Scarlet Blade: Record of Golden Wings - Chapter 45

SCARLET S BLADE
Record of Golden Wings

Chapter 45 : Recruitment


* * *

The base of operations for the Birchwood Company was a convoy of trucks. The trucks were of various purposes: some were living quarters, some were comprised of communications equipments, and some were mostly armory.

From time to time, the mercenaries under this company would need both shelter and base of operations. These trucks could let them take two jobs at once, or enable them to take on a great mission. Inside the main truck, Glerenceria, Terrivia and Cherry were talking to Maciel in a meeting room.

"Air condition's too much to ask? Strictly work vehicles, huh?" Terrivia asked.

"The next maintenance is due in 3 days, so we have to save up the power for night time use. Sleeping, you see." Maciel answered, "Now, what is this massive gig you speak of?"

"Do you know the name Raid Breaker Joan?" Glerenceria asked.

"I've heard of her. Flabbiest piece of work, but she delivers. The black sheep of all Whippers around the world, I believe. What about her?" Maciel asked.

"I don't know which unit she belonged to, but apparently she was a Royal before she defected because of descrimination. But backstory aside, a particular event 4 months ago should raise your attention. She was part of a job gone wrong, and with her failure made known to the monitors, she was supposed to be eliminated, but Varcosta got to her before they did, and now both of them were sort of on the lam." Glerenceria answered.

"Now they're both settled down in the East?" Maciel asked.

"Sort of. They are currently under shelter as basic employees of the Core Agency. You have long range communications I presume? We can use them to open a very encrypted line that can brief you in on the things you need to know." Glerenceria answered.

"But only under my supervision." Maciel insisted.

"By all means. Heck, you can even let some others in on the chat. You won't regret it." Terrivia grinned.

Maciel twitched her eyebrows, but she first used her fingers to meeting projector to make an interface turn up. It was a verification interface that required identification. After Maciel put up her right palm for scanning, the entire projector came to life, displaying various settings.

"You can type it with your own fingers if you want." Glerenceria added, "You go to the Core Agency's web domain and the rest will unfold from there."

"Really now...." Maciel was on alert.

Not long after accessing the webpage, the display of the projector appeared to be hacked as it garbled into pixels before rearranging into a symbol. Then the symbol gradually became the image of Beatrice's head, neck and shoulders of the usual child-like self.

"Whew. There you are. I detected your signals in your long distance call so I know it's you. Who's this lady?" Beatrice asked.

"She is Maciel. We just met in less than 5 minutes, so can you bring her up to speed? And bring Varcosta along if you can." Terrivia requested.

"Sure thing. Pleasure to meet you miss Maciel, I am Beatrice but I'm busy so I'll get Varcosta and then we'll both take over the role of explaining. Hope you don't mind...." Beatrice disappeared soon after she finished talking.

Maciel turned her head to the Arkana, "A little girl?"

"She's no girl and she's far from little. You will know why." Terrivia giggled.

Varcosta soon appeared in the display, but through a window instead of being holographically projected.

"Hey Mace. You like the company I sent you?" Varcosta joked.

"Too early to tell. What are you up to? What is this Core Agency I've been hearing about?" Maciel asked.

"Straight to the point eh? Alright...." Varcosta mustered up her composure before she began, "You remember what happened between us and Backshooter Garnet, right?"

"How could I forget? So did you kill her?" Maciel asked.

"No. If anything, she's fit as a fiddle, and is fighting off a bunch of these diablos." Varcosta brought up several pictures of Shadow Army members: Cabal, Blackguard and Genesis-disguised soldiers.

"What in the blazes...." Maciel looked in disbelief.

"These are no costumed freaks to be sure. I have lots of evidence and data showing that they are a pre-invasion force that was bred to kill us Arkana. The company sitting with you? They're specialists who survived them. These are the Shadow Army our western government is trying so very hard to deny existence of." Varcosta explained.

"Pre-invasion force?" Maciel asked.

"Yes. They are waiting for the right time to conduct massacre, and pave way for their Narak masters. The Narak are coming back to settle the nuclear score." Varcosta answered.

"This is.... This should've been made known to everyone." Maciel answered, but deep down her voice was that of panic.

"Only the East though. If you've been tapping to the news you should've heard about Graham Winefield around 3 months ago. The name of a man who guided his Arkana to unravel the workings, only to get killed by a spy. To summarize, the East is completely aware of the Narak coming back. The West however is still in disbelief because of cover ups and discrediting work." Varcosta answered.

"This still sounds like a tall tale. Assuming this Shadow Army is real, why should we believe that the Narak are coming back?" Maciel asked.

Beatrice interrupted, "We can borrow you access to our space telescope and you can have a look yourself. Judging from light speed, the Narak are only months away from reaching our solar system, and there's no telling how fast they've accelerated. You really think that just because we have 2 hundred years of waking up, and the Narak didn't come, that means they're gone for good? There's also the possibility that Earth has been their dish in the menu for a longer time before Jesus Christ."

"Then let me have a look." Maciel answered.

"Alright...." Beatrice nodded and enabled a direct link between the projector and the large scale telescope which was located in outer space.

Raw, 2D imaging showed luminescent Naraks flying in swarms. 3D image processing, though not accurate, would process scale data by calculating distance between the telescope and the sighted objects. The numbers showed their scales. Each 'adult' was larger than many skyscrapers at once. There were more than hundreds of adults.

"....The government should see this." Maciel muttered.

"No can do. Garnet's commander, Vauxhall, was in negotiations last week and all of the footage you're seeing was flat out denied of its credibility. What makes you think you'll be accepted then? Worse, you might even be killed by secret force." Beatrice replied.

"Drats...." Maciel clenched her fists, "As much as I want to find bones to pick with this discovery, I have to say you have my attention. What do you want me to do?"

"Our demands for time being are simple. We would like to trust you, and we would like you to trust us. This pill needs time to be swallowed so we can't rush things, despite our current race against time." Glerenceria answered, "We hope we can trust you to help us get credentials to roam inside Arktana, and we hope you can trust us to bring you the future we all really deserve: a future without proxy wars and cosmic predators."

"We need whatever's left of Free Knights as a whole to help us prepare for the upcoming apocalypse, but we cannot do it while we're still officially at war. Take this however you like but the reason why Mother's been neglecting social development all these years wasn't because she's neglecting it." Terrivia followed, "You can look up the history behind the Schism yourself but you are guaranteed to find lies among facts. The Capital has broad streets for vehicles, and plenty of underground shelters. Nearly all buildings are hidden with military firepower, ready to engage the Narak. What does Arktana have?"

"....You got me there." Maciel nodded, "Arktana would be like sheer opposite: fragile, ready to crumble, and casualties unavoidable. But you must have some sort of plan right?"

Varcosta spoke out, "Well, that's where they come in. You are all pretty much on your own from there while we polish our guns here."

"But there's one problem. I know the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, but just getting a step inside Arktana is going to be quite a challenge." Maciel spoke out, "I don't know what implants you have or what secret hardware you've got, but you risk having them exposed, because in order to alter your identifications you have to remove the stock serials hidden within your craniums and modules. That's double surgery for the brain and body."

"So it comes down to that. Expected, but no less troubling...." Beatrice frowned.

"What if we wear a bypass?" Cherry suggested, "We don't -have- to be the signal sources. As long as the signal is changed, it's alright, isn't it? We can hypothetically get something inconspicuous like headbands and belts, and wear them around where the signals are emitted."

"Plausible. But we'll need time to produce them." Maciel nodded.

"After we secure a means to enter Arktana, we'll need a shelter. A place where we can rest that doubles as a hideout. Can mercenaries buy property?" Glerenceria inquired.

"The paperwork will be more than a civilians, but it's possible. Some of the inner forces will come by and check who you are and what you do, so expect a period of observation." Maciel answered.

"I hope it doesn't take too long. It's like unnecessary hamstringing." Terrivia replied.

"The buying part is simple and fast. The process is much faster than civilians waiting to move to a new home. It's the observation that will take some time, but I know one way that can shorten it." Maciel spoke.

"Really? Do tell." Glerenceria inquired.

"You say you are Levi and Occulus, right? I know those are not your real names, and you want those to be the characters people know you as. So, rather than buying later after you are mercs, we buy now and say it's for our new recruits to settle in. We buy it, and then the next day, the observers will come assess your fighting ability. There's been no shortage of wildlife supression lately." Maciel suggested.

"If the observers finish gauging us, won't that mean we'll be forced to swap our implants?" Glerenceria asked.

"That's where one of the oversights of the military system comes in. Since Arktana's rigged head to toe with ID profilers, they think it's fine as long as we perform the ID change ourselves. We mercenaries are hired guns and private military contractors at the same time." Maciel answered.

"One that we can use to our advantage. I was about to bluff that we're to be double agents." Glerenceria let out a wry smile.

"You are smart, I'll give you that. If you are one of Mother's generals, things could've been different." Maciel complimented.

"I prefer not to dwell on 'What could have beens', especially one that would forbid us from getting along." Glerenceria frowned.

"Point taken." Maciel nodded.

"Say, I've been thinking about this but it's been an awfully short time finding Maciel." Beatrice spoke out, "I was expecting this meeting to come in days, not the day right after you fell into place. You got an amazing sense of directions or something?"

"No. We had an unexpected run in with one of the former generals of the entire Free Knights force, who happens to live reclusively for time being. We managed to convince her into our cause, so let's just leave it at that." Glerenceria shrugged.

"Ok. Well Maciel, we know it's a lot to ask, but please take care of the visitors you have with you. They are keys to open the door of world salvation. You will know that I'm not exagerrating." Beatrice ended the call.

"After we fight the Narak and survive, let's drink tea some time." Varcosta did a gesture and dropped the line as well.

"Drink tea.... Hmph....." Maciel chuckled under her breath.

"Now let's get to know the rest of the crew. But I need a drink." Terrivia sighed.

***

Later into the morning, Maciel called in her team's captains to the meeting room. Just like how military soldiers would need ranks, the mercenary unit also needed ranks to establish a chain of command. Below Maciel were 3 Arkana who acted as directors behind the stage.

In charge of communications and radar was Aspagra, an upright and strict looking Arkana who's a Shadow Walker with no notable killcounts. Short blue hair with an intimidating look, clad in a grey uniform. She was also second to Maciel in terms of command and has been in Birchwood for nearly as long of a time as Maciel herself.

In charge of weapons and strategy was Emelie, a Whipper with French accent and genetics. Rose pink long curvy hair with bikinis as casual attire, she had an eye for which weapons to buy, how to renew, and which to trade in.

The lead Medic and health observer was Impelle. Despite not having kill counts, she had combat experience and field records of first aid. She was in charge of body conditions and implant maintenance, and had a distinct short white hair look

"Long story short, the Narak are about to settle their score a few months later." Maciel spoke out in the briefing, "I want all of us to take care of our new friends so that they can do things right. We have been deceived by our own government, and we are taking matters into our own hands even if it's the last thing we'll do. Just look at this footage from a bona fide space telescope.... The countdown is very real. With every second, they are getting closer and closer, but all we can do for now is to establish diplomacy, and combine both our forces and those of Royals to fight them off."

"Easier said than done. If it's such an important mission, why are there only 3 visitors?" Aspagra asked with a look of distrust on her face.

"Even if it's infiltration, 'zese missies are still unarmed. How -did- they come here?" Emelie giggled.

"We can't take this to the registry?" Impelle asked.

"I know you have doubts and suspicions, but who wants to bet 10 Gold right here and now that my fist put a dent into Diamond Suit's sword? Because I know I did for sure. A solid knuckle print which can't be grinded off without damaging the integrity of the blade." Terrivia reaffirmed.

Glerenceria controlled her crystals telepathically, "We are not exactly unarmed. We keep our assets hidden and we plan the use of our last resorts seriously."

"I am one of Varcosta's girls. You don't want to get on her bad side by making sudden moves on us." Cherry threatened.

"Simmer down, ladies." Maciel spoke out sternly, "We know we only just met, but I prefer that we let time prove the truth. It was true that the Narak that invaded our planet got burned to nukes, but it's also true that their corpses had caused many chemical and evolutionary reactions, based on the data I got from Core Agency. Besides, ask yourselves and think: If you were a race of space giants, you wouldn't throw everything you have at a planet you've never been to, right? It's only a matter of time before the reserves get here, and -our- government's been trying very hard to deny this possibility."

"If you put it that way, the odds of the Narak exacting their revenge is 99%.They can spy us from afar, and wait until our own conflict wears us down further, then move in for the sweep." Aspagra nodded.

"We don't have weapons that can fight and match them, Mech or otherwise." Emelie bit her own lip gently.

"We have to prevent another mass extinction event like the one before us. We may not have another chance." Impelle spoke out in worry.

"There is always room for optimism. I am a cynic, but I am not pessimist." Glerenceria spoke out, "We may not look like it but we've been experts at anything that's not Arkana. While our hands are dirty, they're not sinned."

"I like confident women." Emelie giggled, "What weapons shall we give you?"

"Whatever crap you can find. We're just pretending until observers finish watching us. Right?" Terrivia smiled.

"Giving yourselves handicap? There's a fine line between cockyness and recklessness. You can only stand on the line for so long before it snaps." Aspagra stared.

"For your information, we're not being cocky or reckless. We've been fighting alone for some time and I assure you, such impression won't last long." Terrivia winked.

"I'm not a part of their test. I'm just pretending that I'm under your employ, so all that needs to be done is that I'm part of Birchwood on paper and I'm going to be fine." Cherry spoke out.

"Alright. Now that everything's settled, I'm leaving this Company under your care, Aspagra. I'm going to buy an apartment so that our new friends can live there and become our eyes and ears to the whole situation." Maciel instructed as she started to walk out.

"Wait. One more thing." Glerenceria interrupted, "Is Juniper still alive? The more help we can get, the better."

"Unfortunately, she's stuck around Viledon. I'll find some other way to reach her in time." Maciel left the truck.

***

After the meeting was over, Cherry was left alone to train her own powers. Despite needing the ring to bring out her own potential, she was starting to develop a capacity for Chakra.

To practice, she needed to repeat the same techniques and get better at them. The more she performed, the more she could improve. As strange of a sight as it was, Cherry repeatedly performed a single Chakra technique in front of the eyes of other Birchwood members.

'Energy Shot'. A straight line Chakra manifestation that was a blast of concentrated energy, coming out of either of her hands. Cherry was repeatedly doing it by alternating her hands, to control her own power better. If she was only doing it, it wouldn't be much of a practice, so she trained by attacking some unwanted objects like used tires and scrap metal. Each of the shot left small melting burns on the tires and denting scorch on the metal surfaces.

Meanwhile, Arril called Glerenceria and Terrivia who were standing outside the trucks so that the entire Birchwood Company wouldn't feel uncomfortable about their presence.

"I'm so sorry! I know what caused the line to be tapped. It's because I turned off the final encryption layer for locating you yesterday! I can turn it back on but it will take some time." Arril apologized.

"Sheesh. You need to be careful there. We almost died you know?" Terrivia complained.

"There will be reprimanding later when I get back. Even so, if we use comms when there are none around, there's always the risk of being tapped. Any communications tech can tell you that straight to the face." Glerenceria sighed.

"How are things going so far?" Arril asked.

"Getting a little bumpy, but we can manage. How about on your end? Have you hit it off with Vauxhall yet?" Glerenceria answered.

"Rather than hitting it off.... I think we're kinda stuck together....-ish...." Arril blushed.

"Hahaha.... It's ok. Go ahead and take him~" Terrivia laughed.

"T-t-take him, you say.... Do you even know what's going on??" Arril stuttered.

"Even if I don't, won't that be the outcome you're good with?" Terrivia smiled.

"I have to agree with my partner here." Glerenceria added.

"Well.... Thing is, I bought a ring...." Arril blushed further.

"Way to go...." Terrivia leered.

"Enough with my issues! If there's anything you better call back!" Arril dropped the line.

"So much for checking in." Terrivia chuckled.

"And so much for Aspagra listening in on our conversation. Right?" Glerenceria glanced behind her.

Aspagra was cloaking herself to blend with the surroundings optically. She disengaged her cloaking and gave a cold look at the two, "I guess you're not all talk."

"We can do more than what we can claim if we put our hearts into it. That said, you were lucky that we weren't talking about anything you're not authorized to listen." Glerenceria cautioned.

"What would you do if otherwise?" Aspagra asked.

"Well, since you're so eager to know...." Glerenceria stood up slowly and her hair turned blue, showing that she became attuned to the powers of ice, "....try warming up to this."

With Glerenceria extending her right hand, Aspagra could feel that her surroundings and her skin were starting to become cold in a sudden fashion.

"...gh!!" Aspagra tensed up and held up a sharp knife on each hand, only to put them back when Glerenceria stopped lowering the temperatures and returned to normal.

"If you want to be cold to us, I'm more than ready to respond in kind. Just remember: by treading on our thin ice, you are treading on Mother's thin ice as well." Glerenceria warned.

"I'll keep that in mind. Actions speak louder than words, and I can see now that your actions speak more than enough about your conviction." Aspagra took and bow and started to turn away.

"Hold up. You're not just going to walk away after testing us, are you? That's beyond rude, don't you think?" Terrivia asked.

Aspagra turned back and walked towards Terrivia with a hostile stare, "Your point does have a merit. I am being rude, considering the circumstances. But until you prove yourself that you're not endangering all of us because of your presence, I'm not willing to see you as our comrades. The observation process is a delicate part of your recruitment, and the slightest mistake in your acting will give us pressure from the higher ups. You want us to give you crap, we will give you. But what will you give us?"

"I see. That's why you said such things earlier." Terrivia nodded, "We appreciate your concern and frankly, I don't think our relationship has to be on any other spectrum than this one. You can hate our guts and that is fine. But assuming you managed to haze us.... Then what?"

"I wasn't going to haze you. That kind of behaviour is far too lowly for combatants of proper conduct." Aspagra denied.

"Then keep on testing us if it makes you feel better. Only spies with malicious intentions would try and make friends immediately. Then again, we're not exactly going to treat you like stepping stones." Terrivia shrugged.

"Only spies would make friends immediately..... huh?" Aspagra was amused, "I'm only here to draw lines for time being. See you later when the observers arrive."

After Aspagra left the scene, Glerenceria shook her head gently, "If only everyone studied their fiction well....."

"I feel ya...." Terrivia nodded.

"She did have a point. We cannot show ourselves off too much, or we'll look suspicious and it makes the locals look bad. We have to do it in low key." Glerenceria pondered.

"Not that I want to bring out all of my techniques. What's your plan if you have one?" Terrivia asked.

"The key is consistent fighting. We have to appear like expert Arkana, but ones without awakened powers." Glerenceria suggested.

"And we'll maintain it like..... Ohhhh...." Terrivia was hit with an idea.

***

Later in the afternoon, according to instructions given by the observers, two trucks of Birchwood Company were mobilized to a desolate region down south. It was the commanding truck and the armory truck. Maciel and the observers were inside an APC. Instead of the next day, the observers were free and decided to come by in this day.

Terrivia, Glerenceria and Cherry were inside the armory with Emelie.

"Here you go, ma cherie~" Emelie gave Cherry a pair of pistols that looked like the ones she used in the day of invasion, about 4 months ago.

"Why must it be this pair?" Cherry dismayed.

"Switch to another pair, please. It's not bringing happy memories for her." Terrivia requested.

Emelie took the guns back and searched for another pair, "Well, I hope you're prepared for this. I have a pair of.... Molotovs....."

The guns resembled bulky plastic guns seen in the age of arcade games, used in screen based first person shooting challenges, but only in appearance. The guns were of the same model and color, and each weighed the same as the other.

"Quite heavy.... But I'll get used to it." Cherry shrugged.

"And now for you two missieurs...." Emelie placed a couple of guns on the counter.

The guns were shaped like knifes, as they were both guns and knives at the same time. The grip and gun were like a pirate age's blunderbuss, while the blade part began from the front of the trigger to 10 inches long. The barrel of the gun was only 5 inches in length while the firing mechanism looked like a revolver, but had no signs of needing bullets.

"What manner of oddity is this??" Glerenceria asked as she handled one of the guns.

"Never heard of gunblades before? They used to be 'ze epitome of weapon fantasies, or so I've heard. This weapon model was based on what was called 'Gunslash Zero'. Ironically, this isn't the first gunblade model in existence." Emelie explained.

"A gunblade? What? Are we expected to cut things up while shooting?" Terrivia asked.

"Get creative. That's your job. Anyway, in terms of durability, it's the sturdiest you can get without using more expensive models. This armory doesn't have more. The blade was made using plasma treatment, and the gun part of the weapon itself isn't shabby in firepower, compared to other pistols at least. You can open it up and load physical bullets if you so wish, but the rest of the time it fires a compressed charge of energy." Emelie explained.

"Well, this is the best crap I've ever received. I don't know if I should thank you first, or thank the makers of this model." Terrivia mused.

"One question." Glerenceria turned to Emelie, "Is this Chakra compliant?"

"Sort of. Try not to push it too much." Emelie shrugged.

"How much is this going to cost if I'm to buy this off of your stock?" Glerenceria held up the gunblade.

"Oh it's not really expensive. 10 Gold." Emelie smiled.

"That's not the price of a crap. That's a bona fide weapon's retail price." Terrivia remarked.

"And what more if I decide to.... customize it?" Glerenceria asked.

"That's a good question. How much are you willing to give?" Emelie asked.

"I'll do the upgrading myself but I'm curious to know if there are compatible mods elsewhere." Glerenceria asked.

"Do you have .... 20 Gold?" Emelie asked.

"Not in my pockets right now. But I'll earn my pay soon enough." Glerenceria grinned.

"Good luck with that. I'm not going to hold this thing for long." Terrivia shrugged.

After a while, the truck stopped. This meant one thing: Terrivia and Glerenceria arrived at their destination area. After getting off of the truck, they met with the observers, while Cherry was staying guard in passive, in case anything would happen.

The two observers were wearing black uniforms, befitting of the Free Knights' creed. Much like their call to arms, they were Arkana instead of humans, since the Free Knights' cause on the surface was to promote equality between both races.

"Allow me to introduce you. Levi, and Occulus." Maciel introduced, "These two came here from the East. The best I've seen in a while."

"Really?" One of the observer's eyebrows perked, "You say they're the best, but what can they back -your- claim with by staying indoors?"

"Trust me. You'd rather let them stay here instead of serving the East. Got my point?" Maciel asked a rhetorical question.

"Point taken. Now, your assignment is to eliminate a local nuinsance." Another observer took out a handheld projector and displayed the target. It was a snow colored Bloodcat that was the size of a truck, "You can use any means necessary. Trickery, raw strength, whatever goes. Just know that the size of that thing means it won't go down easily. Try not to die from its counterattacks."

"How do you plan to observe us? Spy drones?" Terrivia asked.

"Yes. Is there a problem?" The observer asked.

Glerenceria worked up her English accent and responded coldly, "Your ignorance is alarming. Surely you do not expect the presence of non-living things to be quiet for that large pair of ears, do you?"

"And you two living and breathing mercs can be even more quiet? Don't make me laugh." The observer retorted.

"You underestimate us. We were hunters, and we used to kill wolves in order to offer them as sacrifice." Glerenceria replied, "That Bloodcat Deluxe will be in your view, but only if you don't employ spy drones."

"In other words, we will lure it to a distance where you can spot it, using a long range telescope. Our actions will speak the rest." Terrivia added confidently.

"Very well. You have until sunset." The other observer nodded, "But with those weapons? It will be a miracle to even injure that freak."

"Then get ready to pray to us by the time we're done." Terrivia grinned.

Levi and Occulus, the two personas, were walking off to the visible plateau range. In the next minute, they were running off to encircle the habitat in different directions.

Meanwhile, Aspagra was in the head of the truck, acting as navigations. She couldn't believe Terrivia and Glerenceria's plan, but at this point she was half-surprised. Her biggest concern was in the nearest future. If the plan was to kill the giant Bloodcat with only the gunblades, then Levi and Occulus would come across as being too powerful, and thus their recruitment would be suspicious. The mess was started and the only way of turning it over was to rely on the clean-up.

The aftermath of the battle would be the key.

"We will now begin the test assignment, which is Bloodcat Grande's subjugation. Time is 1600 hours local time, location is the habitat of the target." Aspagra reported through a loudspeaker, "Attention observers, please stay in the back of the navigation truck to be safe."

Maciel and the observers stepped into the meeting room, and inside, the projector was set to be the long range view of the forest.

"I don't know how anyone can be that confident with gunblades. Those barely have enough cutting edge and stopping power against a person. Against feral beings? And that large? No way." One of the observers spoke out.

"If you think about it, they could've asked you for a large amount of money, depending on how you want it to be killed. Now that they are in the hunt without further ado, you don't have the room to doubt them now." Maciel smiled.

"Have you seen them in action before?" The observer asked.

"Not exactly. But they did come highly recommended. And I am hard to please when it comes to gauging the strength of Arkana." Maciel replied.

"Not everyone can be as prestigious as you, Bullet Face." The other observer joked.

"Hmph. If it's luring, then time is of the essence, as well as speed." Maciel pondered.

Soon, Aspagra adjusted the cameras and made a report, "Target sighted! It's trying to kill Levi!"

As it turned out, Terrivia was jumping from one tree branch to another in order to avoid the attacks of Bloodcat Grande. Judging from the color of the fur, it should've been a winter climate animal, but genetic mutation could be a factor. With fearsome panther-like roars, it chased Terrivia, collapsing some trees due to its sheer weight and force. The reason why Terrivia was chased?

She was carrying a slab of wild animal meat with her, still soaked and dripping blood.

"She's really luring it!" The observer exclaimed.

The other observer added, "By driving it out of its hunting grounds, the advantage of familiarity would be lost. This evens the scale considerably, but where's the other one?"

After Terrivia lured the giant Bloodcat to a fair distance away from the nest, she took the meat and threw it hard at the Bloodcat's face. Without hesitation, she took the gunblade and opened fire, shot by shot landing at the mouth while it was trying to eat the meat when it was thrown. Glerenceria was walking fast, but as quiet as possible, trying not to attract the Bloodcat's attention. Just like the times before, Terrivia served as the bait for the less physically capable Glerenceria.

With rage and impulse, the Bloodcat tried to smash Terrivia with its large paws and claws, but Terrivia backflipped in time, placing another shot. Instead of the mouth, the shot hit the nose, causing considerable amounts of pain. This gave Glerenceria enough time to jump up and land a crippling blow on the spine, as she held the gunblade downward and jumped onto the back. With a downward stab she sliced into one of the discs of the spine, greatly staggering it.

WIth fight left in its body, the Bloodcat Grande shook its body violently, causing Glerenceria to jump away. Fortunately her grip on her gunblade was greater, and while she left, Terrivia had time to aim for another shot. A shot that would blind the large predator's left eye.

At this point, Aspagra was assured. The Arkana had the skills, not just power, to achieve their goals. They were not under attack to begin with, but they were also not making the subjugation appear like a cakewalk. Instead, they fought in the best tactical sense, and most parts of the fight were clearly seen through the long range visual.

When the Bloodcat was struggling, it tried to swipe Terrivia, but the paw struck the gunblade instead, pointed edge in. With the body of the weapon buried into the bleeding paw, Terrivia opened fire furiously, sending spurts of blood flying both ways; One through the paw, another along the gunblade. Terrivia's body strength and the Voidshield module had the power to halt the force of the blow, but her feet were spread wide to make it look like she applied basic fighting physics.

Glerenceria opened fire at the right eye, blinding it permanently before getting under the belly to perform a large scale abdomenal incision, using the gunblade like a large scalpel. The battle's outcome had been decided right then.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. Under 1 minute." Maciel counted.

"You know what this means." One of the observers stood up, "From today on, they're yours. You can get the house keys from us tomorrow. You know the standard procedure for their identification chips, right?"

"That, I know. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be upstanding citizens, helping us settle internal issues." Maciel nodded.

"I can see that they're expert hunters. Maybe we should get the more dangerous ones for them, with good enough commission fee, of course." The other observer suggested.

"They're not in this for money, though they're not shy about the income. Just send offers my way and I'll let them browse." Maciel smiled.

***

Mother's Capital of Chromia...


At the headquarters, Lota was sitting alone in her office after having done administrative work. After a while, she locked the doors and set up a holographic long distance call. Beatrice was going to talk to her.

"Your.... children, have made it to the West. The operation has just begun its baby steps." Beatrice reported.

"All was well, I presume? That means I can't intefere right now...." Lota sounded melancholic.

"You know, there's another reason why I scheduled for us to meet right now. Besides important matters, I feel that there's a need for us to make some things clear." Beatrice spoke out, "I'll start first. I admit we don't always see eye to eye, but honestly, I've been seeing you as a misguided child of mine."

"Your child?" Lota asked.

"I think I've been treating you like one without even knowing it. Glerenceria pointed it out for me and as much as I hate to admit it, I think it sums it up nicely." Beatrice sounded frustrated.

"I don't know..... I was never programmed to have a parent. But as time passed by, I started wondering if John Maynard would be a paternal figure.... should he somehow be alive." Lota answered.

"The only one alive in some sense of word is me. I helped designing and building your largest physical body and housing. And I suppose it's not right to bring this out but.... I used to long for a relationship with John Maynard, when we were both alive." Beatrice spoke out.

"So how am I misguided, if you don't mind enlightening me?" Lota asked.

"You never acknowledge something for real until you personally gather all the facts, just like how you never acknowledged my authority over your being until things got to the point of Graham's death. You also have a tendency of being dense about your feelings toward people." Beatrice counted out.

"I am different from everyone. I wasn't born a human. I am, in technical sense, a mere creation." Lota replied.

"Do mere creations sing for the happiness of people so selflessly? Tell me." Beatrice asked.

Lota didn't say a word in response.

"You are as much of an individual as any other human and Arkana. You know that deep inside your metaphorical heart. I'm not trying to assert my place as your mother here, but I just want you to know that it's time for us to get to know your true self more." Beatrice added.

"My true self?" Lota asked in confusion.

"We don't have a lot of time left until the Narak fleet comes back for settling their score. Before that happens, I need to browse the most guarded part of your physical body - The Ark, and most of your source data - Mother System." Beatrice demanded.

"What if I refuse?" Lota looked into Beatrice's holographic form seriously.

"If you refuse, I will be left with no hope of retrieving the last of John Maynard's legacies, and we will then lose our best hope of fighting against the Narak." Beatrice replied, "Think about it. John Maynard's last message was just 6 pages of his development logs, implying that the two Arks were all that he had left behind. You were coded with the mindset that believes it to be true. But it simply isn't: because I've found his hidden treasure that he showed no one of, but still wanted someone to have."

"What?" Lota looked in surprise.

"When it comes to physical protection and the amount of Golden Guard you had stationed to protect your inner core, only you and John himself would know how to bypass them. But when it comes to your growth as a sentient being, I know you better than you know yourself. I know that by now, you have the means to fight against your own programming. I don't want to resort to brute, hacking force, so do us both and the rest of the world a favor.... by letting me in to find just one thing." Beatrice requested.

"One thing?" Lota asked.

"Yes. I will go in with a rather.... patchworked physical body, but I will need just one thing: John Maynard could've hidden something within your data, that hints to a password that unlocks his treasure." Beatrice answered.

***

At night, in the middle of wilderness, the trucks of Birchwood Company were lined up in a close circle. Terrivia started a campfire using her powers, and the members of the Company were gathering up.

Maciel managed to introduce Terrivia and the others to the members, dozen by dozen, and now at night, it was time for a grand meeting that would define the change of their course.

"On the surface and officially, we have been hired as new Free Knights' mercenaries. But what we want to say is that Birchwood Company is now hired by Core Agency. You are now, in every sense of the word, Earth's vanguard against the Narak, who are now on a steady course of return, several light months away." Glerenceria spoke out.

"What we can do as a large number of people is incredibly limited. Besides providing cover for us, there's not much to do unless we want to bring legal lethal actions down on our heads in no time flat. Obviously, that is not an option." Terrivia added.

"But think about it this way. Your first battlefront as Core Agency's units will be a noble one. Helping us track down and sterilize the source of governmental corruption within the western capital will ensure that citizens will lead safe lives, free of deception and instituded dangers." Glerenceria continued, "But everything is still in the dark, and a gentle touch is required. One mistake, everything crumbles. Though if all goes right, then your actions, and ours, will be recorded in history, remembered for generations and maybe even forever."

Murmurs started to cover the crowd, before Aspagra stepped up and challenged Glerenceria a little for everyone to see, "I suppose I have some questions to ask. Why did you waste so much time by coming here? You could've just hired a team to infiltrate the Administrata and hold them hostage. That way, you can force a deal to be made."

"While it is true that time is of the essence, it doesn't mean it should be the justification for all actions. The last time Narak justified humanity's use of nukes, innocent people and animals went extinct. It is because we are not innocent that we are obligated to do things the right way. This is a world where humans and Arkana have to live side by side now. This relation has to stem beyond the fact that Arkana can kill while humans cannot. The middle ground must be found in order for both to stand a chance to fight against Narak." Glerenceria answered.

"But we have no nuclear armaments now. How do you suppose we can stand a chance?" Aspagra asks.

"Levi, I'll let you answer that one." Glerenceria ordered.

"Alright." Terrivia stepped up, "The Core Agency has been hard at work before Royals and Frees ever existed from the great divide. While our real enemies are the Narak, the greatest threat is not them..... but Genesis Corporation."

The crowd's murmurs became louder.

"Let me finish!" Terrivia interrupted, "The west half of the world is getting shackled by old values, all because of Genesis Corp. The illusions of choice, the false hopes of democracy, all of those were due to Genesis Corporation's rumor mongering. It's wrong enough that any entity other than the Arks could survive the nuclear shower. Now it's even more wrong that our world is not improving from the previous. By dividing the eastern and western Arks, Genesis Corporation can effectively profit from the conflict by selling weapons and medical supplies. And here's the kicker: the current CEO is a puppet."

"And what is the basis of your claim?" Aspagra asks.

"The private building in Genesis district. One which we cannot step into without risking war against the company because of the cordon around the district. It's located on a far edge of the world, fit for watching how both Royals and Frees act like desperate people who can only see war as a solution. Over there, the one behind the scenes observes what's going on in the current world and will intervene when the time is right." Terrivia answers

"And assuming what you said is true, why haven't you lift a finger against Genesis Corporation?" Aspagra asked with a loud voice for everyone to hear.

"Because we don't have enough info. Think about it. This is the same Genesis Corporation that built us all packaged explosives in our brains. What makes you think they don't have spies among our allies? We don't know how many there are and we don't know how capable they are in killing us from our backs." Terrivia answered.

"One last question...." Aspagra spoke, "What do you think we should do after all of this is over?"

"That is subjective. Personally, I don't mind walking all over the planet and play gardener for the rest of my days. What do you say?" Terrivia looked at Glerenceria.

"We should all study history, reflect on what happened these hundreds of years, and make a new civilization for real. One that can stand not only stand the test of the nature of this planet, but also the nature of the cosmos. We should start from one step and then to the other, slowly making ourselves proud people of planet Earth, and the solar system which we're in." Glerenceria proposed.

Slowly, the gathering of Arkana worked up a very loud cheer. Although the reality dawned upon them that not all of them would survive the upcoming Narak invasion, the fact that their western homeland needed their help remained solidly.

"I will say this now! Wars up until now have been nothing but internal conflicts. But this war we cannot chicken away. This is survival of the fittest, and we are sure as hell going to show everyone and every alien that only WE are fit to win on planet Earth!" Terrivia shouted.

"YEEAAAAAHH!" The Birchwood Arkana shouted in response.

***

Arktana Outskirts...

2 days later...


Arktana was like a bastion of peace, with lots of people, mostly Arkana, bustling from one street to another amidst the infrastructure composed of many erected city blocks. The stark contrast between it and Mother's Capital was clear: Arktana's infrastructure was almost exactly like the one that wouldn't fare well in terms of combat and evacuation, like the ones in 21st century.

A single Birchwood truck was being driven to the checkpoint, waiting for verification to enter inside. The outer walls of the city were composed of stasis fields, linked between watch towers. In Glerenceria's eyes, such defenses would be overwhelmed in no time, thus prompting her to do a facepalm.

The guards at the checkpoint did a thorough search of the truck, before letting it pass. Watching everything through the meeting terminal, Terrivia and Glerenceria were both calculating their options, and measuring how to perform their first step behind 'enemy' lines. As planned, Terrivia and Glerenceria's heads were decorated with covert hairpins, and they were both wearing matching utility belts.

"Seems like you were picked up as Frees. Good for you." Maciel whispered.

"How long can you stay in here? We're the first truck and the rest are coming in. Extended work leave?" Glerenceria asked.

"Officially, it's an extended work leave. Between us, this is our golden window. We'll search for internal missions and snatch them from our colleagues so that you can do them. You will rack up some fame, and we'll do our sneak peeks on the side." Maciel spoke.

"What can you tell us about Four Queens? Diana told us to run away if we ever see them, and I bet it's for a good reason." Terrivia asked.

"I'll ready a dossier for you in secret. They are not meant to be mentioned with mere lips and tongues." Maciel replied.

And thus began Terrivia, Glerenceria and Cherry's stay inside Arktana, as part of Operation: Tribute Feather. They had come too far to fail now, but the odds were still stacked against them.

***

The end of Chapter 45