And more ViCia fluff, which has been lacking lately, from yours truly. Takes place right before "Shadow" goes down, so Vivio is seventeen and Lutecia is at least twenty-one.
Spoiler for A Matter of Pride:
At twenty-one years old, Lutecia Alphine was both smart and old enough to know when she was simply being childishly stubborn about something she couldn’t change. The moments were rare and far between, but she was still prone to them when she was in a mood; as Megane liked to say, “You still have a lot of growing up to do.”
Under any other circumstances, Lutecia wouldn’t have minded the display of childish emotion, regardless of her age; she found it almost relieving, honestly, that she could still show those kinds of things after nearly having them beaten out of her by Jail and the Numbers, then being forced to repress them again as a result of becoming an agent of the Naval Special Intelligence Service, one of the few who willingly claimed the title of Shadow.
So, normally, Lutecia wouldn’t have been so bothered by her quick flash of stubbornness over things out of her control… only, when it concerned a badly twisted and currently throbbing ankle, it was almost impossible to ignore the fact that she’d swallowed her pain out of idiotic pride.
Granted, she could just as easily said she’d kept quiet because her teammates had been badly hurt by comparison; a twisted ankle, no matter how badly twisted it was, barely compared to a deep side wound and a broken shoulder. So on one hand, she could easily say she’d refused treatment out of worry for her teammates; but at her core, it was really the fact that she was a damned Shadow and as a Shadow, an injury as minor as a twisted ankle shouldn’t have bothered her.
Grimacing, Lutecia shook her head and took a deep drink from her cherry Coke, resisting the urge to lean down and rub her aching foot. She was sitting outside, enjoying the warm weather (or trying to), lounging on the steps outside the library. After the mission she’d been dismissed, and as a result had more free time than she knew what to do with. Normally, she would have swallowed her pride by now and gone in for treatment, but she didn’t look forward to the fact that Shamal would lecture her mercilessly for keeping quiet about an injury, no matter how miniscule.
And honestly, Lutecia didn’t think she could even stand up right now.
Deciding to test the theory, the summoner took a deep breath and set down her can before she stood, moving gingerly on her feet. At first it was promising, and feeling her confidence return a bit, she took a few tentative steps.
Bad idea.
The flash of pain was hot, sharp, and nearly blinding in its intensity; as she cursed and wobbled, dropping back down to the stairs with a whimper, it crossed the purple-haired woman’s mind that quite possibly, her injury was worse than she’d initially thought.
Not like it matters, she mused with a pained sigh, finally giving in and rubbing the swollen flesh softly as she picked up her cherry Coke and took another deep, long drink. I can barely stand as it is. She just hoped nobody she knew saw her like this; it would sting.
“Cia?”
… Dammit.
Lowering her can, Lutecia’s red eyes met the green-and-red combination of Takamachi Vivio’s. Praying there was no pain in her gaze, the older woman swallowed slightly and smiled, genuinely happy to see her girlfriend despite her condition. “Hey, Vivio,” she said in greeting. “What are you doing here? It’s getting late.”
Vivio frowned, lightly crossing her arms over her chest. “I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be home by now?”
Damn, Vivio knew her schedule too well. “Um,” the older woman replied intelligently, blinking. “I was just…. That is….”
Vivio lifted a brow and waited. Lutecia let every excuse and lie she could think of run through her head, but none of them held any weight; a new and frustrating change for someone who’s job specialty was lying. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t think of a lie, it was more that she couldn’t make herself lie.
Oh, hell, I’ve been stubborn about it this far, I can only keep pushing it so hard. “I can’t get up,” she muttered.
At that, the younger girl blinked. “Can’t get up?”
Lutecia’s face flamed. “I got hurt on my last mission. It’s worse than I thought.” She gestured to her ankle. “I can’t get up.”
Vivio frowned. “Why didn’t you go see Aunt Shamal?”
… Double dammit. “I didn’t think it was important at the time.” It was hard for Lutecia to feel ashamed of herself, but Vivio had a good track record of prompting the feeling from her.
There was a long moment of silence as Vivio pondered this; Lutecia had to resist the urge to wince, knowing that she’d sounded amazingly childlike and stubborn “Anyway,” she continued, trying to ignore her returning blush, “you should head home, it’s getting late. If I give it time, the pain won’t be too bad—“
The next instant she yelped as she was, with amazing ease, swept up into Vivio’s arms; she squirmed and blushed, her arms naturally coming around the taller girl’s neck to steady herself. “V-Vivio?” she squeaked, her face so red it could pass for a traffic light.
“Relax, I’ve got you.” Despite being younger by four years, Vivio’s recent growth spurt and body build gave her a physical advantage over her girlfriend, one she was currently enjoying very much right now. “I’ll take you in to get your injury treated, then I’ll bring you home. It’s a shorter walk.”
“U-um… you don’t have to…” At the look the younger girl gave her, Lutecia wilted. “Okay.”
Satisfied, Vivio tightened her hold on Lutecia and started to walk, humming softly—both to amuse herself and to soothe her girlfriend, the summoner imagined. With a sigh, shaking her head, Lutecia rested her head against Vivio’s chest and closed her eyes with a small smile. “You’re sweet, you know that?”
This time, Vivio was the one who blushed.
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
1. A fic request from Fuyu no Sora, who, while we were talking last night, mentioned that her sister liked my ViCia fluff and was amused that Vivio was taller than Lutecia. Hence, the birth of this short.
2. Originally I had Vivio actually giving Lutecia a piggyback ride, but somehow carrying her seems more... romantic. Yeah, I know, sue me, I'm a mush. It'd probably be easier to carry Cia piggyback anyway, but I couldn't get the situation set up for it, so I just had Vivio carry her.
Location: Place of rocks and trees, and trees and rocks...and water.
Age: 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by RadiantBeam
And more ViCia fluff, which has been lacking lately, from yours truly. Takes place right before "Shadow" goes down, so Vivio is seventeen and Lutecia is at least twenty-two.
Spoiler for A Matter of Pride:
At twenty-two years old, Lutecia Alphine was both smart and old enough to know when she was simply being childishly stubborn about something she couldn’t change. The moments were rare and far between, but she was still prone to them when she was in a mood; as Megane liked to say, “You still have a lot of growing up to do.”
Under any other circumstances, Lutecia wouldn’t have minded the display of childish emotion, regardless of her age; she found it almost relieving, honestly, that she could still show those kinds of things after nearly having them beaten out of her by Jail and the Numbers, then being forced to repress them again as a result of becoming an agent of the Naval Special Intelligence Service, one of the few who willingly claimed the title of Shadow.
So, normally, Lutecia wouldn’t have been so bothered by her quick flash of stubbornness over things out of her control… only, when it concerned a badly twisted and currently throbbing ankle, it was almost impossible to ignore the fact that she’d swallowed her pain out of idiotic pride.
Granted, she could just as easily said she’d kept quiet because her teammates had been badly hurt by comparison; a twisted ankle, no matter how badly twisted it was, barely compared to a deep side wound and a broken shoulder. So on one hand, she could easily say she’d refused treatment out of worry for her teammates; but at her core, it was really the fact that she was a damned Shadow and as a Shadow, an injury as minor as a twisted ankle shouldn’t have bothered her.
Grimacing, Lutecia shook her head and took a deep drink from her cherry Coke, resisting the urge to lean down and rub her aching foot. She was sitting outside, enjoying the warm weather (or trying to), lounging on the steps outside the library. After the mission she’d been dismissed, and as a result had more free time than she knew what to do with. Normally, she would have swallowed her pride by now and gone in for treatment, but she didn’t look forward to the fact that Shamal would lecture her mercilessly for keeping quiet about an injury, no matter how miniscule.
And honestly, Lutecia didn’t think she could even stand up right now.
Deciding to test the theory, the summoner took a deep breath and set down her can before she stood, moving gingerly on her feet. At first it was promising, and feeling her confidence return a bit, she took a few tentative steps.
Bad idea.
The flash of pain was hot, sharp, and nearly blinding in its intensity; as she cursed and wobbled, dropping back down to the stairs with a whimper, it crossed the purple-haired woman’s mind that quite possibly, her injury was worse than she’d initially thought.
Not like it matters, she mused with a pained sigh, finally giving in and rubbing the swollen flesh softly as she picked up her cherry Coke and took another deep, long drink. I can barely stand as it is. She just hoped nobody she knew saw her like this; it would sting.
“Cia?”
… Dammit.
Lowering her can, Lutecia’s red eyes met the green-and-red combination of Takamachi Vivio’s. Praying there was no pain in her gaze, the older woman swallowed slightly and smiled, genuinely happy to see her girlfriend despite her condition. “Hey, Vivio,” she said in greeting. “What are you doing here? It’s getting late.”
Vivio frowned, lightly crossing her arms over her chest. “I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be home by now?”
Damn, Vivio knew her schedule too well. “Um,” the older woman replied intelligently, blinking. “I was just…. That is….”
Vivio lifted a brow and waited. Lutecia let every excuse and lie she could think of run through her head, but none of them held any weight; a new and frustrating change for someone who’s job specialty was lying. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t think of a lie, it was more that she couldn’t make herself lie.
Oh, hell, I’ve been stubborn about it this far, I can only keep pushing it so hard. “I can’t get up,” she muttered.
At that, the younger girl blinked. “Can’t get up?”
Lutecia’s face flamed. “I got hurt on my last mission. It’s worse than I thought.” She gestured to her ankle. “I can’t get up.”
Vivio frowned. “Why didn’t you go see Aunt Shamal?”
… Double dammit. “I didn’t think it was important at the time.” It was hard for Lutecia to feel ashamed of herself, but Vivio had a good track record of prompting the feeling from her.
There was a long moment of silence as Vivio pondered this; Lutecia had to resist the urge to wince, knowing that she’d sounded amazingly childlike and stubborn “Anyway,” she continued, trying to ignore her returning blush, “you should head home, it’s getting late. If I give it time, the pain won’t be too bad—“
The next instant she yelped as she was, with amazing ease, swept up into Vivio’s arms; she squirmed and blushed, her arms naturally coming around the taller girl’s neck to steady herself. “V-Vivio?” she squeaked, her face so red it could pass for a traffic light.
“Relax, I’ve got you.” Despite being younger by four years, Vivio’s recent growth spurt and body build gave her a physical advantage over her girlfriend, one she was currently enjoying very much right now. “I’ll take you in to get your injury treated, then I’ll bring you home. It’s a shorter walk.”
“U-um… you don’t have to…” At the look the younger girl gave her, Lutecia wilted. “Okay.”
Satisfied, Vivio tightened her hold on Lutecia and started to walk, humming softly—both to amuse herself and to soothe her girlfriend, the summoner imagined. With a sigh, shaking her head, Lutecia rested her head against Vivio’s chest and closed her eyes with a small smile. “You’re sweet, you know that?”
This time, Vivio was the one who blushed.
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
1. A fic request from Fuyu no Sora, who, while we were talking last night, mentioned that her sister liked my ViCia fluff and was amused that Vivio was taller than Lutecia. Hence, the birth of this short.
2. Originally I had Vivio actually giving Lutecia a piggyback ride, but somehow carrying her seems more... romantic. Yeah, I know, sue me, I'm a mush. It'd probably be easier to carry Cia piggyback anyway, but I couldn't get the situation set up for it, so I just had Vivio carry her.
How cute . At least Lutecia recognizes that she's being stubbornly childish, although she should be aware that she's the largest masochist to grace Nanoha fandom ... And I see Vivio's good at showing up where she's most needed!
And Vivio's bringing Lutecia home, eh?
Vivio: "Nanoha-mama, look at what I brought home! Can I keep her?"
As cute as a piggy-back ride would be, the carrying is definitely more romantic . Save the piggy-back ride for little!Lutecia and little!Vivio perhaps?
Thanks for the cute fluff . It was definitely sorely missed.
I'm working on it. Kills me when I have the plotbunny, but no other urge to actually write the damned thing out. x_x It bounces around my head and drives me insane.
Disclaimer: This is a parody work of Vivid by TheShinySword and Satashi.
Vividly is not meant to be taken internally, used as medication, or to treat nosebleeds.
Please stop consuming Vividly if you experience headaches from laughter, long moments wondering why the original wasn't this good, or if you start to agree with Nanoha.
Vividly is not meant to be taken by those who are pregnant or may become pregnant.
In case of emergency, please contact Shiny or Satashi during normal business hours.
And more ViCia fluff, which has been lacking lately, from yours truly. Takes place right before "Shadow" goes down, so Vivio is seventeen and Lutecia is at least twenty-two.
Spoiler for A Matter of Pride:
At twenty-two years old, Lutecia Alphine was both smart and old enough to know when she was simply being childishly stubborn about something she couldn’t change. The moments were rare and far between, but she was still prone to them when she was in a mood; as Megane liked to say, “You still have a lot of growing up to do.”
Under any other circumstances, Lutecia wouldn’t have minded the display of childish emotion, regardless of her age; she found it almost relieving, honestly, that she could still show those kinds of things after nearly having them beaten out of her by Jail and the Numbers, then being forced to repress them again as a result of becoming an agent of the Naval Special Intelligence Service, one of the few who willingly claimed the title of Shadow.
So, normally, Lutecia wouldn’t have been so bothered by her quick flash of stubbornness over things out of her control… only, when it concerned a badly twisted and currently throbbing ankle, it was almost impossible to ignore the fact that she’d swallowed her pain out of idiotic pride.
Granted, she could just as easily said she’d kept quiet because her teammates had been badly hurt by comparison; a twisted ankle, no matter how badly twisted it was, barely compared to a deep side wound and a broken shoulder. So on one hand, she could easily say she’d refused treatment out of worry for her teammates; but at her core, it was really the fact that she was a damned Shadow and as a Shadow, an injury as minor as a twisted ankle shouldn’t have bothered her.
Grimacing, Lutecia shook her head and took a deep drink from her cherry Coke, resisting the urge to lean down and rub her aching foot. She was sitting outside, enjoying the warm weather (or trying to), lounging on the steps outside the library. After the mission she’d been dismissed, and as a result had more free time than she knew what to do with. Normally, she would have swallowed her pride by now and gone in for treatment, but she didn’t look forward to the fact that Shamal would lecture her mercilessly for keeping quiet about an injury, no matter how miniscule.
And honestly, Lutecia didn’t think she could even stand up right now.
Deciding to test the theory, the summoner took a deep breath and set down her can before she stood, moving gingerly on her feet. At first it was promising, and feeling her confidence return a bit, she took a few tentative steps.
Bad idea.
The flash of pain was hot, sharp, and nearly blinding in its intensity; as she cursed and wobbled, dropping back down to the stairs with a whimper, it crossed the purple-haired woman’s mind that quite possibly, her injury was worse than she’d initially thought.
Not like it matters, she mused with a pained sigh, finally giving in and rubbing the swollen flesh softly as she picked up her cherry Coke and took another deep, long drink. I can barely stand as it is. She just hoped nobody she knew saw her like this; it would sting.
“Cia?”
… Dammit.
Lowering her can, Lutecia’s red eyes met the green-and-red combination of Takamachi Vivio’s. Praying there was no pain in her gaze, the older woman swallowed slightly and smiled, genuinely happy to see her girlfriend despite her condition. “Hey, Vivio,” she said in greeting. “What are you doing here? It’s getting late.”
Vivio frowned, lightly crossing her arms over her chest. “I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be home by now?”
Damn, Vivio knew her schedule too well. “Um,” the older woman replied intelligently, blinking. “I was just…. That is….”
Vivio lifted a brow and waited. Lutecia let every excuse and lie she could think of run through her head, but none of them held any weight; a new and frustrating change for someone who’s job specialty was lying. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t think of a lie, it was more that she couldn’t make herself lie.
Oh, hell, I’ve been stubborn about it this far, I can only keep pushing it so hard. “I can’t get up,” she muttered.
At that, the younger girl blinked. “Can’t get up?”
Lutecia’s face flamed. “I got hurt on my last mission. It’s worse than I thought.” She gestured to her ankle. “I can’t get up.”
Vivio frowned. “Why didn’t you go see Aunt Shamal?”
… Double dammit. “I didn’t think it was important at the time.” It was hard for Lutecia to feel ashamed of herself, but Vivio had a good track record of prompting the feeling from her.
There was a long moment of silence as Vivio pondered this; Lutecia had to resist the urge to wince, knowing that she’d sounded amazingly childlike and stubborn “Anyway,” she continued, trying to ignore her returning blush, “you should head home, it’s getting late. If I give it time, the pain won’t be too bad—“
The next instant she yelped as she was, with amazing ease, swept up into Vivio’s arms; she squirmed and blushed, her arms naturally coming around the taller girl’s neck to steady herself. “V-Vivio?” she squeaked, her face so red it could pass for a traffic light.
“Relax, I’ve got you.” Despite being younger by four years, Vivio’s recent growth spurt and body build gave her a physical advantage over her girlfriend, one she was currently enjoying very much right now. “I’ll take you in to get your injury treated, then I’ll bring you home. It’s a shorter walk.”
“U-um… you don’t have to…” At the look the younger girl gave her, Lutecia wilted. “Okay.”
Satisfied, Vivio tightened her hold on Lutecia and started to walk, humming softly—both to amuse herself and to soothe her girlfriend, the summoner imagined. With a sigh, shaking her head, Lutecia rested her head against Vivio’s chest and closed her eyes with a small smile. “You’re sweet, you know that?”
This time, Vivio was the one who blushed.
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
1. A fic request from Fuyu no Sora, who, while we were talking last night, mentioned that her sister liked my ViCia fluff and was amused that Vivio was taller than Lutecia. Hence, the birth of this short.
2. Originally I had Vivio actually giving Lutecia a piggyback ride, but somehow carrying her seems more... romantic. Yeah, I know, sue me, I'm a mush. It'd probably be easier to carry Cia piggyback anyway, but I couldn't get the situation set up for it, so I just had Vivio carry her.
Disclaimer: This is a parody work of Vivid by TheShinySword and Satashi.
Vividly is not meant to be taken internally, used as medication, or to treat nosebleeds.
Please stop consuming Vividly if you experience headaches from laughter, long moments wondering why the original wasn't this good, or if you start to agree with Nanoha.
Vividly is not meant to be taken by those who are pregnant or may become pregnant.
In case of emergency, please contact Shiny or Satashi during normal business hours.
And more ViCia fluff, which has been lacking lately, from yours truly. Takes place right before "Shadow" goes down, so Vivio is seventeen and Lutecia is at least twenty-one.
Spoiler for A Matter of Pride:
At twenty-one years old, Lutecia Alphine was both smart and old enough to know when she was simply being childishly stubborn about something she couldn’t change. The moments were rare and far between, but she was still prone to them when she was in a mood; as Megane liked to say, “You still have a lot of growing up to do.”
Under any other circumstances, Lutecia wouldn’t have minded the display of childish emotion, regardless of her age; she found it almost relieving, honestly, that she could still show those kinds of things after nearly having them beaten out of her by Jail and the Numbers, then being forced to repress them again as a result of becoming an agent of the Naval Special Intelligence Service, one of the few who willingly claimed the title of Shadow.
So, normally, Lutecia wouldn’t have been so bothered by her quick flash of stubbornness over things out of her control… only, when it concerned a badly twisted and currently throbbing ankle, it was almost impossible to ignore the fact that she’d swallowed her pain out of idiotic pride.
Granted, she could just as easily said she’d kept quiet because her teammates had been badly hurt by comparison; a twisted ankle, no matter how badly twisted it was, barely compared to a deep side wound and a broken shoulder. So on one hand, she could easily say she’d refused treatment out of worry for her teammates; but at her core, it was really the fact that she was a damned Shadow and as a Shadow, an injury as minor as a twisted ankle shouldn’t have bothered her.
Grimacing, Lutecia shook her head and took a deep drink from her cherry Coke, resisting the urge to lean down and rub her aching foot. She was sitting outside, enjoying the warm weather (or trying to), lounging on the steps outside the library. After the mission she’d been dismissed, and as a result had more free time than she knew what to do with. Normally, she would have swallowed her pride by now and gone in for treatment, but she didn’t look forward to the fact that Shamal would lecture her mercilessly for keeping quiet about an injury, no matter how miniscule.
And honestly, Lutecia didn’t think she could even stand up right now.
Deciding to test the theory, the summoner took a deep breath and set down her can before she stood, moving gingerly on her feet. At first it was promising, and feeling her confidence return a bit, she took a few tentative steps.
Bad idea.
The flash of pain was hot, sharp, and nearly blinding in its intensity; as she cursed and wobbled, dropping back down to the stairs with a whimper, it crossed the purple-haired woman’s mind that quite possibly, her injury was worse than she’d initially thought.
Not like it matters, she mused with a pained sigh, finally giving in and rubbing the swollen flesh softly as she picked up her cherry Coke and took another deep, long drink. I can barely stand as it is. She just hoped nobody she knew saw her like this; it would sting.
“Cia?”
… Dammit.
Lowering her can, Lutecia’s red eyes met the green-and-red combination of Takamachi Vivio’s. Praying there was no pain in her gaze, the older woman swallowed slightly and smiled, genuinely happy to see her girlfriend despite her condition. “Hey, Vivio,” she said in greeting. “What are you doing here? It’s getting late.”
Vivio frowned, lightly crossing her arms over her chest. “I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be home by now?”
Damn, Vivio knew her schedule too well. “Um,” the older woman replied intelligently, blinking. “I was just…. That is….”
Vivio lifted a brow and waited. Lutecia let every excuse and lie she could think of run through her head, but none of them held any weight; a new and frustrating change for someone who’s job specialty was lying. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t think of a lie, it was more that she couldn’t make herself lie.
Oh, hell, I’ve been stubborn about it this far, I can only keep pushing it so hard. “I can’t get up,” she muttered.
At that, the younger girl blinked. “Can’t get up?”
Lutecia’s face flamed. “I got hurt on my last mission. It’s worse than I thought.” She gestured to her ankle. “I can’t get up.”
Vivio frowned. “Why didn’t you go see Aunt Shamal?”
… Double dammit. “I didn’t think it was important at the time.” It was hard for Lutecia to feel ashamed of herself, but Vivio had a good track record of prompting the feeling from her.
There was a long moment of silence as Vivio pondered this; Lutecia had to resist the urge to wince, knowing that she’d sounded amazingly childlike and stubborn “Anyway,” she continued, trying to ignore her returning blush, “you should head home, it’s getting late. If I give it time, the pain won’t be too bad—“
The next instant she yelped as she was, with amazing ease, swept up into Vivio’s arms; she squirmed and blushed, her arms naturally coming around the taller girl’s neck to steady herself. “V-Vivio?” she squeaked, her face so red it could pass for a traffic light.
“Relax, I’ve got you.” Despite being younger by four years, Vivio’s recent growth spurt and body build gave her a physical advantage over her girlfriend, one she was currently enjoying very much right now. “I’ll take you in to get your injury treated, then I’ll bring you home. It’s a shorter walk.”
“U-um… you don’t have to…” At the look the younger girl gave her, Lutecia wilted. “Okay.”
Satisfied, Vivio tightened her hold on Lutecia and started to walk, humming softly—both to amuse herself and to soothe her girlfriend, the summoner imagined. With a sigh, shaking her head, Lutecia rested her head against Vivio’s chest and closed her eyes with a small smile. “You’re sweet, you know that?”
This time, Vivio was the one who blushed.
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
1. A fic request from Fuyu no Sora, who, while we were talking last night, mentioned that her sister liked my ViCia fluff and was amused that Vivio was taller than Lutecia. Hence, the birth of this short.
2. Originally I had Vivio actually giving Lutecia a piggyback ride, but somehow carrying her seems more... romantic. Yeah, I know, sue me, I'm a mush. It'd probably be easier to carry Cia piggyback anyway, but I couldn't get the situation set up for it, so I just had Vivio carry her.
Disclaimer: This is a parody work of Vivid by TheShinySword and Satashi.
Vividly is not meant to be taken internally, used as medication, or to treat nosebleeds.
Please stop consuming Vividly if you experience headaches from laughter, long moments wondering why the original wasn't this good, or if you start to agree with Nanoha.
Vividly is not meant to be taken by those who are pregnant or may become pregnant.
In case of emergency, please contact Shiny or Satashi during normal business hours.
With chapter 1 done and edited, I now give you chapter 2. Again, I need opinions so I can edit it before posting up on FF.net. Thank you.
Spoiler for Chapter 2 (draft):
Chapter 2: Ancients
“Are you serious on insisting us to dig in this kind of weather? The ion storm may last for another one hour or so and already we’ve lost two men,” a man with a scarf wrapped around his face said.
“We have orders to do so and we have a deadline to meet. So, stow your bellyaching and get moving. The excavation team is already ahead of us and are waiting for our arrival so hurry up,” his partner in camo fatigues said.
The dust storm coupled with ion storm made it hard for two men to travel on foot. Ever since they lost their truck, they had to walk to the excavation site. Using only a handheld sensor array, they quickly headed to the site before any lightning bolts could strike them. They had a few close calls and barely escaped with their lives.
“This is total madness. I can’t believe I signed up for this shit job,” the first man muttered.
“Our job will be easier if you just shut up for once. We’re getting paid for doing the job so be thankful that you’re earning something,” the second man snapped.
The site wasn’t far and the two men reached the site safely. The excavation team had already set up storm shields so they were safe…until the shield wears away that is.
“You lost your truck eh. I was wondering how you even survive the explosion,” a tall man said.
“It seems like the Storm King has decided to spare my ass. How’s the excavation going on?” the man asked.
“We’ve just started assembling the excavation equipment. But I have some concerns though. Are you certain that this is the place? We’re in the middle of a damn desert and I can see no ruins of some so-called ancient race,” the tall man said with concern.
“According to the boss, it should be right here. If you’re not sure, get some seismic readings,” the man said.
Suddenly, there were three loud explosions.
“Already done, Altair,” the tall man said.
Moments later, a geologist approached them with some readings printed on a piece of paper. To the two, they were nothing but charts, graphs and numbers.
“Good news, gentlemen, it seems like the boss’s predictions were right on track. According to the readings, it is very uneven and it suggests the presence of a structure beneath us,” the geologist said.
“Hell yeah, that’s our pay down there. We give the boss what he wants; he’ll pay us for our services. Start digging now,” Altair commanded.
He noticed two trucks with deployable sensor towers nearby and Altair knew he did not bring along mobile sensor arrays. He turned to the tall man and pointed at the two trucks.
“Jacques, where did those two MSAs come from? I did not give the order to bring those two along,” Altair said.
“I know but I did. You’ll never know what’s lurking around the corner,” Jacques answered.
Altair found it suspicious but he kept his concerns to himself. The excavation work began and the loud sounds of drilling and digging blocked out the sound of the ion storm. The digging work was excruciatingly slow and three hours went by the clock with the team digging to a depth of one hundred meters only.
Turning to the geologist, Altair asked, “How far do we have to dig?”
The geologist consulted his readings and looked at Altair. “We have another fifty meters to go.”
Altair shook his head impatiently and paced up and down in his tent. He could not access the Global Net nor listen to the radio because of the ionic interference in the atmosphere. The only thing he could do to keep himself entertained was to read a book. The storm lasted longer than predicted. It was close to evening and the storm showed no signs of stopping. Altair was about to doze off when Jacques came into his tent and woke him up.
“Altair, come look at this.”
The black-haired man exited his tent to find a large hole where the excavation machine was supposed to be. The others looked surprised and they were staring down the hole.
“What happened to the machine?” Altair asked.
“I think we hit soft ground. The machine just sunk into the hole and fell. I’m not sure how deep the hole is though,” someone answered.
“Then go find us a ladder or something. Stop wasting time by staring at the hole,” Altair growled.
They used one hundred connectable ladders just to reach the bottom with a total height of two hundred meters. One by one, the team climbed down the ladder and into the hole even though none of them knew what to expect.
“It’s a good thing we brought along more than enough connectable ladders. Jacques, you stay here and keep an eye out for those coming from Southern Cross. Do not let them meddle in our findings. Go stealth if you see them,” Altair said.
“Yes sir.”
Altair took a pistol and holstered it before going down the hole. Instead of climbing down rung by rung, Altair slid down and hit the bottom a few minutes later, his hands felt like they were on fire despite wearing gloves. He looked up and saw a hole in what looked like a ceiling fifty meters above the ground he was standing on.
“Set up the lights now,” Altair ordered.
His team set up generators and lamps that emit very bright light. They shone brightly and everything before him was illuminated. They were in a circular chamber with a dome-shaped ceiling and two large hallways were located to the left and right of his team’s position. Much of the wall paintings have faded and many artifacts were broken but that was not what he and his team came here for.
“I’m going to divide us into two teams. Team A, you’re with me and we’ll take the hallway on the left. Team B, you’re with Grumman and you guys will take the right hallway. Synchronize our watches and meet back here in three hours. Find the objective and bug out,” said Altair.
Nanoha felt something heavy in her stomach as she descended into Jericho’s atmosphere. The blackness of space turned yellow as her dropship broke the cloud layers of Jericho at three times the speed of sound. The turbulence shook her teeth and she closed her eyes while hanging on tight to her seat.
“We’ve come all the way to a wasteland just so we can do some peacekeeping work? I can’t believe people would actually live in such a planet the Belkans owned long ago,” she heard someone say.
“It used to be a paradise planet until pollution overcame the natural balance. Seriously though, I think that Jericho should be abandoned for people’s sake,” another mage said.
“Tell that to the citizens of Jericho. They refuse to leave and we can’t do shit about it,” the first mage muttered.
Nanoha was thankful that the ride was a safe one despite the turbulence and storms. The dropship was specially equipped with particle emitters that emit charged particles to form a sort of shield around the craft that slows down the high speed ions raging around the atmosphere. It knocked out several equipments but the shield managed to keep the dropship working. Nanoha disembarked and was greeted by a strong smell of atmosphere even though she was wearing a mask with air filters filtrating ninety percent of the outside air. Two masked guards were there to greet the mages.
“You’re Captain Takamachi, right?” a guard asked when he saw her. “General Camry is expecting you. Leave your luggage with the other guards and they’ll have it sent to your room. Follow me.”
General Camry was the commanding officer of the Southern Cross and other TSAB outposts on Jericho. He was a well-built man in his early fifties and having worked on Jericho for twenty years, Camry knew the place like the back of his hand.
“Sir, the ion storm is clearing. Attempting to establish contact with the flagship Halcyon,” a communications officer said.
“Accessing…” a female computer voice sounded. “Unable to establish contact with Halcyon. Rerouting signal…connection failed. Particle activity in the lower atmosphere is too strong. Unable to connect with Halcyon until particle activity has been reduced to ten percent.”
“Damn,” Camry muttered. “It looks like we’re still in command. How’s the evacuation work going on?”
“Air transport is currently unavailable and twenty APCs are working around the clock to relocate the refugees to other cities,” the communications officer announced.
“I thought we only had nineteen APCs. Who’s the extra one?”
“I’m not sure but it looks like a local-made APC and it’s heavily modified. According to its I.D tag, it’s from Outpost 7. Isn’t that the outpost where Vice was stationed?”
“Yes, so it seems. I wonder if his helicopter has been destroyed by the storm.”
“How can you be sure that the driver is Vice?”
“By the way he drives. Vice isn’t a vehicle driver and from what I can see, he’s driving style is absolutely flawed,” Camry said while watching a video of Vice’s APC crashing into a lamppost.
“At least he’s doing his job. Twenty APCs alone aren’t enough to relocate all evacuees. We need more transport vehicles,” the communications officer remarked.
Camry looked out the window of his command tower and smiled when he saw the dropships. Pointing at the dropships, he said, “We can always borrow the dropships for a while. Hail the empty dropships and tell them I need their help.”
After saying that, the door to the command tower opened and Nanoha entered. Camry turned around to look at the brunette-haired mage.
“The Ace of Aces graces us with her presence. Welcome to Jericho, Nanoha. Your stay will not be pleasant but it’s not a holiday trip. Don’t worry, I heard that you’ll only be here for seven months. It’ll be over before you know it. Please, have a seat,” Camry said and gestured her to sit on an empty chair next to the communications panel.
Nanoha obliged and took a seat. Southern Cross’s command center did not look very impressive compared to main branch at Mid-Childa. It was too small and the daily maintenance of appearance seems neglected too. The command center had a musty smell and Nanoha wondered how the other officers stood it.
“I’m just curious but what are you doing here anyway? You’re a trainer and I don’t have any trainees for you to train,” Camry said.
“You weren’t told sir? I’m only here to do peacekeeping missions besides training the trainees. Peacekeeping mission isn’t part of my job but due to shortage of manpower, I was told to act as temporary peacekeeper until things at Jericho have truly calmed,” Nanoha explained.
“Things on Jericho are as calm as they can get. Well, since you’re here, I may as well keep you busy along with all the other mages. Jericho City is in ruins and there are people still trapped there. Go with a search-and-rescue team and get busy,” Camry said casually.
Nanoha obliged though she felt it was rather…superfluous for her to be there. It does seem like the TSAB transferred too many mages to establish a presence on Jericho and she wondered if all this was part of the TSAB’s plan to make the citizens of Jericho think that the TSAB has not truly abandoned them. It could be a genuine concern or it could just be a farce and when the people have trusted the TSAB enough, the forces will pull out, leaving a handful of TSAB enforcers and mages behind. It would be tantamount to the betrayal of trust but then again, the TSAB was always shorthanded and they could not spare mages to other worlds.
“It’s pointless to be here, damn it. The rebellion is already over and the rebels should’ve surrendered by now. All we have here are refugees that need relocating and I’m not even paid to do charity work. What the hell is the TSAB thinking anyway? We can’t just prevent another rebellion by showing our faces here,” a disgruntled mage said to his friend as they walked past Nanoha.
Nanoha had to agree with them though. What they said coincided with her thoughts but she wasn’t someone who disobeyed orders. Grabbing a sack of supplies, she met up with the search-and-rescue team she was assigned to. Standing near an armored car with the number 67 marked on the door were three mages. Two of them were females and one was a male.
“Nanoha Takamachi, the Ace of Aces herself. I’m surprised that the main branch decided to send in one of their best units to Jericho. Must be for propaganda reasons I guess,” a mage joked when she saw Nanoha.
“Camry told us that you’re assigned to our team. It’s a good thing because we’re short of one man. Apparently, that guy had food poisoning last night and we just couldn’t find a replacement,” another mage said
“I guess I can keep busy that way. What’s our job?” Nanoha asked with a smile.
“Ah, an enthusiast I see? Our job is rather simple, Captain Takamachi. We’re heading off to Jericho City to find survivors and anyone who’s left behind in the city. They need proper shelter and living outside is not a safe thing to do when you’re in a storm-ridden planet. We have two hours to search for them before returning to base. Keep in mind that Jericho City is just as big as Cranagan and it has took us a very long time to cover half the city. By now, we’ve searched around sixty percent of the city,” the male mage answered.
“Don’t worry ma’am, when you’re with us, nothing will go wrong,” the blonde-haired female mage said.
One of them opened the car door and gestured Nanoha to enter. “After you, ma’am.”
Back at the underground ruins thirty miles West of Southern Cross, Altair’s team found a chamber that housed all sorts of creatures ranging from giant insectoids with humanoid bodies to bony-looking creatures with a long tongue. The chamber itself looked like a biological research chamber of a civilization past and Altair assumed that the Belkans built the place. Though they were hundreds of years old, the stasis tubes that housed the creatures were still working and the creatures in there remained in an eternal slumber, never aging and never decaying.
“Boys, I think we’ve hit the jackpot. Quickly, search for Sample-0012,” Altair said to his team.
Every creature in the tubes had codes such as Xeno-552 and Zurg-221 (homage to Starcraft) but none of the tubes had Sample-0012 written on it.
“Grumman, how is it at your side?” Altair asked his comrade via CommLink.
“There is a bioresearch chamber here. We’re currently searching for this Sample-0012 but so far, we have no luck yet. Is Sample even a type of creature?” Grumman asked.
“I don’t think it’s a creature. Keep searching for anything marked as Sample-0012,” Altair replied.
The two teams searched high and low for the objective but they found nothing. Then, one man discovered a gigantic metal vault with Belkan inscriptions embossed on the vault door. Above the vault door was a metal plate with the words ‘Sample-0012’ written on it.
“Sir, I’ve found it!” the man called out to his leader.
Altair came running towards the vault located a corner next to a large tube containing an alien creature. Altair examined the vault and nodded his head.
“Grumman, converge on my position now. We’ve found our objective,” Altair said. “Alright, bring down the door!”
His men planted explosive on the vault door and detonated them. However, the Belkan-made vault was so hard that only cracks appeared and even that did not weaken the door. Altair cursed something in his native language and shot at the control panel that kept the door shut. The bullets bounced of an invisible shield and ricocheted about dangerously.
“The Belkans even shielded the control panel. Damn them. Hackers, connect to the panel and find us the access code to open the vault,” Altair said.
Two hackers with Data Pads came forward and began hacking the system. It was also heavily guarded by unknown computer security software and the hackers were having a tough time circumventing the software.
“What the hell is taking you guys so long?” Altair asked impatiently.
“I’m sorry sir but the security system in this panel is far more advanced than the normal security systems we easily hacked. It seems like the Belkans were determined to keep something in there that they built a vault with super strong doors and equipped them with advanced security software,” one hacker said.
“I don’t wanna know. Just get that door open now!”
The hacker worked hard and half an hour later, they opened the door. However, a timer appeared on their Data Pads.
“We’ve got it open but it can hold for fifteen minutes only before the system kicks in and shut the doors. Hurry!” the hacker said.
Altair and a few men entered the dark vault slowly. Its interior was larger than it looks and there were dozens of test tubes containing a species of alien not found outside of the vault. The vault was extremely well-kept and the floor was quite clean despite being there for hundreds of years.
“Check out the freak shows. I’ve never seen such a creature before,” someone said and tapped the glass of a test tube.
“We should gather any documents or data regarding this creature as well. The boss will give us a bonus if we find it,” Altair said.
As soon as they reached near the end of the vault, the lights turned on they saw on top a pedestal, a small boiling tube with greenish-red liquid was being held by a metal claw. The holographic words ‘Sample-0012’ hovered above the boiling tube.
“The boss sent us all the way here to retrieve that stupid tube of apple juice? I can’t believe it,” a disgruntled man muttered.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s pay day for us anyway,” Altair said.
He found some documents beneath the boiling tube and took them. He then reached for the boiling tube but the claw held it so tightly that the tube refused to budge.
“Can someone saw that claw off? It’s getting in the way,” Altair said angrily.
One of his men took a saw and sawed the claw off. Just as Altair took the boiling tube, a computerized female voice sounded.
“Intruder alert, intruder alert. Vault door will now close. Auto-purge activated. All personal near the vault, please evacuate.”
Altair knew it meant trouble and he ran towards the closing vault door. He cleared the door but those who followed him in were not so lucky. The door slammed shut and a few seconds later, he heard the sounds of a dozen flamethrowers activating and the sounds of his men being burnt to death.
“The Belkans are determined to keep some things a secret. This must be something top
secret to them,” Altair muttered and looked at the tube of green-red liquid.
Looking at his men, he told them to return to the meeting point. Upon reaching the ladder, they saw that Grumman was alone.
“Sir, what happened to your men?” someone asked.
Grumman smiled and shot at the man who asked him the question. Altair’s eyes widened and he reached for his firearm while ordering his men to shoot Grumman but he shot them before they could land a shot on him. Altair was shot in the head and he died on the spot. Grumman came to Altair’s body and took his backpack containing the documents and Sample-0012.
“You’ve been a useful mercenary, Altair, but it seems like your services are no longer needed. No hard feelings eh,” Grumman said with a smile.
The muscular man climbed up the ladder and was greeted by Jacques and a couple of gun-wielding soldiers in full stealth suits.
“Have you got it?” Jacques asked.
“Like taking candy from an idiot. The boss will be pleased,” Grumman said and threw the backpack towards Jacques.
“Pleased indeed. It does seem like Altair lived up to his name as the best mercenary but who needs mercenaries when we have this,” Jacques said and retrieved the boiling tube from the bag.
“Just out of curiosity, what is this greenish-red liquid anyway? Why is it so significant?” Grumman asked.
“I’d be in his position if I knew. Whatever this tube of goo is, I bet it’s pretty important. Come, we better leave here before the damned TSAB find out that someone’s been here. Leave no evidence,” Jacques ordered.
While the team was underground, the stealth units rigged the ceiling with explosives strong enough to bring the dome down. When they were far enough, the bombs detonated and a big crater formed where the dome used to be, burying all evidences that someone was there.
***
“Come in,” Hayate called out when she heard someone knock on her office door.
Signum came in with a written report in her hand. Hayate was too busy to thank her and she just took the report from Signum without looking up to look at her. She was busy with some paperwork and it does seem like she had a pile of them on her desk.
“Certain worlds are requisitioning for the presence of marines and since you’re in charge of the Marine forces, the TSAB branches have sent you some letters to confirm the transfer of marines,” Signum said.
“Tell them that permission is denied. We don’t have enough marines to fill up every world so find them an alternative or something,” Hayate said.
“They’re insisting on marines,” Signum answered.
“Since when are you my secretary? Look, just send them a couple of mages if they are so damn paranoid about not having enough TSAB presence and a rebellion will start,” said an irate Hayate. “Damn rebellion incident. Because of those stupid rebels, I’ve been busier than I already am,” she muttered.
Signum knew that Hayate was in one of her bad moods since she was quite busy lately. Being a high ranking officer, she had to attend conferences, meetings and do a lot of paperwork and with new requests coming in everyday requesting for extra units, particularly marines since they were veterans, it must be hard for her to cope with the pressure.
“If they won’t listen, tell them that the marines are under my jurisdiction and I have the final say on whether I will send marines or not. Right now, most of my marines are on Jericho, Talmir and Helion so tell those other planets to wait or accept normal mages. I have just about enough of their stubbornness,” Hayate added.
“Shouldn’t you tell your secretary to do that? I’m only here to deliver the report and notifications since I stumbled upon the officer who wanted to send you the report,” Signum said.
“Since you’re here and my secretary is having her lunch right now, you just give the officers my answer. That’s all,” Hayate said.
Signum obliged and left the office. Hayate wrote a few more words before putting down her pen and taking a deep breath and letting it out with a sigh. Things had been busy lately and every division in the TSAB was worked up. Disaster Relief teams and peacekeeping teams were sent to Jericho and other forgotten war-torn planets after the rebellion gave the TSAB a wakeup call. It occurred to them that someone may use the TSAB’s weak presence on certain planets to incite a rebellion. It worked and now, the TSAB is taking extra measures to ensure no rebellions will happen, especially on poorer worlds and less-established worlds. Hayate reached for her cup of stale coffee and drained it down. It tasted bitter as she did not bother to put sweetener into it.
“It’ll take a few months before things can calm down. I hope no one will take the chance to start another rebellion,” Hayate muttered.
She looked out the window of her office and watched the new trainees train. Nove was there to guide them after she agreed to replace Nanoha as the trainer for the time being.
“These new trainees don’t even look qualified. The TSAB is so desperate that they’re hiring anyone they can get their hands on,” she continued.
Without thinking of anything else, she leaned back on her chair and stretched lazily. It felt good and that gave her the extra attention she needed.
And more ViCia fluff, which has been lacking lately, from yours truly. Takes place right before "Shadow" goes down, so Vivio is seventeen and Lutecia is at least twenty-one.
Spoiler for A Matter of Pride:
*snip*
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
1. A fic request from Fuyu no Sora, who, while we were talking last night, mentioned that her sister liked my ViCia fluff and was amused that Vivio was taller than Lutecia. Hence, the birth of this short.
2. Originally I had Vivio actually giving Lutecia a piggyback ride, but somehow carrying her seems more... romantic. Yeah, I know, sue me, I'm a mush. It'd probably be easier to carry Cia piggyback anyway, but I couldn't get the situation set up for it, so I just had Vivio carry her.
Man, I spend a day away from the forums without logging in and this appears. I should take days off more often! I like the cute fluff, because Lutecia and Vivio being sweet together just is sweet, and it's always good to see how Vivio can read Lutecia like a book (which suggests that Cia skates close to the truth when talking to Vivio about mission experience, or alternatively just comes out with the complete truth: "I'm sorry; that's classified.")
There's also some interesting subtext going on here, though. When you consider how closely this story is placed before "Shadow" in the continuity, you can really see how Lutecia's mental state is starting to fragment. Not seeking medical attention--deliberately putting on a show of strength to her co-workers--really cuts against what the Shadows are supposed to be (the ultimate pragmatists rather than the "warrior's code-of-honor"/"pride of a badass macho dude" type); what a Shadow should be thinking is, "Of course I'll seek medical attention immediately, because an hour after 'immediately' I might be in combat. That Lutecia is allowing matters of pride to overcome her training, pride and a fear of showing weakness before her co-workers, suggests that she's feeling the separation between herself and the NSIS as a whole, that she's not really "one of them" any more in her own mind--as if, perhaps, the duality of her existence is eating into her "professional" side just as much as it eats into her "family/friends/girlfriend relationship" side. Verrrrry interesting...
With chapter 1 done and edited, I now give you chapter 2. Again, I need opinions so I can edit it before posting up on FF.net. Thank you.
Spoiler for Chapter 2 (draft):
Chapter 2: Ancients
“Are you serious on insisting us to dig in this kind of weather? The ion storm may last for another one hour or so and already we’ve lost two men,” a man with a scarf wrapped around his face said.
“We have orders to do so and we have a deadline to meet. So, stow your bellyaching and get moving. The excavation team is already ahead of us and are waiting for our arrival so hurry up,” his partner in camo fatigues said.
The dust storm coupled with ion storm made it hard for two men to travel on foot. Ever since they lost their truck, they had to walk to the excavation site. Using only a handheld sensor array, they quickly headed to the site before any lightning bolts could strike them. They had a few close calls and barely escaped with their lives.
“This is total madness. I can’t believe I signed up for this shit job,” the first man muttered.
“Our job will be easier if you just shut up for once. We’re getting paid for doing the job so be thankful that you’re earning something,” the second man snapped.
The site wasn’t far and the two men reached the site safely. The excavation team had already set up storm shields so they were safe…until the shield wears away that is.
“You lost your truck eh. I was wondering how you even survive the explosion,” a tall man said.
“It seems like the Storm King has decided to spare my ass. How’s the excavation going on?” the man asked.
“We’ve just started assembling the excavation equipment. But I have some concerns though. Are you certain that this is the place? We’re in the middle of a damn desert and I can see no ruins of some so-called ancient race,” the tall man said with concern.
“According to the boss, it should be right here. If you’re not sure, get some seismic readings,” the man said.
Suddenly, there were three loud explosions.
“Already done, Altair,” the tall man said.
Moments later, a geologist approached them with some readings printed on a piece of paper. To the two, they were nothing but charts, graphs and numbers.
“Good news, gentlemen, it seems like the boss’s predictions were right on track. According to the readings, it is very uneven and it suggests the presence of a structure beneath us,” the geologist said.
“Hell yeah, that’s our pay down there. We give the boss what he wants; he’ll pay us for our services. Start digging now,” Altair commanded.
He noticed two trucks with deployable sensor towers nearby and Altair knew he did not bring along mobile sensor arrays. He turned to the tall man and pointed at the two trucks.
“Jacques, where did those two MSAs come from? I did not give the order to bring those two along,” Altair said.
“I know but I did. You’ll never know what’s lurking around the corner,” Jacques answered.
Altair found it suspicious but he kept his concerns to himself. The excavation work began and the loud sounds of drilling and digging blocked out the sound of the ion storm. The digging work was excruciatingly slow and three hours went by the clock with the team digging to a depth of one hundred meters only.
Turning to the geologist, Altair asked, “How far do we have to dig?”
The geologist consulted his readings and looked at Altair. “We have another fifty meters to go.”
Altair shook his head impatiently and paced up and down in his tent. He could not access the Global Net nor listen to the radio because of the ionic interference in the atmosphere. The only thing he could do to keep himself entertained was to read a book. The storm lasted longer than predicted. It was close to evening and the storm showed no signs of stopping. Altair was about to doze off when Jacques came into his tent and woke him up.
“Altair, come look at this.”
The black-haired man exited his tent to find a large hole where the excavation machine was supposed to be. The others looked surprised and they were staring down the hole.
“What happened to the machine?” Altair asked.
“I think we hit soft ground. The machine just sunk into the hole and fell. I’m not sure how deep the hole is though,” someone answered.
“Then go find us a ladder or something. Stop wasting time by staring at the hole,” Altair growled.
They used one hundred connectable ladders just to reach the bottom with a total height of two hundred meters. One by one, the team climbed down the ladder and into the hole even though none of them knew what to expect.
“It’s a good thing we brought along more than enough connectable ladders. Jacques, you stay here and keep an eye out for those coming from Southern Cross. Do not let them meddle in our findings. Go stealth if you see them,” Altair said.
“Yes sir.”
Altair took a pistol and holstered it before going down the hole. Instead of climbing down rung by rung, Altair slid down and hit the bottom a few minutes later, his hands felt like they were on fire despite wearing gloves. He looked up and saw a hole in what looked like a ceiling fifty meters above the ground he was standing on.
“Set up the lights now,” Altair ordered.
His team set up generators and lamps that emit very bright light. They shone brightly and everything before him was illuminated. They were in a circular chamber with a dome-shaped ceiling and two large hallways were located to the left and right of his team’s position. Much of the wall paintings have faded and many artifacts were broken but that was not what he and his team came here for.
“I’m going to divide us into two teams. Team A, you’re with me and we’ll take the hallway on the left. Team B, you’re with Grumman and you guys will take the right hallway. Synchronize our watches and meet back here in three hours. Find the objective and bug out,” said Altair.
Nanoha felt something heavy in her stomach as she descended into Jericho’s atmosphere. The blackness of space turned yellow as her dropship broke the cloud layers of Jericho at three times the speed of sound. The turbulence shook her teeth and she closed her eyes while hanging on tight to her seat.
“We’ve come all the way to a wasteland just so we can do some peacekeeping work? I can’t believe people would actually live in such a planet the Belkans owned long ago,” she heard someone say.
“It used to be a paradise planet until pollution overcame the natural balance. Seriously though, I think that Jericho should be abandoned for people’s sake,” another mage said.
“Tell that to the citizens of Jericho. They refuse to leave and we can’t do shit about it,” the first mage muttered.
Nanoha was thankful that the ride was a safe one despite the turbulence and storms. The dropship was specially equipped with particle emitters that emit charged particles to form a sort of shield around the craft that slows down the high speed ions raging around the atmosphere. It knocked out several equipments but the shield managed to keep the dropship working. Nanoha disembarked and was greeted by a strong smell of atmosphere even though she was wearing a mask with air filters filtrating ninety percent of the outside air. Two masked guards were there to greet the mages.
“You’re Captain Takamachi, right?” a guard asked when he saw her. “General Camry is expecting you. Leave your luggage with the other guards and they’ll have it sent to your room. Follow me.”
General Camry was the commanding officer of the Southern Cross and other TSAB outposts on Jericho. He was a well-built man in his early fifties and having worked on Jericho for twenty years, Camry knew the place like the back of his hand.
“Sir, the ion storm is clearing. Attempting to establish contact with the flagship Halcyon,” a communications officer said.
“Accessing…” a female computer voice sounded. “Unable to establish contact with Halcyon. Rerouting signal…connection failed. Particle activity in the lower atmosphere is too strong. Unable to connect with Halcyon until particle activity has been reduced to ten percent.”
“Damn,” Camry muttered. “It looks like we’re still in command. How’s the evacuation work going on?”
“Air transport is currently unavailable and twenty APCs are working around the clock to relocate the refugees to other cities,” the communications officer announced.
“I thought we only had nineteen APCs. Who’s the extra one?”
“I’m not sure but it looks like a local-made APC and it’s heavily modified. According to its I.D tag, it’s from Outpost 7. Isn’t that the outpost where Vice was stationed?”
“Yes, so it seems. I wonder if his helicopter has been destroyed by the storm.”
“How can you be sure that the driver is Vice?”
“By the way he drives. Vice isn’t a vehicle driver and from what I can see, he’s driving style is absolutely flawed,” Camry said while watching a video of Vice’s APC crashing into a lamppost.
“At least he’s doing his job. Twenty APCs alone aren’t enough to relocate all evacuees. We need more transport vehicles,” the communications officer remarked.
Camry looked out the window of his command tower and smiled when he saw the dropships. Pointing at the dropships, he said, “We can always borrow the dropships for a while. Hail the empty dropships and tell them I need their help.”
After saying that, the door to the command tower opened and Nanoha entered. Camry turned around to look at the brunette-haired mage.
“The Ace of Aces graces us with her presence. Welcome to Jericho, Nanoha. Your stay will not be pleasant but it’s not a holiday trip. Don’t worry, I heard that you’ll only be here for seven months. It’ll be over before you know it. Please, have a seat,” Camry said and gestured her to sit on an empty chair next to the communications panel.
Nanoha obliged and took a seat. Southern Cross’s command center did not look very impressive compared to main branch at Mid-Childa. It was too small and the daily maintenance of appearance seems neglected too. The command center had a musty smell and Nanoha wondered how the other officers stood it.
“I’m just curious but what are you doing here anyway? You’re a trainer and I don’t have any trainees for you to train,” Camry said.
“You weren’t told sir? I’m only here to do peacekeeping missions besides training the trainees. Peacekeeping mission isn’t part of my job but due to shortage of manpower, I was told to act as temporary peacekeeper until things at Jericho have truly calmed,” Nanoha explained.
“Things on Jericho are as calm as they can get. Well, since you’re here, I may as well keep you busy along with all the other mages. Jericho City is in ruins and there are people still trapped there. Go with a search-and-rescue team and get busy,” Camry said casually.
Nanoha obliged though she felt it was rather…superfluous for her to be there. It does seem like the TSAB transferred too many mages to establish a presence on Jericho and she wondered if all this was part of the TSAB’s plan to make the citizens of Jericho think that the TSAB has not truly abandoned them. It could be a genuine concern or it could just be a farce and when the people have trusted the TSAB enough, the forces will pull out, leaving a handful of TSAB enforcers and mages behind. It would be tantamount to the betrayal of trust but then again, the TSAB was always shorthanded and they could not spare mages to other worlds.
“It’s pointless to be here, damn it. The rebellion is already over and the rebels should’ve surrendered by now. All we have here are refugees that need relocating and I’m not even paid to do charity work. What the hell is the TSAB thinking anyway? We can’t just prevent another rebellion by showing our faces here,” a disgruntled mage said to his friend as they walked past Nanoha.
Nanoha had to agree with them though. What they said coincided with her thoughts but she wasn’t someone who disobeyed orders. Grabbing a sack of supplies, she met up with the search-and-rescue team she was assigned to. Standing near an armored car with the number 67 marked on the door were three mages. Two of them were females and one was a male.
“Nanoha Takamachi, the Ace of Aces herself. I’m surprised that the main branch decided to send in one of their best units to Jericho. Must be for propaganda reasons I guess,” a mage joked when she saw Nanoha.
“Camry told us that you’re assigned to our team. It’s a good thing because we’re short of one man. Apparently, that guy had food poisoning last night and we just couldn’t find a replacement,” another mage said
“I guess I can keep busy that way. What’s our job?” Nanoha asked with a smile.
“Ah, an enthusiast I see? Our job is rather simple, Captain Takamachi. We’re heading off to Jericho City to find survivors and anyone who’s left behind in the city. They need proper shelter and living outside is not a safe thing to do when you’re in a storm-ridden planet. We have two hours to search for them before returning to base. Keep in mind that Jericho City is just as big as Cranagan and it has took us a very long time to cover half the city. By now, we’ve searched around sixty percent of the city,” the male mage answered.
“Don’t worry ma’am, when you’re with us, nothing will go wrong,” the blonde-haired female mage said.
One of them opened the car door and gestured Nanoha to enter. “After you, ma’am.”
Back at the underground ruins thirty miles West of Southern Cross, Altair’s team found a chamber that housed all sorts of creatures ranging from giant insectoids with humanoid bodies to bony-looking creatures with a long tongue. The chamber itself looked like a biological research chamber of a civilization past and Altair assumed that the Belkans built the place. Though they were hundreds of years old, the stasis tubes that housed the creatures were still working and the creatures in there remained in an eternal slumber, never aging and never decaying.
“Boys, I think we’ve hit the jackpot. Quickly, search for Sample-0012,” Altair said to his team.
Every creature in the tubes had codes such as Xeno-552 and Zurg-221 (homage to Starcraft) but none of the tubes had Sample-0012 written on it.
“Grumman, how is it at your side?” Altair asked his comrade via CommLink.
“There is a bioresearch chamber here. We’re currently searching for this Sample-0012 but so far, we have no luck yet. Is Sample even a type of creature?” Grumman asked.
“I don’t think it’s a creature. Keep searching for anything marked as Sample-0012,” Altair replied.
The two teams searched high and low for the objective but they found nothing. Then, one man discovered a gigantic metal vault with Belkan inscriptions embossed on the vault door. Above the vault door was a metal plate with the words ‘Sample-0012’ written on it.
“Sir, I’ve found it!” the man called out to his leader.
Altair came running towards the vault located a corner next to a large tube containing an alien creature. Altair examined the vault and nodded his head.
“Grumman, converge on my position now. We’ve found our objective,” Altair said. “Alright, bring down the door!”
His men planted explosive on the vault door and detonated them. However, the Belkan-made vault was so hard that only cracks appeared and even that did not weaken the door. Altair cursed something in his native language and shot at the control panel that kept the door shut. The bullets bounced of an invisible shield and ricocheted about dangerously.
“The Belkans even shielded the control panel. Damn them. Hackers, connect to the panel and find us the access code to open the vault,” Altair said.
Two hackers with Data Pads came forward and began hacking the system. It was also heavily guarded by unknown computer security software and the hackers were having a tough time circumventing the software.
“What the hell is taking you guys so long?” Altair asked impatiently.
“I’m sorry sir but the security system in this panel is far more advanced than the normal security systems we easily hacked. It seems like the Belkans were determined to keep something in there that they built a vault with super strong doors and equipped them with advanced security software,” one hacker said.
“I don’t wanna know. Just get that door open now!”
The hacker worked hard and half an hour later, they opened the door. However, a timer appeared on their Data Pads.
“We’ve got it open but it can hold for fifteen minutes only before the system kicks in and shut the doors. Hurry!” the hacker said.
Altair and a few men entered the dark vault slowly. Its interior was larger than it looks and there were dozens of test tubes containing a species of alien not found outside of the vault. The vault was extremely well-kept and the floor was quite clean despite being there for hundreds of years.
“Check out the freak shows. I’ve never seen such a creature before,” someone said and tapped the glass of a test tube.
“We should gather any documents or data regarding this creature as well. The boss will give us a bonus if we find it,” Altair said.
As soon as they reached near the end of the vault, the lights turned on they saw on top a pedestal, a small boiling tube with greenish-red liquid was being held by a metal claw. The holographic words ‘Sample-0012’ hovered above the boiling tube.
“The boss sent us all the way here to retrieve that stupid tube of apple juice? I can’t believe it,” a disgruntled man muttered.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s pay day for us anyway,” Altair said.
He found some documents beneath the boiling tube and took them. He then reached for the boiling tube but the claw held it so tightly that the tube refused to budge.
“Can someone saw that claw off? It’s getting in the way,” Altair said angrily.
One of his men took a saw and sawed the claw off. Just as Altair took the boiling tube, a computerized female voice sounded.
“Intruder alert, intruder alert. Vault door will now close. Auto-purge activated. All personal near the vault, please evacuate.”
Altair knew it meant trouble and he ran towards the closing vault door. He cleared the door but those who followed him in were not so lucky. The door slammed shut and a few seconds later, he heard the sounds of a dozen flamethrowers activating and the sounds of his men being burnt to death.
“The Belkans are determined to keep some things a secret. This must be something top
secret to them,” Altair muttered and looked at the tube of green-red liquid.
Looking at his men, he told them to return to the meeting point. Upon reaching the ladder, they saw that Grumman was alone.
“Sir, what happened to your men?” someone asked.
Grumman smiled and shot at the man who asked him the question. Altair’s eyes widened and he reached for his firearm while ordering his men to shoot Grumman but he shot them before they could land a shot on him. Altair was shot in the head and he died on the spot. Grumman came to Altair’s body and took his backpack containing the documents and Sample-0012.
“You’ve been a useful mercenary, Altair, but it seems like your services are no longer needed. No hard feelings eh,” Grumman said with a smile.
The muscular man climbed up the ladder and was greeted by Jacques and a couple of gun-wielding soldiers in full stealth suits.
“Have you got it?” Jacques asked.
“Like taking candy from an idiot. The boss will be pleased,” Grumman said and threw the backpack towards Jacques.
“Pleased indeed. It does seem like Altair lived up to his name as the best mercenary but who needs mercenaries when we have this,” Jacques said and retrieved the boiling tube from the bag.
“Just out of curiosity, what is this greenish-red liquid anyway? Why is it so significant?” Grumman asked.
“I’d be in his position if I knew. Whatever this tube of goo is, I bet it’s pretty important. Come, we better leave here before the damned TSAB find out that someone’s been here. Leave no evidence,” Jacques ordered.
While the team was underground, the stealth units rigged the ceiling with explosives strong enough to bring the dome down. When they were far enough, the bombs detonated and a big crater formed where the dome used to be, burying all evidences that someone was there.
***
“Come in,” Hayate called out when she heard someone knock on her office door.
Signum came in with a written report in her hand. Hayate was too busy to thank her and she just took the report from Signum without looking up to look at her. She was busy with some paperwork and it does seem like she had a pile of them on her desk.
“Certain worlds are requisitioning for the presence of marines and since you’re in charge of the Marine forces, the TSAB branches have sent you some letters to confirm the transfer of marines,” Signum said.
“Tell them that permission is denied. We don’t have enough marines to fill up every world so find them an alternative or something,” Hayate said.
“They’re insisting on marines,” Signum answered.
“Since when are you my secretary? Look, just send them a couple of mages if they are so damn paranoid about not having enough TSAB presence and a rebellion will start,” said an irate Hayate. “Damn rebellion incident. Because of those stupid rebels, I’ve been busier than I already am,” she muttered.
Signum knew that Hayate was in one of her bad moods since she was quite busy lately. Being a high ranking officer, she had to attend conferences, meetings and do a lot of paperwork and with new requests coming in everyday requesting for extra units, particularly marines since they were veterans, it must be hard for her to cope with the pressure.
“If they won’t listen, tell them that the marines are under my jurisdiction and I have the final say on whether I will send marines or not. Right now, most of my marines are on Jericho, Talmir and Helion so tell those other planets to wait or accept normal mages. I have just about enough of their stubbornness,” Hayate added.
“Shouldn’t you tell your secretary to do that? I’m only here to deliver the report and notifications since I stumbled upon the officer who wanted to send you the report,” Signum said.
“Since you’re here and my secretary is having her lunch right now, you just give the officers my answer. That’s all,” Hayate said.
Signum obliged and left the office. Hayate wrote a few more words before putting down her pen and taking a deep breath and letting it out with a sigh. Things had been busy lately and every division in the TSAB was worked up. Disaster Relief teams and peacekeeping teams were sent to Jericho and other forgotten war-torn planets after the rebellion gave the TSAB a wakeup call. It occurred to them that someone may use the TSAB’s weak presence on certain planets to incite a rebellion. It worked and now, the TSAB is taking extra measures to ensure no rebellions will happen, especially on poorer worlds and less-established worlds. Hayate reached for her cup of stale coffee and drained it down. It tasted bitter as she did not bother to put sweetener into it.
“It’ll take a few months before things can calm down. I hope no one will take the chance to start another rebellion,” Hayate muttered.
She looked out the window of her office and watched the new trainees train. Nove was there to guide them after she agreed to replace Nanoha as the trainer for the time being.
“These new trainees don’t even look qualified. The TSAB is so desperate that they’re hiring anyone they can get their hands on,” she continued.
Without thinking of anything else, she leaned back on her chair and stretched lazily. It felt good and that gave her the extra attention she needed.
“Well, back to work for me,” she said.
And things start to boil. Interesting piece.
The lenghty comments I put on the spoiler below, but you could put a link on your post to your previous one with chapter one. That way, if someone want to pick it up now to read, they can without much trouble. It helps if you put the title of the fic in the post too.
Spoiler for Comments:
Quote:
“According to the boss, it should be right here. If you’re not sure, get some seismic readings,” the man said.
You should try to describe a little more the characters until this point, even if they got no names (until this point), their descriptions would help the reader to imagine the scene. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, just like hair or eye color, or even if you don't use what you already said before. Even if the characters will be of no importance to the story directly later on, when a scene goes long (and that's relative to each person) it's good to know who is saying what.
Quote:
“What happened to the machine?” Altair asked.
The last would help at this point. I'm not the most proeminent in describing the characters in any way, but you could change the pattern here by saying "The redeyed man asked." or "The tall man asked." and so on. It helps to set the emotions you would want the reader to feel, and it helps in fleshing out of the characters a little.
Quote:
...here in three hours. Find the objective and bug out,” said Altair.
Nanoha felt something heavy in her stomach as she descended into Jericho’s atmosphere.
Here's something that maybe it's just me nitpicking. When changing scenes, it's good to put a marker on it, like a "----" or a "-x-x-x-". Anything, just to let us know that it's another scene.
Quote:
...equipped with particle emitters that emit charged particles to form a sort of shield...
I don't know about this one. The sentence is rather redundant, but I can't seem to point how to better phrase this. -.-"
Quote:
“The Ace of Aces graces us with her presence. Welcome to Jericho, Nanoha.
It's just me irking again, but since the man is in the military, I expected him to call Nanoha with her title. Captain Nanoha, or something alike.
Also, the exchange between Hayate and Signum seemed a little OOC, at least for me. I think that Signum would at least think about soothing the girl having a fit over her work, and not use her stoicism on her. But that may be just me.
The lenghty comments I put on the spoiler below, but you could put a link on your post to your previous one with chapter one. That way, if someone want to pick it up now to read, they can without much trouble. It helps if you put the title of the fic in the post too.
Spoiler for Comments:
You should try to describe a little more the characters until this point, even if they got no names (until this point), their descriptions would help the reader to imagine the scene. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, just like hair or eye color, or even if you don't use what you already said before. Even if the characters will be of no importance to the story directly later on, when a scene goes long (and that's relative to each person) it's good to know who is saying what.
The last would help at this point. I'm not the most proeminent in describing the characters in any way, but you could change the pattern here by saying "The redeyed man asked." or "The tall man asked." and so on. It helps to set the emotions you would want the reader to feel, and it helps in fleshing out of the characters a little.
Here's something that maybe it's just me nitpicking. When changing scenes, it's good to put a marker on it, like a "----" or a "-x-x-x-". Anything, just to let us know that it's another scene.
I don't know about this one. The sentence is rather redundant, but I can't seem to point how to better phrase this. -.-"
It's just me irking again, but since the man is in the military, I expected him to call Nanoha with her title. Captain Nanoha, or something alike.
Also, the exchange between Hayate and Signum seemed a little OOC, at least for me. I think that Signum would at least think about soothing the girl having a fit over her work, and not use her stoicism on her. But that may be just me.
Would like to post little story. Have not been observant for weeks and now feel like contributing.
Spoiler for Outpost Dercia: Denial:
My name is Jones Sicarius Sericiam. Most people call me Jones.
I'm 28, black haired, brown eyed and apparently just a little bit on the pale side. I'm a light infantryman for the 32nd Adrean Scouts. My operational specialisation is Forward Skirmishing, which essentially consists of looking for the enemy and running away to distract them. And perhaps throw a couple of spells their way once in a while, if I had time to fire.
I was always the last to know anything. That's why they call me “Slowpoke Jones”. But that just meant that I heard the order to retreat last. I suppose that was a good thing that day. I suppose. But it did bring me a little luck.
Only a little bit though.
I remember the Captain's very distinct voice that day as he called me into his office after that... exasperating incident. His voice had a nice, very calming drawl, something that all of my unit came to appreciate over the years. He was sat down at his desk, at ease and very happy for some reason. As soon as I came in, he got up, striding quickly to my side.
Captain grinned form ear to ear as he patted me on the back,
“Apparently command thinks you're good enough to slug it out with the rest of 'em. You ship out to Riot Force 6 in three days.”
Riot Force 6?
He handed me my transfer form. “You show those spec-ops ladies how the 32nd Scouts do it.”
That, Riot Force 6?
“Make us proud Jones. Make us proud.”
______
For the next two days, everyone in my unit was pestering me,
“How the hell did you get into RF6?”
“You will send us back pictures right?”
“Get me Signum's autograph please!”
“You seriously working with the White Devil? ARE YOU NUTS?!”
This was too good to be true.
And I was right.
_____
The next morning when I walked into the mess hall, everyone was silent. They all looked rather guilty. Janic told me it wasn't so bad, and that at least I was going somewhere. I didn't even know what they were talking about.
The Captain called me in again just as I passed out of the mess hall, somewhat disturbed by the mourning that the others were observing.
“You wanted to see me sir?”
He was just quiet. Sitting there shuffling papers deftly.
"Jones. I got some bad news."
"Captain, if this was about my conduct in town last night I can ex-"
“Your transfer's just been re-routed.”
I'm sure my heart skipped a beat.
“Riot Force 6 just got... disbanded. They wrapped up their big case, getting this Scaglietti fella two days ago. They're returning everyone to their posts.”
The air conditioning just rumbled. It was a quiet whine.
“S-sir?”
He began talking in that calming drawl of his,
“It ain't too bad now Jones, we know what you're capable of... what Riot Force 6 was capable of. You would have made a fine addition.” He handed me another sheet. “But they need you elsewhere. Another joint operations unit. Outpost Dercia, in the Joss System. Interesting and wonderful planet, they assure me."
"But the Joss system is on the other side of the universe. Nothing's going on there, sir."
"Well think of it as extended leave Jones. I heard it's a nice, sunny place this time of year.”
____
So there I was. On the other side of the galaxy, on a supply ship that only comes four times a year to some backwater planet, to some tiny little outpost in the middle of a forest, serving with a bunch of people picked from several branches for no other reason than to look good for the rest of the Bureau and the public, tackling some two-bit poachers and the occasional smuggler.
I just want a little luck. Not this.
Not this.
Spoiler for Guide Entry: 32nd Adrean Scouts:
A light infantry division, the 32nd Adrean Scouts are a small battalion comprised mainly of dismounted light infantry. Their mages primarily range towards intelligence gathering and shielding, as the 32nd are mainly deployed as screening units for the heavier battalions and as recon to gauge enemy composition and strength.
A notable event for this otherwise standard battalion are the actions of an infantryman assigned to Gerimic Hill on Felhammer; After his section was instructed to withdraw from an impending attack by the local warlord, the infantryman somehow managed to delay the initial sortie by himself long enough for the 15th Armour to move in and secure the hill.
Feel free to comment, though I may take a while to get back to you.
Location: In a place of extremes. From below freezing to above boiling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RadiantBeam
And more ViCia fluff, which has been lacking lately, from yours truly. Takes place right before "Shadow" goes down, so Vivio is seventeen and Lutecia is at least twenty-one.
Spoiler for A Matter of Pride:
At twenty-one years old, Lutecia Alphine was both smart and old enough to know when she was simply being childishly stubborn about something she couldn’t change. The moments were rare and far between, but she was still prone to them when she was in a mood; as Megane liked to say, “You still have a lot of growing up to do.”
Under any other circumstances, Lutecia wouldn’t have minded the display of childish emotion, regardless of her age; she found it almost relieving, honestly, that she could still show those kinds of things after nearly having them beaten out of her by Jail and the Numbers, then being forced to repress them again as a result of becoming an agent of the Naval Special Intelligence Service, one of the few who willingly claimed the title of Shadow.
So, normally, Lutecia wouldn’t have been so bothered by her quick flash of stubbornness over things out of her control… only, when it concerned a badly twisted and currently throbbing ankle, it was almost impossible to ignore the fact that she’d swallowed her pain out of idiotic pride.
Granted, she could just as easily said she’d kept quiet because her teammates had been badly hurt by comparison; a twisted ankle, no matter how badly twisted it was, barely compared to a deep side wound and a broken shoulder. So on one hand, she could easily say she’d refused treatment out of worry for her teammates; but at her core, it was really the fact that she was a damned Shadow and as a Shadow, an injury as minor as a twisted ankle shouldn’t have bothered her.
Grimacing, Lutecia shook her head and took a deep drink from her cherry Coke, resisting the urge to lean down and rub her aching foot. She was sitting outside, enjoying the warm weather (or trying to), lounging on the steps outside the library. After the mission she’d been dismissed, and as a result had more free time than she knew what to do with. Normally, she would have swallowed her pride by now and gone in for treatment, but she didn’t look forward to the fact that Shamal would lecture her mercilessly for keeping quiet about an injury, no matter how miniscule.
And honestly, Lutecia didn’t think she could even stand up right now.
Deciding to test the theory, the summoner took a deep breath and set down her can before she stood, moving gingerly on her feet. At first it was promising, and feeling her confidence return a bit, she took a few tentative steps.
Bad idea.
The flash of pain was hot, sharp, and nearly blinding in its intensity; as she cursed and wobbled, dropping back down to the stairs with a whimper, it crossed the purple-haired woman’s mind that quite possibly, her injury was worse than she’d initially thought.
Not like it matters, she mused with a pained sigh, finally giving in and rubbing the swollen flesh softly as she picked up her cherry Coke and took another deep, long drink. I can barely stand as it is. She just hoped nobody she knew saw her like this; it would sting.
“Cia?”
… Dammit.
Lowering her can, Lutecia’s red eyes met the green-and-red combination of Takamachi Vivio’s. Praying there was no pain in her gaze, the older woman swallowed slightly and smiled, genuinely happy to see her girlfriend despite her condition. “Hey, Vivio,” she said in greeting. “What are you doing here? It’s getting late.”
Vivio frowned, lightly crossing her arms over her chest. “I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be home by now?”
Damn, Vivio knew her schedule too well. “Um,” the older woman replied intelligently, blinking. “I was just…. That is….”
Vivio lifted a brow and waited. Lutecia let every excuse and lie she could think of run through her head, but none of them held any weight; a new and frustrating change for someone who’s job specialty was lying. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t think of a lie, it was more that she couldn’t make herself lie.
Oh, hell, I’ve been stubborn about it this far, I can only keep pushing it so hard. “I can’t get up,” she muttered.
At that, the younger girl blinked. “Can’t get up?”
Lutecia’s face flamed. “I got hurt on my last mission. It’s worse than I thought.” She gestured to her ankle. “I can’t get up.”
Vivio frowned. “Why didn’t you go see Aunt Shamal?”
… Double dammit. “I didn’t think it was important at the time.” It was hard for Lutecia to feel ashamed of herself, but Vivio had a good track record of prompting the feeling from her.
There was a long moment of silence as Vivio pondered this; Lutecia had to resist the urge to wince, knowing that she’d sounded amazingly childlike and stubborn “Anyway,” she continued, trying to ignore her returning blush, “you should head home, it’s getting late. If I give it time, the pain won’t be too bad—“
The next instant she yelped as she was, with amazing ease, swept up into Vivio’s arms; she squirmed and blushed, her arms naturally coming around the taller girl’s neck to steady herself. “V-Vivio?” she squeaked, her face so red it could pass for a traffic light.
“Relax, I’ve got you.” Despite being younger by four years, Vivio’s recent growth spurt and body build gave her a physical advantage over her girlfriend, one she was currently enjoying very much right now. “I’ll take you in to get your injury treated, then I’ll bring you home. It’s a shorter walk.”
“U-um… you don’t have to…” At the look the younger girl gave her, Lutecia wilted. “Okay.”
Satisfied, Vivio tightened her hold on Lutecia and started to walk, humming softly—both to amuse herself and to soothe her girlfriend, the summoner imagined. With a sigh, shaking her head, Lutecia rested her head against Vivio’s chest and closed her eyes with a small smile. “You’re sweet, you know that?”
This time, Vivio was the one who blushed.
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
1. A fic request from Fuyu no Sora, who, while we were talking last night, mentioned that her sister liked my ViCia fluff and was amused that Vivio was taller than Lutecia. Hence, the birth of this short.
2. Originally I had Vivio actually giving Lutecia a piggyback ride, but somehow carrying her seems more... romantic. Yeah, I know, sue me, I'm a mush. It'd probably be easier to carry Cia piggyback anyway, but I couldn't get the situation set up for it, so I just had Vivio carry her.
Aww. ^^ Thank you for taking the request, it was really cute!
So, onto the fic itself. I find it interesting that Lulu is still prone to childish bouts of pride and I think it's very in-character for her, at least in my head; especially when you compare "Cia" to "Alphine" (which is my own way of defining her "Shadow self", if you may.) who is professional and focused. I loved the bit when Vi comes into the picture and she just makes Lulu's defenses go completely down, bwahaha! I find it terribly amusing that Lu just can't lie to Vi; it makes for an interest dynamic and it's one of the reasons why she completely spills to her girlfriend during "Shadow" and "Sunrise". Very interesting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by deathcurse
...........*melts into puddle of goo*
How cute . At least Lutecia recognizes that she's being stubbornly childish, although she should be aware that she's the largest masochist to grace Nanoha fandom ... And I see Vivio's good at showing up where she's most needed!
And Vivio's bringing Lutecia home, eh?
Vivio: "Nanoha-mama, look at what I brought home! Can I keep her?"
As cute as a piggy-back ride would be, the carrying is definitely more romantic . Save the piggy-back ride for little!Lutecia and little!Vivio perhaps?
Thanks for the cute fluff . It was definitely sorely missed.
I approve of the line in black.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DezoPenguin
Man, I spend a day away from the forums without logging in and this appears. I should take days off more often! I like the cute fluff, because Lutecia and Vivio being sweet together just is sweet, and it's always good to see how Vivio can read Lutecia like a book (which suggests that Cia skates close to the truth when talking to Vivio about mission experience, or alternatively just comes out with the complete truth: "I'm sorry; that's classified.")
There's also some interesting subtext going on here, though. When you consider how closely this story is placed before "Shadow" in the continuity, you can really see how Lutecia's mental state is starting to fragment. Not seeking medical attention--deliberately putting on a show of strength to her co-workers--really cuts against what the Shadows are supposed to be (the ultimate pragmatists rather than the "warrior's code-of-honor"/"pride of a badass macho dude" type); what a Shadow should be thinking is, "Of course I'll seek medical attention immediately, because an hour after 'immediately' I might be in combat. That Lutecia is allowing matters of pride to overcome her training, pride and a fear of showing weakness before her co-workers, suggests that she's feeling the separation between herself and the NSIS as a whole, that she's not really "one of them" any more in her own mind--as if, perhaps, the duality of her existence is eating into her "professional" side just as much as it eats into her "family/friends/girlfriend relationship" side. Verrrrry interesting...
Whoa. @__@ Dezo is amazing for managing to make such a long review out of the fic.
You bring out good points! I think you highlight why Lutecia could easily go down the "Sunset" path.
__________________
"You wanted to say that, but you didn't have enough common sense."
New chapter of "Shadowfire" up and running, especially considering Victor has some major screentime in the next chapter of "Long Distance Goodbye": Sinners and Saints
I wrote a romantic Teana/Vice lemon. Let me know if you're interested!
Do want.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RadiantBeam
New chapter of "Shadowfire" up and running, especially considering Victor has some major screentime in the next chapter of "Long Distance Goodbye": Sinners and Saints
Nice. Just one thing though.
Spoiler:
Quote:
Victor smiled easily, keeping his hand on his shoulder.
Here isn't supposed to be "Victor smiled easily, keeping his hand on her shoulder." ?
2010-04-07, 17:49
Author
. At least Lutecia recognizes that she's being stubbornly childish, although she should be aware that she's the largest masochist to grace Nanoha fandom 
Kills me when I have the plotbunny, but no other urge to actually write the damned thing out. x_x It bounces around my head and drives me insane.
I like the cute fluff, because Lutecia and Vivio being sweet together just is sweet, and it's always good to see how Vivio can read Lutecia like a book (which suggests that Cia skates close to the truth when talking to Vivio about mission experience, or alternatively just comes out with the complete truth: "I'm sorry; that's classified.")
