Chapter 12 - Eastern Defense

The squad of five that Halford mentioned previously, along with the Yatogami and several other mobile weapons like tanks and other munitions were inside a large enclosed container. They were currently on their way to the eastern islands of The United Front through their underground magna-rails. The container was traveling at rapid speeds across a magnetically propelled rail that was developed in the early years of Elysium’s creation. The magna-rail was one of Whitlock’s earliest theorized projects and he pushed for it as the main form of travel between continents.

Eric, Alice and Iris were sitting around a small terminal playing a holographic game on it to pass the time. Behind them, they were being watched by the other two members that joined them; Jack, whom was just awarded by Halford for his efforts in the evacuation during the assault on the academy, and another female cadet, Kelly. Kelly was tall with an athletic build and modest proportions, and had short black hair. She had crimson red eyes that were sharp and looked like daggers that contrasted the rest of her soft face. She scowled as she stared at the three playing games, but said nothing the entire trip. Jack just smirked and shook his head as he opened up his own screen and started to read a book on it as he rested on some weapons crates.

“Another win for me! You guys should really try next time, this is getting boring, you know?” Iris shouted out, clearly trying to get a rise out of the other two, mainly Eric.

“I don’t know how you stay so humble, it’s so endearing.” Eric retorted.

“I was only a few kills behind you, don’t act so mighty.” Alice meekly pointed out.

“Oh, really now? Play me one on one then, Alice!”

“Would you fools stop wasting time on that game? Shouldn’t we be prepping for our mission?” A sharp voice yelled at them from behind them.

The three looked over their shoulders to the voice, as they saw Kelly standing their giving them a piercing gaze, her face full of annoyance. Her arms were crossed tightly under her chest and she was leaning against one of the tanks. The three playing the game looked at each other before back to her.

“Wanna play?” the three said in unison.

Surprisingly, Kelly’s composure instantly broke as she blushed and her mean, piercing eyes faltered into timid, fearful ones. She averted her gaze and started to wave her hands.

“N-no, of course I don’t! I just said it was a waste of time!” Kelly said, turning to her side.

Iris jumped up and grabbed her shoulders and forced her to sit down, Kelly protesting the entire time but not actually resisting. Jack chuckled as he jumped down from the crates and sat next to Eric. The five of them all started to play the game together, chatting and bantering with each other. Kelly was the most energetic, shouting and being the most immersed in the game. As they played, Kelly and Iris started to banter more and more as they traded wins in each match. After several rounds, they finally stopped playing to rest as they were arriving to their destination soon.

Kelly got up and sat next to Eric, but said nothing and looked away from him. He felt the awkward presence next to him and asked her about the game, but she simply ignored him and started to fidget with her hands.

“Is everything okay?” Eric said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She hesitated before finally speaking. “I should be asking you that.”

Eric’s head tilted at the response, not understanding what she meant.

“You were all playing that game, but only Iris and Alice looked to be enjoying the moment. You were putting on a fake face the entire time. I don’t know if the rest didn’t see or just simply chose to ignore it.”

She turned her head and stared a Eric, here eyes daggers.

“There’s something you’re not telling us, isn’t there?” she said, frustration in her voice.

Eric just stared at her, trying to put the proper words together to get out of the situation. His silence didn’t go unnoticed as Kelly scoffed and stood up.

“Whatever it is, your secrecy better not get me or Jack killed.” She started to walk off. “Or yourself…” she finished with a mumble.

Eric sat there, stunned as he stared at the floor. He had tried to act as if nothing was wrong or that he, Iris and Alice had their own mission, but the dread in his mind must have leaked through. He sighed and tilted his head back, hitting it against the crate he was resting against.

***

The squad was finishing unloading their munitions and weapons in the hangar, having arrived at the eastern base. Kelly and Jack were working together moving some of the heavier boxes while Iris and Alice were doing the same with weapons crates. Eric was in the Yatogami helping move some of the vehicles while other soldiers from the base drove the rest out. As they finished moving everything in, a man walked up to the group. He was dressed in a decorated uniform that resembled those worn in the second world war from the old world. His face wasn’t as defined or sharp as Halford’s, but it still had angular points to it. His eyes were much more relaxed and warm in comparison and were a soothing green.

“Glad to see you here safe, I am General Mikazuki. I am running this ramshackle of a base.” He introduced himself, shaking each of their hands, waving at Eric. “So that’s the Yatogami. It’s more impressive than the reports gave it credit for. Please, follow me.”

Eric disembarked and followed the squad into a nearby tent. Inside, an aerial view of the base was being shown on a holographic projection. Three other uniformed individuals were in the tent as the group surrounded the table.

“This is where we believe the next attack will be. We have purposely left our early warning defense system slightly under-tuned in hopes the enemy will take the bait and come.” Mikazuki said, pointing at and zooming in on a white building. “This is this locales labs. You will be guarding while we get to work on removing all sensitive information. We-“

As Mikazuki was debriefing them, a familiar siren rang out. It was the same one they heard when the western base was attacked.

“They’re here much earlier than expected. Dammit. Squad, move out, now!” Mikazuki commanded.

Alice, Iris and Eric looked at each other and nodded. While they were here on the orders of their superiors and were going to protect the base, they had their own mission. The squad ran out and armed themselves as Eric jumped back into the Yatogami. A comms terminal popped up before Eric with Mikazuki talking through it.

“Mr. Valtor, I am aware of your issues with piloting that machine. If you faint here, it may be disastrous for us. Don’t push yourself.”

Eric smirked at the warning. Not because he didn’t appreciate someone looking out for him, but because he could hear the insincerity in Mikazuki’s voice. He knew he was just a tool to him, but more pressing matters were on his mind.

“Worry not, sir. She treats me nice now “ Eric retorted, not speaking of the Yatogami, but of the spirit within it.

He launched from his position, leaping to the air and hovering above the laboratory building and scanning the air.

“Same as before, looks like three mobile weapons incoming followed by paratroopers. Leave the weapons to me.” Eric relayed to his squad. “Now, let’s see if Laura managed to get the development team to finish what I wanted…”

Eric flipped a switch that he noticed had been added when he first got into the Yatogami when loading the container that brought them here. At first, there was no noticeable change, but he felt that the entire machine was responding differently to his movements. He then tried lifting one leg and as he did he felt his altitude increase.

“Those geniuses did it!” Eric shouted.

He continued to rise upwards before breaking out into full fledged flying. He soared around in the air basking in the new ability of the Yatogami. He flew up to where the capsules were predicted to drop into, intercepting them as they dropped in. Like last time, the machines dropped in earlier and at a different location than the paratroopers.

“Same strategy everywhere you attack? I thought the NAK was smarter than that!”

Eric intercepted and grabbed one of the pods dropping in with ease as the Yatogami’s claws dug into it. He spun around and threw the machine, launching it upward toward the other incoming capsules. It collided perfectly, exploding on contact with one of the others. The explosion caused the third one to veer off course. He followed it, flying back down to the ground.

“Two out of three incoming machines neutralized, heading to deal with the last one now. Infantry if up to you guys; they look to be landing a little away from the lab.” Eric relayed over comms.

“Understood, see you on the ground.” Alice and Iris responded in unison.

Eric caught up with the capsule that had already deployed, a mobile tank like the one from the first attack. He smirked as he readied himself to fight it.

“Alright, I’m going to need you to dance for me.”