Late Morning - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States

(Back a few minutes)

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- Corporal, Diana Hale ~

*Tssss* *click-click* The loud hissing of hydraulics and the stiff clicks of the cockpit's locks were usually sounds I more than welcomed. Typically, it meant that in the next half hour or so, I would be comfortable in the shower, bed, or dining hall. -But not today.-

*Click* *Woosh* As the glass canopy lifted and slid back, the pressurized air in the cabin exploded outward, and the g-suit my Cardinal had wrapped around me opened up to let me out, revealing my very tightly fitting black attire covering everything from the chin down.

For pilots of Cardinals, Blue Jays, and just about every other fighter I could think of, it was the customary uniform, fitting tightly and covering every inch of you so that the g-suit's immense pressures would be distributed evenly and comfortably when necessary. Some, like mine and most others distributed to pilots in the US, even had cooling capabilities.

However, for the first time since I became a pilot, it didn't prevent me from getting soaked with sweat.

-A..At least the system is online again...- Shakily opening the compartment beneath my seat, I moved my spare clothes and boots into my inventory before promptly equipping my normal camouflage over my tightsuit, which had been inaccessible since The System went down.

*Beep* "Helmet disconnect permitted." *Click*

Finally disconnecting several cables from the helmet, I stepped up out of the cockpit with it and walked down a few small steps on the fuselage before hopping down to the ground and making my way outside of the hangar.

*EEEeeeoouuu* As I approached the gate, the deafening screams of sirens began filling the air, not helping my nerves at all, before I eventually arrived in front of the dust-covered, ancient-looking white truck and held my Cardinal's key fob up to it.

*Click* It undid its locks instantly before popping open the door to let me inside. "Haah..." -Fuck...- There was no going back now.

Trying my best not to think that the truck could end up as my coffin, I reluctantly stepped up into it, quickly pressing several buttons on the car's dash in a sequence as per Doctor Forna's instructions. -I hope this works...- *Beep-crackle*

The moment I pressed the last button, the sound of static from my helmet filled the cabin through the car's speakers before my helmet's AI spoke. "Holographic system's offline. Would you-"

"Select low bandwidth audio only, and enable external control relay."

*Beep* "Adjusting settings... Complete. Attempting to reconnect to Communications channel." There was a short pause as I closed the door and got myself situated before the massive screen on the dash lit up with information I would typically only see in my helmet's hud.

-Holy shit... It worked...- Thankfully, the car's systems that predated my grandparents were still working.

But I wasn't sure whether to call it lucky or unlucky.

*Beep* "Communication Established with-"

"Miss Hale, can you hear me?" The voice of Doctor Forna, the researcher from the Magic Tower who had been instructing me since my landing, immediately filled the cabin.

"Yes, thankfully." His voice was like an angel's to my stress-ravaged mind.

But there was no time to relax. Almost immediately, he began instructing the AI in my helmet, disabling all kinds of security measures on the car before releasing the pedals and opening the dash to reveal a steering wheel.

Like nearly every other car made in the last few hundred years, it wasn't meant to be driven, but thankfully.. or unfortunately.. that car was made back when manual controls were still mandated, even if they were locked from public use. -To still have a steering wheel and pedals.. this car really is ancient...-

I felt like I was sitting in an old relic.

But rather than viewing it as an old hunk of junk, the doctor sounded very satisfied with it. "We were incredibly lucky the airfield still had one of these in service." He spoke somewhat distractedly while I heard the clatter of keys in the background. "It's got some really old equipment on board I can use to spoof the facility's security; that way, I don't have to risk sneaking you in... The only issue is it will come at the cost of communications, so we won't be able to talk until you hook your helmet up to the facility's main console. But don't worry, I'll explain all the details you need before I disconnect."

*Ding!* As the steering wheel finally lowered into position, the dash updated with an old map and GPS.

"Miss Hale, can you see the map on the dash?"

"I-I can." Swiping across the panel, I tried to get an idea of where the facility was in relation to me before letting out a breath of relief. -It's secluded...- It was right on the boundary of the lower and middle districts, about ten kilometers from the airport, and about a kilometer from a main road, meaning I would be far away from people or traffic if the monster were to break in.

"Unfortunately, it looks like you will have to navigate the city the old-fashioned way. Just like everything else communicating from outside Richmond to inside, the GPS isn't working..." He lowered his tone with agitation before mumbling to himself. "Could the mana density have really changed that much..?" But after a moment, he continued as if he never asked the question. "In any case, the Sergeant Major and I trust you can both drive and navigate there without a GPS, correct?"

I felt the weight on my shoulders increase in an instant. "O-Of course!" -It can't be any harder than driving my jet on the runway, right...-

Thankfully though, while I was nervous, compared to flying a jet, driving a car was nothing.

Finally getting on the move, I swiftly made my way out of the airport, navigating through colossal crowds of people who appeared to have been evacuated there, before making my way down the completely empty main roads while the doctor attempted to guide me through everything I was about to have to do on my own.

It wasn't too bad, but it was a lot to remember.

However, when the time for him to disconnect finally came, and the comms went silent, my mind was slowly overtaken by fog.

The longer I sat in silence, the more time my mind had to pick apart the details of what I had seen.

Finally taking note of the panicked expressions of people as they carried their loved ones coughing up blood toward the airport, I couldn't shake the idea that I was walking straight into the maw of a monster.

But trying to ignore that awful sensation, I drove for several minutes, eventually making it to roads that were completely desolate and clear of everyone, even thieves.

But while my senses continued screaming at me to turn around, when I was finally nearing my turn off the main road, I caught a glimpse of something that looked like a person in front of a store. "H-Huh?!" I hadn't seen anyone for several kilometers at that point. -I knew it was odd for not even thieves to stay behind...- But as I hastily looked back at the store, I saw nothing. -Huh? Where did they...-

*CLANG* "Emergency brake engaging."

Getting thrown into the steering wheel as the entire car was pulled toward the ground by a massive magnet, my body stiffened in a panic.

However, while I thought I had crashed, when I could finally look ahead of myself again, I found myself perfectly centered in the road with 'a person' casually standing in front of me.

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It was 'her'... The person we were tasked with rescuing before shit hit the fan. -B..but that wasn't even that long ago...-

It was way too far for a human to travel so quickly, even if she somehow managed to survive.

Yet there she was, casually eating a bagel while looking me in the eyes through the dark, heavily tinted glass without a single injury on her.

I didn't know what to even think, but as I instinctually tried to ping her with a system panel, to no avail, just as Eli had, I started questioning if I was looking at a ghost.

However, as I had time to look at her armor from so close, another possible explanation crossed my mind...

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- Evren Lestir ~

*Ding!*

System Name: N/A (Native)

Name: Diana Hale

Status: Fearful

Race: Human

Age: 24 years

[Titles]

One Who Exceeded Sound , Native