[Frontline Group Beta]
[North Sector]
[Forward Position]
[Reporting! Rescue Group 1 arriving.. ETA 5 minutes.]
[Roger, send the flight data and I’ll see you soon.]
The communications officer closed the channel on his end. He heard a ping in his ear and checked his HUD. Good, that’s the 5th one. A new incoming report was always great to have on an ever changing battlefield.
After letting his cybernetics review the data as he operated his terminal inside the tank, he connected to a private comm channel. Specifically, to his superior S1.
[Sir! Another Group of Survivors are arriving, according to TAC-049, they have a few tanks and should be arriving at our northwest.]
[That’s good to hear. What’s the status of their ammunition, anything left?]
[There’s some left, sir, and we’re in luck, they’ve got spare tank ammo. It turns out this group was kiting the enemies around, scavenging what they could in the brief moments they had.]
[Perfect!] S1 clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation, this was the best news he had in the last hour, and it was a good start.
[With this, we can bring our chances of success up by a few more ticks. How are the enemies responding? Have they taken any measures to counter our efforts?]
The communications officer spun in his chair to the radar terminal on his left. As he got to it, S1 scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars. From the vantage point on top of the tank, S1 could see that the enemy was within sight but wasn’t moving. It was eerie.
He had been ordering reconnaissance missions to survey the enemy formation in preparation for their push forward to the goal. In addition, he had sent 3 of his 4 TACs to run rescue operations to get any surviving students or trainees up to the front.
But even after intrusively spying on the opposition and moving his units openly, there was still no response.
Are these constructs really following their basic programming, or are they being ordered by a real person? He had deduced with Itsuki that this situation was the latter scenario, but now, after close to a half hour of utterly nothing happening, S1 was becoming suspicious.
But he was not suspicious enough that he would order an all out assault. Simply thinking that the constructs were just insignificant pawns was asking for trouble. No, he needed to be smart, he needed to prioritize what he knew and what his instincts were telling him.
And they were telling him that if they attacked now, they’d lose from both a lack of ammunition, manpower, and intel.
[Sir!] S1’s communications officer finally responded. He tensed, expecting new developments, but.. What his friend said only served to increase his suspicions.
[Are you sure? Nothing at all.]
[Yes sir, there’s no change in enemy movements. Their standing 2 miles due south and the further waves have held their position according to my last scan of the area. Your orders?]
Well that was lackluster. S1 untensed his hands and sighed, but he still kept an eye out.
[No. No new orders yet, update everyone to keep holding position and keep a lookout for any enemy movements. If one of the waves as much as moves a few feet, I want to know about it ASAP. You hear me!]
[Yes Sir!]
Nodding to himself, S1 switched comm channels to the heavy infantry divisions in their forward positions. The earpiece device he wore was set to an auto sound dampener mode to allow for clear communications between him and his intended correspondent.
But S1 disabled the feature so he could hear the background ambience on the other side. He could hear the heavy pops of gunfire rang every now and again in his right ear. He heard past it.
[S1? I mean, uh S-Sir?] A young girl’s voice responded, albeit surprised. By how she sounded, S1 guessed she was like him, a senior in their years of training in either the CDU or CAU training division. [Ahem! Sir! What can I do for you?]
Not minding her earlier blunder, S1 moved on. Prior, he had ordered the heavy infantry division to set up a fortified location around his formation of tanks.
In doing so, he additionally ordered a small group of troops to create dugouts a mile away from their position. It would put them directly between the enemy and his main force.
While by only a small margin, that extra mile made it possibly easier for getting line of sight on the enemy. S1 knew he was being paranoid, but he wanted to double check, his gut.. was aching.
[Report! Have you noticed any unusual activity from the forward position?]
[Sir, we’ve been encountering a few stray constructs from time to time. They seem to be roaming aimlessly, but per protocol, we’ve been dispatching them before they could get any closer.]
[I see, but have you seen anything unusual? Anything at all, a feeling, a presence, a pressure?]
S1 gulped, he thought he was losing it. Was the stress getting to him? No, that couldn’t be.. Could it? Keeping a stiff upper lip, he hiddenly clenched his teeth so hard that he thought his correspondent could hear it.
Luckily, she didn’t and instead, S1 heard her scramble to her feet and likely operated her heavy infantry armor to enhance the zoom of her helmet’s sensor camera. The familiar sound of a tapping finger on a wrist pad came to mind and S1 exhaled to finally settle himself.
[Anything? Anything at all?]
[No sir, nothing like a presence, pressure, or feeling.. But.]
But? But what?
[What do you see soldier, report!] S1 demanded, his suspicions rose further. No matter how much he tried to calm down, his instincts kept flaring, rousing him to act. He wished he could’ve stayed calm but that feeling, that something was wrong, kept tugging at him.
[No.] She said confidently at first, yet trailed off with her words. [It was only for a moment sir, but I thought I saw a.. Person?]
[A person?]
That made no sense! S1 tapped the tank’s hull with an impatient finger. A person shouldn’t be with the constructs. Was the creator of the constructs spying on him and his gathering force? No, that was dangerous. They’d be spotted and explorers who could create constructs would be easily detected.. Right?
Using their powers would appear on any sensory devices installed in the tank. But had they been using the said equipment? Had the idea even passed his mind? And had explorers been involved in the opposing force?
S1’s eyes blinked and he frantically scrambled through his HUD to pull up the roster of participating students, CDU and CAU trainees, and specially hired explorers to help proctor the exam. A sudden need to check it nagged at him, it was a small detail but a detail nonetheless.
He hadn’t needed to read all the names of the defeated students but an odd premonition came over him as a discrepancy reared its ugly head.
“N-no way.” S1’s trembling voice carried over to his communication’s officer and to the correspondent over the line. They both gave a huh? S1 ignored them, his brain was jumping through hoops.
There, right in front of S1’s eyes, were empty spaces within the active roster. This either meant one of two things. One, the tracked personnel was moved to the eliminated roster, whereby the person was removed from combat and transported for medical treatment.
Or two, the tracked personnel had their signal device removed or cut off, which either meant their earpiece was removed or damaged. S1 backtracked and recalled what Itsuki had mentioned.
“We’re likely facing a new condition added to the exercise to foster critical thinking. Other explorers who have been hired for today’s event are likely realizing we’re now part of the intended affected recipients of the training exercise.”
S1 had then followed up with, “Does it really go that far? Why cater to teaching already competent explorers? Sounds redundant.”
Itsuki subsequently answered and dismissively moved on, but that wasn’t what had caused a gear to click in S1’s head. “Foster critical thinking.” “Part of the intended affected recipients.”
S1 was indeed doing the first but the second phrase caught his attention. Intended affected recipients. How would making the hired explorers participate in this comparatively easy training exercise be beneficial? At most, those professionals would get exhausted but there was no real danger or level of challenge for full fledged explorers.
The enemy constructs were weaker and less numerous than the usual stardepth creatures, so the only way the hired explorers would get any relevant training out of this was to fight enemies on an equivalent strength.
Shit! It came together in a flash. The missing personnel on the roster, this unusual training exercise, irregular construct behavior, and now the sightings of people moving with the constructs. He checked the elimination roster and found a slight mismatch in the total numbers.
People.. were missing.
A number of possibilities popped up in S1’s head and all of them were horrendous. S1 needed to get Itsuki back here and drag out what information he could from him. Perhaps he had a clue.
[Itsuki! Come in! Itsuki! Do you copy!]
[Sir! What’s the problem!]
BOOM!
S1 winced as his earpiece echoed and ringed in his ear. The tumultuous sound of gunfire and explosions in the background on Itsuki's side of the comm was enough to make him go deaf. By the sound of it, Itsuki and Group Gamma were likely neck deep in combat.
[Ugh.] S1 groaned but pushed on. [What’s your ETA, I need you back to man the front and we need to talk. And while we’re at it, what information do you have on your fellow explorers who were hired for today’s job for the training exercise?]
[I don’t have much. We were never given each other’s data or roles prior to the job since the headmaster didn’t want us to interfere with each other. He said it was better this way.]
[Wouldn’t you say more interesting?] S1 hazarded a hint and Itsuki audibly grew disturbed.
[Wait, you don’t mean what I think you mean.] S1 sensed a foreboding amount of anger in Itsuki’s tone, he continued.
[I think you do know what I mean, but that’s not important, we can discuss details later. What’s your ETA? If possible, I need you now.]
[Alright.] Itsuki reported. [10 minutes and closing, we’re slowed down since the number of aerial enemies has increased in the area I’m in. I’m also picking up additional waves incoming but they're.. Oh.]
[What is it? Itsuki!.. What’s wrong.] A pause of a few seconds passed and S1 felt his gut go rigid.
[Sir!] His communication’s officer yelled in a panic. [New enemy contacts detected! They're behind us!]
[Give me distance and numbers!] S1 snapped. [Now!]
Instantly moving to action, S1 communicated a red alert on the open comm. Trainees flocked to their jeeps and tanks while student explorers scrambled into makeshift battlegroups.
[To all units, get to your battle stations! Possible enemy activity detected! Be on the lookout!]
Quickly ordering a few more short commands, S1 returned his sights to the incoming data on his HUD. Enemy moving due north, 10 miles north from our current position. Good, so it’s not an encirclement, but this heading.
S1 checked the trajectories and it put it into the direct path of Itsuki’s returning Group Gamma. This meant one thing. We’ve been played.
[Sir! Another report coming in!]
“No. no no no!” S1 shook his head in disbelief at what data he saw coming in from his communication’s officer.
[Sir! We need orders, we have incoming! Dead ahead!] The advantage they had was coming undone. Time was on their side, but they were blind to know how long they really had to prepare.
In a real battlefield, a real war, you couldn’t be idle.
[Itsuki!] S1 called frantically over the channel. [I’m detecting new enemy forces heading your way. Do you see it! Can you evade and bypass the enemy?]
[No.. It’s too late sir. They’re already here.]
Sharing the video feed, S1 saw Itsuki’s shaky view of a mass of blue and gray metal figures in the distance. While far off, the speed at which the enemy could travel was nothing to scoff at. They were like clouds, only that they moved and were about to rain down more than just water on Group Gamma. S1 gulped as he guessed how many there really were.
His data said close to 100,000, but that wasn’t the full truth of the issue. Some thing, or someone, was coming.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
[Itsuki! This is a priority order, you are to engage the enemy and blaze a path through. Get those survivors back and move yourself to the front! We need you to-]
The comm suddenly cut out, filling with static. “What the, jamming!? This only means..”
[TAC-047 - ETA 9 Minutes to Target]
[Sir? Sir! Come in.] Nothing. S1’s voice was gone. Itsuki checked his HUD as he continued to fire in all directions as he took point. The much larger TAC followed up and flew a few hundred meters behind him.
Group Gamma laid down covering fire from the TAC to ward off the robots that swarmed around them like flies, popping them off one by one and as fast as they could. But the enemy had a numbers advantage and slipped through sheer overwhelming volume.
The TAC’s shield flickered a transparent yellow from time to time, repelling laser fire and kamikaze drones that made a move on them.
Itsuki disengaged from the front for a moment and took to long range fire with his suit’s external pack. Missile pods and chain guns fired, streaming a tide of ordinance. He couldn’t keep this pace up for long, and a continued close quarters engagement with his weapons would run his ammunition dry before he made it to the front.
He still rapidly fired from range as he moved back to the TAC, but made sure to keep an eye on the remaining capacity of his storage rings. Bringing down more than just a few robots, hundreds and hundreds of them were swatted away to give the group time to breathe.
Itsuki scanned through his HUD. Finding S1’s name still on the roster he could tell that the frontline would be alright if he was still around.
He had foregone using the provided mini map since if comms were cutting out then that meant a jamming was in effect. This meant short and long range radar and distance mapping were affected.
His deduction proved to be true as he double checked the map. Besides his own group and any group that was near enough for his earpiece to connect to, everything else on the map was covered in a haze of static, making it difficult to recognize anything of note.
Thinking they could take advantage of their team's lack of connection to the overall chain of command, the remaining few swarms of robots flew in to crash into Itsuki.
Itsuki’s salvoed another round of mini missiles from his external pack. The swarm of bots blew to pieces, and after purging and storing the used up missile pods, he unequipped and put the cumbersome external pack device away. He landed back on the TAC’s shoulder and commed everyone.
[Listen up! We’ve got more enemies than we can count coming dead ahead at a higher altitude.] He indicated and sent the data of the mass of gray clouds that were getting bigger in the sky ahead of them.
[What? I don’t see-]
Amanda tried to confirm for herself, but was cut off by Itsuki.
[We don’t have time to debate this. Radar is useless, and we’re flying blind.]
[Then what do we do! Urk!] Amanda reeled in pain. It was the byproduct of her already weakened state while exhausted from the constant use of her core energy. The same was said for everyone in her group and it was taking its toll.
Keeping their bodies enhanced in order to handle the TAC’s G forces and enough strength to hold on was draining them quickly. Their tethers took most of their weight, but these students were never supposed to travel on TACs that flew thousands of feet above ground. They hadn’t been trained enough or have gone through specialized High G training.
Amanda’s captain patted her back and continued on her behalf.
[Do you suppose we should fight? I don’t think we’re in any condition.]
[You’re right.] Said Itsuki flatly. [You're all more of a burden as you are now. Unless you get a resupply of ammunition and some time to rest, you’re all nothing but helpless.]
[Hey! How dare you say that! I.. we can still fight!] Stella wasn’t going to take his comment lying down but Shisuki put a stop to her.
[Don’t interrupt fatty, or are you too dull to understand that we are desperately running out of time to waste on talking. So listen!]
[But!]
[Stella, it’s fine.] Ikki said. [Trust Itsuki, he’ll get us through this. Go on, what do you plan to do.]
Returning the nod Ikki gave him, Itsuki turned and addressed the TAC pilot.
[TAC-047, how do you feel about a burst maneuver?]
[In this situation? Are you kidding me? I would say no, but I’m catching your drift with how you were eyeing those gray clouds earlier, so sure, why not.]
[Good.] Itsuki approached the cockpit, giving it a few knocks. [We’ll initiate the maneuver on my mark, for now, take this.] Pulling a storage ring out from a compartment on his suit, Itsuki placed it into a TAC’s external compartment that opened up at his request.
[Get this storage ring and these students to the front, they’ll be needed there.]
[I think you of all people would be needed more over there Itsuki, in fact, why aren’t you having us rush to the front? This seems like an emergency.]
[It’s because I have to preempt a future action from our enemy.] Itsuki gestured a few times with his hands. The pilot understood and icons then appeared in Itsuki’s HUD, giving him the go ahead.
[Alright then! Group Gamma, prepare for intercept! Enemy at 12 o’clock, altitude 20,000 feet! Numbers, approximately 100,000. Prepare grenades and decoy buoys. Keep the enemy away from TAC-047 and the survivors! Do I Copy!]
[We copy Sir!]
[Good! Then on my Mark!]
A count appeared in everyone’s HUD. First 30 seconds then 29 and then 28, so on and so forth.
[Heh.] The TAC pilot chuckled and Amanda heard it over open comms. As if the pilot knew she had been heard, she tightened her seat belt and gave all her passengers a heads up for their own good. [You kids better hold on! I’m going full throttle! So get ready.]
[Wait! We’re going even faster! Are you trying to kill us!]
[Don’t worry, your tethers are rated for extreme G forces. And with Group Gamma heading off the enemy, this will be smooth sailing.]
[Huh? Wha? There are only 15 of them in Group Gamma, and the enemy is exponentially greater! How are those good odds?]
[Heh.] The pilot laughed again at Amanda. [You really haven’t learned anything under Itsuki, haven’t you?]
[What!?]
Amanda wanted to argue that she had learned a lesson or two under him, the bruises and mental scarring from her sparring sessions were proof, but before she could, an alarmed blared. Itsuki shouted. [Now! Engage Burst Maneuver! Max Speed Full power!]
Without any pause, all of group Gamma disengaged their magnetic boots. As they fell away like confetti from the TAC’s frame. Their footholds on its shoulder and arms grew distant. They righted themselves mid air and fired their propulsion packs to climb in altitude.
Maintaining her speed, TAC-047 watched as 15 streaks of red fire soared in a wedge formation into the sky ahead. At the tip, a silver streak began to burn brightly.
“Good luck sir, I do hope you’ll give me a reward for my great performance today though. I’ll be waiting.” While she knew Itsuki couldn’t hear her, she guessed Itsuki’s intuition wouldn’t lead him astray.
***
[System Check - DICTATA Augment Suit - Model M1C-G-12 Serial Number: 1906173105]
[Battle Mode Engaged - Passive Mode Disabled]
[Full Manual Control - On]
[Main Power - Functional - Advising decrease in reactor output]
[Auxiliary Power - Disabled - Error - Burnout Detected]
[Core Reactor - On - 89% of Max Capacity]
[Quantum Requip System - On]
[Storage Ring Unit 1 - On - Remaining Capacity - 100%]
[Storage Ring Unit 2 - On - Remaining Capacity - 99%]
[Storage Ring Unit 3 - On - Remaining Capacity - 98%]
[Storage Ring Unit 4 - On - Remaining Capacity - 86%]
[Storage Ring Unit 5 - On - Remaining Capacity - 90%]
[Storage Ring Unit 6 - On - Remaining Capacity - 86%]
[Storage Ring Unit 7 - Off]
[Storage Ring Unit 8 - Off
[Storage Ring Unit 9 - Off]
[Storage Ring Unit 10 - Off]
A little over half is left. Only 30 minutes of combat and I’m already using up this much ammo. The bill’s going to be huge, hah, whatever. I’m not paying for it.
It was good and fun that Itsuki knew he wouldn’t have any financial issues after this training exercise, he’d still get paid and he would fulfill his contract to the letter. He was going to win and get as many students to the finish line.
And while S1 had told him to return to the front as soon as possible, Itsuki would have to ask S1 for his forgiveness. He needed to address the elephant in the sky and it wasn’t the mass of blue and gray robot swarms that were dead ahead.
No, the real problem was as S1 had come to likely fear.
[Alpha 1 and Bravo 1, move to my respective left and right flank.] Itsuki commanded. [I’ll play as an active decoy. Once we engage combat, loose all the decoy buoys you have and then focus fire on my position. I don’t care if you hit me, just clear the enemies up as fast as you can.
[Understood.]
Green lights blipped in his HUD and Itsuki blipped back. Going through his HUD’s system, he selected the gear he would need in the coming minutes.
[Wrist Mounted Shotblast - Equipped]
[Twin P9C12 Machine gun - Equipped]
[DE-AT Grenade Launcher - On Standby]
[Missile Pods - On Standby]
[ASHBUNKER - On Standby]
Itsuki was glad he had gotten his hands on this Quantum Requip System. It made re-equipping equipment easier and hands free. Before, there was a delay time in putting away his weapon into the storage rings and taking a fresh set out.
Without the Requip System, he would’ve tossed the guns away since pulling out a new one was faster than reloading. Efficient, handy, and it cut down on cost when it came to replacing his gear.
Patting the flat steel plate of his armor, Itsuki sent off the target data package along with the coordination orders to Alpha 1 and Bravo 1. These were all created via the earpiece's sophisticated wireless interface.
Alpha 1 marveled at the detailed orders and maneuvering patterns that played out across his sight. Only a veteran and pro could have made such a plan in such a short time. He would be stressed if he tried to do the same, even more so while under fire and underpressure.
Times like this, Alpha 1 realized just how far he was from the top. No time to think about that. He shook himself.
As the meters of distance to the enemy decreased, the swarm of aerial robots began flaring a red light. That was enough for everyone to know what to do. They scattered and red laser like beams lancing towards them.
Alpha 1 had his team fire a group of smoke grenades, lining the path ahead.
Working in tandem, Bravo 1 and her groups released a number of hovering aerial balloons. Shooting out like flares from their grenade launcher rifle attachments, the bright light and core energy signatures drew the aerial constructs in.
TAC-047 saw the air space ahead clear and floored it, pushing the pedal to the metal and the drive stick fully forward. Itsuki heard Amanda and the rest scream as he used the clouds and smokescreens to move in.
Amanda, you get a second chance, just don’t mess it up. Alright. If you do, I’ll have to kill you.
With that weight on his shoulders, Itsuki zipped through each cloud undaunted by the seconds of purely hindered sight and the chilling sounds of beams passing near him. Trusting in his prior trajectory calculations, Itsuki’s sensors rang with an alarm.
[Enemy moving to encircle me! Bravo 1, requesting support fire!]
[Understood, brace yourself Itsuki, this is going to hurt!]
[I know, now get on with it! Engaging in 10 seconds.]
No sooner had he said that did a troop of kamikaze robots zipped at him as he broke through one of the smokescreens. Itsuki raised his wrist and a torrent of buckshot was released from the wrist integrated Shotblast device.
Sent tumbling mid air, the kamikaze drone fell away, bursting into a sphere of red and then puff of smoke. Unceasing in his next actions, Itsuki advanced into the swarm of gray and blue robots. Red lasers swarmed him but they found only air as their company.
He opened up with his own gun fire, two submachine guns held at the hip bursted with continuous pops. Slicing a silver path, the drones fell to the hundreds of bullets that filled everything ahead of him.
Chancing at the moment he needed to reload, the aerial drones flew in, their red eyed light shining with intense noise. One made to slam itself into him, but found itself blown apart as a smoking shock of mid air bursting shrapnel grenades encapsulated it and Itsuki.
Being the tougher of the two, Itsuki flew forward, his guns locked and loaded. He again moved to bore deep into the swarming, taking as many of them out as fast as he could. When he ran dry of bullets, the enemy again tried to swarm him but yet again he was saved as explosions rocked the air around him.
The robots, not the stupid mindless machines they were, analyzed and moved to swarm Bravo 1 and her team, yet when they did, Alpha 1 stepped in and laid into them. In reaction they would try to accost Alpha 1 and his team but were countered by Itsuki, who took more and more of them out.
Unable to focus on all three threats at once, the drones kept swarming Itsuki, but his ammo rarely ran dry and his escape was always covered in the veil of explosions that damaged them as much as they did him.
Suicidal was what the robot’s analyzed in the last moments as they were shot apart and blown up. The aerial dogfight went on for a half hour and the fight shifted in Itsuki’s favor.
He, with Group Gamma, pushed the swarm back. By now, they were close to the front and he could see that the situation at the forward position wasn’t faring well.
Itsuki tried to communicate with S1, but his signal was faint. Still in the fight, Group Gamma took up a circular formation in the air as they moved to defend the airspace on their allies side of the field.
Just as they did, new signals appeared on Alpha 1’s always active passive scanner.
“What the.. It isn’t a robot?”
He passed the data along to everyone and Itsuki reacted first to the new info. Spotting the figures first, he materialized a 4 port rocket launcher and quickly salvoed that and another.
All 8 rockets crashed and bursted red in the distance, but the new signals flew forward, unhurt.
[We’ve got incoming and they're not robots. Keep on your toes everyone!]
Arriving on colorful wings, the new signals were in the shape of birds. They cawed a sound oddly digitized and their 1 meter long frames glowed an unnatural light. At first, the trainees thought they were holograms but two ambitious kids found themselves clawed and pecked out of the sky before they knew it.
They were fast, jet speed fast.
[Dang it! I told you to keep on your toes, these aren’t normal enemies.] Itsuki warded them off with gunfire at a distance, making sure they weren’t close enough to close in. [Keep an eye out, the controller must be around here somewhere.]
[What? A controller?] Puzzled, Alpha 1 scanned the area but it came up empty. [Itsuki, there's no one here except these new constructs, what are you talking about?]
He didn’t answer, instead, Itsuki peered around at the nearby clouds. For a second, a lumpy ball of white fluff flickered. There you are!
Not holding back, he equipped his external pack and fired every missile pod he had. The heat sinks on the pack’s internal circuitry rose to dangerous levels, but he pushed the machine to its limit.
Closing on from all sides of the cloud, he laid it on thicker and fired both his chain guns and submachine guns.
[There! Fire at will! Do it now!]
Unhesitantly, Group Gamma did so. Grenades and bullets pierced the cloud. It was over kill and showed no effect initially, but as Itsuki’s missiles closed in the cloud suddenly disappeared in the moments before they impacted.
Left in their wake, a glowing sphere took the cloud’s place.
[My my. You seem to have deep pockets today, now don’t you, Itsuki?]
The unfamiliar voice of a woman crossed over the comms. By the slight choppy and static tone, it was an intrusive communications attempt that wasn’t standard by any means.
[I knew I should’ve shot you with the fusion cannon. Guess that’s what I get for rushing.]
[Oh, how honored. I feel like I actually got one on you.] The woman’s voice cleared up as the glowing sphere dissipated. Revealed was a tall and mature woman.
Shapely in all the right places that made a man stand up straight and true, she struck a teasing pose and grinned.
[Hi Hi Itsuki, it’s good to see you again, how’s been work? Has the cash been rolling in for you?]
[Of course.] Itsuki replied flatly. [I see you’ve dressed appropriately.] He was being sarcastic, though Bravo 1 had no clue. She thought the new arrival was too scantily dressed.
The woman’s shapely body and top heavy assets were squeezed into blue short shorts and a tight black and white tank top. The woman was beautiful nonetheless so much so that she likely wasn’t a small time gravure idol.
No, by the energy she was giving off, the woman was an explorer and Bravo 1 knew who she was.
[Arielle Sohlo.]
[So you’ve heard of me~.] The woman winked at Bravo 1.
[Yeah, I know you, you’re an inspiration like Itsuki here. You’ve also been called one of the strongest grunts, or, should I say that you used to be one of the strongest grunts.]
[Ding Ding Ding, correct, Now as a prize, you all get to be defeated by me.] The woman smiled, showing her perfect set of gleaming teeth. [Sorry if it's not what you want, but a job is a job Itsuki, and I have to get paid, so I’ll make it flashy and fun. So enjoy yourselves.]
Arielle had such a cheery mood, yet the brutality of her words were what everyone expected of a veteran explorer. They were down to earth and were professionals, though Arielle had a charm to her, it wasn’t the same for a certain person here. They looked at Itsuki and paled at what he said.
[I’m going to kill you.]
[Arielle Sholo]
[Explorer Ranking: Unranked]
Description: Tall, sexy, a gorgeous blonde, but with a sharply keen sense in all things technological. Many people have come to underestimate Arielle for her showy Manifested armor, which looks like casual clothes. But those who know the girl underneath all that sexy appeal knows of the stalwart personality and decisive nature within. Any job Arielle takes, she does it to the letter. In summary, she is one of the many explorers who graduated from Andromeda and epitomizes the school’s efficient curriculum of nurturing true explorers.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/43mCnYWm/1702750452767.jpg]
Note: She is an internet celebrity on the side, running charities to help with the reconstruction and liberation of the Western Bloc’s land from the ravages of the Starfall Calamity War.