Kazdel, Rhodes Island Landship
The low hum and the distinct whirring of the ventilation system filled the room, while the occasional tapping of fingers can be heard from time to time. The office was dimly lit, and with the absence of light, the projector is consistently flashing multiple pictures taken somewhere in Victoria.
At the end of a rather long, oval shaped table was a man wearing a long black hooded overcoat, which had blue exterior linings on the sides. Beside the plethora of paperworks and reports scattered on top of the wooden table was a thick, metal helmet designed to cover his face the entirety of his life.
However, he doesn't bother wearing it every time, since this was the most well guarded place inside the landship.
Minutes passed by, and the value of Originium rocks stayed the same. The landslide of reports from the latest, and rather disastrous events last week in Victoria was now coming to a close, with only minor missing details from an elite operator named Blaze. He underlined words of interest to further add in on his latest research.
The sliding door leading to his office swung to the side, followed by the sounds of footsteps. The man stops tapping his fingers on the table and sighs, before glancing up at the visitors. A beautiful and very attractive woman, somewhere in her late twenties was striding towards him with that same expression she always have.
"Kal'tsit, I told you, not now. I'm still reviewing the reports from the teams and personnel involved."
Kal'tsit shakes her head, followed by a heavy sigh. "(Y/n), that's the least of our concerns right now. Growing death rates have been plaguing our soldiers as we speak. You didn't even attend the burial of the dead mercenaries yesterday! What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed, her voice laced, no, filled with frustration.
(Y/n), better known by the moniker "The Doctor" from his co-workers and subordinates, stands up and distances himself away from Kal'tsit. He subtly twists and turns the ring in his ring finger, before facing the woman behind him.
"They're dead Kal'tsit. The operation failed because of poor squad cohesion. Nothing needs to be said and done other than burying them in the ground." The Doctor responds coldly, earning a glare from the feline.
"Tch... Even though you recruited them..." Kal'tsit muttered under her breath, but it didn't go unnoticed from the veteran field commander.
"Hah, mercenaries Kal, mercenaries. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. And they were paid, that's all there is. As long as Theresa achieves her goals, you, me, and everybody else here are all pawns in the board." He turns around and stares straight at her.
Kal'tsit thought she knew (Y/n) more than anyone else, yet this side of his seems to be growing more and more out of hand as the war ravages on. He is a decorated doctor in the medical field, and a master field tactician when it comes to commanding whole armies of soldiers.
Yet despite those achievements, his value for human life goes beyond the scope of her eyes. Not only does he treat the operators and mercenaries under his command as mere tools to be used and disposed, he cares not if someone gets killed or captured by the opposing side.
And it angers her everyday to see him like this.
"Sacrifices are needed Kal. No powerful empire or kingdom that has survived to this day didn't go down the virtuous path. That's the reality, and as much as it's hard for...any of you to accept, it's the only way towards victory." The Doctor said before rewinding the contents of the projector backwards.
Kal'tsit was rendered speechless by what he said, mostly because it contained truth. But it was still unacceptable, to say the least. She watches as (Y/n) plays a video feed from one of the body cameras in the events that transpired in Victoria.
"The reason why this not-so-important report, is the fact that this woman," He pauses the video right after the explosion on the church occurred. "-nearly wiped out one of our latest batch of elite operators. A swordswoman like her could turn the tide of our war against Theresis."
Kal'tsit watched a series of clips on the projector and couldn't help but be impressed, albeit annoyed by the idea that is brewing inside his head. Even though he hasn't voiced this one out yet, she could tell that he was planning something brash.
Watching the shaky and almost indie-esque video feed was almost a pain in the head and eyes, since it was like a product from a low quality movie. Kal'tsit couldn't take her eyes off the Sarkaz that nearly killed a squad of elite operators.
"(Y/n)... Don't tell me-"
"Hire her? Recruit her? Seek her out? Yes, that's exactly what we're doing. And I need to do it fast." The Doctor cuts her question before it even materializes.
Kal'tsit couldn't help but laugh coldly after hearing this. "You need rest,
(Y/n). You're obsessing yourself with...glory and victory. She could have nearly killed Ace's team and Elizabeth, especially Blaze! And now you're saying that you want to hire her? Are you out of your mind!?"
"Yes, I am. Now if you're done berating me, the door is that way." He points behind her.
Still, Kal'tsit wasn't backing down.
"Are you really going to throw away everything for the sake of the thrill of war?"
Right after she said this, (Y/n) flashes her with a piercing glare, enough for a normal person to cower in fear.
"You'll never understand what victory means until you cut the head of the snake." (Y/n) scoffs at her, before turning his attention towards the combat clips.
He could see potential in that ashen haired woman. The way she is so composed yet menacing at the same time was causing an itch at the back of his head. The compilation of reports from that brief encounter was enough for him to view her as the perfect key.
A catalyst to end this dreaded civil war once and for all.
"All those petty successful operations we achieved ...those aren't victorious at all. Theresis is still alive, and as long as he's still breathing..."
He balls his hands into a fist, before smiling like a mad man.
"...My war with him hasn't come to an end yet."
.
.
.
///
Space, E-2 Babylonia
The enormous spinning outer rings of the gargantuan space station moved gracefully. Beyond past it is the vast emptiness of space. Sure, humanity is in the part were they have traced and tracked every known stars and planets or exo-planets, every galaxies that have been created.
Yet even though they all have those knowledge, they are stuck above Earth's atmosphere, completely hinged by the promise of retaking back their planet.
"Can you imagine..." A man spoke as he sauntered on the whitewashed hallway, "...if Babylonia was completed in time? We would have been able to venture out in space in search for a different home."
A woman with dark brown hair was following closely behind him, an annoyed grimace plastered on her face. "Akiio... what in the hell did you wake me up for? It's one o'clock in the morning for pete's sake..." she added with a disgruntled tone.
Akiio ignored her complaints and turned a corner, which led them into an area belonging to Kurono Ops.
"I need your help, that's all." He responded, before pointing at the scanner beside the closed doorway.
The girl rolled her eyes, before muttering a few words to herself. After all, she just got back from a week's worth of reconnaissance mission back from Earth, and now she has to deal with her former classmate's request.
She was just fast asleep a couple minutes ago, when a loud knocking came from her window cabin. She drew the curtains aside and saw that her very intelligent yet annoying friend was the one causing the noise. She tried to ignore his ruckus and went back to sleep, but the constant knocking irked her.
"You really know how to piss me off..."
Akiio watched as his friend grabbed a higher authentication card from her sleeping robe, before swiping it on the scanner in the doorway. The I.D was accepted, since they were now waltzing inside the huge complex.
He was technically not allowed to go in here, with the exemption of having someone with authentication access alongside him. The facility was still closed, as the employees are nowhere to be found. There was an open light source at the end of the very long room, so he began walking towards it.
"Why are we here? And where the hell are you going? My office is that way." she points to the other side of the complex.
He kept walking ahead of her and answered without looking back.
"I'm not here to talk. I'm here to fetch Thana."
The girl stopped in her tracks, nearly tripping. "Wait what!? She's on my squad! The hell do you need her for?" she exclaimed, her voice echoing throughout the whole complex. He didn't respond and kept ignoring her.
"Oi, this guy..." she made a 'tsk' sound before sighing heavily.
As the two of them got closer, the muffled sounds of songs pitched in the highest possible volume can be heard escaping from what should be a very soundproofed room. That goes to show how much speakers was playing loudly. Akiio glanced at the girl behind him and gave her a thumbs up, to which she raised a middle finger in response.
He turned to the door while chuckling before knocking hard. He had to literally punch the slab of door repeatedly to convey that someone was there.
*thud!*
The door immediately opened, revealing a tall and slender female Transcendant wearing a near-see through sleepwear standing lazily in the doorway. The music blasted like a shockwave, before being turned off. She removed the large headset on her head and hangs them on her neck before giving the two humans a 'what-the-fuck' look.
"Good morning!" Akiio greeted her with a forced smile.
The Transcendant sighed and shook her head. However, her eyes landed on the newly woken girl beside Akiio, and studies her body from the feet up. A smirk pops up in her face afterwards.
"Why are we here anyway? What do you need from her?" The brown haired girl asked again, irked by the fact that her subordinate was now about to tease her any moment now.
"My, my. Gotta tell Stella and Laethiel later on that our dearest Commandant Rozzi humps her friend." Thana licks her lips in a seductive manner, before motioning on Rozzi's clothes.
It was the standard nightwear for female commandants. The only difference was that the bra she wore was a bit too sexy.
"I just woke up, and he forced me to come, okay!?"
Akiio enters the construct's room before glancing at her. "Don't take that out of context."
"You two can go fuck yourselves." Rozzi glares at the man while Thana closed the door behind her.
"Now, answer the goddamn question Akiio. What the hell are we doing here?"
Akiio looks around for a bit, before making himself comfortable in one of the soft cushions in the room. The place was too large for a single person to be living, but given the majority of the room wad filled with speakers and weapon racks, it's akin to an armory than that of a unit.
"Come on, answer the question!" Rozzi angrily shouts.
"Jesus Christ...tone down the yelling for a bit." He groans and covers his face with both hands. Though pissed and angry right now, Rozzi stops talking. She knows that when he does that, it's highly likely that something down bad happened again.
"Lemme guess...another one bit the dust?" Thana spoke nonchalantly as she brewed them coffee.
"Thana, what the fuck. Read the damn atmosphere for once, you imbecile." Rozzi hissed.
"Sheesh, sorry." The Transcendant shrugged her shoulders and sat on the far most corner of the room.
"Akiio, don't tell me..."
"Liv? Lucia? No, they're both fine. It's Cillian who took the blow." He sighed and massaged both his hands.
"Y'see, it was supposed to be a routine patrol, alright? The outer parts of city 69 should have been safe, yet that Ascendant managed to avoid detection..." Akiio narrated what happened, and both girls listened intently.
To summarize what happened, since the destruction of city 015, and the disappearance of Lee, the Gray Ravens have had multiple replacement constructs come and go. It was always the newcomers that would die, earning them the same reputation as that of Vera from Cerberus squad.
Over the past 9 months, Akiio's task force has been rotated multiple times on certain areas of Europe. Every mission would, in paper, be victorious. But what happens in the ground tell otherwise. The third members always seem to die, and the longest to have survived was 2 months, which was Cillian.
This countless deaths and repeated cycle of losing a team member has taken a large toll on Akiio's mind. The high mission stress, coupled by the uncertainty of surviving proved to be more than he could handle. He was now on the verge of breaking, and he needed to tell someone.
"...I wanna quit..."
Silence engulfed the room, followed by a sharp exhale by Rozzi.
"You what now?"
"I said I wanna quit-"
SLAP!
"Hot damn..." Thana reeled back in complete surprise. She slowly sipped at the coffee she made but coughed it out when she remembered androids can't consume drinks.
Rozzi's face was now mere inches from the seemingly hopeless man. She grabbed him by the collar of his worn out uniform and forced him to look at her.
"Listen here. You don't understand how grave what you're saying. Where's the ace from before huh? You were the finest out of all of us, and now look at you..." She lets him go, pushing him away.
"I keep losing members goddamnit!" Akiio shouted, earning a cold laugh from the girl.
"You think you have it rough? Because your squad always takes the bulk of the missions? Think about us lowly commandants being sent to die to the same dangerous places you guys go to. I'm not saying that it's wrong to not be okay and mourn for your loss, but keep your shit together. You only remember us when you're in... this state..." she points at him intently.
"But as soon as you walk right out of that door after you finish using us to clean your damn mess, you fucking forget about us." Rozzi stands up and grabs the coffee from Thana's hands, before walking out of the door. She made sure to slam it as hard as she could.
Akiio was left alone with his sea of thoughts, when he felt something warm touch his cheeks. Thana was nudging him with a cup of coffee, so he took it.
"...Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Thana responded. Silence engulfed the two of them afterwards.
"..."
"..."
"...Thana, I-"
"As long as you apologize, genuinely apologize to my Commandant, then I'd gladly tell my team to hunt that Ascendant down for you." Thana cut him off even before he could speak.
Akiio stared at her for a moment, before sighing in relief. He thinks back what happened over the past few months. Rozzi's task force have indeed helped the Gray Ravens by a huge margin thanks to his pestering. They have cleaned up messes he walked himself into, and just what she said, he forgets about them.
One mission after the other, one favor after the other...was that he's all good about?
"I'm actually pissed at you too," Thana said without so much of an emotion in her voice and tossed him a pack of energy bars. "...since you always hurt Rozzi's feelings. I get that you've become pressured, 'cuz you're the go-to if they want something done, but that doesn't mean you have to be a massive dickhead y'know? A simple thanks or thoughtful gift right after you ask a favor can make her smile. She's just as fucked as you. We all are."
Akiio opened his mouth as if he was about to say something in response, but decided against it. He just blankly stared at the floor and contemplated on what Thana said. In all honesty, she was right. He was acting like a dickhead. Rozzi and the others was just experiencing the same hell he was going through.
If he was losing constructs left and right, the same thing is happening everywhere too. He didn't even realized that he was hurting those who were around him. In fact, he doesn't even know what's going on in Rozzi's head. She has problems too, and yet he doesn't care about how she feels.
"Man... you absolutely don't hold back don't you?" Akiio sighed and stretched his limbs. Thana scoffed at his response.
"Honestly, I needed to say that to you, so that you could be woken up. The world doesn't revolve around you, Akiio. This isn't some crossover between two games and that you're a faceless Commandant suffering behind the scenes."
He glanced at her, surprised by what she said. "Huh? Did you just broke the 4th wall again?"
"Wait what? Forget it. Anyway, what I'm saying is be mindful about those around you, not just on Lucia and Liv, and whoever poor soul would be next in your roster. So if you still haven't made up to Rozzi before our task force leaves for our next operation, don't bother asking for help anymore." Thana stands up and sits on a gaming chair she pulled out of nowhere, before plugging in a controller.
"Door's that way mate, feel free to leave."
Akiio smiled and stood from the couch, before tapping her in the shoulder. "Thanks for the real-talk. Badly needed one."
"Don't mention it." The Transcendant replied, before seeing him off her private lounge. She watched as he waltzed out of the facility. Seeing that he was gone from her sights, she returned to her room and started the game.
"Heh, I'd kill that Ascendant anyway..." Thana smiled to herself.
.
.
.
///
It was already seven in the morning when Rozzi got up from her bed. She looks around her room and fiddled with the lamp, since the darkness of space was still engulfing this side of Babylonia.
Her room was as dull as it could get. Lacking designs and cosmetics, she doesn't get the luxury of time to be able to do normal human things, such as customizing one's home. The interior design was the standard, plain white color, which would look mundane from a normal person.
However, she's far from normal, given that she's in charge of a unit consisting mostly of would be dead persons. Rozzi stands up from the comfort of her bed and went to wash herself in the bathroom. She set the shower water with the right amount of hotness, and sat in the bathroom floor for a good five minutes while staring at the tiles.
She lets the water pound her skin, until she feels the coldness of the accumulated mist. It was always like this. Long, silent baths. This was her way to cope with the whirlpool of problems brewing inside her head. It was peaceful for her, but when examined thoroughly, she clearly shows signs of depression.
Deciding that she was in the bath for too long, she's now drying her hair with a hair blower while facing the mirror. She scratches her eyebrows, before touching the bags forming under her hazel eyes. It was a long time ever since she has had a good night's sleep, and last night was far from it.
Remembering her friend's sorry state last night instantly made her mood turn to the sourest possible mood ever. Her feelings exploded uncontrollably because of his ignorance. He was always the smartest of their class, yet he was a complete idiot in some areas.
"*sigh*, retard..." Rozzi muttered to herself and dons her battle uniform, before going into the armory.
She picks up a couple of spare magazines for her pistol before stuffing them into her pockets. Normal task forces tend to have one or two support-type constructs tagging along, but her team lacks that. Instead, they have the squad leader, Stella, to handle her serums.
Now that she has her gears packed in a duffel bag, she heads towards the door and opens it.
!
"Good morning." Rozzi sees Akiio standing in the hallway with his hands raised, as if he was just about to knock. He was smiling sheepishly at her, which made her blood boil. She frowns at him and closes the door, before walking past him.
"H-Hey, wait up Rozzi!"
"Tch, bog off." She angrily says and stomps away.
However, Akiio was determined to apologize, so he doesn't walk away. He kept talking to her, but she only looked straight ahead as if he was a fly. Well, that's him getting a taste of his own medicine.
"Look, I'm sorry. I acted like a jerk these past months, and I deeply regret how it affected you-" He goes to match her walking speed, only to bump into a nearby pillar.
"Hmph, idiot." Rozzi scoffs at him, before entering the Kurono facility. Akiio grunted and got back up to his feet, before staring at the locked door in front of him.
"Man...she's scary..."
"Commandant?" Liv's voice came from behind, making him turn. "Uhm...h-how did it go..?"
The silken haired construct was peaking around the corner and had a look of concern on her face. Akiio sighed and smiles, before walking towards her.
"No good..." He pats Liv on her head, "I'll just find an opening later and try again."
"Alright, that's a relief..." Liv sighs.
"It's Commandant's fault after all. So you should really apologize to her." Lucia said as she suddenly appeared behind Liv. She is currently wearing her normal uniform, though the added eastern style armor on her shoulders and forearms makes her look more badass.
Akiio puts a hand over his chest. "That is true, yet stings at the same time."
A soft smile forms on Lucia's face. "*sigh*, what will we ever do with you..."
The three of them stood there for a good while, enjoying this small and peaceful moment. Anytime, orders could suddenly come down again. And if their luck runs out of the next mission, then they have atleast talked with each other before they died.
"Come, let's surrender Cillian's tags." Akiio motions for the two constructs to follow, before steeling himself to what's about to come.
///
Rozzi bought her tray down on the table and sat down. She pops a soda can open and began eating her food in silence. Soon, she was joined by three other girls, two of which were so big they could literally cover her entire vision.
"трахни меня... She's munching on her food like a hungry dog..." The red haired girl sitting across her, who was the one named Laethiel, said in an amused tone.
"Speaking of dogs, I heard Vera ordered another bionic dog. She was bragging how it bit a Commandant's penis off." Thana, who was sitting beside Laethiel, said as she pulled her phone out. The Transcendant was about to show it to Rozzi when a hand covered her eyes.
"It's too early in the morning for that. Let Commandant eat in peace." said the black haired girl beside Rozzi.
"Ehhhh, says the one who was asking about that male construct from Foxhound squad while it's 3 in the morning." Thana teased.
"Yeah, Stella's become quite intrigued with that guy. Should we kill him?" Laethiel suggested.
"You two are so noisy!" Stella hissed.
They were currently in the mess hall, where most human soldiers and commandants dine. The ruckus the three women are making was causing problem for the others, though they can't find the courage to make them shut their mouths.
While Rozzi was busy eating, Thana was busy glancing around the room to try and spot a certain someone. There were a lot of new faces, probably freshly graduated commandants out of commander school. Those punks sure are gonna taste how reality works soon.
Her eyes landed on a brown haired man sitting near the center. Two other male Commandants was dining and laughing with him, yet he seems disinterested with whatever topic they were talking about. He was currently finishing his food, but it was clear where his attention was directed to.
"Heh..." Thana smirks, before standing up. She motions for Laethiel to come, and so the large Russian woman follows her friend.
Stella gave a dubious, sidelong glance at her two squadmates, before turning to her Commandant. "Rozzi, where are those two going?"
The still annoyed girl shrugs her shoulders. "Dunno, probably about to pester someone again."
"You've been like this since you arrived at the complex. Did someone made you mad again?" The Transcendant asked.
"Same old shit. Just wondering about the next order." Rozzi responded, clearly dismissing the topic.
"Is that so..." Stella said. Her Commandant was clearly mad about something, yet she doesn't want to talk about it. "Alright, I won't pry further."
Rozzi glances beside her, before patting Stella in the head. "Good girl. I'll make sure to treat you with a good fight with an Envoy or a Musashi."
The two girls chuckled at each other, before patiently waiting for the other two to return.
«‹⟨ TO BE CONTINUED ⟩›»
Published: April 22, 2022
Words: 4364
(A/n: Phew, this took way longer than expected. I was busy with a bunch of irl stuff, and shit ton of schoolwork. The chapters are getting shorter and shorter for my liking, so I'll make sure to get back on the 5k track. Well anyway, I hope you guys enjoy, and if you do, please leave a vote!)
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