Fan Fiction ❯ Espoir ❯ New Day's Light, Yesterday's Tears ( Chapter 5 )

Title: Espoir

 

Summary: As Earth enters the final stage of it's existance, humanity tries one last stance to save themselves. A experiment that had been studied ever since the start of Earth's destruciton is put into aciton. Project Espoir 1 has begun...

 

Raitng: PG-13+

 

Genre: Drama, Aciton, Post-Apocalypse

 

Chapter Five

New Day's Light, Yesterday's Tears

 

...One Week and Five Days Before Espoir Deployment...

 

"Has the decision been made yet, sir?"

 

Pierre LeFluer sat at the head of a long table inside a dimly lit meeting room. The table was surrounded by various officials from different parts of the world as well as a few of LeFluer's assosciates. The elderly man did not answer the man's question, rather he allowed his apprentice Roman Evans speak for him.

 

"Yes. We have decided on two men to fill the two openings in the position." Evans said loudly, "Kristoffer Mattias shall take over in the Seventh Region. Rufus Nottap shall command the Third."

 

The officials at the table exchanged strange glances. A few murmurs went up in the crowd until the man at the opposite end of the table cleared his throat.

 

"I'm sure that no one at this table has any objection to Mattias taking over the Seventh?"

 

The men all granted their approval but LeFluer's expression did not change. Evans knew that the Seventh Region was hardly something to worry about. Kristoffer Mattias was not a exceptional leader but was a easy choice for the desolate Seventh. The Third was the thing that troubled LeFluer's mind.

 

The man continued, "But appointing a man such as Rufus Nottap to the Third?"

 

"We have looked over the man's record and credentials." Evans said with arms folded over the table, "and beleive him to be the man for the job."

 

"How can you say he is the man for the job?" Spoke an oriental man seated to the left of the other man. He wore thick glasses and spoke bitterly, "How old is this man?"

 

"Twenty-Seven." Stated Evans.

 

The oriental shook his head, "How could you appoint a man so young and unexperienced to the Japanese region? He has no battle experience at all and has never commanded."

 

"The Third Region is a very well populated area." The man at the head of the table spoke again. "I don't think we can entrust this job to a man so young."

 

"Rufus Nottap graduated at the head of his class at West Point Military Academy." Evans cleared his throat, "Since then, he has been serving as Lieutenant in the 101st Airborne in the American Military. His men respect and follow him completely and we-"

 

The oriental cut Evans off, "The 101st Airborne has not stepped within fifty miles of The Judges! Commanding a group in peacetime is much different than commanding in war!" The man paused a moment, "I will not sit back and watch a man like that command in Japan. Never! It's insane, barbaric! You are acting completely uncivilized!"

 

Suddenly, the room grew very quiet. All eyes went to the small man at the other side of the table who had spoken. It was hardly audible to anyone but was more than enough to quiet the room.

 

Pierre LeFluer finally looked up, "Do you know what barbaric means?" No one spoke. "Unpredictable. Risky. Daring." He paused a moment before speaking once again, "Civilized means being safe. Nice. Comfortable."

 

No one spoke as LeFluer paused once more but all were looking at the old man.

 

"Project Espoir is hardly regular military. What we are doing is something completely different than anything ever done in the world's history. Rufus Nottap is young, unmolded by the military. We want a man who is willing to learn, who will not try to command these young peoples as if they had been in the military for their whole lives."

 

Soft murmurs went up among the crowd until LeFluer spoke once more, "Rufus Nottap is the man for the job."

 

espoir

 

How's the job going?

 

A small smile crept over the chisled features of Rufus Nottap as he sat in his room in Tokyo and thought about the letter he'd recieved from his father. He had yet to answer back.

 

He'd been Captain of Espoir Regiment 03 for only a few weeks and his father was already asking how it was going. Typical. The man hadn't even bothered to contact his son until he learned his him becoming captain of a foreign regiment.

 

Rufus shook his head slowly and crumbled the paper up and disposed of it in the nearest trash can. If the man wanted to talk to his son so bad, he could come to Japan and visit. As if he would ever do something like that.

 

The captain stood and walked over to the window. His room was in a large, abandoned apartment complex. It'd been evacuated long ago when the goverment was thinking The Judges may launch a attack on Tokyo. It was easy to say that attack had not come yet.

 

He'd only been able to speak with the soldiers a little. They were off doing training exercises the majority of the time and Nottap was normally filling out paperwork or speaking with men from the military. He was forced to maintain a constant link to other captains in case a attack were to be launched.

 

Rufus knew very few of the soldiers actually. He'd appointed a man to be squad leader based entirely on his file. A great football player capable of being a leader. Good physical and mental condition. He seemed like the ideal man for the position.

 

Frankly, Rufus was quite skeptical about the entire project. How could a group of young kids stand up to The Judges? Even with those super suites and all the training, it seemed pretty crazy to think they could defend the planet alone.

 

With a sigh, the captain made his way to the door to the balcony and stepped out. A cool breeze struck his face as soon as he stepped out and he squinted into the distance. He could see a few soldiers walking in the street along with one of their field instructors. One of these times he would have to go out and speak with the soldiers. If he wanted to command these men then he would have to befriend them first.

 

Leaning against the rail, Nottap thought once again about his father. A tough military man who loved the army more than his own family. Rufus had vowed never to become that and so far, he was doing an okay job. He was in the military but had no family to disregard. Smirking, he leaned back and prepared to head back into his room. There was a stack of files on his desk he still had to look through. After that, maybe he could speak with the men.

 

espoir

 

The breeze was nice.

 

That was the sum of all the good things going for Kuris Takasa.

 

Training was exhausting and the numerous introductions were excruciatingly boring. Hell, as of so far, being a Espoir Soldier just plain sucked.

 

He took a swig of the canteen of water in his hand and sighed, really wishing water was alcoholic. He watched as various other soldiers passed by. He hadn't bothered to get to know all, or many, of his companions. The only ones he'd really met was the friendly bearded man named Sean and two other men who were about to fight once during training named Kane and Yukio.

 

There was one other he'd met. Her name was Kei Hayamoto. He'd first talked to her shortly before they left the French training facility and frankly, was quite happy he'd met her. She was a beautiful girl. Oriental with jet black hair and mesmerizing chestnut eyes. She was short, quiet, and up-beat.

 

The day after he'd switched the folders containing his rejected results with his friend Tuni's thus sentencing the man to his death, she had been the one to cheer him up.

 

Leaning back on the bench, Kuris took another swig from the canteen and looked up at the sky. You'd think that being in the middle of Tokyo would mean you could get a cold drink somewhere.

 

He'd looked forward once more and the sight of someone standing just a few inches from the bench surprised Kuris. He looked at the male with brows raised.

 

He looked young, much younger than the majority of soldiers, with dark brown hair that hung to about his eyebrows and bright green eyes. He stood just a few inches from five foot with slender arms and legs. He hardly looked the part of a espoir warrior.

 

Kuris cleared his throat, "Didn't see you standing there." He chuckled.

 

The boy hardly seemed to notice Kuris. He just stood straight, his green eyes looking forward with a emotionless stare.

 

Kuris raised an eyebrow, "You okay?"

 

"Satisfactory."

 

The boy's response could hardly be heard. He spoke in such a whisper it was nearly inaudible.

 

He stood and extended a hand towards the boy, "Kuris Takasa."

 

Of course, the male ignored the hand and didn't even glance at it's owner. He seemed completely separate from the world.

 

"Gotta name, man?" Kuris asked, taking his hand back and suavely running it through his dark locks.

 

The boy's mouth hardly moved, "Rene."

 

Rene? For a french kid he sure didn't have much of a accent.

 

Kuris scratched his head as the two once again fell quiet. It was an akward silence although Kuris was sure Rene really didn't care.

 

"So, how old are you, Rene?"

 

Kuris sat down as the boy paused before stating, "I am thirteen."

 

Wow, that had to be the youngest kid in the project.

 

Kuris sighed and looked up at the sky once again. Just another reason why Project Espoir 01 was just plain screwed up. What kind of maniac would put the world in the hands of kids as young as thirteen. The world's leaders, thats who.

 

"You're from France, right?"

 

Kuris looked up after he stated the question and was surprised once again to see that Rene was gone. He was no where in sight; as if the cool breeze had just snatched him up and carried him wherever he may want to go.

 

"...wierd kid..."

 

espoir

 

"You all shall be on constant call. If ever a attack occurs within our region, you shall rush to the scene for defense."

 

Kane Kisho had already yawned four times during the introduction. They'd gone over the code of conduct, military law, punishments, passes, and just about anything else the military could think of. He now listened to the young instructor go over something about being on call 24/7.

 

"How will we get there, sir?" Asked Craig Stone, the appointed leader of the squad. He stood at the front of the group with arms crossed, "Like, what if the attack is way up north. By the time we get there, the battle would be over."

 

The instructor smirked, "Excellent question." The man started walking down the street, the soldiers followed him. They walked for about five minutes before coming up the landing area they had come to when the soldiers had first arrived. The instructor now pointed towards a large hangar in the distance.

 

"Inside that hangar, is Our Chariot." The man smirked at the confused looks of the soldiers, "The XG7-40941. The fastest form of transportation ever created; just newly developed in Germany. That Chariot puts God's own chariot to shame." He chuckled, "It'll get you guys to anywhere in Japan in a matter of minutes."

 

"A matter of minutes, sir?" Asked one of the soldiers, unbeleiving.

 

The instructor laughed, "That baby'll get you where ya need to go, you kids just worry about The Judges, okay?"

 

Easy for you to say, thought Kane. All you gotta worry about is telling us what to do and when.

 

This was how the last two weeks had gone for the Espoir Soldiers. Introductions and training sessions. They'd been given little time to themselves and no one had even stepped outside of the Centra-Tokyo Wire yet. Too busy to even converse with their fellow soldiers. Hell, their commander was too busy to even speak with his men.

 

The instructor saluted the men and stated that their session was over and they could take a break. He also said there would be another combat session at 1300. Kane sighed as he made his way back towards his quarters to take his hour long break.

 

The soldiers were being put up in various hotel buildings. After Centra-Tokyo, the new name for the center area of Tokyo, had been abandoned the hotels and apartment buildings were all used to hold military personnel. Kane couldn't complain, it was much better than the tight barracks they had been forced to live in during training.

 

The espoir soldiers' rooms were all inside a large, four story hotel with a bland name. Kane's own room was on the second floor. Not a bad room but the view wasnt exactly spectacular.

 

Once inside, Kane crashed down onto his bed and let out a long yawn. How long would they have to undergo these training exercises before an actual attack occured? Now, Kane wasn't exactly looking forward to going toe-to-toe against The Judges but it was better than going through these damned exercises everyday.

 

His eyes slowly began to close and Kane glanced over at the clock hanging on his wall. 12:10. He had fifty minutes before the training session and he was going to use it the best way he knew how:

 

Sleep.

 

espoir

 

"Open fire!"

 

The crack of automatic weapons hurt Yukio's ears as he watched his comrades unload their rifles on the silhouetted figure in the distance. He glanced over at their squad leader, an American named Stone who had just shouted the command to fire. Yukio frowned at the order.

 

No one, especially this power-hungry savage, would tell Yukio what to do.

 

The figure convulsed with many jerks as the bullets hit it's dark skin. It howled, a high pitched screech that caused Yukio to flinch. Then, a long white beam of light shot from it's chest and flew straight towards the soldiers.

 

The beam hit their left side and about twelve soldiers went down. The scream of the surviving soldiers was quickly cut off as another beam shot from the beast.

 

Yukio watched as the right flank jumped for cover. Five more soldiers were taken out. Stone shouted orders to return fire and the majority of the soldiers did. Yukio had other plans.

 

Staying with the group was obviously a death warrant. Instead, Yukio sprinted off to the side. He jogged through the burning remains of the fallen left flank and made his way off to the side. He knelt down behind the cover of a burning building and watched as the beast made it's way closer to his comrades.

 

Swallowing, Yukio shouldered his rifle and opened fire on the monster. The bullets tore into the creature's flesh and caused red splotched to appear along the concrete pavement. The soldiers' attacks were finally taking effect.

 

He smirked as he watched the beast continue towards his comrades. Even if the beast doesn't die before letting loose another barrage of attacks, Yukio would live. The strong survive, the weak die.

 

A high pitched shreik caught Yukio's attention and he whirled around to see a dark figure standing over him. It's body was grotesquely mutated with long, sharp claws extending from it's elongated arms. Yukio shouted and unloaded his rifle into the creature's large chest. When he heard the clicking of his empty rifle, the monster's claws were raised.

 

Yukio cursed and covered his face just as the creature's claws came down, tearing through human flesh and vital organs and ultimately killing Yukio.

 

A bright light flashed over Yukio's eyes and he woke up to see the faces of the trainers as well as the stern face of Captain Nottap. He cursed as he looked around at his waking comrades.

 

"Disconnect the soldiers." Nottap said to the instructors. A man in a white lab coat typed a few things onto a computer and Yukio felt the wires being removed from his armor. He was lowered to the ground where he crossed his arms and stood with the other soldiers.

 

Nottap cleared his throat and stood before the soldiers, "You all are getting much better." The young captain said, "The longest you lasted today was 42.7 minutes. You destroyed a total of 27 foes before being wiped out yourselves. These results are better but still not what we are looking for."

 

He looked at the soldiers, "Working together is the key to victory. A soldier is nothing without his companions to help him along the way." He glanced at each of the soldiers, his eyes seemed to linger on Yukio longer than the rest.

 

"Stone, you did a much better job at leading this time. Congradulations, I'm beginning to think I made the right decision in promoting you."

 

Craig Stone nodded slowly, "Thank you, sir."

 

Nottap nodded and smiled a bit, "Today's session is over. You all have the rest of the afternoon off." He saluted the soldiers, "Stone, I would like to meet with you privately. Dismissed."

 

The soldiers broke from their group and started off back towards their quarters. Yukio sighed as he started down the road towards his own destination. The hotel Aranuah, where the soldiers were being quartered.

 

The sound of his armor's metal leggings irritated Yukio as they clacked against the pavement. He could hear his fellow soldiers walk alongside him as they also made their way for the hotel. There really wasn't anywhere else for the warriors to go. In order to leave Centra-Tokyo, they would need a pass and so far, none had been given out.

 

Not that it bothered Yukio. The last thing he wanted to do was roam among the common folk of Japan. Yeah, right. Before the espoir project, Yukio had known that he was better than everyone else and now that he had their lives in his hands.

 

He knew it.

 

espoir

 

Night slowly began to creep over Centra-Tokyo as the soldiers made their last trip of the day to their quarters. A curfew was in affect for all soldiers and none wanted to be caught outside after 2200 or face the wrath of Captain Nottap.

 

The nighttime breeze was cool and refreshing. Especially from the balcony of Jurgen Edeltraut's third floor room. The moon shown bright that night, one phase away from full. It was a beautiful sight combined with the distant lights of the area outside of Centra-Tokyo. Jurgen couldn't help but smile underneath his goatee.

 

Light footsteps from behind caught Jurgen's attention and he peered over his shoulder only to be greeted by the cheerful face of Miya Akuma. He greeted her with a hearty hello as she took the place next to him.

 

"You have a nice view here." She said as she looked out over the area, "Very nostalgic."

 

Jurgen nodded his large head. Miya had been the first person he'd befriended upon arriving at the training. It was strange seeing such a pretty little thing learning how to wield weapons and ultimately kill a unknown hostile species. Jurgen was even more surprised when he heard that she'd been chosen to become a actual Espoir soldier.

 

He leaned against the railing and grinned, "You're from Japan, right?"

 

"Yeah." Miya said casually, "but I've only been in the city a few times. I'm from a city up north. Have you ever been in Japan before?"

 

He shook his head, "Nah, Germany born-and-raised."

 

"I see." Miya sighed lightly and grew quiet for a few minutes before, "What's it like?"

 

"What's what like?"

 

"Germany."

 

"Oh..." He thought a moment, "It's different than here. The citys, for one, are much different. It's hard to explain..."

 

Miya nodded slowly as he talked about his homeland. When it fell quiet again, Miya had another question ready for the large man. "Do you really thing we can make a difference, Jurgen?"

 

Jurgen was quiet for a moment after the question. Then, he turned to Miya and looked down at the girl. "Never lose hope, Miya. Nothing is ever so far gone that it cannot be salvaged once more." He looked away at the blinking lights in the distance, "If people have hope then anything can be achieved. Anything."

 

He looked back at Miya and saw the slightest hints of tears in her eyes. She looked away from the man and wiped her eyes quietly, "When we first met, the thing I remember you saying the most is something about being heroes." She chuckled a bit, "You still think so?"

 

"What is a hero to you, Miya?"

 

She thought a moment, "Well... someone who saves people. Who helps people when they're in need. Who fights for the greater good and opposes evil."

 

"Isn't that what we're doing?" Jurgen asked, "No matter the odds, we are still fighting for this planet. We are instilling hope in the people. Wether we succeed or not, we are still helping the people of our home."

 

Miya nodded slowly and sighed. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes once again, "Thank you, Jurgen." She said quietly then left. Just walked away without another word to leave Jurgen in wonder.

 

Shrugging, Jurgen turned around and gazed out over Tokyo once again.

 

espoir

 

Captain Rufus Nottap had finally gotten to sleep when he was awoken abruptly by a soft siren. He sat up quickly and made his way over to the small radio sitting at a table in the corner. He sat down and clicked on the mic.

 

"Third Region! Come in, Third Region!"

 

He clicked once more, "Third Region here."

 

"Thank God. We got multiple sighting in your region, Third."

 

"Roger." Nottap said, he could feel his pulse rising. "Send coordinates."

 

"143 N. 107 S." The transmission read, "Repeat..."

 

But Nottap was already in action. He jogged over to the opposite wall where a small lever was placed. Flipping the switch caused a loud siren to ring throughout Centra-Tokyo. Afterwards, he went over to the large map of Japan that hung on his wall and scouted the coordinates. It pointed to a medium-sized city a little to the North known as Wakabayashi.

 

He got one of the trainers on the line and told him to prepare The Chariot and also gave him the coordinates. The trainer hung up with a assurance that the pilot would be ready in ten seconds. Next, Nottap called all the trainers and told them to arrange the soldiers outside the airstrip. Hanging up, Rufus jogged over to his closet and changed into his uniform. He was about to head out the door when he got a call on the radio.

 

"Captain Nottap?" The voice was that of Kim Hideki. Rufus sighed at the transmission.

 

"Nottap here." He answered.

 

There was a pause, "I hear your unit is being activated."

 

"Yes, sir." Imagine hearing that, Nottap smirked. "Is there a problem, sir?"

 

"I was told to contact you upon your first mission." Hideki paused, "Captain, you are not to accompany your unit on any missions."

 

"What?!" Nottap couldn't hold back his disbeleif. Not accompaning his unit on a mission? Growing up in the military, one of the first things Rufus has learned was to lead by example. How was Nottap supposed to do that if he couldn't even go with his unit?

 

"Excuse me?" Hideki said sternly.

 

"I'm sorry about my outburst, sir but how can I not accompany my unit?"

 

"You are not a espoir soldier, Captain." Hideki said, mispronouncing espoir. "You would only slow down the unit and endanger the lives of your men and yourself. Instead, you are to maintain a constant connection with your unit leader and lead from the safety of Centra-Tokyo."

 

Nottap sighed and glanced out the window. The lights were on at the airstrip and he could see the soldiers gathering. He swallowed hard, "Yes, sir."

 

"Very well then." Hideki said with finality, "Good luck, Captain."

 

"Thank you, sir."

 

The transmission ended and Rufus sighed. He stood straight and placed his hat on his shortly-cropped head and turned towards the door. Time to address the troops.

 

espoir

 

What a way to be woken up, thought Sean Malvin.

 

Now he stood with the rest of his unit next to the airstrip. A alarm was going off throughout Centra-Tokyo and everyone knew what it meant. A Judge Attack.

 

Everyone was on edge. The area echoed with the sound of the soldiers' armor clanking against the ground as they waited. A hushed whisper slowly grew amongst the crowd and Sean turned to see the source of the whispers. Captain Nottap was approaching.

 

The captain made his way to the front of the crowd and the soldiers immediatly calmed themselves and gave their attention to their commander. Nottap looked over the crowd with a brief glimmer in his eye.

 

"I'm sure you all know why you are here." Captain Nottap said loudly, "The Judges had been sighted near the city of Wakabayashi to the north."

 

No whispers or gasps went up among the group. A good sign meaning that no one knew anyone or was from the city.

 

"You all shall be deployed to defend the area. You all are young and inexperienced but I know deep down that you all have what it takes." He nodded towards the soldiers, "Just do your job."

 

A loud sound from behind caused the captain to turn around. As he turned, the doors to a large hangar opened and a large, white object was rolled out.

 

It was huge, about the size of a small airliner and painted a glowing white. In gold letters the word 'Chariot' was painted on the side. One of the Tokyo trainers came running up to the group and saluted the captain.

 

"The Chariot is ready for takeoff, sir."

 

Nottap nodded and turned back towards his soldiers. He heaved a sigh and saluted the soldiers, "Good luck, Espoir."

 

The trainers around the area saw Nottap's sign and shouted commands for the soldiers to board the ship. Whatever assurance the captain had instilled in the soldiers immediatly disappeared as the warriors broke off at a jog towards the ship and were slowly loaded into The Chariot. Sean took another look at their commanding officer, who still stood in a salute as he watched the soldiers depart. He managed to salute his captain back before being pushed onto the ship and taking a seat along the wall next to another soldier.

 

Sean sighed deeply as he looked around at the worried faces of his fellow soldiers. A sound from the front of the ship caught his attention and he looked up just in time to see a young man in a leather flight jacket step out and flash a grin at the soldiers.

 

"Greeting, soldiers." The man said as he stepped out. He wore a black skull cap as well that made his dark skin look darker. His almond shaped eyes were a dark color as well and flashed with youthful excitment. He continued grinning as he looked at each of the soldiers, "My name is Loko Nogami and I will be your pilot for the evening." He chuckled, "Just for safety purposed, hold on to the handles along the walls and remain seated during the flight."

 

He smiled and winked at one of the female soldiers near the front, "and please, save all kisses and hugs for after the flight, if you can." He gave a two-finger salute to the soldiers and flashed another grin at everyone, "If there arent any questions then we'll begin our flight. Next stop: Wakabayashi."

 

Nogami left the soldiers and slammed the door behind him. The door to the ship was shut as well as the soldiers found themselves in the dark. They were like that for what seemed like hours until the room was illuminated with green light from the walls as a loud engine was turned on.

 

The next thing that happened would make history. A few of the soldiers with access to a window were lucky enough to see it first hand. They were able to see the outside blur as they became part of the fastest military flight in world history.

 

espoir

 

Kuris's metal-clad foot tapped against the bottom of The Chariot as he looked around at his fellow soldiers. The green light illuminated them all with a eerie glow, making their serious, waiting faces look even more menacing.

 

He pointed out a few from the crowd. The large black man, Bray Jacksons sat with his rifle already across his lap. A face of complete consentration on his face. A team leader Craig was sitting at the head of the ship, his eyes closed and fingers tapping on his right leg. He was a former all-star football player and Kuris could imagine this is how he was on game days. The young kid Kuris had met earlier, Rene was sitting quietly off to the side, the same expression on his face.

 

Finally, Kuris' eyes locked with the person sitting across from him. Dark brown, glowing with a sort of fear that could only be attractive on her. Kei Hayamoto was able to give him a brief grin as he looked at her. Kuris winked at her from across the ship and gave her a quick thumbs up. She didn't return the gesture.

 

Whispers from the front of the ship caught everyone's attention and all eyes went to Craig Stone. He nodded to a instructor who sat in the same room as the pilot and turned to his comrades.

 

"We're about two minutes away." Craig said quietly. That was unbeleivable. They'd only been in flight for about a minute, "The main battle is already over but there are still enemys in the area and civilians still inhabit the suburbs of the city. You all know our job."

 

Right there, the morale of the whole unit dropped. The main battle was over meant that The Judges had already terminated the city and the Espoir soldiers hadn't even gotten a chance to fight back. Kuris sighed and shook his head, so many lives lost and the one group that was supposed to protect then hadn't even arrived yet.

 

Craig nodded to the group and crawled to the bakc of the ship. He cleared his throat, "Upon arrival, the ship is gonna hover over the landing area so we are to abandone ship through this hatch." He patted the metal door underneath him, "We hit the ground ready for anything. This is the real thing, guys."

 

Once again, the ship grew quiet. Kuris could feel butterflys playing a game of chase inside his stomache. A slight beep caught the soldier's attention and they all listened to the voice of Loko Nogami come over the speaker.

 

"We're over the city. Everyone be clear of the hatch."

 

All eyes went to the doors to the hatch as they dropped open. They finally were able to hear something other than the roar of the engine. Gun fire and distant screams filled the heads of all the soldiers as they listened to Nogami.

 

"Good luck, soldiers."

 

Craig returned to the front of the hatch, "Everyone ready?" There was no unified response, "Let's go!"

 

With that, Craig jumped through the hatch and hit the hard ground at a roll. The other soldiers followed. Kuris hesitated for only a moment before he too jumped from the ship and landed hard on the ground. He scrambled to his feet and brought his rifle to his hands and waited for the rest of the soldiers to get out.

 

As The Chariot slowly lifted higher into the sky, all eyes went to Craig as he spoke with Captain Nottap through his com link. He nodded and turned to the others.

 

"We are now on clean up duty." He said with a curt nod, "Everyone, break up into small groups and make your way through the city. Wipe out any enemys that you meet and join up back here in one hour." He held up his rifle and tapped the butt, "I want to see everyone when this is over."

 

With that, the soldiers began to break up into their groups. Kuris looked around quickly and finally caught sight of his ideal partner. He ran to her and tapped Kei on the shoulder. She agreed to going together and Kuris prepared his rifle. They were about to depart when something caught Kuris' eye.

 

"You wanna come with us?" Kuris asked Rene as he walked by the boy. He was alone and about to travel out into the city. His rifle, nearly as large as he, looked completely out of place in his hands.

 

The boy looked up at Kuris and glanced around him, "Orders are to travel in groups." He said with a nod. Kuris smiled at him and the three of the made their way into the city.

 

Everywhere around were signs of the battle. Smoking debris and mutilated corpses lay all over the ground. More than one time they had to stop and catch their breaths. It wasn't until they had traveled for quite awhile that they finally caught sight of the enemy.

 

They had just rounded a building when Kuris froze. Standing in the burning remains of what must have been a house were The Judges. They only looked somewhat humanoid but nothing like in the simulators.

 

The two creatures hardly looked alike. One was tall and lanky with four limbs. Like humans, two were used as legs while the other two protruded much like arms. However, they hung very close to the ground. It's body was completely white and bald. It also looked smooth, no bumps or bruises on it's entire mass. A golden dot stood out on it's chest and it's 'head' seemed like just a lump on it's shoulders. No face or anything was planted on it.

 

The other creature was short. It too was white and smooth but it was rounded and appeared to have no limbs whatsoever. It seemed like a large blob, all save for the claw-like structure that stood out from one side of it.

 

Kuris swallowed hard and stood frozen as he looked upon the creatures. A soft sound caught his eyes, it sounded like thousands and thousands of people were whispering at one time but Kuris knew what was making the sound. The Judges turned towards the group.

 

The sound of a rifle opening fire broke Kuris from his daze and he nearly fell down. Rene stood next to him, unloading his rifle on the smaller of the two monsters. Small hints of multi-colored blood appeared on it's white body as Rene's bullets tore through it's skin. The other creature came towards Kuris.

 

It was quick, faster than any person Kuris had ever seen. He had just scrambled to his feet and regained his rifle when the creature's hard body slammed into him and through him a few feet back. He hit the ground hard and his vision blurred for a moment. He heard Kei scream and his vision returned to normal just in time to see the monster standing over him.

 

Kuris rolled out of the way just as one of it's long limbs slammed into the ground, cracking the concrete all around. He got to his feet and aimed his rifle at the monster. His finger fumbled with the trigger before he was able to pull make and unload on the creature's white chest.

 

Blood from from the monster's new wounds and painted the ground. Kuris breathed heavily as he watched the creature advance on him. Tears formed in his eyes as he continued firering into it's chest. It was just a few inches away from Kuris when he shouted and covered his face with the rifle, awaiting his death with fear.

 

It never came. Kuris crakced open his eyes and saw the creature still standing over him but it was limp and a sharp, shiny object was protruding from the gold spot on it's chest. The blade was removed from the monster and it fell to a heap on the ground. Rene wiped the blood from his sword afterwards.

 

Kuris forced himself to his feet and looked around. The other creature was nothing but a blood mass on the ground. Kei sat against a burned wall, her rifle lay across her lap as she stared at the bloody heap. Rene seemed unphased by the whole thing but simply returned his blade to it's sheath, once again shouldered his rifle and prepared to set out once more.

 

espoir

 

It was all gone.

 

The entire city seemed to have been blown up from inside. Nothing appeared to be alive anymore. The entire time in the city, Bray had seen nothing other than burned debris and dead people. No Judges, no nothing.

 

He looked around at the other four soldiers in his group. Craig Stone, Sean Malvin, and Kane Kisho. They had chosen him, he had not chosen them. If it was Bray's choice, he would had gone by himself.

 

Craig sighed as they entered another desolte area. A basketball court stood cracked and broken, a orange ball sat in the middle. No one would play here anymore. The leader called for a quick rest.

 

Sean went over to a burnt bench and took a seat. He sighed and put his head in his hands, he appeared to be praying. Praying for what? All the people that died here for nothing? What had they done to these monsters to deserve this kind of death? Nothing, that's what. Bray snorted at the bearded man. Praying to a God that woud allow something like this to happen was useless.

 

The vietnamese man, Kane had taken a seat a few feet away. He sat against a building, peering down an alley. He had taken it upon himself to be the guard, watching to make sure no enemy would sneak up on them during their break.

 

The only sound in the area was Craig Stone's hard footsteps. He walked over the court, his gun was placed in it's holder on his back. He picked up the basketball and sighed.

 

"Lucky bastards..."

 

Who was he talking about, Bray wondered. The kids who had been playing on the court and were lucky enough to have been killed and got the chance to leave this useless planet or The Judges who had left the area just as Espoir arrived? It was hard to tell. Who knows, he may be talking about the soldiers themselves who had been lucky enough to get here after the attack and avoid being killed by The Judges as well.

 

Bray looked once more at Craig. He spit on the ground and shot the basketball. It bounced once against the rim of the hoop before falling into the hole and making a swishing noise as it went through the net. Craig grabbed his rifle and sighed, "Let's go. No use waiting here anymore. We may have been too late to help any of these people but we can still avenge their deaths."

 

Whatever you say, leader.

 

Bray shrugged as he followed after Craig. The last thing those dead people cared about was revenge. They were dead, killing The Judges wouldn't help them at all. However, it sure would make Bray feel better. That was why he fought and he was beginning to think Craig Stone may know how he felt.

 

espoir

 

"Are they all gone?" Miya asked, peering around a corner once more as they made their way through the city.

 

"Who?" Jurgen asked as they went, "The Judges or the people?"

 

"Everyone." She asked hesitantly. Upon arriving, they'd heard screams but now they saw no one. Had The Judges wiped everyone out who were in the area?

 

"I don't think so." Jurgen said as he took the lead, "I have a feeling there's still someone around here we can save."

 

She chuckled, "I had a feeling you'd say something like that."

 

Jurgen smiled back at her as they went. It was just the two of them. There was no one else either of them knew too well and to tell the truth, they were perfectly happy travelling alone.

 

Miya had already forced herself not to cry. Upon seeing the charred corpses of the people who had been killed had caused tears to well up in her eyes but the assuring hands of Jurgen and her own will to not break down got her past her tears. She sighed as she shifted the weight of her rifle to her other hand as they walked.

 

Jurgen led the way. His large body blocked most of the view for her but she knew there was nothing interesting to see. Jurgen would tell her if he saw anything, all she tried to do was make sure nothing crept up on them.

 

She was jumpy enough. She'd nearly unloaded her rifle on three occassions. One time she heard gunfire from far off and had whirled around so fast she became dizzy. Jurgen had assured her that the fighting was far off and there was nothing they could do to help. The other two times, the wind had knocked something down and she nearly opened fire.

 

Jurgen's sudden stop caused Miya to almost run into his broad back. She swallowed hard and whispered to him, "Something wrong?"

 

"Listen."

 

She listened hard and heard nothing at first but she soon heard it was well. It was the sound of people screaming and every now and then a gun firering. Jurgen cursed and looke back at her, "Told you we weren't alone."

 

She nodded, "You're right."

 

"Let's go." He said confidently and took off at a jog. Miya swallowed hard and followed after him at the same pace. Her rifle suddenly felt very heavy in her arms.

 

The screams and gunfire grew closer. Jurgen ran faster as they got closer and Miya found it difficult to keep up. Finally, after what seemed like hours of running, Jurgen stopped and placed his back against the wall. Miya jogged up to him and breathed heavily.

 

Jurgen held up his finger and motioned behind the wall. Miya glanced over Jurgen's chest and caught of sight of what he saw. It was about six people, huddled against the wall of a burned building. One older man had a rifle and had it pointed at four white creatures. They advanced slowly upon the group, the bodys of a few unlucky ones lay about the area.

 

Jurgen turned to her and sighed, "We gotta help them."

 

Miya nodded, "Yeah." Her voice cracked and she cursed her shaking legs.

 

Jurgen smiled at her, "Here's the plan." He glanced back around the corner and sighed, his face looking white. "I'll run around and distract The Judges. You get those people to safety."

 

"Okay." Miya said quietly, "Where do I take them?"

 

"Remember that park we passed by earlier?" She nodded, "Take them there. We'll tell Craig about them when we get back and get them some help."

 

"Just don't get hurt, okay? At least until I get back."

 

He smiled at her and winked, "Leave it to me."

 

She smiled back and gave him a quick hug. Jurgen nodded once more before taking a deep breathing, shouldering his rifle, and breaking from their cover fiering.

 

Miya watched as he ran to the opposite side from the people. His bullets tore into the nearest enemy and the rest of them turned around to greet him. The people still stood huddled together, watching the battle with hope in their eyes.

 

Now it was her turn. Miya broke from the cover as well and sprinted towards the group. She knelt down next to them, breathing heavily and trying not to look as scared as she was.

 

"Everyone, follow me." She said just loud enough so they could hear. She glanced behind her to see Jurgen hiding behind a wall, firering at the advancing monsters.

 

"Who are you?" Asked the older man with the gun.

 

She shook her head and motioned for them to follow. She took off back the way they came and stood at the cover of a building, waiting for the rest of the people to pass by. The Judges had began to return fire with beams of light just as Miya returned to the group and led them through the streets.

 

Thankfully, there was only one old person in the group and the rest of the people helped her move. The park Jurgen had spoken of wasn't far away and they got there within ten minutes. Miya told them to wait for help to arrive then took off at a sprint back to Jurgen.

 

When she got there, one of the Judges lay dead on the ground and Jurgen had abandoned his former cover and stood out in the open. Blood stood out plainly on his right leg and he limped every time he moved. Miya shouted and opened fire with her own rifle. Her aim was off and she barely hit the nearest Judge.

 

Another beam shot from a monster and it tore through Jurgen's shoulder. He fell to the ground in pain and Miya was about to run to him when he shouted back.

 

"Get out!" He shouted as he got out his secondary weapon, a pistol. He opened fire and one more Judge fell just as they turned towards Miya. "It's nearly time to get back to the ship. Just go and leave me here!"

 

Miya stood frozen and watched as Jurgen pushed himself so he was sitting against a wall. He watched her and shook his head, his mouth moving slowly. Go...

 

She swallowed hard and shook her head. A beam hit the ground next to her and exploded the ground. Miya didn't even flinch.

 

"Jurgen..."

 

"Go!" He shouted. This caught the enemy's attention and gave Miya a chance. With tears in her eyes, she turned around and ran. The blasts of The Judge's attacks was the last thing she heard as she ran off towards the ship.

 

As she got back to the ship, she saw everyone else boarding The Chariot. The unit leader asked her where Jurgen was. All she could do was shake her head and board the ship, tears streaming down her face as she took her seat.

 

The ship took off but all Miya could think of was Jurgen. The night before, she had gone to his room late at night and they had spoken together. She'd told him about her brother who had been a member of the Peacemakers, a organization that was making attempts to end the short conflict Japan had had with China. Her entire family had been members but her brother was the only one who really did anything. He'd been shot and killed during a protest. Her family viewed him as a hero but everyone else saw him as a fool. A stupid hippie with a sign and a voice. She'd cried harder that night than she had ever before and Jurgen's shoulder had been her pillow. They had kissed that night and Miya knew she was feeling something two soldiers never should.

 

Now he was gone and she felt as if a part of her had went with him.

 

He had died but he had proved something to Miya. That they could be heroes and Jurgen was a prime example.

 

He had died a hero.

 

To Be Continued...