Atmospheric entry to Earth was an activity that The Cathedral's M.M.U.s had been capable of sustaining for several previous generations of the machines. The two large ships that would be used for the rescue of the troops on Earth made their entry, quickly followed by the five M.M.U.s of Helena Kjestein's squadron. Australia's clear blue sky was a worthy prize for the long journey she and her companions had made in such a short time.
It would also be the first mission for her new M.M.U. Sagittarius, the product of years of research, and the unit's capabilities made her agree that the time had been well spent. Flying beside her after entry were Lieutenant Rubio's Aquarius M.M.U., Lieutenant Thompson's Taurus, Leitz's Virgo, and Balogun's Capricorn, all with significant improvements over their original forms. Her young companions believed the mission was merely to rescue the troops isolated on the planet, but she knew the U.S.C. and The Cathedral's true purpose in it; Mathias Granqvist and Peter Ericsson had been clear.
"Rescuing our comrades is an important objective, but not our main one. We are close to a total collapse of our forces on the planet, Captain. Soon we will no longer be able to monitor and act with previous ease; perhaps we won't even be able to act at all.
Our objective is to rescue the pilots and the information at the bases, to try to understand how the terrestrial forces gained so much power in such a short time."
Her squadron was already entering the troposphere, a little less than 20 kilometers from the ground, when Lieutenant Rubio drew the group's attention.
"I think we're late, Captain."
The base, which was the target of the rescue mission, was in flames. They had imagined their rescue operation would be met with one of annihilation from the terrestrial forces, but now, with so many blind spots for them on Earth, prediction had become impossible.
"My brother..."
Joshua Balogun had extra motivation for the battle; his older brother, who had been serving in the occupation forces on Earth for over a year, was at the base. His fear grew upon seeing the flames, but his hopes were rekindled when they received a radio message from their comrades in danger.
"Thank God, we were close to defeat..."
He recognized the voice of the man he admired. The message continued.
"Be careful, three new units attacked our base, but there's a sniper somewhere in the perimeter! And his shots are absurdly powerful!"
After the message, the five units and the cruisers immediately shifted to a defensive formation. The radar scan detected no other M.M.U.s besides the three aggressors mentioned by Balogun. These units caught the group's attention while still on the outskirts of the base. Laila couldn't keep her astonishment silent.
"What in blazes are those M.M.U.s!?"
They studied the enemy; they knew their own M.M.U.s perhaps even better than the enemy themselves knew them—their limitations and few advantages—but those three machines were beyond the knowledge of The Cathedral's five pilots. They weren't simple modifications; they bore resemblance to some known units, but their destructive power, what they had managed to do to the base with only three meager machines, indicated they were about to face a powerful foe.
"Permission to attack, let's show them the power of the U.S.C."
The authorization from Helena was received with smiles from her companions, and immediately, a barrage of fire was launched against the three units. The surviving forces rushed to the indicated point, where the rescue cruisers were preparing to land. The enemy's response, however, was much smaller than expected; the three M.M.U.s' evasive maneuvers were precise, but their retaliatory attacks were less potent than her squadron was prepared for.
"Is that all!?"
Elijah, thirsty for action against his sister's murderers, wanted to attack the units that maintained a position not far from the base.
"Focus on the rescue, Lieutenant! It could be an enemy trap, but we can take advantage of it and accomplish our mission!"
The captain's order was bitter, but Elijah Thompson knew it was the right path to follow. And so, he maintained fire so his comrades could escape; he wouldn't let them suffer the same fate his sister had on the moon.
"Ma'am..."
August Leitz's worried voice made Helena give her immediate attention.
"The information and databases have all been destroyed. Unfortunately, the only useful thing for us will be what our comrades are able to relay."
It was far from ideal, but it would still be better than the nothing they currently had. The escape ships were now filled with survivors and ready to depart, and so, they took flight. Helena observed the three M.M.U.s again, which were no longer fighting as she and her squadron took off towards space. They probably believed the mission had been accomplished, that the destroyed base was enough, but to Helena, they were severely underestimating the U.S.C.'s soldiers if they thought they wouldn't be able to pass on information, even from their own memory.
Helena took one last look at the enemy M.M.U.s, and leaving a red trail with her Sagittarius's powerful wings, she soared, following the ships and her companions. In a short time, she was above the troposphere, and soon the brave men and women who had dedicated their last years of life on Earth for the good of the U.S.C. would be home.
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Flying low, and with its new camouflage mode activated—similar to the Avalon's—Gabriel and M.M.U. Arthur finally reached the base. He passed his three comrades, already assuming a position about 50 meters from them. He rose a few meters from the ground, and then his wings with their blue crystals glowed. M.M.U. Arthur lay down, not on the ground, but in the air, floating a few meters above it.
"Calculating recoil impact, calibrating maglev wings to negate any movement after firing."
Gabriel raised the Excalibur cannon he carried in his M.M.U.'s right hand. Now using both of the machine's arms, he positioned it in Arthur's center, pointing it towards the blue sky that his current position afforded him a privileged view of. From the Avalon, a new message from the ship's engineering sector was relayed.
"Energy complete, division made for two possible shots. Would you like to use our satellite triangulation for both shots, First Lieutenant Sirghi?"
"No."
Gabriel replied, already lowering his optical sight.
"Only for the first; we don't have time for the second triangulation. I'll do it manually."
The radio silence indicated surprise; however, the pilot's request was heeded.
"...Very well, good hunting, First Lieutenant."
Had she heard that correctly? Kiyoko wondered in silence. He was going to make a shot of over 100 kilometers without satellite assistance!? Sabrina M. Ortiz and Jerome Gagnier observed the R.A.F. pilot and his unit with less surprise, merely with the curiosity of soldiers who knew why Gabriel Sirghi was known as the Sniper of Chisinau among European forces.
Arthur's wings glowed as they usually did when it accelerated in flight, but this time, without moving. The energy wave caused debris from the runway below the unit to start flying; a dust wave rose, automatically dispersed by the wind generated by Arthur.
Stage 2 of Excalibur was something they expected to see if they needed to execute their Plan B. A plan that Ortiz initially disliked, but now also believed to be the best possible outcome for Operation Purgatio.
The black and blue cannon opened slightly, its side now a few centimeters from the center, as if held magnetically by magnets. Gabriel placed his hand on the trigger. Again, he was about to take another hundred lives that, even if only momentarily, were unarmed. The satellite information had arrived; the cruisers' current position already appeared on his sight's display. Before his hesitation caused him to lose more time, Gabriel Sirghi pulled the trigger.
The glow of Arthur's wings seemed to disappear for a moment. No, disappear wouldn't be the correct term; Kiyoko saw them being sucked into the cannon, and then, seconds later, a huge beam of light tore through the skies, destined for space. The sound of the shot was similar to the cry of a gigantic legendary bird, which was followed by a strong shockwave, causing the other M.M.U.s to move back a little from where they were.
The clouds were pierced one by one by the laser, which ascended with frightening speed, leaving large gaps between them. In the path where the laser had passed, the blue sky was exposed. The impact, they were sure, would be imminent.
<>
Already near the planet's orbit, Helena watched on one of her Sagittarius's displays the party taking place inside the rescue ships. The happiness of the men and women who would soon be able to see their loved ones was payment enough for the captain, who, upon seeing her comrades' actions, remembered her children's beautiful smiles.
Joshua was talking animatedly with his brother about the things the year away had made him miss in his family. The sentiment was echoed by his comrades, who were happy for their academy and now squadron mate's joy. Laila Rubio believed this was the main reason to become a pilot—to defend the colors of The Cathedral and the U.S.C. for the future of her people.
The detection of a signal that made no sense on one of her sensors wiped the smile from Laila's face; the amount of energy detected by her powerful sensors, even less so. Her M.M.U.'s warning signal and those of her colleagues echoed, but they had no time. The impact of the gigantic blue laser piercing one of the rescue ships cut through the silence of the space they were about to enter.
"FLORENTIN!!!"
Joshua's cry of despair was interrupted by the ship's explosion, after it had turned an incandescent white before breaking into pieces, which fell into the Earth's atmosphere it had just escaped moments before.
"What happened!?"
Her colleagues' despair snapped Helena out of her paralysis. She turned towards Earth again, in time to see the second laser tear through the atmosphere, its target, the other rescue ship. The starship's fate was the same, and its debris fell and burned up in the atmosphere.
"Evasive maneuvers, now!"
The M.M.U.s and their five pilots took defensive positions. The now sole survivors of the mission knew it was useless; if more shots were fired, they would be incinerated long before they could take any action. However, a third shot did not occur.
"Those damned apes!!!"
Florentin flew towards Earth again but was interrupted by Helena and her Sagittarius.
"Do you think you can fight that, Lieutenant!?"
"We are the U.S.C., Captain, we are The Cathedral! ...So why...? All those people, my brother... We were so close!"
The squadron's silence indicated that Lieutenant Joshua Balogun's sentiment was shared. With nothing more to do, all that remained was for Helena to order her comrades to return to the campaign's main ship, which, she thanked the heavens, had remained outside the planet's orbit. Through the Sagittarius's monitor, which even with all its technology could do nothing against... that, she observed the blue of planet Earth, which in a few short months had gone from being easily controlled by the U.S.C. to a creature that retaliated with rage and hatred.
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In the central office of the Aegis organization in Paris, a group of men and women dressed in suits, and others in military uniforms, clapped in celebration, while the gigantic screen in the center of the refined room broadcast, through the cameras of the M.M.U.s that carried out the operation in Australia, the debris of the ships burning up in the atmosphere, becoming a beautiful light show.
General Watkins shared the same sentiment as his other military colleagues. Beside him, a well-dressed man in his 40s also clapped, but unlike the others in the Aegis organization building, the joy he showed was just another of the masks the business world had made him create. Allen George Merseyside was the heir to the centenary British manufacturer, which, two decades ago, with his decisions, he had catapulted to the top of the military technology market. He observed the other leaders of the four other companies responsible for manufacturing the new M.M.U.s and weapons for the Aegis project. Unlike them, he couldn't take credit for something in which his company's participation was merely construction.
Three years ago, he had received a message that changed the course of his company, and he knew, also of the other four participating in the project. The result of what they learned thanks to the message was seen that afternoon. Technology that should have taken decades to develop was created and refined in a mere three years.
The message, which the man would never be able to forget, began with four simple words:
"Look into the abyss."
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Upon disembarking from M.M.U. Arthur, back on the Avalon, Gabriel was greeted by a dozen of his colleagues. Men and women from Aegis's technical and military support, smiling, celebrating another victory that for years had been so rare. Making way through the euphoric comrades, Ortiz and Gagnier approached.
"First Lieutenant Sirghi."
Gabriel gave a brief salute to his superiors, and then Sabrina M. Ortiz extended a hand; it was the first time he had seen the veteran of so many battles smile. He accepted his captain's firm handshake.
"Good job, kid."
As quickly as they arrived, the group dispersed. Gabriel had noticed someone's absence in the brief celebration and headed towards M.M.U. Izanagi, which was a few meters from his. He took out his personal communicator, and as he had done for the past few weeks during their training, he called Kiyoko Ogata's channel. She answered, but not quickly enough to hide the sound of her crying.
Gabriel's silence indicated that the 17-year-old's tears had impacted him more than he thought they would. He remained silent for a while longer and was surprised when Kiyoko was the first to speak.
"I-I just need a little more time, sir..."
"Understood. I just believe your cabin would be a better place to rest, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir."
He turned to leave her in peace, but not before passing on one last message.
"You were magnificent today, Kiyoko Ogata. Remember that."
The young woman's heavy, surprised sigh was the signal for Gabriel to end the brief call. With a few more steps, he reached Arthur's side, and its cannon that, just minutes ago, had torn through the atmosphere with its power.
The power to end this conflict. For the first time, he could understand the true meaning of Major Pellegrini's words, yet still, somewhere in his mind, he believed the opposite could also be true. The end might just become more distant, the path to it, only bloodier.
December 15, 2238, in just one month, terrestrial forces had completely expelled their U.S.C. enemies from the planet, removing any and all forms of observation and control The Cathedral had over Earth. The end of another year was fast approaching, and Aegis was preparing to take the war to space.
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