Roleplay Area

[Ishi123]

"Right... figured as much, but had to ask." The man said, moving on. "But that brings us to the frame we actually encountered. The prototype of the Skoll unit. A manned orbital frame meant to supersede the Eclipse in every aspect. Its name is Fenrir."

The man tapped on the PDA, bringing up the schematics for the frame. No doubt they sortied the Fenrir to test out its capabilities and gather data in regards to the mass production of the Skoll units. And it must've performed wonderfully for them. It outclassed your frame easily and gave even one of our must skilled Runners a run for his money. As for the Fenrir, maybe you'd be able to answer this as a Runner. Do you know who the pilot of the Fenrir is?"

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack tilts his head down as he tries to think, clearly unsure of who the pilot for the Fenrir could've been.

"Hmm...I don't know, sir. It couldn't have been Amaterasu's pilot Alrize Seylliume, because from what I heard from Adalia directly, she was being sent off for some important mission. She didn't give me any details about it, though. Stated it was 'confidential'."

Zack's tone took a distinctly angrier tone when he mentioned Adalia's name. With a sharp exhale through his nose, however, his tone returns back to it's normal, calm voice. After some more thinking, his eyes lit up a bit in realization as he looks back up at the officer.

"Wait. Wait a minute, hold on...I think, I think the pilot of the Fenrir was Tsukuyomi's original Runner. I recall hearing on the open channels the pilot of the Fenrir shouting how Ren 'stole his machine from him'. I don't know what his name was, but he was definitely pissed."

 

[Ishi123]

"Tsukuyomi's original runner..." The man leaned back in the chair, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "Tsukuyomi wasn't sortied before Ren took it... so he must've been the designated Runner. Never got a chance to pilot it before it was stolen... so he was given the Fenrir instead, huh..."

The man shook his head and sighed.

"Well we don't have much information to go on... we'll have to ask Ren about these as well. Since he was involved in both Orbital Frame development and specifically worked with Tsukuyomi. Maybe he'll have some answers for us..."

 

[Raptordude115]

"Yeah..."

Zack leans a bit back into his chair, though still sitting up straight. Keeping his eyes on the officer, he speaks in his usual calm voice.

"I wish I had more information to tell you guys regarding these questions, I really do. If there are any other questions you need me to answer, I'll do my best to give as much information as I know."

His voice then takes a more remorseful tone, sighing sadly.

"I know I won't be forgiven for my past actions when I was in Neo BAHRAM, all the lives I took...it's a weight I'm gonna have to carry...but, I'm hoping that by giving my full cooperation in helping the Space Force know more about Neo BAHRAM, it'll be the start for me to aid in the defeat of Neo BAHRAM."

Zack looks at the officer with a steel look of determination, serious about what he is saying.

"And most importantly, the end to this damn war before Adalia could carry out Project Obsolescence. I refuse to let that damn monster kill everyone on Earth for her disgusting ideology!"

 

[Ishi123]

"Well your mouth is in the right place, at least." The man said, picking up the PDA. "We're done here. You two can take him to confinement."

"Yes, sir." One of the guards said, before the two approach Zack. "Let's go."

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack sighs before standing up, facing the two guards before being led to his confinement cell. He thinks to himself, primarily TESS.

"I just hope TESS is gonna be alright..."

 

[Ishi123]

Zack's interrogator left with the data pad down the hallway towards the infirmary. He rounded the corner to the infirmary wing and found his room, entering without knocking. Ren was still there, feeling much better, but still unable to leave without permission. He looked over to the man.

"Ren Silber?" He asked.

"Uh-huh." Ren responded.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions." The man said, turning to the nurse. "I'll be taking him off your hands, now."

"Ah... of course, sir." She said. "He's all checked out, anyway."

By the looks of him, Ren figured the man was of high rank. Multiple badges adorned his uniform, and just the way he composed himself seemed to give off a sense of seniority and superiority. He gestured for Ren to follow, which he did. He was led down the halls and to a separate room, which looked to be his office. It was small but had all the necessities. The man offered him a seat while he sat down at his desk, Ren taking a seat in front of it. The man gave Ren the data pad.

"I'd like you to answer a few questions about this." He said as Ren took it. He quickly began browsing through the files, skimming over everything on it. "As a former Neo BAHRAM engineer, we were hoping you'd know some things about these new Orbital Frames. What can you tell us."

"I've heard of it." Ren said. "Not much, though. I was assigned specifically to Tsukuyomi so any information I did get on this particular project was second or more often third-hand. I knew that they were working on a replacement for the Raptor, but I didn't think that it would be like this... though looking at it now, it's not surprising for Neo BAHRAM..."

Ren looked over the schematics for the two Orbital Frames, Skoll and Fenrir. He instantly recognized the latter.

"That's the frame I fought." He said.

"It is." The man said. "Do you know anything about it?"

"I don't..." Ren said, analyzing the schematics thoroughly. "I didn't know they were working on a separate project tandem to the Skoll. Neo BAHRAM doesn't usually keep prototypes for mass production units to upgrade them and make them fully combat capable as a manned frame. Those are usually completely separate projects that have nothing to do with each other."

"What do you make of the frames?" He asked.

"I think you're about to be severely outmatched, is what I make of it." Ren said. "I didn't think they'd be able to roll out something like this so soon. These things are almost as capable as the Eclipse... and if they put them out in numbers like the Raptor, I don't see the Space Force winning very many battles anymore."

"And the prototype?"

"It surpasses Eclipse in every way. Performance is enhanced in every aspect, weapons are more powerful, and it uses the same kind of Metatron engine Tsukuyomi does giving it a massive increase in power without any loss in overall performance."

"Can we beat it?" The man asks.

"Tsukuyomi's performance is superior to the Fenrir's in every way. In a one-on-one fight with equal footing, Tsukuyomi would win, no question... the only problem would be the Runner..."

The man was silent to that. Ren stayed quiet for a moment, but spoke up soon after.

"The Fenrir is definitely a problem... it would be able to match Jehuty as well."

"Even Jehuty?"

"Jehuty would still win, though. Easily. With the Zero Shift program nothing could even touch Jehuty, not even Tsukuyomi."

"Do you know anything about the Runner?" The man asked.

"Nothing." Ren responded. "I don't get to know who gets assigned to frames. It's out of my department. But... I do know that there are two ace pilots that operated from the Deimos base I was stationed at. One was the Runner of Amaterasu, and the other... would've been assigned to Tsukuyomi. He must've been assigned the Fenrir after I took Tsukuyomi."

"So not only is he dangerously skilled, he's also mad at you."

"Probably." Ren sighed. "He didn't seem too pleased when I encountered him."

"Anything else you can tell us?"

"Not at the moment..." Ren said. "But I can definitely help break down these schematics to come up with proper countermeasures. The Space Force is going to need to upgrade their Dulahans. And soon."

"Well we have some time before we get back to Earth." The man said. "We won't be able to do anything about these plans yet, so in the meantime, you're free to do whatever you want."

"Where's the defector?" Ren asked plainly.

"In the brig." He answered. "He's on lockup until we get to Earth."

Ren nods and gets up off his chair, leaving the room.

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack remained silent as he sat at the back of his cell, his back leaning against the wall. He was looking down at his cuffed hands, wriggling his fingers. He sighs as he looks back up at the ceiling, his legs bended and packed together. He taps his right foot on the floor as he thinks absent mindedly to himself, wondering about what the Space Force was gonna do to him and TESS. In truth, he didn't care about what would happen to him. Even though he defected from Neo BAHRAM, that didn't make him an ally of the Space Force, and as that officer told him, there was a good number of Space Force soldiers who wanted to kill him. Most likely slowly and painfully. He was, however, concerned for TESS. He couldn't imagine how TESS would react if he was barred and locked up from ever piloting Eclipse. Given her sudden change of attitude when he told her about him and Adalia, she probably would've rebelled once more just to rescue him. She wasn't just some AI in a machine to him...she was more than that...

Zack closes his eyes as he curls up into an upright fetal position, his head resting in his arms as his back remained pressed against the wall. Considering what he and TESS had to go through, he might as well take this moment of confinement to get a bit of rest...

 

[Ishi123]

Ren quickly made his way down to confinement. It was in one of the lower levels; the same level as the maintenance rooms. He headed down the elevator and to the entrance of the confinement cells, where two guards stopped him.

"What're you here for?" One asked.

"I want to see that Neo BAHRAM Runner." He said.

"Why for?"

"Does it matter?"

"Actually, yeah, it does." The other said, stepping forward a bit. "How do we know you aren't planning on cooperating with him as spies for Neo BAHRAM?"

"Are you for real?" Ren said. "With as much damage as we've done to Neo BAHRAM do you really think that could happen?"

"Who knows?" The guard said, stepping up to Ren, looking down at him as he pressed his rifle up against his chest. "Nobody's allowed in confinement without proper authorization."

"Let him through." A voice behind Ren said. He wheeled around to see the man who had questioned him before. The two guards quickly fell back to their previous posts and saluted him.

"Yes sir." The first guard said, pressing a button on the wall and opening up the door.

"Proper authorization?" Ren asks.

"I'm the first mate." He said, shrugging. "Sorry if anyone here gives you a hard time. People don't trust Neo BAHRAM, and for good reason. It'll take some time for people to fully trust you."

"You seem to trust me enough." Ren noted.

"Yeah. You better not make me regret it, either." He smiled. "It'll make me look bad."

With that he began walking back to the elevator.

"In any case, I just came by because I figured you wouldn't be able to get in on your own. Have fun in there."

The elevator doors then closed and took him up. Ren turned back around and headed into the confinement area, the two guards not saying another word as the door closed behind him.

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack flickers his eyelids as he hears the sound of the door opening, peering his eyes as he looks up slowly. He slowly stands back up straight, which wasn't easy considering his hands were cuffed. He only managed to get up thanks to the wall behind him acting as a support for his body. He tilts his head from side to side as a means to stretch his neck before speaking up in a mellow, yet wary tone.

"Hello?"

 

[Ishi123]

Ren made his way down the hall of cells which were completely empty save for the one Zack was residing in. He stops in front of the cell and looks to Zack. Ren didn't know or recognize the Runner due to him working in completely different departments, but also due to the fact that Ren focused mainly on his work and little else. Though he suspected Zack definitely knew who he was at this point, even if he hadn't before.

Despite this, Ren did have several questions for the defector.

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack looks at Ren, at first in disbelief that it was really him. It wasn't until he slowly walked forward a bit to get a clearer view of him that he realized that it truly was him. He stands straight as he looked at Ren with a slightly surprised face, and spoke in a curious tone.

"You're, you're Ren Silber, aren't you?"

 

[Ishi123]

"Yeah." Ren responded. "Not surprised you recognize me... everyone probably does by now."

 

[Raptordude115]

"Right...heh, you made Adalia more pissed than a raging bull when you managed to escape the first time...and then the second time..."

Zack shakes his head with his eyes closed, remembering hearing the gunshot of Adalia's pistol ending the life of a random Neo BAHRAM soldier.

"Mgh, anyways, what are you here for?"

 

[Ishi123]

"I wanted to ask you a few questions, actually." Ren said. "I was wondering if you could spare some information on what's been going on on Deimos base while I was gone as well as whatever you know about that black frame we fought."

 

[Raptordude115]

"Well, ever since you defected and fled the Deimos Base, Adalia made the capturing of both you and Tsukuyomi a top priority. After you escaped the second time with the Space Force, Adalia became more strict and ruthless, especially with me and Alrize...she then sent Alrize on some important 'classified' mission while I stayed behind on the base. She wouldn't tell me even a detail about Alrize's mission...things then became pretty slow, since neither Adalia nor Neo BAHRAM knew where exactly on Earth you were."

"As for that black frame, like I told the captain of that guard group, I had no knowledge of it before fighting it while escaping. When I fought it, it was ludicrously fast and strong, I mean it managed to cut off one of Eclipse's thrusters in half while I couldn't make a dent in it. Furthermore, the Runner piloting it was clearly pissed off, since overheard him shouting about you stealing his frame, which I assume is Tsukuyomi. So I'm pretty sure he was Tsukuyomi's original Runner. The frame's called a Skoll, by the way, as Adalia's data pad stated."

 

[Ishi123]

Ren nodded, knowing about the Skoll units.

"I'd already gone over the contents of the data pad." Ren said. "You said Alrize, right? Is that Amaterasu's Runner?"

 

[Raptordude115]

"Yes, Alrize is Amaterasu's Runner."

 

[Ishi123]

Ren sighed, thinking back on his battles with Amaterasu... the Runner piloting that frame sure was skilled... he was nothing compared to that. He attributed his success in outmaneuvering her and Neo BAHRAM solely on his extensive knowledge of Tsukuyomi as well as a fair share of luck. Then there was the Runner of Fenrir... those two were going to be a lot of trouble for him and the Space Force.

"And you don't know the Runner of Fenrir?"

 

[Raptordude115]

"Unfortunately, no. I never met the guy or even knew about him."

 

[Ishi123]

Ren sighed, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about their plans?" He asked. "Anything that maybe I didn't know about?"

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack sighs as he looks down, clutching his fists before looking back up at Ren.

"Are you aware that Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu are the catalysts for DELPHI, and by further extent Neo BAHRAM, in destroying all life on Earth and that Adalia was the one spearheading that vile Obsolescence Plan?"

 

[Ishi123]

Ren nodded.

"It's the reason why I left." He said. "I couldn't stand to work for them knowing what they would do with Tsukuyomi... with my own work... I assume you feel the same way."

 

[Raptordude115]

"I absolutely did feel the same way! I swear, if I had known that Neo BAHRAM's goals was the complete genocide of the entire Earth, I would have never joined them! And Adalia...that, that monster...I can't believe I let myself be fooled by her so...so..."

Zack grits his teeth and makes a growl before hitting the wall with his right fist in anger, despite not even making a dent. He was just so filled with contempt for Adalia that he wouldn't care if his right hand began swelling up. He then brings both hands up to his face, his anger subsiding into shame for joining Neo BAHRAM in the first place.

"I just wish I never even knew about Neo BAHRAM in the first place...all those Space Force pilots I've killed...under the guise of 'liberation' and 'freedom' as she called it..."

 

[Ishi123]

Ren scowled, looking to the ground slightly. He knew exactly how Zack felt, but had even more reason to hate Neo BAHRAM now. Tsukuyomi was his pride. It was the frame that he worked on tirelessly for years. It was to be a tool to help bring peace to the Solar System. He'd imagined that his frame would be the thing capable of bringing an end to conflict... and it was indeed meant to be so... though not at all in the way Ren had hoped.

He couldn't imagine how he could be so blind to it all. Everything was happening right in front of his face and he had no idea... or maybe he always knew but decided to ignore it... he didn't even know. It didn't really matter anymore.