It all began in the year 2082.
The second space race had begun and various governments on Earth had started making plans to colonize the moon.
We knew our species could only harvest so much of our own world before it became barren and so we turned to the stars.
Little did we know that the greatest challenge to our existence would come, not from the stars above but somewhere deep below the waters of the pale blue dot we called home.
The first Hayulâ emerged from an unknown point in the Aleutian Trench and it wreaked havoc across the western coast of North America.
It took am entire week of endless attacks by men, tanks and heavy artillery to bring the fifty meter tall monster down.
The world chipped in to help rebuild what they could but nothing could bring back the hundreds of thousands of lives that were lost.
The survivors enjoyed the taste of victory although it wouldn’t be for long.
While people were trying to figure out what the Hayulâ were and what they may have wanted, another emerged from the Izu Bonin Trench and it flattened most of Southern Japan forcing the country’s citizens north.
The Eastern militaries eventually managed to take down the abominable monster and it was here that we realized that conventional weapon’s weren’t going to be enough.
We needed to stand toe to toe with the monsters in the Ring and send them back to wherever they came from.
Thus, Mankind United was formed.
A Coalition of most of the world’s countries that had one mission – to save mankind.
It’s most important division was named Group 359 who were tasked with designing and engineering the titans that would face the monsters at our door.
And so they built the first generation of Monster Hunters – The Alsayaadin.
These were fifty-meter tall machines powered by a nuclear reactor at their cores and although they were powerful, they were slow and clunky.
A breakthrough would be made in 2090 when the substance known as Glass was put to use in the design of the Alsayaadin.
It could be found in abundance in the Hayulâ and trenches from which they came. It was a clear crystalline material that could be used to generate energy using various means but it’s most important use was that of Soul Linking where a person could telekinetically use the energy within the Glass to link their soul to an object thus gaining control of it.
This was adapted into the Alsayaadin and soon Sayaanauts were able to have far greater control over their vehicles.
Glass was also added into the cores to further distinguish the second generation which were powered by Nuclear-Glass hybrid cores.
Using the Alsayaadin we were able to push the Hayulâ back, killing them as soon as they emerged and before they could cause serious damage.
This went on for almost a decade and marked the continuation of the War in the Ring of Fire.
Things, however, would take another turn when Hayulâ began appearing that could permanently damage a Sayaanaut’s soul.
Usually, if a Sayaad took damage, it’s Sayaanaut would remain unaffected because the soul was intangible and thus couldn’t be damaged by conventional means.
However, the Hayulâ that appeared in 2098 had Glass-tipped claws and teeth which they used to take out several key Alsayaadin as the century turned.
We were back on the back foot again and I had just finished my Sayanaut training.
I had also been assigned to a squad and had been flown out to Central Command which was on an island forty miles northeast of New Zealand.
It was a large military base which also served as a platform of deployment for the Alsayaadin and other troops.
The helicopter I was in landed in front of the main building, which was a monolithic concrete dome which was surrounded by smaller domes, and waiting for me was a small woman who wore a lab coat that was far too big for her and had a pair of big round glasses that were over her green eyes. She had a head of messy red hair which was slightly wet thanks to the light rainfall which fell beneath the grey morning sky.
Her face was covered with freckles but the thing that stood out most was the scar which went across her lips from her chin to her left cheek.
Standing behind her were two heavily armed soldiers who bore the Mankind United patch – a globe held up by six arms which represented the six continents.
“Welcome to the Bird's Nest, lab rat. Follow me.” The woman droned after looking me over without expression.
According to her name tag, her name was Doctor Piorra.
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I followed her and her guards across the rain-soaked tarmac, passing countless soldiers of different rank as we did.
“Please accept my condolences,” I yelled over the roar of a passing truck.
“I have no use for your words as I don’t care much of what becomes of you rats! What pisses me off is how badly he damaged the device before he got himself killed! He could have at least tried to save us the- ugh! Complaining is useless!” Piorra clicked her tongue making me wince a little as we entered the main dome via a set of doors that were one hundred meters tall.
It was here that I beheld the four Alsayaadin that were stationed in the Bird’s Nest. They all stood along the circumference of the reinforced concrete dome and were around eighty meters tall which meant that I had to look up to see their heads.
At each of their sides were equally tall towers which held up the many platforms workers stood on while maintaining the machines.
Around these towers were entire buildings that, although several storeys tall, were dwarfed by the Alsayaadin.
“As I’m sure you know, this place is home to some of the last Gen 2’s in the world,” Piorra explained as we walked towards a building at the centre of the dome.
“These will be the machines you’ll be operating alongside and while I know you know what I’m about to say, I am far too proud of the professor's work not to repeat it all so- ahem! To your right is A-G2-7 also known as the Storm Bane.” Piorra explained as I gazed in awe at the ninety-meter-tall grey Alsayaadin.
It, like most Alsayaadin, had a humanoid form but it was far sharper in shape with its head being angled backwards and its entire metal-plated frame being lined with fins that improved its aerodynamics.
“It is one of the few Alsayaadin that does not have shoulder-mounted armaments and this is because the professor didn’t want anything to get in the way of its speed and mobility. Despite its height, it's also far lighter than most Alsayaadin thanks to the lack of additional armaments and a single.powerful radiator at its back which simultaneously generates energy using the heat from the core but also serves as a thruster for additional speed.”
I nodded while trying to keep my amusement contained and turned to the next Alsayaadin which was the opposite of Storm Bane.
It was seventy meters tall, had thick rectangular limbs and carried a large box on its back.
It was also a dull yellow and had a big four-leaf clover painted on the front of its cubic head.
“That there is A-G2-13 also known as Lucky. It is a first-response machine and is designed to carry up to fifty thousand people to safety in the fifty thousand pods within the box on its back. That said, it also has one of the hardest punches across multiple generations and is a legend that has seen an entire decade of service.” Piorra explained as we walked across the concrete floors of what was essentially a hangar.
I turned my gaze to the third yellow Alsayaadin and my eyes immediately locked onto its four legs.
“That is A-G2-15 also known as Raise. It serves mostly as a glorified crane and the professor has admitted that he wishes it had features beyond its legs. I think that the professor is simply waiting to unleash its true potential since those legs can sorry almost twice the weight of standard Alsayaadin. Who knows what can be mounted onto those small shoulders? Although I guess it’d also need some kind of brace… mmm.” Piorra said although it sounded like she was talking to herself at this point.
I agreed that it's upper body was far too small and it's arms were too skinny for combat buy she was also probably right in that there was potential in its carry capacity.
“Oh- and then there’s the one you’ll be operating. A-G2-44 also known as the Ghoul.”
I looked at the last Alsayaadin in the dome and saw that more people were working on it than the others as countless sparks flew from the various points of work.
It also had several holes in some of its dark grey metal plates and most of the maintenance seemed to be around its belly.
“That poor thing was the first to encounter the new wave of Hayulâ but… I’ll let the Professor explain the rest,” Piorra said as we finally reached the building at the centre of the dome.
We entered what appeared to be an office building filled with military officers who were either jotting down various things or were on calls.
We made our way to the top floor where we entered the head office.
Waiting for us inside were four people all of whom turned to look at me with either weary or hostile eyes.
Chief among them was an elderly man who sat behind a grand wooden desk. The other three were soldiers who all dark grey fatigues.
Each of them wore black bandanas with the first, a woman, having hers wrapped around the top half of her head.
What wasn’t covered were her dark brown eyes and bronze brown skin.
The second was a man whose bandana covered the lower part of his face leaving only his slanted eyes in sight. He had tanned skin and wore a pair of rectangular glasses which emphasized his heavy brow.
The last was what appeared to be a small boy… or was it a girl… either way, their bandana was wrapped around their eyes.
They had pale skin and long white hair that was styled into two messy pigtails.
As for the old man, he wore the uniform of an Admiral and Chief among his badges and patches were five silver stars.
His bald head was lined with old scars and he had a long white beard.
I didn’t need to read his name tag to know who and what he was.
Admiral Shahid – The Falcon of Damascus.
He looked at me with unshaking eyes as I walked up to the table with Piorra in tow.
“Sayanaut Commander Mudziyo, reporting for Duty!” I stood attentively and spoke clearly.
“At ease, soldier. You are in the presence of those who may very well become family to you so, at least for now, shed all formalities.” The Admiral smiled and while I tried to make it look like I was more relaxed, my heart was still racing.
“Y-yes, sir.”
The Admiral nodded before crossing his fingers.
“I looked at your file and while everyone in this room knows that you are qualified to pilot a Sayaad, I want to know why you want to put yourself inside a steel coffin.” The Admiral said in a voice so deep it sounded like a distant thunder.
“For the sake of mankind, sir.”
The Admiral’s eyes narrowed.
“And for the sake of all who were lost to… to Hayulâ,” I said although my voice shook a little.
“That is not a bad reason to die for although I was expecting something more... creative. Oh, well. This is your crew: Corporal Jenette will be your Gunner, Private Bulkkoch will be your Feeder and Chocolate will be your C-con.”
“Wait- are they…. Umm… supposed to be out here?” I asked while looking at the small and blindfolded crewmember.
“Mmm? Well, Chocolate does whatever he wants anyway and I don’t see a problem with him being here.” The Admiral said while tilting his head slightly to the side.
“Anyway, off you go. The Ghoul should be operational by next week so spend the interim getting to know each other and your big robot. Dismissed!”
“Sir!” Everyone said before leaving the office.
I turned toward my new crew only for two of them to of them to glare at me.
“So… you’re the next of the dead,” Jenette muttered while looking me over.
“Just by looking at you, I can tell we’re not long for this world.” Bulkkoch hissed but I was not going to allow such blatant disrespect to fly.
“Is this how you usually speak to your senior officers or are you just a rude bunch?” I crossed my arms.
“No, sir. We’re just talking about the meat in the suit which, according to its file, has never seen combat. So pardon us, if you so please, for being a little apprehensive.”