Chapter 17 - Confrontation

Shrouded in shadows by the trees of the far-off forest, Eric, Iris and Alice sat huddled around a makeshift campfire as the day passed into night. If it weren’t for the tall trees covering them, they would have no need for the fire, but they were in utter darkness due to the density of the leaves. The suits they wore also regulated their body heat, so they had no need for the warmth of the fire either. Really, they had no need for it at all as they could have easily used a light from one of their pouches. Iris just wanted to show off that she knew how to make a fire and thought that it would fit their setting better.

“Won’t someone see the smoke and come looking?” Alice said, after having sat by the fire for nearly half an hour already.

“If they did see it, they’d probably just think it was from one of the destroyed NAK weapons.” Iris said, poking a stick into the fire and moving some burning leaves around.

Eric didn’t join in on the banter as he was going through a tablet he had taken from the intelligence room. Iris and Alice scolded him for taking one without telling them, as they were worried it could be tracked. However, Eric trusted that Laura’s devices would work flawlessly and he wanted to read up as much as he could on the second Trinity being developed and tested before they make their move tomorrow. He read over the details of the weapon over and over, taking in all he could. On the tablet, it listed much of what the three already read in the lab, but it was the specifics Eric wanted to know. This Trinity was unlike the original as it was built to be much like an old-world missile. It’s thrust and ignition were, unsurprisingly, using Elysium as the main fuel and it was using similar technology to their comms relays for guidance. The issue, Eric noticed, is that because of that, it also faced the same limitations that communications had; the device needed to stay in range for it to receive guidance and range was limited to how far a tower could send information.

“How do they expect this thing to be intercontinental?” Eric asked out loud, mostly to himself. “Once it leaves UF land, there’s no way it could stay on track.”

“Won’t it be similar to how the NAK forces managed to land in two of UF controlled areas?” Iris replied, still poking the fire.

“There were multiple infantry with those weapons, so they were most likely guiding it as it crossed countries. There’s no way they’d send infantry in to die with...” Eric started to retort, but trailed off when he hit a realization.

“The Yatogami.” Alice finished for him.

Eric looked up at her, seeing Alice staring at the fire with a blank expression. Eric’s face grimaced as he too was understanding what Alice was thinking.

“The Yatogami and I were to be used to guide these things. Explains how Laura managed to get flight implemented on it so quick; it was already in development.” Eric paused and sighed. “Halford’s concern for me is growing thinner and thinner every new piece of information we uncover. That bastard.”

“It’s kind of a flimsy idea, isn’t it? What if you just refused to guide one of the bombs? You’re the only one who can pilot that thing, right? Wouldn’t that have shut this entire thing down?” Iris asked, her magenta eyes reflecting the fire as she watched Eric.

Eric watched the fire crackle and pop as he sat their silent for a few moments. He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes as the question echoed in his head. He slowly opened his eyes and looked over at Iris, who had a pleasingly slight smile on her face, the sincerity of her question warming Eric’s cold demeanor. He smiled slightly before looking back the fire and his face going cold.

“Truth is, if I was never told anything by Trinity and we didn’t find any of this classified information, I would have eagerly guided these bombs.” Eric placed his head in his hands. “I was a blind fool who despite all my punk attitude, would eagerly follow orders like that.”

“Because you thought it would have been right.” Alice quickly chimed in. “And now you have different knowledge on what you think is right and you’re eagerly heading to that.”

She placed a hand on Eric’s back and lightly patted him. Eric took his head out of his hands and looked up at her. She was smiling at him and her eyes were filled with what he could only described as hope. She wasn’t telling a white lie to comfort him; this was her true belief. Eric simply nodded as a thank you before reading over the tablet again.

The hours passed and the three took turns keeping watch through the night until the morning. Eric took the last watch as it soon became morning. He walked back to the campsite after doing a quick patrol of the area and chuckled as saw the two girls. They originally fell asleep with their backs to each other and a few feet apart. Somehow, in their sleep they managed to embrace each other, their arms wrapped around one another. Eric shook his head slightly as he hopped into the Yatogami and inspected it. He had no specific issues or things he was looking for, he simply felt comfortable standing in the mech.

“This will probably be our last ride, Yatogami. Er, well I guess I should say Trinity. Hopefully you don’t get destroyed tomorrow, cause even if you stop working, I’d still miss sitting in this thing. Well, standing.”

He traced his hand along the inner padding behind him as he spoke to the machine, not expecting it or Trinity to hear him as it was deactivated. He leaned his head back and rested it against the foam backing and closed his eyes.

And I will miss you.

Eric jolted his head up as he heard a voice who belonged to no one he recognized echo in his head. He quickly looked around and saw that Iris and Alice were awake and gathering their things. The two looked over at him and waved as he meekly waved back as he stood there puzzled before shaking his head.

***

It was early morning, roughly 0500 hours as the three were heading to the testing site for the Trinity 2. Eric was piloting the Yatogami, walking it toward the destination with Alice and Iris holding onto the shoulders of the machine. The testing site was not too far from their campsite, but it was far enough that any patrols made by the UF shouldn’t have found them. Their plan had taken into account of when they practiced patrols in exams and they were hoping they’d manage to slip in between shifts.

“It’s gonna be tough slipping in there with a giant mech you know.” Iris said, smirking from her own sarcasm.

“Yea, yea. I’m not the one going in.” Eric replied, despite them all knowing the plan already. “You two just get in there and try to see the launch site. All you have to do is be undetected, find it, and fire the flare into the general direction and not get captured. Easy task, right?”

The two girls hopped off the machine and quickly ran off toward the testing facility. Iris turned around and gave a hearty salute before turning to run off again. Alice gave a meek wave and followed her. Eric stood there, waiting for several minutes watching the sky for the flare, ready to take off at any minute. As he waited, his attention was drawn to a whirring noise coming from behind him. He quickly spun around to see the ground opening up, the dirt, sticks and leaves all falling into the open hole. A platform raised up with several mobile weapons with tank-like barrels pointed at him and a dozen soldiers all clad in the same Elysian-powered suits as he and his class wore.

“So, this is what your treason gang is up to: infiltrating the test facility?” A familiar, deep voice echoed out from one of the tanks. “Never thought our pride and joy, Mr. Eric Valtor, grandson of the esteemed and revered Whitlock would betray The United Front.”

“Halford...” Eric muttered.

“Now, son, what do you say you stand down, surrender, and explain why you decided to help the NAK?”

“Pretty convenient to have a platform right where I was waiting.” Eric joked, knowing the platforms were most likely all over underneath the forest. “I’m not helping the NAK and I’m not standing down. I can’t.”

Eric readied himself to fight against the people he once called comrades. He raised his and the Yatogami’s hands, prepared to shield himself from the oncoming fire. His beating heart echoed in his ears as his pulse quickened and his anxiety rose. Just as he was about to race toward them, he heard a crackling noise echo into the air. He looked up and saw a bluish-yellow trail fly into the air.

“The flare!” Eric shouted. “Sorry Halford and crew, I’d love to dance, but I’ve got some girls waiting for me.”

Eric turned and jumped into the air, taking off and racing toward the flare in the sky. At the same instance, all the tanks and soldiers opened fire on the Yatogami and Eric. He dodged the onslaught of weapon fire, pirouetting and maneuvering skillfully in the air. One of the soldiers on the ground readied their weapon and charged it by activating the scanner like that on Iris’ and Alice’s weapons. Similar to Iris’ rifle, this weapon shot out a straight-line laser that directly hit the Yatogami’s right arm. The laser was too weak to directly damage it, but after a few seconds of staying on target, the spot ignited in a yellow flame and engulfed the entire right arm. Eric paid no mind to it and flew off in the direction of the flare. On a display that popped up in front of him, he was given a warning:

Right arm disabled.