[X] Go help your mother sort out your father's things.
As much as you'd like to help out your brother or ditch responsibility and hit the sims, it would be a bit heartless to let your mother sort through your father's things all by herself. Sitting all alone with her memories… someone needs to be there to help her focus on the happy memories!
"Sorry Kay, mom wants to sort through the rest of dad's stuff," you give him an apologetic smile, "and I don't want to leave her alone in that headspace, you know?"
He nods, "I gotcha. It's not a problem, I'll just put the arm back and run those checks later. It's not critical. If you see anything interesting in dad's stuff though, set it aside for me, okay?"
"You got it!" You wave as you head out of the hangar. Next stop, home!
You sit across from your mother as the two of you pick item after item from the stuffed cardboard box, inspecting each item before sorting them into "Keep", "Sell", or "Trash". So far most of it is trash. Your small TV is on in the background, some newscaster talking about something you aren't paying attention to. It's just background noise.
"How many bottle caps did Dad keep?" You ask, slightly incredulous as you find another small plastic bag full of the stuff.
"Your father liked to think that he'd make something with them someday as a hobby project," your mother explains, placing a worn postcard into the keep pile, "it's just trash though. There are much more sentimental things of his to keep."
You have to agree there. Much more valuable things to keep, like this photo!... Wait…
"...Why is Dad in a Titan uniform?" You show the photo to your mother, "I thought he was with the AEUG!"
She nods, "Before he joined the AEUG, he was a test pilot for the Titans. You don't remember it that well because you were still so young. He joined the AEUG soon after it formed. The Titans had become too corrupt for him, he said…"
You look at the photo of him smiling in front of a Marasai painted in test colors, his uniform that signature Titan dark blue. Heh, you can see where Kaylen got his good looks from.
You put that in the keep pile. Sure, the Titans were pretty awful, but it's still a part of your father's history. It would be wrong to just pretend that it never happened.
There's even a lanyard in the box with what looks like an ID card! It looks like it used to be your dad's security clearance for whatever Titan base he used to work at. You're not so interested in that, it's probably useless, but the lanyard itself is nice, so you pocket that for later use. After making sure your mom is okay with it, of course.
You set aside a few old magazines on Mobile Suits that were in the box. Kaylen might like those.
Then as you're finishing up, you notice a package from the colony's postal service, all wrapped up in old paper.
"Oh, I noticed that when I went to get this box," your mom tells you when you hold it up questioningly, "It was shoved in a corner. The shipping label is too faded for me to make out."
You gingerly pull apart the wrapping, revealing an unassuming cardboard box with the AEUG logo on it. You and your mother share a glance before eagerly cutting through the packing tape and opening the box itself. What could this be?!
…
Three letters, some clothes, picture frame with photo in it, a seashell of some kind, a pendant and an hourglass.
One of the letters is for your mother. One for Kaylen. One for you.
"Oh…" your mother covers her mouth, staring at the photo in shock. Your mother and father stand face to face, staring into each other's eyes. Your mother is dressed in a white gown, your father in a suit. Behind them is a large fountain in the middle of a verdant green park.
"It's our wedding photo," she picks it up reverently, "I thought that this went down with the Radish!"
"Dad must have sent this back to keep them safe in case the battle turned bad," you hold your letter, "...or in case he never came back."
"But he sent it to the storage unit?" She wondered, turning her letter over in her hands, "He must have forgotten to tell us about it… or maybe he mentioned it and I just forgot."
"Well at least he wasn't hiding anything from us," you sigh, "I can't imagine why he'd want to hide any of this."
Nothing about any of this made much sense, but there weren't any major revelations with his stuff… if anything, you just wonder who would deliver to a storage unit and shove the package in a corner.
….
Actually, you don't wonder that badly. Cascadia Post is notoriously shitty.
As you run your hands over the yellowing paper of your letter, you notice that the program airing on TV has changed to some sort of press conference. A Federation official standing at a podium awkwardly adjusting his tie.
"-as to our stance on Newtypes, our position remains the same," he continues on, "Newtypes are dangerous, and pose a risk to themselves and others. For the safety of the general public, we are continuing our efforts to identify and register all Newtypes in the Earth Sphere, and relocate them to suitable housing."
A reporter stands, "Minister, what do you say as to the allegations that the Federation is coercing Newtypes to serve in the armed forces under threat of violence? There have been credible reports-!"
The Minister scoffs, "Baseless accusations made by Neo Zeon fanatics. The Earth Federation would never engage in such behavior. All of our Newtype Pilots willingly serve in the armed forces. Next question."
"What does the military intend to do about Londo Bell?" Another reporter asked, "They have growing support among Spacenoids because of the Laplace Declaration, and loyal Federation citizens on Earth are concerned about the possibility of another Colony Drop! Do you have any reassurances for the general public?"
"Londo Bell are just another group of corrupt warmongers, like the Titans," the Minister huffed, almost scowling, "while we are concerned over possible attacks they may make against Earth, we have seen no movements that would indicate an operation to drop an asteroid or a colony on Earth. Furthermore, their support is greatly exaggerated. As the Federation has clarified multiple times, the so-called 'Laplace Declaration' was misinformation spread by Neo Zeon terrorists. Mineva Zabi is a known enemy of the state, she has every incentive to falsify information."
Your mother sighs, shaking her head, "That man lies so much, I wonder if he even knows what the truth is anymore."
The reporters begin asking something about the Earth's climate when the audio cuts out, the video freezing.
"Did it finally die?" Your mother leans over to check the TV as you fiddle with the controls on the side. Well, you suppose that this thing was pretty old. This was bound to happ-
Emergency tone. The video feed switches to a static announcement from the Island Cascadia Administration, all in bold letters.
"SEEK REFUGE AT YOUR LOCAL DESIGNATED SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
You feel a creeping nausea as air raid sirens begin to bleed in from outside.
Is… is this-?
"Pack a bag," you shove the keepsake pile into the now empty box and dash to your room. You hear your mother frantically opening drawers in her room as well!
A few essentials go into a worn black side bag, and you're racing for the front door, your mother right behind you.
You take only a moment to grab the items from the package and put them in the box with the other keepsakes. Better keep them safe.
"What's going on, who do you think is attacking?" Your mother asks worriedly as you slam the door behind you, your neighbors in a similar rush to leave.
"Kaylen said that there was a Federation fleet in the area. I'd bet money that we're the target!"
Running down the street with your mother, you look up into the sky. Even the wind has picked up, as if it sensed the turmoil brewing.
At the entrance to the shelter, the mass of people clamors for entrance. You're shoulder to shoulder, and it's all you can do to get in what passes for a line. As you near the large shelter doors however, an older woman in a defense force uniform walks up to you, concern etched on her face.
"I recognize you, you're Ensign Kaylen's sister, right?" her voice barely audible over the shouts and cries of the crowd, "We're looking for any able Pilots! We don't have any more Mobile Suits, but there are several older Saberfish, Publics, and Petite-Mobiles that we're trying to man! We're going to need every bit of help we can get!"
You stare at her in shock. Saberfish? Public-class Gunships? Petite-Mobiles? How desperate is the defense force to be breaking out the antiques and glorified cargo loaders?!
"Are things really that bad?" you ask, but her expression says it all.
"The Feds are still pretty far out, but we've got a good estimate on their forces."
The idea that your home will come crashing down around you chills you, but there's something more important that you'll lose if she's right.
Your brother will die. Then you will as well.
The odds seem impossible. Your thoughts must show on your face, as she continues.
"Please, I've already got a couple of volunteers, but you're probably the only one out of the group that would even know what to do in the cockpit of one of the Petite-Mobiles."
….
There really only is one thing to do, isn't there?
You hand your bag to your mother with a forced smile, "Keep my stuff safe, okay Mom?"
"Cybele!" she grips your arm, a grief the likes of which you've never seen in her eyes, "Don't go! It's too dangerous! You could-!"
"What's the point in hiding if the Feds blow up the colony, mom?! Kaylen is going to be doing everything he can to protect us, how can I just sit in a bunker and let him put himself in danger? Besides, I have to protect you too, mom!"
Her grip tightens for a moment, before loosening in defeat.
"Just…" her gaze seems so distant, like she's staring at something only she can see, "Just don't end up like your father."
You give her a hug, "I won't. Gotta read my letter, don't I? I'm not going to die before I find out what dad wrote to me, and Kaylen will get to read his letter too! So you hold onto those for us, okay?"
Her hands linger on your jacket as you pull away, and you don't notice the moment when the crowd sweeps her along. A more fatalistic person would say that it felt like a final goodbye, but you know it isn't. After all, you still have things to do.
In the end, only about five people including yourself volunteered out of that crowd. Thankfully the Linear Train was entirely empty due to the emergency, so your little group had it all to yourselves.
"…Never thought the Federation would ever pay attention to us," a young man about your age shakes his head, "but I'll be damned if I don't do something about it."
Bravado or bravery? You'll see when the fighting starts.
"Um…" a girl a few years younger than you worriedly glances outside the windows, "Is it safe to be using the train right now?"
"Strictly? Probably not," the woman from the defense force admits, "but it's the fastest way to the hangars. The Federation forces aren't in weapon range yet, so we should be fine."
Another older man looks out the window, brow furrowing with unease, "Um, ma'am, you said they were out of range, right?"
The unspoken warning prompts everyone to move to the windows, and with horror you see a Mega Particle beam streak by the colony, bathing one of the large mirrors in its bright glow.
"What the hell…" another boy your age gapes, "Why are they firing from so far out? Are they trying to punch a hole in the colony?"
As if to answer him, a beam slams into the colony directly in the path of the Linear Train farther down the line, and everyone is thrown to the floor as the emergency brakes kick in. You hear the younger girl screaming in terror as the shockwave and debris crash against the front of the train, the vehicle screeching to a slow halt.
Is this how it ends? Killed by a random shot by a Federation warship? No fucking way!
The shaking soon stops, and the brakes quiet. You've stopped moving.
Almost as one, the group rises to look out the front window. Not several meters in front of the train are the twisted, mangled tracks, still glowing red from the hit. Air can be seen rushing past that. There's a hole in the colony.
You barely have enough time to worry about how you'll get to the hangars now when it happens.
Crack
Small, barely noticeable. A little mark in the glass.
Crack
It spiders out, almost the size of your thumb.
Crack
"Reverse…" the defense force member gasps, "Somebody put the train in reverse!"
Crack
You're already pulling open the maintenance panel in the roof. There's a simple manual throttle meant for emergencies and maintenance crews. You slam it in full reverse.
Crack
The train begins to pull back, gaining speed as it heads back towards the station. But as fast the train is accelerating, so is the size of the crack in the window.
Crack
It's almost to the window frame. You get as far away from it as you can and grab onto a seat.
Crack
You can barely see out the front window. But you make out the thruster flashes of the colony's Mobile Suits rushing to meet the incoming enemy.
You exhale.
The window shatters, and two of the men in your group are pulled out instantly, having neglected to grab ahold of anything.
The young girl flies past you, and you reach out to grab her hand. You catch her sleeve, but not the rest of her, and her frightened eyes are the last part of her you see before she's sucked out of the train.
The older man and defense force member hold firm, as do you. The wind dies, and although you still feel the movement of the train, it all goes quiet.
No air. No oxygen. Nothing but the cold vacuum of space.
You shut your eyes. It hurts. It's only a little cold, but there's just… a lack of pressure. You don't know how to describe nothingness. You had been told what to expect during safety drills. But to feel it-!
No air. You can't stop yourself from trying to breathe, but it's pointless. There's nothing.
There's nothing.
The feeling of air rushing across your skin has never felt more wonderful. Air! Glorious air! You cough and gasp as your body pulls itself back from the brink. The train must have reached the previous station! Thank god! Shaking, you push yourself to your knees and look around.
The other two are sprawled out on the ground. As strength slowly returns, you crawl over to check on the defense force member. She's breathing, but it's ragged. You think you see some blood. Did she forget to exhale before the glass broke?
The man is unmoving, unblinking, eyes staring at the ceiling. You weakly try to give him CPR, but it's no use. The shock did him in, probably, and you're no medic.
Damn it, you were going to help, right? You were going to save people, and now here are two right in front of you and you're helpless!
It's just… you need a weapon! A vehicle! Anything!
The train doors slide open for you as you stagger onto the platform. The lights are only half-lit, and the entire space looks neglected, dirt and trash accumulating all over the place. This station, it hasn't been maintained or used in a while. The train must just rush on by normally.
The escalator is still working, and it groans to life as you approach it. Good, you're not sure you could have made it to the surface on your own. You take the momentary reprieve to gather your thoughts.
…
What the hell? You were almost killed by stray fire! The rest of your group too… The defense force woman is probably a goner. She must have held her breath, so her lungs are burst now. Unless you find help immediately, she's a goner…
It feels a bit heartless to leave her there like that, but she was right, the colony needs every bit of help it can get. You've got to make all this death mean something!
The light hits your eyes, and you leave the station. It exits onto a main highway… and right across the street is a building you'd only ever seen in passing, through the window of a car.
Three stories, blocky, and unassuming, the only indication that something is off is the large security fence around the building. It was a research facility back during the Titan's reign. You remember hearing that Neo Zeon used it for a bit too. Nobody goes there anymore, due to concerns over anything dangerous that might have been left behind… but there's a garage! Sure, it's closed with metal shutters over it, but it might have a car you can use! Or, if you're lucky, an old MS! Anything is better than being stuck on foot!
As you make your way across the street a roar echoes through the colony, and you see two Mobile Suits streak inside, probably through that hole from earlier! It's hard to make it out… but as they clash beam sabers you recognize their silhouettes and color schemes! The colony's Doven Wolf is squaring off against a Federation Jegan! Inside the colony!
The two combatants put some distance between each other and the Jegan fires their beam rifle, the shots barely missing and hitting a forest on the other side of the colony. That probably made another hole. You see two flashes from the Doven Wolf's shoulders, and two little dots dart out. Those must be the Incoms!
"Come on, you got this!" you pump your fist, enthralled by the fight as the Incoms fire, the Jegan taking a few hits. Yeah, a direct hit!
Then the Jegan explodes! The Doven Wolf has no time to celebrate, throwing itself to the side to avoid a ReZEL in Waverider mode that screams into the colony as well, making a strafing run against it! You almost get sucked into this fight too… but then you notice something heading towards you.
It's one of the Jegan's arms, trailing smoke and flames.
Oh shit.
With a scream, you run, hoping that wherever you're going is away from where that thing is going to land! The ground shakes and you stumble as it crashes behind you, the sound of tearing metal and shattering concrete filling the air! You stumble, barely catching yourself before you fall!
Shaking a bit, you turn around. The Jegan's arm lies near the building, its landing having crushed a section of the security fence as well as the front doors of the building, leaving a sizable hole that anyone can just walk right through.
…
Well, you're not going to turn down this opportunity.
The facility is dark. Kind of damp, you think it smells kind of mildewy. You should have expected it to be like this…
Neo Zeon really stripped this place on their way out. Some of the light fixtures are missing, not that any of them are on at the moment anyways! You can barely see!
You almost wish it was silent, but the sounds of battle creep in from outside. Explosions, cannon fire, beam weapons… you can almost picture your colony falling apart around you.
All the better that you find the garage and get some kind of vehicle! Hell, you'd take a Normal Suit right about now!
You turn a corner, and notice something. There's… a bit of light underneath one of the doors. Light… there's power in there? You really should keep looking for a garage, but what if that's a stairwell? You have to see.
You try the handle. It's locked. Heh, like that's going to stop you! With a kick, you bust the door inwards! Loud, but it's not like you're trying to sneak around!
You peek inside as soon as the dust settles. Whoa. A row of tubes against the far wall, facing the ceiling. A server rack in the corner, flashing intermittently. The light, however, is coming from one of the tubes. Hesitantly, you approach. What could it be? Is this something that Neo Zeon left behind? The glass is almost opaque, dust caking the surface. You brush a bit off and…. What the hell?
A young girl lies inside, pale and sleeping. She has orange hair, and… no, she's not sleeping. The glass was cold. This is a cryogenic pod! Are the others-?
You quickly check the adjacent pod, which is dark, and after brushing enough dust off of it you gasp in shock. Inside is another young girl… or you assume so. Her skin is wrinkled, almost ash-like, and her hair is faded. You can tell, she's dead.
The rest are like that too. Who… Who could do such a thing? You feel sick.
But… But one of them is still alive! Well, she's in stasis, but you can save her, right? You can't just leave her here, the colony is getting blown to bits! You couldn't save the others in the train, but you can save this girl!
There seem to be some controls near the base of the pod, but any writing has faded beyond recognition, leaving their function a mystery. But you have enough technical know-how to mess around with the systems as well.
[] Investigate the controls. You think you can trigger the sequence to wake her up.
[] You only recognize some of the systems behind the access panel, but you're certain that you can trigger the emergency failsafe and make the pod wake her up.
[] Fuck it. Smash the glass.
