I woke up in an unfamiliar place-no wait, this is just the bridge close to my house.
Or what remains of it.
I push back the tears that threaten to come out and never stop, and lay down again near the rubble. I can't stop them, and I cry until I feel like my face has become a lake. A *ping* makes me snap back to reality.
A...projected image of some sort, in front of me, which tells me my water levels are low and I should 'seek fluid integration.' Right, forgot about that.
Hi, my name is Lucia, I'm 16, and my house just fucking exploded because of Aliens.
About...one hour ago? Fuck if I know, lost myself crying, anyway point is I was in my house. You know the deal, mom busy, dad sleeping, and me bored by constantly switching between Sufficient Velocity and Discord, trying to keep my ADHD at bay.
Anyway, one moment I'm discussing the next time I will DM a Pathfinder session for my group, and the next my house exploded. No, more like my roof disappeared and the rest crumbled to dust. Don't know how I survived with just a leg crushed to a pulp but...well, long story short, alien machine, weird girl in power armor killed it and died, then I got a shiny sphere in my arms before it disappeared and I started to hear voices and see things.
…
okay, maybe that's a bit too short.
First of all, aliens. Four years ago, several "space distortions", or Bubbles and Breaches as we call them, appeared in various places on earth, and aliens began pouring out of it and killing everything.
Well, good new is: apparently we discovered some piece of technology called Cores that allow people to fight them back, even if they only work with girls.
Bad news, one of the so-called 'Major' breaches was in Rome, and I live in Florence. Yeah, it's bad stuff when you're....i don't know what, 150km away from it? And everything in one-hundred or so Km next to the breach got attacked by an unending swarm of aliens. Sadly we can't even travel away, a breach in Germany means we're effectively sandwiched between the two and can't run away, so that's a bitch.
Well, we weren't too worried, the army and the Chosen-which are what we call those who use the Cores- fought them back well enough, and Florence being the new chosen Capitals after Rome went "Ciao-ciao" means we are well protected.
That is, we should have been. And yet, one day, today, the fuckers...those fuckers got into our house, and killed my parents.
After the house collapsed, I struggled to reach where the living room should have been, hoping to see my mother. Instead, I saw a redhead girl in some kind of Infinite-Stratos-looking mecha armor with a sword in each hand, each stabbing a different alien, and she turns to me and smiles, before saying "I'm sorry" and fucking dying on the spot.
I mean, what the fuck? Those are your best last words?
Anyway, I bring myself to them because 'no way they are dead', and while I am bringing myself to them this orange-beige sphere appears next to me, I touch it, and now I guess I'm a Chosen like that bitch was.
*ping*
Oh god, what now? I look at the floating screen and see "psychological recovery complete.".
…What the fuck does that even mea-
Wait. I use an arm to remove the tears from my face (somehow I can still see the screen through my arm, is it being projected right into my eyes?) and think about what just happened.
I absorbed the core. A weird membrane of some kind enveloped the aliens and then I had a 'absorption process 100%' notification which creeped me out. Then my leg was fixed, and now this, and when I think about what just happened....i feel numb, like i'm reading a story, or thinking about my vote for a quest i'm reading..
...THIS MOTHERFUCKER FUCKED WITH MY FUCKING BRAIN! MOTHER-
We regret to inform you that your daughter, Elite Commander Chosen Erika Rossoviva, has met her end at the hands of the enemy whilst protecting her country. She was heroically intercepting an invading unit over the city of [REDACTED], and after losing communication we found her body in the midst of defeated enemies in a home that was destroyed in the attack.
We shall bring the body back to you in date to be-
Resonance 2- Invisibility's Pretty Cool, I tell ya
I took deep breaths. I started freaking out in the middle of my freaking out, that's a new record for me. Alright, make a list. Lists are good.
First, absorbed some weird alien sphere. If my assumption that it's a Core is correct, then I guess I am a Chosen now. Which means I have to fight the aliens that ruined my life.
...yeah, I can work with that.
Second, this Core is doing something to me. It healed my leg, screwed with my brain to remove my, I don't know, PTSD? I still don't know how to feel about that one, honestly.
Third, which I only just noticed, it gave me some sweet-ass clothes. Observing my reflection on the nearby river, I can say I look pretty nice.
I'm covered from neck to toes in some kind of black bodysuit that's not too revealing, a sweet half-cape with a zipper that's also black, and some kind of headpiece. Also black. I guess the sphere just really likes the color, uh. The only exception to the black are my hair, skin and gloves, and a few bits here and there which are snow-white.
Another *ping* catches my attention, and I can feel a part of my mind which is...connected to something? I can still see the 'seek fluid integration' written in my eyes or whatever other high-tech bullshit this is, but I can also kinda see-slash-hear it in my head. Prodding that part of my mind, I could feel...something, on some kind of other side? This is weird, brains are hard.
Deciding that not dying of thirst is a very good course of action, I prodded that new part of my brain with a question. "Where I can get water?"
A couple of seconds later, the river was highlighted in cyan, and the words 'water purification system online' appeared in my view.
...so it wanted me to drink the river's water? I mean, it's not too dirty, but I still don't believe I want to do that, 'purification system' or not. As I think that, I tentatively put a finger in the water. Immediately I notice a small whirlpool forming around it, and I can already feel the notification appear. Apparently the water is being absorbed, purified and then directly sent to the part of my body that needed it. Uh. Well that's cool, I guess? Let's hope I won't regret it later. I'd hate to survive the alien apocalypse just to die from some dirty water.
Around a minute of absorbing water and playing with the whirpools it makes, I am interrupted from my musing as I hear a shuffling to my right. Looking, I see...an alien. An Intruder. No more than twenty meters from me.
Well, I guess I'm dead.
The humanoid figure is almost two meters tall, formed by shiny white organic-looking tissue. Its right arm ends in some kind of gun, and its head is one with its shoulders like those droids from the Star Wars prequel. It advances warily, alternating between observing the surroundings and...a trail of blood. Which ends where I was resting a minute ago. Fuck. I guess it followed the blood from my leg, uh.
It advances towards me, blaster raised, and...walks past me? Wait, what? It's heading towards my previous spot, acting as if it didn't see me.
I slowly get up-no response.
I sneak towards it-no response.
I stop right beside it-no response.
I'm almost going to wave in front of its face, but stop when I realize that doing so will probably make him notice my presence even through the cham-weave. Wait, the what now? How did I knew that name?
My third panicking of the day is interrupted by my Core- yes I'll just assume it's a Core- as it tells me that I am currently invisible. Well jeez thanks, as if I didn't just discovered that.
Anyway, deciding that invisibility or not I don't feel comfortable staying close to this alien, I prepare to move away as silently as I can...before another notification interrupts me.
A notification about my available weapons.
You know what, Core? Sure.
I try and reach that part of my brain that seems connected to what I hope is my Core, and then ask it "what weapons do I have?". The answer is: not weapons, but weapon. As in, the only one I have is a sword.
It materializes in my hand, invisible like the rest of me, and without really thinking about it I grasp it firmly and slash at my enemy, a textbook cut from my upper right to my lower left.
The Intruder's two pieces fall to the ground, shocking me. It can't be that easy, can it?
I get close to it and poke it with a foot, but it just lays there. Crouching down and placing my hand on it, the same membrane as before shoots out of my glove, envelops it, then shrink back into the uniform. Another 'absorption process 100%' later, and the body was just...gone.
...it was that easy.
I try and give it a mental command to deactivate my invisibility, and on the third try I manage it. Finally, I can look at the sword, and it is a nice one indeed. Straight, double edged, pointy bit on top and crossguard. Yup, a classic cross-shaped European sword. It was a bit big but between being surprisingly light and the hilt being long enough that I could grip it with both hands I shouldn't have a problem using it. Also, it was black. Because of course it was.
"...well, I really should move now. Which reminds me..."
I check my left leg, the one that was crushed merely an hour ago. I didn't have any discomfort, it didn't feel weird. It was even missing my ingrown toenail! It was basically a new limb, from nowhere.
Cores are weird.
[Approx. 7 minutes later]
So, I started walking towards the center of the city, and now I'm kinda spooked by how...empty the place is. No aliens, no humans, not even all those cats you always see in the neighborhood.
Eventually, I found another alien. Same type as the one I killed before. It didn't see me yet, so I just turned the invisibility on, approached it slowly, and then slashed down. Boom, another snack for my core. Honestly, these guys are so dumb I started to call them Ants, as they did nothing but wander around with no evident purpose. I found and killed three more, before I found myself near the Old part of the town.
And parked right in the middle of it, was an honest to God Tank. It was made from shiny white metal with a big energy cannon that sent blue blasts of energy into the street, and surrounded on all sides by two dozens of the Ants, which were shooting full auto. But that was not what catched my attention. Instead, it was the woman with pink hair, futuristic armor and a giant battleaxe that was currently fighting them, screaming like a madwoman.
And more importantly, she was Winning. With a capital 'W'. She swung that huge thing of hers, and the Ants were sent flying, while the tank had a huge gash in it. If its main turret was getting close to firing at her, she just sprinted around it, and hacked it a bit more.
Now then...what the hell do I do now?
End of episode 2: Invisibility's pretty cool, I tell ya
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Resonance 3- Flying really isn't cool at all when you're outside a mech flying at supersonic speed and i will surely get back at her for that one, I tell ya!
<INIZIATING HANDSHAKE PROTOCOL>
I peeked from behind the wall I used as cover, still invisible, as I observed the fight.
Pink hair was dealing a pretty good job at killing them, having already slaughtered all of the Ants and now taking her time finishing off the Tank, which gave me an opportunity to take a better look at her armor.
Honestly, calling it armor was a misnomer: it was more like a gray powered mechanical suit with pink highlights, covering her from toes to neck and leaving only the head exposed- which seemed like a pretty obvious weak point to me, by the way, but who am I to talk about defense when I didn't even have nearly as much armor as her? Actually, could I get some armor too? That would make me less worried about stray bullets, at least. They haven't been a problem so far, but I would like them to never be.
Anyway, the suit probably helped her lift that MASSIVE weapon. Seriously, that double-edged battleaxe is taller than she is, and the blades together are large enough that she could hide behind them! Even if you consider the fact she is on the smaller side, that doesn't decrease how fucking cool- I mean, big that thing is. She was all zoom and boom and crash!
While I was busy thinking about useless stuff, she finished wreaking the enemy squad and sat down on the mechanical corpse of the veichle, seemingly waiting for something. Or someone, as she reminded me of myself when I arrived way to early at some place and had to wait for my friends to join me.
Which brought me to the same question as a while ago: What do I do now? I could approach her, but I don't know how she would react. On the other hand, I do seem like a creep just watching her from over here, so....alright, whatever, let's go say hi!
I walk at a steady pace towards the lone girl, who was now resting her head on the handle of her axe.
...that can't be comfortable. Anyway, I deactivate my cloaking when I'm around two times her weapon's reach away from her, just for safety, and give her a wave.
"Yo!" <EMERGENCY EVASION ACTIVATED>
I somehow manage to dodge left just in time, before the axe splits the ground in the spot where I was less than a second ago.
"Shit! Sorry, are you alright?!"
I look at the girl. The girl that apparently was so spooked that she tried and chop me in half, and almost succeeded! I could have died right then, and that would have been it. Jesus Christ, I don't even know how I managed to dodge it in time! If that hit me, there's no way I would have survived, and that's-<INIZIATING MENTAL STABILIZATION>
...alright, I guess. Considering her equipment, she appears to be a melee vanguard. Being twitchy with her weapon is probably her job. Hell, that's probably how she stays alive. Can't fault her for it. Also, the look on her face is that of worry mixed with panic, not to mention she's probably even younger with me! I can't blame her for this.
"Yeah, no problem. Sorry, must have spooked ya."
"N-no. I mean, yes, but...sorry, really. Anyway...who are you?" she asked with a tilt of her head. Aww, isn't she adorable? <INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
"Oh you know, just your regular passerby. Was prowling around these parts when I saw you kick their butts, so I decided to come here and say hello." I said, not wanting to give too much information. I mean, I didn't really trust her too much yet, so I want to understand what's happening. Also, she did kinda almost kill me, so yeah, I decided on being a bit more careful-
And wow, she has the look I have when I look at my favorite ice cream.
"You're an Infiltrator!? The super cool ninja-like girls that can go anywhere, kill any Type and get out without even being detected?! That's so coool!"
I wanted to say something about how I am not that amazing, or not even actually part of the military, but before i could I found myself caught in a bear hug that lifted me off the ground, actually almost crushing me, so I don't really have the opportunity. If the emergency signals I hear in my brain and have appeared in my vision are to be believed, she almost caused internal damage as well, just how ridiculous is this girl's strength?
After what seems like an eternity, but is probably more like three seconds, I am released from the hug and fall on my knees, gasping for air.
"Wha! Sorry, I didn't notice you had your Frame not expressed! I'm really sorry!"
I try to tell her that she was alright once again- and damn, she looks like she's going to cry- but since I had no air to spare for that I settled for just giving her an headpat.
"...I-it's fine....kiddo....just.....be care....full.....next....time..." I managed to let out. Goddamn, she really had the strength to crush a tank, even if she doesn't look like it at all.
"Y-yes, sorry! I promise that-" Whatever Pinky was going to say, she was interrupted by the sound of jet engines as a new figure descended from the sky.
It was a power armor, or a humanoid mecha of some kind, colored a blinding white. It stood way bigger than a person, arriving at probably a single floor of an house in height, while the quickly disappearing sound of jet engines was coming from its legs. The mech had large, angular shoulders with what I think was some missile racks, and a large rifle was poking from behind its arrow-shaped head.
"Rosa, who is that?" the figure asked, its voice electronically distorted.
"Oh, this is an infiltrator unit that just found me while you were arriving. Her name's, uhhh..."
"You may call me, Veliona." I interjected with a overdramatized curtsy. I didn't actually want to give my name to them, so I gave them my gaming name. Hopefully it won't come back to bite me in the ass later. "Your friend here and I just met."
"...I see. I apologize for any disturbance she may have caused. My name is Bianca, codename 'White Glint'. We are here for a S-and-R operation, hopefully we didn't disturb your own mission."
"Oh, I'm not here on a mission, nor am I an 'Infiltrator'. I was simply taking a walk, squashing some Ants along the way. You know how it is." I replied with a smile. Technically wasn't lying, I guess.
Bianca lowered her head, gazing at the bodies of the various Intruders on the ground, before looking back to me. "I see."
"So...you're a chosen as well, White Glint?" I tried to ask.
"Just Bianca is fine. And yes, of course. Are you not?"
"I Think so? Just got what's probably a core earlier today, so I guess I am now."
Pinky looked at me like I was a ghost, and Whitley was probably doing the same even if I can't be sure. You know, not seeing her face and all. Rosa was the first one to talk.
"You...what do you mean with 'just got a core', exactly?"
"Oh, you know, my whole family got killed, a Chosen fell into my house and died, and I touched this weird orb and now have what basically are superpowers. Why are you looking at me like tha-"
I am once again caught in a bear hug, and this time I believe I hear something break. Wait, my core would have told me if something did, so it's probably in my head. Still, it kinda hurts.
Also, Rosa is mumbling something while crying in my chest, while Bianca is just looking at us.
"A little help?" I try, in a last effort to save my lungs from being hugged to death.
"...You just got a Core, but already got a Stealth System? How did you manage to kill a type-15 with no weapons?"
"First of all, I do have a weapon. I have a sword!" I replied while trying to get Pinky off me. She just tried to hug me even harder in response. "Also, what's a Type-15?"
"An enemy Infiltrator unit. Capable of invisibility, and specialized in assassination. Which...dammit. We need to go, now!"
"What? Why?" the girl that was hugging me now decided to finally let me free and question her partner, probably because she's as confused as me about what Bianca is talking about.
"We didn't know about fifteens. If they are in the area, we're in big danger. We need to go now before they find-" <UNKNOWN TRANSMISSION DETECTED>
I Immediately spun around, generating my sword in my hand and bringing it down onto the body of a not-so-lifeless alien. The Ant is struck right in the middle of its shoulders, where their head is, and lets out a screech before falling silent once more. I look around, trying to see if any more of the aliens were still alive. Resigning myself as i did not have a way to tell, I just give a kick to the one i just slashed and I look back at the two warriors, rubbing the back of my head.
"Well, it seems that one managed to send a transmission out. Guess we have to make a run for it before reinforcements arrive now?"
Pinky perked out at this, her battleaxe back in her hands without me noticing. They probably detected the transmission too?
"I'm not scared of a few sneaky ones! I can fight them!"
"...it's not only them we need to be careful about. Type-0 'Sisyphus' was last seen approaching near this location. I wouldn't want to fight it without a whole squadron, if I can avoid it." Bianca said. Well that sounded omnious.
Giving her a big thumb up to signify I was okay with the plan, I asked a simple question.
"….so, what the fuck is a Type Zer-" and for the third time today, I was interrupted. However this time not by a bear hug, but by a giant hand that grabbed me and the sound of engines starting up.
"Wait a second, I don't think I can survive moving at supersonic spEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-"
End of episode 3: Flying really isn't cool at all when you're outside a mech flying at supersonic speed and i will surely get back at her for that one, I tell ya!
I scanned the various city blocks with the scope of my rifle, searching for the presence of my enemy. I was currently on the tallest building around, laying stomach down on the roof with my visual camouflage activated- though Invisibility was still a cooler name in my opinion- just so that nobody could spot me.
There. I looked at a street some five hundred meters from me and I spotted my target: a skinny girl with long and straight blue hair, submachine gun in hand and crouched behind a low wall. I put my crosshair a little bit above her head, and pulled the trigger. The shot was close but it missed, veering too much to the right, still I managed to make her move from her cover.
While she ran to the other side of the road I cycled the bolt- no ammo casing being ejected, I noticed- and aimed in front of her. Just as planned, the girl was surprised by my shot and ducked in an hallway to her right where I had line of sight, instead of going toward the left where the houses would have hid her.
She had probably already pinpointed my approximate location if she was as good as I've been told, but that was fine. I wasn't that good of a shot anyway so I needed her to get closer to finish this. Another bullet was sent her way and she moved behind an house, before popping out from the other side a few moments later to sprint towards me. Another shot, another evasive action; I was trying my best to make her think I was trying to keep her away, hopefully she would fall for it? Considering how she was making a beeline to here, I would say yes, but it could have been a trap....probably not, she didn't really have many other attack options.
I aimed at a small passage where she should come out next, ready to hit her as soon as she revealed herself, before I noticed a movement in the corner of my eye. Zooming out, I saw her one, maybe almost two hundred meters closer than I thought she would be. Swearing under my breath at having missed the opportunity to end the fight right there and wondering how she came so close in so little time, I got up and jumped off the roof, right as some bullets swooshed past my head.
I landed so heavily on my knees that I reckon any normal human would have broken their bones and started to sprint towards my plan C. The steps from my pursuer sounded ever closer, and when I turned right at a place I marked on my HUD I found myself in a familiar alleyway. A dead end, to be exact. I leaped behind a dumpster just as some bullets flew past where I was less than a second ago.
"It's over for you. Get out and let's end this." came the words from Blue Hair.
"Come and take me." was my short reply. I connected my left eye to the camera I placed earlier, looking at my enemy from somewhere above and behind her. I saw her slowly making her way towards me, shuffling her feet on the ground and appearing ready to dodge a shot from my rifle before rushing me. I waited until she was in the correct position, then shouted from my hiding place.
"W-wait!" I said in my most pathetic voice, showing my hands from behind the dumpster.
"What, ready to surrender? I-"
"Wanna go out with me?" my question was surprising enough to make her freeze for a moment, and I mimicked pressing a detonator with my left hand. The trigger activated, all the claymores I set in the hallway exploded, spraying orange paint everywhere...including on the Blue Girl.
The space around us warped and as we found ourselves in a white classroom a voice sounded from above.
"WINNER: CADET LUCIA 'VELIONA' MAZZAPIENA"
"Aww yeah! Uh, sorry for that Anna. I would give you a napkin, but don't have any..." I said, talking to the girl that was currently trying, and failing, to remove the paint from her face with her orange-covered hands. The other students were murmuring about our fight, probably discussing ways to beat me or her. The teacher was giving a short explanation on some anti-sniper tactics which I doubted many were listening to.
"...don't worry, it's fine. I should have known you were luring me in a trap, this loss is entirely my fault. Still, next time it won't be too easy!" she finished in a cheerful voice.
I gave her a smile and a thumbs up, before going back to my seat. Looking at the next pair go into the Simulator for training, I couldn't help but think about how much my life changed in less than a week.
---THREE DAYS AGO--
So, apparently I could survive moving at supersonic speeds, although as Bianca kindly explained to me later it was because of her own shields protecting me, not my own higher-than-natural endurance.
She brought me to the coolest place in Italy: the Vittoria, a futuristic airship that housed Florence's Chosen, and doubled as an academy for them. As soon as we touched down on an airstrip and I was released from the grip of Bianca's mech, I was met with the sight of a group of people walking toward us. Two of them were probably Chosen, given they had a plugsuit similar to mine and were wielding assault rifles. Of the other two, the man in a business suit was probably some kind of legal...man- I don't know much about law and stuff, okay?- while the woman with the long, dark hair had a lab coat made me think of a scientist. While the first started to talk with Bianca about something, the former walked forward and basically dragged me to an infirmary, where I was subject to a lot of medical tests.
I was put into a weird machine, like those that are used for MRIs, had some blood taken, did a brain scan, and a dozen more things that I honestly didn't even remember. During all of this, I could hear the woman- Maria, she named herself at one point- mutter about 'abnormal integration factor' and 'mental pollution', but I have no idea no clue what they meant. The second one sounded bad, but according to Maria it was simply something that appeared often in veteran Chosen and wasn't a problem, just weird that a newbie like myself showed those traits.
Anyway, after that I was quickly brought to an office, where a middle-aged man was waiting for me. He was dressed in the same manner as the man from before, even had the same expression, with pretty much the only difference being that this one was visibly older as his grey hair could attest to. Maybe they were related?
"Miss Lucia Mazzapiena. You were thought to be dead along with your family, but I'm pleased to see those reports were incorrect."
"Well, you know me, death isn't enough to stop me from causing trouble." I tried to smile at him, ignoring the jab he sent me regarding my family. What an asshole.
"I get the feeling we both like being direct, so let's get to the point. I would like you to enroll in our Valkiria project, which aims to teach young Chosen, after which you can enter employment of the state." <INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
"...and what's in for me?" I'm not sure why I'm being so wary about joining these guys. Maybe because he reminds me of my last math teacher? Man I hated that guy...but yeah, being wary is never a bad move, right?
"You'll get support, an education, housing, and of course you will be payed for your time."
"Wait, really? How much money are we talking about?"
Instead of simply answering me, he wrote something on a piece of paper and placed it in front of me. I reached for it, read it, read it again, looked at him, and then read it a third time. That's....that's a lotta zeros, I must say. Especially since this was apparently a monthly income. You know what? Sure, you convinced me.
"...Damn, I'm in."
He gave me a contract which I made sure to read carefully- I wasn't even required to join the army after I finished my education, how neat was that- and after signing it, he asked Bianca to show me the place. "Only those with Visitor authorization, for the moment" he added.
She- along with Rosa who tagged along- showed me the various sights of the place. An observation deck that looked towards the city below us, the rooms of the various Chosen- Bianca was a minimalist, so much that I could barely tell somebody lived in her room; Rosa's was as pink as her hair and filled with posters of anime.
The cafeteria was HUGE, enough for like, eight hundred people at once. And from what I was told, this was just one of three, plus a few private ones you needed invitations to enter.
There were gyms, pools, fields for various sports, and even a spa! Honestly, if it wasn't for the Classrooms it would look like a five stars hotel. They told me the various places I couldn't go to yet included armories, firing ranges, simulator rooms for training, and fabricators to 3D print anything you might need- the kind which you could also absorb into your core to bring with you everywhere. Well, that was definitely something I needed to do at some point.
I was also given a personal room. It was a neat space, about as big as my old room. I would say...around 4x6 meters? It was bigger than I needed, honestly. There was a bed, an empty wardrobe and a metallic desk on top of which a big rulebook and a tablet sat. I decided to put the former into my pocket dimension storage after skimming it for a few pages, letting my Core read it for me, while the latter I just played with a little bit, apparently it worked as a catalog of textbooks and even as a copybook. Truly, the school supplies of the future.
I discovered my room had an attached bathroom, so that was nice. As it was late already I decided to make use of it, taking a quick shower and then plopping myself on the bed ready for sleep, when a knock surprised me.
Slightly opening my door, I came face to face with a short and young redhead, around fourteen maybe, face full of freckles and dressed similarly to me- skintight suit, half-cape and all.
"Yo! Are you interested in being an assassin?"
...well, that was quite direct. "That...depends. Who are you?"
"My name's not important. I'm here to offer you a place in the Infiltrators, our Spec-ops team. So, did I pick your interest? If you wanna know more, come to our cafeteria, here's the access card and bye!" She threw some kind of black card at me before becoming invisible. So that's how it felt, uh. I really need to gain some ways to detect invisible people. I pocketed the card, closed the door to my room, and with a sigh I decided to just sleep on it.
The following day, I went to the 'Basics on Invaders' class my tablet informed me I could attend.
If I recall correctly, I had a week to get used to the new space before I was required to be present, but nothing said I couldn't already participate and I didn't want to be left behind.
Bianca and Rosa were in the Third Year- out of five- which told me the years weren't divided by age but by level of education. So even if I was older than Rosa I would be a fresh First Year, taught alongside others fresh First Years. Made sense, honestly.
Entering my first class I was a bit excited, it was kinda like going back to school! I was still wearing my plugsuit, since it didn't appear to ever become dirty, along with my camo half-cape. I was sitting in the classroom, invisible because why not, when the teacher entered.
It was a tall woman who I placed in her mid-twenties, with chestnut hair that reached halfway to her back. She wore an outfit with a distinctive "future military" utilitarian style, but form-fitting enough that her figure could still be appreciated.
She looked around the class, eyeing the other students that were there already as I entered, before fixing her gaze in my direction.
"Good optical camouflage, but you can still be detected by radar. I suggest taking a radar detection set from the armory later, so you can at least know when you're being spotted."
Uncertain on the better course of action I just dropped my camouflage, to the surprise of those that didn't know I was there, and gave the instructor a double thumbs up. She just nodded and went to her desk. Before I could be swarmed with questions, she turned on a projector that showed the forms of Invaders infantrymen, and addressed the class.
"Enemy. Aliens. Antagonists. Invaders. They have many names, but once I'm done with you the only way you will refer to them is prey. In this class I, professor Madeline Goodwitch, will teach you all we know about them: how they move, how they think, how to kill them and how to not get killed by them. Is it clear?"
A chorus of "Yes, ma'am!" escaped our lips almost automatically. She sounded like the stereotypical military instructor...which I guess she was, everything considered.
"Good. Today we will learn about the Types classification, whose objective is to divide the Invaders into different classes of units on the base of their abilities and intended role. We will start with Type-1s, which are the most common. Even if they will not pose much of a threat to you, especially after you have integrated some energy shielding into you Core, have some method of flight available, or preferably both, they can still be an annoyance and a drain on your energy reserves, so the trick is to deal with them quickly and efficiently. If you look upon this part of the graph, you can see these marked areas which indicate their most common weak spots-"
I was honestly interested about the subject, so I listened with attention. Apparently the trick with Type-1s was to just give zero fucks and exterminate them with extreme prejudice- the prof may not have used these exact words- while aiming at their chest, not caring about possible mutations or extra protection as they didn't give them enough defensive power to survive most of the time.
After three hours of lesson- recorded into my Core, as that was apparently something it could do. The more you learn!- we were left free for lunch, and I managed to use my optical camouflage to slip away before the other girls in the class could stop me. I-it's not like I'm scared of the attention, I just want to get some food quickly, alright?
Anyway, remembering the card I was given by the redhead, I was torn on what to do. Do I go and try to find Bianca and Rosa, or do I go and meet the Longstockings girl in the Infiltrators cafeteria to learn what her deal is? Hmm, social decisions, why can't all problems be solved with a sword...
End of episode 4: School isn't too bad, I tell ya!
-//Medical Evaluation 8A3447//-
(The following document is only available to those with Genesis-Level Clearance. for the coverup, see Medical Evaluation 9A3447.)
Name: Lucia Mazzapiena
Codename: "Veliona"
Status: Active
Blood Type: 0+
Brain Activity: <!error!>
VC integration rate: 5182%
Mental Pollution state: 624%
Notes:
Core interference during brain scans. Detected absorption of type-13 and type-15 Invader frames. Integration rate is highly abnormal and mental pollution rate is excessive even for a veteran Valkiria.
((Marco, what the hell is this? By all evidence she should be either a broken mess or a berserker without reason. How the hell is she still a functional human being with these readings!?))
-//End of Medical Evaluation 8A3447//-
-//
From: Marco Aureola
To: Maria Grazia
Object: Medical Evaluation 8A3447
Maria,
that is for you to discover. I expect many great things from you and her. By the way, I am giving her Eta-level access, even if she won't know that. I'm sure it will help her grow much quicker that we can expect.
Farewell,
Marco Aureola, Overseer of Italy.
//.
Resonance 5- School isn't too bad, I tell ya! -part 2
In the end, I decided to find out what the deal with Twintails is. The position of the cafeteria was written on the card she threw at me- floor seven, room 203. A very fast elevator ride later, I was on the right floor, and just had to travel the hallway until I found the right door.
...weird. Even if I am still invisible, pretty much every student I crossed path with look like they spotted me, just like what happened before with the teacher. I guess they are upper-years who are better equipped to deal with such things happening?
Thinking such, I almost miss the number I'm searching for, but still....the door to the cafeteria was huge! Two cars could enter it at the same time, why the hell did they need the door to be so big?
Shaking my head and dropping my invisibility- because it didn't seem to work anyway so why bother- I swiped the black card to the electronic device positioned next to the entrance, which opened swiftly with a 'swoosh' and once I entered closed just as fast.
There weren't many people here, barely three groups of around five people each, so it wasn't that hard to spot Twintails and as soon as I did, I made my way to her.
Said redhead was busy talking excitedly to the others at her table. I didn't recognize any of the young women, the only thing that I noticed was that the one at the head of the table had very scary eyes. And was looking right at me. And as I approached, the others started to look at me too.
I decided to ignore the piercing stares from the group, as they didn't seem outright hostile, more like...wary. They were eyeing me like they were trying to understand if I would be a problem, and what would be the best way to break my neck if I was indeed one.
Alright, maybe 'hostile' wasn't completely wrong.
"Hey Longstockings, wanted to see me?"
"Oh, Veliona! You actually came! And who the hell you're calling Pippi, exactly?!" she almost screamed.
"Absolutely no-one. You're doing that yourself, after all." I replied with a smile. Her face went red- if it was from embarrassment or anger, who can say?- and she just pouted. I had to restrain myself from petting her head, she just looked adorable!
The one sitting at the head of the table, probably the boss of the group if I had to guess, choose that moment to intrude in the conversation.
"Ah, miss Veliona, right? Anima was just talking about you, what a coincidence. Do come and sit at our table, it wouldn't do for you to go hungry after all."
Big Boss over there was wearing what I thought were stereotypical mafia clothing: a white shirt with a black tie and black suspenders, black pants and a coat just left hanging over her shoulders which contrasted well with her braid of brown hair. She even had an eyepatch! It kinda gave her the image of a big shot, at least at a first glance.
"Thank you very much, miss..?" I decided to go for a polite approach as I sat down. The only place available was next to twintails, at the opposite end of the table compared to the boss.
"Right, where are my manners? Please, call me Lich. It's an honor to meet someone that managed to catch little Anima's eye." she said looking at Twintails, who just blushed and turned away.
"Oh, you flatter me. I'm merely a first-year that has just started, I'm hardly amazing."
"And yet you already have absorbed a type-15...and if what my sources say is true, a type-13 as well."
I tried thinking about it for a couple of seconds but I couldn't remember what that second classification meant.
"Sorry, which one was the thirteen again? We just started the lessons on them..." I said with a sheepish smile.
"The medic units. Never used it before? Felt an increase in strength, old injuries being absent?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ah...now that you mention it, I guess that's what healed my leg after it was crushed. Neat!"
Everyone at the table looked at me in a weird way. "...what?"
Lich was the first one to recover, raising an eyebrow. "...you lost a leg, and didn't really question it when it healed without an apparent cause?"
Alright, when you put it like that you kinda make me look like the one at fault.
"Well, to be fair it was a pretty busy day alright? I had plenty to think about already!" I said, putting my best pouting face on.
One of the others at the table, a young woman with orange hair sitting to the left of Lich, took that chance to erupt into laughter. "Ahahah, really! What could possibly distract you so much?!".
The Boss raised an hand and slammed it on top of her head, stopping the cackling.
"Shut it, Jack-o'. She probably had her reasons."
"At least tell me to shut up before hitting me boss! Beside, what reasons would she ever had that distracted her from her whole leg regenerating?!"
She hit her again.
<INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
"Well, if you really wanna know, my family died, my house was destroyed, I became a Chosen, I was going to die...and that's it. Yeah, in hindsight I really should have questioned it earlier."
The group was silent once again, although the silence was different this time. Twintails decided to speak up after a couple seconds.
"Uh...are you okay?" <INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
Now that was a weird question. Why wouldn't I be okay? I was safe, I had a new badass weapon-slash-companion, I made a couple new friends and my economical situation was Great, with the capital 'G' and all. I even managed to finally get myself a job!
"Yeah? I mean, I only had two days to get used to it, but I'm pretty sure I'm fine. Why?"
That silence again. Was it something I said? Man, I really suck at this whole socializing stuff.
After the silence kept going for almost ten seconds, and seeing this time none of them would speak up again, I decided it ultimately came down to me to make the show go on.
"Sooo...why did you want to meet me anyway? Twintails just told me if I wanted to be part of a special team, but didn't really go into the details."
Lich was once again the first one to recover among them.
"...right. One of the tasks I gave Anima was to look for promising recruits, and she suggested you. I saw your examination results, and I must say I'm impressed. An integration rate above 100% is quite exceptional, even if you're using a second generation Core."
...i didn't really understand what half of those things she said means, so I just nodded along. I tried mentally telling my Core to make a note of checking those terms on the 'net later, and there was a...ping? It was hard to describe, but if I had to find words for it an "affirmative ping" was the closest I could get. I guess that's how it says 'Yes'.
"Whatever the case, I can see you're like a raw gemstone: valuable, but not yet polished. My proposal to you is such: I will offer you the training that will make you into a beautiful diamond, and in exchange you will join my team. What do you say?"
That was a pretty neat offer. I don't really know anyone else other than Rosa and Bianca, but I doubt I could join a team with them since they are third years. So I don't really have anything to lose...
"You know what? Sure, why not. From what I heard, Infiltrators are pretty famous for their skills, and learning from the best can only be beneficial. I accept" I smiled at her, and Lich smiled back.
It was in that exact moment that my stomach growled. Way to go body, ruining such a good moment to look cool. <AREA OF IMPROVEMENT DETECTED>
"Well, don't let me prevent you from eating. Do order some food, you will find that what they have here is much better than what they offer in the public cafeteria."
I didn't let myself be told twice, and got myself something to eat. Apparently the Infiltrator's private cafeteria was more of a restaurant where you're served instead of having to go grab your food yourself. Now, I had yet to try the normal cafeteria so I couldn't do a comparison, but if there is one thing I learned today is that the steak here is heavenly.
At the end, I excused myself since my business with them was done, but when I mentioned that I was going to buy some equipment Lich ordered Twintails to go with me and give me suggestions.
Well, I didn't really have any reason to refuse since I am trash at making good financial decisions, and the help was welcome in any case, so I gladly accepted her accompanying me.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
The Armory was...impressive. Really, that was the only way to describe it.
Rows upon rows of tall shelves filled to the brim with weapons and other weird devices. The place was well lighted and actually pretty spacious but the sheer size of it made it seem intimidating.
We could see groups of young women browsing the various articles: one holding two shotguns, trying to decide on which one to buy; another was testing some kind of giant blowtorch; a third had a circular device floating atop her palm, and so on.
<EXCITEMENT>
I felt like a kid in a candy shop.
While we were walking to a spot Anima- I mean, Twintails chose, she was making me all kind of questions.
"Any weapons you already got?" "..I have a sword?"
"Do you already have additional armor?" "Only what I'm wearing now."
"Movement devices?" "My legs count?"
"Energy generators or batteries?" "...probably?"
After that one she actually stopped, turning around to look at me with a distrustful look in her eyes.
"What do you mean 'probably'? Do you at least know how to check the storage inside your Core?"
"...No? I told you, I've been doing this for barely a day, and just had my very first lesson."
"Right. Anyway, come sit over here, I'll give you a quick introduction."
True to her words, she tried her best to waste our next twenty minutes with weird exercises like imagining a small sphere of light, or trying to 'feel' something within me. All without results.
I was starting to give up on her method, when...
"I don't get it! It worked for me...sorry Veliona, I don't know why you can't do it."
"It's fine Pippi, it's probably my fault anyway."
"Don't call me that! And I really wonder how you're able to store things if you can't communicate with your core."
Wait.
"...I can?"
"...what?"
"I can. Communicate with my core, I mean."
"What? How?!"
"I just...ask it what I need to?"
Demonstrating my point, I raised an hand and thought to my Core about transferring the tablet I stored earlier to my hand. It appeared immediately just as I wanted, and Anima just watched me with her mouth open.
"B-but...that was....you'd need....communicating without a dedicated processor...wait...are you using the medic unit to....oh my god, you're doing it with a direct connection to your brain. That's..." She sighed and ran a hand across her face. "You know what? I' m not even gonna question it anymore. Can you...ask it to do an inventory check?"
I did as requested. <DATA>
Yup, it worked! Let's see...my sword, some water that I absorbed yesterday, and the bodies of five antagonists- the Type-1s I destroyed while wandering. There was also a separate pocket with what was tagged as "Medical Unit" which was out of power apparently, and a stealth unit that was at 51%.
Oh, I needed to recharge it? Good thing I discovered it now, and not on the field...
"Oh right! What's your budget? You should be able to check it from your tablet, there's an app for it."
Twintails interrupted my musing and brought me back to reality. True to her words, there was indeed an app that showed me my current balance for "scholastic activities". Which apparently included buying guns. Where are we, America?
I showed her mine with a smug face, but she just raised an eyebrow and showed me hers.
It was bigger. Much bigger.
Damn that was a lot of zeros, neatly stacked in a line and with a big number at the end.
While I was recovering from the shock of just how much money that little girl in front of me had access to, she walked us to a section dedicated to various humanoid-shaped armors and mechanical skeletons.
"Here we are. Exoskeletons are the basis for any good Frame- that's your powered armor, if you didn't know- so you should get one. I suggest...this one. Light, durable, and works passively so there is no energy requirement or emission." <EXCITEMENT>
I looked at it. I guess the harness simply went around the body to support it, or something like that. Under my companion's watchful eye, I bought one and absorbed it, and my core reacted with...happiness? Something similar, anyway.
I tried to Extract it, and it oozed out of myself, forming right around my body. I tried jumping lightly, running and even grabbed Anima to raise her like in that one Lion King scene, and I gotta say I can see why it was suggested to me. Everything seemed much easier to do, and I estimate it multiplied my strength by about...I'll throw a random number and say 1.2 times.
Anyway, after I put down my tiny friend and she kicked me in the shin- the little gremlin!- we proceeded onto the next step: armor.
I wasn't sure how it would interact with my camouflage, but Anima assured me that as long as I leaved it to the Core it would find a way to make the both of them work. Trusting her on this, I bought a set of light armor- it was marketed as multiple alternate layers of ceramic plates and shock-absorbing gel sandwiched together- and we went on to the juicy stuff: the weapons.
I showed her my sword. Apparently it was called a 'Vibro-blade' because it used something called an High-Frequency Inductor to make the sword cut better? Kinda got it, I think.
Anyway, she asked me if I could make another, and I was surprised to find out that my Core pinged negative this time.
When I asked Anima, she told me that I would need to integrate a multi-purpose printer at one point if I wanted to make my own stuff from the materials I stored by absorbing antagonists. Apparently all Chosen past a certain level were supposed to have at least one, and some construction specialists were able to challenge entire factories by themselves. But when I looked at the cost of one fabricator unit I understood why Iit wasn't taken at the start: it was expensive. Like, 'twintails over there with all her incredible wealth could only buy three if she used all of her money' expensive.
Anyway, under her direction we moved to sniper rifles, where she suggested I buy one to deal with soft targets and another for more armored ones. Make sense, you can simply store them in your core and take out the one you need at the time, but I decided to go for a single one for now to save some money.
Honestly, they all looked the same to me, I wasn't a gun nerd, so in the end I followed a gut feeling and picked one called "Remington 700P", chambered in .308. And a cheap scope to go with it.
I was told there are more advanced electric scopes which can connect directly with your core for better targeting, but they were pretty expensive so maybe another time.
After that, I told Twintails I needed an energy source and we made our way to the other side of the warehouse, because of course it would be on the other side of the Kilometer-wide room. On the way there, we passed beside a freaking jet! The tag described it as F-35 Lightning II, and it was pretty neat if I say so myself. But still, why would a Chosen buy one? I asked my guide that same question.
"They're not bought to be used, but to be assimilated by your core. That way you can make use of the materials, or in this case you could use the engines and the guns, and scrap the rest. Well, you'd need a fabricator to do all of that anyway, so don't worry about that yet."
Mh. It seemed fabricators were capable of a lot of interesting things. I need to save for one ASAP!
We stopped looking as some of the shotguns in exhibition and Anima ended up actually buying one, a DP-12. After blushing and saying "I'm a sucker for twin barrels!" we nevertheless continued onward and arrived at our destination: the Power Sources section.
"Alright, we're here. Let's see...those over there are Fission and Fusion reactors. All you need to know is that Fusion ones are better, but both are above your budget so let's ignore them for now. A neat one you could get yourself is this Energy Dynamo which are basically very efficient solar panels. Or you could go for one of these, an Hydrogen Combustion Engine, if you don't mind having to deal with the nitrogen oxides buildup. If you just dump it somewhere during a mission you could be detected pretty easily by a high-level Intruder, but if you don't it takes up valuable storage space."
Honestly, I had no idea what to do. On one side, the Energy Dynamos are cleaner and simpler to use, but on the other hand they can't be used during battle because they're too fragile and are of course useless during the night.
But the engine would produce refuse which I can't just dump away- not only for the environmental risks, who actually cares about that, but mostly because if what Twintails says is true then it was easily spotted. I don't even have enough money to get both without going in the red, what to do...
"...Can I get myself some cheap batteries too?"
"Oh, yeah those are a possibility, but good ones actually cost a lot. The cheap ones...well they kinda suck. But if you're thinking on getting the dynamos they're not a worthless option."
"Yeah, that was the plan. Alright then, a Energy Dynamo set and some shitty batteries coming up!"
After the purchase, a message from my Core told me to please return to my normal clothes, so that it could start integrating my new acquisitions into a newly upgraded Frame. As I did, my comfy outfit replaced my plugsuit- white and red sweatshirt with a cat-eared hood and white sweatpants. Very comfy!
As I did not have much cash remaining, we started to make our way out of the Armory, but on the way I noticed something that I absolutely needed to add to my equipment and Anima agreed it was useful, so since it wasn't too expensive I ended up buying it. Insert evil laugh dot mp3 here! Also I'm really in the red, boo-hoo.
Having done my shopping, I said my goodbyes to Twintails and went my way. Checking my schedule, I found out there were no more lessons for today and since my Core was integrating my new equipment I couldn't train with it yet. Well except my gun that was alright as it was, so maybe I could try and go to the firing range? I never shot a gun before so it's not a bad idea to get started on learning.
As I start to make my way toward the central hub of the ship, because apparently I forgot where the firing range is and shut up don't laugh at me, I notice two familiar faces.
Standing on the hallway and talking in almost a whisper, were...
"Bianca! Rosa! How you doing?" I asked them as I walked closer to the two.
Bianca nodded to me, while Rosa sprinted towards me and hugged me. Thankfully she wasn't wearing her Frame, so this time I wasn't crushed to death and could hug her back.
"Veliona! I'm glad you're alright!"
"Same here Rosa, but why wouldn't I be?"
They both went silent, looking down. After some time spent like this, Bianca was the first to speak. "News just came in. Type-0 'Sisyphus' eliminated an entire Elite squadron, and then disappeared."
"Oh. Well, that's bad."
"...it's the third time this week alone."
"...very bad. How did it-wait, did you have friends with..?" I couldn't complete the question. But Bianca cried a single tear, and before I realized it I was already hugging her, Rosa joining us less than a second later.
"S-sorry. I'm the eldest of the group, and yet I'm making you worry-" I stopped her with a finger in front of her lips.
"How old are you even? Wait, don't answer that, because it doesn't matter. Everyone deserve to be sad if sad things happen. So shut up and let us comfort you."
Five minutes later, we were sitting in a bench at the cafeteria, silently being there for Bianca who stubbornly refused to cry any more, though she was devouring a tub of ice cream. Meanwhile, I was going through my tablet, searching information on this bastard.
Ah, there! S-class Type-0, codename Sisyphus given due to its inability to be surprised and its indirect-fire weapon being basically impossible to evade. Uh, definitely looks like a though bastard. Capable of flight, energy shielding, latest movements, various data on the range and power of its weapons...seems like they're figuring it out, at least. The most depressing information listed there was the kill count of the asshole. Eight squads, three of which elites and only in the last week alone- just as Bianca said- which is when it was elevated from Class A to S, which apparently means "this fucker is dangerous, do not engage. If you see it run."
Well, enough about the shithead. I needed to find a way to distract Bianca from this, but how? <INIZIATING HANDSHAKE PROCEDURE>
<INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
...oh, I got it!
"Hey Bianca, would you be willing to teach me how to shoot a gun? I just bought one, and I realized I never did it before soooo..."
Bianca seemed to jump at the opportunity, nodding with force. "Of course. Let's go."
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
I opened my eyes, confused for a second. A series of numbers- 0730- appeared in my vision. Wha-
Oh, right. I went to bed yesterday after Bianca pulled me into a training course that lasted until late evening, and then after a quick shower I just crashed on my bed. Alright, I remember now, but what about the numbers...? <DATA >
Ah, yeah I remember now. I told my Core to wake me up in time for the lesson of tomorrow- which is today now. Also, what's that new message thing?
Mentally clicking on it, I am surprised when my tablet appears in front of me. On it, multiple PDFs on medical subjects can be seen. A message is also attached, basically a very formal way of saying "we saw you have a medical module, so we gave you this in case you need them for it to work correctly. Salutations, blah blah blah."
I sent back an equally formal message of thanks before, reluctantly, I got up from my comfy bed and prepared myself for the day.
After a good wash, I Extruded my plugsuit- and ended up summoning my entire Frame, exoskeleton and armored plates included. I asked my Core if I could just replace my clothes with the plugsuit without the rest of the frame and I received a positive ping, so with another mental flex I Intruded the Frame and found myself wearing just the plugsuit and cape I am so in love with.
Moving towards the class, I activated the Visual Camouflage, going ghost. I wanted to test if that thing I bought worked...
I entered the classroom, and I received a mental warning as my Radar unit detected a sweep of the classroom. Yup, it works. Granted, I could see the professor found me just from the way she glanced at me, so I just waved and sat down, still invisible. The professor didn't seem to react particularly at that, but I dropped my invisibility anyway. I hadn't had a chance to try out my new Dynamos and as such I was being careful with rationing the limited energy I had.
"Oh, you surprised me." Said the most non-surprised voice I ever heard. Its owner, a young girl with long Blue hair which was sitting right beside me, was busy...eating some dango?
"Where did you even got that?"
"Oh, they make it in the cafeteria in a limited quantity, so I always wake up early to take some." as she said this, she ate a whole stick of the colored balls in one move, placing it on the desk afterwards where it joined three more such sticks.
"...right. Anyway, my name's Lucia, callsign Veliona. Glad to meet you."
"Anna, callsign Blue Horizon. A pleasure." she said with a smile, shaking my offered hand. "So, what's the deal with the disappearing act?"
"Mh? Oh, nothing much, was just trying out my new Radar Unit. Besides, it's pretty fun to see the faces of people when you appear right beside them!"
She laughed softly at that and opened her mouth to say something, but before she had the opportunity to even start miss Goodwitch gathered the attention of everyone by clapping her hands twice.
"Alright kids, settle down. Today we're having our first introduction to Essential Technology Studies. In this class you'll learn the various technology that forms the foundation of the war on both sides of the conflict, and how to use or deal with it. However before we start, I feel obliged to say that yes, we will talk about Exotic Technology as well."
At that, there was an excited murmur from the class. I had heard the term a couple of times at the TV, but I couldn't really think of a definition for it. Luckily for me, Anna raised her hand to ask a question.
"Excuse me professor, what's an Exotic Technology?"
Miss Goodwitch raised an eyebrow at the question, but answered nonetheless. "Exotic Technology is, quite simply, any piece of machinery, other device, phenomena or other effect which cannot be replicated because it is over the current understanding of humankind. While the term has been popularized after the emergence of the alien invaders, it is not an actually a recognized scientific term, but it is widely used by Chosen to refer to the unique modules that are harvested by Type-0s and other high-level Intruders. Because of their power and rarity, it is the dream of many Chosen to be able to wield one, you see."
Anna nodded, simply said "Thank you, professor." and then returned to eating a fifth portion of Dango. Weird. The teacher sighed at that, but didn't otherwise reprimand her.
"I will tell all of you now: I understand that you wish to acquire a powerful set of unique equipment, I really do. But- and I cannot stress this enough- do not go after high level Intruders just to try and get yourself Exotic Technology. Far too many promising Chosen have died doing so. Understood?"
Her blue eyes scanned the classroom, and each one of us immediately nodded along. Damn, the teacher was even more intimidating than Lich!
After that introduction, miss Goodwitch started to go on the basics of the tech used by both sides. In this lesson she introduced the various weapons that the infantry units most commonly used, and as such the two-hours class was spent talking about this or that rifle, or the different guns used by type-1s and so on.
After that slog of a class, I started to go to my next class, when Anna caught up to me.
"Hey Lucia, what class you're going to now?"
"Mh? Oh, I decided to check out the combat Practice class, since I need to really get up to speed with that. Why?"
"Oh, what a surprise! I wanted to check it out too, how about we go together?"
"Sure, I don't mind." and just like that we made our way to the Simulator room. It was a big open space and...really white. White floor, white walls, white roof...it seemed like someone just took the concept of white and made it into a room.
All of a sudden, I felt a weird sensation in my stomach, and then I was sitting in the air. Looking around, I saw that everyone else was as disoriented as I was...except Anna, who Extruded a packet of chips and started to eat like nothing weird was happening.
The teacher, a man with a neatly trimmed beard, scowled and shouted at us. "Hoi ya brats, finished being surprised already? Let's start!" and with that, people started disappearing one by one. When it happened to me, I felt that weird sensation again, and I found myself standing in an enclosed room, a cube with a side of around 30m, and of course all walls were a blinding white. On the other side of the room stood...
"Anna? You know what's going on?"
She simply shrugged, and continued to eat her chips.
Before I could do more than simply sigh at her lack of reactions, the voice of the teacher echoed from all around us.
"Alright brats, don't panic so much, this is a simple Spatial Technique used to teleport you around. Beside, everything that happens in the Simulator is fake: even if you died, all that would happen is you would find yourself back outside the room, so don't worry.
Now for your task: this is a one on one duel! You've been paired with someone of your skill level- approximately, at least- and the only way for you to get out is either as a winner or as a loser!"
So that is what's happening. I need to fight Anna if I want to get out of here... <INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
I look back at her. She is still eating chips, and doesn't look like is gonna make the first move.
…
Meh- I can take her.
I immediately became invisible, Extruded my sword and made my way toward her. Slowly and without making a sound I approach her from her left before raising my sword and swinging-!
SNAP
-and half of my blade falls to the ground,
...what? What the hell-
I feel a burning sensation in my torso, and before I realize it I'm standing in the antechamber outside the Simulator Room.
"...what the fu-"
"No swearing, little lady!" the professor told me from behind me. I let out a 'yelp!' and slightly jump away from the voice. He doesn't seem impressed.
"Anyway, that was one of the fastest losses I've seen in my career. Congrats."
I could feel my face go red in embarrassment. "W-well, to be completely honest, I don't even know what happened. One moment i'm swinging and the next...this."
I Extract my sword to show it to the professor, but to my surprise what come out is a whole and pristine blade.
"Wait, what? I thought it was broken?"
The instructor took a sip from his mug- smells like coffee, I guess- before commenting. "Told ya, didn't I? Everything that happens in the simulator is fake. So your sword breaking never really happened."
"...uh. That's convenient. I don't even know how I would have fixed it if it stayed broken."
"Well, the workshop down on floor two is a good place for that. You should check it out sometime."
Well well well, an actual suggestion. I may even learn something from this class at this rate!
As if hearing my thoughts, he instantly frowned. But my worries about him being a telepath subsided when he just switched topic.
"Still, that sword skills. No joke, that's for sure. She looks like she could go toe to toe with an elite. Not to mention her sensory skills are top notch too."
He took another sip of coffee, then turned to me. "You should get her to train you. She's probably better than me, anyway." and with that he leaved, going to check on another student that appeared in front of us.
I just stayed there, confused. What the hell had just happened?
End of episode 5: School isn't too bad, I tell ya! -part 2
A/N: I'm not too happy with this chapter, expecially the second half, but i wanted to give you something after almost two months of silence, so here ya go!
Resonance 6- Training montages are nice, i tell ya!
The next Foro was going to be in two days, and yet she would probably be the only scientist in all of the Vittoria Labs that would not bring any news to the table. Her project was basically stopped since she couldn't find a test subject which had the proper clearance.
And about that, why the hell was a project as simple as hers put on Zeta restriction?! Sure, it had to be because of the direct brain interface it was based on, but that was a control scheme that many Chosen used! Well, those that had the appropriate mental capacity, at least.
Still, the fact that the equipment she produced had to be grown into, but the only Chosen with the clearance level required were already Second or Third-year students practically meant her research was going to have no fruits from the beginning.
She looked at her creation, a metallic-looking contraption formed by multiple segments, and sighed.
"That's it. I guess that will be the day I am fired, won't it?"
As these word escaped her mouth, a notification blip'd on her datapad. She listlessly moved to go and check it out, but didn't really keep her hopes up.
After all, where would she find a capable first-year student that was desperately in need of money, had a medical module and was willing to undergo testing of new, experimental equipment linked directly to her brain?
"Achoo!" Aww man, did I get a cold now?
Oh hello there. It's-a-me, Lucia. You may be wondering how I got here.
And for here I mean, lying on the ground of a well kept garden inside the airship?
Well it's very simple really. I'm coping.
Nom nom nom nom nom.
And I have ice cream. I think I may have had a little bit too much however, because I can feel the brain freeze coming. Ouch. But well, it was worth it, the deserts available in the cafeteria are delicious. Or maybe is it ice cream in general?
"-how long are you gonna ignore me for, kid?"
Definitely ice cream in general. I mean, has anyone ever had bad ice cream? I don't think so!
My mind's escapee about frozen goods is interrupted by a kick to my side, which causes me to hiss in pain.
"Oi! What was that for?!" I asked the older woman, sitting up. Well, not that much older, she's in her early twenties at most, but still older than me-no wait, I should focus on what she's saying.
"Jeez, I can't believe I got roped into helping you. Anyway, why are you all the way over here kid? Gotta admit the place looks pretty nice, but I didn't take you for a flower lover."
Well that's true. Don't get me wrong, the place is beautiful. It got all kind of exotic flowers, the ceiling is some kind of glass dome that shows the sky above and allows my extended energy dynamos to greedily suck in the sunlight filtering through. There was even a small river that divided the place in two.
But I didn't particularly like it. It felt too...fake. Forced.
Well, I wasn't one to like panoramas in the first place so meh, whatever. I was just here because it was quiet.
I turned towards the other girl. She was tall, with gray hair collected in a ponytail and a nice figure slender and busty enough to make me think she could have been a model, not helped by the fact that her plugsuit looked like it was fetish wear- unlike my own, of course.
More importantly, I recognized her as one of the members of Big Boss' group.
"...did Lich tell you to come here?" I asked her boredly.
"Basically. She and the girls went to train in close-quarters defense, and since I wasn't needed she took the occasion to have me teach you."
Well too bad, I'm not really in a training mood right now. <INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
...although, I guess she did come all the way over here just for me, so I may take her up on this after all. Wait a second...
"Uh, how did you find me exactly?"
"Easy, I looked for you in the most popular spaces for the first-years. Then I gathered info and acted based upon what I found. But enough talking about tracking, the twins are the better ones to teach you that. Let's go to the simulator room, c'mon."
"The simulator? Shouldn't we start with, I dunno, theory first?"
"Well, I'm more of a 'hands-on' teacher." she said with a smile that made me shiver.
A couple minutes later, as my solar plexus was smashed for the third time and my ribs broken for the fourth, I remembered those words.
"H-hand...on...my...ass..." I managed to say, spitting blood, before collapsing to the ground.
A moment later I found myself standing up, feeling the pain of the past seven bouts but physically fine.
"Again." She stated before launching herself towards me.
I raised my left arm and caught her right jab on the forearm without smacking myself in the face with my own fist- that had been embarrassing- and this time I managed to sidestep her knee, but then she transitioned into an axe kick and got me right in the head.
A moment later I found myself standing up, feeling the pain of the past eight bouts but physically fine.
"Again." She stated, before launching herself against me.
...i got the feeling I wouldn't like this exercise too much.
Right jab, left knee into left kick.
I blocked, sidestepped and managed to block again, but she spun around and then kicked me on my right side that I left undefended.
A moment later I found myself standing up, feeling the pain of the past nine bouts but physically fine.
...yeah, definitely not my favorite way to pass the time.
"Again."
Don't really know how many times we went at it, I was a tad too busy to keep track and had no real way to tell the time inside the simulated white room, but when I got out I felt phantom pains all over my body.
I knew my body was fine, of course, but my head was convinced that I was actually lying in a thousand little pieces on the ground. <AREA OF IMPROVEMENT DETECTED>
"Here, take this." spoketh my bringer of torture.
Oh no, my brain was talking in fancy words. Bad symptom when it does that. Still, looking at what she offered me, I saw...an ice bag?
"Uh...thanks? But I'm not actually wounded, so I don't think it will help. What is it for?" I asked her, taking hold of the frozen packet.
"The headache? Normal meds don't remove it, but ice helps a little."
Headache? I mean, I was feeling pretty terrible, but an headache wasn't in the list of problems I was currently facing.
When I told her that, she made a strange face. "Well, that is...weird. Generally newbies like you get mentally strained easily by the simulated space, so you can't stay in it for too long without getting splitting headaches. And the worst part is that since it's Exotic Technology, normal remedies don't even work so first-years cannot spend too much in there all at once."
"Oh, I see. Wait, you mean you sent me in there for that long, knowing exactly what would happen?"
"Yeah? Pain builds character."
I narrowed my eyes at her. She didn't seems to notice.
I hissed at her. She ignored me.
"Anyway, it get better as you get used to it and more manageable as your compatibility score increases."
"Oh, that may be it. Lich did say I have a pretty high score. By the way, where do I check that? Do I need to redo the chekup?"
"The checkup is necessary to have a updated reading, but the school organizes those for you so don't worry. You can check your latest reading from your tablet, there's an app to see your medical records."
"Oh, that is definitely convenient. I really need to take some time to sit down and check everything that thing has."
"Yup, it's a pretty neat device. Can even watch Disney+ on it."
"Disney? Where year we in, 2026? C'mon girl, that stuff was old before I was born!"
She simply raised an eyebrow. "What year were you born in?"
"2015, why?"
"That's like, decades before Disney stopped making movies! Well, before everybody stopped making movies, really."
"Still counts! Anyway, I'm still angry with you." to prove my point, I crossed my arms and pouted.
"...would it help if I offered you lunch?"
"Yes." I answered without the slightest hint of shame.
Anyway, that's how we were in the Infiltrator cafeteria when the rest of her team arrived. As everyone sat down at their usual places, Big Boss stated to question me and the smug asshole.
"So, Raven, how's the kid?"
"Shit, but not worse than me when I started. Slightly better than that actually. She'll be fine Boss."
Alright, I wasn't expecting this...dare I say praise? And I also couldn't believe that I didn't ask her name! Way to go, Lucia, forgot the basics of socialization. Again. Well to be fair I was being bitchslapped, so I think I can be excused.
"And how you feeling after your first private lesson, Veliona? "
"Uh, ah? Nothing much, feel awful pretty much anywhere. No headache tho, been told that was a surprise." I glared at Raven as I spoke these words. She just ignored me in favor of her lobster, so I did the same and ignored her in favor of my hamburger.
Mhh, burgar...oh wait, Lich Is actually talking to me!
"S-cough, sorry could you repeat that?"
"I said, I'm pretty curious as to why your compatibility is so high. Did you do any special training before? Or did you have any family member that became a Chosen?"
"Not really? I never trained outside of sports before coming here, and I am an only child."
"Mh. Then I guess it must be because of your core being a second gen, but even there it's abnormally high."
"Oh, right. That second gen thing means...that someone used it before me, right?" Luckily I did some research about it. I almost forgot to before my Core reminded me to do it.
"Yeah, exactly. It's important because your Core is more used to humans, so it's easier for it to Attach to you. But at the same time it's also harder to use because you need to be close to the imprint of the previous owner, or the Core starts to reject you. That's why second gens and upward are so hard to find."
"So what you're saying is that I'm similar to that asshole that crushed into my house, uh. Figures." I took another big bite out of my hamburger, causing some of the contents to fall down onto my plate. Goddamnit.
Raven decided to spoke up in between bites. "So...i get it that this girl made you upset, but I doubt she did it on purpose. Hell without her being there you would have been at the mercy of the Intruders, and I assure you you wouldn't have survived that."
There were raised eyebrows and confused expressions at the table.
"Oh, I never told you did I? The whole reason I became a Chosen is because a bitch decided to crash into my house while fighting, and in doing so killed my whole family."
The atmosphere was so tense you could cut it with a knife. Twintails placed an hand over my shoulder, but I just ignored it.
Really wasn't in the right mood for this shit.
"So, what happened with the other girl? She alive?" the one with the orange hair asked. Her name was...Jack-o', I think?
"Pretty sure she's dead. Even told me 'I'm sorry' before biting the dust, like it would do something. Self-righteous asshole..." I murmured as I angrily bit into my hamburger.
"I mean, still don't get why you're so angry at her. Isn't it, like, super obvious that she didn't want to do any of that stuff?"
I just shot her a glare. In my blurry vision, I could see her promptly shutting up and going back to eating.
Lich decided to speak up. "..Veliona, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a topic that made you uncomfortable."
I swiped a hand over my face, removing the tears somewhat, and got up.
"Sorry, I just remembered I have something to do."
And with that pathetic lie, I ran.
Like a coward.
I guess old habits don't die.
I hate myself. How the first response I have is running away.
Anger, Fear, Uncertainty, Sadness, Apathy. I tend to put on a mask to ignore them, but they always catch up to me, sooner or later.
And so I keep running.
<...UNDERSTANDMENT>
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
---The next day---
I did some decorating to distract myself. The cost of furniture was basically negligible compared to my budget, so I decided to liven my room a bit.
First of all, upon discovering that the walls were soundproof, I put together a small stereo setup. No PC was sitting on my desk- I only ever used it for gaming, and world-wide communication was gone when the Intruders attacked- but I got myself a gaming chair. Because sometimes I wanted to feel comfy when sitting, instead of feeling comfy while laying on my bed.
And...that was it. Didn't really need anything else, so I didn't waste the money on it. The result was pretty neat if I say so myself.
I was sitting on the bed, thinking about what happened yesterday. I thought about the event that started this all. I thought about my family. About myself.
I should not exis-
I turned the stereo on, putting Never Change of Apashe at maximum volume.
Nope! Can't hear myself over the music! Fuck off me, I don't want to hear that. We went over this, psychotherapist and all. Shut up.
...aaaaaagh, fuck this! I need to do something to keep my ADHD at bay. Let's see if Bianca is available for another shooting session.
Yesterday I found out that there was an app that worked as a message board for Chosen on my tablet, as I could hear bips indicating messages. Well, I ignored all of them, except for asking Bianca if she was free at the time.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FROM: White Glint
Yesterday
18:42>Hey Bianca, you up for a shooting session or is it a bad time?
18:43>Sorry Veliona, I'm busy right now. Maybe another time!
Today
07:21>Hey, I should have some time today. How about this evening at 16:00?
She was awake before 7:30?! what kind of monster was she?! All joking aside, I sent a reply- "Sounds good, meet you at the firing range"- before I checked the other messages I got.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FROM: Lich
Yesterday
21:30>Hey Veliona, hope you didn't go to bed yet. Sorry about what happened, wanna make it up to you. How about we go eat some ramen, just the two of us? Just an informal outing with a friend to let out some steam?
They shouldn't waste their time with me. <INIZIATING MENTAL CONDITIONING>
I took a deep breath.
7:42>Sure! When we doing it and where?
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
The first lesson of the day was History. Normally girls my age would learn something boring like the Roman Empire, but I was lucky to be doing something more modern. The lesson of today was about the Arrival, when the Intruders first...well, arrived in our world. Nobody said historians were naming geniuses.
The teacher even went into some heavy topics, such as the anarchy that briefly spread like a virus or the consequences on daily life that the lack of import and export did to our nation, finishing with how the tide of aliens first reached Florence in what's called the First Assault barely a single month after the Arrival, and how the first Chosen were instrumental to the defense of the city.
Still, it was kind of a pyrrhic victory when most of the city was destroyed by long-range artillery. I think that as much as 60% of the population of the time had been killed, and the infrastructure had to be redone from the ground up.
Anyway, the prof left us with quite a lot of homework to do, to the despair of everyone. Me included of course, I'm shit at history.
Anyway, now came my favorite lesson: combat class!
The professor from our last session made another appearance but this time didn't say anything, instead sending us straight to the one-one-one rooms. Luckily for me, Anna wasn't my enemy this time; instead, a girl with glasses in a cyan and black suit was.
I nodded at her and she bowed, before the voice of the teacher filled the room.
"Begin!"
I immediately went invisible and slowly moved towards my left. Glasses went wide-eyed and crossed her arms in front of her, armored gauntlets forming around the limbs.
Slowly Extruding my blade, I started to position myself. She was still in the center of the room. busy looking around trying to spot me, when my blade sliced her neck.
And just like that, we were back in the antechamber. Anna was of course already there, along with a girl that was lying on the ground holding her side. I felt for her. Surprisingly, there was only another couple that had finished: a girl with long, blonde and curly hair and another petite brunette that was kneeling, breathing heavily. Guess blondie won then.
Anyway, I went towards Glasses- who was massaging her neck with one hand- and offered her an hand with a smile. After a moment of hesitation, she took it and I puled her on her feet.
"Hey, feeling alright?"
She swallowed heavily before nodding. "Y-yeah, thanks. Just took me by surprise."
I hummed in response. "Well, yeah, invisibility will do that. That defensive position you took was pretty nice, but you should have rushed towards one of the corners before assuming it. Otherwise I can just attack you from the back, as I did."
She 'ooh'-ed at my suggestion, and assured me she would try it the next time we fought. In response, I told her I wouldn't use the cloaking so we could have an actual match. She seemed really happy at that, and even blushed. Guess she really like fighting that much, uh?
---LATER THAT DAY---
I showed up to dinner with an exhausted face. My body was hurting from the combined effort of Bianca's shooting practice and almost three hours of Raven's melee torture- I mean training.
On that side, I was making progress! I could now survive two whole seconds somewhat before my body was broken in new and painful ways. I also dicovered that headache she told me about, and it wasn't doing anything to improve my situation.
On the matter of shooting, Bianca said I was naturally gifted for it, and we already moved to moving targets. Tracking them wasn't easy, but I generally could hit the target with some reliability even if not often in the center.
Anyway, it was a very tired me that walked to the ramen place. The shop wasn't too big, and despite the late hour it was still packed full of people, but I immediately spotted Lich sitting at a table and took the chair on the opposite side.
I fidgeted a bit before speaking up. "So, uh, sorry for yesterday. I...overreacted a bit."
"No problem, Vel. Wanna talk about it?"
"...no, not really. Talking never helped me before, anyway."
"Alright. Know how it works here? Or first time?"
After my answer, she taught me how to order in this place. Apparently they gave you a list and you ticked the box of what you wanted in the soup.
"...Veliona, you just ticked off everything."
"That's how I roll!" was my only reply, but she made a sly smile. I did not like that smile too much, why did I get the sensation that I just did a colossal mistake?
Turns out, "everything" includes the spicy option. I mean, I of course knew I was picking the spicy option, but I thought I could handle it! I'm from Calabria goddammit, I ate N'duja when I was just a kid, spicy is in my bones!
But this..this wasn't spicy. This was outright corrosive. Boss just laughed her ass off, and I...laughed as well. When I could breathe, of course.
To be fair, watching as your friends were suffering out of spicy-induced burning was pretty fun, I indulged in it a fair bit myself. Call me a sadist if you must, but I think that someone going from "Pff , I can handle a little spicy" to "Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions" was very entertaining.
After I recovered enough to breath and Lich stopped laughing enough to do the same, I asked her about something I had on my mind.
"So, boss, I was wondering if you had a suggestion for little old me?"
"Oh? When a youngster says something like that, they usually are in some kind of trouble. What's up kid?"
"Okay, first of all, you're not that old, so don't treat me like a damn brat." She scoffed, but didn't otherwise interrupt me. "Second of all, there is someone in my class I want to beat in the simulation tomorrow, and I need a suggestion."
"Mhh, well that depends on the opponent. Don't think that any random first-year will be a problem for you. What's her codename?"
"Uh, lemme think...ah! Blue Horizon." As the name exited my lips, her hand which was making its way to a bottle of alcohol she ordered stopped.
"Blue Horizon? Really?"
"Yeah, why? Do you know her?"
She gave out a laugh. "Of course! She was an Irregular Chosen up north. I remember her name because she's the one that got an Exotic Tech after winning a one-on-one with a Zero."
I felt my mouth hanging open. "A Zero? You mean the Type-0s, those monster that only multiple teams of Elite working together can beat?"
"Well, yes and no, I think you got the wrong idea. You see, it all depends on the ranking. Rank S do need to be taken down- as you said- by multiple Elite Squads, but rank As only need a single Elite Squad and rank Bs only a single Elite Chosen."
She paused to take a sip of the Jack Daniel.
"The Zero that she downed, Ramiel, was only B rank, and one specializing in long range. I don't know exactly how she did it, but it's plenty possible she just ambushed and eliminated it before it could react."
Good point. "Well, she does seem to be specialized in close combat, although I can't say for sure since, well..."
"Got eliminated so fast you didn't even see what happened?" I just nodded. "Eh, don't worry about it kid. There's plenty of people whose style is based on that, and it's a pretty good tactic as well. That's the one our squad specializes in, actually. Got its downside, sure, but it works most of the times."
"...if you say so. Still, any suggestion?"
"Is it the standard 35 by 35 room? Or a special map?"
"The instructor said it will be a map based on a city environment, and all those that are able to fly won't be able to use that equipment. I think he want to teach us how to do urban guerrilla tactics."
"A good assessment. You know, there is one thing you could try...did you know that you can rent training equipment?"
And with that we started to hatch our plan. I would find a good spot, pack it full of explosives, bait her into it and then blow it up. Simple, but hopefully effective.
While working on it, she even told me of a cool trick: apparently you could set cameras and monitor them at the same time you watched or did something else, but without training like I was I would only probable be able to focus on one thing at the time. Still, something to keep in mind as it seemed useful.
---PRESENT TIME---
I was at one of the cafes in the residential part of the airship, sipping on some warm tea.
In the class earlier, I managed to defeat Anna and cover her in paint!...yeah, because she was basically crippled. And as if it wasn't bad enough, she was holding back. I knew that she was much stronger than this, so why?
I was interrupted from my musing from a polite "excuse me?".
Looking up, I saw myself reflected in a pair of comically large glasses. The woman wearing said glasses was petite, with colorful green hair collected in a bun and wearing a lab coat. Was she some kind of scientist?
"Uh, sorry. How can I help you?"
"Ah, d-don't worry. My name is Adriana, a researcher here at the Vittoria labs. I was wondering if you had a minute? I, well, wanted to discuss a possible Sponsorship between my lab and you."
"Uh...I do have some free time before my next class. I can at least listen, I guess." I told the shy-sounding woman, Really, this Adriana gal seemed the embodiment of a shrinking violet!
"Oh, thank you very much!" she said with a deep bow, before sitting down at my table. "Well...for starters, are you aware of what a Lab Sponsorship is?"
As I shook my head, she simply went "Alright." before taking a deep breath. "Basically, a Sponsorship works on the basis of exchange. The Chosen agrees to help the lab carry out experiments and tests new equipment, while the lab offers monetary compensation and access to their brand-new gear. It's pretty simple, actually."
I took another sip of tea and nodded, motioning for her to continue.
"I am currently the only person working at Centipede lab, and I work on a project that aim to improve the versatility of Chosen in all kind of environment, even out of combat. Sadly I cannot say anything more in this place as it is classified-" she frowned at this. "-but I can assure you, it's completely safe! And the Overseer himself was the one that suggest you to me, so I just know you're perfect for the job!"
That actually made me pause.
"The Overseer? You mean the guy that owns the Vittoria, basically runs this place, and coordinate all of the Chosen in Italy? The most powerful man in the nation? That Overseer?" I asked with a tinge of incredulity. Did someone like him really took notice of someone as insignificant as me?
"Indeed! I was surprised too when I received a message from him, nearly had an heart attack in fact! But he said that he found someone that would be perfect for my research, and that I could be of use for her too! And from what I can see of your dossier, I must say I would be honored to be working with you!"
"...wait, honored? To work with me? Why would you? I mean thanks for the faith you have in me but I'm just a normal student."
"Oh, anything but! You have an abnormally high Integration Factor, have a medical module despite not having officially been in any combat operation, and the combat ability projections put you as the third-best of your class, only behind those with previous military experience. So I would say that yes, I would be honored to work with you!"
"You do know that I didn't even work for the first two, and even if the third one is true that's just because the others have no combat training at all yet, so it will quickly change?"
"Oh, I am aware, but aren't you receiving private lessons from upperclassmen? That ought to boost your capabilities quite by a bit."
I crossed my arms. That was true, I was progressing by leaps and bounds, but I don't know if I could be classified as one of the best in my class. Anyway, we're losing focus in this conversation.
"That aside, can you tell me more about the advantages of accepting this offer? And can I see the equipment you're offering?"
Her eyes practically illuminated, and with a smile she took my hand. "But of course! Let's go, right now!" and she basically took off at mach nine, bringing me with her.
When she stopped and I could focus on seeing where I was, I found myself in a part of the airship that I never saw before. The metallic hallway had many circular doors, upon which a different symbol or name was engraved. Adriana stopped in front of one that had a sigil of squiggly lines that could generously be described as a centipede-looking animal, and with a swipe of a card opened it.
"So...i didn't manage to ask before, but why Centipede? Doesn't sound like a very cool name, all considered."
She froze at my question as if I had physically stabbed her, before sighing. "I...I wasn't the one to pick it. One of my colleagues, upon seeing my creation, said how much it resembled a centipede and...well the name stuck. Pretty lame story, uh?" she really sounded dejected about the whole story. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't knew how, so I just tried to switching the topic.
"Right. Anyway...is that the equipment you mentioned?" I said, pointing at a large metal table, and the thing on top of it. It was a series of metallic segments, joined in a way similar to...honestly, it looked more like a Steelix than a centipede, with the way the various parts were connected to ea ch other and the metal bits on the side. It ended in an 'head' which was completely the same as the other parts, except a bit bigger and with what looked like three pincers and a giant black eye.
"Indeed! Isn't is awesome?!"
"Alright, I'll concede that it does look cool ...but what am I looking at, exactly. A drone?"
"Nice guess, but wrong. Oh no, this isn't something as simple as a drone, this is...a limb!"
What? "A limb? This?"
"Well to be more specific, it's designed as a tail-like protrusion for Frames. See that eye-looking part? That's actually a high-powered but compact laser."
"You put a laser in a tail?! Woah! But how do you control it?"
She pushed her glasses up with a finger, causing them to shine. "Eheh, but obviously...with your mind!" at my raised eyebrow, she continued. "Most Chosen equipment requires computers specifically dedicated to work with them, but that takes precious space and power! Instead, my creations are completely biological! No need for computers or controllers, they directly connect to your brain so you can control them with but a thought! They become one with your body!"
"But...what about their power source? And how do you pass the controls to the metallic parts?"
She laughed once again. "As for their power source, they have an organ near the base that turns energy from the most common electrical type of generators used by Chosen into the chemical that the Centipede needs! Only need some extra biomass every now and then. And there are no metallic parts at all!" As I pointed to its exterior, she scoffed. "That's not metal! Though it may look similar, it's actually a type of chitin I have grown here myself. The connections are made using nerves, the motor functions are done by muscles...it's completely like an extension of yourself!"
"That sounds...amazing! Way too much, in fact...are there any, shall we say negatives?"
She deflated, sighing heavily. "Alas, there are. First of all, Chosen with a Integration factor under 80% will find the strain too much for their brain, and may not be able to control the limb or even get injured. Second of all, it's not too efficient, it needs some extra power- ah don't worry! If you decide to accept my proposal, I have some spare fusion reactors to give you. And for the last part...well ,the core may reject it."
"Wait, the Cores can reject equipment? That's the first I hear of it."
"Indeed, it's not very known. But it's something that only happens with purely biological gear, and only after the Chosen has spent a long time bounded with it. I guess it thinks it's an external body and refuses to join it to its host."
"I see..."
We continued to talk about it for a while, but it only kept sounding like a better and better idea as we did so.
"...alright, you know what? I accept. The terms seems favorable enough." I said with a smile.
Adriana hugged me. "Oh thank you thank you thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!" She then stopped completely before slowly backing up, and fixing her hair. "Uh, I-I mean, thank you for accepting my offer, miss. I'm sure we'll make it big together!" she was blushing furiously, but she offered me her hand. I took it in mine and gave it a shake.
"No, thank you for your offer. Now the real question is...when do we start?"
---THE NEXT DAY---
God, this was not a time one should be awake.
I slowly moved to the bathroom like a zombie, half-mindlessly sending a mental command to remove the numbers 0610 from my eyes. I did not need to be reminded of the ungodly hour.
After washing my face and thus being slightly less of a zombie, I finally realized why I was awake: yesterday Bianca invited me to her morning run, and to not forget I put a clock for...well, now. Good thing I did because I, of course, forgot about it.
Still, I managed to be there at the time Bianca told me. We were in front of the closest gym before 6:30, and started running on a couple of treadmills next to each other. We did some little talk, especially near the start, but eventually we simply focused on the mechanical motions of our legs and our breathing.
After half an hour of continued exercise, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was collapsed near a wall, drinking the water Bianca gently offered me, while she wiped herself with a towel.
"So, I didn't really ask it before but...what's with the tail?" she said, pointing at said item.
On the small of my back was a metal plate, attached to my plugsuit, from which a 70cm black tail of synthetic materials extended, ending in a pair of simple pincers.
"Training equipment, from my sponsor."
"Right. Still can't believe you got sponsored...what, four days after joining?"
"Three technically, but yeah it was pretty lucky. Well, not lucky, apparently it was the Overseer himself that made it possible! Can you believe it?"
"The Overseer? Mhh, I guess it does make sense. There are rumors that he keeps an eye on promising first years to nurture into elites. Then again, there are rumors he has an army of clones or that he...well, nevermind that, the important thing is that I'm proud of you!"
"T-thanks. Anyway, we should go take a shower now. Don't wanna be late to class today, and we still need to eat breakfast."
"Right. Well, it's been nice to spend some time with you, let's do this again?"
I looked at the infernal machine that I spent thirty minutes on, and though about how I wanted to stop for twenty of it.
"...maybe. I'll uh, let you know."
"Alright, I'll be waiting. Anyway, I'll be on my way now, I still need to wake up Pixie."
"Pixie?"
"Rosa, that's her callsign" I snickered at that. What kind of callsign is Pixie? But I stopped once Bianca shoot me a look that said 'don't laugh about it, it's a sensitive matter.'
"Wake her up? She doesn't do these exercises with you usually?"
"Nah, you can't get her out of bed before seven-thirty. I'm honestly happy I met another early riser like me!"
….ah, fuck me.
"R-right. I wouldn't call myself a early riser, really-" and that was when I noticed Bianca was gone already. Welp, goodbye sleep.
A shower and a pile of pancakes and bacon later, I showed up for my first class right in time. It was another study on Intruders, where we learned about the type-2. It was a melee fighter, which came in both flying and terrestrial versions. The flier was basically an harpy and had to be dealt with while avoiding the talons that could grab or shred someone without problems.
The ground version was a pinkish Hulk with blades in place of arms. It was incredibly intimidating, but apparently not that much of a problem because it was quite slow compared to other enemies. Still, it was a pain to bring down and you needed to be careful of its charges that could destroy buildings.
Scary.
After a deep analysis of every weakpoint they had, the professor ended the lesson mentioning that it was announced that we would be able to get started on bounties soon. On one hand, I was excited- bounties meant money, after all!- but I was also worried. Most of my class, for example, was really not ready for combat. I mean, there must be some kind of process to go through to sign up, so it was probably fine.
