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- Corporal, Diana Hale ~
"Hooh..." -Alright... Time t her in...- I let out a deep breath as I hastily disabled several automated systems so the autopilot wouldn't try to take trol as I desded just meters above the tops of buildings. "Rid ATC, this is Cardinal 7 on final approach. What's the status on the airstrip?"
"I-It's cleared!" His voice crackled with a hint of panic. "However, there is still quite a bit of debris, so if you , please nd on the left half of the airstrip!"
-That's less than ideal...- But it wasn't like I had a choice. "Got it..."
Carefully correg my approach, I flipped several more switches, enabling and disabling systems as I hem to try and preserve power. *cl-cl-cl-click* -Wheaught us how to fly and nd these things without any of our eleics, I thought they were crazy.. but I seriously owe them an apology...- *Beep* Finally engaging the emergency battery, my helmet's HUD lit up, and I jumped into my Cardinal's (unications) el.
*Beep* "e Est-"
"Spin up the engine and turn on the debris shield." Manually adjusting the trim, I leaned bad pitched up the nose, finally starting t her down, just barely missing the edge of a rooftop. -Holy shit, that was close...- But I didn't have time to dwell on the mistake. "Turn on the cameras aend the airbrake."
*hhhuuuUUUMMM* As the hum of the debris shield finally picked up, the view of the inside of my cockpit vanished, leaving just a clear view of my nding gear and the rapidly approag tarmaeath me.
"Alright..." -Let's bring her down nice.. and.. gentle...- *Thump*
*Cr-r-r-rackle* "Hooh..." I let out a tense breath as the sound of retively small crete ks being crushed under my tires filled the cockpit. -Holy shit, this runway is a mess... Thank god for the debris shield...- Without it, several of the elei the belly of my cardinal would have been undoubtedly ruined, sequently grounding my jet. -And I 't afford to be grounded here...-
I felt a chill pass down my spine as the mere thought of staying here crossed my mind. -But what the hell happened for the runway to look like this in the first pce?-
Thoughts began rag through my mind immediately, but the moment I looked up and goward the neighb tarmac, they stopped entirely.
Running the length of the runway, there were several thick trails of rubber aroyed crete that led up to an absolutely colossal airship sitting lopsided in the middle of the runway.
-W..what the hell?- Its tires had been pletely melted away, and its massive nding gear had carved up a huge strip of the runway, spewing tiny pieces of crete everywhere, even hundreds of meters down the neighb runway.
"Hah..." I couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle as I stared at it. -At least it's a Western Union airship... Maybe there are some strong guilds on board...-
But as the awe of the sight and adrenaline from my emergending started wearing off, the reality of the situation started setting in again. "Urk..." Before I k, it tied my stoma a knot, bringing with it a wave of hat was nothing short of debilitating, but as I switched my s back to the ATC, I tried to reassure myself. -I only o be here long enough to refuel...- *Beep* "Hooh..." -I'll be alright...-
*Beep* "e established."
I did my best to gather what remained of my posure as I heard it finally ect. "y apologies, I had to use voice trols for a moment..."
"A-Ah, there you are! We were nervous something happeo you!" The man's voice was brimming with relief. "There is a tow on standby that will hook up to you when you e to a stop and bring you to Hangar 3. Unfortunately, there isn't much else we do for you at the moment..."
-Huh?- My expression instantly ed with a mix of fusion and ay. "What do you mean, 'not much else'? I only need you t a refueler to me. I need JP36-"
"Miss..." But he only cut me off. "We don't have reserved military fuel grades on hand..."
The hing I knew, my surroundings suddenly went dark, and the color drained from my face. "W..what?"
He relutly tinued as his tone softened with sympathy. "The best we do is call a refueler from the military instaltion across the city, but wheried to speak with them a moment ago, they-" *Crackle-static*
-Huh?- His voice was cut short by the sound of static as my helmet's HUD suddenly updated, and the cardinal's voice greeted my ears. *Beep* "ected to Andrews Airforce Base and, Sergeant Major Samuel Moreno."
My mind and body, frozen by fear and despair, were instantly flooded with an intoxig amount of adrenalihey mao ect?!- Although I had been trying, no matter what I did, I couldn't get a stable e. "Sergeant Major!"
*crrackle* There was still a faint stati the e, but his voice met my ears like the voice of an angel. "Corporal! Corporal, you hear me?!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
There was a short pause before he tinued. "Thank goodness. There appears to be some dey, but we only expeuch from an a ndline and barely funing radio tower; it's all we have right now, though, so we'll have to deal with it..." He paused for a moment as the sound of clig echoed over the . "Where are you, currently? We 't get a ping on your cardinal, even through radio."
"I was forced to nd at Rid's iional airfield. I had run out of fuel, so I needed ara long runway."
"I see... Perfect..." He silently mumbled under his breath for a moment before speaking up again. "Okay, I have a researcher here in the with us. Please follow his instrus while I will try a some fuel to you... What Hangar are you in?"
A monstrous wave of relief flooded my body in an instant. "Hangar 3."
"Alright, I'll see what I do. In the mean time, please sider the doctor's instrus the same as my orders, and remember that everything discussed here is cssified."
-The same as orders from the Sergeant Major?- I felt an odd sense of foreboding as I looked over at the user list to try and find the researcher's name.
But before I could navigate the menus, a soft male voice filled the . "Miss Hale, this is Doctor Pete Forna, one of the Eastern Magic tower's lead researchers oudies of The System and mana." The name didn't ring a bell, but I could tell he was a big shot. "Currently, I am w with the military to try and assess the situation, but since you are the only military operative we ta Rid, I will need you to help me in a moment. You also being the only person to survive the main i, If you have any questions or wish to inform us of anything you saw or that happened, please do so. Even small details help immensely."
-So he's a researcher bei in ouation...- Quickly thinking of where to start, I tried to collect myself before speaking. "Then, if I may... Are you aware of the details of the Regional Quest that was created?" *Vwoop* Opening up my system, my face was immediately lit up red by the ominous crimson panel. -They're usually only avaible to those within a small radius of the source... If he's in Arlington, then he may be outside the radius...-
But his response, rather than a simple yes or no, was more than a little w: "Of course, the entire east half of North America received the same quest. We're even receivis about it from as far as St. Louis, but based on its radius, the 'Entity' of the quest is in Virginia, likely within a few hundred kilometers of Rid."
-H..huh?!- I immediately started panig. "W-What do you mean? The 'Entity' is the monster I hit with a G3 near Apple Orchard Mountain! It survived the bst! The missile didn't even scratch-"
"That monster is already dead, Miss. Please calm down..." He paused as a hint of worry crept into his voice. "That.. thing.. wasn't the entity of the quest."
-W..What...- My brain instantly went silent as if it had short-circuited. "I..It's not..? It.. died..?" -Did the shockwave from the G3 give it internal injuries?- "I watched it run out from uhe bst, though..."
But as my thoughts spiraled toward insanity, the doctor spoke with a heavy tone. "Something else killed it..." He paused for a moment as I heard a series of clicks. "We have a satellite currently looking at it, and by the looks of it.. it got into a fight with something and quite brutally lost..."
-T..that's impossible...- My mind was pletely washed with fear at that point; the color had pletely drained from my face, and I was sweating profusely, but after a moment, a thought that could only stem from insanity crossed my mind. "W..what dire was its corpse in?"
"North northeast."
-That's the dire Eli flew in... Could it have been...- "There was a woman my partner, Eli, went to pick up with his hawk before that monster dropped on us. If I remember right, he-"
"They are both dead." He spoke bluntly. "That woman was ging to the back of that man's hawk when he was flying away, so we assumed she was a returning system merary whose return bea was simply disrupted by the ridiana wave we felt before the craed; however, right as our feed was cut, we watched as the monster ied them both... We firmed it not long after.. not even the hawk's bck box survived..." He paused as sorrow intruded his tone. "I'm truly sorry for your loss."
-A..ah...- As he mentio, I suddenly started shaking aears begin to well in my eyes. Being reminded of the horrors I just experienced simply snapped my little remaining posure like a twig.
"However, if we ot pinpoint the location of the monster, even more may die, so please bear with me."
My chest instantly tightened as if it were suddenly being crushed in a cmp.
"Based on what I'm looking at, it appears that our LMMF, or localized mana monit facility, is still pulling power through the electrical grid, so it may still be operable. If you get to it and rey some information to me, we may be able to pinpoint where it is based on the facility's sensor readings..."
That was it, the order Seargent Major was referring to before he left.
The sensation of it being a choice was nothing more than an illusion. -But...- "How sure are you that, if the monster does ehe city, it won't be attracted to the facility's mana signature?"
"Absolutely certain." He spoke firmly. "It is purely a monit facility, so it would appear no different from ay house to a monster."
-Is that so...- *flip* *puff* Quickly flipping up my visor, I leaned bato the seat and looked up at the sky through the clear gss, doing all I could to ease my mind. "Hooh..." With a relut breath, I spoke quietly. "Okay..."
But uanding that my refusal wasn't an option in the first pce, he responded immediately. "Good. Now, if you could rey me to the ATC, I would like to get you a vehicle. We o be as quick as possible."
"O..Okay..." Momentarily l my visor, I moved his el before taking a moment of silenyself. *Beep*
*Silence* *pat* As reality started to set in once again, I covered my eyes with my palms to hold back tears and bit my lip so hard it started to bleed. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in the safety of my cardinal.
But as I gave myself a moment to think with reason, I started realizing that if I didn't ply, I wouldn't only endahe city, but myself.
Without refueling, I was stranded, and the more information I could gather on the 'Entity', the more precautions I could personally take from it, and the more likely I was to be evacuated if shit hit the fan.
"Hooh..." Easing my nerves with a heavy breath, I lowered my hands down in front of my mouth, holding them as if to pray before opening my eyes, revealing a determined gaze.
*Beep* Rejoining my , the stist spoke quickly. "There will be a car waiting at the hangar when you get there. It's a bit old, but it will do."
Somewhat curious, I lowered my gaze back to the wide airfield in front of me as my cardinal was dragged by a tiny tow truck before I noticed an a-looking white pickup truck moving toward the same hangar we were without a driver.
It was an emergency tow for heavy aircraft, and it looked like it had just been used, covered in dust and debris.
But that wasn't what I cared about.
-Fuck...- It was slow. My odds of outrunning anything above level 50 or 60 were slim to none, let alone whatever level the Entity was. -Just.. please, god, whatever happens, at least keep the monster from seeing me in that thing...-
sidering I would be the biggest moving object for quite a distance, if I happeo get spotted, I was dead.
Or at least.. that's what I thought.
------ Evreir ~
*tap-tap-tap-tap* Slowly running down the road, my hair was forcefully slicked back by the strong winds while I took my time to look around, attempting to search for anything that stood out until I caught a whiff of something incredible. -O..Oh my...-
My seemingly dark mood, caused by the tless questions rag through my mind, instantly lightened as I looked up the street to find what it was before seeing a warmly lit building with rge gss walls and a picture of a white mug filled with brown liquid on it. -Is that.. what was it called.. a coffee shop?-
Quickly running up to it, I stepped out of the insane winds of the street and into the building, where my nose was fshbanged by sts I had fotteed. *Ring* -W..WOAH!- Before I even realized it, my mouth was watering, and an incredible hunger overtook me.
The inside of the building was quite simple: a warmly lit cafe with red and white checkered tile floors, white walls, and a beautiful wooden bar with dozens of pastries on dispy behind a pane of clear gss.
Beyond that, there wasn't much I reized.
Behind the bar was a wall of unreizable equipment and a rge dispy of drinks behind ahicker gss wall, but while I was stunned, still struggling to get used to the smell and suddenly raging hunger, a sliding double door behind the bar opened with a hiss, letting what looked like a dog bang a tray of doughnut-looking things on its head through. *Tsssss*
It was quite cute and almost indistinguishable from how I remembered dogs oh, but it wasn't alive.
*tap-tap* Hopping its front legs up onto the back of the bar behind the gss dispy of pastries, several someindly meical arms extended from behind its ears and began s the steaming.. heavenly-smelling treats behind the gss marked: 'Bagels'. -So these are.. 'bagels'...-
*pat* Quickly snatg one from the robot as he was about to sort it, I took a small marble of mythril out of my iory a on his tray. -That amount of mythril should pensate for taking a bagel, right?-
Assuming it would, I wasted no time turning back to the warm, soft treat in my hands, making my eyes glow like a child's. I wao devour it on the spot, but deg to start small, I took a small pinch out of it, a on my tongue.
"Oh... Oh my..." I almost wao cry. Although I had somewhat regurly fixed what I called 'seed bread', pared to this delectable piece that simply melted on my to didn't even deserve to be called bread. -It's so good...-
Taking a proper bite, my mouth was instantly flooded with fvors I didn't even ked, and a wash of nostalgia and blurry memories overtook my mind.
I ended up sav that bagel for lohan I wish to admit before finally, the cafe's doggy helper came back out with another batch I wasted no time raiding.
*Ring* By the time I left, I had a stack of fels I slid into my iory while I nibbled on another.
But as I walked out of the cafe with lifted spirits, a white, wheeled object rolled past me at about 25 meters per sed. (90 kmph) It was going a little slower than I had been running since I ehe city, a pace I viewed simir to a very slow jog. -Hm.. I wonder what that person is doing...-
Feeling a faint presence from the vehicle, I quickly caught up to it befetting in front and stopping.
*SCREEEEECH* It screamed as it seemed to be pulled into the ground and skidded to a halt.
*nibble* Standing in front of it, I calmly nibbled my bagel before tilting my head toward the pale woman inside.
*Ding*
System Name: N/A (Native)Name: Diana HaleStatus: Fearful
Race: HumanAge: 24 years
[Titles]One Who Exceeded Sound , Native