Chapter 16
The flight over to the mainland was a mixture of emotions and new experiences for Rei. Her first exposure to being at high altitude would have been life changing, except she was stuck in a dark hull for the trip. Witnessing the Cosmo Cradle, battling Susumu—a lost member of her tribe—to see the peak of what the Deep offered, and having to work with dissidents from the G.E.I. was profound to say the least.
After being cramped up in the Munger for the last twelve hours, she was more than ecstatic to learn the trip was ending. The ship made a rather rough landing in Asiana. Within moments of arrival, the troops on the ground scrambled to set up another camp. She finally got to step outside of the ship and into a brand-new world. The camp was set up on the outskirts of an old city, one that had been devastated hundreds of years earlier. The only remains were old, corroded buildings covered with vines, moss—remnants of the once thriving metropolis.
Her eyes widened at the sight, filled with wonder. It was massive and a far cry from the towns of Nojiri or Aiga. Paxton began to make his round of the camp, taking notice of her curiosity. He started to approach her, preparing to light up another celebratory cigar to complement their travels.
“You’ve never seen somethin’ this big, huh?” Paxton asked, drawling once more.
“What is this place?” Rei quickly returned.
“This place used to be just bustlin’ with life,” he paused for a moment and let out a quick sigh before feeling around for his lighter. “Not really lively now, except maybe some animals.”
“It’s beautiful, and,” she tried to search for the words.
Paxton quickly chirped, “Haunting?”
“Yes,” she replied, nodding her head as she looked back to him. “What happened here?”
“You know, the records aren’t really clear. Sometime in the last couple hundred years there was something big that happened to the planet.”
“Like what?”
“War, a really big one. Not like this one, this war was fought with some heavy-duty weapons. They really did a number, and it was bad enough to turn entire civilizations into dust.”
She felt her breath slip away as her imagination began to take over. What happened in Nojiri was still fresh on her mind and already far beyond the battles that happened in the village. Paxton started to light up his cigar, taking a large drag and filling the air with a quick plume. He stared towards the vanishing city as its corroded buildings loomed over them. Rei noticed a subtle change in his demeanor. The air hung with unspoken stories, and she only grew curious thinking of the many battles he had fought in before this point.
“Paxton,” she asked, only to stop and reword her next question. “What were those battles like”
Paxton took a thoughtful drag from his cigar, exhaling a plume of smoke that swirled through the air.
“I can only imagine. I’ve seen my fair share,” he said as his eyes flickered with a mix of weariness and distant resilience. “War changes everything, Rei. The battles I’ve seen… they shape you, mold you into someone you never thought you’d become.”
He paused again, this time peering towards the ground. Rei sensed some vulnerability with his words, almost as if he was tiptoeing around the ghosts of his past. The words hung in the air, only trapping her in the tendrils of her own memories. The echoes of defeat against Susumu, his taunts, and the weight of those who died because of her holding back played on in her head. The scars had been etched deep into her consciousness, rivalling the pain she felt when Vic and the others arrived in her village.
“I think of that a lot. I’ve tasted my share of defeat,” she confessed. “I got thrown into this fight because my friends and family were taken from me. Sometimes I think that this is going to turn me into something I don’t want to become.”
“Well, shit,” Paxton chirped before knocking some of the ash from his cigar. “The path we’re on is treacherous, but battles don’t have to define who you are. I don’t like to let my past dictate where I go, and I find sometimes the struggle ain’t so much that person tryna kill ya but somethin’ in yourself.”
He placed his hand on her shoulder in reassurance, finally concluding, “Hope ya learned somethin’. Smoke?”
Rei’s eyes lit up as he held the stogie to her face. The bluish smoke from the embers burnt her eyes, causing her to let out a quick cough. She pushed his hand away, returning with a soft smile as he continued to drag on his cigar.
“If a war sent everybody back, why are we still waging one?” Rei asked again.
“It’s complicated,” Paxton replied. “The Eurasians believe in a type of society where they have total control and believe me when I say they want control of everything—what you think, what you say, and even what you feel.”
“How do they do that?”
“They have some technology where they can peer into your thoughts, and with that they can cut out what you feel,” he started to go through the motions, using much of the same logic and reasoning that had captivated the many minds he turned towards Liberation. “They think concepts like basic freedoms are going to destroy society. It’s a shared point of view among them Eurasianoids, but not us. As long as I’m alive, I’m going to spread our ideas while they fight to extinguish them. They can’t kill humanity, and by golly I’m gonna chip away at every sphere of influence they got until all they can kill is themselves.”
“Why go that far?”
“Cause they ain’t got no humanity, all they expect is compliance because all they know is fear. I just intend to remind ‘em what fear really looks like, and I’m damn good at it.”
He took a final, slow and long-winded drag from his cigar as Rei stared into his determined eyes. His aura was captivating, something that she had not seen since she was younger. The thoughts of all the people under his command reminded her of Hideo once more, reassuring her of the bright future that awaits with Liberation. The anxiousness and excitement swirled inside as she thought of finally being able to meet Mizumi.
The word had come down that her ship would be arriving within minutes. Rei made her way back towards the Munger to meet up with the others. While the arrival was exciting, she saw that Tetsu and Megumi did not share the same enthusiasm. With Megumi’s wounds, she found herself becoming more lethargic. It wouldn’t be much longer before they would be able to get her the proper medical attention. As for Tetsu, he felt ill from being at high altitude and was left dizzy from the flight.
After finally getting out of the ship, he was stuck arched over a small bush for a few minutes. Rowan stood over him, trying to do her best to offer support as Megumi was far too weak to taunt him. Nomad and Kismet emerged from the Munger, quick to join Rei’s side. Before even getting a chance for any down time, the camp started to come alive.
“Everybody stand clear,” Judai shouted towards them. “They’re almost here.”
The distant hum of engines began to resonate through the air as the massive silhouette of the Deck Hall descended from the cloud-shrouded skies. The ship cast a shadow over the desolate cityscape, causing Rei to stare in awe at the massive floating fortress. The buildings in the distance, once silent, now began to buzz as the Deck Hall loomed over. The shadow of the massive ship draped over the buildings while the winds began to pick up.
Rei pulled her arm up over her head to shield her eyes as dust from the ground started to surround them. While the ship started to lower towards the ground, the skies overhead continued to roar. Above the ship, still circling the clouds overhead, were a handful of small metallic jets. Each of the vehicles performed intricate maneuvers as they provided an escort for ship, contrails leaving patterns in the skies above.
She felt a sudden change in the atmosphere, her stomach started to get heavy while she watched the ships starting to make their descent. The presence of the new aircraft continued to make her think of the day the Litvyak flew over the village. She continued to stare upwards while the others started to gather around her.
“New recruits,” Paxton barked towards them while making his approach. “You will be standing single file behind the troops in the back. When I call ‘attention’ you all hit the P.O.A. and wait until I say, ‘at ease’. Good to go?”
“Yeah, question,” Nomad replied, lifting his hand to him. He kept his voice loud to try and remain audible over the symphony of engines above. “What the hell is a P.O.A.?”
“Position of attention,” he returned, quickly standing tall and crashing his heels together. The thud of his boots pierced through the noise while he balled his fists and pressed them against the seams of his trousers. “Arms tight, shoulders back, feet at the forty-five, good to go?”
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“I know this one!” Rei chirped as her eyes lit up with excitement.
“Well hot damn,” Paxton replied before waving them towards the other troops. “Get moving your asses behind the squad already.”
He repeated for them to move, snapping back into his habits. Rei and the others made a dash towards the other troops, making their way behind the ranks of the others. The new platoon was hardly a squad—many had fallen in the battle of Nojiri. To the side of the squad, Chris stood with Mezrich and Megumi, keeping his only good arm gripped onto the back of Megumi’s wheelchair as she remained slumped inside.
The Deck Hall and the other fighters had made their landing just a few yards away, causing the squad to become consumed with dust. As the winds started to settle, the massive ship came into view once more before sitting silently. Moments passed and there was not so much as a sound. Then, the side of the ship started to rumble as one of the large metal hatches on the side began to open.
A man stepped out of the side of the ship, standing tall in his utilities. His face was aged, eyes lined with cracks barely visible under the bill of his cover. Behind him were two additional troops, all unarmed as they flanked his side. The man’s blonde hair seemed to glow under the sun as he came closer into view.
“Alright you guys, platoon,” Paxton howled after snapping to attention. The men lit up in anticipation, waiting for him to finally conclude, “Attention!”
There was one loud uniform crack, boots colliding as the troops snapped to attention. Paxton dragged his right foot in a circle, perfectly aligning with the back of his left heel before executing an about face. They stood motionless, waiting as the man inside of the ship made a turn for the inside of the corridor. Slowly, another figure started to emerge from the inside.
The light from the sun started to illuminate the figure, revealing Mizumi with her immaculately pressed utilities. The stars from her rank insignias shined, only further raising the tension from the troops. The man started to march forward with her, flanking her with the other troops. As she approached, Rei could feel her heart starting beat ever faster.
Seeing Mizumi’s delicate face beneath the bill of her cover felt like she was staring at an alternative version of herself. Her faded, tangerine colored hair and green eyes glimmered while she marched proudly forward. The man to her side bore a silver star on each collar, with the nametape over his left breast pocket reading “Ginger”. Finally, she came to a halt with the man and the other two troops, both snapping to attention to face Paxton.
He turned towards the National Ensign on the front of the ship as it flapped in the wind, quickly giving a tight salute. The flag flew with a blue background, a white sphere in the center with thirteen stars circling the outside. From here, the text “Unus Ordo Mendi” was barely legible with its white stitching. Paxton cut his salute before turning to Mizumi to raise his arm once more.
“Good afternoon, Major Rutherford Paxton requesting to board this vessel.” Paxton addressed her, voice firm and without a drawl.
Mizumi raised her arm, returning her salute and saying, “Permission granted, put your men at ease and have them board the ship. Our new recruits will report to Lieutenant Colonel Ginger.”
“Aye-Aye, ma’am.”
She cut her salute, Paxton quickly followed. He then performed another about face to face the crew and to give the order to “fall out”. Each of the troops loosened up and started to make their way towards the ship. Rei was unable to form words as she started to follow them forward. Before they could even approach, Paxton lifted his fingers towards his mouth to whistle to them.
“Over here, new guys.” He said firmly.
They cautiously approached. Rei continued to stare towards Mizumi as the sounds of the engines and the city nearby began to deaden. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her wits while Mizumi stared back at her.
“So, you’re the ones that helped the team in Nojiri,” the older, blonde-haired man questioned them with a cold stare. “My name is Lieutenant Colonel Ginger, and I want you all at my office in forty-five minutes.”
“Alright.” Rowan said casually.
Her words only caused LtCol Ginger’s eyebrows to curl as he turned to her. He stepped towards her, getting within arms distance of the young woman. Just like Paxton, he loomed over the crew—standing over six feet tall as he stared down towards them with his blue eyes.
“It’s sir,” LtCol Ginger corrected her with an aggressive tone. Rowan stood tall, giving him an equally cold stare as he started to reach towards her right arm. He flicked his finger across the grid like pattern trailing down it, only causing Rowan to twitch. “Why was this enhanced?”
“It was a birth defect,” Rowan replied with a stutter in her voice. “I was born with a small arm, so they cut it off and made a new one, sir.”
“That’s gross, don’t care,” he quickly replied before raising his hand over her mouth. Next, he turned to Nomad and pointed towards him. “I take it you were the highest ranking, going off a guess here.”
“Lieutenant Nomad Matsuda,” Nomad replied, quickly following with, “sir.”
The utterance of the name caused Mizumi’s head to twist towards him. Nomad looked over to her, slowly becoming pale after finally resting her eyes on her again after many years away. There was some intrigue that danced on her face, but she remained silent.
“Well, your rank doesn’t mean dick here. You’re under our command, but since you have some rank, you’re in charge of the rest,” LtCol Ginger continued as he started to trail over towards Kismet. “What the hell are you?”
Kismet’s eyes perked up before she started to look nervously towards the others. Rei glanced back at her, finally breaking eye contact from Mizumi and lifting her hands. She too was confused by the remark, which was only followed by Kismet starting to trail off once more.
“My name is Private First-Class Kismet Chughtai,” she finally returned. She fell silent again before getting a quick nudge from Nomad’s fist to her back, finally concluding, “sir.”
“Kiss-me Chug what now? Your name is Chugs, deal with it,” LtCol Ginger remarked, mocking her accent before finally shrugging her off and slowly turning towards Rei. “Now, who’s this one?”
“You’re not in the drill field anymore,” Mizumi finally spoke with her gruff voice. She stepped over to him and grabbed onto his shoulder, which only made him seize up. “Get to your office, I’ll let the Major take over.”
“Sorry ma’am, I just feel cheated knowing we have recruits from the other side who didn’t go through the ringer,” he replied with a smirk. “I was curious about this last one.”
“She’s the hero of the day,” Paxton said aloud, putting a slight drawl in his tone before walking over to Rei. He placed his hand into the small of her back, slowly guiding her forward toward Mizumi and Ginger. “She’s been one hell of a fighter. Don’t be nervous about Ginger you guys, he’s just gotta be an asshole since he picked up before me.”
“The Major and I tend to play the part, I play it better, which is why I’m the Lieutenant Colonel,” Ginger said before snapping his fingers towards Rei. “What’s your name, and why do you look so familiar?”
“That’s because she’s got some of that freedom fightin’ blood runnin’ through her veins, she’s Rei,” Paxton drawled on before turning to her and asking, “last name?”
A subtle unease crept into Rei, furrowing at her brows as she started to think of the many years in the village. She had never been given a last name, and if she had one, it had been forgotten in the haze of fragmented memories. Hideo never referred to her as a Hideo-Jin, only Rei. She looked over towards Mizumi’s nametape, seeing “Hoshikaze” etched across it.
“I,” she murmured, trying to piece her thoughts together. “I don’t have a last name, or at least I’ve never asked it. My father never spoke of it.”
Mizumi’s eyes shot back at her, slightly twitching as she stood tall before her. The crew fell silent as she clenched her fists.
“He never gave you his name?” Mizumi asked softly as a hint of sadness hung on her tone.
“He never told me anything.” Rei said back, feeling herself going cold. He never said anything, he just wanted me to be as strong as him.
“Did he ever tell you about me?”
“Once.”
Rei stood by Paxton, sharing the revelation to her. Mizumi’s reaction was evident, a fleeting sadness crept into her eyes. Her gaze met with Rei’s as a shadow of regret seemed to loom over her. The news weighed heavily, overtaking any joy she would have expected from the reunion.
“I hoped he would have shared more with you,” Mizumi sighed, barely able to keep eye contact with her. “I’m sorry Rei, I didn’t realize he would have left you with more questions than answers.”
“I’ve always been Rei, and I guess that’s good enough for now.”
“I never thought I would see you,” the words hardly crept through the air and remained dampened by the emotions starting to course through her. She then started to creep slowly towards Rei while trying to keep her bearing. “He really trained you to fight?”
“Hell yeah he did,” Paxton spoke enthusiastically, drawling as he reached around towards Rei’s shoulder to give her a tap. “The way she made quick work of that robot bitch back in Nojiri was somethin’. This girl’s a fighter, that’s for sure.”
Mizumi did not share the same enthusiasm and instead her face seemed to be filled with disgust once she looked down towards Rei’s battle robe. She turned away from her before starting to walk back towards Ginger.
“Make sure to process them,” Mizumi said finally. She then started to walk towards the ship with the other two troops. “I need a debrief on the mission in two hours, Major.”
“Yes ma’am,” Paxton returned. His spirits seemed to deaden before he looked over to Rei. As Mizumi and the rest started to retreat, he nervously crushed his fist across his chin. “Well, I told you she was something else.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Rei said softly, hesitating a moment before finishing with, “sir.”
“You ain’t gotta do all that shit around me, just when they’re around me,” he then turned towards Nomad and the rest. A bewildered stare was cast from him, alarming the crew. “Well guys, you heard the man, Ginger’s office, forty-five minutes.”
He separated from Rei, leaving her to stand alone as the rest of the crew started to walk with Paxton towards the deck hall. She looked back towards the dead city in the distance, feeling her emotions aligning with it. Seeing her mother for the first time only left her asking more questions than she could answer. As she started to grow colder on the inside, she could feel warmth gripping onto the right arm.
“Are you ok?” Tetsu asked, trying to offer some comfort as she stared off into the distance.
“Yes,” Rei said back, shaking her head as he held onto her arm. Her thoughts were heavy, leaving a hole in her being. She could not help but to think of Hideo, Shugo, and the many people in her life that had since been taken away. At last, she painfully forced out a smile, replying with, “I’m ok.”