File 10.6 - Call of Uncertainty

The Freya finished being set on the launcher. Work crews for the Freya had less of a crunch for their work, but remained on a time table all the same. They had to equip it with what they had available. Something that the other machines didn’t face, the Freya’s packs were still incomplete. The focus on finishing the core machine kept the manpower away.

Natalie stayed at the side of the car until it stopped. Calling over one of the lifts, she approached the head still trying to find the words for her. ‘I can’t believe that they’re going to launch her regardless of activation. What is the committee thinking? Pressuring her isn’t going to produce any results.’ But the committee didn’t seem to have any of that in mind, from her point of view. They only wanted results in whatever means it would take. A dangerous line for them to follow.

On the shoulders, the head opened up for her to stand on. She stepped out onto the platform created to look in at Shizuka. Seeing her through a camera in the cockpit only told her so much about what was happening. She didn’t think until she saw her face that she could figure out what was wrong. Unfortunately, Natalie found that assumption to be wrong as well. ‘She doesn’t look troubled, at least in the way that I thought she might be. She just looks confused and frustrated. I thought seeing her might tell me that she was upset or bothered.’

Even if she didn’t know what was wrong with Shizuka, she still had to try. All that Natalie had left was hope of getting her to open up about her troubles. “I’m here, Shizuka.”

“What’s going on?” she asked, knowing that Natalie kept a lot of the details from her. Edgar already left and she was getting several requests from external sources trying to do things with the Freya. Things weren’t going the way she thought they would.

“It seems that the battle in West Bollen has gotten worse and they sent out the Od to assist.”

‘They sent Edgar out?’ Her hands tensed up on the control sticks. This was already going to happen, she knew, but it moved faster than she thought. “Is it that bad?”

“It seems the enemy has the others pinned down. They’re unable to fight to their best.”

“Is there any danger?”

“I doubt it. The AESIR are built very sturdy. You don’t need to worry about them.”

Another request came through as the work crews took command of the equipment. The Freya worked in auto even with it not properly activated. Passive onboard systems could still function, like the monitor, basic life support and equipment connections. Little else functioned for her, the machine wouldn’t even walk.

They were just throwing things on the Freya and she didn’t even have any orders. “What am I supposed to be doing?”

“The other transport that flew out to drop off the AESIR is being redirected here. Edgar’s being picked up mid-flight, but they’re loading up the Freya and flying it out.”

“Because I can’t get it to work. But won’t I just be a target?”

“They believe in you being able to activate the Freya before reaching the battle.”

“And they’re throwing me immediately into combat.”

“Yes…”

Shizuka felt a chill down her back. More of the reality started to finally sink in for her. They conscripted her and threw her into simulations. It all eventually was going to lead to this. She knew that much. Yet at the same time, the way the terrorists were, it seemed possible that she wouldn’t have to actually do any real engagement. The others would be enough. She only needed to work behind the scenes trying to stop it all from continuing.

Such idealistic options suddenly started to disappear from her hands. The only thing that remained for her to hold was a gun. Something cold and emotionless that she had to pull the trigger. She had managed to distance herself from such a reality for so long. ‘They are telling me to kill… Even faceless machines, they aren’t empty. There’s someone in each of the things that Aerona destroyed.’

Natalie leaned into the cockpit and rested a hand on Shizuka’s left hand. ‘It’s shaking. So she is scared after all, she’s hiding it well… She’s trying to be tough…’ Placing the pad down on the curved floor of the interior, she knelt down a little to meet eye-to-eye with the girl. Something that she had to remember, like Paul said, she was still just a teenager. They forced her into this undesired situation out of necessity, but she was still just a kid being told to grow up too fast. “It’s going to be alright, Shizuka. You only need to support the others out there.”

The touch of Natalie snapped her eyes forward. “Support?”

“That’s right. You don’t need to feel like you need to be on the front lines.” It came out as a horrible thing to say, she knew. ‘I’m just making her shift all of the burden onto the others to save herself. But if she’s too scared to fight and they drop her in there, she’s going to die. If it helps her rationalize it… I can’t stop the cruel orders, but I can try to make sure she lives.’ She felt like she sought out a consolation prize with the way she thought, already giving up on the real prize. “You aren’t the only one out there. You’re part of a team. Each person brings a different necessary element. Supporting and helping others do their job better is just as important.”

“Maybe…”

“Hey boss! Boss?” one of Natalie’s subordinates called through the pad on the floor.

She couldn’t ignore the call, time didn’t stop as much as she wished it might. “I’m here, what’s wrong?”

“We finished the load out for the Freya. Everything is ready for launch once the transport arrives.”

“Thanks, you all did a great job. Get some rest now.” All of the crews arrived a week ago in preparation for the tests and most ran on very little sleep trying to get things completed on the deadline. Even with the deadline they were unsatisfied with having to cut corners not getting any of the packs finished.

Natalie checked the report on the transport. ‘Three minutes…we don’t have much time… Please Shizuka!’