Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Resurrection ❯ First Day ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
-Winston Churchill

Chapter 5: First Day

Smoke billowed from the wreckage of a nearby LEV, clouding the evening sky above. Debris was spread as far as the eye could see. A few UNSF soldiers were firing machine guns at their base's attackers, but their shots were silenced and replaced by the ringing explosion of a missile barrage. Sergeant Jason Taper was drinking his evening coffee in the base's cafeteria like he usually did, watching the news when word came that enemy attacks were popping up all over Mars. So, he jumped into action immediately when the order came for the base's LEV forces to deploy to the closest county, which was Nereidum. That's when they were hit, and hit hard. The sensors picked up two Metatron reactions bearing from the Southeast, traveling at unbelievable speeds. Taper ran out of the building and was on his way to his Phantoma II when a homing laser ripped through the combat LEV and destroyed it entirely. Now here he was, on the ground, with only his handgun and a combat knife as weapons. But, he had no intention of fighting an already lost battle of man vs. orbital frame, so he ran for the nearest cover. Burnt corpses were all around him, obviously charred from heat of proximity to laser weapons, smoke rising from their bodies and filling the air with the scent of cooked human flesh. Taper couldn't help it; neither of the frames seemed to notice him, and running would only make him feel worse. He hunched over in an attempt to vomit his coffee, among other things...

Bursts hit another hangar, sending metal and fire into the sky. One very large piece had coincidentally flown near Taper's position and landed just before him. The Sergeant was rocked back by the explosion and he fell to the ground, his face and uniform covered in bits of what had just previously been in his stomach. Then an unexpected twist presented itself. Before the shard could go any further and crush the man, a yellowish swirl of energy bolted from one of the attackers and blasted the shard off its flight path. The large 'boom' kicked dust and dirt into Taper's face, which he covered with his arms. Once his eyes stopped burning, he looked up to see his apparent savior. One of the frames stood over a cloud of black smoke, which shrouded the form. Taper could barely make the outline, but piercing through the cloud was a pair of crystal blue eyes, fixated on him. Blue energy lines ran down the form, outlining the machine. While he knew he should've feared its presence alone, he couldn't. Rather, he was puzzled as to why he was kept alive, while his comrades were wiped out in the attack. “Dingo…?”

Then a second form appeared, golden eyes piercing the smog, looking at the first. Taper, of course, couldn't make out the details, but he noticed that the eyes seemed to be on a face-like surface, whereas the blue form's eyes just seemed to float on each side of its head. The golden frame nodded to its comrade, then looked toward Taper. A loud bursting noise followed, and in the next second, both frames were gone...

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”You have to admit, it was a well played move. The UNSF lost a good amount of power in these attacks, and the turmoil has spread to the rest of Mars." Taggart said as he scrolled through the report on his monitor. The report displayed the various strikes on the different Martian counties a red blips, as well as areas of reported riots from the local populaces. There were more reports coming in, about the UNSF's and UCM Peacekeeper Forces' failed attempts to stabilize the situation, from SWAT teams being overrun by civilians to actual bombing attacks on police stations, military garrisons and other forms of resistance. It was all pretty impressive to Taggart, he wouldn't have minded meeting the guy who planned this out, greet him, shake his hand. Then kill of course.

”Well played maybe, but it's still a problem towards our end General. There's no way De Franz will be able to contain the situation without resorting to killing Martians all over again.” Nadia said, obviously discontented, more or less because she was sitting to the side of the office with Esteraund Legato. The whole event reminded her of one of Acemos' schemes to expose Martians, by causing anti-Earth riots and then eliminating the protestors out of a policy to protect innocents. Not one of her favorite memories of her or Bolozof.

“You guys are going to step into this, right?” Esteraund asked to both Nadia and Taggart.

Taggart frowned, “Yes, but only when De Franz pulls a gun out. I want the UNSF to have the most problems, not Aegis.” He explained. A knock at the office door came at that point, so Taggart closed the report and looked over to the doorway. “Enter.”

The door slid open, revealing Raven Vostrikov, now dressed in a full black and red Aegis uniform, with black military boots and rank tabs that signified him as a Lieutenant. Raven himself felt comfortable being in a military uniform, since he was part of BAHRAM at a young age and did a lot of fighting, and with his officer rank, he wouldn't have to suffer half of the experiences he had while in Nereidum and Antilia. He stepped through the doorway and appeared stepped before Taggart's desk, and saluted. “Lieutenant Raven Vostrikov, reporting as ordered sir.” He said.

Taggart stood up and saluted back, and looked Raven over from top to bottom, “Very well, at ease Lieutenant Vostrikov. You look good in an Aegis uniform.”

Probably because all he ever wears is black. Esteraund thought, but didn't say aloud.

”Thank you sir. May I ask why I was summoned here?” Raven replied, uncharacteristic military discipline shining through his voice. He took a chair in front of the desk and sat down.

Taggart saw the humility leak from his voice, and wondered in the back of his mind if this was the same young man they captured just a few days ago. He sat back down and pulled out a binder of paper, and began to flip through them, “I have received your test scores from Instructor Edgar, and I must compliment you, Lieutenant, I'm impressed. It usually takes four years at the Space Force Academy to get results like these, but you got them in less than a day.”

”BAHRAM taught me a lot of things, sir, many of them I couldn't use in Nereidum, but still remembered.” Raven explained.

”Indeed.” Taggart concluded, “I suppose since you lived up to your end of the deal, you will expect the same from me…”

A little bit of Raven's true nature beamed at that statement, as his face narrowed and a half smirk drew on his face, “That would be a good gesture, General.” He said, “I took the officer's exam, went through all the performance tests you wanted from Anubis and some other things.”

Taggart nodded and pulled out another sheet of paper, this one a checklist, “Let me review if I wrote all of it down correctly.” Taggart said to Raven, then began reading through the list, “Besides officer's rank, pay and benefits for your services to Aegis, you wanted a Neo-Compaq Presario 9100 with global internet connection, a Playstation 3000 with assorted games and DVDs, as well as a… Limited Edition Su-37 `Super Flanker' kit in `Yellow Squadron colors'?” he read.

Raven shrugged, “Only four exist on Mars, but you shouldn't have trouble finding it.” He looked over Esteraund's reaction, to which he was most pleased. Esteraund's eyes were wide with envy, probably wishing he had thought of making those demands when Aegis asked him for his services. Nadia, being annoyed that she was sitting next to him in this state, elbowed him in the gut to draw him back to reality. The larger man let out a huff of air. “I don't mind if you're shocked at this, Mr. Legato, but please, don't sit next to me when you look like that.” Nadia said.

Taggart acknowledged Raven's first assessment and ignored Nadia's tormenting of Esteraund, “It all seems reasonable, Lieutenant, but I'd like to add something to our terms.” He put the list down and leaned forward, “How would you consider a command assignment?”

This caught the three others in the room by surprise. “General…?” Nadia gaped, “With all due respect, sir, I think it would be wiser to see how Lieutenant Vostrikov performs at following protocol first.”

”I have run through the figures through different sources Nadia, and they all conclude that the Lieutenant is quite capable of leading a force of his own.” Taggart replied to Nadia, and then looked back to Raven, “To counter this new enemy, I have had a team of specialty runners organized under Aegis' command, runners that have a special power with their frames much like you do with Anubis. They're all good runners, but they lack experience, and I need a commander that has that.”

”Specialty runners… You mean Yuriko, that Xander guy and that Scarmiglione runner.” Raven concluded.

”You'll only have Lieutenant Roanoke and Lieutenant Ishikawa for the most part, but yes.” Taggart said.

”Why me though? Wouldn't Yuri… I mean Lieutenant Ishikawa be a better choice? She's been working for Aegis and the UNSF before me.” Raven explained.

While Raven was explaining, Taggart had slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a cigar, then taking a pair of clippers and cutting off the tip. “I believe while working with BAHRAM, you took command of a Nephilim assault team in 2168, shortly after the Deimos Incident. Your team was reported to have been among the most successful of the project, working in infiltration, espionage and frame running, am I correct?” Taggart asked, as he lit his cigar.

Raven hesitated for a moment, “Yes sir. But even so, you expect me to run a squadron of three personalized orbital frames on the same level as Colonel Velasgo here or Lieutenant Ishikawa?”

Taggart let out an air of smoke, letting it linger in front of his face before continuing, “I believe your record states you had an alias while in BAHRAM, which came from your high success rate.”

”Ah, General…” Esteraund began to interrupt, knowing Raven's sensitivity on that subject.

”It's just a question, Mr. Legato, nothing more. I want to hear that name from the Lieutenant's mouth.” Taggart said, listening.

Raven took in some air, then let it out in a huff, “I was called Huckebein the Raven by my superiors and the Nephilim candidates under my command. In fact, Esteraund here thought the name up…” he looked over at Esteraund, who just shrugged, then back at Taggart. “In old Earth folklore, Huckebein was a mischievous raven that liked to get others into trouble. I guess people likened it to me because I was a kid soldier that played around with UNSF like toy soldiers.”

”I just thought it was a cool name, honest.” Esteraund justified.

Taggart took another puff, and blew it out, “I believe that speaks enough for your command abilities, Lieutenant. What personal problems you may have with taking a command of your own, I do not know, but consider your assignment under Aegis.”

”That's… great.” Raven sighed, feeling a swell of regret. He couldn't help but feel he had made a mistake when he bargained with Taggart…

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Another military command. Great, just great… Raven grumbled in his mind, still feeling uneasy at his new command position. He was so uneasy, in fact, he found himself pacing his movements as he approached the pilots' lounge. His body seemed to slow after each step he made, like weights had magically formed around them in a last attempt to stop him. God, he hated this feeling.

”Hey, wait up!” the voice of a young kid called from behind him.

Raven knew who it was, and he was quite curious how a little kid like this one got into Aegis. “What can I do for you, Lieutenant…” he asked in his usual cold tone.

”Second Lieutenant Sage Arthur, sir. I'm the official `computer geek' of Taskforce Aegis.” Sage acknowledged.

”Call me Raven, or Lieutenant Vostrikov if you want.” Raven shrugged, continuing to move away.

Immediately, Sage Arthur was not impressed with this older guy's attempt at playing emotionless and followed, “Damn, between the homicidal Japanese girl, taciturn Idolo runner and the mercenary that doubles as a nine volt battery, I was hoping the new squadron commander would be something other than the stereotype anti-hero…”

Ah, not that again… Raven forced back the urge to grit his teeth. Why were people so damned fascinated with him over running a duplicate? And squadron commander? Was the kid eavesdropping…? “Look, kid, I don't have time to trade insults…”

”Ah, sorry, I struck a nerve, didn't I? To tell the truth, you're one of the few new faces I've seen around here. I thought we could at least hang out, despite the rank difference.” Sage explained.

”Suit yourself. I wouldn't mind someone to talk to.” Raven replied, still walking, “Can I ask…”

”How a little kid like me got into Aegis as a frame runner? We're kind of pressed for time right now, so I'll just say I didn't join out of my concern for Earth.” Sage said.

”Is your alias `Peter the Great' on the internet?”

”How would you know?”

”I heard he was a child hacker that broke into the UNSF database and stole military funds for some pro-Martian group. Then I heard he was also that kid who won first place at the Martian E3 Tour of '77 in both strategy and action games. So, are you A or B?” Raven listed them out, giving the kid a side glance.

Sage beamed at this, “It's C, all of the above. The hacking and game awards are selling points, but taking down a Tyrant counts more, Mr. `Black Ghost'.”

Raven gave the kid a half smile. He didn't usually take pride in things, unless he wanted to annoy people, but he made an exception here. “I almost forgot about that.” He admitted, “I guess that is quite a feat, since Tyrants are rare. Maybe I could've held that one on Taggart too…”

”Yeah, you should've. Downing a Type A orbital frame would get you a promotion in the Space Force…”

”Really?”

Sage thought for a second, “Eh, not quite. You'd have to be full-blooded Terran, and one of De Franz's ass-kissers first.”

”Damn. Wouldn't mind getting a Captain rank early on. Not like I don't have enough war time experience…” Raven replied.

”Hey, at least you have the respect and authority of an Aegis commander now. You're not as bad off as you would think.” Sage said.

Raven redrew his half-smirk at Sage after that sentence, “That's the only reason I joined up, Sage.”

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As usual, the Knights of the Round Table night-club was loud, overwhelming and uncomfortable for all five senses of the body. Flashing lights seem to come from all directions, along with cigarette smoke and the sound of hundreds of people jumping up and down on the dance floor. The dance song was a remixed version of "Dragula", an old Earth classic that had somehow returned from a centuries-long death and became a cult favorite. Not exactly the ideal hangout Yuriko was looking for, but she wasn't the type to normally hang out anyway. She sat at the bar, slowly sipping at a flat cherry coke, trying to entertain herself by looking at the surroundings. Since she was out in the public, Yuriko was dressed in a strapless black-leather top that wrapped around her neck, leaving her shoulders bare, plus black cargo pants and shoes. This caught a few glances from men walking across from her, but fortunately, they seemed to sense that they shouldn't bother her.

"Need another one, Yuriko?" the bartender asked, pointing at the near empty glass that Yuriko put down.

"Oh yeah..." Yuriko muttered inaudibly, yawning, "I need all the caffeine I can get."

"Pretty hard being a hardass, eh?" the bartender quipped, earning a dazed glower from Yuriko.

"You have no idea, Mike." Yuriko gaped, "and I don't want to talk about it, so just give me the fucking drink." She sighed. It had been a long day, going on endless patrols over Nereidum and ground investigations that led to nothing; all to show the general public that their tax dollars didn't go to waste, even though Nereidum was clearly safe for the time being. Mike filled her glass with more cherry coke, slipping two real cherries in it, then giving the glass to Yuriko. The girl took it and picked the cherries out, eating them first, then washing the fruit down with more soda.

And here comes contestant number one... she thought, noticing some guy starting to make his way toward her. Mike backed away a bit, knowing what was going to happen next. "No fights this time, Yuriko." he ordered.

Yuriko just nodded and continued sipping, eyeing the stranger as he approached. "Is there a problem, sir?"

The young man rubbed the back of his head, a little nervous. "No problem. I just came to ask for a dance. Coppelia's Coffin is one of my favorite tracks, and it's playing now."

"Oh." Yuriko answered simply, working on her soda again. "No thanks, I like sitting here, drowning away at my misery" she replied cynically. She noticed she was starting to take a cue from Raven when it came to sarcasm, but she didn't mind it. "Besides, isn't it past your bedtime?" She pointed to her watch.

"That's not how ya do it, bro!" came a louder, more maudlin voice. Making his way through the crowd came a bigger guy, probably a sports jock of some kind. They come in family packs now? Yuriko thought, before realizing what had just run though her mind. Now the cue thing started to bug her.

"Look, when ya ask a girl to dance, ya gotta go at it the macho way!" the guy ordered loudly, the smell of alcohol flowing along with his voice, "Don't rub the back of your head, don't be nervous! You flatter her, then she'll go out with you."

"But that's rude and uncivilized." the smaller one explained, "Besides, I doubt she'd dance with me because she has large...you know." He blushed.

Yuriko rolled her eyes at that part.

"If you're not going to do it right, then don't do it at all, ya hear?" the bigger one demanded, "Say 'Man, you're a hotty! Wanna dance with me?' I tell ya, she's going to be worshiping you, man!"

The guy cleared his throat, about to quote. Yuriko raised her index finger, stopping him. "Don't even think about it."

"Ok, try a different approach..." the bigger one said, totally ignoring Yuriko's statement. "Like 'its gotta be jello, cause puddin don't shake like that'! Come on, try it!" he almost yelled at the smaller one enthusiastically.

The smaller grimaced, "She'll punch me out for that!"

"No she won't, she'll be putty in your hand, I guarantee it!" he gave two thumbs up and a salesman-styled grin.

"What if she does punch me out?" the smaller one asked.

"Then you just get up and try again!" the jock insisted, "at some point, she'll finally let her guard down and you'll have her then and there. Maybe you'll even earn her virginity!"

Yuriko just about choked. Where did that come from? "Ah, guys, if you don't mind, I'm drinking here" she mentioned, pointing to her coke. Of course, they ignored her again.

Or at least she thought. The bigger one noticed and moved toward her, overshadowing her. Mike tried to hold back a chuckle, knowing what was going to happen next. "Come on, honey, don't be so tense." he said, voice slurred, "It'll shorten your growth." He reached out and grabbed the girl's left breast and started to squeeze.

In a flash, Yuriko latched her right hand over the guy's wrist, isolating the nerve point under his palm with her thumb and the bone with her index and middle fingers, applying pressure. The guy yelped as he felt his wrist bone crack, a thin popping noise ringing out. She glared at the other one, who backed away, holding his arms out in surrender. With that, she let go of the bigger one's hand.

"I hope you realize you just committed assault" he sputtered.

"I know!" Yuriko chimed, "y'know, there was a time where you actually had to hit somebody for that." Her grin increased as she stretched her middle finger. The goon took his cue and left her at the counter. She turned back to the bar, seeing Mike almost bursting with laughter.

"Careful Yuriko, if you keep doing that, then you'll never get a boyfriend" he cackled, hunching over.

"I like my loner status, thank you" she explained cynically, "And I have enough men in my life, including my brother." She gave her empty glass back to Mike.

"I guess you're right" Mike replied, taking the glass. "Want another?"

"Sure." Yuriko answered. Then she realized something, "Aren't you supposed to be chasing me away with a double barreled shotgun? I just scared away some of your customers." She pointed to the posse walking to the exit, being led by the guy with the broken wrist.

Mike thought for a second. "Nah, you're like family to me, Yuriko. I'd hate to break up my family."

"Can I get free drinks then, 'Dad'?" Yuriko grinned.

"Don't push your luck, lady." Mike chuckled, mentally patting himself on the back for getting the UNSF officer in a brighter mood. He liked her more with a grin, but she didn't always have one. He sometimes wondered what was so hard about her job to make her so depressed.

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Raven finally got to his quarters after a few minutes of searching around the building. Sage had moved off at some point to do his own thing, but Raven had enjoyed their conversation. It was nice to know not everyone in the military was a hardass. "Lets see..." he muttered, reaching into his pocket for a card key. He struggled, only coming across his wallet, a few empty cash cards he hadn't thrown away and the keys to his motorcycle, long since destroyed in the test field fire. Instinctively, he took out the cash cards and started flip through them. C'mon, I got an escort job later. Please don't leave me in front of a closed door…

"Excuse me?" a female voice with an English accent started from behind. Raven froze for a second; the voice was too soft to be Yuriko or Colonel Velasgo. And the few female members he had seen on the base didn't bother to talk to him."Lieutenant Raven Vostrikov I presume?" she asked.

Raven turned around to see who was talking to him, "Can I help you, Miss...” He said, seeing the woman he had been living with for some time now dressed in her own Aegis uniform.

”Mirielle. Lieutenant Mirielle Faroh. I'm the medical officer here.” Mirielle replied.

"Ah..." Raven began, to say something, but cut short for a moment, trying to put the words together. Damn it, this is what I get for not dating in High School…

The girl walked over to him and raised an eyebrow. She raised a hand and placed it on his forehead. "Hmmm… No sign of a fever." she reported. “Do you always think this slow?”

Raven gawked at her, which made Mirielle laugh a little. “Just kidding, it's a joke.” She said. “But seriously, you have to respond faster than that or people will start to think you're slow in the head.”

”Right...” Raven said, gulping. He had enough female trouble already with Yuriko and Colonel Velasgo, he didn't really need anymore. “So, can I help you with something?”

”Yes, I could use an extra hand in my office.” Mirielle said. “I just transferred to being a medic, and I'm still getting settled in. I'm really one of the orbital frame runners for Aegis.”

”Frame runner…” Raven was confused, since he never figured her to be cut out to run an AlterNeith, and she couldn't have been part of BAHRAM's Nephilim program like he was. That meant she was a specialty runner, which Taggart had mentioned to him… His eyes widened at the realization. “You're the runner of that red frame…!”

”That's right.” Mirielle gleamed brightly, “Lieutenant Mirielle Faroh, runner of the orbital frame Scarmiglione, at your service Mr. Vostrikov.” She re-introduced herself.

Raven gawked again, “And you need my help with…”

”How about we talk about it down in the med room.” Mirielle told him, “Where we're not out in the open and for everyone to hear us. I need your help moving stuff around as it is.”

Raven shrugged, “Alright, lead the way Mirielle.” He didn't mind lifting, since it didn't involve jumping into the cockpit of an orbital frame or fighting a bunch of people at once.

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It was almost time for the meeting between Colonel Velasgo and President Kapricon. Xander had to hurry back to the base. However, he took the time to enjoy the streets of Margaritifer for once. Unlike Nereidum, Margaritifer was a very clean county, with clearer air and less criminal activity. It was definitely home sweet home for him. Compared to the insanity he faced back at the base, this was very peaceful, which is why he chose not to remain at the base during his time off. He was a warrior, sure, but at the same time, he was still a human being; and as such, he needed to reinforce his tranquility and calm. The neighborhood he was in was pretty large, and just plain pretty, almost like San Francisco back on Earth with the white buildings and architecture.

A few kids were playing on the sidewalk, drawing with some chalk. Four of them, two boys and two girls, kneeling at the corner of the pavement and sketching on it. Curiously, Xander looked at what they were drawing. It surprised him a little when he saw a few stick figures of what were clearly Raptors and what seemed like Jehuty fighting them off with its sword drawn. Another one looked like the original Anubis, with its wings spread, spear drawn out, and Nephtis close by. Xander remembered how that thing looked, and how intimidated he felt inside whenever he saw an image of Nohman's face. Even before he suffered from overexposure to Metatron, he could not bring himself to look at Nohman as a fellow human. Xander sometimes wondered whether or not it was in his genes, but that wasn't the subject here…

The last drawing Xander saw made him arch an eyebrow. One of the girls had drawn another stick figure frame that resembled Idolo, with the humanoid head and the white tinted armor. The very thing that started my existance he thought. It felt as though he could recall back then, to the famous Deimos Incident. Sometimes, he even felt flashbacks enter his mind, some flashbacks showing Idolo fighting several Phantomas at once or the sight off Radium Lavans crying of his deceased lover. He didn't know how the images came, but they all felt real, and it put Xander in Radium's POV…

"You alright, sir?" Xander snapped back to reality. One of the girls, the one that had drawn Idolo, looked up to her with some concern on her face. The other three continued drawing, now working on a picture of a Vic Viper, not noticing her. Xander gave a soft look at the girl, "I'm fine. I was just looking at the pictures you made."

"Oh, you like them?" the girl chimed, happy to see a grown-up look at her pictures. "I like the white one, it's the coolest robot of the bunch!" she said enthusiastically, pointing at the picture of Idolo.

"That one has quite a reputation to it." Xander replied, "Please, go on and keep playing. I have to go home now." She patted the girl on the head and walked around, continuing back to the base.

"Wait!" the girl yelled. Xander stopped and the girl came just in front of her. The girl searched around in her pocket, taking out a neatly folded piece of paper. She unfolded it, showing another drawing of Idolo, this one in color. Xander arched an eyebrow at the drawing, since Idolo wasn't just included, but the image of the original Anubis as well. Both frames seemed to be fighting, with Idolo clashing its arm blade against Anubis' staff. "I want you to have it." The girl smiled.

"I am grateful, but you do know children should not talk to strangers, right?" Xander asked, amused.

The girl nodded, but her smile remained, "Yeah, but I can tell you're a good person. Mom told me to 'trust in good people only'." She reached out with the paper, trying to put it in Xander's hand.

"Very well. Thank you." Xander said, taking the piece of paper.

"My name's Angela." the girl said, "Please come by again!"

Xander smiled comfortingly, "Alright, I will. But I have to go now, so bye."

"Bye!" Angela almost yelled, waving, before running back to draw some more.

Xander's smile faded as he began walking again. He looked at the piece of paper, then folding it back up and placing it in her pocket. The girl's words seemed to stay in her head. A good person. If only she knew the truth behind Xander and Idolo...

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"And this is the ward." Mirielle announced, as the door slid open. Raven walked in, and started looking around. The girl walked past Raven and opened up cabinets and boxes, checking to see if everything she needed was in place. The area was huge, designed to accommodate a whole garrison of troops. Hospital beds were lined across the room on both sides, with medicine cabinets beside them. On the other end of the space was the ER, and over to the left was Mirielle's office. It was a room meant for a hospital, but seemed to be placed in a clinic.

"Not bad." Raven observed, passing judgment, "Not bad at all. You guys have it better than Nereidum General Hospital." He looked back at Mirielle. "So what do you need?"

"See those medicine boxes in the back?" she told him, pointing to a corner of the ward where several cardboard boxes have been stacked, “I need you to open them and help me put them in the proper cabinets.”

”That's organization work!” Raven exclaimed, eyes widening.

”I thought you were good at organization. You look like that type.” Mirielle said.

”Maybe, but medical and office supplies are out of my league. Too many complex words…” Raven admitted.

Mirielle sighed as she picked up a jar from the box, "Alright, this isn't as hard as I thought it'd be. I can set up shop by myself." she responded, waving him out.

Raven took his cue and was about to leave, when something came up. "Exactly, how did you get transferred into Aegis?" he asked, not with a dead tone this time, but something more like actual curiosity.

Mirielle picked up on this, putting her clipboard down on the counter next to one of the beds. She looked back at Raven. "I joined the military when I was rather young. The UNSF is somewhat short on medical personnel, soldiers and officers, so they started accepting high school students like BAHRAM used to do."

"That's interesting." Raven commented. No wonder Taggart didn't mind commissioning me. "So, does that mean you're from Earth?" he asked. He never really had any reason to ask her origins until now.

"Yes, Britain to be exact. Not too far from Russia." she added, picking up on both his name and twinge of accent. "In fact, I think we were allies at one point..."

"Only for World War II." Raven pointed out. "That alliance ended when the Cold War began."

"I know..." Mirielle acknowledged, sighing. "Does that mean we won't get along any better?"

Raven arched an eyebrow at that, taking a seat on one of the beds. "That was more than 200 years ago. I think we'll get along just fine."

Mirielle shook her head at that response. "That was a joke Raven. I wasn't serious." She began sifting though another medicine cabinet. "Do all you older male runners have dull people skills like some anime stereotype?"

Raven rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry…”

”Don't be.” Mirielle replied, “It's just something you need to work on, that's all. As a soldier, especially a squadron leader, people are going to be relying on you as both a runner and a human being, so it's best to show them you are human.”

Raven said. “To tell the truth, I've been living in Nereidum, and the people there are more interested in killing me than they are to knowing me better…”

"Yeah, I know." Mirielle turned to him, winking. "Good ol' NUT, eh? They practically took over Nereidum after BAHRAM was destroyed. However, they didn't care much for the civilians of Nereidum." She continued to unpack, “Don't worry, I think you'll fit in nicely here.”

Raven nodded. It was nice to have someone outside the usual brass talk to him, aside from Sage of course. Maybe I'll get used to this place after all…

"Well, I think you better go now. Don't you have some escort job in 15 minutes?" she asked, looking at her watch.

"Oh shit!" Raven exclaimed, staring at the clock over one of the beds, "I totally forgot." He leapt to his feet and hurried to the door, calling out "Nice seeing you again!" as he ran out. He didn't blame her for wanting a tour of the place, but it got in the way of him and his video games. He sighed. They'll still be there when I get back.

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30 minutes later, the shuttle was in the air and traveling south, away from Margaritifer and the other counties of Mars into the desert. Kapricon sipped on his wine glass, watching as both Anubis, Grafficane, Idolo and a fourth frame that looked more like a robotic serpent than an actual robot flew up next to the craft, two on either side, ahead of a rear guard of five AlterNeiths. He noticed the 'AEGIS' shield sketched on Anubis' left shoulder and smiled. "I see you're making use of your new toy." he commented to Nadia, who was sitting just across from him, "Don't worry, I'm not here to take it back, neither am I really in a position to."

"You do realize I could arrest you here and now for making that thing." Nadia spat threateningly.

Kapricon chuckled, unworried. "Oh, Colonel, always the police officer, no? I came here to negotiate a deal between NUT, Taskforce Aegis and the entire UNSF, not to try to get the great Anubis back. If you want it, you can keep it; we at NUT Ltd. have better things to do with our time."

"Like?" Nadia asked, amazed at the man's arrogance.

Kapricon called over one of his aides, who was holding a laptop computer. He took it from her hands and unfolded it on his lap. The computer was already on, so it didn't take long to type in commands, calling up a picture of the man in question. He turned it toward Nadia. "Recognize him?"

"General Leon Shale of UNSF Special Ops." Nadia quoted from memory.

"His real name is General Wilhelm, Leon Shale is just an alias, but make no mistake, this is the man that launched those attacks around Mars." Kapricon explained, "Your official records show him MIA as of 2173, supposedly committing suicide shortly after the whole Animus fiasco. Anyway, he isn't dead." He smirked, "He's very much alive, and wanting revenge on the Earth for the war years ago. And guess what organization he has at his fingertips."

"VANGUARD." Nadia sighed.

"The same organization that was established to create new weapons for the UN military from Martian technology. As well as the same organization that adopted the orbital frame as an Earth weapon." Kapricon said, with a sly grin, "Now, your records also say they were disbanded, but in reality, the UNSF attempted to wipe them out, so that their creations would not fall into the wrong hands. Thing is, General Browning, the original commander, was already prepared to abandon the Space Force and put up a stand for the Martian people, so the UN's timing couldn't have been any worse. The power was already their to begin with, Wilhelm just organized it more."

"Why? He was a UNSF General."

"Don't you see? The man regrets what he has done in the past, and by taking a crusade, jihad or whatever you want to call it against Earth, he believes he will be redeemed in heaven. At least that's what he told me." Kapricon continued, "I won't lie to you, Colonel, NUT has been negotiating with his VANGUARD for quite some time. I've sold him some of the OFs that you've encountered and much more, lots of personnel and Metatron to boot. While VANGUARD does possess their own little military, its nowhere powerful enough to take on the entire UN foothold. At least, not until they have enough resources to construct some of their original designs. Thus, Shale came to me for support, and I gave it to him."

"So why are you telling me this?" Nadia asked. "I have more than enough evidence to arrest you for Conspiracy right now, but if I guess this right, you want to provide us some light on this guy?"

"Right. I can tell you what he plans to do with all those OFs, who his allies are, where he has bases set up and everything. I have no interest in Martian independence, in fact, I really don't mind how Aegis is playing the game. Thing is, without the right kind of insight, VANGUARD can and will overwhelm you." Kapricon responded.

"And what's in it for you?" Nadia didn't trust him quite yet.

Kapricon held up his hand, "Miss Velasgo, I am a businessman. My only interest is to seek the prosperity of my company, and negotiating with an enemy can either make it fall or rise from the ashes." Kapricon took the computer again and typed in more commands, then turning it around to show Nadia a new image. This time, it was a 3D model of an OF; one that caught Nadia's interest right away. It looked strongly like a modified Templar unit. Slimmer and even more aerodynamic, Vic Viper-like wing binders on its back, an energy sword/gun unit on each wrist, and from the list below an avalanche of built-in sub weapons.

"This is the Wraith, our next-generation Orbital Frame, based on the design of your prized Anubis and the legendary Jehuty" Kapricon explained. "Our engineers created this very recently, away from UNSF supervision of course. It's a stealth-based orbital frame, designed for infiltration and special operations, but versatile enough to fit most any mission profile. Could be pretty useful for your organization, don't you think?"

Nadia smirked. "I knew this was coming. How do I know this isn't another cheap, under-powered `economy' design like the Raptor or original Phantoma?"

Kapricon was taken aback by that response. He expected the Colonel to threaten to arrest him again, but it seemed she wanted to play on an equal field. His composure remained cool. "I originally wanted to sell these to Mr. Wilhelm and his group, but to seal the agreement, I'd like to give them to you."

"What's the cost?"

"5.9 million for each frame in standard Martian dollars. Your department, while being one of the lesser respected units on Mars, does have full UNSF backing when it comes to matters like these." Kapricon said, "For you, you get new frames, I give you information on Wilhelm, VANGUARD and additional info, plus full NUT backing. For me, my company gets a good rep with the UNSF and a clean-slate record. Seems fair, doesn't it?"

Nadia thought for a moment. It seemed like a good deal on the surface, but her instincts were good enough to leave her wary. Years of dealing with money-grubbing scum like Lenard Kapricon had developed a sense of truth and lies, and right now, she knew she couldn't trust the businessman. On the other hand, Aegis could use his support, and even with the addition of their new OF, they still needed new equipment badly. The Raptors used in Nereidum were mostly scrapped, but if what Kapricon said was true, then they were dealing with a full fledged military, not just another militia. "The terms are acceptable. I'm sure High Command will pardon you because of your effort."

"Good, good." Kapricon smiled broadly. "With that concluded, I think we can enjoy our little flight a bit longer before returning to Nereidum and Margaritifer." Kapricon sat back and relaxed in his chair.

And the die is cast... Nadia thought. She knew this partnership would either lead to prosperity for Aegis and NUT, or the utter destruction of one of the two.

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As Raven cruised in Anubis, he listened to the meeting from the button-receiver hidden in Nadia's uniform. This way, the meeting could be documented just in case Kapricon turned into a foe later on; they would have enough evidence to convict the man for any number of crimes. Sure, it was a low-blow tactic, but you had to be as low as your enemy in this kind of work. "Nearing Checkpoint Alpha" the shuttle pilot's voice announced, "Heading to Beta."

"Roger, changing course to Beta." Raven responded. Just as he turned, Anubis' cockpit seemed to flash before him. "What the-?" he stuttered, as Anubis shook strangely. A second later, the shaking stopped and he resumed course.

"Nemesis One, are you alright?" Yuriko asked, "You were starting to fall behind."

"It's fine, Three, some equipment failure, but it seems to have fixed itself." Raven replied, a little bitter over the choice in callsign that Taggart had given his `special unit'.

"Roger." Yuriko answered, her focus back on Grafficane.

Raven wondered about the strange shaking for a second longer, then checked all his systems. Everything seemed clear, so he resumed piloting. He had no idea, that night, how much he would grow to fear that vibration...

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TO BE CONTINUED...