Chapter 45:
UnderCurrent - Can You break the Cycle?
"Petty Officer Falk reporting in Captain Ma'am, all systems functioning, I can sense them coming - Alignment in progress.... She's coming."
The soft voice of Falc said as calmly as she could into her microphone.
She wasn't nervous per-se, thus far nothing had felt any different to regular training.
She was laid back, partially strapped down, screens hung no more then 50 centimeters or so from her face, around her the machinery coolly hummed.
The cabin space didn't mean alot to her, she knew was smaller then even a regular Vijaik's but what did that matter?
All that would be different today, was the image on the monitor screen would be of real enemies rather than simulations, that was all.
'She', that was wrong of her to say - She knew that but had said it anyway.
The doctors constantly reminded her that there was no other person in her consciousness, she did not suffer from any form of multiple-personality disorder, rather something more akin to 'Associative Dissonances'.
When the machine found its target, no when 'she' found a target, her mind would being working with the machine in sync - She understood the theory, right now it was happening, parts of her brain being put to a sort of gentle sleep.
Her smell usually went first, then taste and feeling - In longer uses of the power her hearing would fade as well - Unnecessary, she was told, her powers could be amplified by allowing the brain more room to process, they said.
But it felt like a long slow death, a fog rolling across her mind and obscuring everything - Falc often wondered if she was a Magi at all or if it was all 'the other girl' - She had faint memories, so very faint now, of her time before the Navy - Memories of being able to sense small things but nothing like what the girl could do.
Even now as Falc held on by a thread to her own thoughts, she could feel the girl's power overcoming her - Her vision felt blurred and buried but her sense, that sense, came alive - She could see the enemy where they were not - See the shutter door raising in front of her before it ever did, see what her machine's radars and sensors all couldn't, detect everything and so much more.
See every paving stone of the city all at once, sense the number of windows, feel the movement of electricity from solar panel to generator - Trace that back to UV rays flying past planetary bodies through an endless night sky, see the sun--
"Good luck out there Falc!!"
The words had been suddenly shouted over the radio, she recognised Major Moncha's voice - Her face turned to a faint smile, her thoughts were always simpler at times like this, she could feel more complicated ideas slipping away, her memory of just moments ago dissipating, leaving only truths - She liked Moncha, he seemed honest and kind to her.
She was pretty sure he liked her back.
She wondered what that meant, or whether she was meant to have a word for that feeling - Whether feelings were still vital.
She wondered...
"4 Enemies, type V-MBT-NEO-C's, estimate time to shot, 60 seconds."
Said a cold, distant, dry voice.
"Roger Unit 5, take the shot when ready." Replied what seemed to be a far off radio.
Of course she would of done that regardless, she had little care for what the disembodied voice said.
She could detect something off, her surroundings appeared slightly different to normal.
"Love?"
The empty voice said to no one in particular.
It wondered who had said it, or perhaps thought it - For her there was little difference.
She closed her eyes, she never could understand why they sometimes opened - She had no use for them for she had no hands or legs to act on.
No smell or touch or taste - She existed and that was all - All was distinct, all she must do was think and the enemy would disappear.
That was all there was to it.
"30 Seconds."
She couldn't remember why she spoke aloud sometimes and not others, she simply did.
"10 seconds"
She fired - A roller-shutter door miles away collapsed in on itself, four massive holes bulging and forming - The machines inside dodged.
The girl opened her eyes - All logic indicted her shot should of destroyed atleast 3 of the targets, the mathematics were definitive.
"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
"Unit 5, unit 5 come in?!"
"Report"
"Unit 5?!"
"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
"Enemy is on the move Ma'am, they've entered the city!"
"Ma'am, unit five's vitals are droping, brain scan suggest sh- she, it doesn't make sense?!"
"Speak man, What?"
"Brain dead ma'am, everything says her brain just stopped the second after her attack missed, like a coma or something?"
"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
"Is that possible?"
"Let me go to her!"
"Silence Major, Comms what's Simmens saying?"
"She says it'll be fine, its good data to see how long it takes to break out of it or something? Apologies Ma'am, she seems very...excited."
"Blasted women! Have we a trace on the enemy units yet?"
Movement. Shoot.
"No Ma'am, the North dock is still blocking com-- Fire, Repeat Fire! Unit 5 just fired a single shot!"
"Unit 5?! Can you hear us, are you operational?!"
"I'm going, this is ridiculous, I'll stop this before it gets anymore weird!"
"Stay right where you are Moncha!"
Moncha?
"What the?"
"You seeing this too, Willis?"
"Captain?"
"Why is it just standing there out in the open like that?"
"Unit 5, shoot now God-damn it, shoot!!"
Enemy, Shoot.
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