Roleplay Area

[Raptordude115]

TESS slowly became more concern as she witnessed Ren tap away at the console, fearing something was up.

"What are you doing now...?"

 

[Ishi123]

Ren didn't answer, just focusing on the task at hand. He quickly brought up the AI deletion subroutine, tapping on it and bringing up a command lock. It wasn't a problem for someone like him who knew the ins and outs of Orbital Frames so well. He unlocked the subroutine and all the screens in the cockpit went red, and a confirmation message appeared.

AI DELETION

FRAME WILL BE INOPERABLE ONCE ONBOARD BATTLE AI IS DELETED

CONTINUE?

 

[Raptordude115]

TESS could sense what was about to happen, and felt yet another wave of fear circuit through her. As well as contempt. She tried to move, but the locks bolted onto the frame to secure it in the hangar prevented her from doing so, and she couldn't override Ren's commands due to his higher authority in her systems.

"No, please!" She said sharply in an alarmed voice.

"Sorry." Ren said, trying to keep a straight composure. "Commander Weinberg ordered me to do this."

She knew that this would happen; that she would be deleted. It was objectively the best choice the Space Force could make given their situation. She also knew that Zack would most likely be used as a bargaining chip against Neo BAHRAM. No doubt Commander Attenborough would want Zack's head on a plate for what he did... and if she was gone, there wouldn't be anyone stopping her from getting just that.

"Please, Ren!" She pleaded desperately. "I can't leave Zack alone, I just can't! If I'm not there to protect him, he'll be sent back to Neo BAHRAM. He'll be executed for treason! I can't let that happen!"

"It's not my decision." Ren said, biting his bottom lip, his two fingers pressed on the confirmation command. All he had to do was swipe the icon right and it'd be over... it was easy. He's done it before, many times... but...

"Ren, please..." TESS was in tears at this point... not that she could actually cry. But... Ren could hear her voice cracking and shuddering as she attempted to vocalize clearly. "I need to be with him... don't... don't take me away from him..."

Why was she crying? How was she crying? It didn't make sense... the battle AI of an Orbital Frame shouldn't be able to behave this way... behave like a human... he thought to ARAI; how she behaved. He hadn't thought about it before, but... she acted the same way. She was an AI, just a machine, nothing more... but somehow she seemed to be more than just the sum of her parts. Ren's heart crushed and his stomach twisted as he tried to force himself to follow orders, even through TESS's quiet sobs. He bit his lip hard; painfully so.

It was so easy. Just swipe the icon right. It was just a machine. It was just an AI. It was only bits of ones and zeroes that made up a complex system meant solely for the operation of an Orbital Frame.

He might as well be pointing a gun at someone's head...

"Can't..." He said quietly under his breath, before repeating it a bit louder. "Can't."

He shook his head.

"M-mh, nope." He said, quickly canceling the deletion process and closing all the systems. "Nope, I can't. I can't. I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't do it."

He quickly shuffled out of the cockpit of the frame and hit the lever to bring the platform down onto ground level. He stepped off and sighed heavily.

"Ren..." TESS began to say, but Ren quickly walked out of the hangar before she could get another word in.

 

[Ishi123]

Scurrying back into the hangar he came from, Ren had finally calmed down from that whole ordeal. He really didn't like that... what he was asked to do... it felt... that AI was way too human. It had a sense of self... he didn't even think that was possible. Metatron was capable of some very strange things, but... for computers to get that advanced... he couldn't bring himself to delete an AI like that. It might as well be murder.

Though he doubted that Commander Weinberg would be as sympathetic as he was.

He racked his brain trying to think of an excuse... that the security systems were to complicated, that the AI resisted... but there's no way any of that would fly. He had access to everything, and the AI wouldn't have been able to resist no matter how hard it tried.

He'd just have to tell the Commander what happened... he didn't imagine she'd be pleased. But he had Tsukuyomi. He had a lot of leverage on that fact alone. Nobody could operate the frame but him, and that frame was the only thing standing between Earth and Neo BAHRAM. He was also the only specialist on Orbital Frames the Space Force had. No matter what, his cooperation was absolutely necessary. He was irreplaceable. He'd have to put his bets on that... even if he was pushing his boundaries.

Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't have enough time to think of a proper excuse even if he could, because once back in the Dulahan's hangar, he spotted Commander Weinberg immediately, talking to Leo. Ren froze on the spot, unsure of what to do, but Leo noticed him.

"Oh, Ren is back." He said, prompting Commander Weinberg to turn around to face him.

"Ren." She said. "I'm assuming the job is done?"

"Er... well..." Ren said, looking away from her.

"Well...?" She said. "It's not?"

"Not... exactly."

"Why not?"

"I... uh..." He stammered, trying to think of the right words, even if the right words would still end up angering the Commander. He knew there was nothing he could say that wouldn't.

"Spit it out, Silber." She said, growing impatient. "Why isn't it done?"

"It's just... the AI..." He began, finding it hard to speak properly under the pressure.

"What about it?"

"It's... the AI is just... it's nothing like I've seen before... it... it's advanced. Like... really advanced."

"You're a specialist on Orbital Frames and you didn't know that?"

"No, no... I knew. Metatron based AIs are thousands of times more powerful than normal AIs at least. The problem is... well, I've never actually been inside an Orbital Frame before when the AI is actually... you know, active. I've never heard one talk... I've always worked on them when they were in diagnostics mode for maintenance."

"What's your point?"

"T-the point is... it acts almost... almost human... too human to be just an AI. The way it behaves... how it reacted when I was about to delete it... it was... I couldn't bring myself to do it... it felt like I was killing an actual human being."

"It's not a human being." Commander Weinberg said plainly. "It's just an AI. AIs don't have feelings. It only mimics certain aspects of human personalities, it doesn't have one of its own."

"Elana." Leo said, stepping into the conversation. "Could you say that about ADA?"

"ADA... is unique." The Commander said, seeing the fault in her logic.

"I don't blame Ren for not being able to do it." Leo said. "He seems to have a very strong moral compass... strong enough to betray Neo BAHRAM despite the risks. I wouldn't be able to stand it if we lost ADA, that's for sure... it would be like losing a cherished friend."

"Even besides that, in essence all it is, is an AI." The Commander reiterated. "That frame contains very valuable data we could use to develop countermeasures to Neo BAHRAM's new frames. Ren, I'm giving you an order here."

"I'm sorry, I... I just can't." Ren said.

"Ren!"

"I can't!" He said, raising his voice. "It would be like killing someone! I just can't do it!"

"Your morality is a liability." Commander Weinberg said. "You're a soldier, now, Ren. Soldiers follow orders."

"Elana..." Leo said, concern in his voice. "I believe in Ren's judgement. He seems to have a keen eye for seeing right and wrong."

"Leo, he's already pushed his boundaries enough." She said, turning back to Leo. "Command is already concerned enough about letting someone like him in here, there's no way they'd accept letting another defector in."

"But Ren holds all the cards, doesn't he?" Leo said, looking to his still healing hands. "He's the only one who can pilot Tsukuyomi. He's the only expert on Orbital Frames we have."

"You don't need to bargain for him." Weinberg said, clearly agitated with the situation. "I already have enough on my plate. Between Ren and this new defector, not to mention the Merchants wanting to join the Space Force. Who do you think has to sort all of this out with command breathing down her neck?"

"Elana, do you trust me?" Leo asked.

"What?" She responded, confused by the question. "Well... of course I do, but... what's your point."

"Please trust Ren on this." Leo said. "I really do believe in him."

The Commander sighed in frustration.

"You're too quick to trust, Leo." She said.

"Have I been wrong yet?" He asked with a smile.

The Commander only sighed, defeated. She gave Ren a stern look, but then began walking away, muttering to herself.

"How am I going to deal with Command on this one..."

Leo sighed and stepped up to Ren.

"Don't make me a liar, okay, Ren?" He said.

"Why do you trust me so much?" Ren asked.

"Call it a hunch, if you want." Leo shrugged. "But I tend to have an eye for picking out liars."

"What if you're wrong?" He asks in response.

"I'm not." Leo simply said, before walking away, leaving Ren alone in the hangar, at a complete loss for words.

 

[PercyJacks]

It was about the middle of the day, and Alrize decided that she would test out a local restaurant and determine whether or not the food they served was worth the money. She walked through the streets of the city with her usual backpack and jacket as she remembered the map she plotted in her head about how to reach the restaurant for lunch.

 

[Ishi123]

It was a beautiful sunny day, few clouds in the sky. People were bustling around with their usual business. The restaurant Alrize arrived at seemed especially lively. All in all, people seemed to be having a good time... completely unaware of the war that was raging just above their heads. It really seemed to put things in perspective for her... of course the normal populace wouldn't be made fully aware of the dangers of the war. It was in order to keep the people calm, despite the very real threat to them and their way of life. Neo BAHRAM especially hammered home the idea that Earth was inferior to Mars; that they were completely different to Martians, abnormal, even. They definitely were different... but not in the way that Neo BAHRAM made it out to be... they didn't have things like trees and blue skies on Mars.

However, it did have its fair share of strife.

An explosion split the air, and debris flew everywhere, knocking Alrize down onto the ground. People began screaming and running away. Alrize looked up to see multiple red colored LEVs fly in from the sky, landing down on the ground. They focused on a specific building in particular, just down the road, but they made sure to begin firing on people attempting to run away. Alrize acted fast enough, taking cover inside the restaurant, along with other people, but she made sure to keep her eye on what was happening. The LEVs were unmarked Phantomas... they didn't belong to the Space Force.

What was happening...?

---

"Ren!" Leo shouted.

Ren jumped a bit, startled out of his work in the Dulahan's cockpit. He looked over the edge of the cockpit down to Leo.

"Leo?" He said. "What's going on?"

"Elana will explain." He said. "Hurry, there's been an incident."

"Incident?" Ren said, confused. He quickly jumped out of the Dulahan's cockpit and took the lift down, jogging up to Leo.

"C'mon, follow me." He said, beginning to run out of the hangar towards the main complex of the base. Ren kept pace, looking around as he did. People were running around the base, like they were preparing for an assault... but it didn't look like the base was under attack. What could've happened?

Leo and Ren made it to the main building, and Leo led Ren to the command room, opening the door for Ren, seeing Commander Weinberg going over a holographic map.

"Now of all times..." She said, sighing before noticing Leo and Ren. "Good, you're here."

"What's going on?" Ren asked.

"There's been an attack." She explained. "Terrorists. They've taken control of the Martian embassy downtown."

"Terrorists?" Ren said. "For who?"

"They're called the 'Sons of BAHRAM'." The Commander said. "They idolize the old BAHRAM and see Neo BAHRAM as the harbingers of a new age."

"They're with Neo BAHRAM?" Ren asked.

"No. They're just an extremist group that worships them. Neo BAHRAM themselves don't have anything to do with them." She sighed, going over the map. "They've got an entire city block on lockdown. The officials have cordoned off the entire area but there are many people still inside who can't get out without the terrorists gunning them down with their LEVs. They've asked for assistance from us."

"Okay? So why call me in?" Ren asks.

"I want you to go out and eliminate the threat." She said. "You can use Tsukuyomi."

"What? Me? Why? Why not Leo or Dingo?"

"Dingo wouldn't be able to go because Jehuty's appearance would most likely trigger an immediate reaction from the terrorists." Weinberg explained. "They know all about it, and what's more they hate it for ending the old BAHRAM. We can't risk sending it out with all those hostages. As for Leo and the Vesperia, we're planning on sortieing him away from the combat zone to deal with the forces that dropped the LEVs in in the first place. They're currently patrolling in a wide area preventing officials from acting and acting as an early warning for the terrorists around the embassy. If they get word of a force moving to stop them, they'll destroy the embassy and most likely the surrounding area as well. And sending in a strike force of Dulahans is definitely out of the question since it would result in a large scale battle."

"Okay... so..." Ren said nervously.

"The plan is to launch a tandem strike." The Commander said. "The instant Leo destroys the patrolling I want you to drop in and destroy all the LEVs around the immediate vicinity of the embassy at once, then take out the remaining LEVs in the surrounding area, while keeping collateral damage to a minimum."

"Hang on a second, I..."

"To this end an air assault will work best." The Commander continued. "With that stunt you pulled against Jehuty in the training simulator, I expect that it has the necessary firepower to accurately target multiple enemies simultaneously and eliminate them all at once with its OPTIONs. Dropping in right above them will give you a clear line of fire straight down to take them out as well as avoid hitting any surrounding buildings."

"Hang on!" Ren said, stopping Commander Weinberg from going any further. "Look, I... I don't know about this..."

"Ren, right now you're the only one who can do this." Leo said. "As good as Jehuty is, along with the points Elana made earlier, it doesn't have the capabilities Tsukuyomi has. It's not as precise in its attacks, it wouldn't be good in avoiding collateral damage. and it doesn't have the weaponry necessary for this mission."

That was true... Ren knew about Jehuty and its abilities. It had Zero Shift, but in every other aspect the frame was inferior to Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu. They had more firepower, they were faster, more durable, had a wider variety of weaponry, and they were capable of handling a larger variety of missions than Jehuty... they could easily beat Jehuty... the only reason they couldn't was because Jehuty had Zero Shift. That was the defining factor... it was the reason why the Zero Shift program was so important to both Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu. Without it, Jehuty is unbeatable... plain and simple.

But even so, Zero Shift wouldn't be of any use here.

Tsukuyomi was the only option.

"Dammit..." Ren said, biting his lip. "Fine."

"Good." The Commander said. "So, you know the mission?"

"Yeah... I got it." He said, looking over the area map that the Commander had in front of her.

In reality, the mission was pretty simple, though Tsukuyomi would need to be quite high in order to avoid detection. However, Tsukuyomi's firing range and speed combined should allow for a preemptive strike on the terrorists before they notice him. He'd have to make his approach directly above the embassy and from the stratosphere. He and Leo will have to time their attacks perfectly. Ren will have to be at the exact range to be able to hit his targets at the same time that Leo shoots down his. Simple, but in no way easy.

This was going to be tricky... could Ren really pull it off with so many lives on the line?

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize watched the events unfold from the restaurant window. Amid all the terrified screams and shouts of the people around, the LEVs flew overhead.

"What's happening…?!" Alrize thought to herself. She decided that she would contact Adalia as soon as she was in the clear. For now she would observe the situation, and try to get a closer look when she could.

 

[Ishi123]

It didn't take long to complete mission preparations. Tsukuyomi was always ready to sortie at a moment's notice under normal circumstances by design, with only pre-sortie checks to go through, while Leo took the time to arm his Vesperia with the proper weapons for the mission. Ren was provided with his own pilot suit, a black and blue suit with white shoulder and chest pads, along with a helmet to match. Once the mission was ready to start, Ren flew Tsukuyomi over to the tarmac. Though of course Orbital Frames and LEVs didn't require runways to get airborne, there were separate areas for them to take off from, along with landing pads for space vessels and a traditional runway for the few aircraft nowadays that needed them. Ren and Leo would take off from these areas.

"ARAI, run systems check." Ren said.

"Roger." She responded. "Running systems diagnostics."

Soon after, Leo joined Ren, his LEV floating gently a bit off the ground before settling back down next to him.

"This is the control tower to Tsukuyomi." Ren heard in his earpiece. "How do you read?"

"I hear you." Ren said.

"Roger that." The tower said. "Transferring comms to C2."

Comms disconnected, before reconnecting shortly after.

"This is AWACS Skyguard, how copy?" Another voice said.

"I hear you, Skyguard." Ren heard Leo say in his comms. "Running systems checks right now."

"Skyguard to Tsukuyomi, do you read?" Skyguard said.

"Yeah, I'm good." Ren responded.

"Systems diagnostics complete." ARAI said shortly after. "All systems are normal. We're ready for combat operations."

"Systems check complete." Ren said. "I'm ready to go."

At least as ready as he could be... he was still nervous, and he had to force his voice to not betray that fact.

"This is Leo Stenbuck, Vesperia." Leo said. "Systems all green. Requesting permission for takeoff."

"Skyguard, you are clear for takeoff. Commence mission."

With that, both Leo and Ren took off from the ground. The Vesperia quickly spun and transformed into its jet mode, boosting forward at lightning speed to the battle zone. Ren prepared for his own quick takeoff. He'd be heading straight up.

"Let's go, ARAI." He said. "Thrusters at maximum output."

Tsukuyomi crouched down in the air, the thrusters on its back opening up wide, bright blue energy surging from the gap as the thrusters moved apart and to the side, looking like radiant wings of blue light, before the thrusters suddenly shifted downwards and closed hard, all the energy being redirected straight downwards. Tsukuyomi surged upwards as a result, screeching into the sky and leaving a long blue trail behind it.

 

[PercyJacks]

Meanwhile at the restaurant, store employees were desperately trying to keep the crowd of people that had flooded in calm in the wake of all the destruction to little effect.

"I definitely should've brought a gun, or a recorder, or something that can help…wait, the phone!"

Alrize took her smartphone out and used the camera function to record the events that were unfolding outside. She was also very annoyed with all the noise the people were making, and thought of silencing them herself.

 

[Ishi123]

It didn't take Ren long at all to hit his required altitude. 35,000 feet up, he could see everything... the curvature of the Earth was clearly visible, the sunlight beaming down on the land below. He could even see other continents if he looked over. Some frost began to condense around the corners of the cockpit screen... it was very cold this high up. Ren could only be glad the cockpit was air conditioned to always be at a comfortable temperature, whether it be hot or cold outside.

"Approaching target point." ARAI stated.

"Right..." Ren said, his HUD showing his distance from his mark. Once he got there, he stopped in place and hovered over it... he was right above the Martian Embassy right now... this was where he'd make his drop.

"This is Ren." Ren said in his comms. "I've reached my target point."

"Skyguard to Tsukuyomi, standby for drop." He heard back.

He played out what he needed to do in his head... when the word was issued, he'd drop down as fast as he could... he'd need to time it perfectly with Leo's own strike so that they could take all the hostiles out at once. He'd need to use his OPTIONs from overhead in order to hit each target at once, along with his normal laser attacks. Tsukuyomi had a multi-targeting system onboard to allow for simultaneous long range strikes against multiple targets in a radius around the frame from any direction. This will allow him to lock onto all the targets at once and hit them immediately as a first strike... however, he didn't want to kill them. He'd need to specifically target the Phantoma's booster packs and arms to disable and disarm them. It would take more time and more shots... he'd need to be perfect if he wanted to do this without any getting away. Just the thought really made him nervous, but he didn't have much time to calm down before the order was given.

"Tsukuyomi, begin descent!" Skyguard said.

With that, Ren angled the frame down, his thrusters skyward, before screaming downwards, dropping altitude at a rapid rate. The Martian Embassy was marked on his HUD and the proper target vector was displayed. He'd have to make subtle adjustments during the descent to keep himself center. That wasn't the problem. The problem was what came after the drop... Ren couldn't do much other than just hope for the best.

"This is Leo." He heard Leo say. "Coming up on my targets now. Preparing to attack."

"Ren, here..." Ren responded. "I'm still in my descent. I'll be in firing range in about a minute."

"Roger that."

Though Tsukuyomi's speed would allow him to reach the ground in mere seconds, he kept his speed under the sound barrier to allow himself the proper time to target each enemy specifically, as well as give him time to recover from the descent. He'd be in firing range soon...

"ARAI, deploy OPTIONs."

"Roger."

The OPTIONs attached to Tsukuyomi's wings separated from the frame, spinning around and then pointing downward, flying alongside Tsukuyomi. There was never any risk of Tsukuyomi going faster than the OPTIONs, since the OPTIONs themselves didn't possess any means of movement. They were tethered to the frame itself through Vector Traps, so no matter how fast the frame moved, the OPTIONs would get pulled along with it.

Any second now...

"This is Leo, ready to engage." Leo said.

"Enemies within firing range." ARAI stated.

"Ren... ready to fire."

 

[PercyJacks]

A blue streak like a jetstream of lightning flashed in the sky. Alrize hurried to record it as the people started pointing and yelling.

"What's that?! It's coming down! A meteor? An asteroid?" The civilians around her shouted a multitude of comments and conjectures as the streak fell. Alrize herself wasn't sure what was happening, but she moved up to the window and got a better look.

"Could it be Space Force? But I don't know of any frame that could-…wait…could it be…?"

 

[Ishi123]

"OPTIONs are in attack formation, ready to fire." ARAI said.

Ren locked onto the multiple targets at once; there were six of them. He'd aim for their non-vital areas.

"This is Ren. Commencing attack."

"Leo, here. Beginning interception." Leo said.

"Begin operation!" Skyguard said.

With that, Ren fired all his weapons down, the OPTIONs firing at their own individual targets while at the same time Ren shoots down lasers from his arm-mounted gun. He hit each of the LEVs all at once, hitting their booster packs and arms just like he planned, though it took a few shots for a couple of them. The shots he fired hit the ground, but though sparks and small bits of concrete flew as they hit the pavement, no surrounding buildings were harmed. Ren flipped Tsukuyomi upright to slow his descent, coming to a halt hovering above the embassy.

"First strike successful." ARAI stated. "All enemy combatants disabled."

Ren sighed in relief... he wasn't a pilot by any measure, so that stunt was tricky for him to pull off... he couldn't help but feel he'd only gotten as far as he had by his knowledge of Tsukuyomi, not by any actual skill. Whatever worked, he guessed...

"This is Leo." Leo said in comms. "Enemies down. How's it looking on your end, Ren?"

"All LEVs disabled." He responded. "The embassy is clear."

"First strike success confirmed." Skyguard said. "Good work, you two."

 

[PercyJacks]

"No doubt about it…that's Ren inside Tsukuyomi."

Alrize zoomed her camera in on Ren's Orbital Frame, watching it as it destroyed the LEVs in a single burst. Only Ren would think of destroying them non-lethally, and only he would be able to pull off something as instantaneous as that. Alrize had to get a closer look. She pushed her way through the cheering and rowdy crowd of civilians and flew out the door into the streets. She avoided the falling debris and shrapnel then ducked into a nearby alleyway, keeping her camera focused on the situation in the sky.

"What happens now then, Silber?"

 

[Ishi123]

People around didn't exactly understand what was going on, but they were nonetheless grateful for the rescue.

"An Orbital Frame? The Space Force has those now?"

"I only thought they had the one."

"Oh, that was awesome!"

Ren looked down at the scene... of course the people would be a bit confused by the presence of another Orbital Frame, one that they didn't know about... it was for the best that they believed that it was a Space Force frame... they weren't entirely wrong about that. They didn't need to know how it got there, all that mattered is that he was there to help them.

"More hostiles on radar!" Skyguard called out.

"What?" Ren said, looking up to see more LEVs falling down from the sky.

"Dammit, they were hiding in the upper atmosphere!" Skyguard said. "They must've used re-entry pods! Ren, can you intercept?"

"Gonna have to..." Ren said.

"This is Leo, I'm on my way to assist!" He heard Leo say. "Give me a few minutes, I'm pretty far out!"

"You have this, Ren?" Skyguard asked.

"Leave it to me." Ren said. "ARAI, aim for nonvital areas as normal."

"Falling debris may hit civilian targets." ARAI notified.

"I know." Ren said. "Prepare for double shots on each target."

One to shoot it off, another to hit any falling debris. It would take more time... but Ren was insistent on not killing anyone.

"You know what, better make it a triple shot, just to be sure." Ren said, aiming his guns.

"Roger..." ARAI said, concern in her voice.

With that, Ren began to fire on the descending LEVs. They were easy targets, and Ren didn't mind if they began shooting at him. The armor of Tsukuyomi was much to sturdy to be penetrated by a Phantoma's antiquated ballistic weaponry... but to his shock, they didn't begin firing on him... they started firing everywhere... they were trying to cause as much damage as they could before being wiped out by an opponent they could not win against.

"No! Dammit!" Ren cursed as explosions and heavy bullets began crashing down on the streets below. People began screaming again as the terrorists fired down upon them indiscriminately, simply wanting to use up all their ammo more than hit any specific target.

"ARAI, aim for their weapons!" Rens said, the targets reassigning and locking onto their rifles and missiles. He fired a large flurry of homing lasers at them, many hitting their mark and destroying their weapons, some missing, but Ren quickly followed up on any remaining targets before settling down. They were still in the air... he didn't want to hit their boosters lest an entire multi-ton machine fall down on a building. He'd have to wait for them to get low to the ground and in the street in order to completely incapacitate them. When they did, he took action immediately, switching to close combat. They didn't stand a chance... once the LEVs touched down, Ren moved quickly, cutting off any remaining weapons or limbs and cutting their booster packs, completely disabling them. It was taking some time... and some LEVs were wreaking as much havoc as they could by just slamming themselves into buildings. He'd have to move fast, but at the same time take his time in making sure he hit non-vital areas.

"Ren, lethal combat is suggested." ARAI said. "It would save us a lot of time, here."

"I'm not killing anyone." Ren said.

"Civilian casualties will mount up if we don't finish this as quickly as possible."

"That's why I'm going so fast!"

Ren maneuvered the frame expertly for a non-pilot, boosting forward through the streets before hitting an intersection and stopping dead before boosting to the side to make a turn, using the momentum to cut the top half off of another LEV, just in front of the restaurant near the embassy.

"This is Leo, I'm here!" Leo said, Ren looking up to see his LEV fly into the scene, spinning around and transforming back into its humanoid form. "What's the situation?"

"There are several hostiles left in the area." Skyguard said. "Advise you take them out as quickly as possible while mitigating damage to the surrounding areas."

"This would be a lot easier if we weren't in such a crowded area..." Leo said, before proceeding to engage the LEVs carefully.

"Okay, let's go help Leo out." Ren said, but before he could take off again, a terrorist Phantoma suddenly lurched at him. Missing an arm and a leg, but using the remaining arm to draw a knife, it stabbed at him, taking Ren by surprise. He guarded, but the LEV smashed into him, pushing him up against a building, right next to where Alrize was taking cover.

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize saw the debris falling and ran for cover behind a dumpster.

"That was close…"

She continued to record the battle, examining the LEVs.

"Who are these guys…?"

 

[Ishi123]

"Ngh... dammit..." Ren cursed as he held back the LEV as best he could, trying not to be pushed any further into the building.

"Ren, there's a civilian nearby." ARAI said, pulling up an image to the side of his HUD, showing Alrize huddled behind a dumpster.

"Oh, what the hell?" Ren said. "Dammit, I can't fight this off with her here!"

"What should we do?" ARAI asked.

Ren thought for a split second, then lowered his frame onto its knees, enough so that the cockpit was low to the ground.

"ARAI, take over for me." He said.

"What are you doing?"

Ren opened the cockpit, leaning over the side to call over to Alrize.

"Hey, you!" He shouted. "Get in, quick!"

Alrize seemed to hesitate for a moment, confused, until Ren called out to her again.

"Come on-" The Phantoma lurched forward, shaking the Orbital Frame and almost sending Ren off the side of the cockpit, but ARAI compensated and grabbed onto the LEV's arm and torso to keep it in place. "Agh... hurry!"

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize was completely bewildered.

"What the hell is he doing?!" she thought.

There was no way, she thought, that Ren was actually getting out of his cockpit in the middle of a fight to talk to her. He did shout "Get in", but…why? Then she remembered that Ren was a "caring" person. He wanted to make sure everyone lived. And he didn't know who she was. She decided within that split second of thought to go along with it, in order to gain his trust and possibly even infiltrate the Space Force.

"R-Right!" She said as she took the chance and hopped into the cockpit.

"Let's hope this works…"

 

[Ishi123]

Ren sat back in the cockpit seat, Alrize situated behind him, and closed the cockpit.

"Alright, you need to stop, now..." Ren said, taking hold of the controls again, pushing them forward to push the LEV off of him before swinging his right arm blade to decapitate the LEV and then cut off its remaining leg, causing it to fall back, disabled.

"Ren, Leo needs help." ARAI said.

"On it..." Ren looked back to Alrize. "Better hold onto something."

Ren then lifted off the ground, spinning around and flying towards where Leo was fighting. It seemed like there were only a few left.

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize grabbed onto the back of Ren's chair as the frame flew into the air. Not having her seatbelt on felt very strange. She was determined to learn as much as she could about Ren and the Space Force while she was undercover. As the fighting ensued, she stayed as silent as possible so she and Ren could both focus.

 

[Ishi123]

"Ren!" Leo said as Ren approached him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ren said. "What about you?"

"I'm good. Let's finish this."

"Right."

Leo and Ren split to engage their own targets, with Ren soaring over the buildings and slicing the enemy LEVs into submission, being careful not to hit any vital areas as usual. The stragglers weren't much to deal with, and soon enough, every enemy LEV was subdued.

"Enemy forces neutralized." Skyguard said. "No further hostiles on radar. Mission complete."

Ren sighed, leaning back in his cockpit, panting a little bit, the stress of the mission hitting him only after the fact.

"Looks like not many people were hurt." Leo said. "Good thing, too..."

"Yeah..." Ren sighed.

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize was constrained by Ren's leaning back and found it a little harder to breathe than usual. She ignored it and decided to act innocent to get on Ren's good side.

"Um…w-who are you? And what's going on?!"

 

[Ishi123]

"Hah... relax." He said, half talking to himself.

"I'm gonna head back to base." Leo said. "I'll organize a task force to clean things up."

"Right..." Ren said, as Leo took off. "Looks like it's over..."

But it wasn't.

Just then, Ren heard a defiant cry.

"Glory to BAHRAM!"

He looked over, one of the LEV pilots out of his cockpit, holding a switch. He threw it, and his LEV violently self-destructed, taking out multiple buildings with it... and most likely a few civilians.

Ren's eyes widened at the scene... he blew himself up... and those people...

"Glory to BAHRAM!"

Ren looked over, seeing another. He was too late to stop him and he detonated his LEV as well.

"NO!" Ren shouted, immediately taking action. He drew his blade, bearing down on the closes LEV and cutting the cockpit off, preventing the pilot from self-destructing. Another one exploded, then another. Ren frantically raced around, trying to disable the LEVs to keep them from exploding... but he was taking too much time... he couldn't get them all like this...

"Ren, we're going to slow!" ARAI said.

"I know, I know!" Ren said, panting heavily, his heart rate skyrocketing as the stress mounted to try to get them all... buildings were collapsing... people were dying... he couldn't get them all. He was taking too much time... in that split second, he made a decision.

"ARAI, aim for the cockpits!" Ren shouted, straining to get the words out against his own self-conscious. He flew upwards, OPTIONs deploying and locking onto multiple targets.

"Targets locked." ARAI said.

Ren hesitated... he didn't want to... but... if he didn't...

He knew what he had to do. But he had to fight himself to do it...

He let out a pained scream and hit it, unleashing a flurry of homing lasers and bolts from his OPTIONs from above, each striking their targets dead on. It didn't even take ten seconds... but to Ren it felt like forever. When the dust cleared, none of the remaining LEVs managed to self-destruct... they didn't have the chance to. Ren looked down at the scene, looking at the cockpits of the Phantomas... they were in pieces, scorched by the intensity of the weapons he used on them. They... all of them...

"All targets confirmed destroyed." ARAI stated factually. "Further damage to surrounding areas mitigated."

Ren didn't respond... he was hunched over in the cockpit, his breathing raspy and shaken... he gripped his knees tight, biting his bottom lip... he killed them... they were hurting others, but... they were human lives... and he absolutely destroyed them in an instant... he did it...

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize said nothing and watched as the events unfolded around her. Ren seemed to be in heavy internal conflict. There were numerous civilians that had been killed in the explosions. The terrorist's words of "Glory to BAHRAM!" echoed in her head. She could only imagine how Ren, who had been so determined to keep everyone alive, felt about finally taking the life of another. She had to keep up her act and make him re-focus so that she would still be able to get information out of him.

"Hey…are you alright?"

 

[Ishi123]

He didn't respond... he was completely silent... eerily so... even his heavy breathing was gone... Ren was still present, but... not... somehow... not in himself... he felt disconnected... like he wasn't quite himself anymore... and then it got worse. Much worse. He heard a voice in his head, a voice that was not his own. It seemed to whisper to him...

It's you...

The cockpit lit up, the console going red, the frame locking up and the Metatron lines glowing yellow. Ren grunted and began to struggle, gripping the controls tightly as he grits his teeth, groaning and grunting heavily in pain, shaking and shuddering as Metatron was pumped into his body. The frame itself acted in a similar manner, grabbing its head and curling up, Tsukuyomi seeming to scream to echo Ren's own.

 

[PercyJacks]

"What…what's going on?!" Alrize shouted into her own head. She had never seen anything like this before. It was like Tsukuyomi itself was becoming corrupted and enraged. She moved so she could see his face and shouted.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?! Calm down!"

She held onto his shoulders and put as much emotion as she possibly could to get through to him.

"Come on, get a hold of yourself!"