With dimensions similar to those of an aircraft carrier, the now officially designated space cruiser Avalon tore through the skies over the Pacific Ocean, en route to what would be its second mission. The enormous aircraft, over 400 meters long and 60 meters high, was capable of a speed that belied its size. The Avalon had a crew of 100 people, including members of the engineering, piloting, medical, and strategy teams.
The recent technological advancement was not something Gabriel had given the attention it deserved. However, after piloting Merseyside's newest M.M.U. and making his second voyage on the Avalon, he was ready to admit it had been a mistake not to have noticed such drastic change and progress arriving.
In a large, dimly lit cabin—so that the holographic table in its center, this one with lights strong enough for all its information to be clearly conveyed—the final briefing for the Aegis organization's "test" unit's first mission began. Around the room, Gabriel's pilot friend, Henry Enfield, stood beside the chief of engineering, Carlos Monteiro, his usual bad mood stamped on his face. Also present were the doctor responsible for medicine on the starship, the experienced military physician Selçuk Turan, and his assistant Mikaela Racic. In a central position near the strategic table, Major Pellegrini and Captain Ortiz stood side by side. It was the Major who initiated the meeting.
"As everyone here already knows, in about 40 minutes, we will commence Operation Purgatio. After months of gathering intelligence, we finally have the locations of the U.S.C.'s main bases on the planet."
In the center of the table, a globe of the Earth appeared, with points in various countries indicating the bases' locations.
"We have the perfect opportunity. Without the support of the lunar base, their forces are weakened and frightened. In a single strike, we will cleanse the Earth of our enemies' presence, and then we can finally give due attention to the war that will be waged in space."
Ortiz took a step forward; with a touch, she enlarged the world map, and the point over Australia and its continental dimension took prominence.
"Our squadron will be responsible for destroying the enemy base in Adelaide. And yes, it will be just the four of us."
Kiyoko clasped her hands, nervous upon hearing the news; Gabriel and Jérôme remained impassive. Ortiz looked at each of them before continuing.
"Under normal conditions, there would be five of us, but our squadron's fifth pilot will assist in the destruction of the base in northern China. This is not just a mission of destruction; we are here to show our true power. With four units, we will annihilate their largest base here."
The tactical table switched off, and the lights in the rest of the room came on, revealing the modern interior.
"You are here because you are exceptional; let's show them we are beyond that. Remember, we received information about a possible rescue attempt by the U.S.C. If that actually happens, we will use our Plan B."
She again observed each of her subordinates, stopping when it was Kiyoko Ogata's turn.
"I trust all of you with my life. And I hope you believe the same in me. Good hunting, pilots!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The room quickly emptied, and there were only a few minutes left before the M.M.U.s launched. Gabriel was also about to leave the cabin when he noticed the motionless figure of Kiyoko Ogata, still beside the table. "Teach her what you think she needs," was what Sabrina M. Ortiz had said to the pilot at their first meeting. Gabriel approached and was not surprised to see the young woman holding her trembling hands. He raised his open left hand, bringing it close to Kiyoko's face, who was startled. When he had her attention, he showed the girl that he too was trembling. Fear was a feeling that would always follow them. He then repeated the gesture his brother had so often made for him, clenching his fists to hide his tremor, and his dread. Ogata looked at her own two hands and then also closed them.
"Lieutenant Ogata."
"Sir?"
"What you will see and do today will transform you. When you return from this mission, you will be like a new Kiyoko Ogata; that is an undeniable fact. I only ask that you remember the Kiyoko Ogata who will cease to exist, her anxieties and her motivations. Use them to guide your path."
"Yes, First Lieutenant!"
"Let's go, we don't have much time until launch."
Still shy, the young woman passed him, with a small trace of new determination on her face. Gabriel followed her through the Avalon's corridors, observing the blue sky through the ship's windows. It was time to show the U.S.C. the meaning of true power.
<>
The hangar, which shortly before had been bustling with mission preparations, was now practically empty. The launch platforms for the four M.M.U.s were already aligned and ready. In the lead, Ortiz's M.M.U., the sleek F-808, an evolution of the US Navy's F-800s, prepared for launch. The machine, camouflaged in a classic military green, resembled its old ancestors in its lines—the powerful fighters of the 21st century. The launch authorization light came on, and the captain did the honors.
"Captain Sabrina M. Ortiz, M.M.U. F-808, initiating mission!"
The supersonic roar of the F-808's powerful turbines echoed even in the cockpits of the other units. Seconds later, Gagnier and his Chevallier were about to take off. The variant of the French Mirages, with its same white and yellow, still possessed the elegance of the series that birthed it. Its aggressive lines and wings, which lacked the maglev system of Merseyside's machines but aided in the M.M.U.'s great maneuverability, made it beautiful and deadly.
"Vice-Captain Jérôme Gagnier, M.M.U. Chevallier, initiating mission!"
Kiyoko Ogata took a deep breath. Ahead of her was the platform and the hatch from which she would soon launch. In her mind, memories of the pilot academy she had overcome with her prodigious abilities, but also with her loneliness. Izanagi and its four large thrusters resembled the Hayabusas. Likewise, its katana, suggestively nicknamed "molecule splitter," was still there. The thrusters engaged, and as she accelerated the machine she affectionately and secretly called Izanin, the girl departed for her first mission.
"Lieutenant Kiyoko Ogata, M.M.U. Izanagi, initiating mission!"
Gabriel placed a photo, the same one his adoptive brother had used for so many years, beside one of his monitors. He gave two light, affectionate pats to the optical sight above his head, which he was sure would be used soon. To the right of the cockpit, a dedicated monitor showed the status of his powerful rifle, with the words "Stage 1" highlighted on the screen. Arthur's blue wings glowed, particles of the same color filled the hangar, and then, he departed.
"First Lieutenant Gabriel Sirghi, M.M.U. Arthur, initiating mission!"
<>
The four units were already flying over the continent at low altitude, as was the Avalon, which had already activated its sophisticated camouflage system but still maintained a certain distance from the M.M.U.s.
"Ten kilometers to target."
On the units' and the ship's radar, the base could already be seen. As planned, Gabriel ascended a few meters with Arthur. On the monitor to his left, the base's layout, which had a large structure for something that had no right to exist, was displayed. Three different suggested points indicated reservoirs with possible flammables.
"How much do you want to bet he'll choose the one with the worst visibility?"
Henry said to his co-pilot, the redhead Sol Bethel, who was assisting the Englishman in the complicated task of navigating the monstrous Avalon. She gave him a sarcastic smile and her reply.
"The First Lieutenant struck me as someone above that sort of thing, Lieutenant Enfield."
A signal from M.M.U. Arthur reached the Avalon's cockpit; the selected point was, as Henry had predicted, the one with the worst angle of visibility, much to Sol's lament.
"Oh no, another show-off!"
Pellegrini sat in the ship's central command chair, as befitted the operation commander. The Major seemed satisfied with Sirghi's audacity. His pilots had understood the operation's secondary objective: a pure and simple display of power.
Gabriel brought his large optical sight from the cockpit ceiling to eye level, and with a slight adjustment, pulled the trigger. The shot of blue particles tore through the sky, and seconds later, a fireball erupted on the horizon. Ortiz, Gagnier, and Ogata accelerated, leaving a giant trail of dust and stones; the mission had begun.
<>
Florentin Balogun watched, perplexed, from inside the cockpit of his Capricorn M.M.U., as the main hangar of the base he had called home for almost a year went up in flames. They had been expecting the attack; the destruction of the lunar base and the diminished support and supplies made the U.S.C.'s terrestrial forces the easy target their enemies had always dreamed of. Just a few more hours, he repeated in his mind. The rescue, which would be the only salvation for him and the hundreds of his comrades at the base, was promised to arrive that very day. He believed that despite the limited support, they still had the advantage of superior equipment over the Earth forces, but he was beginning to realize how wrong he was.
"Sir, three enemy units approaching from the eastern sector!"
His comrade's message made him look immediately in the direction where a huge dust cloud, and the silhouette of three units against the sun, grew menacingly closer. He prepared to give an order to his comrade beside him, and also to the others, but it was too late. The blue laser, whose origin he couldn't identify, struck his ally's Capricorn squarely in the chest. The metal glowed red-hot for a few seconds before exploding. He couldn't even hear the scream of the man who had served him loyally for months.
Their anti-aircraft cannons, at the high points of the base, were the next victims of the shots. And one by one, they met the same fate with the same characteristics. The metal glowed incandescently, and then exploded. His order to seek shelter came too late; the enemy M.M.U.s, previously on the distant horizon, were already invading the base perimeter.
Sabrina Ortiz had fought against the U.S.C. for years, whether in terrestrial battles for control of regions whose names she no longer even remembered, or in desperate and failed space battles where The Cathedral's machines' superiority was even greater. The smile she couldn't hide, however, indicated a brutal difference. The speed of her F-808 frightened and delighted her at the same time, as did the power in its movements. Immediately upon invading the base, she closed the distance on a Capricorn seeking shelter and, in a point-blank shot, from just a few centimeters, blew the enemy to pieces meters away. On the next, she pierced the enemy M.M.U.'s armor, dragging it still on the tip of her rifle. When she approached another opponent, she fired, again point-blank, exploding both units simultaneously. The brutality that had made her known among friends and foes was on display. Unlike Gagnier, who had also destroyed two units but traded strength for elegance, in a dance only the agile French Mirages were capable of.
Kiyoko hesitated for an instant; the chaos of the battle at the base caught her by surprise. Her doubts were interrupted by the advance of two enemy M.M.U.s, who saw an easy prey in the hesitant enemy unit. The young lieutenant's survival instinct, and her almost inhuman reflexes, allowed her and Izanagi to dodge the attack. With her Katana now wielded, she advanced on the first of her aggressors. The cut of the giant blade was clean, perfect; the pilot of one of the Capricorns that attacked Izanagi could only see a red flash from the swift cut, and seconds later, his comrade split in two. His own fate was soon the same. With impressive agility, Kiyoko and Izanagi cleaved another unit with her Katana. Not just one, but two; in a matter of seconds, Kiyoko Ogata had taken two lives. For an instant, she imagined the enemies' screams, but that would be impossible, not with the precision of her strikes. She felt a powerful urge to vomit. She wanted to scream, to cry; she had just taken two human lives.
Her momentary paralysis, and the thirst for revenge for her fallen comrades, caused another enemy unit to approach Izanagi, but before it could deliver any attack, a blue laser struck it. The explosion beside her snapped Kiyoko out of her catatonic state.
"Lieutenant Ogata, can you continue?"
In the voice Kiyoko's mind already associated with gentleness, Gabriel called to the young woman. She sighed heavily, bringing her hands to Izanagi's controls.
"Yes, sir!"
"Then let's move forward, we're almost there."
She lifted her head, paying attention to the fierce battle taking place at the base. The last ten U.S.C. units desperately tried to defend themselves and protect their comrades on foot or in smaller vehicles, while Ortiz and Gagnier approached, leaving a trail of destruction and death.
With his long-range sensors and cameras, Gabriel had a privileged view of the battle. No, that wasn't a battle, the first lieutenant thought. It was a massacre. He looked once more at the monitor with his Excalibur cannon's information; the sudden technological advance had been too great.
"Gentlemen."
Major Pellegrini's voice filled the communication channel of the four units.
"It seems our intelligence was correct; the rescue has arrived."
Instinctively, the four of them looked up at the sky at the same time. Still at a great altitude, two evacuation ships and five M.M.U.s became visible in the atmosphere. Using his optical sight, Gabriel quickly analyzed the units. Four of them he could recognize, albeit superficially, as they were clearly modified. The fifth one took him a little longer to identify. When he did, his hand on Arthur's control stick clenched. It was the M.M.U. Thomas had faced in his final moments on the moon, or perhaps a modified version of it. Ortiz issued new orders to her comrades.
"Very well, it seems it's time for our Plan B."
Following the captain's order, the other units began to move. A notification on the Excalibur cannon's information display made Gabriel look at it again. The message was simple and clear:
Excalibur Cannon, Stage 2, released.