Fan Fiction ❯ Espoir ❯ Light On Now ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Ilze

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, Action, Post-Apocalypse

Chapter Six

Light On Now

They came about a week after the first Judge's attack. Dressed in expensive suites and dark sunglasses. They walked all over Centra-Tokyo, speaking with few but watching all. Their presence was akward but the day-to-day routine for the espoir soldiers was undeterred.

Within the group of well-dressed men, only one face was familiar to the soldiers. It was the elderly face of Pierre LeFluer, the man who was responsible for them all being gathered. He was pushed through the camp by one of the many black-clad men. He spoke to no one and seemed to be distant from the entire area.

That is, until he came upon Rene. The shorter boy had been wakling down the street when he saw LeFluer's entourage coming. He stood frozen as he watched the group come closer and closer. When they were passing the boy, they stopped and Lefluer looked up into the kid's eyes. It didn't seem like any words were exchanged but the two figures stared at eachother for a long moment before the old man nodded to the young boy and they continued on their separate paths.

No other stops came for the group until they came upon the room of Captain Rufus Nottap. Lefluer and a few chosen men entered and remained inside the private chambers for what seemed like hours.

espoir

"The soldiers fought well at Wakabayashi. Three were injured, one was lost."

"And the enemy?" Asked one of the many men seated around Nottap's small table.

The captain glanced down at his paperwork, "Sixteen enemys were known to have been eliminated."

The men nodded, "And how are the soldiers taking everything?"

"I'm sure it's tough on them but they seem to be getting along well." He paused, "We did have one that had to take a few trips to the mental ward. She was very close with the soldier we lost and it took her some time to get over his death. She seems to be fine now."

"Monitor her." Said one of the men, "If any mental instabilitys are noted in any other soldiers, keep an eye on them as well."

"I will." Nottap said and put his hands on his lap, "How are the other unit's doing?"

"Three other regions have experienced battles with The Judges." Said another man, "Regions Five, Six, and Two have all come in contact with the enemy and have come out more or less, unscathed. A few minor losses and casualtys have been reported but nothing too bad. Overall, Project Espoir has countered more Judges attacks than any other force on Earth."

Another man spoke up, "Were there any soldiers that performed exceptionally well, Captain?"

Nottap thought a moment, "Overall, all the soldiers worked together well and got the task done. There are a few who exceded expectations, however. Would you like names?"

"Yes, if you could."

"One in particular is Rene Henri. He is the youngest soldier in the project was single-handely defeated two enemys and saved the lifes of two fellow soldiers. His comrades noted that he fought as if he'd been doing it ever since he was born."

Pierre LeFluer made the first sign of life since he'd entered the room. He cleared his throat, "Take down that name."

The man did so and another one spoke up, "You and your soldiers have done well, Captain. We will we awaiting similar results for the future."

Captain Nottap stood and nodded, "Third Region will deliver, sir."

espoir

"Help me! They're everywhere, please help. It hurts! Look, there they are! Help me, please! For God Sake, help!"

Weakling.

How could something that is still breathing beg for help as if their fate was sealed? If you still have life then you still have the ability to live. Someone who needs another human being to help them keep on living is pathetic and doesn't deserve to be allowed to continue their worthless life.

She was pathetic.

The memeory of that helpless little woman still burned deeply in Yukio's mind. Her blood streaked face as she crawled towards him from the wreckage of her home, her cries of pain and horror as she saw the enemy approaching, her yells for help as she saw Yukio and her abrupt end as Yukio's sword cut through her brain tissue.

It was a dark moment but something that brought more satisfaction to Yukio than any else had in his lifetime. It felt powerful and he liked it. Power was addictive.

Yukio looked at his palm. His instrument to instill his dominance onto the world. With that hand, he had ended the life of two enemys and one human being. With that hand, he had pulled his trigger and swung his blade. With that hand, he would outlast all the others and ultimately become more powerful.

He'd already outlasted one.

The big, hulking mass of German flesh had died in the first attack. He'd already heard the tale. He'd died protecting a group of escaping residents and his female companion. At his memorial service, he'd been called a hero.

Now that is good humor.

How could a person who lost a battle possibly be a hero? A hero is powerful and the german oaf most certaintly not powerful. Not Yukio, he was powerful. He was a hero. Or, he would be.

In due time.

Realistically, who could possibly be more powerful than he? There were few soldiers Yukio knew by name and the ones he did had no chance of overpowering him. The bearded Sean was too deep in his 'religion' to possibly be a threat. It was pathetic. Anyone who had to plead to a 'greater being' couldn't be strong.

Then there was the team leader Craig Stone. He worried too much about others to ever become strong enough. The black man Bray Jackson was physically powerful but was quite obviously slow and that Veitnamese kid named Kane was way too hot headed.

There were others. One in particular worried Yukio. A young French kid named Rene had caught the attention of Captain Nottap and even more surprising, LeFluer. He'd heard some guy who'd apparently been Rene's partner talking about how he'd saved him and had easily defeat two Judges.

No worries though. Yukio would get a plan and everything would turn out alright. Nothing could stop a man so determined to meet his goals. Especially one as powerful as he.

espoir

Where was he?

Kei hadn't seen him since the night before and had not seen him once all day. Kuris Takasa certaintly was a sneaky individual.

She saw a few familiar faces and made her way over to Craig and Sean who were sitting on a bench, speaking about something Kei didn't catch. She smiled at them as she walked up to the two.

"Hey, guys." She said happily, "Have you guys seen Kuris around?"

"Takasa?" Craig thought a moment as he ran a hand through his blonde locks. He wore a muscle shirt that certaintly showed off his muscular arms. It was obvious he was a athlete, "I haven't seen him since breakfast."

Sean crossed his arms and scratched his beard. The sun glistened off the metal cross he always had hanging from his neck, "I thought I saw him over by the air strip earlier. Something wrong?"

"No, not really." Kei said with a shrug. "I haven't seen him all day."

"Right." Sean said with a nod, "Well, good luck with your search."

Kei chuckled and waved to the two before departing. In the time since their first battle with The Judges, Kei had gotten to know several of the other soldiers. Everyone seemed to have bonded much more after the battle. It was nice.

She made her way through Centra-Tokyo, heading towards the airstrip. No matter how much she got to know the other soldiers in Espoir, none of them compared to Kuris Takasa. He was the first man she'd met in the project and definatly her favorite. It was easy to say he felt the same about her.

Upon enterng the airstrip, Kei quickly caught sight of her friend. He stood in the doorway of a hangar, his black longs blowing in the light breeze. Her wore a blue tanktop that showed off his bronze arms and a pair of baggy blue slacks. She smiled as she walked up to him and tapped him on the opposite shoulder.

Kuris spun around and smiled down at her, "Hey."

"Where have you been?" She asked and lightly punched his arm, "I've been looking for you all day."

"Whoa, fiesty!"

Kei looked into the hangar to find the source of the comment and caught sight of the voice's owner. Sitting on the top of the large, white ship known as The Chariot was Loko Nogami, pilot of the ship. He smiled down at her, his white teeth shining it the mild light.

Nogami jumped from the top of the ship and made his way over to them, a greasy towel draped over his right shoulder and a few smudges on his face. Somehow, the dirt only made the pilot look more attractive.

"Looks like you got yourself a live one, Takasa." The pilot said and looked her up and down, "Not bad at all."

Kei narrowed her eyes and glared at the man, "Excuse me?"

"Lighten up, toots." Nogami said and chuckled, "It's a compliment."

Kuris smiled akwardly and stepped in-between the two. He laughed hesitantly, "Nogami and I were just talking about the ship." He turned and looked down at Kei, "It really is interesting."

"Interesting is an understatment." Nogami said and walked back over to the white ship, "This baby is the most amazing thing on this planet."

"I was actually thinking about it earlier." Kei said and looked over the ship, "I couldn't beleive how fast the ship was."

"Not many people can." Nogami said and patted the ship on the side, "This girl takes advantage of the newest in transportation technology." He smiled, "It uses two Gravitical Techno Engines to convert the gravity around it into pure energy which it then uses to power it into a almost godly speed. It took years of study and prototypes and this is the result of good old human hard work."

"Amazing." Kuris said and shook his head.

"It really is." Kei said and ran her hand over the ship's white hull, "It's hard to beleive the things humans can achieve if they put their mind to it."

"Sure is." Nogami leaned against the ship and yawned.

Kuris nodded slowly then turned towards Kei and smiled, "Did you hear about the passes?"

"What?" Kei asked quizzically.

"Captain Nottap has decided to issue Tokyo Passes for the entire unit as a reward for the last attack." He crossed his arms, "You know what that means."

"Damn right I do!" Nogami said, butting into the conversation, "Party! A night out on the town for the three muskateers!" He put an arm on Kei, "I call first dibs." He winked.

Kei slapped his hand away and gritted her teeth, "No, I think it means keeping the hell away from dirty perverts."

Nogami put his hands up and stepped away, "Calm down, I was half kidding." He crossed his arms and frowned, "Fine, I can take a hint. There are plenty of eligible ladies around this camp and they would be honored to spend the night with Loko Nogami, Ace Pilot of Third Region!" With that, the pilot was gone. Leaving the two alone in the hangar.

Kuris chuckled, "So, what do ya say? Night out?"

"It's a date." Kei clapped her hands together and winked.

"Right. Meet me at the gate at eight o'clock then."

"Yes, sir!" Kei chuckled and flashed a grin at her date.

Tonight would turn out to be a promising night after all.

espoir

It's war. The loss of soldiers is expected. Lingerng on the death of one will only result in the death of many.

How in any way is that supposed to make someone feel better about losing someone they care for? Basically, all it's saying is get over it and go out there and kill more stuff.

Jurgen would know what to say. He always knew how to make everything seem right in the world. However, he was gone and with him went Miya's will to fight.

He was her will to fight, after all. It was his words of encouragment and brave spirit that made her want to fight the good fight and preserve the life of the planet. How could she keep going with out him?

The loss of a loved one. Miya had lost so many that some would think that it wouldn't hurt so much anymore. No, that is hardly the case. It still hurt the same. It still felt as if there was a gap in her soul and that gap would only get bigger and bigger as time went by until her entire life was sucked into that endless black hole. It would destroy her and yet, become her at the same time.

The mental ward didn't help. She'd just told them she was okay so she could go and not have to sit through the doctor's explanations about death and war and right and wrong. They didn't know anything. They never knew Jurgen, they didn't get to listen to his sage words, feel his warm touch, sit in his loving embrace, kiss his endearing lips.

Now no one could feel such things. He was dead. They didn't even have a body to send home to his family in Germany. He had a mother and father and two brothers. What would they hear? Would the doctors give them the same lousy explanation as to why he died? Would anyone even tell them of his heroic death, of the lives he saved in the event, of how he had effected one scared girl who had somehow been thrown into this whole mess?

No.

They would never know that Jurgen was a hero. They would get a medal, maybe a peace of paper saying that he had died a soldier's death, maybe even a visit from a real life military official.

But how did that make up for Jurgen's sacrifice?

It didn't.

Nothing could.

Nothing would.

Nothing ever will.

So many tears had been shed in the time that Miya had last seen her friend. She knew people were watching, judging her and wondering how close she and Jurgen could have been.

They could never understand.

Damn the military! Damn The Judges! Damn Espoir! Damn the world!

No.

Jurgen would never say something like that. He would want her to keep going, to keep fighting the good fight and save the planet from The Judges. He would want her to become a hero.

Just like he was.

Nothing is ever so far gone that it cannot be salvaged once more.

Jurgen had said that and Miya almost thought he was talking about her. She would not give up. She would become a hero and one day, meet up with Jurgen wherever it is that he went.

espoir

"All soldiers are to be back in their rooms by 2400. No drugs or alcohol are to be consumed by any soldiers. Remember, you are representing the entire project to the public." Captain Nottap looked over the excited faces of his soldiers and couldn't help but grin, "Words has spread of your antics. Wear it proudly but do us proud."

He crossed his arms and sighed, "Have fun."

With that, the crowd burst into shouting as the soldiers at the gate moved out of the way and the espoir soldiers took their first steps outside of Centra-Tokyo since the beginning of the project. Morale sure was high.

Kei was nearly thrown off her feet by the crowd rushing for the gates of Centra-Tokyo. She was able to make her way to the side, out of the way of the rush and watched as the wave of yellow uniforms left the inner city.

All soldiers were forced to wear their ceremonial uniforms. They were a bright shade of yellow with black lines down the sides and chest. There were a few fabric patches on the side indicating their rank and in the center was the sign of espoir. A black cross with a hawk perched on one side and a rose on the other.

After the crowd had passed, Kei made her way towards and gate and smiled when she saw the man standing waiting for her.

"Ready to go?" Asked Kuris as he extended his arm.

"You bet." Kei said with a laugh as she took his arm and the two made their way out into the city.

What awaited them, was far more than any soldier expected. The espoir soldiers entered the city with the sight of a large crowd blocked off by Japanese police officers. The crowd shouted calls of admiration and hope to the soldiers. Captain Nottap was not kidding when he said word had spread.

Kuris looked over the crowd with wide eyes. An excited Kane Kisho posed with arm extended in a V sign for a group of photographers. He laughed, "Is this great or what? We're icons to these people!"

Kuris chuckled, "Soak it up, Kisho."

Kei smiled, "This is definately unexpected."

Craig was standing nearby and crossed his arms, "Looks like this is gonna be a better night than I expected."

He was most definatley the most composed of the soldiers but that was no surprise. Craig was more than used to the cheers of crowds. Back home, he had been greeted by the cheer of crowds every Friday night on a football field. It was easy to tell that Craig was reliving those times now.

The police were trying to form a line for the soldiers to walk through. Kisho took the lead of the group, flashing his peace sign at every camera in sight and laughing the whole way. The crowd was eating it up and Kane was obviously loving every minute of it.

Kei laughed, "Shall we?"

"Of course." Kuris sighed and they started on their way through the crowd. It was a great feeling. The roar of the crowd and the admirable shouts from on-lookers. It would be a good time before the crowd died down and the soldiers could actually enjoy their night out on the town.

espoir

"I don't understand what these people are so excited about."

Sean looked up at the dark, grim face of Bray Jackson. He looked over the crowd with his arms crossed.

"I guess they're just happy to hear about some sort of triumph." Sean said with a shrug, "This is the first actual victory these people have ever heard of."

"It wasn't even a victory." Bray said, "We cleaned up the enemy after they destroyed another city. They won, we lost again."

Sean thought a moment and sighed, "Well, it's a start. The people of the world right now will take any kind of win over The Judges. Even if it is just us cleaning up a few of them. It is still a start and they probably think it's a start of Earth's rebound."

"They need to get realistic."

"Perhaps they are being unreasonable." Sean said with a sigh, "But still, let them have their hopes risen. Let the people stay happy, we can worry about the actual war."

"Whatever."

Sean looked around and caught sight of Craig Stone. He smiled and the two of them walked up to the ex-athlete. He was speaking enthusiastically to a group of reporters.

"Basically, Wakabayashi was a let down to us soldiers but it's a start. Now that the soldiers are experienced, we will do much better in the next defensive effort." Craig smiled and nodded.

One reporter spoke up, "I see by your badge that you are the squad commander for the Espoir unit. Can we ask what kind of pressure that puts on you?"

Craig swallowed, "It's quite a responsiblity but all the soldiers really are a big help. They really do make things much easier than they could be."

Another reporter spoke up, this one was an american. "Your name is Craig Stone, correct?" Craig nodded, "Are you the same Craig Stone that was an All-American quarterback over in the United States who had already made arrangement to play at the next level?" Another nod, "How do you feel about your entire future being thrown away all to fight this war?"

Craig stared at the reporter and swallowed hard, "I would hardly say fighting for our world's safety this throwing my future away. I have my entire life to play football but I'll have no time if The Judges get their way." He looked over at Sean and Bray, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go enjoy my night off."

Craig joined his fellow soldiers and the three of them walked away from the reporters. Sean put a re-assuring hand on Craig's shoulder.

"Don't worry about me." The blonde said, "Let's just have a nice night out, alright?"

Sean nodded enthusiastically, "Sounds good to me."

"What do ya say, big boy?" Craig asked the large man.

Bray crossed his arms, "A night out sounds nice."

Craig slammed his fist into his hand and grinned, "Alright then let's do it! I've heard that the records at that arcade have been waiting to be broken for quite awhile. How about we show them what Espoir soldiers can really do?"

espoir

"How is it?"

"Great. Your's?"

"Amazing. Much better than the stuff we get back at Centra."

"That's for sure."

Kuris leaned back in his seat and yawned. He looked down at his cleaned plate and smiled across the table at Kei who had already cleaned her plate as well.

For such a cute, little lady she sure could put away her meal.

The waiter walked over and Kuris asked him about the cost of the meal. The waiter waved him away and said it's on the house. Anything for Earth's final defense.

Kuris smiled and raised his eyebrows at Kei, "I guess this job really does pay off."

Kei laughed, "I guess so."

The waiter returned and smiled at the two of them, "If you would like to take your dessert on the balconey, it is open."

"Balconey, eh?" Kuris looked over at Kei, "What do ya say?"

"I say let's go!"

The waiter led them to the balconey. It was a beautiful marble balconey overlooking Tokyo. A small, round table sat at the center of the balconey, candles sat in the center of the table already lit. The waiter took their orders and then left the two soldiers to themselves.

"This is beautiful." Kei said, looking out over the city.

The light from the candles reflected in Kei's eyes, making her look even more beautiful than she usually did. Even in her uniform and with hair tied back, she looked extravagant. Kuris stared at her in a complete daze, his surroundings beocming nothing more than blurry shapes as Kei became the only object in his mind.

"Kuris?" Kei was speaking to him and he hadn't even noticed her move, "Kuris, you okay?"

He shook his head to shake himself out of the daze then smiled back at Kei, "Perfect. Never been better."

Kei smiled back at him and nodded, "Don't you like the view?"

"Of course, why?"

She chuckled, "Well, you haven't even looked at it since we got up here."

A slight red took over Kuris' cheeks. It was strange. He had always been a smooth operator when it came to women and had never blushed before, not since third grade at least but now he was blushing in front of this girl? It certaintly was a akward feeling.

Kei smiled and put her head in her hands, "Your a very funny guy, Kuris."

"How so?" He asked, crossing his arms and trying to regain his macho persona.

"Like that." She leaned back and imitated his pose, "Trying to look all buff and impress me. Please, leave the muscles to Craig and Jackson."

Kuris stared at her and shook his head, "Whatever. Those guys are all looks and no show. They don't have anything on me!"

Kei laughed and Kuris couldn't help but do the same. It was a hearty, jovial laugh and it felt good. It had been a long while since either of them had laughed like that.

It wasn't until the laughter died down that either of them heard the quiet ringing coming from their sides. The sound emitted from a small pager they had been given before leaving. Kuris and Kei looked up at eachother with eyes wide.

The ringing met only one thing.

The Judges.

espoir

Rufus Nottap scurried about his room, making calls and checking his large map as he did so. Only a moment had passed since he had gotten word on the attack on the city of Nagoka. Radars had just detected the nearing of a mass similar to that of past attacks and there was no doubt in anyone's mind what was about to happen.

Nottap grabbed the phone, "Report!" He shouted.

"95% of soldiers are back, we are currently loading them into The Chariot."

"Give the remaining soldiers five minutes then take off." He scratched his head and glanced back over at the map of Japan. Nagoka was not far from Tokyo, "Make that three minutes!"

Nottap made his way over to the window and looked out over the airstrip. Lights illuminated the strip and Nottap could see soldiers being loaded onto the Chariot. He saw more and more soldiers running up to the strip as they did so.

He ran back over to the radio and grabbed the mic, "Report on Judges Status."

It took a moment before he got an answer, "A ship has just been sighted. It's definatly them. They got both air and ground troops but mainly ground units. The ship is mainly supplying air support."

"Numbers?"

"Less than usual but more than enough to wipe out Nagoka. You better get your guys over here and quick, Captain!"

"Roger."

Three minutes were nearly up. Nottap made another call down to the aristrip.

"Report."

"All soldiers are accounted for and loaded onto the ship. Awaiting orders."

Nottap looked out the window, "Launch!"

espoir

Kane had been one of the last to arrive. He had been deep into a party in downtown Tokyo when he heard his pager going off and had rushed back to Centra-Tokyo just in time to get ready and make it to the ship.

He was releived to see he was not the last to arrive.

Loko Nogami had also been late. He wore no shirt and his dark hair was a mess. A lit cigarette was in his mouth as he stood in the open cockpit and prepared the ship.

Kane took a seat next to Kuris who sat near the cockpit. They watched as Nogami readied the ship.

"Long night?" Questioned Kuris.

"Shut up!" Nogami shouted, obviously upset about having his 'fun time' interuppted. Kuris shrugged and took to getting his rifle ready while they waited.

It didn't take long for the hatch to close and the Chariot slowly began it's take off. The room was once again illuminated by the eerie green light as the ship activated it's gravitic engines and blasted off towards the southern city of Nagoka.

During the flight, Craig briefed them on the number for The Judges. Everyone felt a sad bit of releif at the news that they would arrive during the beginning of the battle. This time, they could actually make a difference.

This time, the flight seemed to be much shorter and Kane felt as if they hadn't been in flight for five minutes before Craig readied himself next to the hatch and shouted that they would be going down hot. With that, the hatch opened and everyone was welcomed with the sound of battle outside.

Then they jumped.

Kane landed heavily onto the pavement. He got out of the way of the others and looked around. This was a real battle. Buildings burned and people screamed. They saw very few live people upon landing but they could hear their cries of pain. They could also hear the sound of gunfire, not to mention the eerie sound The Judges make. Kuris once again noted about how much it sounded like hundred of people whispering.

Craig notified the soldiers that they would be breaking into two groups. One would cover the northern part of the city, the other would get the southern. Nagoka was not a large city so two groups would be able to cover quite a bit of ground.

Kane was put into a group that consisted of Craig, Jackson, Sean, Kuris, and Kei as well as a few other soldiers he had yet to meet. The other group would be led by the infamous Rene Henri and would travel south. The two groups gave their farewells and set out into the city.

Upon turning around, Kane caught sight of The Judges' mode of transportation. It was huge and floated quite a ways about the city. Short bursts of energy short from the sides of the large ship, giving aid to their ground troops. The ship glowed the same shade of white as The Judges and it had a strange aura to it. The group didn't have long to look at the ship as they began their trek into the city.

It didn't take long for the group to find some action. After rounding the first corner, they found themselves walking into a battle between a group of military personnel and a small clan of Judges. Espoir immediatly jumped into the fray.

Bray, Craig, and Kuris immediatly laid down enough fire to grab The Judge's attention. This gave the rest of the group enough time to make their way over to the group of soldiers and give them some extra strength to put away the enemy.

Just as expected, these Judges looked nothing like the ones seen before. They all glowed that strange white but all were shaped differently. However, it was obvious that they were all just as dangerous as the last.

The regular soldiers had already been dealt major damage. Many soldiers lay dead or injured on the ground and only five or six remained. The Espoir soldiers began laying down their fire and the few Judges quickly fell under their barrage.

Afterwards, the remaining infantry thanked the Espoir soldiers for their help and resumed helping their wounded. The group continued their journey into the city.

The head of the regular soldiers said that the main attack was ocurring in the south but there was another well-sized unit a little ways to the north.

It was a good few minutes before any other enemys were sighted. In that time, the Judge's ship just seemed to disappear from the sky. No one noticed it leave and no one noticed it was gone until someone made a comment about how full the moon was.

They didn't get much time to linger on the subject as they finally found the main norther assault unit. They stood in the burning remains of a small park. Dead bodys lay throughout the area and the stench of burning flesh filled the nostrils of all the soldiers. Craig turned to look at the group. He exchanged a few words with some of them then they set out into the battle.

Immediatly, Craig and Kane sprinted out into the clearing. It didn't take long for The Judges to notice them and begin their assault but they were already too far gone. Craig dived behind the cover of a large boulder and Kane took cover behind a large monument that stated at the park was dedicated to someone.

With Craig and Kane's locations secure, the rest of the unit began their attack. Two soldiers began firering from the safety of the building while the rest of the unit made their way out into the opening with rifles blazing. Immediatly, one soldier was hit in the leg and went down to the ground screaming.

Now that the Judges were distracted, Craig and Kane made their move. They once again sprinted from their cover with Craig sprinted for the cover of another boulder and Kane making his way straight towards the enemy.

Two Judges went down before Craig passed the enemy and launched a grenade straight into their center with a amazingly accurate arm. The grenade hit the ground and exploded, any enemys nearby burst into flames and died slowly after. Now it was Kane's turn.

With the momentary confusion of the grenade and the cover fire from the rest of the soldiers, Kane easily ran thorugh the center of the enemy and laid three grenades down as well. He sprinted to the other side just as The Judges regained their composure and opened fire. One of their beams skimmed Kane's neck as he ran but their attacks were haulted by the simultaneous explosion of the three grenades.

Kane dived and hit the ground just as a rush of heat hit his face. He looked up to see only two enemys still standing, their bodys burning. They died soon after from a combination of fire and the soldier's bullets.

Craig helped him comrade to his feet and the soldiers surveyed their destruction. 13 Judges lay dead on the ground and only three Espoir soldiers had been injured including Kane's open wound on his neck.

The soldiers breathed a sigh of releif and disbeleive, secured the injured, and continued to go about the city's defense.

espoir

A hour passed until the two groups met back at the landing point for pickup. All together there were nine injuries, both minor and major, and one death. The dead soldier was a young Japanese kid who no one knew too well. Nonetheless, his body was carried to the ship and he would be given a honorable burial.

Everyone boarded the ship and sat in near silence on the ride back. Craig tried to converse with the quiet Rene about how things went but all he got were quick answers with little detail. Craig quickly became impatient with the boy and became silent.

Sean looked across from him to see Yukio sitting there, holding his arm and staring at the floor in a daze. He cleared his throat to speak to the light-haired male.

"Something wrong?" Sean asked hesitantly.

Yukio did not respond but only stared at the ground.

"He got hit." Said a woman who sat next to him. Miya was her name, "It was during the large assault. He got separated and when we cleared the area, he was sitting on the ground with his arm all cut up."

Sean finally got a look at it. It was definatly bloody but the skin around the wound was a dark purple. He held hard onto his cross, "Is he alright?"

"I think it's just shock. He should be fine."

Sean nodded and closed his eyes for a moment to pray for Yukio. When he opened them, the man was staring at him and at his hands holding the metal cross.

espoir

Captain Nottap lay on his bed, releif washed over his face at the recent news.

The battle had gone well and the soldiers were on their way home with few injuries and one casualty and the city still stood all but a little broken.

Nothing a few repairs and goverment offers wouldn't fix.

The ringing of his phone broke Nottap from him daze and he looked over at the device. He picked up the reciever and put it to his ear.

"Nottap here."

The voice on the other line was unfamiliar, "Captain, we have bad news."

Rufus sat up and his brow furrowed, "Yes?"

"There's been an accident." The voice cleared it's throat, "LeFluer is dead."

To Be Continued...