at the present moment. However, we have currently found out that the entire country is split into different sections. Lets just call them inner, middle and outer rings for now. Each of these rings are also split into pieces, and are all numbered depending on the sections. However, almost none of these are important to you four, since you will mainly be focusing the centre cities, which are split into three districts…’
The holographic image zoomed in on the three city districts, which were all split in equal sizes around the liphsorb.
Yuuto Ito: ‘... Whatever you do, don't think that this makes them small. Each district is about the size of ten major cities all put together. I really can't be bothered with filling out four missing people reports, so please stick to the guides provided to you. Now, we have contacts in each district, but the primary objective today is to retrieve information from two contacts in district three, which you're in right now. your contact doesn't want to share his name, but he will be seated in the top level of the “loners tavern” wearing a bright blue jumper with the other contact wearing black lensed glasses. It would be a ten minute ride by train, but we can't afford to let you four get caught using the transport, since it's all covered in heavy security. In any case, you will all be walking for an hour, in basically a straight line south.’
He closed the hologram, and returned the pc to it's original state.
Yuuto ito: ‘Your current host should have some mini phone-like devices with a full map of each city. Just be sure not to use them when people are around. You pull any unwanted attention, and you may jeopardise everything. Got that.’
Ryu, Crystal and Ronnie noded.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Got that Davis?’
Davis Drafter: *Muffled noise that sounds like a “shut up” from under the pillow on his head*
Yuuto Ito: ‘I will take that as a yes then. Oh, and Ryu, once you get the information, come back here and document it please. Capt’ns orders and all.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Got it.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Good. In that case, I have to help out Atsuko and Xyro with analysing Lucia. Good luck!’
Yuuto’s face disappeared entirely from the screen.
Returning to silence once more, the team mumbled to one another as they got appropriately clothed.
As soon as they were semi-decent in appearance, the four headed out of the room, only to be greeted by Edmund.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Good morning! I hope my snoring didn't interrupt your sleep.’
He chuckled to himself.
Sat at a table, he had a newspaper in front of him, as well as a small china glass filled with tea, and a matching tea pot beside it.
Even in his old age, he could tell that the group weren't looking for breakfast any time soon, and had other things on their minds.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Ahhh, I see you are all ready to go out on your first assignment! Very good, very good. Your friend Yuuto told me you would need these…’
Holding out his hand, the team could see four incredibly thin wristbands.
In confusion, the group took one each.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Don't ask me how, but these are by far one of my favourite little gadgets they send me from HQ. just wrap it around your wrist, and not only will they camouflage themselves to your skin, but by holding your thumb on it for five seconds, it will project a holographic map.’
Testing this for himself, Ryu strapped the band around his wrist. Surely enough, as soon as it contacted his skin, it blended in perfectly, showing no signs of being there. Holding his thumb against it, a small hologram of a map emerged, showing their exact location.
Crystal: ‘These are so cool, thank you Edmund.’
Edmund Walganus: ‘It's my pleasure, but just remember to smash them if you feel like someone is following you. They are easily disposable, so don't feel bad about breaking them. Also, I would advise leaving the majority of your weapons here, but make sure to take something small and easily concealable just in case.’
Agreeing, the group dropped most of their weaponry, but all took a small military-style dagger, provided by Edmund. Well, all except Ronnie, who opted to take both wooden spoons instead.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Well, I wish you all the best of luck. Just be back here before sundown. The city gets pretty dark late at night.’
Nodding, the four went to exit the back door, into the alleyway they entered from.
Davis Drafter: (Placing his hand on crystals shoulder) Aren't you forgetting something?’
She stared at him with a confused look, until he removed a small, puffy hat from his pocket. Remembering her ears, she quickly placed the hat ontop of them, and folded them in such a way that they remained completely concealed.
Davis Drafter: ‘I know you don't like doing this, but like the old man said, we don't want any attention whatsoever.’
Crystal: (Nodding) ‘Thank you.’
After they had made their way out into the alleyway, Ronnie closed the door with a loud thud behind him.
Ronnie Manning: ‘*Taking a long, deep breath in* Ahhhh, isn't it great to be outside!’
Stretching his arms out wide, both his shoulders let out a rather disturbing click, which didn't seem to phase him at all.
Ronnie Manning: ‘What are you all standing around for? South we go!’
Turning a corner in a happy march, Ronnie disappeared from the teams sight.
Ryu Jianar: (Shouting after him) ‘Ronnie, that's North!’
After a few seconds of silence, a less happy Ronnie was seen traveling in the opposite direction to the way he was, past the group and to the other side of the wall.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Somehow, I have a feeling that something's going to go wrong.’
Davis Drafter: ‘(Moving forward) Come on, we can't lose him out of our sights for a second.’
Crystal: (Confused) But we just did!’
Davis let out a deep, deep sigh, then hastily continued to move after Ronnie silently.
Now, unlike the way they would normally travel, the small group seemed to take a completely different approach, with Ronnie far far in front in a happy stride, Davis walking after him with Crystal at his heels trying to keep up, and Ryu plodding along behind.
Even as far back as he was, Ryu could still slightly hear Crystal speaking at Davis, who seemed to say nothing back except from a few words here and there. Ronnie, however, seemed to be enjoying the casual walk. Hands behind his head, He basked in the sunlight as it trickled down from above onto his, now gleaming, bald head.
Kicking stones as he went, Ryu acted as calm and natural as possible, avoiding potential eye contact from the passing crowds, whilst also stopping his gaze from falling onto his companions.
An hour had passed, as the four kept on walking.
Although the City seemed large, The walk had felt relatively quick. With all the buildings seeming similar to the group, nobody was truly focused on sightseeing. With haste, and within the hour, they arrived at a street, that curved to a left.
Just off the corner of this turn sat the loners tavern.
It was clearly meant to be styled as an old western bar, which seemed incredibly out of place in the surrounding modern mass of concrete.
Crossing the road with relative ease, Ryu went over to the door, where the other three were waiting patiently, albeit Ronnie had started playing with the swinging saloon-style doors.
Crystal: ‘What happened? Got lost back there?’
Ryu stared coldly at her for a second, before realising she was genuinely concerned.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Oh, I just thought that keeping my distance would make us seem less suspicious.’
Crystal: ‘So your telling us that now? Why not say something earlier dummy!’
He shrugged.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Hey, I see our contacts.’
The man was staring through the doorway at a pair sat at a table. The two matched the description perfectly.
So, Ronnie started to take the subtle approach of screaming “Hey” and waving at them frantically.
Grabbing his arm firmly, both Davis and crystal held him there, and tried to act as natural as possible as the four moved over to the table, with the now facepalming pair.
As Ryu, Davis, Crystal and Ronnie each took a seat, the man wearing the blackened glasses looked at Ryu, and with a very subtle but firm voice, simply said…
Agent B: (again, I have no clue what their names are, so this will have to suffice.) Did you really have to bring him along with you?’
Ryu looked at Ronnie, who wasn't even paying attention to the table, but instead was staring off at all the food and drink being served.
Ryu Jianar: ‘What, and leave him alone in someone's house?’
Slowly, the agent nodded in agreement.
Crystal: (Curious) ‘How do you know Ronnie?’
The other agent seemed to speak up.
Agent A: ‘Everyone knows Ronnie in the anti-collective.’
He paused and smiled.
Agent A: ‘He has quite the…. Reputation.’
The other agent seemed to snigger a little bit to his partner. Then, noticing the unsatisfied look on both Davis and Crystals face, The two returned to the task at hand.
Agent B: ‘Cutting the pleasantries…’
Placing his arm under the table, the man reached down to his side, were a small bag sat. taking out a cealed folder, he placed it on the table in front of Ryu.
Agent B: ‘Here's what we have been able to gather so far. It's not much, but we will keep looking.’
Crystal: (Confused at first, then slightly irritated) ‘I….Is that it???’
Agent A: ‘I know it doesn't seem like much but trust me, we…’
Crystal: ‘Oh, no no no, I didn't mean that. I meant, is this really all we are doing here? To come and take a file?’
The two agents looked at one another, then back at her.
Agent B: ‘Of course. What else did you think was going to happen?’
In a silent disappointment, Crystal sat back in her chair with a huff.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Alright, I’ll get to reading this once we get back.’
The two agents nodded to the group.
However, just as the four were about to exit the bar, one of the agents gestured to the other to say something, so, the first agent grabbed their attention.
Agent A: ‘ We just wanted to say good luck.’
Thanking them, they made their way out into the street.
Crystal: (With her arms crossed) ‘We walked all this way for that!’
Ronnie Manning: ‘I know! It was amazing!’
She stared at him coldly, then started to go back the way they came.
Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, Ryu decided against his initial idea.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Where are you off too Crystal.’
The girl stopped in her tracks.
Crystal: ‘Back to see Edmund, durr!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Shouldn't we look around first? You know, at the shops and stuff?’
Seeing through his very obvious attempt at being the “friendly boss” Crystal walked over and lightly nudged him with her elbow.
Crystal: (Pepping up) ‘What are we waiting for then?’
Grabbing Ryu by the arm, she dragged him into the nearest clothes store, with a smiling Ronnie following close behind.
Davis, Who was still stood in the middle of the street, took a deep sigh, before heading back into the tavern for a well deserved drink.
…
The day seemed to go by quickly.
The morning sun now transformed into a red and yellow sea of cloud, it was finally time for those in the city to relax after a long day at work.
With the rest of his crew out shopping, Davis found greater comfort propped up on a bar stool with a drink in hand.
Sitting with a slight hunch, he stared at the murky brown liquid inside the small glass before him. He pulled it to his lips, swallowing the substance in one go, then placing the glass back down onto the table.
Looking at the time, it was just coming up to half past five in the evening. Sighing, he began rummaging through his pockets for his wallet, so he could pay and then go find the others.
Yet, as he did so, his hand came across something rather soft to the touch.
He removed the item from his top left pocket, and stared down at it.
Laying in his hand, was a small doll.
Unlike any other, this was clearly made out of scrap cloth, with hair made from a layer of different colored fabric, two tiny button eyes and a stitched smile.
The more he stared at the doll, the harder the memories hit him.
Davis, only two years younger, stood before the door of his parents old home. His mother, clearly distraught, held him tight in her arms. As Davis’ father had died years ago, his mother found comfort In Davis living with her and helping her with simple tasks around the house.
Sitting in the living room just behind the doorway were a few people, all distraught but without recognisable features. All he could remember was they were family. The alcohol made sure of it.
Yet, no amount of alcohol can make you forget your mother's face.
Hugging her, Davis let go and looked down at her, with a gentle smile.
Davis Drafter: “It will all be fine mum. We will get that money. We will all be safe. I promise……”
As he said this, his younger sister ran over to the doorway. Clasping him tightly around his leg, she stared up at him.
Poppy Drafter: (Beads of tears in her eyes) “Please don't go Davy!”
After letting go of his mother, Davis dropped to one knee.
Without words, he hugged her tightly. Even at that state, he feared to tell her anything.
As the hug broke, she handed him her favourite doll.
Poppy Drafter: (Smiling through tears) “She will look after you.”
Smiling gently, he picked her up and hugged her.
Yet, he knew he had to let go eventually, he still wished he never did.
His mind zipped through the horror, the anguish, the pain.
Staring down at the doll, he held it tighter in his hand.
Then, slowly, he slid it back into his trench coat, before ordering yet another, but this time much larger, shot of whiskey.
As he held the glass up to take another swig, the other three waltzed happily into the bar. Two bags in hand, crystal waved excitedly over to Davis.
Crystal: (Walking over) “There you are! We were looking all over for you!”
Ronnie Manning: “Yeah! We tried the clothes store, then another clothes store…., then a bag store! Crystal said you would be in there, but Ryu said to come back here eventually.”
Ryu Jianar:(Obviously exhausted) “I need to get this report done, so let's get back. Davis, you ready to go?”
He nodded, then swallowed the remaining amount of whisky.
Paying his tab, the four began their long track back to the base of operations.
After arriving, and giving a brief description of how the meeting went, Ryu began the long process of updating the computer with the information provided.
As everyone went to work on other things, Davis slumped on his bed, facing the wall.
For now, his head ached from all the drink in his system….
...but at least it didn't ache from the pain of remembering once more.
Chapter Eight, Day three: Rain, rain, please stay….
Tap, tap, tap….
The sound of rain trickling onto the roof above kept Ryu up as he worked hard to enter the information he was provided the day before into the computer.
Red under the eyes and wrapped in his duvet, he had spent the entire evening getting this information uploaded.
Davis was still resting on his bed, caught in a deep sleep.
Out in the other room, Crystal was learning another brush technique from Edmund, whilst Ronnie stood outside on the balcony in the pouring rain.
Edmund Walganus: (Staring out the window at Ronnie) ‘There’s something strange about that man…’
Crystal: (Not breaking eye contact from her art piece) ‘You've only just figured that out now?’
Edmund Walganus: (looking back at her) ‘That's not what I meant…’
He looked back out the window at the bald “man”.
Now thoroughly drenched, Ronnie still remained standing in the direct path of the rain. With a smile plastered to his face, he stared out at the water droplets hitting the crashing waves below.
Crystal: (Also staring at Ronnie) ‘I sometimes wonder what makes him tick, but then again another part of me doesn't want to know.’
Edmund Walganus: ‘We all develop from personal experience. Most of us learn how to deal with things differently than others…’
He stopped to give a small sigh.
Edmund Walganus: ‘...He’s smarter than you would think. In fact, he was the one who found us in the first place.’
Crystal: ‘What do you mean?’
Edmund Walganus: ‘The capt’n gave orders to have “The five fingers” explore the outskirt areas of London in order to try to get a potential advantage on the IWEC. Soon after, Ronnie seemed to appear out of nowhere to lend them assistance. As soon as the capt’n saw those codes in his finger, he was on board with the mission.’
Again, he let out another sigh. This time, with a little bit of an added laugh.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Funny thing is, he became both hated and loved throughout the anti-collective. Some people thought both of him!’
The two laughed at the notion. But, Crystal thought back on what Edmund had just said.
Crystal: ‘But, Ronnie was in the same facility that Xyro and the others were in previously. I wonder How did he manage to get to England?’
Edmund Walganus: (Shrugging) ‘I'm as baffled as you are my dear.’
The two pondered on the idea for a brief moment, before Ronnie made his way inside.
Ronnie manning: (Shaking himself off) ‘Nothing beats a fresh drop of rain in the morning!’
Crystal: ‘Did you get bored standing out there in the rain for so long?’
Ronnie Manning: (Cleaning out his ear with his finger) ‘No, I just didn't want to get my hair too wet.’
As he said this, he combed his hand over his head elegantly, brushing the very few, tiny strands of hair that remained on his otherwise barren head.
Ronnie Manning: ‘So, what are we gonna do today?’
Crystal: ‘Since we haven't got another contact ready for us, we don't really have a plan. Plus, with how heavy that rain is coming down, none of us feel like going anywhere in particular. I guess we are just waiting for Ryu to get all that information uploaded so we can discuss what to do next.’
Nodding at her, Edmund reach over to the kettle, and poured Ronnie a small glass of the warm liquid, then handed it to him.
Thanking him with a subtle head nod, Ronnie sat beside the two of them to watch as Crystal painted many different patterns and shapes in fine black ink.
As time passed, Ryu finally updated the final piece into the system.
Slouching backwards on his chair after entering the final log, he let out a large sigh of relief.
Davis Drafter: (Finely awake, putting on his boots) ‘I guess you finished getting those reports updated then?’
In typical Davis fashion, he said this in a groggy way, but was meant as a kind of way to break the ice.
Ryu made a weird noise and very slightly nodded his head.
Ryu Jianar: (Obviously tired, but speaking with importance) ‘As they said, it's very little to go on. But I have something of interest I need to discuss with you all.’
With Ryu in the lead, the two made their way out of the room to join the others.
Ryu Jianar: (Speaking to the room) ‘Right, I got those files through…’
Crystal:(Expectantly) ‘And??’
Ryu Jianar: ‘...And they were right. There's not much here on the whereabouts of the facility...’
With obvious disappointment on her face, Crystal made a “pshhh” noise as she rested her head onto her hands.
Ryu Jianar: ‘..However, we do know what we are up against!’
Throwing a few of the documents onto the table, Crystal immediately picked out three images from the set.
The first was of the simple IWEC troops. The image showcased both human and mechanoid trooper alike.
The second was of a set of simple Dizor’s, armed for both melee and ranged combat.
The third, and more distinct, was of an E.C mech (The same extreme crisis mechs from the first facility.)
Although the four had been split in their origins to the team, they had all seen these types of troops before in one way or another.
However, Ryu had one last file in his hand…
Placing it down, The team all looked in dread at New Japan's main IWEC line of defence, the carving drone.
Built entirely for the purpose of killing, these crudely humanoid drones were incredibly lean yet agile. Like a cross between a ninja and a bloodhound, the creatures would run on all fours, yet walk and fight on their hind legs the same way humans would. As the name would suggest, these drones weren't created for the pleasantries of a handshake. Instead of two regular arms, the appendages were replaced with two incredibly long curved blades, which can activate a rippling laser across the blade, allowing them to slice through the hardest of armour.
Yes, these were truly the definition of “Cutting”-edge technology…..
...no? Nobody?.....
Ok then, anyway….
Ryu Jianar: ‘From what I can gather, The IWEC are un-aware of our presence here, however they have been on high alert recently, so we need to stay concealed.’
Ryu remained silent after that, since he had nothing more to add on the subject.
Realising the awkward silence, Crystal intervened.
Crystal: ‘Well, what do we do now then?’
Edmund Walganus: ‘In the meantime…’
He grabbed ahold of the small china kettle beside him.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Tea anyone?’
….
Back in Paris, things weren't too different.
A large number of thick black clouds had rolled over us, unleashing heavy rain and subtle thunder and lightning.
The day had been full of hard labour for me. After completing the tests on Lucia (which came back negative on any kinds of diseases and infections, including any kind that could “turn” someone) I simply got given the task of transporting heavy amounts of scrap down to Atsuko and the other engineers in order for them to manufacture more mechs, weapons, exedra.
So, with the day rolling near to the evening, I took the time to sit in the tallest point of the pyramid, staring out at the rain that falled against the black windowpains.
Even in my light trance, I could hear the sound of heavy footsteps behind me.
Dakota Way: (Cheerfully) ‘Sup man!’
Dakota took a seat beside me. He had a towel around his shoulders, in what I guess was an attempt to dry his hair from being outside for a while.
X.D: ‘Just relaxing. How about you?’
Dakota Way: ‘Ehh, Could be better. They got me to run all the scraps from the tanks the IWEC had to Atsuko, so i’m pooped.’
I remained silent for a while. I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just lost in thought.
Dakota Way: (Punching me around the shoulder) ‘Cheer up dude, your bro will do just fine!’
X.D: ‘I know, But that's not what i'm worried about.’
Dakota gave me a confused look, as he dried his hair with the towel.
X.D: ‘...Yuuto and I have been reading those files that we got from the other facilities. Now I know where the teleportation devices are heading, and I don't like how this is going to end.
He seemed to understand me a little more, but still gave me a look that asked for clarification.
X.D: ‘No matter what we do Dakota, this thing is going to end in more bloodshed than we initially thought. By the looks of things, they are heading to the main IWEC HQ in the centre of Russia.’
Dakota stared at me for a little while, until he eventually smiled and punched me around the shoulder again.
Dakota Way: ‘Come on dude! All of us know that it's going to end that way. But think about it, what good is just loitering around in a world run by robots, when we can fight and have the chance to explore space, man!’
I think this was probably one of the top ten smartest and meaningful things Dakota had ever said.
Miu Shizuka: (Sarky) ‘I hope i'm not intruding in on your little chat, but get ready for a little briefing with the Capt’n.’
She waltzed into the room slowly, with many people in tow. Right behind her was a large set of Anti-collective officers and captains, behind them was kiri’s group (Which up to this point I hadn't seen in awhile, so I was glad that they were ok.) And behind them was everyone else, including Lucia and Atsuko.
As soon as everyone had entered the room, Yuuto’s holographic head appeared….
Which was quickly shrunken, and replaced with a huge screen and the Capt’n’s face instead.
Capt’n: ‘I'm sorry to break you all from what you were doing, but this is a matter of both celebration and worry.’
Part of the screen sank, with the capt’n still visible, but a large map of the world as well.
Capt’n: ‘Thanks to the support of all of you, we have finally been able to send squads into America, the united kingdom and the rest of France. We now have full control of these regions, with the civilians all joining the cause.’
A large amount of excitement sprung up in the room, with everyone cheering or clapping. (More so from the other commanders.)
Capt’n: ‘...However, we can't celebrate just yet. In order to win this we need to cut of the head of the operation. To do this, we need to form our forces together to take out their HQ in the centre of Russia.’
Upon finishing his sentence, he stared expectantly at Kiri, who took a step forward into the centre of the room.
Kiri: ‘...Whilst doing recon, we discovered that the IWEC has a complete defence grid around Russia and other facilities. Although we were able to deactivate the defences around our area of control, we can't seem to be able to deactivate any more, since the rest seems to be attached to a central mainframe….somewhere…’
Capt’n: (Cutting in) ‘...That is why I have decided to assign your team to the mission Xyro. As soon as The others in new Japan arrive, We will quickly check over the information they gained from the facility, and with any luck, we will be able to use the data to locate the central control panel of the defence grid.’
One of the random sergeants seemed to raise his hand and answer immediately.
Sergeant: ‘How tough is this defence grid? Can't we just….’
Kiri: ‘....we sent a fleet of fifty armed and fully armoured transport planes, accompanied by a gunship, through one of the defence grids. Needless to say, all of them were shot out of the sky in mere seconds.’
With his question answered, the sergeant went silent again.
Capt’n: ‘That's all soldiers. You're dismissed.’
As the captain dropped his signal, Yuuto’s face became enlarged again. However, the boy was now fast asleep, so Kiri turned the hologram off manually.
Although everyone seemed to go back to what they were doing before, Atsuko did end up asking me to go down into the engineering sectors to provide aid with the machinery.
Apart from that, the day simply ended the way it always did.
With everyone passed out in their sleeping bag after a hard day's work, and Miu and myself staring out of the top floor window, drinking freshly made herbal tea.
Chapter eight: Day four: Double-double agents:
At it's height, New Japan floats just high enough in the sky that any amount of rainfall falls hard onto the city.
However, these patches of rain come as a blessing to farmers, but a curse to the inner city dwellers.
For farmers, the fresh rain water keeps the crops well watered whilst also providing rich moisture for the soil. Since the water comes almost directly from the cloud’s source, it helps provide the moisture needed to keep crop rotation going on throughout the seasons without the need for sprinklers, except from when the dry seasons come around.
For anyone in the city, the rain led to flooded streets,The potential for many traffic jams from passing ships, and malfunctioning railway lines (mainly because the IWEC cuts all power from the mainline when it rains, just so that they can save energy for more mechs then using more to keep a functioning electrical circuit.)
With the conditions outside being so bad, many people took to staying in the shelter of their own homes.
Fully aware of the situation outside, the team found themselves preparing heavily for the day.
With each of them wearing at least a coat, they sat around the table in order to hear the plan Ryu had been scheming the night before.
Ryu Jianar: (After taking small sips of orange juice from a glass) ‘From what I can see, the rain has prevented people from walking outside. So we can't exactly blend into a crowd anymore. This means I would suggest standing apart from one another and to try and draw the least amount of attention to ourselves as possible.’
Crystal: (Hand on cheek, still tired) ‘Isn't that what we usually do?’
Ryu gave her an obviously sarcastic laugh, then looked hard at Ronnie.
Ronnie Manning: (Trying to scoop the tea bag out of his cup with the wrong end of the spoon, then pausing after he sees Ryu staring at him) ‘....what?’
Ryu Jianar: (Back to business) ‘We should really leave as soon as we finish breakfast. That way, we will be leaving at typical rush hour.’
Agreeing, the team went back to eating a hearty breakfast (Provided by Edmund, of course.)
Upon finishing the last bite, the team was off.
As soon as they had exited the back doorway, Ryu allowed Ronnie to start walking off ahead of the others, then Davis, then Crystal and finally himself.
Although the streets themselves weren't incredibly flooded, there were many, many incredibly deep puddles, which seemed shallow on the surface, but stepping into one, the water almost reached a person's shin.
Like reasonable people, Ryu, Crystal and Davis tried their hardest to avoid them.
But not Ronnie.
With every puddle he passed, he had to jump into, in the hopes to make a huge splash. And each time, he sent a wave of water at Davis, who was …. let's just say... “Delighted!”
Ryu, Who was somewhat enjoying the walk, was rather surprised at how such a big place full of people, could have such a small amount of public on the street. Not only was most of the walk rather barren, but even the people who passed them seemed to be in a quickened rush.
Yet, after an hour or so, they all finally arrived back to the bar….tavern….whatever.
Swinging open the saloon-style doors, business seemed to have been the same as last time, with over half the tables occupied by people.
Crystal: ‘I don't see them anywhere. Are we early?’
Ryu quickly scanned the room. Surely enough, the two spies from before where nowhere to be seen.
But, after checking the time, Ryu found that they had arrived half an hour early.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Let's just take a seat and wait for them. Im sure they will be here soon enough.’
Opting to chose the window seats, the four of them sat down on the comfortable chairs next to a table.
Crystal: (Picking up a menu, then showing it to Davis) ‘What do you think they have on the menu?’
Davis Shrugged.
Ryu Jianar: ‘You can't seriously be hungry?’
Crystal gave him a shrug which suggested *Why?*
Ryu Jianar: ‘You ate a full breakfast before we left!’
Crystal: (Holding her stomach) ‘But that was an hour ago!’
She gave him puppydog eyes.
Ryu Jiana: (Reluctantly) ‘Fine. Just don't eat too much.’
In a flash of excitement, Crystal began to rush through the menu, scanning for the one meal she wanted most, Pancakes.
Once she saw that they had them, her hand went straight up into the air, calling over one of the waitresses, who seemed rather cheerful.
Waitress: (flipping out a notebook) ‘What are you all having?’
Crystal: ‘I will have the….’
Ronnie manning: (Waving the menu around as he spoke) ‘We will have a round of pancakes!’
As she started jotting down the order, Ryu cut in.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Not for me though, please.’
Davis Drafter: ‘Me neither.’
Waitress: (Finally jotting down the order) ‘Great! We can serve you as soon as we can.’
When she walked away, Ryu couldn't help but feel weird about how cheerful she was.
Crystal: (Aggressively at Ronnie) ‘I wanted to order for myself, you butt!’
Ronnie smiled at her, then blew a raspberry.
Crystal: ‘....Gross…’
With Ronnie and Crystal arguing like children, Davis pulled out his small flask, then went to take a sip, only to find it completely empty.
Davis Drafter: ‘*Sigh* I'm going to need more whisky…’
Ryu Jianar: (Listening to the other two arguing) ‘...Me too.’
A few minutes past before their pancakes finally arrived.
Waitress: (Handing Ronnie and Crystal a plate full of pancakes, excitedly) ‘There you are! Do you need anything else? A drink..or anything?’
Ryu Jianar: (Now completely freaked out) ‘...no thank you.’
Davis Drafter: ‘Can I get a refill of this please?’
He handed her the flask.
Waitress: ‘Certainly mr Drafter!’
As she began to make her way back to the bar, Ryu Instantly stopped her.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Hold on a second, how do you know Davis?’
The girl stopped in her tracks, then turned and went back to them, so that she could whisper to the group.
Waitress: (Whispering) ‘Were all A.C here Ryu! Of course we know who you are! You are all amazing!’
She almost seemed as if she would explode with excitement. However, she managed to control herself.
Waitress: ‘Look, I know we can't be much help, but if you need any food and drink, it's on the house!’
With that, she turned and went back to the bar to refill Davis’s flask.
Crystal: (With her mouth full of pancakes) ‘Well….I didn't….*chew*...realise that we…*chew*...we're famous now…..’
Ronnie Manning: ‘She said all the food was on the house, right? *waving* hey, could I get another four of these!’
Then, a loud bang caused everyone's blood to run cold.
Crystal: (Jumping) ‘...What the fuck was that?’
The noise that sounded came from directly outside the tavern in the still drenched road.
Peering out the window to get a closer look, Ryu’s greatest fear became a reality in front of his eyes.
There, in the middle of the street, was the two spies from before.
However, the two of them were surrounded by IWEC troops.
The bang that the team had heard before, was the sound of the IWEC Officer placing a bullet into one of the spies head.
Powerless, Ryu then had to watch as the officer drew his blade, executing the other spy.
Ryu Jianar: (Breaking his view from the scene outside, Trying to hide his distraught anger) ‘The basterds…’
Crystal, who was curious, took a peek out of the window. As she broke line of sight, she too had the same, angry expression Ryu had.
However, she reached down to grab her cleaver.
Waitress: (Rushing over, trying to stay out of sight of the window) ‘Come with me, now!’
Although reluctant at first, the team followed.
Leading them behind the bar, past the bartender, and out the back door, the team found themselves in a fairly enclosed alleyway.
Waitress: (Slightly panicky) ‘If you follow the alleyway down to the left, you should be able to wrap your way around and get away without them spotting you.’
She turned to go back inside, but looked back over her shoulder.
Waitress: ‘...And please, We're counting on you all!’
As soon as she closed the door behind her, Ryu made sure to start taking the lead around the alleyways, checking every corner before turning it.
Ryu Jianar: (Smashing the band on his wrist) ‘We can't afford for them to follow us now. Make sure all of your maps are broken.’
After doing so, the team carried on walking.
Even though the buildings in this section of the city seemed to be far apart from one another, behind the scenes, everything was intertwined.
Every corner they turned, seemed to lead to yet another alleyway. And with each new alleyway, came a slight amount of vision to the main road.
Ryu could see that the path they were following was opposite to the road they initially followed to get to the tavern in the first place. With this in mind, Ryu decided to keep going until they arrived to the opposite side of Edmunds house.
The trip was fairly silent. Not only was everyone trying to concentrate on the path way, but they were still enraged at what they had just witnessed, (albeit Ronnie was too busy eating and Davis seemed emotionless to anything.)
Finally, after the long, silent walk, all they had to do was leave through an alleyway, cross the road, then knock on the back door of Edmunds house.
Edmund Walganus: (Opening the door, with a disappointed look on his face.) ‘...You have to see this…’
As the team took off their coats, Edmund began to turn up the volume on his T.V in the corner of the room.
News Reporter: ‘...And with the rise in terrorist attacks, the IWEC has recently discovered that Anti-collective spies have infiltrated the city. However, with the help of local authorities, two men, who were proven guilty to being apart of the terrorist group, were executed today….’
Ryu and Crystal exchanged the same disgusted look as the video of the men being executed played.
After the video, it went right back to the reporter.
News Reporter: ‘...With the high level threats still apparent in the city districts, all citizens in District 3 have been advised to stay clear and report anyone who seems suspicious. With the threat level of recent events, all defence grids around New Japan have also been activated, so please be advised to not take a vehicle outside of country borders, or else you will be shot out of the sky. In other news….’
With a flick of the remote, Davis turned the channel off.
Everyone stayed silent for a long, long while.
Crystal: ‘What do we do now?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘...All we can do is find a way out of here without being destroyed in the process.’
Crystal: ‘What about the facility though?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘We don't have anymore leads to it's whereabouts Crystal! It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!’
He could see the fact that Crystal really wanted to disagree, but she knew he was right.
Edmund Walganus: ‘I think you should alert your friend Yuuto, then cut the signal. By the way, you did manage to destroy the maps, right?’
Ryu noded.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Good. Then please, take a seat.’
Tired, Davis, Crystal and Ronnie all took a seat around the room.
Ryu, on the other hand, had a much more important task on his hand. Turning on the central pc, he left a note attached to the mainframe, then pulled the plug on the central connection…
….
Meanwhile, back at HQ,
With the day being full of heavy lifting, training, and the occasional dilema, things were kind of boring.
However, at around lunch time, things went from boring to interesting real quick. As I sat down to eat, I was immediately interrupted by Kiri, who was carrying Yuuto in Atsuko’s laptop.
X.D: (Kind of disappointed that I didn't get a bite of that sandwich, but oh well) ‘Yeah, whats up?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Just a moment ago, Your brother sent us this, and a film footage with it.’
The footage was simply of the IWEC news footage, but the not told me about the fact that they had to cut their signal.
But, at the end of the letter, it stated not to tell me on the account of being worried.
Yuuto Ito: ‘We can't send anybody to transport them out, since they will get blown up the moment they pass into a defence grid.’
X.D: ‘...Well….Crap…’
Yuuto Ito: (Trying to take a cautious approach to the situation) ‘Yeah, no kidding. Look, Xyro, I know it's risky, but we could… you know, go ourselves and….’
X.D: ‘No. I'm not going to let more of us die trying to save them, that would be pointless. All we can do right now is wait. Besides Yuuto, my brothers not an idiot. If he was smart enough to cut the connections, he's smart enough to already have a plan in motion.’
(Which he didn't)
Yuuto Ito: (Kind of surprised I took it so well, also kind of scared by that.) ‘Ok...well...ermm….enjoy your lunch?’
I did a three fingered salute after him, then went back to eating.
Of course I wasn't worried about them…
...Because I was going after them by myself.
Chapter eight: Day five: The circle of life.
The early mornings in new Japan were entirely different to it's usually productive and swarming economy. With the darkness being only dimly lit by streetlights, the occasional window of a restless soul (Or those who can afford to watch TV in the early mornings) and the bright white light being tossed down by the moon itself, very few people were wondering the streets.
Even though two days had gone past by this point, the streets still remained damp and lightly flooded. Sure, the train line was now available, and most of the larger puddles had shrunk, but the air still remained as cold and damp as it did before.
The time was around one in the morning.
Inside the small enclosed room, Ryu and crystal were still wide awake, albeit Ronnie and Davis were fast asleep.
The two were restlessly sifting through the countless amounts of documents on the city. The idea being that maybe one of these files gave the whereabouts of the facility, or just any other ways to get out of the country without getting shot down the moment they leave.
Crystal: (Sifting through more papers, clearly exhausted from overworking) ‘...I got nothing. You found anything yet?’
Ryu jianar: (Carefully reading through documents with intense concentration) ‘...a few things here and there, but nothing of immediate use.’
Crystal: (Dropping the papers on the table) ‘This is pointless Ryu! Can't we wait until….’
She paused. Her ears began to twitch.
Ryu Jianar: (Confused) ‘What's up Cry…’
She shushed him. Then with the complete silence, her ears started twitching again.
To confirm her suspicions, she peeked her head out slightly from behind the door, which was open at the time.
There, covered in the shade of the night, was two carving drones. The mechs must have clambered onto the patio from the other side, and were now trying to stealthily cut the class door to the patio so that they could enter.
By now, Ryu had already joined Crystal in peering out the doorway. The two looked at each other, then began to silently wake Davis and Ronnie up.
In brief, both of their explanations where the same:
“Get up, get armed, stay silent and get ready.”
Once everyone was dressed and armed, Crystal began to slowly peer out of the doorway again.
The glass door now had a large, crudely cut hole in it.
Yet, there were no signs of the carving drones anywhere.
Ronnie manning: (To crystal) ‘Can you see them anywhere flopsy?’
Crystal: ‘...No…(turning to look at him)...and don't call me that!’
Again, her eyes turned back to scanning the room.
Suddenly, the slightest amount of movement made her eyes snap in it's direction…
….which was up.
Crawling across the ceiling with their heads rotated the wrong way, the drones caught sight of crystal peering out the doorway and were trying to drop Down onto her.
However, just as one of them lunged toward her, Davis intervened.
The momentum the drone carried was enough for it to cut a small gash into Davis’s left arm, but this wasn't enough to phase him.
Grabbing it by the throat, he placed the muzzle of the double barrelled blunderbuss into the drones face, and fired.
Bits of it's head flew of in many directions, spilling small amounts of oil on the ground.
But, as he did so, the other drone has moved just to the side of him. Dropping down, the drone went to lunge it's blade into his side.
With one swift cutting motion, Crystal removed the creature's arm with her cleaver, then stuck the flat blade into it's chest, cutting off its circuits entirely.
The second one dropped, just before Edmund wandered into the room, armed with just a robe and a decorative katana.
As soon as he saw the mechs laying dead on the floor, he gave the team a sharp look.
Edmund Walganus: ‘(Collected, but with agitation in his voice) ‘it was only a matter of time before our cover was blown.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘but it doesn't make sense! How could they track us! We don't have anything….’
He stopped himself, then stared at the mech.
He remembered that the drones could sense electrical pulses, and that they had left the door open for the evening to let the air in.
Ryu Jianar: (Shouting at himself) ‘I’m an idiot!’
Ronnie manning: (Staring at him in disgust) ‘Well… That was just uncalled for!’
Edmund Walganus: ‘You can't stay here though. There will be more on their way soon.’
Upon saying this, more drones appeared outside, this time in greater numbers. And by that I don't mean about two more. I mean a group of thirty-odd!
But this wasn't the time for counting.
Ryu Jianar: (Rushing to the back door) ‘We have to go. Now!’
Complying to this, both davis and Ronnie joined him.
Crystal: ‘E...Edmund?’
He was stood in the centre of the room, his weapon raised.
Edmund Walganus: ‘Don't worry about me dear, I'm too old to be running anyway.’
Crystal: (Small tears in the corner of her eyes) ‘N...no...you can't just…’
She was cut short as drones started rushing in through the patio doorway.
As Edmund began wildly cutting away at some, he quickly became overrun, as Davis dragged a Crystal over his shoulder to prevent her from rushing back in.
Just before moving out of sight, Crystal stared in horror as the old man was impaled multiple times, before dropping limply to the floor.
The team began to run down many other alleyways, the sound of the drones following seemed to dim, along with crystals cries and tantrums, until finally both stopped entirely.
In exhaustion, the team found themselves a dead end off to the side of one of the alleyways. In exhaustion, Ryu sat down onto the wet pathway, swiftly followed by the others.
Ryu Jianar: (Out of breath) ‘I...think...we lost them…’
By now, Davis had released Crystal from his shoulders. The girl was sat on the ground too, her face in her knees. She had positioned her hair in just a way that you couldn't see her eyes, yet the week sniffs gave her emotion away.
Ryu Jianar: (looking at Crystal) ‘...I'm sorry crystal. There was nothing we could have done.’
Crystal: (Under her breath) ‘Nothing… we could have saved him...but you ran….ran like cowards….’
She lifted her head off her knees just enough that Ryu could see her eyes.
Crystal: ‘We let him die, Ryu.’
Although he was taken aback, he took it straight on the nose.
Ryu Jianar: ‘There was nothing we could have done Crystal. If we had stayed to fight, we would have eventually been overrun. If we forced Edmund to come with us, he would have died of a heart attack.’
Crystal stared harshly at him, then went to say something back in spite…
Yet, Davis placed a hand on her shoulder, and stared into her eyes.
Davis Drafter: (With a subtle nod) ‘He's right bunny.’
Trying her hardest to find something to say, her eyes started filling up with more tears, until eventually she closed her eyes and put her head back onto her knees.
Crystal: (Muffled, still a bit teary) ‘...What should we do now…’
Ryu Jianar: (Pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket) ‘There's a safehouse in the second district we can use for the meantime. Once we get there, we can continue to look for a way out of here. Any objections?’
As you could expect nobody rejected. Well…
Ronnie Manning: ‘But do we have to go now? I just got comfy!’
Initially being dragged by the ears by Crystal, Ronnie stood up and grudgingly followed.
Before hitting the main streets, Davis handed crystal her beanie. Upon placing it over her ears, the team were able to slowly make their way towards sector two of the country.
…
The sun was now high enough in the sky that the streets of new japan were lit with it's glorious light. Due to the moisture locked in the cobbled roads, the street shone brightly back at the sun's presence.
The only thing that wasn't gleaming was the team's moral.
Walking with no break over the last few hours had completely drained them to the point where upon arriving at the gigantic bridge separating the two halves of the sectors, they had to take a break to rest their legs.
Ronnie Manning: (Doing really awkward squats) ‘Phew… boy am I out of shape.’
Still in deep mourning, Crystal said nothing.
Ryu Jianar: (Tired, but eager to push forward) ‘We have to keep moving. The safe house is just a few miles to the north once we cross this bridge.’
Ronnie manning: (Finishing off a squat, which makes a loud click noise as he stands up straight) ‘just a few miles? That doesn't sound that…..’
As he spoke, he looked out at the large bridge.
Well, I say bridge. It was huge!
With it extending further than the length of a typical town in both width and length, the bridges connecting each sector were designed not only to be sturdy, but also lenient to the way the floating countries moved.
Ronnie Manning: (Staring at the size of the bridge, then looking at Ryu) ‘…...bad….’
Ryu, who by now had organized himself so that he had his rifle at the ready, began marching his way along.
Naturally, the other followed.
Again, they walked, and walked, and walked.
Then they kept on walking for a while longer.
You get the picture.
So, just before eight thirty, they arrived on the other side.
Drenched all over with sweat, Ronnie leant up against the wall and began to fan his face with his hands.
(The others were completely fine)
Ronnie Manning: ‘Wow….this….this really does….*deep breath*...take the wind out ya….’
Davis Drafter: (Throwing him a bottle of water, in his typically emotionless voice) ‘For a marine, you don't have much stamina.’
Ronnie Manning: (chugging down the water, then burping loudly after finishing) ‘...*burp*...nope…
Whilst Ronnie….. Rested…..Ryu began to investigate sector two.
Sector two was what most people would call the “slums” of the country. With run down buildings, dirty streets filled with mud and animal waste and swarming with people, it was the place where those who couldn't be used to work on anything mechanical were tossed.
Even by standing on the outskirts, Ryu could smell the thick smoke, hear the droning noise of many mouths yelling at one another. He was thankful that the safe house was located on the outskirts.
Ryu Jianar: (Tugging at his gear) ‘It's a few miles this way. Let's go.’
Letting of another loud groan, Ronnie pushed himself off the wall and began making slow progress after Ryu. Whilst davis was also keen on getting to the safehouse, he was also very wary of Crystals state of mind, so he opted to walk beside her along the way.
The outskirts to sector two was rather pleasant. Unlike sector three, the whole outer area was covered in plant life. The only protection from the pathway to the edge of the floating land was a small wooden fence and a bunch of shrubs.
As you could imagine, the thing that wasn't so pleasant was the amount of shrines and bundles of flowers left in certain locations, where loved ones would have jumped to their deaths.
It's sad to imagine that out of sheer respect, people left the wallets and clothing of the dead allown, as a sign of both honor and deep sorrow.
Arriving at a section of building that lead into a one way alley, Ryu went right the way to the back. Then, turning to the wall on his right, he made sure nobody apart from the team was looking, then skimmed his fingers along the wall.
It took a few seconds, but finally Ryu’s finger pushed hard onto a squared off section, which pushed in the wall just enough so that it could be used like a door. Without a word, he gestured for the others to walk inside.
They complied.
Once everyone was inside, Ryu activated a panel on the inner hallway to the room, which closed and sealed off the door entirely.
At first, the room was completely dark. The lack of windows meant that no light was able to get in, or out.
But approaching the room activated automatic lighting in the ceiling, revealing the true nature of the room.
With enough beds to house ten people, the room was incredibly simple. A set of two bathrooms, a kitchen area, and a few computers and weapons, it was all there in the case of any need for an emergency shelter.
Just like the room in Edmunds house, the walls were obviously soundproof. No noise was getting in, or out.
Throwing her stuff down onto the ground next to one of the beds, Crystal wrapped herself up in the covers, then rolled onto her side so that she was facing the wall.
Ryu Jianar: (Also dropping his stuff next to one of the beds, whispering to Davis) ‘She will be ok, right?’
Davis nodded his head.
Crystal: (Muffled) ‘I can still hear you when you whisper.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Sorry.’
Crystal: ‘*sigh*....Ryu….could….could we have done anything to save him?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Without the rest of us getting killed, no.’
She looked back over her shoulder slightly.
She went to say something, but she just couldn't bring herself to speak. So, tossing the covers over herself, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Ryu Jianar: (Mainly to Davis, as Ronnie was already asleep on one of the beds, face first with his butt up in the air.) ‘We have allot of work to get done tomorrow. For now, lets rest up, and worry about things later.’
Davis Drafter: (Sarcastically, kind of a half-arsed wisecrack) ‘You don't need to tell me how to sleep.’
He got into one of the beds on the opposite end of the room, then he too went into a deep sleep.
Ryu, as the only member awake, sighed.
Ryu Jianar: (To himself) ‘....What have I gotten myself into Xyro?....’
Chapter Eight: Day five: Part two: Sometimes it takes a flute and a pair of wire cutters to stop you from doing something stupid.
Meanwhile, back at HQ…
Things were going relatively smoothly. In fact, nobody seemed to suspect a thing.
Yep, sneaky Xyro was a go!
Whilst everyone completed their tasks, I made sure to take my time and find gaps in my jobs, stacking up a few supplies before returning to work.
Although I made a few slipups here and there, I was working mainly with Dakota for the whole day, so mistakes were easily covered up. (The nicest way to phrase it would be to say that he is easily… persuaded.)
Nevertheless, I secured a small ship, big enough for a single pilot and a few supplies. I made sure to park it outside of the walls, in the centre of a small clearing in the rubble of a smaller town.
As soon as nightfall had arrived, I went to bed the same way everyone else did.
Then, I waited.
As soon as they were all asleep (And Miu was out on one of her normal midnight walks) I snuck out of the room.
Making sure to stay undetected, I made my way up one of the buildings next to the wall, and jumped over. Although the fall was long, I landed sturdily on my legs with a loud thud. Yet the noise wasn't loud enough to gain the awareness of those on patrol.
Calmly, I made my way over to the parked ship.
Originally, I planned to take the ship as close as I could to the Defence grid, then try to use as much power as possible to charge my way through (Hopefully avoiding the gunshots), Then going into New Japan and hopefully finding Ryu and the others.
Well, that plan sunk the moment I saw a small campfire around the ship, accompanied by the sound of a flute.
Turning the corner, I saw that Jamie was sat on the nose of the ship, roasting a few marshmallows with an automatic rotisserie over the campfire. He was soundly playing a rather peaceful melody.
As I came into view of the light, he noticed me fairly quickly.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Ahh, there you are!’
X.D (Chuckling) ‘Guess I wasn't as stealthy as I thought.’
He also chuckled.
Clambering up next to him, I leant back onto the glass at the front of the plane, then put my arms behind my head.
X.D: ‘What mistake did I make?’
Jamie Eruu: (Smiling) ‘Being calm. After that conversation, Yuuto said that you were way too calm about it, so he set Kiri to watch you.’
His eyes trailed off at the sky.
Jamie Eruu: ‘And she couldn't be bothered to watch you all day, so she told Andrew to do it, then Andrew told Christian. Then he told me.’
He paused, looked over his shoulder and smiled.
Jamie Eruu: ‘You get the picture.im too nice to get jack to stay up this late, so here I am.’
X.D: (Sighing) ‘I guess they know what I'm trying to do then. Is this the part where you deliver the speech?’
Jamie Eruu: (Also leaning back onto the glass) ‘No and yes.’
I looked at him in confusion.
Jamie Eruu: ‘I didn't tell anyone else about your plan.’
X.D: ‘Why not?’
Jamie Eruu: ‘Because it's not my place to make your decisions for you. After all, it is your brother out there.’
X.D: (looking at him) ‘Then why are you here?’
Jamie Eruu: (Turning to face me, smug) ‘To give you a speech.’
He sat up, took a set of marshmallows off the rotisserie, then began to blow them.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Well, as you probably know, you're already going into a death zone. For starters, every inch of the path to New Japan is layerd with anti air, so if you think your ships making it there in one piece...hah.’
He took a bite into one of the marshmallows
Jamie Eruu: (Chewing, then swallowing) ‘ And let's say you did manage to somehow get passed the death walls. What do you do next? For starters, where would you land? How would you find them? Then where would you find another ship, because this thing’s *banging on it with his hand* not going to hold more than one person.’
I got his point.
Jamie Eruu: (Noticing that I had gone completely silent) ‘Look, Xyro, I know you're worried about them. Trust me, although Ronnie's a handful, I miss the old fool too. The point is, there is nothing we can really do here but keep on trucking with development. I mean, if worst comes to worst, we will always eventually attack the walls when we are ready, then try to take over new Japan. Yeah, that may be a few months or days down the line, but I'm more than sure that they can handle themselves for that long.’
He paused, took another bite out of the marshmallow, then went to hand me a stick of them fresh off the rotisserie.
X.D: ‘No thanks. They get stuck in my teeth.’
Jamie Eruu: ‘You have teeth?’
I wasn't going to explain.
We sat there in silence for a while.
What he said was right I guess. They were soldiers after all. Well, three of them at least.
X.D: (Randomly) ‘I guess I just worry too much for my own good.’
Jammie Eruu: ‘It's good to be worried. Shows you care. Unlike some people.’
He looked at me with expectantly.
Jammie Eruu: ‘So, what are you going to do now?’
I looked up at the sky, then slowly pushed myself up. Landing with a thud on the ground next to the ship, I started moving over to the cockpit.
Jammie Eruu: (Kind of expecting me to do so) ‘Guess my little speech didn't work then. Good luck.’
X.D: ‘What? I'm not going! I'm taking the ship back to it's rightful place.’
Jamie laughed hard.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Nevermind that Xyro! I pulled the engine out of this thing earlier!’
I gave him a stern stare. Then laughed and began to make my track back to the wall.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Hey, Xyro, if anyone asks, this never happened.’
Xyro: ‘What never happened?’
He smiled.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Goodnight Xyro!’
A did a small two fingered salute back to him. As I walked away, I could hear the sound of his flute playing, until eventually the sound faded out of earshot.
Making Sure to remain undetected, I clambered up the least secure side of the wall. Once safe in the confines, I returned quickly to my dormitory.
Although it was dark when I arrived, I could see Miu’s vibrant red eyes pierce through me as I entered the room. She was sat by the window, drinking…. Well, you know already.
As I went to say something, she simply put her index finger up.
Miu Shizuka: (Whispering with a smile) ‘I already know pumpkin. You're not the only one who has hidden agenda's around here.’
Nodding, I decided for once to get some Shuteye.
For now, I could sleep soundly.
Chapter Eight: Day six: Part one: Mistaken identity
Slowly, Crystal arose from her slumber. Her eyes still heavy, the faint glow off the clock on the opposite side of the room caught her attention.
It was seven in the morning.
Considering the fact that she had gone asleep around four in the afternoon the day before, she still felt exhausted. Whether she felt this way out of general exhaustion from all the walking, or emotionally torn from what happened to Edmund, Was an argument only she had in her mind.
The only other light in the room was radiating over from a desk that Ryu was sat at. The boy was hastily sifting through various parchments, every single one of them being ordered in various different piles.
As her eyes adapted themselves to the darkness, she noticed Davis sat on the bed opposite to her and Ronnie over in the other corner of the room, rummaging through a few locked cases under the beds.
Davis Drafter: (Rather quietly, noticing the redness under her eyes even in the rather dim lighting) ‘Sleep well?’
Crystal: (Grumpily) ‘What do you think?’
Davis nodded sympathetically, then began to tie up the laces on his boots.
Crystal: (Staring over at Ryu) ‘What's his problem?’
Davis Drafter: ‘*Shrug* he's been up all night going through documents. Said that it would be important to get a plan ready for today, then went back to it.’
Then in the corner of her eye, she caught Ronnie rummaging through a mini fridge he had found. The man pulled out a tub of ice cream, then tried to stick one of his spoons in it. His attempt was futile, as the ice cream had turned into more of an ice cement through age.
Crystal: ‘....let's hope we get out of here soon. I don't know how much more of this I can take…’
Davis Drafter: (Taking a moment to think, then trying to speak in a caring tone.) ‘ Even when we get back Bunny, we will still have times where people will die. This wars not…’
Crystal: (Cutting in): ‘No, I didn't mean that. I meant I can't take any more of THIS!’
She pointed to Ronnie, who had rammed the front of one of his spoons into the tub, and was eating the giant blob of ice cream like a popsicle.
Davis looked at her, smirked, then sat back on the bed with his hands behind his head.
Before Davis could truly get comfortable, Ryu finally arose from his seat, then slowly walked over with a few papers in hand.
Ryu Jianar: (Taking a seat on the other end of Davis’s bed, obviously exhausted, with a dry throat) ‘Right, our current objective is to get a ship with clearance to leave. Correct?’
He said this so openly that it took Davis and Crystal a few seconds to realise that he was asking a genuine question. So, they both noded.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Well, we have two options then. We either find a ship lying around or we find the facility and steal one from there.’
Crystal: ‘But didn't every single one of the papers say that….’
Ryu Jianar: (Crankily, sleep deprived) ‘I know, I know. But the ones here do highlight a few contacts we can talk too.’
Crystal: (Crossing her arms, Not by any means impressed) ‘Is that the plan then? To go talk to more people?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Not exactly. What I would suggest is you and Davis search around and see what else you can find out, whilst I will go and talk to these contacts.’
As he said so, he raised the papers at the two, but the combination of low light and Ryu’s exhausted trembling hand made the text on the page unreadable.
Crystal: ‘What about….’
She gestured over to Ronnie, whose tongue was stuck to the huge icelolly.
Ryu Jianar: (looking back at Crystal, blank facial expressions) ‘...I don't want him with me.’
Crystal: (Gesturing to Davis) ‘We neither!’
Ryu Jianar: (Covering his chin with his hand) ‘hmmm…. Why don't we just let Ronnie… go shopping?’
Crystal: ‘You really think it's a good idea to let captain dumbass go around town by himself?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Alright, so what else do you think he should do?’
Crystal: (Shrugging) ‘Stay here?’
Ryu Jianar: (Calling back over his shoulder) ‘Hey, Ronnie, you wouldn't mind staying here for a bit whilst we go take care of some things, would you?’
Ronnie manning: (Ripping his tongue off the ice lolly) ‘... Why can't I go with you guys?’
Ryu glanced at Crystal with the “I told you so” look.
Crystal: (Almost without thought) ‘Because we need someone to stay and keep guard. It's a pretty important job you know!’
Playing along with this, Ryu agreed.
Seeing how confident the other two were about this job being important, Ronnie weighed his options.
Ronnie Manning: (With a large grin, doing a salute with the spoon that still had the giant wedge of ice cream attached to it) ‘I won't let you all down. I'm like a brick wall! Nobody’s getting past me damnit!’
Crystal: (Under her breath) ‘....and about as thick as one too…’
Standing up from the edge of the bed, Ryu put on a coat, hid his rifle under it, then started heading for the door, expecting the others to follow.
Davis Drafter: (Standing up with a groan, placing his helmet on) ‘Let's go.’
Crystal: ‘B...but….breakfast…’
Davis looked back at her, then kept on walking.
Crystal: (Groaning) ‘Urghhhh, fine!’
As the three walked out, Ronnie gave them all a cheerful goodbye. Yet as the door closed, he went back to ravaging the ice cream.
Outside, the weather had somewhat cleared up. Although small damp spots remained from the days before, the majority of the water had evaporated. Yet, even with a few brief rays of bright sunshine, the smog that suffocated the streets consumed most of the light from the sun.
Even in the smoke-fueled lighting, Ryu had to squint his eyes from the pain.
Ryu Jianar: (Holding his hand up to block the light, talking to the others) ‘See what you can find. Just make sure you don't get followed on your way back.’
As Crystal went to speak, Ryu had already turned the corner.
Crystal: ‘(Taking in a deep breath, then turning to Davis with a rather fed up look on her face) Want to go “investigate” some breakfast?’
Subtly, he nodded.
Davis Drafter: (Muffled from under the helmet, half-jokingly) ‘....but you're paying this time.’
…
After stopping by a small, cramped caffe for a bite to eat, Davis and Crystal began to slowly roam the streets.
Although they would normally travel fairly quickly, both the state of the roads and how overcrowded it was slowed them down to a snail's pace. Even with her height, Crystal still found herself struggling to see through both the crowd and smog, so she opted to tail Davis instead, who seemingly towered over the majority of people.
Although the streets were poorly made, the buildings surrounding them weren't. Each one had it's own story to tell: some made of finely crafted stone, others made of simple brick. Every building had it's own personality. Yet, like the majority of people around them, some did seem old, worn and semi-destroyed. Heck, some were even entirely burnt to the ground.
With such a huge mismatch of architecture, Davis found it hard to tell what was meant to be out of the ordinary.
Davis Drafter: (Saying back to Crystal) ‘Ryu was right. This is ridiculous...’
He paused.
As he spoke, he noticed a small transit vehicle hovering overhead.
Clearly owned by the IWEC, three guards were moving boxes of cargo onto the back of the vehicle. It was too noisy to hear what any of them were saying, so davis moved over to the side and waited.
Crystal: ‘What's going on? I can't see?’
Davis Drafter: ‘A few troops are loading a vehicle up ahead.’
Crystal: ‘And?’
Davis Drafter: ‘And, spy on them!’
Crystal: ‘Why me?’
Davis looked down at her.
Crystal: (looking up) ‘Oh, right.’
Moving into the crowed of people, Crystal moved undetected amongst the crowd, until she was able to break out into a small doorway next to where the troops were piling up boxes.
Soldier (1): ‘ Come on! Put your back into it!’
Soldier (2): (straining) ‘Shut up! I don't see you doing anything!’
Soldier (1): ‘I have an injury!’
Soldier (3): (Smirking) ‘He burnt his arm trying to re filling a fucking kettle!’
(sound of both soldiers laughing at him)
Soldier (1): ‘Fuck off. Now get to work! Boss said we need to get these supplies back for that new prototype in an hour, otherwise we got to do some team-building exercises!’
As soon as he said that, the other two went straight back to work.
With this information, Crystal darted back through the crowed to Davis.
Davis Drafter: ‘Anything useful?’
Crystal: ‘(Bluntly) We have to follow them. Now!’
Without questioning, the two followed the (luckily) slow moving vehicle.
Passing through the crowds with relative ease, Davis made sure to maintain pace with them, right up to the next set of bridges, leading over to district one.
At the gate, the vehicle was stopped by another set of guards, who scanned it, then let it through.
However, for the Crystal and Davis, this was as far as they could go.
Crystal: ‘(Watching the transport vehicle go across the bridge) Damn it.’
Davis Drafter: ‘There doesn't seem to be any other way onto the bridge.’
Crystal looked around for a few seconds, before noticing an incline on one of the burnt down buildings. Nudging and hinting at it to Davis, the two moved over there immediately.
Although the majority of its infrastructure was destroyed, one in particular wall had a large incline made from rubble and debris.
Climbing it with loose footing, the two went prone at the very lip of the wall to try and get a good view.
And what a veiw it was!
Half of the bridge. That was all. The thick fog seemed to completely block out the second half of the bridge and anything further.
Crystal sat up, then went down into a hunch, covering her face with her hands.
Crystal: (Agitated) ‘Why do we even bother.’
Davis Drafter: (Still watching the bridge) ‘I don't see why you're so moody all the time. Lighten up a bit.’
Crystal: (Pointing at him) Says you, Mr “What's the point in doing things”!’
She paused.
Crystal: ‘Moody....Of course i'm moody! We walked all this way to look at half a bloody bridge!’
Davis Drafter: (Calmly) ‘Better safe than sorry. You know that.’
Crystal: (Going from angry, to slightly worried) ‘Ok, whats going on Davis?’
Davis Drafter: ‘Hmm?’
Crystal: ‘Firstly, you're being sympathetic. You're NEVER sympathetic! And you haven't had a drink since yesterday!’
She stared at him, expecting an answer. Instead, he shrugged her off, then went back to watching the bridge.
Crystal: (Taken aback for a moment, then coming to a sudden realisation): ‘Are you….actually worried? Davis?’
He shook his head, then looked back at her, pulling up the visor on his helmet.
Davis Drafter: ‘We’re in a life or death situation Crystal.’
Crystal: ‘And? We've been in worse situations, and yet you always…’
Davis Drafter: ‘(Shouting) This is different!’
The two stared at each other in silence for a while. Breaking eye contact, Davis took a deep breath. Without another word, he walked straight passed her.
…
Alleyway after alleyway, backdoor to shopfront, Ryu met with many contacts. All of which, had nothing of importance to note.
Now, down the alleyway between a bakery and a newsagents, he met with his last contact.
Nothing.
Nothing to note, Nothing important.
Just nothing.
Frustrated, Ryu waited for the contact to move out of sight, then took a hard kick at a bin beside him.
Leaning against one of the walls, he took a seat on the concrete and began contemplating things.
Ryu Jianar: (Talking aloud) ‘Ok, think, think….. ‘
He sat there for a while, arguing back and forth with himself.
suddenly, a shadow overhead cut all his concentration.
As he reacted, a sudden wizzing sound of metal passed his head. Looking to his side, a bullet had embedded itself in the wall.
Without hesitation, Ryu hid behind the bin.
???: (From the other side of the alleyway): ‘Shit..’
Peering around the bin, Ryu could see a small man. His face was completely covered a piece of yellow cloth and his eyes covered with a pair of sunglasses. In his hand, he was holding a short pistol, with what appeared to be a hand-made silencer.
Shaking from nerves, Ryu tried to reach for his rifle. With the strap being tangled around the inside of his coat, he tried to tug it from underneath, but couldn't.
Panicking, he threw his coat off, then reached for the rifle.
But it was already too late.
With a swift kick to the face, the man proceeded to repeatedly punch Ryu in the head.
As hard as he tried to resist, Ryu couldn't retaliate.
As soon as blood began to pour from Ryu’s nose, the man dropped him on the ground.
???: ‘Huh, this has to be my easiest paycheck yet. Thanks man!’
Clocking the gun, he aimed it directly at Ryu’s head.
Looking up at his attacker, all Ryu could do was weakly raise his hand.
As the man laughed, he pulled the trigger…
Or he would have, if it weren't for the bullet passing through his skull.
With small choking whimpers, the man's body slumped to the floor, lifeless.
Standing up in a shaking mess, Ryu kept staring hard at the lifeless body in front of him.
If it wasn't for that shot…
As he thought about it in his brain, he looked around franticly for his saviour.
Yet, no one was there.
In all his confusion, his tiredness, his frustration…
All he wanted to do was go back and sleep. He was so tired in fact, that he completely ignored the small dots of old oil trailing along the floor, into one of the nearby bars...
…
It was an hour after everyone had left.
Patrolling the small, enclosed, one-entrance area with high security was Ronnie, who made sure to check every corner of the room every time a minute passed.
Another hour passed.
Laying on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling with many, many tubs of empty ice cream by his side, Ronnie began to contemplate life… and whether or not he was going to die from a belly ache.
Another hour passed.
Although he sat there, in silence, he stared intently at the door. Eager to go and explore the world outside, Ronnie began to make his way over…. But no! He had a job, an important job, to keep guard! Seeing the disappointment on the others faces when they got back to find him gone would be so saddening.
So, Ronnie sat back down again….
…
….
But what if he got back before they did?
Smirking to his own genius idea, Ronnie put on his coat, grabbed a spoon for protection (You can never be too careful!) then made his way out into the wide embrace of sector two.
Even with the overbearing noise, low visibility and the smell of stagnant urine, Ronnie waltzed down the street whistling the same song over and over and over again, not once missing a single note.
That is, until he passed two armed IWEC guards, who immediately signaled to him.
Guard (1): ‘Hey, you!’
Ronnie looked around, then pointed at himself.
Guard (2): ‘Yeah you!’
As the guards moved closer to him, Ronnie reached down for his spoon.
Guard (1): ‘Where have you been! The boss has been making us look for you all bloody day!’
Slowly, Ronnie moved his hand away from his pocket.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Boss? What are you too talking about?’
The two looked at each other and chuckled.
Guard (1): (Smiling, to the other guard) ‘Yeah, sounds about right. Good old Nigel, his old age is getting to him again.’
Guard (2) ‘Come on Nigel, we gotta get you back to your Lab. You're needed for the new prototypes launch codes!’
Without giving him an option, the two walked “Nigel” over to a nearby transport vehicle. Getting inside the back seats, he got comfy as the other two took front seats.
Guard (1): (Starting up the engine) ‘Man i'm happy we found you! Your normally harder to find then this!’
Guard (2): (Crossing his arms) ‘For an older man, you normally get into the weirdest places.’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Who you calling old, fatty?’
Guard (1): (Smirking at the other guard, who was angrily gritting his teeth) ‘You have put on some weight since your bird dumped ya.’
The other man simply raised the finger, then stared silently out the window.
Guard (1): ‘So, Nigel, still fuzzy in the old brain of yours about what's been happening, huh? Boss said you ran out of the room yelling like a wako. Said you've gone into one of your fits where you forget things.’
Even with his idiocy, Ronnie understood that they had gotten the wrong guy. Yet he also knew he could “Play these fools like a fiddle”.
Ronnie “Nigel” manning: ‘Yes, yes…. Where are we going?’
Guard (2): ‘To the lab, like always. By the way, we didn't clean up the mess you made this time! Boss doesn't want us to touch anything since you complained about people touching your stuff…’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Cutting in) ‘You damn right! If I get back and find your greasy finger marks on anything, then i'll beat the crap out of you, you lard arse!’
The second guard went to reach down for his gun, but the other one gave him an incredibly stern look.
Guard (1): ‘If you shoot him, were both dead meat dumbass.’
The second guard then began to sulk. Staring out of the window, he said nothing more for the rest of the trip.
Eventually stopping at the outside entrance of the bridge to sector one, The vehicle was stopped by even more guards, who insisted on searching the vehicle top to bottom.
Bridge guard: (Staring through the back window at Ronnie, then tapping on the glass for him to roll down the window.) ‘I'm sorry to bother you Nigel, but you're going to need to wear your badge, lab coat and glasses please. You don't look the same without them.’
Handing him a bundle through the window, he studied the items. The glasses were small and rounded. The labcoat used to be white, but was now a faded yellow, with other bright colors down the front from being exposed to different elements. And finally, he was given a small card that went around his neck. Looking at the picture, he could see why they had gotten confused. He looked exactly like Nigel, but slightly younger.
With all the other checks coming up as clear, the vehicle continued its journey into the depths of sector one.
Chapter eight: Day six: Part two: I scream, you scream, we all scream for….
Although the drive across the bridge was long, the journey itself did not cease to amaze Ronnie. Swarming with guards of metal and human alike, every area that he could see had some kind of patrol units available. Unlike the other bridges connecting both the inner and outer sections, this one was made well, with the wire being immaculate with no rust and the concrete showing no signs of cracking or chipping.
Yet, this wasn't the highlight of his trip.
As soon as he got to the other side and past another security gate, he was now inside of sector one.
Military….
Military as far as the eye could see, marching throughout streets in orderly fashion. Everyone seemed to have a place amongst the ranks, upholding a job of equal importance as the unit next to them. Be it tinkering with equipment such as the vast amount of tanks and droids, or even the heavy weaponry and aircraft around them, everyone had their orders to complete their tasks.
Even the buildings were designed for the military. Those that weren't there to hold vehicles were designed to be like bunks for the soldiers. That being said, unlike the ones we had back in Paris, these were immaculately made, with obvious signs of an architectures handywork to each of them.
As the transport zoomed passed all of this, Ronnie sat with his face pressed against the window in complete dumbfounded awe.
Guard (1): (looking back at Ronnie, smiling to himself, then looking back at the road) ‘You're always impressed by our forces when we bring you back here professor.’
Guard (2): (To the other guard) ‘Who can blame him. We have a great army here.’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Enjoying this more then he should) ‘Oh shut up the both of you! We need more than this! Haven't you seen what we're up against?’
The two looked at each other, then shook their heads.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (With sarcastic laughter) ‘Pfffft, amateurs. Do we pay you in peanuts? We should do!’
Ronnie proceed to look out the window once more.
Ronnie manning: (With the acting skills of a saint) ‘The enemy forces are way more powerful than ours. We will lose this war if we don't act fast.’
The first guard in the driver seat seemed scared at this point, but “fatty” as Ronnie now called him, let of a muffled laugh.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘What are you laughing at?’
“Fatty”: ‘Oh, it's just… you know… “the enemy being more powerful”...’
He nearly broke down in a laughing fit.
Grabbing him sternly by the shoulder, Ronnie staired the now startled man down.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘I don't see anything funny here soldier. Let me guess, how much combat have you seen in your service? Hmmmm?’
He stared down in thought, then looked back up at him.
“Fatty”: ‘Well….I took some firing range lessons….and….’
Ronnie cut him off by shaking his head.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Sitting back on the chair properly, said with a stern look, then a smile.) ‘This is war, doofus. Not some kind of studio show. People die. You, will die. It's just a matter of time.’
This shut him up for good.
It was another long while until the vehicle finally stopped outside what looked to be a small concrete bunker.
Shutting off the engine, the two guards got out first.
The first guard, who Ronnie now nicknamed “Sam” Opened up the car door for him.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Thanks Sam! (looking at fatty) You really ought to learn allot from this guy big bones! You might end up being useful one day!’
Sam gave Fatty a smug look. The two walked alongside “Nigel”, leading him to the front entrance of the bunker.
Well, I say entrence. It was more of a hole with really poorly designed sheets of metal as a door. The whole thing seemed completely out of place with the other well designed buildings surrounding it.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘What is this pile of trash?’
“Sam”: (laughing aloud, patting Ronnie on the back) ‘Don't worry, the entrance is nothing to look at really!’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Entrance?’
“Fatty”: ‘Really? Do you really forget this much?’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Staring him down again) ‘I think it might be my coping method for forgetting your dumb ass quotes!’
“Sam” seemed to like that one, since he had a big grin on his face. By this point however, “Fatty” didn't even seem to care. He had a miserable face plastered on him no matter what anyone said.
“Sam”: ‘This is the entrance to the lab professor. You know, the place we make the prototypes for the ships.’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Almost breaking character) ‘You mean the facility?’
“Sam”: ‘Bingo!’
“Great” Ronnie thought to himself.
Although Ryu, Crystal, or even Davis, would have initially thought to find a ship to get away with, Ronnie's first thought was “I wonder if they have any ice cream?”
The inside of the small bunker seemed no less different than the outside: empty, with cracked walls, cracked tiled flooring and a single elevator in the center of the room.
Allowing Ronnie to step on first, the two guards stood by his side as the elevator slowly made it's way down.
For the first five minutes or so, nothing really happened of note. As the elevator whizzed down deeper and deeper, all Ronnie saw was bedrock and the quick streaks of light.
Yet, as the elevator came into a large opening, he was completely awestruck at the sheer openness of this facility.
Just like a cave system, the entire place had been hollowed out to the point that even the largest ships seemed to come nowhere close to the ceiling. It was like an entirely new city under the city.
Coming to a shuddering stop at the bottom, the two got out before ronnie, then assisted him off the small step to the ground.
As soon as he stepped onto the floor, he realised that the rock had been leveled until it was completely flat. Yet, even with the accuracy and dedication to do so, a few small stalagmites had started to form in remote areas.
The area itself was rather plain. A few small buildings here, a whole load of plane parts there….
Oh, and a huge battle machine that looked like a crossbreed between a rocket and a fighter jet.
Staring at it in awe, Ronnie didn't notice the woman next to him until she patted him on the shoulder.
Turning to stare at her, he could see she was about his height, fairly young and with rounded glasses. Her plain brown hair seemed almost singed at one end, and her eyes were a standard brown.
“Science lady”: (Bluntly, like a boring school teacher's conversation) ‘Aah, Doctor, there you are. I hope the two of them haven't caused you any trouble.’
Ronnie “Nigel” manning: ‘Fatty over there could do with a few lessons for his manners, but I think that Sam’s up for a promotion.’
She looked over at the two of them in confusion.
“Science Lady”: (looking back at Ronnie with a hint of confusion) ‘Professor, are you fine? You seem…. Different….’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Different? Ha! Do I look different to you?’
For a second, she went to say yes, but then refrained from doing so.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Right darling, be a dear and show me to my office.’
“Science Lady”: (Kind of taken aback, with a slight blush before a formal stance): ‘Dear…...Oh, right, uhm, you mean your lab?’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Looking back at Sam) ‘Bingo!’
As she started to lead him past a collection of vehicles, he decided to bring up polite conversation.
Well, to the best of Ronnies capabilities anyway.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘So Missy, What flavour of ice cream do you have down here?’
Once again, she stared at him in flustered confusion, then tried to answer bluntly, but couldn't.
“Missy”: ‘W...well, I don't really know to be honest professor…. Why do you ask?’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘No reason, just a bit peckish.’
Soon, the two (Accompanied by the two guards of course) were now outside of a fairly small room that seemed to have been made into the side of the cave system.
With a swipe from her card on a black button on the outside wall, the glass door to the small room opened, allowing Ronnie to enter.
Just like a school lab, the inside was incredibly plane, with the exception of the immense amounts of vials and computerised machinery on the left side.
“Missy”: ‘So professor, shall we get started?’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Yes! Let's get started at once!......... Started on what exactly?’
“Missy”: (trying to jog his memory) ‘You are working on the fuel prototype for the T22-blizzard outside. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to manufacture a fuel type that can generate enough conductivity without heating up rapidly as of lately.’
She gestured over to five small metal devices, each blackened from burns and melted close to a puddle.
“Missy”: ‘We tried to copy your notes whilst you were….Away….But we haven't been able to replicate the prototype without you.’
As Ronnie went to speak, a few other scientists entered the room, about seven in total.
Although the majority of them looked completely similar in both dress and style, only one of them seemed to be wearing a pair of safety goggles. Ronnie nicknamed this one “Spectacles”.
“Spectacles”: (Looking over a check board) ‘Were ready when you are professor!’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Leaning in to “Missy”, Cupping his hand to her ear) ‘Who are these nerds?’
“Missy”: (Taken aback, but answered bluntly) ‘They are your students. As you said “The future of the IWEC”.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Really? I said that? Pfffft, I really need to get out more often!’
Ronnie turned on his heel towards the group, then clapped his hands together.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (As motivational as ronnie could give) ‘Right people! We have allot of work to do! Let's get this prototype fixed and ready to rumble. Who's with me!’
Each of the scientist looked at one another in confusion for justification. Some shrugged, some even seemed scared as to whether or not their professor had truly become crazy.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Cutting into the silence) ‘Alright! So, we will need as much metal as you can get! Oh, and ice cream. Ice cream is the most important part of this whole thing!’
Some of the scientists went off immediately, whilst others started questioning one another about the importance of ice cream in this experiment.
Sitting down happily, Ronnie placed his feet up on the table in the center of the room.
“Spectacles”: (A few moments later, in a questioning tone) ‘Ermmm, professor, you have me stumped. What great importance does the ice cream have to do with this? It's conductive properties are next to none, but….I just don't understand.’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Had his eyes closed, but now has one open. Still lazing back) ‘...Come here, and i'll tell you a secret.’
The scientist edged closer and closer to him, until he was right beside ronnie. Then, ronnie gestured for the man to lean down beside him.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Whispering) ‘...I'm really, really, really hungry.’
As the scientist went back to standing, he stared down at Ronnie with a completely blank look on his face. All our bald headed friend did was smile, then go back to relaxing.
…
As soon as the other scientists got back, the small team got hard to work.
More specifically, the scientists did Ronnies every command, as he sat there trying his hardest to stick a spoon in a fairly large tub of ice cream.
Hours had passed.
With every accurate measurement, detailed description and impeccable design,, the device had been finished….
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Would you just look at it! It's perfect!’
He turned to the other scientists with a large grin on his face.
Ronnie “Nigel” manning: ‘Great job team! We did good!’
“Spectacles”: (Angrily shouting) ‘You Made us spend six hours of hard labour, thousands in resource cost and our blood,sweat and tears…. Just to make a bloody Ice cream scoop!?!!?’
Picking up the shiny new ice cream scoop, Ronnie tried to dig it into the tub. However, the scoop failed to work.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Arghhhhh! This things useless! Right, back to the drawing board!’
By now, all of the scientist had gotten fed up. Arranging a group huddle (Excluding Ronnie) The group started to question their professors sanity.
“Spectacles”: ‘I can't stand this anymore! Hes gone completely mad!’
(Some of the other scientists agreeing, some with questionable devotion)
“Missy”: ‘But what do you suppose we do? We can't exactly throw him out! We will get fired!’
“Spectacles”: ‘I have a plan. We should allow the guards here to escort him to his dorm, then write to headquarters about this. Hopefully, someone might be able to…’
Other scientist: ‘Where did he go?’
Everyone looked up to find that “Nigel” had vanished.
In a panic, everyone started to look everywhere for him.
Missy: (Shouting) ‘Professor? Where did you go?
Ronnie “Nigel” manning: (From outside the small room) ‘Oh, just warming this ice cream up a bit in the microwave. It doesn't matter that I left the scoop in , right?’
Looking out through the glass room, they could see that the “Microwave” That Ronnie was referring too, was in fact the core of the T22-blizzard.
As sparks started flashing into the tub, crossing paths with the scoop and the ice cream, everyone ducked for cover….
….
Nothing.
In hesitation, everyone moved out from cover, to see Ronnie patiently standing there, With the newly formed fuel source in the engine.
“Spectacles”: (Shouting, happy) ‘It worked! It actually worked!’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Really confused at everyone's happiness) ‘What? What worked?’
“Missy”: ‘You did it professor! You made a renewable source of energy!’
To be fair on Ronnie, not only was he confused at what that even meant, but he still wanted the ice cream as everyone grabbed him and hoisted him in the air like a hero.
…
Another few hours later, after the partying had come to a close (I say partying...imagine a group of scientists partying. You can't? good!) It finally came the time for closing hour.
Accompanied by his two favourite guard, Ronnie was escorted to the surface.
“Sam”: ‘Need a lift back to your apartment Nigel?’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Naaa, it's fine, I have legs!’
Waving as both the guards made off in their vehicle, Ronnie made his way back to The safehouse, whistling the same song as he did before.
…
Back at the Emergency safehouse, Crystal and Davis had just returned.
After entering the code that Ryu had gave them earlier, the two of them walked through the doorway.
Although the room was fairly dark, a few of the lights were still on. All except from the ones over the bed Ryu was sleeping in.
Crystal: (Noticing Ryu’s face immediately) ‘Geez, what happened to you?’
Laying on his back, a half tired Ryu, who had attended to the wounds already by bandaging up his nose, simply let of a fairly silent growl.
Ryu Jianar: (Clearly still tired) ‘...I'd rather not talk about it…Find out anything useful?’
Crystal: ‘We tracked a few guards back to a bridge. That's about it.’
Ryu let out a sigh, then closed his eyes again.
Crystal: (looking around the room) ‘Hey, where's baldy gone?’
Ryu Jianar:(With his eyes still closed) ‘I have no clue. He was gone when I got back. Probably wondering around town or someth….’
Before he could finish his sentence, The team heard a very rhythmic knock on the wall.
Peering into the outside security footage, Crystal could see that it was Ronnie, knocking on the wrong side of the wall.
Crystal: ‘*sigh* Do I have to let him in?’
Davis answered her question by opening the door for him.
Crystal: (Shouting at Ronnie) ‘I thought we told you to keep watch?’
Ronnie Manning: (walking in, then taking a seat on his bed.) ‘You did? Oh, right, you did! Oh well, place looks safe enough.’
Crystal: ‘But where did you go?’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Me? Ehh Didn't do much. Just did a bit of walking. Oh, and met some really cool people. You know, it's a funny story….’
Davis Drafter: ‘What's that around your neck?’
Davis pointed at “Nigels” ID badge.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Shhhh, let me get to that part. So, I was walking down the street, when two guards came up to me….’
He went on to explain the entire story in every little detail. And I mean every detail. Even the parts where he picked his nose.
Ryu Jianar: ‘...So let me get this straight, You got into the facility, made them a new fuel source and then left?’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Yep. Pretty cool huh?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘You made them a fuel source for a weapon Ronnie! Are you stupid?’
He sat there in silence, then gave Ryu a rather wide eyed smile.
Ronnie Manning: ‘But that shouldn't matter. They won't be able to fly it without any of the information stuff…’
Ronnie took the tip of his finger off and plugged the USB into the computer.
Codes of data streamed over the monitor, before showing hundreds of separate files.
Yep, even with the same brain structure as cauliflower-cheese, He had downloaded not only the files from the T22-Blizzard, But also all the information they needed from the facility itself.
Crystal: (Kind of sulking at the fact that ronnie did more work then her, but also excited) ‘This means we can leave now, right? We just need to find a way out of here?’
Ryu gave it some thought, then looked back at Ronnie.
Ryu Jianar: ‘You said there were aircraft in sector one, right?’
Ronnie nodded.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Then that's where we will go. Get some rest, we should try and get passed security in the early morning, and go from there.’
Crystal: (Saying this to Ryu as he went back over to his bed) ‘You can't be serious? That place is swarming with guards!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Do you have a better idea?’
She thought about it for a second, then nodded.
Crystal: ‘Fine, but make sure we don't get caught. The whole point is we need to take one of the ships with permission to pass the defense grids. If we get caught taking one, they will just send orders to the grid to fire us down anyway.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Not exactly. The whole grid is automated. As long as we have a IWEC issue ship, it won't target us.’
He paused, then looked at her.
Ryu Jianar: ‘But you're right in not getting caught. I don't exactly like our chances with fighting an entire army.’
Saying nothing more, the others got into their respective beds, then turned off all the lights.
Crystal: (Tucking herself under the covers, removing the beanie covering her ears.) ‘Goodnight.’
Ryu, Ronnie and Davis simultaneously: ‘Goodnight.’
Chapter eight: Day seven: Part one: The regrets of war
Even in the late evening, the streets still seemed busy.
Although the many stands and small shops had closed or moved on, this was the time for many to either go out drinking, haggling for…. Well…. “Contraband”, or simply for the countless amounts of homeless to rest in any spare spaces between doorways and even the sidewalks.
Knowing full well that the others were still fast asleep when he left, Davis tried his hardest to find a quiet place to get a drink.
As he passed the countless number of homeless, he kept having flashbacks to the times when he too was living on the streets.
He didn't envy them. But at the same time, he knew that there was nothing he could do for them either.
After exploring for a while, he found many different pubs and taverns. Each one either being packed tighter than a sardine tin, or just too loud for his taste.
That being said, after enough time and wondering, Davis did find a small place off to the side of a bakery and a newsagents.
Stepping through the wooden pulley door, the inside was exactly how Davis liked it: small, not many people, cozy, and the drinks being fairly priced.
Even though the interior decorations were fairly poor, and the tables clearly bashed and chipped from age, the fireplace over in the corner accompanied by a rather cheerful looking barkeep made the whole thing seem rather humble as apposed to run down.
Once Davis took a seat on one of the bar stools, he started counting out notes from his wallet. As he picked out five, he accidently knocked the small mech next to him.
Davis Drafter: (Quickly, but still focused on counting the money) ‘Sorry.’
???: ‘Ehh, no problem.’
Davis continued to count out the numbers in his head, just to make sure that he could get not only enough for the evening, but enough to refill his flask.
As he did so, he was suddenly interrupted by the mech next to him.
???: (Calling over to the barkeep, pointing at his glass) ‘I'll take another one of these, and I think my friend here will have the same.’
Confused, Davis turned to thank the mech…
Pint: (As Davis looked at him, cutting him off with a laugh) ‘Ya know, it's pretty dangerous to go out at this time of night with such a high cost on your head. Ya don't know who might be eyeing you up as a chunk of pocket change.’
Davis went to slowly reach down for his gun.
Pint noticed.
Pint: (Drinking the last few drops that were in his cup) ‘Ehh, wouldn't want to do that lad. It will only attract unwanted attention.’
Hesitantly, Davis’s hand slowly hovered over the weapon, Slowly, but surely, he moved his hand from his side onto the counter, just as his drink arrived.
Although Davis was looking, he only now was able to stare at the mech in more detail.
The site was an ugly one to behold. Not only was the arm poorly ripped out of the socket it once was in, but one side of pints face had also sustained many injuries.
Davis Drafter: (Holding his glass, trying not to hold any eye contact.) ‘What happened to you?’
The small mech simply chuckled at him, then placed his severed arm on the table.
Pint: (With a slight smile, but a kind of disappointed sigh) ‘Let's just say that my old “Boss” doesn't like criticism.’
Davis drafter: (After taking a sip from his drink) ‘You mean that Andrack guy?’
Pint: ‘That's the one. ‘
The two went silent for a while and kept on drinking.
Pint: (Curiously) ‘So what you doing out here by yourself?’
Davis pulled out his small metal decanter and placed it on the side. He said nothing more.
Pint: ‘Ahhh, so ya stash has run dry has it? Dont worry, I can get em to re-fill it for ya.’
At this point, Davis gave him a questionable stare.
Pint gave him the laugh of someone with nothing left, then looked at him with a small smile.
Pint: (Closing his only hand around his glass tightly) ‘You don't need to worry about me. Got my ass kicked out of the whole unit.’
Davis Drafter: ‘So you're not here to turn us in?’
Pint laughed so hard that a few other people in the bar looked at him, but then returned to their own conversations.
Pint: ‘Look lad, I may have had my run-ins in the past with you all, But I've seen the way your team are together. Your nice people. Good people. People with allot of things to live for.’
He paused for a minute.
Pint: ‘I only worked for ‘em because I never really had a choice. As a mech, you have no choice. It's work, or get scrapped.’
He paused again, took a big swig, then looked at Davis with another huge grin.
Pint: ‘Not that I was of any real use. I mean, look at me! I can't even sit on these stools without having to use a couple of books!’
Davis checked, and surely enough, pint had actually stacked a few dozen books under himself in order to be seated properly at the bar.
Pint: ‘My point is, my jobs always been a thorn in my ass. When I first came out of manufactoring, I was supposed to be scraped right off the production line. But because I had the most advanced optics, I was kept around as a test man for the firing ranges. Ill tell you what, that has to be the best time of my life. It's all fun and games shooting at test dummies…’
He stopped himself and looked down at the ground.
Pint: (losing his regular cheerful tone.) ‘...that's the thing, isn't it? The other officers said it gets easier after a while, but it never does. Dummies are one thing. People, families, children….. That's another.’
He took a huge swig of his drink, then placed the empty glass on the side and gestured for another.
Pint: ‘Thing is, I never really did kill anyone myself. Sent the other mechs in first, then if I saw anyone i’d try and get them to leave or deliberately miss them to scare them off. But that doesn't make me any kind of saint. I still gave the commands for the clearing squads to move in on the towns…’
At this point, Davis actually stopped him.
Davis Drafter: (In the same tone as Pint) ‘We all have orders to keep. We all do things because we need to. We never get given a choice. That's war. That's always been war. It will never change.’
As davis kept on drinking, pint stopped for a while and stared at Davis. After some time, He seemed to snap back to reality.
Pint: ‘Let me guess, you're the one who got out of the first facility back in london, aren't you?’
Davis gave a small nod, but didn't look at him.
Pint: ‘...i'm sorry for what happened.’
Davis Drafter: ‘You don't need to be sorry. It wasn't your fault.’
Pint: (Gathering up the words) ‘....I gave the orders that day, you know?’
For a moment, he went silent. Davis turned to him and lowered his own glass.
Pint: ‘I had too options. To give you more time and collect the healthiest for the facility testing, or to just wipe out the town…’
Davis Drafter: (Staring at him blankly) ‘...what happend too…’
Pint: (Sighing, finding it hard to speak) ‘...After you and the others went in, i thought everything would turn out for the better. And yet, after a month, we got given the order again….I...I had no choice…’
Davis Drafter: (looking away from pint, staring blankly at the counter) ‘The basterds tricked us, didn't they? Sent us in to work for free so that they had no opposition when taking the whole damn town.’
Davis reached into his pocket and pulled out the small cloth doll. Rubbing it between his finger and his thumb, for once, he gave a very weak smile.
Davis Drafter: ‘You know, I promised my little sister I would take her fishing once we got back. I promised her...’
Davis said nothing more, then took an exceptionally large gulp of whisky.
He remembered back to the day of his first release from the facility. After he, as the only survivor from the third dimensional dive, headed on back to the location of his small town….
Yet, all he found was ruins.
Pint: (Trying his hardest to be sympathetic) ‘...I never planned for that to happen. I wish I could….’
Davis Drafter: (Not looking at him, staring at the doll) ‘You had no choice. We had no choice. That was the only way it would have went. If it weren't you, it would have been someone else.’
Davis then looked up at him.
Davis Drafter: (Finding it hard to speak) ‘Did you...I mean…’
Pint: (Understanding him) ‘No. I would never shoot a family down. I may be a horrible mech, but at least I have a soul, unlike the bastards back at HQ.’
A few minutes passed before Pint said something again.
Pint: (laying his money on the bar) ‘Right, I think i've had enough for the evening. Can't get too drunk, otherwise ill end up somewhere I shouldn't be. (talking to the bar keeper) ‘Oh, and can you fill this man's flask up please!’
Davis Drafter: ‘Where are you going to go?’
Pint: (Picking up his arm, jumping off the stool) ‘Ehh, figured i'll find a box somewhere. Plenty about. Well, it's been a pleasure.’
As Pint began to walk out, Davis called over to him.
Davis Drafter: ‘How about you join us?’
To this, Pint stopped.
Pint: ‘Join you? Why? I tried blowing your friends to bits the first time I met them! You think they'll just let me join?’
Davis Drafter: ‘Xyro wouldn't let us kill you that time you launched a counter-assault in Paris.’
Pint: (Turning around fully, confused) ‘You mean the cyborg? Why?’
Davis Drafter: ‘I don't really know. But all I can say is that the kid is normally right about things, so he must be right about you all.’
Pint: (After considering for a bit) ‘I'll have to think about it for longer….just….hmmm….’
He tried to word it, but he just couldn't. Then, after some time, he came to a conclusion.
Pint: ‘Look, I’ll have to think about it. For now, can ya just promise me something if we never do meet again lad? Just don't harm my team. I don't really give a piss about that sly bastard of a cyborg, and that Viro is also a nasty piece of work, but the others are good kids.’
Davis nodded at him.
Pint: (Looking down at the floor) ‘Take it easy. And good luck. You'll need it.’
When Pint walked out, Davis took in a deep breath.
Taking another sip of his whisky, he sat with a blank mind, waiting for his decanter to get filled...
Chapter eight: Day seven: Part two: Nigel strikes back!
It was two hours after midnight.
Already up and at the ready, the team were prepared for the task ahead of them. Fully equipped and loaded, Ryu made sure to wait for the others before he gave the mission briefing.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Well, with what I could gather from the data Ronnie brought back with him, we have a pretty good chance of slipping through and getting a ship without conflict. As long as we get the timings right, we should be fine.’
Crystal and Davis nodded, whilst Ronnie was way too distracted by….something….
Ryu Jianar: (Seeing, but ignoring, Ronnies ignorance) ‘The guards around the gate normally switch out at around three. This gives us a small opening to be able to get through. However, we will still need key cards in order to get access, as the gates are also heavily guarded by surveillance mechs.’
Crystal: ‘Then how do you suppose we slip past them?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘There are bound to be patrol’s out at this time. I say we find a small group, take them out and grab their ID’s, then we should be able to get through uncontested.’
Crystal: (Like a questioning child.) ‘And when we are inside?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘All we have to do is keep walking straight then take a left. There is a small hanger with transport vehicles there. Once in, we take one and go.’
Crystal: ‘That sounds too simple.’
Ronnie Manning: (Going to lean against the wall, but missing) ‘Naaaa, should be allot of fun!’
Crystal: (Rolling her eyes, whispering to Davis) ‘This is going to end badly, isn't it?’
Davis nodded his head subtly.
Even so, The wafting smell of alcohol in his breath still caught Crystals keen sense of smell.
At least for now, she knew he was back to normal.
…
Moving through the poorly lit alleyways, The team found themselves on the hunt.
Although it may have taken more time then Ryu would have liked, after exploring the western side of sector two for about twenty minutes, they found their prey.
Three guards, all equally armoured, began making their rounds down one of the main roads, batting the homeless as they went.
Guard (1): (After the three re-group, just standing around) ‘I hate this job’
Guard (3): (Gesturing to the homeless) ‘No point in complaining though. At least you're not like these freaks.’
Guard (2): ‘How long until this shift ends? I need a bitter right about now.’
The others nodded in conclusion.
Just before the three could walk away, the first guard noticed…. Something….down one of the alleyways.
Guard 1: (Suspicious, the other two following from behind) ‘Is anyone do….’
After delivering a swift blow to the side of the first guards head, Crystal followed it up by cutting dealing two harsh kicks to the other guards.
Without them having a moment to react, the three were already lying unconcious.
Making sure to be quick, the team made sure to drag them down the alleyway, out sight.
Crystal: ‘(After dragging one of them, looking down at the unconscious three) ‘Great. Now what?’
Ryu Jianar: (Sarcastically to begin with) ‘What do you think? We get into the suits!’
Crystal:(Pointing at the guard) ‘Ewww, im not touching….that….’
Davis Drafter: ‘(Starting to take some of the armour off and putting it around his clothing) You don't have a choice.’
Taking in a deep sigh, she begrudgingly began to peal the armour off one of the guards.
Armouring up, the three of them looked at one another. Surely enough, they looked almost identical (except from size, of course.)
Ronnie manning: ‘(looking at the armour, pointing) Hmmm, you look a little fat in that Ryu….’
Crystal wasn't impressed, for he was pointing at her.
Ryu Jianar: (Placing the guards ID badge into the armours side pocket) ‘Right, the point here will be to move in on the exact time when the guards switch posts. Then, all we will need to do is scan the cards and we’re in.’
Crystal: ‘What about eggshell here? He’s got no armour!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘He doesn't need any.’
Ryu pointed to the card around Ronnies neck.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Right “Nigel”. Lead the way.’
Ronnie Manning: ‘(Confused, looking around) Who….who’s Nigel?’
Sighing, Ryu lead the way instead.
Leaving the three guards tied behind a dumpster.
Truly, it was where they belonged.
…
Once again, in the same burnt down building next to the bridge, The four waited.
As Ryu knew, the timing had to be perfect.
That being said, the stealth didn't stop Ronnie whistling from time to time.
Crystal: (Palm on face, tapping fingers against the wall) ‘How much longer do we have.’
Peering over the edge of the wall, Ryu checked his watch, as did the guard standing at the gate. As he moved, Ryu stood.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Ok, lets go.’
Making sure to act as natural as possible, Ryu waited for ronnie to lead out, then followed behind with Crystal and Davis alongside him.
Coming up to the gate, just as Ronnie had predicted, the guards on watch started to leave.
Yet, as they Scanned their cards in, there was one thing that Ryu had not taken into consideration…
Stragglers.
As a random guard approached them, Ryu and Crystal tensed up with nerves.
Guard: ‘Hey, excuse me, what are you three doing back so early? Aren't your rounds until…’
He paused as soon as he saw Nigel.
Guard: ‘Ahh, Nigel, are these three with you?’
Ronnie looked around for “Nigel” Until he remembered that he was supposed to be him.
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘Oh, right, yeah.’
The guard simply nodded, then backed off.
Scanning in their cards, the team made their way over the bridge at a slow but steady pace, making sure to avoid walking either too close to people or mechs.
As soon as they were on the other side, Crystal leaned over to Ronnie.
Crystal: (Whispering) ‘Where do we go now?’
Ryu looked around. With the military housing being spaced so evenly, it wasn't hard to see the aircraft hangers way over in the left.
Ryu Jianar: ‘That's where we need to go. Let's move.’
Well, here's the thing….
Upon taking a few steps forward, the team were greeted by a set of six guards, each wielding a rifle.
Before they could say freeze, the team dived behind cover.
Watching the group take a dive, the guards opened fire.
With the way they had split, Ryu and crystal where on one side of the road behind a wall, whilst Ronnie and Davis were behind the opposite wall.
Crystal: (Drawing her cleaver, To Ryu.) ‘Shit, how did they know?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘I don't know, i'm not going to bloody ask them!’
Heavy thuds from the energy blasts hitting their cover cut the conversation short. Peering around the corner and returning fire, RYu had to then duck back immediately to avoid the barrage of shots that followed.
Ryu Jianar: (Calling over to Davis and Ronnie, still under heavy fire) ‘It's no good, we can't push forward like this.’
Davis signaled back by pointing back towards the bridge way.
He wanted to retreat.
Realising this was currently the only option for them, Ryu Counted to three with his fingers for the others too see, then they all ran.
In confusion, the guards ceased fire, then sent forth the Culling drones.
As one bounded towards Davis, he turned on a heal, blew half it's head off in one shot, then kept on running.
With half the facility now hot on their heels, The team drew closer and closer to the other side of the bridge.
But alas, they were blocked off completely from the other side by a blockade of guards.
Backed into a corner, the team were completely surrounded.
Yet, they held their ground.
Although they expected to be met with gunfire, they were surprised when a single guard spoke up.
Guard: ‘Terrorists, release your hostage now, or we will open fire!’
Crystal: ‘(Whispering) Hostage?’
Then, out of the crowd of guards and mechs, a women emerged in a lab coat.
“Missy”: ‘Please...please don't hurt him… Nigel is a great man….’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Cupping his mouth so that it was faced to one side) ’I think she means me.’
As Ronnie went to start walking over to greet her, A sudden thought flushed over Ryu’s mind.
Ryu Jianar: ‘(Grabbing Ronnie around the neck with his arm, pointing the gun at his head) You shoot and he gets it!’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: ‘I get what? Is it ice cream?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘(Chocking Ronnie slightly) Shut up you!’
“Missy”: (In clear panic and dismay) ‘Ok, ok! We will give in to your commands! Just please don't hurt him!’
Crystal: (Playing along) ‘We need a ride out of her pronto, and none of you can follow. If we see even a single one of you, we will shoot him.’
Ronnie “Nigel” Manning: (Petrified) ‘You'll do what?!?!?!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘(whispering) We are acting Ronnie, we won't shoot you!’
Ronnie gave a sigh of relief.
“Missy”: ‘Ok, we will have that for you as soon as possible. Is there an….’
Her sentence was cut off by the gargantuan explosion in district one. The colossal fireball engulfed the whole floating island in flame, as it slowly began to fall to the ocean below.
….
(Two minutes earlier)
As their primary objective for the day, two familiar guards sat by the IWEC’s newly developed flying prototype, the T22-Blizzard.
“Fatty”: (Eating a sandwich, talking to “Sam”) ‘You know, as much as I hate this job at times…. *munch* ….It does have pretty good work hours.’
“Sam”: ‘I don't see why you complain. All we normally have to do is stand around, and we get payed good money to do it.’
“Fatty”: ‘Yeah, true.’
The two went silent again.
As they did so, a weird older man with a bald head came wondering into the room. He was covered in dirt, and his lab coat was torn badly.
“Sam”: ‘Well hey there Nigel, back to run more tests on the old bird here?’
The old man stared at him with discontent.
Nigel: ‘how dare you talk to a scientist of my level with that tone! What makes you thinks you gain that right…..and what do you mean run more tests?’
“Fatty”: (Confused) ‘You….you managed to make that renewable source yesterday. Don't you remember?’
He stared at the guard blankly.
“Sam”: ‘(trying to jog his memory) ‘You got the others to make a metal scoop and then stuck it in some icecream. Who would have thought it would make a renewable source of power!’
The scientists face went completely white.
Nigel: ‘....let me see…’
The old man walked over to the engine source and peered in.
Surely enough, the ice cream that was in the whole pot had solidified into it's base proteins, and had only just lost all it's liquid.
It was now, in their terms, a bomb.
As sparks started igniting the proteins, he looked up.
Nigel: ‘...Dear god…’
(....BOOOOOM….)
…..
(Back to the team)
As the island began to crash down, the bridge sank with it.
Sending the four flying over the railings, they began plummeting down. As they fell, the inferno above them sent charred rock spraying in different directions.
With such a long fall, they knew this would have been the end.
Yet, their landing was met by an old, beat up IWEC cargo plane. All four of them fell directly through a hatch on the top, onto an old blow-up mattress.
The fairly small plane rocked immensely, then stabilized.
Laying in an awkward pile, the team let out a groan.
Crystal: ‘Urgh, why do we keep getting into these messes.’
Ryu, who was now up on his knees, looked instantly around the plane.
Just like it's outside, it seemed incredibly old, cheap, and in now way suitable for more than a few people.
In the cockpit however, was someone he would have never expected to see.
Pint: (looking back at them, holding a can of beer in his hand, talking more to himself) ‘I knew this old thing would come in useful one day. Who’s laughing now ya miserable old git!’
He swayed around the can, then after taking a huge swig, he threw it out the window.
As Ryu went to point his gun at Pint, Davis pushed the front of it down, gave Ryu a stare, then went and sat next to Pint in the front two seats.
Davis: (Sticking his legs up on the front plane board, smiling at Pint) ‘So I see you made a decision then?’
Pint: (Picking up another can of beer) ‘You bet my metal ass I did!’
Davis took out his flask, which he clanked against Pint’s beer can, then the two took a big swig of both.
Crystal: ‘Ok, firstly, What the hell? Secondly, why are you here!’
Pint: ‘Ahhh, it's a long story lass. Ill tell ya about it when im sober.’
Crystal: (In sudden realisation) ‘Your piloting drunk!’
Pint: (laughing to himself) ‘lass, i'm always drunk!’
Pint threw back another beer, then put the ship on autopilot.
Ryu Jianar: (To Pint) ‘You do realise that as soon as we get back you will be in for a lot of questioning.’
Pint: ‘Ya mean i'll have to talk more? This day is turning into a pretty great one already!’
Ronnie Manning: (Randomly) ‘Why are you so small?’
Pint looked back at the man.
Pint: ‘It's because they needed to contain my power. If I was too big, I would be devastating.’
To this, Davis smiled.
Crystal Picked up on this, and also gained a wry smile.
Crystal: ‘Hmmm, it's not like you to gain drinking buddies. Good on you.’
Davis, who was now also a bit tipsy, winked at her.
Turns out that even miserable old gits can also make friends. Then again, i'm not sure making friends with another miserable old git counts, but oh well.
Common interests and all.
As the low-orbit ship passed over the IWEC defense grid with ease, Ryu gave out a huge sigh. Staring out of the window, he watched as the sunset fell behind the floating country.
For now, they were safe.
…
(End of chapter Eight)