File 8.1 - Signaling the Past

Just like an over-pulled string, the tension on Base came nearly to the breaking point. Each day twisted and pulled the string ever more than it needed to be. It still held up, the integrity managing to make up for the boldness. Yet, such determination couldn’t be maintained forever. Something had to eventually give. It was only going to be a matter of time.

While the base personnel had more concern over the matter of world events, Shizuka didn’t find them as distracting. She managed to focus on what was directly in front of her. It troubled her more the injustices occurring inside the base rather than a group of terrorists that believed they were living beyond the judgment day and therefore should be dead already.

Nothing about what happened in the world seemed to make any sense anymore. Her only hope was finding out the source and stopping it. That was going to be the only way to make sense in the world. And worse it seemed to be affecting Edgar now as well.

It took her a little bit, but she finally picked up on the changes happening to him. He seemed the most resistant to everything happening that it surprised her to see him changing. Shizuka hoped that he would have lasted until she found out the secret that her father and the committee hid. But that was no longer an option.

Rubbing her fingers over her security band, she stared out at the mechanics and technical staff working on their machines. ‘I can’t afford to wait now. But I can’t be putting my nose into areas I don’t belong…’ She felt there were better and faster ways of getting what she wanted, but being discovered wasn’t an option.

Those before her turned out to be the next best option. She also hadn’t talked to most of them. Locked up in a test cockpit learning how to pilot a war machine of destruction didn’t really leave her with a lot of outside spare time. That was what days off were for and being ahead of schedule helped.

The machine assigned to her rested in a different room. Main assembly happened there as well as the vast array of tests, none of which she understood in anything more than the most high level dumb down version. This room was meant for working on components for the machine and everything in it was exclusively for the Freya.

Thanks to all of the simulations that she ran, she knew what to expect. Most of the components had more shape than she expected to find. Though much of it still sat in pieces or exposed for work. Each of the machines had a completely separate room that housed all of their equipment and spares. It was meant for specialized research and with each staff siloed as they were, it made her wonder how much knowledge made it between each other.

Shizuka walked by the aerial fins of the Mardoll Mode. The scale looked less impressive up close, but she also noticed that they looked folded. They took up less space and allowed for room for the vast array of equipment. The Freya room looked more like an armory than a research room. Various weapons for the Vanadis Mode lined the wall that contrasted the energy based Mardoll Mode. In the far corner looking the least far along was the Syr Mode, which she guessed was due to the theoretical designs intended for it. None of the extra equipment was necessary for the Freya, that much she knew. So they might launch her before everything was finished. Something that she worried about greatly due to the tensions around the world.

Next to her was one of the technicians, someone of unknown importance to the project working on the thruster pack in the Mardoll Mode. They looked focused on their work, so she just poked around hovering as a sign of her interest. It took a while for them to look up and be more than a little annoyed by some little girl looking over their shoulder.

A woman masked with grease and dirt hid her age well, Shizuka could only make guesses, not that she cared. Only the pinched wrinkles of her forehead read well enough for her to know how annoyed she was. “There something I can help you with, Missy?”

“I was curious.”

“Got bored sitting around all day doing nothing?”

There was more of a chip on her shoulder than she expected from the woman. “Eh?” If only this woman knew the sort of schedule they had for her every day, she might not be having such an attitude with her.

“You elites sure have it nice. Can just take a stroll down here like it's nothing.”

Shizuka looked back at herself. “Elite?” It took her a moment to remember all of the military protocols. She didn’t have to exercise that knowledge as much. “Right, my markings.” Being stuck in such a hole didn’t help her, though she wasn’t sure if there was a good way to dig out of it either. Especially since it appeared more like a trap than something she caused. “You might be misunderstanding a little. I’m Shizuka, I’m being trained for this machine.”

“You’re a pilot?”

“That’s right. They haven’t officially designated me as a pilot until I complete my training. But I’ve been practicing with this equipment recently.” By luck, it seemed that knocked some of the wind out of her sail. There still seemed to be a bit of boiling emotion, but much of it disappeared quickly. Shizuka pulled the course around hoping to get where she wanted. “I was told the real thing was here and I wanted to see it in person. A simulation can only tell me so much about something I’m supposed to be piloting. I thought those that worked on it would give me better insight than simulations worked up by others.”

Playing to her vanity seemed to work as a proud smile came over her face. “You should have spoken up before then, Miss! Name’s Greentorn. I can tell you more about the true power of the machine than any of those empty computer simulations you run. It’s encouraging to see at least one of the pilots understanding the importance of knowing your machine from more than just a fancy seat.”

Pushing the woman forward, Shizuka ended up regretting things. The woman loved her work, that much came out clearly from just her opening introduction. That became abundantly clear as she lost two hours to technical specs that flew so high over Shizuka they should just be in space already. Worse, even if she wanted to steer the course differently it wasn’t her craft to sail anymore. The woman strong armed into the command that she lost that right nearly immediately.

Finding a word to insert proved difficult, but she finally succeeded after those hours of listening. “There’s something that I’ve been wondering about. Nothing else like this exists anywhere, as far as I’ve been told. But I’ve gotten the feeling from looking over some of the documents that this is a very old project.”

Miss Greentorn nodded in agreement with Shizuka. “You’re right about that. I don’t know all of the details myself. I was born for this role and studying it all. So it’s been around for as long as I can remember. The Freya was the original as far as I’m aware.”

“Original? Even though the others are further ahead in construction?”

“Well they said the Freya was built from an old prototype. So it’s been around the longest of any of the machines. But it’s also the one they use to experiment and test out designs before passing them over to the other machines.”

“Experiment, is that why there are so many modules that the others don’t have?”

“Yes, the Freya was designed to prove both the concept of the AESIR machine as well as the main equipment the others use. The other teams then push those to the extreme for specialized use.”

“I see. I always found it strange that the Freya did not have a specialization like the other three machines.”

“It’s designed to be combat adaptive and it also means it requires more from the pilot than the others. You must be something truly special for them to be having you pilot the Freya.”

“Special? I don’t know about that. The others have far more experience than me. I’ve only recently even started any of this.”

“You all were born for these machines.”

“I guess that’s a way to look at it. I know people sometimes say that when they’ve found the thing that fits them the best.” It felt weird hearing that she was born for piloting a war machine. Part of it reminded her of what her father told her. None of that sounded pleasant, not that she could tell the woman that. She couldn’t spoil the mood with her contrarian viewpoint. “But there’s something even older than the Freya?”

“Oh, the prototype. It’s just rumors. The AESIR project has been active for about ten years, though even before that there were smaller scale developments. They say there are projects older than AESIR and that’s where everything comes from, but I’ve never seen any sort of documents like that. Everything we’ve created is from the latest technology and designed on this project.”

“But there might be something even older than the Freya and other AESIRs.”

“Even if there was, none of it is modern to today’s standards. So if you found it, it wouldn’t be of any use to you.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” She paused taking in the bits of information. ‘It’s not a lot to go on. About all it really does is confirm my suspicions I already had, which is that they’ve been planning this for years. It’s not a reaction to the increasing global instability. No, this is for something else entirely, but the question still remains for what. A machine of war is only meant for one thing…’