File 2.2 - Toppling a Giant

Across the land kilometers away Callein’s team finished the necessary repairs to get the transport functioning enough to fly. The death of Rivers had instilled the drive to get themselves moving, while Wells sat in his Skin biting the edge of his restraint.

“Get this junk in the air now!” ordered Wells through the comms.

“This is going to be a bumpy ride!” All around the ship a terrible clanking echoed as though the ship itself coughed in pain. The blast from the engines threw back earth clouding up the rear landing hatch before it jerked forward. The restrained Skins gave a low groan and squeak against the metal that held them in place. A moment later the ground gave way to the transport scrapping at it to desperately hold on before it lost any hope. “She flies again!”

“Turnabout to 138!” commanded Wells.

Rinn fought with the ship to keep it steady. “I don’t recall you being in charge, Ensign.” Rinn actually out ranked Wells, as a Lieutenant, even if he was only the pilot.

Wells had no time for chain of command. “I’m the second in command of Terra One! This is an order! Turnabout now!” His Jiaolong finished unbolting from the restraints and walked to the rear of the ship. Wells began to judge the distance and speed to the ground while taking in the radar information where Callein’s Peng fought. He knew that he couldn’t find the enemy Skin on the radar, but he still saw the Peng. “We’re coming to extract you Cal! Disengage and I’ll pick you up!”

Callein coughed weakly knowing the few seconds that passed since grabbed would not last. “Belay that Rinn! Take escape route B5 and leave now!” He tightened his hands on his controls, determined not to let the enemy shoot down his team. “I’ll hold the enemy off while you escape! Don’t leave the ship Pol!” Callein gritted his teeth together and gave a smirk to a wicked thought of defiance.

Wells pounded his fist against the side panel in frustration. “Damn you, Cal!” The transport began to rotate in its turn. His machine spat out coordinates updating him. He looked up out the view screens realizing the transport had fully turned around aimed straight for the Commander. “Ellune?”

An image of Rinn appeared up in a window on the displays from the cockpit of the transport. He gave Wells a wild grin like something crazy was about to happen. “I never said I planned on leaving. Get ready you’re only going to get one shot at this.”

A grin came across Wells’ face. “Don’t you remember who I am?! I’m Dual Shot!” He quickly began to run calculations on the information that the computer gathered to find his shot.

Fueled by determination, the Peng stopped trying to free its head from the Skadi. Thrusters on the right side activated at full power while the left shut down. The whine of metal and spark of wires erupted from the neck of the Peng. The unmoved head crushed faster under the force of Skadi’s hand while the neck gave out sparking a minor explosion. Freed, the Peng dropped to the ground just as the transport roared overhead echoing into the cockpit of the Peng.

Callein searched out through his ruined display for the noise, but the computer barely had enough time to display the incoming blast that smashed into the Skadi’s forearm holding the head of the Peng. “Where’d that come from?!” Through a piece of the working monitor he saw his Pair on the ground nearby. Callein rolled the Peng over picking up the Pair and unleashed everything left in the stores. “Fall you demon!”

Amidst the smoke a Jiaolong sprung forward for the Peng. “Cal! Hit your thrusters!” Well’s Jiaolong picked up the Peng, getting it to its feet. He saw that Callein understood what to do and with the combined lift of the Jiaolong and Peng they plowed into the black behemoth taking it off balance. A crash of metal plate armor exploded out in the collision as the Skadi collapsed to the ground. While in motion the Jiaolong and Peng continued into the air taking hold of the transport just as it made a second flyby. Another Jiaolong on the ramp of the open hatch helped the two Skins back up into the transport.

Inside his ruined cockpit Callein coughed feeling the tension start to spill out of his body. “Pol you ignored a direct order…thank you…” Everything that held his body together fell apart in an instant. Callein passed out before his Peng returned back to its seat on the transport.

“Cal!”

“Commander!”

“Can you hear me?!” shouted Ensign Ansgar Toule through a windowed image inside the Skadi. “Air! Can you hear me?!” From the terminal in the command center the system readings all ceased suddenly. Reports from the transport were unable to confirm the safety of Air or the Skadi. The regular staff in the room stared at the video feed in stunned uncertainty seeing their prized machine apparently defeated by the enemy. The General and lab coat clothed man seemed arrogantly unfazed by the situation.

Ansgar focused on trying to get in contact with Air rather than on the situation in the room. “Come in, Aerona! Respond!”

Warnings blared all around the interior of the Skadi. Air groaned to herself as she came back around. She scanned the condition of the cockpit and her own vitals. The voice of Ensign Toule continued to come over the damaged view screen. “Aerona Diwalt reporting.”

“Air!” The relief in Ansgar’s voice came through clearly. “Are you hurt?”

“The Skadi has taken significant damage to the left forearm and joints. Damage to the Heavy Focused Energy Cannon, functionality unconfirmed. Yggdrasil drive reading minor instabilities—“

“Are you hurt, Air?”

Air paused for a moment, having to think about the question. She examined her body carefully to report in accurately. “No external injuries that I can detect. I was unconscious for a period of thirty-eight seconds so a concussion is possible. I lack further medical knowledge to provide a full diagnosis.”

Ansgar smiled to himself a little, regretting the question a bit. “You’re fine then.”

The radar and tracking programs returned for the Skadi suddenly. When she looked for the enemy only her transport plane appeared. Expanding the search left her with no further answers. “I am unable to detect the enemy any longer. Where have they gone?”

The Ensign looked back at the General getting his orders. He turned back to the monitor that only displayed Air’s helmeted face. “Can the Skadi still move?”

Spinning metal and hydraulics in the lower part of the Skadi broke the previous whisper normally heard within the cockpit. The complete system report came through to Air as she attempted to bring her Skadi back under her control. “Skadi output is 34% of combat capability. I can continue.”

“Wait until the transport comes to pick you up. You’ll be returning to base.”

“Understood.”

The General rotated in the command chair to look back at the middle aged man standing behind him. An air of disappointment hovered around him from witnessing the battle. “A rather poor performance for our debut, Kitawara.”

“The Skadi has yet to be completed. It was only at 50% of its construction. However, it was the only one close to combat readiness. It’ll be a different story once it is finished.” He locked stares with the General unflinching.

“It’d better or this’ll be very short.”