Chapter 12: Chapter 12: [ANGEL] EmbarkIng on a Voyage!

Chapter 12: [ANGEL] EmbarkIng on a Voyage!

 

Today was the day. Today… he would finally be leaving the billboard infested City of New Eden and begin living a new life.

With his boxes on the cracked gray curb, Jack tapped his foot restlessly as he waited with Mike and Jill for the car that was supposed to pick them up.

“Thanks for seeing us off Mike. And… Thanks for everything else too.” Jack muttered awkwardly.

Despite their talk last night after Mike returned home. Jack was still feeling a bit unsettled by how nonchalantly Mike had chatted with his captive before killing him. He always knew the man was into shady things, maybe even a dirty cop, but Jack always turned a blind eye. After all, everyone needed to make a living somehow. But that reasoning didn't triumph over the uneasiness he felt as he realized how little he actually knew about his adoptive father.

Mike ruffled Jack’s hair causing the latter to groan. “Don’t sweat kiddo, anything for family. How's the Jacket fitting ya?"

"It's honestly the best gift I've ever received," Jack said with a smile and he meant it. The leather Jacket was lined with black fur that was soft to the touch and the jacket itself looked worn which gave it a rugged look. But most importantly, It had pockets. Lots and lots of pockets.

"Oh! I think I see your car coming.” Mike said, directing Jack's attention down the pot-hole filled road.

Sure enough, a large pasty green vehicle that read Movers! was barreling its way down the street at a speed that was clearly above the street limit. Jack had a sudden inclination to dive for cover as he eyed the machine charging in their direction.

Fortunately, whoever was driving the impromptu battering ram, slammed on the brakes, swerving the van and bringing the vehicle to an abrupt stop in front of the apartment, narrowly missing a car that was attempting to pull out.

"Maybe we should just take a train?" Jack muttered out loud as the van’s engine died out.

Before he could weigh his options, the dented passenger's side door opened to reveal a certain heterochromatic-eyed Captain who jumped out and raced toward Jack with his arms spread wide.

Oh great.

[Oh great.]

Jack and Sahaqiel sighed simultaneously.

“Hey, friend! Congrats on joining the Empire!” Mi’shka yelled, bear hugging the teen before he could voice his protest. As the man put Jack back down he attempted to shake Jill’s tiny hand. “And you must be Jill! Jack’s told me so much about you!”

Before the Captain could touch his sister, Jack quickly smacked the man's hand away.

“Don’t touch my sister,” Jack growled. Seeing the teen's reaction, Mike stepped between the man and the little girl, eyeing Mi'shka up and down.

“Whoa! Hey now! I assure you my intentions are completely honorable, my good friend! Honest!” Mi’shka threw his hands up defensively, backing away from the Constable glaring daggers at him.

The sound of a door being slammed shut interrupted the would-be altercation, announcing instead the presence of a female officer with a pair of revolvers dangling from her hip as she walked. Unlike Captain Domino’s blue uniform, hers brandished a stylized red and black winged emblem that encircled several sets of triangles on her left breast and shoulders.

“Good morning, I’m Lieutenant Eleanor Belfura of the Arthurian Empire.” The blonde officer introduced herself with a crisp salute. “And you are Recruit Jack Knight I presume?”

Sharp. Jack thought to himself returning the salute.

“Yes, I am. Uh, this is my sister Jill and this is my adoptive dad Mike.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Mike said, extending a hand while eyeing the symbol on the blonde woman’s uniform. “What's a member of the Valkyries doing driving a moving truck around?”

Momentarily taken aback by Mike’s question, the woman retracted her hand before she and Mike made contact. “Ah. a deserter...”

"Not quite." Mike smiled, winking at the woman. "I'm just an Attendant, watching over some Swanlings."

Suddenly the atmosphere seemed to change as the woman began staring at Mike as if he were a foreign object. She blinked a few times before her eyes darted to Jack. Then to Jill. Then back to Mike and then repeated the process several times, making Jack confused.

Mi'shka waved a hand in front of the Lieutenant to draw her attention and step between the two groups.

“Hello? Helllo? Lieu-ten-antttt? As much as I like enjoying whatever… it is, you're doing in silence, we should get moving. Colonel Potter is waiting for us at the Landship and I’m scheduled for a sleep break soon.”

“Hush, Blood Silver, I am aware of the timetable." The woman snapped, shaking herself from her stupor. "Get to work, or I'm writing you up again.”

"Hey, you're the one standing around Lieutenant." Mi'shka protested before walking over to the children's luggage.

That's odd, since when did a Lieutenant give orders to a Captain? Jack thought as he watched Captain Domino stack and lift most of the sibling's cargo into the truck single-handedly.

Even Jill's bed, which had taken hours to pack away and move, took Mi'shka only a few seconds to stuff into the back of the vehicle.

I wonder when I'll get that strong. Jack thought to himself, watching as the man spent more time trying to fit it into the back of the truck than actually picking up and moving it.

"Alright that's everything. May I be dismissed now oh magnanimous Queen Lieutenant?" Captain Domino said snarkily.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Help the young lady to the vehicle Mi’shka."

"With pleasure!" Captain Domino grinned, immediately making his way toward Jill. "You heard that? It was an order!"

"No! I'll take it from here." Jack interjected, intercepting the man’s path before he could reach his sister and wheeling Jill toward the van before the madman could take her.

"Weeeeeeee!" Jill squealed as Jack pushed up the ramp extending from the back of the vehicle. “See ya later Uncle Mike!”

“See ya later kiddo,” Mike called back his voice breaking for a moment.

"Is that everything?" Lieutenant Belfusa asked, already approaching the driver’s seat door.

"Yea. Just one a sec, please." Jack said before taking off and standing in front of the gruff man who was fishing out a cigarette.

"I uh. I know I've said it before but… um thanks again, Mike. Seriously, for everything. We wouldn't have gotten this far without you." Jack scratched his head awkwardly, thinking about how much he owed the man. "I promise to pay you back when I can."

Mike blinked his eyes a few times and smiled at the young man in front of him. Then his gaze passed over Jack and toward the van where Jill was being buckled in before reverting back to the boy in front of him.

"Enough grandstanding kiddo, come here," Mike flung his pack of cigarettes away and pulled Jack into his arms. "When you finally grow some facial hair you come visit me again would ya?"

There was a sudden tightness in Jack's chest as he felt some of his anxiety and stress burned away.

"Yea. It's a promise." Jack said, pulling himself away from the man's warm embrace and making his way to the cramped van.

After Jack buckled himself in the vehicle that smelled oddly of mint, Captain Domino immediately banged on the dashboard.

"Alright! Onward and upward darling! Otherwise, we’re gonna be late." The Captain ordered, drawing the ire of the woman next to him.

"You're lucky you don't know how to drive." The Lieutenant scowled before shifting the car into gear.

 

Despite the woman complaining about the Captain's lack of driving ability. Jack felt sick, every fiber of his being wanted to vomit as the pasty green van soared uncontrollably through the billboard-ridden metropolis.

You are reading story Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN) at novel35.com

"Faster! Faster!" Jill screamed as Jack draped himself over her to act as a form of cushion in the very likely chance that they crashed.

“Can we drive like we have some sense?!” Jack’s voice screamed in panic.

Captain Domino turned around in his leather seat to flash a not-so-reassuring grin at the boy.

"Oh don't worry! She always drives like this. Haven't crashed once!" The man exclaimed, completely unphased by the speed demon's manic driving.

“There’s always a first time for everything!” Jack countered, his voice breaking and drawing a smirk from the officer.

The van did a sudden turn, nearly lifting the vehicle off its wheels as it narrowly dodged several pedestrians walking by.

"You should see her pilot a Mechframe!" Mi'shka yelled, his body wobbling back in forth in the front seat. "She's even more erratic and dangerous!"

As the Captain talked, the van swerved into oncoming traffic, where it began weaving through several cars approaching from a completely different direction.

[Inertia Resistance LvL 1 obtained!]

Jack didn't have time to contemplate the words that flooded his vision as their vehicle nearly rammed into a produce truck sending cabbages flying.

"We're driving on the wrong side of the road! It's illegal! It's illegal!" Jack screamed, his heart leaping into his chest as the van narrowly avoided crashing into another car.

Without warning the green box on wheels made a sharp lurch, sending Jack's stomach into a free fall as the vehicle gained altitude by driving over the railing and landing on the correct side of the road.

"Happy now?" Lieutenant Belfusa muttered, her eyes completely zeroed onto the metropolis road in front of her.

“Again! Again!” Jill squealed in delight much in contrast to her brother’s panicky whimpering.

Somehow, despite the Lieutenant best efforts, the moving van managed to make it to their destination mostly intact. Not taking the time to observe his surroundings, Jack immediately exited the car and crashed to the pavement. Unable to hold back his retching, he closed his eyes and let loose a torrent of foul-smelling green sludge that made an audible splat as it impacted a surface.

“Ewwwwww.” Jill laughed, seeing her brother throwing up on the side.

“Never again… please…” Jack moaned. Blinking away his tears, his eyes immediately went wide as he realized he was hovering over a pair of combat boots covered in puke.

Oh shit.

“Pleasure seeing you again son, you get it all out of your system?” Colonel Potter asked, helping the shaky teen to his feet.

“I-” Jack began to apologize but ended up vomiting again, narrowly missing the Colonel who side stepped just in time and patted Jack on the back.

“Don’t worry about it son, you let it all out. If it were between you and me, Mechframe Pilots wouldn’t be allowed to drive.”

Colonel Potter laughed and patted Jack on the back before introducing himself to Jill.

"How are you doing sweetie? Did you enjoy the ride?"

"Yes! It was very fun! Lieutenant Belfusa is awesome!" Jill yelled, causing the woman to pause and display a flicker of a smile on her stoic face.

"Lieutenant! I'll talk to you later, CCPD is already on the horn about your dare devil driving." Colonel Potter chastised. "So hurry up and get onboard so we can leave before they get here."

"Yes sir!" Lieutenant Belfusa signaled to Mi'shka who immediately began unloading the car.

While the van was being emptied of the sibling's possessions, Jack stood with his mouth agape as he stared at the massive box on treads that sat in front of him. To call it massive was an understatement, Jack had never seen a landship in person but he'd seen the pictures. He just never realized they'd be this big.

It was bigger than his apartment and about a city block long with hundreds of what looked like guns and cannons bristling across its shiny bronze-colored hull. It looked more like an oversized war machine than a ship of any kind.

"The HMS:Monarch." Colonel Potter said, the old man suddenly appearing beside Jack. "Five mechbays, over a hundred Point defense systems, multiple missile silos, and enough ammunition to level a small horde… Ain't she a beaut?"

"I just… never thought they were this big."

The Colonel put a hand on Jack's shoulder, a broad smile plastered on the old man's face.

"They usually aren't. She's the first of the Goliath class, and today we have the honor of being a part of her maiden voyage."

Tearing himself from the machine of war, Jack went to collect his sister, but she was already rolling herself up the gangway, engrossed in a conversation with Lieutenant Belfusa.

Looks like she doesn't need my help.

[Are you sad?] Sahaqiel peeped up after having been silent the entire car ride.

No, I know she needs to be independent. I Just….

Jack didn't have a word to describe what he was feeling.

[It's ok. I understand.]

Thanks.

"Captain Skirita!”

“Colonel Potter!”

The sudden chorus of names being called shook Jack from his inner conversion with Sahaqiel. Focusing his attention, he spotted a brown-haired officer rapidly limping his way toward them from the rampway.

“Congratulations on your first Landship command, Captain.” Colonel Potter shook the Captain’s hand. “And a virgin ship to boot.”

“Oh don’t congratulate me, Colonel, it was all thanks to the Progressives back home. Prince Roland has been making strides with the conservatives… Hm? Is this the infamous recruit bringing all the extra cargo?” The Captain said, sizing Jack up and down.

“Captain Skirita, meet recruit Jack Knight, Jack meet Captain Skirita.” Colonel Potter introduced.

The Captain offered his hand to be shaken, but Jack didn’t move, drawing inquisitive looks from both the Colonel and the Captain at the boy's lack of etiquette

Unbeknownst to them, Jack was doing his best to remain calm. Every fiber of his being burned with a rage that threatened to boil over and make him lash out at the officer.

Sahaqiel was furious. And rightfully so. Her fury bleeding over into Jack as he eyed the Crescent Star emblem that was pinned to the man’s chest. The same emblem as the smiling man's.

Just stay calm! We don’t even know if it’s the same man! Don't do something that'll get me killed!

At his words, the Angel managed to reel in her emotions just enough to allow Jack to grit his teeth and force a smile.

“Sorry, I spaced out for a moment. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Jack said, shaking the smiling officer’s hand.

You can find story with these keywords: Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN), Read Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN), Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN) novel, Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN) book, Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN) story, Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN) full, Awakening The Angel System(LITRPG): S1 Metal and Magic (LN) Latest Chapter