"Morning Izza."
Walking down the grand hall towards the gate, Alya greets her friend whom she's been friend with since childhood. Although her surrounding seemed normal, she felt a little odd for some reason.
'When did I get here?'
"Alya." Suddenly her friend grab hold onto her hand
"Izza?"
"Stay away from them Alya. They're machines designed to kill." The voice suddenly got deeper and mixed up with other voices
"Izza? What's going on?" She tried to pull her hand away but the grip was a lot stronger than she expected
"They're machines that resembles humans. They may laugh or cry, but they won't hesitate to pull the trigger."
"Trigger?"
She backed away but tripped and fell onto the floor. It cracks and spreads out until it shatters into the abyss. She fell through and landed in a dark place. Right before her were her friend who seemingly have been there the whole time.
"Quit your job as a handler." The figure before her mutates into a faceless monster. "Accept it, otherwise you might as well resign from your position."
"N-no, they can't be. They're not machines!"
"Then what are we handler?!" The creature shouts at her
"I- I. Please!" She try desperately to crawl away from it but it slams its arm right next to her. She could feel the hot breath coming from it, hear the screaming voice it emanates without even opening its mouth. As if a thousand souls are trapped within it. "P-please s-s-spare me."
"If one of us gonna go, who shall it be first?"
"The Huntsman? Theodore? Or would it be Chaos? Viper maybe?" She remained shivering in fear on the ground
"Want to know why you couldn't choose?" The being stood up and slowly turns back to her friend's figure. "Because you aren't a machine. You're a human."
"On the other hand, they're machines." It raises a gun it drew from the hip. "They won't hesitate to kill you if ordered to."
"P-please I'm begging. Just stop it!"
"Then would you do it?" Suddenly she felt a cold metal touched her hand. "Pull the trigger and it will all end."
Her watery eyes gaze upon her hand which is holding something. Once she came to realization of what it is, she raise her arms and aim the gun towards her friend. She knew it wasn't her, but still the one standing before her is her childhood friend. Her hands are shaking from the fear of the one speaking to her. Finally her watery eyes bursts as tears flows down her face.
"I-I can't." She lowers her hand and dropped the gun on the floor. "I can't."
"Too bad." Her friend drew out another gun from thin air. "They won't even hesitate."
"Wait, no!"
Bang!
.
.
.
Thud!
Inside her room, she finds herself awake on the floor next to her bed. The fresh pain is still kicking into her head as she breathes heavily in and out. Her heartbeat still races from the fear she had experienced. Alas when she came to be, she finally spoke.
"Was it all, just a dream?"
_____________________________________________________________
After having finally woken up from a dream, Alya finds herself once again in the massive reception hall where she work. Her eyes scans around making sure that the people are real and the floors are real. Paranoia sets in as she hurries herself towards the gate. Even if this is not a dream, she wouldn't want to bump into-
"Morning."
She froze. The same familiar voice she heard almost on a daily basis. The one she thought she could trust, yet she hesitated to trust her with anything. Even if she's her childhood friend.
"Morning Izza." She quickly got through the gate
"Hey Alya! Wait!" She stopped in track as Izza approaches her
"Yes?" She turned around with a forced smile on her face
"I just wanted to......." She trails off before snapping back on track. "Remind you! Yes, r-remind you about your weekly checkup this afternoon. Yes. That's it."
"......I see." Alya turns away. "See you then."
Seeing her back facing towards her, Izza felt something was amiss. That she couldn't help but feel like it was partly her fault.
'I shouldn't have said it.'
.
.
.
Thundering down the hallway, she made her way towards her room past the many ones that are still vacant since it was still early. Reaching to the door with her name engraved on the name plate, she scans her left palm to gain entry. Once it granted her access, she storms in and slams the files she had been carrying with her. The chair withstood the force of her sitting down harshly. Her breathing spirals out of control as she enters into a panicked state.
"What is this? Make it stop. Please."
Heaving in and out frequently, finally after some time she manages to calm down. Regaining her composure is key in her job as a HANDler as part of her emotions could be felt by others if she isn't careful. Facing the screens, she wears her communicator like she always do.
"Initialize neural link. Synchronization target-"
She stopped halfway when she heard a soft beep meaning someone is connected to her. She felt the presence of the person on the other side, since she already is familiar with the presences of everyone in the squad, this is the only one she isn't completely familiar with yet but she knew who it was.
"Good morning, Huntsman."
.
.
.
Standing just outside of the hangar were a slim figure looking far into the distance. His age is in the late teen years meaning he's only a few year short before officially becoming an adult. Right besides him were his rig designed to withstand the intensity of real combat with maximum agility but minimum armour. Though he didn't mind sitting and piloting the high mortality rate machine.
'It's almost time.'
Beside his head were his own communicator device but smaller one. It could only sync with voices unlike the ones the handlers usually used which could also sync up with their visions as well. A neural link is needed for this to happen so the device is simply embedded underneath their skins for stronger connection. Waving his hand once over it, he simply thinks of the name of the person he wanted to synchronise to and a soft bleep indicates him that he is indeed connected to the right person.
"Good morning, Huntsman." He grinned upon hearing the silky soft voice coming through to him very clearly
"Morning handler." He greets her back. "Forgive me for the sudden intervention. I presumed you were just about to sync up with the rest of us."
"Yes, I was. How did you know-"
"We have clocks over here and each time you called in at the exact same time every single day without fail." He deduced. "As to explain why I'm the one talking to you now, I want to suggests that for today I'll be the only one going out for the patrol."
"N-no. No Huntsman. It's too risky especially if it was another attack like yesterday." He expected this response coming from her
"I understand but consider this. Risking the ones whose morales is on the low end of the bar, wouldn't that also jeopardize the mission?" He rebutted. "Plus I'm capable of handling a few stragglers that might come today."
"......."
"Trust me on this one, you can even write a report about me if anything goes wrong."
"Fine, you convince me. But at first signs of anything going wrong, you will retreat. Got it?" Again a grin appears on his face as the old lieutenant walks in front of him mouthing silently, "You better know what you're doing.".
"Copy that." He answers both of them with one sentence. "Huntsman ready for deployment."
.
.
.
Out on the field, the lone four legged beast march along the route at a steady pace. The solid hard ground covered in fine dust made it looked like a plain desert, but once it rains the terrain became muddy and slippery unable to hold the weight of a ten tonnes craft. Both the handler and the pilot had their guards up because underneath the calmest water lies the predator. Alya sat on the edge of her seat the entire time not even budging an inch the whole time.
"Handler." His voice transmit through to her. "About yesterday-"
"How is Theodore doing?" She cuts him off. Her emotions transmitted through along with her voice causing the male pilot to sense something
"He's recovering. His rig however, needs a major overhaul." His calm voice reached her. "You needn't worry about the past."
"Why?" Her voice trembles without her knowing. "Why do you fight?"
"I-"
"You knew about it, yet you didn't do anything about it. Why do you even fight in the first place?"
"........."
"Tell me, Huntsman. What are you fighting for?" She finally asked the question
"......Nothing in particular." His voice sounded distance and cold. "My family members is dead. Even my siblings. They died in the first year of service."
"I had nothing else to live for, other than-" He stopped midway
"Other than?"
"Nevermind." He sighed. "Protecting the country is part of my duty. Even if they stripped me of my human rights, I couldn't care less."
"Still you're treating it as if you are expendable." She points out
"That we are. The point of why we're called as units rather than a soldier." He states
".......Why are you telling me this?" She states her query
"You've been talking to everyone for the past week. It may not seemed that long but for one to withstood their attitude let alone have a conversation with them takes a special individual."
"They're quite nice. Once you get to know them. I memorized every single one of them." She stare at the moving blue dot. "All but one. You."
"Hm? Me?" He seemed quite surprised
"You always disconnects whenever I linked up. But based on their stories, I could make some assumptions."
"I'm all ears. Shoot."
"You seemed like a cold person but you care for others. You protect them even if they told you not to." She notes. "They say you even have a short fuse, just annoying you would grant them a deadly stare from you. Did I get that right?"
"Of course, it was all only hearsay. I'm not as gentle as you thought I was." She could feel the cold emotions coming from him
"You're an interesting person-"
"Unit." He quickly corrected her
"Unit, sorry. I was used to calling everyone that." She leaned back into her chair. "Ne, why are you insisting to be called as a machine?"
"The same reason why I was given a number and calling you a handler." A sudden wave of thoughts hit her
"Is it because, I didn't give you my name?" She said as if she was in shock. "You've been calling me handler this whole time, and I've called you by your callsigns."
"They do not intend for a human and a machine to get along. Hence why we use callsigns."
"Still......" She trails off
"Handler, hostile detected. Heading towards the south wall. Confirming numbers." He suddenly turned serious causing her to sit upright in her chair
"Hostile, estimated to be 20 of them. This is way too many for you to handle alone." Her hands began moving around the keyboard. "You are to stay back and wait for the others."
"No need." She were shocked at his statement. "After all, I'm not alone."
On one of her screens there were only dots displayed on black screen. Blue meant it's friendly and red are hostiles. At the moment she had only one against twenty that appeared on screen. Although that was until more blue dots appears. Moving in a group, five units make their way towards the lone blue dot in the middle of the battlefield.
"Theodore? I thought-"
"Theodore, Ghost and Smoke will join me. Honey badger and Crossfire will provide support." He orders them but no responds came
"Since when did you?" She checks her connections on her communicator. "Why aren't they synced?"
"Get into formation. Handler." She jolted upon being called
"Ah, yes. What is it?"
"I need you to tell me the exact position of each enemies. How far they are and wind conditions."
"Are you talking about shooting them down with the artillery team? Couldn't they be able to do it themselves?" She questions the man
"I just need you to tell me. Quick." He simply ignored and pressed on
"......Alright. I'm sending you the data."
"Received. Crossfire, Honey badger. On my mark."
_____________________________________________________________
"All hostiles eliminated."
On the battlefield, no blood were spilled. Only oils leaking from wreckages seeping out onto the ground. Stand on top were four crafts side by side with three of them receiving quite some damage from the battle. Although in this battle, it's very different. She notices that the very instant it all started.
"Huntsman, why aren't they connected to me?" She questions him
"Because you didn't sync with them in the first place." He simply answered
"Then are you synced up to them?"
"No."
"No?" This raises further questions for her. "Why did they follow you? It might be a bold claim but I know how each and every one of them fight."
"Ghost and Smoke wouldn't go too close into the enemy fire. They would always kept their distance. Theodore might follow you but considering he might still be injured, I don't think he would be reckless enough to make that kind of decision."
"Also, Crossfire and Honey badger wouldn't need my input as they are capable of doing it all themselves." She stares at the name on the screen. "Tell me, what did you do?"
".........."
"Don't lie to me Huntsman. If not I will go and call the others. I'm sure they're wondering where their rigs went."
"......What I'm about to tell you might affect not just us, but you as well." His voice sounded indifferent
"I'm ready to hear whatever you have to say." She states her resolve
"The tech the enemies use enables them to control their units from afar." She raised an eyebrow upon hearing this info. "Among the scraps they simply left behind, I've managed to find some cores as I call them."
"Cores?"
"It's basically the brain they used to run them. Hence why they always move in a straight line, evading only when necessary." He continues. "They are able to process commands as long as it is within their field of control."
"So these cores. You used them in their rigs?" She concluded
"Yes. Although they can't be connected with the optical sensors, that's why I needed the data from you."
"This is, incredible. You know what this means?" Alya almost couldn't contain her excitement
"Yes. I'm aware. But I do hope you keep this to yourself."
"What?! No! This is revolutionary! With this we could withdraw all of you from the battlefield!"
"That is the very reason why." He immediately stopped her with a stern voice. "We're considered a machine. Your government wouldn't recognise us even if we save them from imminent collapse. Instead we will be disposed of."
"Huntsman, I'm sure with some convincing I can persuade them to actually change their mind." She reasoned with the man
"Try if you will, but be prepared to receive disappointment." His voice is harsh and stern. "But for now, if you really want us to live.
I suggest you to keep this between you and me."
"I-"
Just as she was about to rebut once more, she could feel the presence vanished from her head. He disconnected with her, after he revealed what could change the tide of war completely.
'I need to do something.'
Looking at her watch, she noticed times has flown by and it's about time for her appointment with her friend.
'But first things first.'
_____________________________________________________________
"Welcome back Captain."
Back at the hangar, Wan returns with the rigs he had borrowed for the day. Once he shuts down his rig, he opens the canopy to get out but upon opening, he sees some very angry faces.
"Ah shoot." He simply said before being grabbed by the collar and dragged out of his rig and thrown onto the ground. He was immediately surrounded with no way to escape. Even the old master mechanic who could only watch from afar and did not bother to help him
"The f*ck did you do?!"
"How dare you use our rigs without permission!"
"Where have you been you stupid captain!"
Those are only a few of the light harsh words being thrown at him. Some were even holding back their fists as he could see them ready to swing.
"Alright, break it off kids." The Lieutenant finally steps in
"You have some explanation to do." Haikal grabbed the man by the collar and lifts him up. "If my rig is damaged, you'll pay."
"Why don't you see it for yourself?" Wan slaps the hand away. "The work I've been doing for the past few months."
The group all looked at Wan with a side glance before heading towards the "stolen" rigs. Upon opening the canopies, they were greeted with a mountain of wires all connected directly into the central system of cockpit, that is to say the brain of the craft. All of the wires were hooked up to a small round metallic core sitting in the seat instead of a person. It was shoddy to say the very least as everything is held together with only duct tapes.
"The frick are these things?" One of them picks up the strange looking orb
"Be very careful. They aren't easy to find one that is this intact." Wan approaches them
"How the hell are these control the crafts to move on their own?"
"Because these are found inside the enemies crafts. Since we destroy them on a frequent basis, they're extremely rare to find." Wan simply explains
"The enemy's crafts?"
"It was quite a complex system. If your captain hadn't find the diagrams of how it works, this won't be possible at all." Lieutenant Anderson approaches the young pilots. "Although I must ask, where did you find these? Surely they aren't gonna leave something this important inside one of their crafts for no reason."
"I thought I told you to keep it to yourselves, old man."
"Captain, you better tell us before Shah's fists reach to your face first." Faris warned
Wan let out a sigh. "I didn't just find them. I had my connections."
"Who are these connections of yours?"
"You guys sure do ask a lot of question." Wan simply turns away and began to walk. "I'm going to check on Naj."
Leaving behind the stunned pilots, Wan heads off towards their living quarters. The lieutenant seemingly catches on to their confusion coughs to gain their attention.
"I know your captain has done something without consent or knowledge, but ignore that part and look at the bigger picture." He simply said
"Bigger picture? He stole our rigs!" Aiman shouted
"And how did he supposed to manage that?"
All the pilots virtually turned towards each other and finally towards the core inside the rig. A sudden wave of realization hits them like a stone brick to the face. Suddenly their anger had dissipate and replaced with excitement and disbelief.
"Could this mean."
"We don't have to go and fight anymore?"
"Yes." Anderson simply answered. "At last your long overdue vacation is upon you, but for now I need you to keep this to yourselves."
"Huh? Why would we do that?" Shah questions the mechanic
"If the higher ups knew about this, they would not only deemed every one of you as useless but also they wouldn't have any more reason to keep you alive."
Once again they were struck by the revelation made by the old man. Unlike them, he's considered a human working to fix the machines. He wouldn't be affected as much but for them who is considered as a machines, they would be discarded as if they are broken from the years of wear and tear from the war.
"How ironic. A machine to be replaced with an actual machines." Ameer commented
"You better discuss this with your captain. After all, he's the one making the shot around here."
"Out of all the people, why him?" They all looked quite annoyed by the remark
"Guess we have to go and ask him."
_____________________________________________________________
Inside the lab, Izza sat in a chair alone with yet another chair facing her. Her mind wanders towards the event that had happened yesterday. It replays over and over again in her head to the point she felt a headache from it. Then she heard the beep noise coming from the door. Her head lifts up from the table and turned towards the door only to find the same person she had expected the whole time.
"Sorry if I'm a bit late, Izza." Alya simply walks in with her cap in her hands
"Alya, there's something I need to discuss with you." She stood up from her seat
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Uh, I'll tell you after your examination." Izza quickly faltered
"Right. Lets get this over with shall we?"
"Yes."
As Alya went to sit in the examination chair, Izza went over to prepare the device that is used to measure the brain activities of the wearer. Once she initiated the test, Izza sat down in front of the computer whilst looking at her friend in the chair.
"So, what is it that you want to talk about?" Alya wondered and asked her
"I uh...." Izza snaps out of her daze as she shook her head a few times. "It's about yesterday."
"Oh." Alya recalls the event. "What about it?"
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Izza looked down. "I've seen many either suffering or vanished after having said things they shouldn't have."
"Turns out, those who are said to have committed suicide is actually banished. They have been stripped of their rights and dumped outside of the wall."
"Banished? Why?"
"They all said the same thing. They see humanity in the machines." Izza turned to look at the screen. "Now not only them, but also their entire family from the eldest to the youngest were deemed as a machine themselves."
".....How did you know so much?" Alya finally asked
"Merely by accident. One day I overheard about a shipment of new machines to the outer wall." She twiddle her thumbs. "On the same day, I heard about one of the HANDler committed suicide in their office."
"I'm sure you can piece it together yourself."
"You're, worried that I might end up with the same fate?"
"Yes. I'm worried that my childhood friend might end up being killed on the field. Hence why I don't resent that you acknowledge them as humans, but keep it to yourself." Izza advised
"Then, I'm glad you're trying to protect me Izza." She breathe a sigh of relief. 'But if that's the case.'
"Izza." She calls out and Izza lifted her head almost instantly
"What is it?"
"If there were a way to not send anymore machines out into battle, what would happen to the machines?" She queried
"If I memorize it correctly, they would be deemed defective. Defective ones are-" She paused
"Yes?"
"They will be disposed of."
Her eyes widens as Alya finally realizes the risk the man took. Did he knew about this? Why take such risk? These questions floods her mind until she had to mentally shove them all to the back of her mind. Having her brain overloaded would mess with the reading which the machine could easily detect. Thankfully Izza didn't noticed the sudden spike on her screen, having her own mind flooded with thoughts.
"Izza-"
"Forgive me, Alya. I shouldn't have-"
"No Izza. You were trying to protect me." Alya shows a determined expression. "But I can't just leave them to die. I have my responsibilities. And so do you."
"......You're right Alya." A notification appears on her screen. "Alright, it's complete. Seemed like you're still sane."
"Yeah." Alya had some doubts about the statement. "Maybe."
_____________________________________________________________
Back in the lone house out in the woods, sitting in bed the whole time were Najmi who were injured from the battle. Bandages covered his arms and his head. Sitting right next to him on a stool were a man whom he have been following ever since he met him.
"How's you wound Naj?"
"I will recover soon enough." Najmi simply replied. "I heard from the others that you stole their rigs?"
"Borrowed." Wan corrected him
"Borrowed, yes. Might I ask what for?"
"A test."
"Then what is the result of this test?"
"A positive one."
"Which meant?"
"Good thing shall come my friend." Wan frowns. "But only if we play our cards right."
To others, this quick back and forth conversation may seemed strange but this is how these two have been communicating among each other. Najmi looked at his friend who seemed to be upset by that statement. He asks.
"What is it? What bothers your mind?"
"We've been casts out here since our childhood. The higher ups declared us as machines." The man states. "If they deemed us as useless, they aren't gonna just accept us back. They will most likely dispose us all."
"So you've open that kind of box eh? The Pandora box."
"I still need to test some things. Since you're still injured, I will borrow your rig." Wan looked out the door to see the others coming back. "Only yours though."
"Then what about the rest?" Najmi tilted his head
"They can fight. I can't truly rely on the system to do their job, not yet."
"You better tell them that, otherwise I have a feeling they might insists on you taking their rigs so that they could slack off."
"They might." Wan stood up. "I should go. Rest well Naj."
"You shouldn't work too hard Wan. I don't want to see you faint out of the blue." Najmi turns towards him. "Especially during a battle."
"I can't promise anything. The fact is that not only they knew, but also our lovely handler knew about it as well."
"You told her as well?" Najmi was quite surprised by this revelation
"She is perceptive. But I trust she knows better to not tell anyone else." Wan walks out
"The handler huh? You sure trusts her a lot." Najmi smiles to himself. "Which means I can trust her as well."
.
.
.
"Should I ask them?"
At night, Alya sat in her desk back in the comfort of her home. Before her were paper and pens she uses to write down her report. The ink seeps through the page as a result of her holding it for too long in the middle of writing it. With a small ring of light on the side of her head slowly rotates changing back and forth from red to blue then red again.
"Initialize neural link, synchronize target......."
Her mind rewinds back to the conversation she had that day. From what she heard from them, she had an impression that the captain is someone with strict discipline and were also distancing himself from others. The only one he talks to frequently were the vice captain which is the one who usually do the talking from what she heard. Although the reports were all written by him, even when he didn't join the battle for a whole week. A clear and thorough person.
And to think she had been given the opportunity to talk to him and only him that day. She gains a bit more of an understanding of what kind of a person he was- sorry. A machine as he preferred to be called as. Still puzzling her as to why he would rather take on such a title. Finally she made a decision.
"All: Black Hawk units." She will talk to them all
Knowing the captain, he probably did it without his team knowing. As such they would eventually know but as a precaution measure, she would act as if she did have a mission with them on that day. A soft bleep and a few presence were felt in her head, but along with it came a very loud voice.
"You should have told us about it from the beginning!"
"We're your team are we not?!"
"If you mess this up, we're all-"
"Guys!" She recognise the voice and suddenly everyone fell silent
"Handler?" She jolted from the mention
"Uh, g-good evening everyone." She stuttered. "I hoped I didn't interrupt-"
"Get lost handler. We're busy here." She could hear a clear anger tone coming from Hangman
"How much did you heard?" Ghost question her
"N-not much. I just-"
"Then leave us alone handler. This doesn't pertained to you."
"Right. Goodnight everyone."
Immediately she terminates the link with them. A sigh travels down to her desk blowing away her papers. She caught them before they flew away from her desk and weigh them down. Her hand grabs onto the ring that is her communicator about to take it off, until she hears a soft bleep. A single presence within her mind and she could tell who it was the moment they spoke.
"Good evening Handler."
"Ah, good evening Theodore." She greets the young man back
"Forgive me for intruding. If you wished to speak with the others, I'm afraid they're busy questioning the captain at the moment." She frowned thinking. 'So they found out already.'
"But I'm not part of the argument. If you want to talk then I'll listen." Theodore cheerfully offered
"Thank you for the offer Theodore." She ease up the tension within her mind. "I'll gladly take you up on that offer."
"Theodore."
"Yes?"
"I wanted to discuss something with you." She began
"About what exactly?" Theodore seemed to be intrigued
"I wanted to know more about your captain." She finally said it. "You were the closest one to him out of the others. I wanted to know what kind of person he truly is."
"Why?" She almost jolted at the notion. "Didn't you talk to him the entire day today?"
"Yes, but I have a feeling there's more to him than meets the eye. It didn't fit the description the others had given me." She steeled her resolve. "The one I met on the first day is not the same one I've met today. Could you please tell me more about him?"
"You are worried about him, don't you?" Her eyes widens in shock. "I know it because I feel the same way as you do."
"He's taking a risk that would not only affect him but also the entire army of deployed units. I need to know why. And to do that, I need to understand the man first." She showed her determination in her voice
"Seemed like you've forgotten my advice already." She could hear a sigh on the other end. "There are some things that are not meant to be pry."
"Yet he told me something he shouldn't have. That alone is even more riskier than fighting a dozen enemies alone."
"You do got a point." Once again another sigh. "The captain is quite unpredictable yet so predictable."
"I'm sorry?" Confusion took over her
"He's a man with many faces. He changed them depending on who he sees or whom he's talking to." He explains. "But when he's alone, he shows nothing. Truly like a machine, he wears masks to make it seems like he's human."
"Why though?"
"I don't know." A simple yet clear answer. "I heard from the others about how they met him. Some have met him in a same squad before."
"Ghost and Smoke both met him and the first impression they got that he was a kind and cheerful person."
She tilted her head and crossed her arms before she spoke. "That isn't the one we know today."
"True. After that, he got transferred to mine. The squad I was in before this one." Theodore continues. "I was a loner in the squad and preferred to keep my distance, that was until he showed up."
"We had conversations and before I know it, I was following him from behind on each mission."
"Hence why you were closer to the captain than anyone else." She deduced
"Yes. He was a quiet but gentle person. But to express them fully, he couldn't do it. He told me there was a reason for it."
"A reason? Could that be......" She recalls the conversation she had earlier in the day
"Yes?" Theodore ask for her to finish her sentence
"Nothing. I forgot." She lied
"Well that's all I know from him. He doesn't reveal his past unfortunately. The man treats it like a national secret to the point he will take them to his grave." Yet another sigh escaped Theodore's mouth. "If you want to know more about him, then you should talk to him. You'll see for yourself."
"I see. Thank you Theodore for willing to have a chat with me."
"It's a pleasure handler one."
"Also, I know this might seemed as a rude thing to do, but might I ask for your name?" She have finally asked
"Didn't I told you before? I'm unit 139-"
"No, I meant by your real name."
Clearly her question shocked the male on the other side as the silence stretches put for quite some time. She awaits for the answer with great anticipation, until he finally spoke again.
"I'm afraid I can't."
"Theodore, I won't tell anyone else. It just feels awkward using your callsigns during a personal conversation like this."
"No, handler. You don't get it." His voice seemed agitated. "If I give you my name, you might get attached. If I die, you might cry. Or worse, end up with your fate hanging in the balance."
"I'm willing to take the risk. In return, I shall give you mine." She negotiate
"What? No you can't do that."
"I can and I will. Plus this will be only for a personal conversation like this one. On a mission I would call you by your given callsigns." She leaned back into her chair. "I was hoping to get to know you all. Getting all of your names would be a step into that direction."
"......" The man were speechless
"So, would you mind telling me. Your name?"
"........Naj." He finally answered. "You can call me Naj."
"Hehe, finally it is nice to meet you, Naj." She wrote down the name into a notebook. "I'm Major Kristina. But you call me Alya."
"Then, it is a pleasure to know you Major Alya." She snickered
"You don't need to address me with my rank."
"This is the least I could do. I don't want to be rude to my superior officer." He reasoned
"No, you're not being rude at all." She refuted the claim
"Still, I will call you that from now on." Naj chuckled
"Alright then, Naj."
"Also, if you wished to know the name of the others, why not ask them yourselves? Not now though." Naj suggests
"Sure, I'll ask them when the time comes. I hoped I wasn't being a nuisance to you."
"Not at all. It was great to talk to someone other than the captain's rather monotone talk."
"Your captain certainly is someone interesting." She looked at the clock. "Seems like we've been chatting for a while now. I'll leave you to your own leisure now."
"Alright Major. Have a good night."
"Good night Naj."
A soft bleep signifies that the connection is terminated and once again she is alone. She took off her communicator and sets it on the desk. It lights still circles around the ring which gave her a sense of calmness. Being able to talk about something that have been weighing her down were certainly a nice change of pace.
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"So captain, what is your next move?"
In the center of the living room, a man surrounded by his fellow pilots who risked their lives together on a daily basis. All the stares at him weren't exactly a blunt one. Bickering and threats were raised and after a few hours of shouting, the pilots realized that they were going nowhere with the captain. Instead they all calmed down and asked a very simple question.
The captain who remained calm through the entire ordeal looked at them one by one. He assert his dominance with just his sharp stare digging into their soul. Then, he finally speak.
"The only thing I can do. Fight the enemy."
"We've been fighting for years now. Countless of deaths have we witnessed." Faris raised his voice. "With the core you have, we could have stay back whilst only one of us fights."
"What if the one who commands them die?"
"Then we send two."
"What if both of them dies?" Wan stands firms on his ground. "They still needed to be commanded. If you only rely on the handler, the rigs are as good as gone."
"You know what, why not ask the handler to control them for us?" Shah questions
"Not all handler are the kind ones like ours. Most of them are just blatantly stupid." Haikal answers the question
"We still need an eye on the field to judge the flow. The handler would also need us to tell them what they don't see." Rafeah joins in
"So what, you're saying this tech is useless after all?"
"I'm just saying, I need to run more tests. Until I can say for sure that they are compatible and reliable for combat."
"They're from the corpse of the enemies craft for goodness sake! Those two things are the exact things they should be good at!"
"There's a difference between us and them. They could mass produce new machines if destroyed. We however are limited in quantity. Only a few of the children survived the first few years of service. Our replacements is only a few years younger than us." Wan slams his fist into the table. "Tell me, are you willing to die and let them die following our lead?"
The room fell silence, eyes stare at each other. None of the ones who opposed the man spoke up, neither do the ones defending him as well. Tension looms over them waiting to snap from how tightly wound it is. Then, unexpectedly they heard footsteps coming from the hallway. The sound of metal clink to each other as a man enters the room a bit shaky. Ammar stood up from his seat to help the man who's holding a tray full of cups.
"Najmi." Wan spoke up
"I thought we could all use some tea." Najmi simply spoke with a gentle smile
"Don't push yourself Naj." Ammar took the tray from the man
"What are you doing here Naj?" Haikal questions the man's presence
"I just couldn't help but hear your loud voices and couldn't go to sleep. So I decided to bring over some tea." Najmi sat down in a chair. "Let us all have a nice long chat together. Forget about the thing you were arguing about for a second."
"No thanks. I'm already full thank you." Govin stood up. "Good night."
"Same here." Muhindra stood up. "Good night."
"I prefer coffee." Faris stood up and left
"Good night everyone." Acap left as well
"Don't mind me. I will head to bed now." Rafeah leaves
"Thanks for the tea, but I'm heading up as well." Shah leaves
"Uh, I'll take the tea with me. Night Naj." Aiman left the room
Haikal, Ammar and Ameer all stood up and left without another word. The room were silent as there were only two man left. The captain and the vice captain whose gaze only returning at each other. The silence grew louder but they are communicating. After a while, the tea has gone cold when finally one of them spoke.
"Good talk." Wan got up from his chair and left
"Good night Wan."
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"Sir, I have a report."
"Set it aside."
"No, this one can't wait."
"What is it?"
"Regarding to the machines, sir."