(Jason's POV)
I waited for the head doctor in medical to meet with me in her office. Dr. Alice Rondo, the best medical professional on this ship was in charge of the monks and their care. She was the one to save the frail old monk's life. The doors hissed open and the tall redhead walked in with a tablet on her arms. She was making notes as she walked and didn't look up until I coughed to gain her attention. "Captain, What can I help you with?"
"Report, Private."
"Sir, I have successfully treated the twenty monks that survived. Only one of them needs further treatment, I am confident that he will make a full recovery." She smiled happily and then set her tablet on her desk. The tablet glowed neon blue then the holographic console lit up. "I had to repair his spine and splice the spinal cord back together but it was a simple task for me." The screen had the x-rays of the man's back in before and after the surgery. "Is he awake."
"He is asking for the young sir that saved his disciples."
"Very well, I will see him then."
"Sir." I turned to leave as Dr. Rondo saluted me. As I made my ward to the ward, I thought over the new problem that presented itself to me. The People of Gaia. From what I gathered, the group wants the treasures from the temples and to destroy them in the process. Once I question Percy I'll know more, but I have a good guess of what will happen next. Bevelle will look tame compared to the shit storm I just walked into. Musaki was busy delivering my gift and Esqueezeme was helping Newind to transport the monks that were patched up back to their temple, along with the donations. I entered the ward and spotted the elderly man sitting up with the help of a back brace and a nurse was slowly feeding him soup. "I'm glad to see you well, good monk."
"Ah, Young lad. I must thank you for your timely aid. I fear what would have happened should you not have come. Praise be to Yevon."
"Praise be to Yevon." I responded kindly. I had no real faith in the church but Kyet said responding this way makes the monks happy. The monk smiled back in return. "I have already sent your disciples back to the temple. I must apologize for the damage we did to the maze." The man brightened at the mention of the secrets the temple held. "Can you tell me what you found in the there?" I smiled softly at the curiosity in his voice. "The maze is indeed filled with dangerous traps, my scout was forced to buy time. She blew holes in several walls before we found the center. A statue of a woman was in the center. We did take her treasure, but left the statue for you." He seemed sad about the treasure but his sigh of relief when I said the statue remained told me he was not mad over the whole ordeal. "Can I ask you to do something for me, good sir?"
I knew where this was going. "Of course."
"Can you visit the other temples? I fear for the safety of the monks. If what happened here is any clue to the horrors we faced. I do not believe that the others will fare any better."
"I will see what I can do. But I am not a good person sir, I am a pirate. Like a thief, I will take their treasures as well."
"A small price to pay for their lives, I am sure the monks will agree with this." He bowed to me again and turned to finish his meal. "Rest, I will have the doctor release you soon to be with your flock."
I left the ward and headed to the brig next. I needed the map of this country, and I know who to ask for it. Percy was sitting on the small cot inside the first cell. I hardly had to use them so Hellfire just tossed him in the first one he saw. The boy looked afraid. Good.
"Do you know how much trouble you are in, boy?"
Percy jumped at the coldness in my voice. I kept seeing the chaos in the main hall of the temple in my mind.
"I have been in many battles and many wars. But the atrocities your friends committed to those innocent people were beyond evil." The boy was shaking now.
"You better have a good reason for why you are not in Bevelle." His eyes jerked up to meet my white gaze.
The boy was sweating from the temperature rising around me. My temper was showing again. "Captain, I had no choice but to guide them here. My family was in danger. I may want New Yevon to fall, but not like this."
"Fear for loved ones is common on the battlefield. But at the cost of the monks? Was it worth it?"
The boy began to cry now. The weight of those lives were falling on his shoulders before my eyes. "I'm sorry, Captain. I never wanted this to happen."
"Then atone, I need a map of Spira, with temple locations. I'm sure you don't want this tragedy to be repeated?" He shook his head, the tears choking his voice. "I'll do it, Captain. If I can help the other temples, then I'll do it."
"Very well, My First Mate will see you shortly for the details. Then join the recruits for training. Master Gunnery Sargent Hellfire will be expecting you." I left the boy and headed back up the elevator to my quarters. I had to be ready to fight The People of Gaia again, that's if they show up. Better safe than sorry in this instance. I have the gist of how they fight just from that one encounter with them. I am a master at planning a battle. They are so screwed.
I waited for Musaki in my quarters, which became a habit at this point. My console was opened to the surveillance again but that was just to kill time. Esqueezeme returned not long ago and informed me that she would be escorting the elderly monk back to his temple, personally. Hellfire accepted Percy as a cadet and went down to the brig to take Percy to the barracks on the second level above the hanger.
The door hissed open and Musaki just waltzed in. "So now we don't have to knock?" I pointed out as she reached my desk. "I figured you would like to know how well your gift was received."
I grinned the thought of how perfect it was for a warning kept playing in my mind. "Did they like it?"
She smiled. "His face was priceless. They didn't even know I was there, I felt insulted."
"Learn anything."
"P.O.G, that's what I'm calling them now, that name is so dumb, their main goal is much akin to what we know of the cult called scientology. The basics are that God does not exist and anything that ties to God should be destroyed because it defies their beliefs. Basic cult mentality. Their leader is the worst. He has them believing the sun sets and rises on his ass."
"Not a fan I see, good. Prep for a new mission. The kind head monk has asked us to investigate the other temples. He fears their safety."
"Sir." She saluted me and turned to leave.
"Percy has the locations of the temples. He is in the barracks."
"Yes Captain, I'll see to it at once." Then she was gone. I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the ceiling. "P.O.G huh? Sounds dumb too."
The bridge was full now, with first officers and privates. I had their superior's assemble them for an address. I stood on the Captain's platform and faced my men. Newind opened the intercom so the cadets could hear this as well. "As you are now well aware of, We assisted the temple of Macalania during an attack from a sect calling themselves The People of Gaia. The leader of this temple as asked us for aid. His request is to investigate the remaining seven temples. We will set off for the first temple in 2 days. Prepare for the unexpected. Dismissed." I watched the first officers and private file out, leaving me with my senior officers. Musaki, Newind, Esqueezeme, Hellfire and Kyet. They watched me with eager eyes. "Okay this is how it's going to go. Same teams, Hellfire, your group is in charge of defending the monks, I expect a zero when I ask for a casualty report. Musaki, Esqueezeme and I will head the assault team. I don't care about damages to the temple itself. Musaki will blow the door and Esqueezeme will handle any ranged attacks. I'll take on the rest." This set up was perfect for an assault. Hellfire was my beefy wall against nearly everything so he is the best pick for defense. Musaki and Esqueezeme were pure offense here.
"What do we do when we find the monks?"
Hellfire's question was logical. "Funnel them to the shuttles. They will be transported out of danger in the barracks until we clear the temple. Then, we send them back, with a donation." Hellfire nodded, excepting the answer. "Musaki, low explosive." She pouted but didn't argue. I didn't want to blow up the temple, just the door.
Two days later
I stood on the bridge and looked at the temple below the ship. Large boulders literally floated around the tower in the center of the temple. They were connected to the tower by lightning itself. The temple was built into the side of a massive cliff face. Newind set the ship to hover just above the boulders and out of range should they get too close. "Red alert, standby for the assault. Musaki, Esqueezeme, on me." I turned and went straight to the door that led to the open air deck. Musaki's anti-gravity belts became a permanent part of the uniform after Macalania. I was going to jump from the deck. Musaki literally skipped up to the railing and hop up on it. "Oh this is going to be fun!" I climbed up beside her. "Focus Leftenant." Esqueezeme joined us on the railing. "Mind the boulders Musaki, don't want to be scraping you off one." I stared at Esqueezeme pointedly. They need to shelve the banter, it's time for battle. "Let's go."
I stepped off the railing into open air. The static discharge off the boulders made my hair stand on end but I ignored this as I rapidly descended to the ground. Musaki was propelling herself off the boulders as she followed me down. Esqueezeme did a nose dive towards the ground again.
We touched down at the same time just before a stone bridge that would take us to the front of the temple. People we're running from it as we made our way across the bridge. "What's going on?" I stopped a man in a machinist type outfit. He spoke in a different language for a moment before my communicator caught up.
"It's rampaging, I told them not to turn that thing on. The monks are stills in there." I glanced at Musaki. "Give the signal, Hellfire's team needs to be on the ground now." I shook the now screaming man. "Pull yourself together,I'm here to help, but I need details."
"It's a machina we built, an experiment really, but I never thought that the dumbass would turn it on!"
I didn't have time to think about what exactly a Machina was. I had to get the people to safety. "Musaki, Esqueezeme, funnel them towards Hellfire and out of harms way, we clear the bridge at court yard first."
"Sir." The girls responded and began sending the people to the landing shuttles. I shoved the hysterical man towards the shuttle. "Make for the shuttle, we will handle it from here. Let's go girls."
We ran flat out for the court yard and temple. The door was closed to prevent the thing from escaping. "Musaki, blow it!" I yanked Esqueezeme to the side of the building as Musaki chucked a bomb that already had an live fuse at the door. She dove to the side just as it detonated. The solid door didn't gain a hole but instead was knocked off it's hinges by the impact.
Through the smoke I could make out a robot that moved on tracks. It's arms were missile launchers grouped in twenty on each arm. A glass sphere in its body was sparking with electricity.I ran forward, Phoenix Heart in hand. I did a spin attack and knocked it back into the room and almost to the far wall. While it was stunned, Musaki and Esqueezeme started pulling the monks out of the hall. "Get to the shuttles, my men will take you to safety." I jumped sideways as a wall of missiles headed towards me. "Esqueezeme, do something about those missiles!" She slammed her twin blades together and they glowed neon red sparking as they warped into a massive rifle. The rifle whined as it charged with energy. She fired and a beam of neon red light shot across the room slamming into the thing's left arm. The arm shook, then exploded, falling away from the main body. Musaki ran up a wall leaping off it at the height of her run she spun like a twister turning herself into a saw blade she sawed into the other arm. I felt a static charge dance up my spine. "Musaki get out of there!"
She rolled away at the last second as a blue arc of electricity sliced into the ground beneath the robot. The energy then erupted with a crack of thunder. The machine stopped moving all together, it's body pulsing with the spent energy. I heard a snort behind me. Very slowly I turned to face whatever just deep fried the robot. An electric blue and white horse with a golden sickle shaped horn on it's massive head stood between us and the exit. Electricity arced across it's unreasonably large body and razor sharp horn. It's eerie blue eyes were locked on us. It stomped at the floor and electricity discharged across it. "Jesus-" exclaimed.
"Fucking-" Musaki cut in.
"Christ." Esqueezeme finished for us. The animal whinnied and we dove away as it launched its fucking horn at us. "Uh, Captain, the fuck is that!?" I noticed the mosaic depiction of the horse on the floor beneath our feet. "He might be important, try not to die guys."
"Why the Fuck is it always bigger." Esqueezeme yelled and ducked as the horn was shot at her next. "Don't use any skills on it. Try to calm it down, we may have pissed it off." I put away Phoenix Heart and pulled my great sword free of my back. "Musaki sleep bombs and attacks, Esqueezeme, buff us. I'll try to block it's horn and skills." Musaki began throwing smoke grenades at it's feet to start, following them with sleep grenades. I used the flat of my blade to deflect the horn as it went for Musaki. Esqueezeme hit me with a defense buff and a bar thunder. I kept it from actually injuring the girls while they tried to put it to sleep.
The effects of the sleep grenades began to take affect as the battle raged on. The beast began to slow in it's assault and then it stopped moving. "Chill pill delivered Captain." I shot a warning glare at Musaki who only smiled in return. Very careful not to set it off again I moved closer to the animal. His muscles jumped beneath my hand as I ran it along his neck. "There's a good boy. I'm sorry I upset you. I'll let the people know not to do that again or they'll face me instead." I was basically crooning a thunder horse. If Trillian could see me now. The horse looked me in the eyes and I was drowning in the electric blue color. "Captain!" Musaki and Esqueezeme caught me as I slumped back away from the animal. I couldn't tell them that the majestic beast was far more intelligent than we initially believed. "I'm fine, search the temple for survivors and P.O.G." They shared a glance then left me with the horse. "Ixion, thank you for the gift."
I turned towards the exit and walked away from him. He taught me something that would come in handy in the future. I slammed my fist into the wall beside me an electric blue wave reverberated away from the point of impact skittering across the wall. My fist made a decent hole in the wall but nothing incinerated so I guess I have a less extreme skill now. I glanced back at Ixion and he disappeared like he was never there. "Sir, are you all right? Ixion was spotted in the temple."
"I noticed it. How many." I addressed Hellfire, who stood behind the frantic man in front of me. "Zero casualties, six with minor injuries." He grinned back. "That's better. Next time I want no injuries with zero casualties. I don't want so much as a splinter in their finger. Tell Newind to plot our course to Kilika."
"Sir, before you go, I have information about an island that houses untold treasure. Are you interested?"