Class’s C, D and G were already on the move in a large convoy of tanks, soldiers and trucks to secure a weapons depot that was recently discovered by a Class F scouting party from Lanseal academy. No one really knew what the base had inside of it, but it was said to have looked like it was evacuated in a hurry as much of the weapons and gear were left behind by the rebels.
Avan was riding on top of Class G’s tank when he happened to notice Marion, Class G’s weapons freak. He smirked and hopped off of the tank and strode over to her.
“What’s up, Marion?” Avan asked cheerfully.
“Oh, I think you know what’s up!”
“Yeah, I figured that you’d be the most excited one here. Soon you’ll have a whole weapons depot to search through, and then you’ll get your hands on all types of rebel weaponry.”
“I know! I can’t wait to get there!!” Marion squealed in glee, “Who knows what we’ll find!”
Marching across the road from them were Zeri and Mischlitt, Zeri shook his head then whispered to Mischlitt, “I’d hate to see the look on her face when she realizes that the plan is to destroy most of the depot and its weapons, taking only the top weaponry for research.”
“She’ll be heartbroken, I’m sure of it.” Mischlitt whispered back.
Something else happened to catch Zeri’s ear, “Class F scouting party, this is the Class G representative speaking, can you hear me?” Magari said into a portable radio receiver, shaped like a telephone receiver.
After a few moments Magari repeated her message, then shrugged her shoulders at Franca who was riding on top of the tank with her. Wanting to know the situation, Zeri climbed aboard the tank and knelt down in front of Magari.
“What’s wrong, Magari?” Zeri asked.
“I’ve been in radio contact with the Class F's scouts all morning, but just moments ago, they stopped transmitting. There’s been nothing but static on their channel and it’s worrying me…”
“This is cause for concern… perhaps that base wasn’t as abandoned as they had originally reported.” Franca added.
“Avan! Get up here!!” Zeri called over his shoulder and Avan reported to him a few seconds later. At the same time, the base was coming into view, a few tiny trails of black smoke were rising from within the compound.
“What’s wrong, Zeri?”
“We lost contact with the scouting party from Class F, and judging from the sight up ahead, I think the Rebels have returned.”
Now, the convoy came to a halt, the transport trucks pulled to the side of the road, the tanks moved to the head of the column and the foot soldiers spread out all across the road and nearby fields in battle lines and slowly moved forward towards the base.
As soon as the tanks rolled over the chain linked fences, knocking them down so the soldiers could get in, they were fired upon by a small rebel force. It was composed of shock troopers, scouts, lancers, but strangely, no tanks or other armoured vehicles.
All the classes combined, outnumbered this force by three to one and they were pushing them back as they moved through the base. Finding sufficient cover amongst the metal boxes, wooden crates and pallets and alongside the large storage sheds.
Something about this battle seemed all too easy though. The Rebels would only fire enough to suppress the students, then retreat back a small distance and repeat. The Cadets barely had to take cover, before they moved forward again and returned fire along the way, chasing the rebels into the base.
As Franca suppressed a small group of rebels with a full auto spray from her heavy machine gun, she got a very bad feeling within herself and happened to say, “Something… is… wrong…”
To her left, Marion, Magari and her brother Nichol were moving along side her, taking cover and firing at the swiftly retreating rebels.
And even with all of the gunfire, battle noise and shouting, Marion distinctly heard something else, it sounded like a whirring sound, growing in intensity from within the metal storage shed right next to her.
Next came a deafening bang sound, the sound of metal twisting and shrieking and as she looked to her left in horror, a large section of the metal doors had actually bent outward, towards her. Another extremely loud bang sound followed and the door buckled even further. By now, other cadets near the doors turned their heads towards the terrifying sound and saw the doors give even more.
Franca wasn’t waiting to find out whatever manner of beast or monster lurked within, powerful enough to do that to a metal door. She ran over to Nichol, grabbed him by the back of his jacket collar and began to tug him away. Magari just grabbed Marion by the arm and was about to do the same, but that was when there was one final powerful blow against the doors and they burst open, revealing a mammoth sized… blue glowing metal monstrosity!
It had to be an artificial valkyria. But this one stood nearly 20 feet high, stood on two enormous metal armoured legs and had giant mechanical arms that ended with an enormous looking gun barrel, a smaller barrel or nozzle with a hose running under the arm towards the back and deadly looking duel machine guns on the sides of each arms.
Everyone was frozen in place as they looked up at the still standing artificial valkyria. Then, with a deafening blast, it released a sound, similar to a fog or navy ship horn. It was so long and loud that everyone had to cover their ears with their hands. Some of the cadets standing closest groaned in pain and clenched their teeth together.
“Gah! Did that thing just… roar at us!?” Avan shouted to Cosette, who was standing next to him.
“I don’t know! What is that thing!?”
Zeri rushed up to them, “Whatever it is, it definitely isn’t one of ours… OPEN FIRE!!” Zeri commanded to everyone around him.
And now, ignoring all of the Rebels around them, all of the classes turned their rifles, machine guns, lances and tank barrels towards the next enemy and opened fire. Bullets rained down upon it, smoking lancer rounds flew at it and exploded. The numerous tanks rolled forward while firing their tanks shells at it. And the whole monstrosity disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke from the exploding rounds.
Dozens of empty clips and magazines hit the concrete paved base grounds, empty bullet cartridges clanked against the ground and everyone reloaded while they tensely waited to see what all that had accomplished.
Marion and Magari still hadn’t moved from the ground after they hit the deck while all the rounds flew over their heads and into the mechanical beast, but they were slowly starting to sit up and look towards the smoke. And that was when they felt it, the ground shake suddenly, then again, and again. Then, to their horror, the monstrous machine was lumbering towards them from the lingering smoke, barely even damaged and starting to glow an even brighter blaze of blue flame. It then released yet another blast of sound, like a deafening fog horn.
The cadets then continued firing at the monstrous machine while taking backwards steps. The artificial valkyria responded by lowering its massive arms and taking aim. Then came the sound everyone feared. The steadily growing shrieking sound as both real and artificial valkyria in the past, charged up for a beam shot from their weapons. Only in this case, both ends of the massive barrels on either arm began to glow.
Marion looked back while screaming, “GET DOWN! NOW!!”
The enormous artificial valkyria then fired its beams with its arms close together, then spread them out, like a book, dragging the steadily flowing destructive beams across the grounds, vaporizing dozens of soldiers and tanks in its first act of returning fire.
When it stopped, much of the base was already destroyed, cadets from all classes moaned from the ground or were climbing back onto their feet.
A large group of ten scouts and shock troopers from Class D charged towards the mammoth machine while firing at it.
“Damn you!” one screamed.
“You killed my classmates!!” another roared while firing a full blast of his machine gun.
The bullets bounced off the heavily armoured machine as it lowered its’ head and looked down at the small approaching force.
“Target locked… Firing…” it said in a slow mechanical sounding voice.
By this time, Magari grabbed Marion and pulled her away from the machine, but Marion still looked over her shoulder and saw the machine fire actual ‘blue flame’ from its smaller nozzles under its main beam weapons and setting the charging cadets ablaze. They screamed or ran around, terrifying the one lookers from the other classes.
Seeing how outmatched even three whole classes were against this juggernaut of a machine, Avan cupped his hands over his mouth, “FALL BACK!! EVERYONE! FALL BACK!!”
Zeri did the same, “RETREAT!! ALL CLASSES RETREAT!!”
Most listened to the orders, turned on their heels and began to run for their lives, others stood their ground and continued fighting. Including a tank from Class D as it rolled forward, firing its turret and machine guns up at the giant machine.
It responded by drawing its arm across its body and delivering a massive blow to the side of the tanks hull, actually lifting it off the ground and sending it into a nearby storage shed. Then, compartments in its ‘shoulders’ opened up, revealing long white tubes of missiles with red tips that slide out, then fired and swirled and spun through the air and destroyed the whole shed in a glorious fireball of destruction.
Large burning metal pieces of the shed rained down onto the retreating soldiers, crushing some and tripping others. Sadly, this included Marion, who had a large sheet of metal hit her and knock her down. Magari noticed that her hand was now empty as she ran, it had been holding onto Marion’s just a moment ago.
She looked back and saw Marion struggling to get up, but was unable to as she fell back to the ground and laid still. Magari rushed back to her, while looking up at the goliath of a machine, now firing its wrist mounted machine guns at the retreating cadets, not seeming to notice her or Marion. Magari rushed back to Marion’s side and knelt down beside her.
“Hang on, Marion! I’ll get you out!” Magari shouted while trying to lift the metal sheet off of her.
“No… Magari…Save yourself…” Marion pleaded weakly, “I’m done for…”
“Don’t say that! Don’t give up… please…”
“It’s alright… Just go.. Please…”
Magari reached down and placed her hand against Marion’s forehead, she reached up and placed her hands on top of Magari’s
Two tears fell from Magari‘s eyes as she looked down at Marion, “I’m sorry… please forgive me…” Magari sobbed before standing back up and ran to catch up with the other retreating studetns, leaving Marion behind.