Chapter 16: Chapter 16: {LOVELACE-01} MOBILE ENGAGEMENT CHASSIS [X]

Chapter 16: {LOVELACE-01} MOBILE ENGAGEMENT CHASSIS [X]

 

Something was wrong. It had been nearly three days and yet Sahaqiel was nowhere to be seen or heard. Completely unusual for the nude Angel.

"Sarah, are you there?" Jack muttered aloud, yet there was still no response.

He rolled over in his cot, thinking about the discussion he had had with Captain Domino to get his mind off of Sahaqiel's silence.

He was shocked at Mi'shka's declaration of being a slave, but the officer quickly recanted and stated that he was joking, explaining in depth to Jack what his actual position was.

He was an Attendant, a man chosen by a woman to be her servant, battle companion, and sometimes even a lover. So despite him being a Captain, he was beholden to the woman's whims.

In the Empire, to reward their officers, the Empress allowed high-ranking women or accomplished officers to select men to be their attendants. And in this case, Lieutenant Eleanor Belfusa had chosen Captain Mi'shka Domino to be hers. Men were allowed to refuse of course, depending on their standing and rank, but according to Mi'shka he had accepted the offer because "That Harpy promised me a lab!"

Jack rolled out of the dingy bed, revising his opinion on the Empire. The last few days had been nothing but touring, chores, and getting familiar with the crew of the HMS Monarch. But now that he had time to himself and decompress, for the first time in a long time, Jack began contemplating his future.

This was not how he'd figured his life would be going. Hundreds of miles away from home, inside a massive battleship, destined for a foreign land with an actual angel from myth in his head.

This was the adventure he had told himself he had wanted and yet... He was nervous… he couldn't shake the sinking feeling that something was wrong. He had gotten away too easily.

Leaving the tiny bronze-walled room to calm his nerves, Jack stepped into the brightly lit hallway where soldiers were going about their duties. It had taken him a moment to get used to all the woman, but after dealing with Sahaqiel's antics, he wasn't quite as flustered as he would have been prior. Seeing the time, Jack began walking toward the cafeteria, perhaps a late-night snack would help ease his sense of worry.

On his way, he passed by Jill's door and peeked inside, but the little girl was nowhere to be found. No doubt hanging around with Lieutenant Belfusa and her Mechframe. Looking to his side he did a quick peek to check the girl's canisters and replace her pod's batteries before continuing his quest to fill his stomach. On the way Jack passed by a familiar man in blue military fatigues that was standing guard outside the Cafeteria.

"Working late again?" Jack said, it was already four AM and the man hadn't moved since the last time he saw him at ten AM.

"Another day, another credit Jack." Sergeant York grunted, opening the door for the teen. With the lack of other men onboard, the man and Jack had bonded over their shared gender. "Egg casserole and potatoes today."

"Again? This is the second day in a row!"

"Just be thankful we have meat. Usually it's just potatoes and powder." A woman exiting the cafeteria interjected as she walked by.

Sergeant York made a knowing nod in agreement, turning to Jack. “Enjoy it while it lasts, kid, this’ll be the best food you’ll get until you leave basic training.”

Jack leaned in close to the Sergeant, making sure he wouldn’t be heard by the soldiers entering and exiting the cafeteria.

“Is it true they put something in the eggs to lower your… testosterone?” Jack asked, pointing at his nether region. The Sergeant raised an eyebrow at the teen before letting out a hearty laugh.

“And who told you that?”

“Uh, Sergeant Melody.” Jack answered, remembering the group of woman that had tracked Jack down and regaled him with various stories from basic training. Though now that he thought more about the stories, he was feeling a little ridiculous that he had asked the question and wanted to take back the last five seconds.

The soldier shook his head while chuckling. “Honestly, I don't know. It's a rumor that's been around since I was in basic. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you though, there's a whole slew of stuff the Empire does that they don't tell you about. It's called Need to Know, so don't worry about it and go inside n get some chow.”

“Yes Sergeant.” Jack replied, feeling a little flustered by the man’s response.

After grabbing a meal tray, Jack took a seat at an empty metal table and pulled up his system.

[Angel System Status] [TITLE]- [The Incomplete Nephilim]/[???] [JOB]- None	HP-[180] MP-[20] [???]-[1]
FREE POINTS REMAINING: - 0 [STRENGTH]- 15+3(18) [VITALITY]- 18 [SENSE]- 12+10(22) [AGILITY]- 12+10(22) [ARCANA]- 10 [???]- 2 [???]- 1 [Active Buffs] Wind Affinity I(+10 Sense, Reduce cost of Aero based skills) [Passive Buffs] Partial Rune of Atalanta(Left+Right Leg+10 Agility modifier) Weakened Sigil of Gehenna(Left arm+3 Strength),Fractional Blessing of Sahaqiel(+20 Wind Affinity+10 Light Affinity) Skill Siphoning. [Resistances]- +5 Radiation(Human Innate) +50 Anti-Curse, +20 Anti-Corruption. +5 Inertia [?????]-	[ACTIVE SKILLS SLOTS] [Slot 1]: Gasp of Gehenna LvL 1(Drain target of mana. Warning: excessive drain can lead to the target's death.” EVOL [Slot 2]: Fira LvL 1(Let lose a burst of hot flames from palm) 20MP [Slot 3]: Wind Blade LvL 1(Condense wind into a blade and fire it)20-15 MP=5(TH) [Slot 4]: Dash LvL 1 (Acquire a momentary burst of speed) 5 MP [Slot 5]: Optics of Sahaquiel LvL 1 {SEALED} [Slot 6]: Consume LvL 1(Extend your mana to dissolve a non-living item to replenish nutrients.)
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His Arcana was on the rise, slowly increasing by several points over the last few days. He didn't know the cause, but he chalked it up to it having to do with Sahaqiel's disappearance. He just hoped she was ok.

"Deep in thought?" Captain Skirita asked, taking a seat next to the youth. Beside him, a red-headed boy with green eyes and his hair shaved short also sat down, already munching on a half eaten raw potato.

"Recruit Jack Knight, meet recruit Leon Tali." The Captain introduced. "Leon here enlisted the same day as you.”

"Howdy." The pretty boy said, reaching over and shaking Jack's hand. Despite his prettyish features his hands were rough, too rough, and his grip was strong. "What grade are you, have you picked a class?"

"Grade? Class?" Jack was confused by the boy's line of questioning, but luckily Skirita was there to pick up the slack.

"Jack here is a late Awakened. He hasn't leveled up yet so he hasn't experienced those functions. Soon though, once we enroll him into basic training, he’ll get everything he'll need from there. " Captain Skirita explained, drawing an "ah" from the red-headed boy.

"Wait, are you an Awakened Captain?" Jack asked, drawing a chuckle from the officer.

"If I was, do you think I'd be here? It's just common knowledge in the Empire. Unlike the Corporate Alliance and the Theocracy, the Empire embraces the freedom of knowledge."

Jack found it a bit Ironic considering the term Empire.

From the side, a familiar blonde woman approached the table, placing an Intellipad in front of the Captain, before leaning down and whispering in his ear.

"I see, let's get to the bridge and get our Valkyrie back in the air then, she's been antsy pacing around the deck." Captain Skirita furrowed his brow, deep in contemplation. Before Jack could ask what was wrong the man suddenly stood up and beckoned towards the two youths sitting down. “Hey do you two want to see a Mechframe launch?"

Jack went wide-eyed, his boyish fascination cropping up again as he imagined the machine flying.

"I'll take that as a yes." Captain Skirita smiled.

 

The trio was back on the bridge, watching as the bay doors opened on the top of the hull to reveal the runway hidden below. All around the ship was darkness, making the only thing visible the dirt road ahead and the expanse of trees that occasionally revealed themselves thanks to the landship’s searchlights.

From above Jack could make out a helmeted figure in green fatigues, climbing into a crimson machine while a little girl in a wheelchair cheered her on enthusiastically.

Just as I thought Jack mused to himself. Finding joy in Jill's happiness.

"Lovelace-Zero-One are you reading us?" The Captain spoke into his terminal. "Everything good Lieutenant?"

"This is Lovelace. We read five-by-five Captain, just taking care of my adoring fan. What's the mission?" Lieutenant Belfusa's voice rang out from the terminal.

"For some reason our relay dish on aft side is offline. It might be misaligned, so we're sending you to correct its posture."

"Understood Captain." Suddenly the Mech below began to move, each step felt, even way up at the bridge as the mobile machine quickly aligned itself on the runway beneath a pair of mechanical appendages that connected a set of thrusters to its back. As fascinating as the spectacle was, Jack’s gaze moved from the mech to Jill being wheeled away by Mi’shka who was clearing her off the runway along with several technicians. He bit his lip, still unsure if he made the right decision to allow the man to run diagnostic spells on his sister.

"Flight-Wings connection green, obsiftor generator stable, Lovelace-Zero-One is standing by for permission to leave the deck."

The Captain paused, the atmosphere of the bridge changing as the man put on a smirk.

"Lovelace. You've got the green, Go-flight." At the Captain's words, Lieutenant Belfusa didn't waste anytime. The thrusters on the back of the Crimson Mechframe ignited, sending the mobile suit screeching forward in an explosive burst of movement.

"Lovelace-Zero-One taking off."

Jack couldn't help but be awestruck as he watched the humanoid machine soar into the moonlit sky. It's engines a bright contrast to the expansive darkness that surrounded the Landship.

The Mechframe flew until it gained a small distance, where it made a wide U-turn in the air, heading back toward the ship, and picking up speed. From the speed it was going, if Jack didn't know any better he would have assumed the machine was going to ram them considering how dangerously close it appeared to be getting. Jack's heart-rate jumped a little as he watched the machine get closer and closer.

Luckily the machine zipped past, causing Jack's head to snap in it’s direction as it flew by.

"Reel it in Lovelace! This isn't time to show off, just check our relay dish." Captain Skirita ordered, shaking his head before muttering something incoherent.

Suddenly the lights around the ship began to flicker, drawing everyone's attention on the bridge as the ship shuddered and lost speed.

"Uh. Was… was that supposed to happen?" Leon asked.

"No. No it was not. Officer Harper mind telling me what the hell that was?" Captain Skirita demanded, turning to a woman frantically tapping on her terminal.

"Sir, there seems to be a fault in the power lines leading from reactor one, Captain. It's causing shortages across the board. Weapons, life support, and even the engines are being affected."

"Ugh, why don't they ever stress test these things before putting us on them." Officer Riza, the woman in charge of navigation, groaned.

"We are the stress test Ensign." Captain Skirita shot back. "Officer Harper, notify engineering and get them working on the issue. We don’t want to be caught with our hands in our pants if something happens."

"Already on it sir."

“Chief Doria, notify all security teams to standby and keep our guests in their quarters.”

“Aye.”

Jack began to fidget, feeling like a bystanding third-party as he stood listening to the conversation on the bridge.

Shifting his gaze, Jack looked down at his sister in the hanger bay who was alone with Mi'shka, the sight of which suddenly gave him the urge to run to her.

Skirita paced around on the bridge as he listened to the reports of failures and system errors that were cropping up one after another. “Lovelace, come in, do you have visual on my relay dish?”

“Yes sir, sending visuals to your display now sir.” Lieutenant Belfusa voice replied back statically.

“On screen.” The Captain said, sitting down at his terminal.

Suddenly the bridge was alight with color as a hologram buzzed to life in the middle of the room, casting a bluish glow upon everything inside. From the footage being broadcasted, Jack could make out what appeared to be a large saucer attached to a thick metal rod. But oddly, despite the thick metal surrounding it, there was smoke billowing from the rod as if it were cooking from the inside out.

“What the hell?!” Skirita shouted in alarm, leaping out of his chair. “Lieutenant, get us a closer look.”

“Moving Captain.”

An abrupt shift in camera angle and light vibration on the hull indicated that the Lieutenant had landed her Mech on the ship. The footage zoomed in, with each vibration, a step of the machine getting closer and closer to the damaged relay dish. As she approached there was a visible flashing light that was flickering rapidly as she approached.

“What is that?” Lieutenant Belfusa said inquisitively.

Without warning the hologram shut off, followed by a loud blast that knocked Jack off his feet and onto the hard metal floor where he collided with a thud.

As he tried to pick himself off the deck, multiple violent booms shook Jack’s world, making it extremely hard for the teen to find stable footing.

Ignoring the Captain’s frantic yelling, Jack finally picked himself up and immediately rushed toward the window that was reflecting orange glows. Gazing out of it the teen's heart leaped into his mouth, causing his mind to go blank as he tried to gasp what he was looking at.

The hangar bay had become a sea of fire, with debris and mechanical parts littering the runway as explosion after explosion lit up the night sky and shook his world. The only thing Jack could make out clearly was the familiar black wheelchair laying on its side with no little girl to be found.

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