It all began when Alphonse Antares came to change the world with his illusion of a perfect life.
Instead of paper-printed money, he gave everyone a card. To acknowledge the people's hard work, he delivered everyone equally the same amount of points every day. The rich did not separate from the poor anymore, and everyone seemed to be socially equal.
Soon, people could start to afford the stuff they usually wouldn't have been able to. People didn't need to leave their families to work abroad, and everything was okay.
Everything seemed peaceful.
It did not matter where someone would be. In any part of the world, everyone could pay without the need for exchange, and the people started to clean up the streets, people began to take jobs they usually wouldn't have. However, this took years to build up. People were skeptical as Alphonse often got into critics with his fantasized perfect world.
He wanted to bring the world together and wanted everyone to be the same. The economic crisis that once separated people and put them into chaos, hopeless and despair vanished utterly.
Primary care was the first thing to set in every nation. Everyone had a right to work, eat, and have a place to sleep. No human would sit on the streets anymore, at least not because they had to.
Resources put into fair use.
The world changed into a better place.
Racism was no longer something people would think of because what mattered, in his world, was the human behind it but not for too long.
Changing the economy was the only way to conquer the crisis that once unfolded.
Worshipping is used as a conception to believe in something that would give them hope. New interests and new communities opened upon his ideology.
People came together.
Everyone had the same to look up to, to the savior of humankind that is Alphonse Antares.
No one would hate each other anymore. No one seemed different anymore. Why sending out hate if you could accept? People started to build the world back into a better one, a world everyone had a place and a right to be where they wanted.
However, how did this change?
Essential status for every work, at least in the beginning.
Everyone had the same chance to study and learn new things.
People started to clean the ocean from plastic as well. The environment is something people took care of every day. Animals are treated with respect because they are needed for us to survive.
They started to live alongside them and not just see them as a profit source; they cannot profit anyway in this world.
Nature began to heal itself. People were thoughtful, and technology was thriving bigger than ever.
They had a dream.
People around the world worked together; they wanted to see the infinity of the universe. They tried to find and create new things, the perfect world that has its shades.
Some still didn't want to work.
The people didn't like the idea of being the same, just like the others, and they wanted to be unique, seen as individual beings. Something so natural that got lost with Alphonse politic.
Criminality rose as the people realized they are just mere slaves for him.
They needed the cards for them to survive in this world. Protests began to unfold in each country, raising their voice and criticizing Alphonse.
They killed many innocent people in those acts, and the world began to separate once again.
People demanded a reform for his rules that set the world apart, including criminal acts as a sin, something he didn't think he had to include.
Alphonse didn't leave this for long, so he let out drones all over the places to watch every step, every single human that residents in most criminal cities do.
No one left unwatched, and he took away their freedom.
Soon, criminality descended back into the shadows. Alphonse began to paste his system to the adjacent cities and left out the villages and towns with less than five-hundred thousand people. He couldn't take care of everything. He didn't feel like they were necessary.
Democracy didn't exist anymore.
Only one ruler tells them how this world works and what they have to do to live.
The world began to shatter.
His system, which once used to unite the people, separated them even more than before.
The cold war started to begin as people lead against his system.
He even went as far as making sure people recognize those who follow him by giving them a specific type of clothes everyone has to wear. The blue military uniform from Antares, two blue-orange lines drip around the back up until the chest's start, surrounded with dark blue outlines and the same colored shoulder pads.
Those who did not want to be part of it were mere rebels that ultimately left out the system. They didn't have any rights.
These people formed nations on their own with different political aspects and preserved several ideologies with disparate goals. He doesn't care about the residents in those towns and villages, fighting for their rights in the shadows because he doesn't know they exist. He only knows that they are mere rebels and not worth a dime in his world.
Stargazer is the center of them, fighting for every nation's rights.
Alphonse used the machines that were once built for exploration in space and changed them.
He changed them into military weapons to make the people kneel in front of him. He wanted to have weapons that would intimidate people because people are afraid of the unknown, to destroy those who rebel against him.
Darryl and Mayumi walk back to their rooms. They don't sleep together during the night, only occasionally like birthdays or a special event they share the same room.
Having a relationship at this time is just really hard to keep up, but they manage. Leaving one's side is something the couple will never do. At least, that's what Mayumi hopes. She loves him deeply and dearly; she wants him to be happy.
Mayumi changes her clothes; she gets ready to sleep. One look outside to the bright shining moon makes her smile.
"One day, I will be able to fulfill my dream," she says quietly.
Suddenly the red lights send out the alarm. Mayumi rushes out of her room, barefoot. For a split second, she meets Darryl until they separate at the corridor's end into two different rooms. She runs to the right side.
They run into the locker room, a room with two benches on each side, covered behind safe's. Each pilot has its own.
Darryl opens up his locker, takes his suit, and changes into it. A black suit with grey stripes on the sides, they look like metal. Chest and stomach protected by plates on the inside from any kind of bullet. These suits are light weighted and very stretchable. They have antigravity inside them to ensure the pilots can reach up to fifteen G with no problems. They also have a regulator to make sure they are kept at a certain °F as well as oxygen provision once they reach the thermosphere.
On the upper shelf lies the black helmet with a white transparent front lap. The lights from the room reflect in it. A grey stripe runs directly from the upper to the bottom, and the Stargazer logo is on the other side of the helmet, indicating their belonging in a silver-tone.
Every pilot has the same suit but not the same helmet construction.
Mayumi has two of them on the sides, going up to the front lap. She usually straps her hair in a tie before putting on her helmet. Otherwise, Mayumi's long, straight, black hair would be in her sight.
Before entering the machine room, they have to pass by a door with s security system since the locker room is the only connection to the machines.
It recognizes their heads and lets them through. Even inside the locker room, you can hear many noisy sounds that usually appear in construction or factory.
It's hard to concentrate, but they are used to it. The machine room is big, so big it can contain six sixty-five foot tall machines placed side to side, left and right.
In the middle, enough room for someone to run through with a small truck.
These machines are called Horizon.
People work on these gigantic human-like robots every day. Maintenance is essential, especially for the system. They always have to check if there is an error because it could lead the pilot to its death.
Color seems to be the same for all of them, black with white shoulders and knees, a white stripe on the chest. The hydraulic movement seems visible through the small black spaces on the joints.
Armor-like pieces made out of a specific metal put on the hinges. Right inside the middle of the machine at the chest lies the cockpit. It's not visible from the outside; the only difference the machines have is their body structure, headgear, and weapon of choice.
The left machine has a massive mechanical railgun sniper rifle, more than sixteen feet tall on his back. A small white stripe covers the weapon in the middle, and the hatch in is always open, with strings inside of it. This one is fifty-five feet and, with that, the smallest amongst the rest. The head has a more roundish structure with no accessories, and in the middle of it, there is a white window. It looks like eyes. The joints possess more armor, not heavy and bulky, more lighted and small, and cover just what they need.
The middle one has a long sword on its back. A small green stripe surrounds the blade, binding together at the end of the sword. Metallic black covers the inside, and above the grip, there is a diamond-shaped green button. This machine's head is a bit sharper. The head's left and right sides have long stripe-like plates pointing up with a green end. The chest seems much more roundish than the rest and is about sixty-two feet tall.
The right machine has a square-like head, eyes that look like sunglasses in black with an orange shade. A black stripe covers the entire Machine from its head to toe, about sixty-five feet and with that, the tallest one. It has an orange metallic crossbow rifle with a bayonet stacked on top of it. Its whole body is much bigger than the other two.
Every Horizon has wings attached on its back to reach the maximum capability of acceleration. These wings are foldable. However, they don't necessarily need them on earth as they set many particles free into the environment.
Logan walks towards the middle.
Darryl walks to the right and Mayumi to the left.
They walk across the railing stairs, through the narrowed path, to reach the open hatch of the cockpit. All of the Horizon is docked.
Inside of it, there is a seat with a console connected to the front in the middle. It doesn't have any visible monitors except for three placed right above the console, one for the radar, the other for communication and the machine's status, and the last one for the system.
The control stick is placed on both sides of the seat to ensure easy control; the gas pedal is right underneath. The whole room covered in deep black, and nothing is visible.
Once they put their helmets on, they can boot up the machine. The black room turns into the VEP; it seems like they float just above the machine room. They call it three-sixty vision because they are no longer reliant on small screens now.
The room is the screen.
An engineer from down under yells, "And go!" as he pushes a button with his oily hands.
The machines drag inside the wall that opens right behind them and turn them around facing the lighted tunnel.
Logan takes a deep breath.
He opens his eyes and arched eyebrows.
The system starts to run through him.
His grey metallic stripes change its color into a fresh green that beats with a split-second interval in between, revealing his heartbeat.
Even his Horizon changes the white-colored armor into the system's color to reveal the outside's fluid as a neon gritted light.
The System connects the pilot with the machine through their suits on a neuronal level. With this, they can focus on and control every action continually.
They push through with the acceleration of six G none of the three pilots have a problem with the acceleration. They are used to it.
"Okay, guys. Sorry to suddenly wake you up, but this is urgent. Mr. Stone reached out to us. Some people need your help. Please be safe, you know the drill, Alphonse has the big machines, but you have them. So, go and save the people, you three heroes," the female voice runs within their helmets.
Darryl chuckles as he hears her voice. She sounds so quirky to him.
"Sorry guys, just do your thing," the other male voice comes through.
Mayumi is the only one continually staying just above the troposphere. She doesn't need to engage because her weapon can shoot in a distance of thirty-one miles.
Her cockpit is the only one that works differently from the other. Her three monitors are not in front but put on the left and right side, easy for her to access when needed. One left, two on the right. Above her seat, she has an apparatus. If needed, she can take it down. It's a lock on the wide seeker that works alongside the screen, which she uses to make sure her shots are accurate. As she sits, she has the ideal grip on the control sticks. She can open the hatch of her helmet, if needed, to seek through broader.
They approach the enemy machines upfront. Darryl and Logan press forward into the burned-down forest to take an exact look before going into combat. The Horizons regularly float in the air leaving a trail of emitters to ensure the silent flight.
The enemy machines are much rougher. They all look the same, grey and dark color; it's just a heavy armored type with lots of weapons. Their movement is not as sharp as the Horizons, which means they most likely cannot fly properly or just slow.
Above their shoulders, there are two separated cannons, and their hand joints posses' rocket launchers. In between the shoulders, right under the neck, lays the cockpit. It is a small room with limited visibility with three screens, left, right, and middle. It's a cornered room that reflects the design of the machine. Some of them even have plasma swords and plasma guns.
Upfront, humans held hostage in a small old abandoned building while being chained up. A few soldiers with guns drag them inside with force.
"How did they get there?" Darryl raises his pupils.
Mayumi positions herself and looks through the apparatus. Her gun safely put into her hand, ready to fire.
"No idea," replies Logan. "But we have to safe them all."
"I can see about thirteen people," she answers as her left eye is closed.
"Okay, let's do this," says Darryl and pulls the acceleration button forward.
"Wait! What are you doing, Darryl?" Logan shouts. "Why can't you just fight normally?" he asks himself, shaking his head.
Darryl fights without thinking. He just does. Logan shakes his head and flies off to the side to give him at least a bit of protection.
An enemy approaches Darryl, his right hand clenched onto his weapon, ready to fire into the already burned down forest.
Darryl fires off his ammo as if he had an infinite supply from the crossbow rifle as he slides above the ground, piling up sand underneath and furiously firing into the enemy. The enemy has no chance to counter his attack.
Smoke rises.
The enemy can't see.
Fast, his Horizon positions behind him, he takes his bayonet and cuts inside the machine's cockpit to make sure he reaches the pilot.
Blood spills out.
The enemy falls to the ground with a heavy noise, raising dust below him as the earth shakes.
Meanwhile, Mayumi already focuses on the enemy to Darryl's right. Her eyes do not blink at all, no shaking, no nothing. She fires off a long plasma beam firing straight through the forest and into the machine with a tip on the button.
Her ammo falls off with steam to the ground shaking the bottom to raise sand in the air. She has to reload, which takes about half a minute to do so.
Only two are left. Logan decides to take them on by standing above the right one. He holds his blade in both hands and up into the clouds. The enemy reacts fast by moving to the side; he misses his attack.
The enemy takes his plasmas sword, and both fight against each other, clinging onto each weapon forcefully without anyone giving in. They cut the closest trees leaving them to fight in the air.
"Hey, shortie, wouldn't it be better if you would give up now?" the enemy pilot says within the machine's speaker.
Logan doesn't want to react to it.
He never does that.
With silence, they stare at each other up in the clouds as they fly through them. Logan stops and presses the green diamond-shaped button on his blade. The stripes move further away, and the ionized gas forms into plasma, running through the black metal, heating the edges.
With force, Logan accelerates his machine and cuts through the enemy, leaving him no chance of defending himself.
The enemy burns up, burning the pilot alive.
Logan looks away as he hears him screaming his last breath. He can't take the looks of people.
He just took his life.
Though, it's what Logan chose to do. The man inside didn't know his name yet, and still, he grieves over his loss. What if he had a family? But then again, the man took lives as well, and many families died because of him probably. It just doesn't feel right, is there really nothing else he can do to save
"Good job, Logan," says Jason into the microphone.
"Yeah, sure, good job," he says caustically.
"Don't grieve over it. He's not worth it."
Logan sighs and turns off the communication.
For Jason taking someone's life is something natural. It's something they do for the sake of helping others, sure. It might be a fair trade, but killing is killing. Saying someone isn't worth as much as the rest, isn't that what Alphonse does? Logan realizes contradictions in his words, yet he stays with him. It is probably always will, not because of him or his goals but because he's more to him than he wants.