Chapter Text
—Fire is beautiful, huh. I wish you could see this, Uriel.
The image of more than a dozen harvesters burning was something unique to see, the colours of their compounds, the minerals burning, the plasma forming rivers at their feet, and the clouds of colours from the chemicals burned. After all, harvesters are treated as a food source for colonies, so they are not usually targeted, but today was the exception, today it didn't matter, the colony couldn't go on, after all, the IMC was planted and formed a fortress world, and the biggest problem was the super shipyard, Mark was only one of twenty SRS pilots who were deployed to tear apart the most defenceless harvesters.
—Mark, can you hear me?
—Loud and clear Alia, tell me.
—We're heading to the C5 sector, see you there, goodbye~
—See you. —Haaa. Well, he plays what he plays.
Mark looked wearily to the west, in theory there it was, and the existence of a couple of destroyers indicated it, even more than a hundred kilometre's away you could see the orbital artillery falling on what appeared to have been a city, Mark could only recognize that fact with annoyance, after all, from Typhon the war became too intense, the failed attempt to destroy Harmony only marked the line of what the IMC would do, and he knew it well, his home was one of the worst, and the subsequent war that transformed him, the mere memory of his white fields gave him strength, the memory of what happened to him made him burn with rage, After all, their home, an agricultural planet was transformed into a mining planet, only because of its rare earths, only because of its heavy amounts of minerals.
So Mark got up and jumped from the tower where he was, and fell to the ground, then continued west, the road was long and tortuous, the stench and earth were unpleasant, misery was everywhere, this planet seemed to have been an industrial planet, although with only one super city, since there were no traces of civilization apart from the mining areas and roads, otherwise the ecological damage was remarkable, the dead zones extended for tens of kilometers, only from orbit Mark could notice the existence of a couple of green areas, otherwise it looked like a simple moon like any other, toxic and unpleasant in some areas, but simple.
After a couple of hours Mark felt a couple of slight tremors, which surprised him, but he just continued until he got a bad headache that made him stop. After a while the pain stopped, and when he noticed it, he was sitting on the floor, with his body in pain and his head spinning he noticed how there was a cave in the distance, a strange and ominous cave, which for some reason called him, and so he decided to enter.
Already being too inside he noticed the human presence, only two guards were waiting, two spectre's, it would be easy to pass through, the problem would be the door, so I wait, he waited until a subject came out and took out a cigarette, this was his chance, so he prepared and checked his equipment, his jump team was ready, the camouflage cloak was at the maximum of its load, his phase equipment ready for any emergency, his hook was perfectly aligned and oiled, and his life jacket, his last resort, the phased embarkation team was prepared, with that ready Mark grabbed his smart pistol and braced himself, just in time for when the subject who came out was done and headed for the door, and so Mark managed to sneak into the facilities.
Mark spent too much time roaming the facility using all his patience and agility, the good thing is that there wasn't much security, the bad, the doors were mostly locked, and there were cameras in almost every room, but that didn't prevent his infiltration only delayed it, too much for his liking, while waiting he stumbled upon a strange conversation between two scientists.
—I still don't understand how it works, nor am I comfortable with this.
—I know. I know, I understand you. I'm not either, she's just a girl, but she puts up with everything.
—It doesn't make sense, doesn't it, because he would be capable, and how is he able?
—That's why we do it in theory, right?
Mark could not continue listening because they were moving away, but he would find out what they were talking about, according to the map he managed to see a few rooms behind, there was only a kinetic testing laboratory, and that is where he would go. After two hours he managed to arrive, and see with his own eyes an atrocity, a forty-millimetres search cannon, in front of a simple girl, and before he could react, he saw him shoot.
He could only close his eyes and swear to blow up this place, and furiously he braced himself, took out his modified Mastiff and loaded it with combustible ammunition thrown by him, precisely for moments like this, for when there could be nothing left, but something brought him to reality, a sob, almost inaudible, but painful, he could recognize, And there he saw her, among a cloud of dust was the girl, a light blue and purple hair, her face covered with dried tears and still fresh blood, her clothes plumb and with more and more dust, but something disconcerted him when he saw it, a bright halo on her head, a circle with what seemed to be a star on one of its sides, that was his form, but something didn't seem right, it seemed to beat, his brightness barely maintained for seconds when he returned, each one coinciding with his physical decay, more and more serious.
—Prepare the next one!
That was Mark's signal, whatever it was, this couldn't go on, so he started running, the echoes of his footsteps alerted the scientists, the alarms went off, and Mark heard everything start rumbling, the very security he saw was starting to get closer to him, but he wasted no time, When he hit the scientists they were trying to move the barrel towards the entrance, but they didn't see him, and with a simple shot he finished off one, and as expected the damage was devastating, not only for the scientist, but also for his surroundings, after all, a weapon made to pierce Armor in space could not be underestimated, and the rest of his enemies would know him.
After a minute the reinforcements arrived, only to be received with the cannon shot that was for him, followed by his shotgun shots, which slowed the way for any human who was among his forces thanks to the fire that was generated, not for nothing this type of ammunition bore the colloquial name of “The Dragon's Breath” the battle was just that, trench warfare, between him and the automaton forces of the IMC, by the time it seemed to end he decided to activate his aural implant, and thanks to it he managed to see how a considerable group seemed to be evacuating through the entrance, but nothing came close to him.
Turning to the laboratory he noticed how the girl was crouched as much as she could, her chains did not allow her to reach the floor completely, while walking this girl looked at him, terrified, eyes that made him falter for a few seconds, but he managed to come to his senses and took out a cloth which he went completely, and by the time he was in front of the terrified girl he noticed how young he was, He only had to take about four years out of this girl, calmly he took her face and cleaned it, careful not to be rough, then he took off his helmet and placed it on the belt from where he took out his canteen, drank noisily a couple of drinks and gave the girl, But she didn't want to open her mouth.
—Girl, I understand you. I wouldn't drink from a stranger either, but you need it, do it and I promise I'll get you out of here. —After his words the girl seemed to accept it, and she drank, drank everything that was left and saw him put on his helmet, raise the shotgun, and in the same second that the girl shrank one of his arms gave way, Before the other could react too, and when he came back to himself, he was in Mark's arms, the girl seemed to understand, she looked at her arms and looked at him, with unique eyes, they were a navy blue colour, tired and sore that told her enough.
After that there was only one thing left for Mark to do, get her out of that place, it was then that he felt how they hit his back, when he turned around he noticed that the girl was attached to him with her eyes closed, and looking around he understood why, a room full of shell casings, destroyed tables and the most striking, Blood on part of the walls, floor and even on the ceiling, many stains were already dried by the fire that was already extinguished, and walking towards the exit I pass between a couple of charred corpses, and carefully help her pass with my eyes closed, and so I walk to the exit, carefully, Vigilant and from time to time activating his implant to monitor his surroundings, the path was much shorter, but much heavier for him.
The light of the exit was something unique, beautiful, although strange, hypnotizing in its own way, the colors, the aromas, the sensations were something that he forgot a long time ago, an unparalleled comfort in the light that guided him through the tunnel to his exit, which to his surprise was too bright for him, even with the helmet on he could only cover the light with his arm, And when he was able to recover he noticed a small light point pointing to the side of the cave, the light was reflected, but something did not fit, it was already night, and the light was not too much.
—Girl, don't get away from me, there are gas leaks on the planet.
The girl nodded and sat on a rock out of the light, she was still visible, somewhat sore if her gestures did not lie, that only confirmed her next action.
—Falcon one, will you copy me?
—Loud and clear, do you need extraction?
—A wound, it needs urgent medical treatment.
—Because of an injury, didn't the pilots have an increase that regenerated them physically to a certain degree?
—It's not. Hhhhaaa, I'm not hurt, I rescued a prisoner, she's hurt.
—Ah. Ok, I'll go then. I'm at five.
—Understood.
Mark walked up to the girl and sat next to her, prepared to wait, he lay down and watched the stars through his helmet, unfortunately the pollution barely allowed the sky to be seen, it was then that he felt how the girl lay down next to him and observed the stars with him.
—I'm Nanami, and are you?
—Mark.
—Thank you, for, well, saving me and that.
—Don't worry, that's what I'm here for.
—You're not much of a talker, huh.
—Sorry, but it was a long day.
—And say it, the first time I've been treated like a target.
—Yes... Hey, what are you?
—What, what do you mean?
—You know what I mean, little girl.
—Oh. Eeehhhm. Well, I'm a Human like you. alone, that more resistant.
—What's that over your head?
—C-Can you see it?
—Yes? Shouldn't it?
—Not really.
—Oh, well.
After a while Mark felt a small blow in the abdomen, it was there that with difficulty he opened his eyes and saw a Crow approaching in the distance, that must have been Falcon one, late, but it was arriving, although to his surprise it was still night, and more importantly the girl was standing watching the Crow approach.
—What is that? —The girl asked as she pointed at something behind the Crow, it was barely visible to her, and with difficulty she saw a small destroyer of the Militia, one that was parked a few minutes away.
—A Destroyer, you've never ridden one?
—No. But how does it fly?
Mark could only look at her puzzled, he didn't understand how she didn't know something so basic for these ages, until he understood it, her halo over her head, her superhuman resistance, and her lack of basic knowledge, she was an experiment, or something out of the BMI, he could only think about how there could be more like her, as they could be about to face another catastrophe like Harmony's, only this time they would be the decimated attackers. Or at least that's what he thought until he saw how the sky lit up to his right, and when he looked, he saw it, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, carrier's and even to his surprise he saw the torpedo boats and swarms unleash all their kinetic charge on the main city, something that was a clear lack of his mission to capture the shipyard, clearly something changed.
At that moment Mark saw the —Wave —it was approaching quickly, and running he grabbed the girl who was frozen watching the slaughter and dragged her to the cave, he did not stop running until he reached the entrance of the facility to lock himself in, when he finally arrived he grabbed her and protected her with his body, especially covering her ears, Just in time for the remittance, she felt it as if the earth's crust itself was splitting, and it was like that for at least ten minutes, by the time she finally calmed everything down, Nanami was terrified, completely buried in it, shaking almost as much as the earth trembled.
—Come on, little one, it's now or we won't get out of here —Nanami didn't move, she didn't even seem to hear him, so he grabbed her tightly and picked her up careful not to make sudden movements, she didn't resist and just settled into the new position, and walking with her in one of his arms he began to walk through the cave, for Mark it was clear that this girl would suffer problems in the future, something like that hit her too hard, although that would be normal for a civilian.
The cave felt long and heavy, each step felt more annoying than the last, and the light that emanated from the outside was strange, renewing in a unique way, comforting and pleasant, almost like the divine light of the texts that his father read to him as a child, he never believed in them, however, here was the, remembering them and feeling something that he should never be able to feel. When he finally managed to reach the light, he felt a warmth and tranquillity that he had not felt since he was a child, it reminded them of the frozen valleys of his home, of the meadows through which he once ran among the crops, and the rivers that crossed them, of the shores of the frozen lakes near the villages, the sun coming from all directions thanks to the snowy landscape, a sun that comforted the soul, its soul.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a black and starry sky, the milky way was seen in its maximum splendour thanks to the fact that the light that reached him was dim, because the light bulb was barely on the floor, he no longer felt that heat in his body, only coldness, and there he noticed that his left hand was heavy, He had taken off his helmet at some point, and had been breathing without it all this time.
Looking with her gaze she saw the Falcon one take flight again for what seemed to have been an emergency landing, and preparing to wait she sat down again, only this time with Nanami in her arms, she looked at him without saying anything, but her eyes were something different, concern was what she saw in them, melancholy and a forgiveness, one who didn't understand why.
—Are you very small?
Nanami didn't answer, she just looked at him and leaned on him, hiding from the outside, and by the time Falcon One arrived she began to tremble, and Mark tried to comfort her as he approached the Crow that had already landed, by the time he got on and sat down he resumed his flight.
—Hey, Mark, how are you, is the girl okay?
—As far as it is possible, as far as I can see, the operation was a failure.
—Yes, the bastards started using wire-guided explosive drones again, they didn't want to risk any more.
—Now they will try to recover what little is left to see if they can do something with it, they are looking for volunteers.
—Come on, I have to take care of this girl.
—I'm sure you have to.
—He saw everything, do you really think he wants to be away from me?
—Good point. Oh hey, good news, they give us free, do you want to go out?
—It wouldn't hurt me, where?
—A planet nearby, two systems far away, has a big market for titan parts and other equipment, you could get Uriel something.
—Perfect.
—Get ready, we're coming.
After that saying Mark prepared for the landing, the trip had been short and with good surprises for him, but before doing anything he would have to take Nanami to the infirmary, he could not leave her unchecked, even though her wounds already seemed to be closed, but if they could check him it would be better that way, and he could even see if they mentioned anything about what he had on his head, by the time he finished the doors opened and Mark got down, still with Nanami in his arms, the girl barely weighed, and to Mark's surprise the girl got off his arm, and stood behind him.
Mark simply walked to the infirmary, always watching for Nanami to follow behind him, and every so often he noticed how others looked at them, to which he could only realize how strange the clothes that the girl was wearing were, an all-white sailor's uniform, with almost military distinctives, however, they do not give the impression of being really military, almost like a military administrator, or something similar.
As he entered the infirmary Mark noticed how busy it was, badly wounded people were clinging to the chairs and stretchers at the entrance, each corridor was full of wounded, some were infantry, others pilots like him and fighters, others seemed to be civilians who were within reach to be evacuated, and at that moment he felt how they stuck to his back, Nanami had clung to him, noticing this he took her outside and asked her to wait for him for a few minutes, and so Mark quickly went to see his old friend.
Walking through the stinking corridors Mark noticed something relatively unusual, genuine pools of blood in the corridors, surprised he paid attention to strange noises, but nothing, everything seemed normal to him, to which he prepared for the worst and taking out his crook he prepared to enter his friend's living room, what he found inside threw him off, she saw Olga her friend sitting with more dark circles under her eyes than she ever saw, dishevelled and without makeup, on the stretcher there was a spectre calibrating, and what seemed to be a brain scan.
—Mark, what the are you doing with the knife?
—The puddle —Mark said, pointing his crow to the puddle.
—Oh, well, it's because of him —Olga said pointing to the spectre —The poor thing had almost no chance and still got several of them out of that hell, so please don't mention what it is yet.
—Sure, I understand —Mark said understanding how difficult it is for a Simulacrum to understand their position, because he had seen it before, they require years of psychological treatment, if they can understand it, before they only erased their memory periodically, but many found it inhuman, many managed to show that one can adapt to their new situation, but there are few who manage to achieve it.
—By the way, he brings you here?
—I rescued a girl and she's a little traumatized, do you have something for stress, or something for anxiety?
—Even with all that the Cherubs say about you, I have only met nice people on that planet.
—Thank you. We were well educated.
—Have this, it will help her somewhat, although it would be better if you take advantage and take her to a real psychologist in the break they will have, it will do her good.
—Thank you Olga, see you soon.
—See you.
Leaving Mark kept a quick pace to reach Nanami, and by the time he arrived he found her quiet, sitting squatting and buried in his arms, and crouching down next to her he placed his right hand on her shoulder and with his left hand offered her the medicines as he said —Here, little one, they will do you good for now.
—Thank you.
—Come on, come on, those clothes are too stained for you to keep wearing them.
They walked for a few minutes until they reached Mark's room to which he just opened the door and said, —There's my closet, choose what you like as long as it fits.
—Hey, really?
—Of course, we can keep your clothes to repair them if you want, the important thing is that you are not with dirty clothes, I would offer you a shower, but there are only shared.
—Thank you, but I think I'm fine without one.
—If you say so, I'll leave you to choose as you please, anything just opens the door on the switch, I'll be on the other side.
—Thank you.
Nanami was left alone in the room looking at her strange friend's clothes, normal t-shirts, shirts, casual shirts, there was little to choose from according to her, but she attributed it to what was always said in her kivotos land —Men are simplistic creatures, they can wear the same outfit for a week without problems— and it seemed that this confirmed it, and by the time he noticed it, it was surprising that he only had three pants, each one different, and that counting his pajama pants.
After choosing what suited him best, he rolled up his pants and put on a white jacket with light blue tones that he found, it did not match anything with his jeans, and his uniform shoes that unfortunately he could not change due to the excessive difference in size, because he was almost two heads taller than him, but that did not prevent him from occupying one of his shirts. it even almost benefited her because that way she would not stretch the clothes, and when she was ready, she used a screen to change her hairstyle, a more casual one, a full braid from the middle of her hair, the rest she would take in a ponytail, and using the improvised mirror she was dazzled, and she could only think how those pants were a blasphemy for good taste.
By the time Nanami came out, she found Mark leaning against the wall, and with a small book in his hands, —Mark, what do you read?
—A little book I found. Are you ready?
—Yes, let's go.
Mark putting the book away and prepared to walk straight to the hangar, when Nanami arrived she was fascinated by the image of the multiple robots, all of them at least 5 meters tall and of various shapes.
—Mark, what are they? —Nanami asked Mark, leaning close to his back.
—Titans.
—Are we coming for any?
—Yes, for Uriel's sake, it was in repairs.
—What happened to him?
—The previous mission, we were the ones who planted the bridgehead.
As he listened to that Nanami became even more aware of the titans, each one seemed to be undergoing repairs, some had only scratches, others had one arm or another being built, and some were carrying things to him when he suddenly collided with something.
—Are you okay?
—Eh, yes —as soon as she said that Nanami saw how something crouched over them, when she looked up, she saw what seemed to be a mechanical eye.
—Hello Uriel, you woke up.
—Hi Mark, and miss.
—S-I'm Nanami, a pleasure.
—Nice Nanami, I'm Uriel, Vanguard-class titan.
—Well, Uriel, I'll take care of it for a while, I'm going to look for the Goblin.
—Good.
—Ma-Mark? —As soon as she said that, Nanami saw how Uriel's torso opened showing a seat in the middle of what seemed to be a cabin.
—Please come upstairs.
—Don't worry, look at him as if he were me.
—Well.
When Nanami got on she sat down and felt how Uriel got up while sawing the cabin, she saw how everything lit up and she could see how Mark walked away through a door.
—If you want to rest you can do it, I will wake you up at anything.
—Hey, well, thank you... Hey, Uriel, hey, Mark, how did you meet?
—I was assigned Mark three years, two months, and thirteen days ago, after losing his previous Titan during a mission.
—What happened?
—The Battle of Harmony, after that battle Mark became part of the Militia and joined the Special Reconnaissance Squadron.
—Was it very dangerous?
—Yes, only the fleet of remnants was present for this assault.
—Was it your old fleet?
—Yes.
—Oh, b-well, thank you.
After that for Nanami it was clear that it would be better to ask later, so she decided to lie down to rest, and she couldn't help but remember the day, the deaths, the indifference to them, and the capacity, she couldn't understand how someone would have so much evil, how a world would reach that level, it was then that she remembered her home, she remembered why she was here.
—Hey! We're ready.
—Huh? Ah! —With a start, Nanami felt how Uriel bent down opening her cabin, there she could only think about how grateful she was that Mark was there to catch her, and by the time Mark left her standing, he began to walk while giving her the signal to follow her with his hand. —Where are we going? —Nanami mentioned reaching out to him.
—To the nearest planet to buy a couple of things and then I'll go and leave you, I've already gotten permission.
—Ah, gracias. Mark.
—Don't worry, I could use a vacation anyway.
They continued like this until they reached a small plane that had a space for crew at the bottom.
—It's called Goblin, it's my personal transport.
—Did you buy it?
—You can say that I bought it.
—I rebuild it from a destroyed one he found before he joined the militia.
—Really, that's much more impressive!
—It's not that bad, now it's going up, we have a long way to go.
—And how is Uriel coming?
—Just go up.
After climbing Nanami saw with amazement the interior, despite not being as spacious as she imagined the size was similar to that of a passenger train in width, and in length it was much more than it appeared, the cabin was almost a meter above the floor, which was accessed by steps in the center which were narrower than the interior, and inside were six seats that seemed to be padded with other materials, after all, these seats clashed with the rest of the place, although Nanami must have admitted that they looked comfortable to use.
It was then that he felt the door behind him sawing and saw how the transport rose a little: —Girl, sit down or hold on! —Mark shouted from the only seat that could be seen in the cabin, when he affirmed himself, he felt another blow, this time accompanied by a very loud metallic sound coming from his back.
—You wanted to know how Uriel would come, didn't you? —she heard Mark say as she watched as Uriel had hooked himself into hooks and folded into a position that reminded him of babies.
—Won't it fall?
—There is no friction in space and it has not fallen in all this time.
—Oh —Once she stabilized Nanami approached and stood on to the seat and observed the strange controls, from her inexperience it reminded her of a cockpit of a combat helicopter, only with more controls and panels that she did not know, one of them was one that seemed to be a planet in the center of the cockpit, It showed changing numbers and graphs, it was then that he felt a momentary tremor and saw how everything was illuminated through the cabin, millions of stars were peeking out of every millimeter of the window, there were areas that could not even be seen a little black, everything was of multiple colors, even clouds were seen by the stars.
—I guess it's your first time, space is more colorful than it looks from a planet. It's much more beautiful from above.
—That's how I see it, it almost feels like we're nothing.
—Yes, although I prefer to see it the other way around.
—How?
—Well, even within this immensity we are the only ones, we shouldn't, but there is no one else, there were before, but they are no longer there, and we are too complex. The universe never cared, and yet here we are, speaking in the most hostile place for us, inside a machine that can bend the laws of physics to travel faster than light, when we should both be dead in this situation, and Uriel could never have existed without us. I think we are irreplaceable.
—That was unexpectedly complex, Mark.
—Sorry, but I like to look at the stars.
—Okay. It fits you, especially when you are without the helmet, that red visor becomes terrifying when you use it.
—I'll keep that in mind.
—By the way, hey, why do you help me?
—Because it's the right thing to do, I don't think any more reasons are needed.
—But you don't have to go that far.
—Do you have a way to get home?
—Not now.
—Then I'll help you. Y. I'll be back.
—You don't want to, do you?
—I have to.
—You can come with me —I can help you settle down, and I can help you like you helped me.
—To think.
—Mark, I will be with you regardless of your decision —Uriel's voice echoed through the Goblin's megaphones, making Nanami startle.
—Thank you, Uri.