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Emesto Andrew/George Lucius

"My head... Are those memories I am thinking of?"

0 · 322 views · located in Myrstrarkia

a character in “Mech Battles”, as played by ZacharyTC

Description

Image

Name of Alternate Personality: George Lucius
Real Name: Emesto Andrew
Gender: Male
Apparent Age: 22
Actual Age: 30 (Nobody knows that, however)
Height: 5'9"
Role: Lion Team Pilot/Former Benjlakki Ace

Appearance: Emesto/George has brown hair which often covers one of his eyes due to it being long at the front, though he does pull it back when putting on a helmet. Because of cold sleep, his skin is much paler than before, as of right now, which is an easy fix with enough exposure to sunlight. As part of Lion Team, George wears the black-and-red ceremonial uniform customary of Metargo mech aces when chances of immediate action are slim. His other uniform is of gray leather, also customary of mech aces from Metargo. His build is lean, yet athletic.
Role: Metargo Royal Navy Pilot, Lion Team (Soon to be a deserter)

Rank (currently): Corporal

Fighting Style (applies to military personnel): As George, he typically prefers being up close and personal, if he can be, his mech's heavy armor capable of handling more damage than even most other Metargo mechs can. He will use SMGs and other repeater weapons as well as built-in knives. As Emesto, his fighting style is similar, the main difference being he prefers ranged over melee, most of the time.

Strengths: As George Exceptional at heavy-armored defensive tactics, deadly with built-in mech knives, can hold his own in ranged combat. Better melee skills than as Emesto. As Emesto Exceptional defensive tactics, great at ranged combat, can hold his own with the knives; faster movements and better long-ranged capabilities than as George.

Weaknesses: As George Movements tend to be slower than as Emesto; no good at long-ranged combat. As Emesto Worse at melee than as George.

Personality: George can be rather sarcastic and teasing, but during a battle, he is all-business. He will not hesitate to attack his enemies in an attempt to blast or slice them out of the skies. Taking orders without question, he is extremely loyal to his superiors and comrades and gives no second thought about standing between a foe and an ally that is at a disadvantage. Whereas George is the ideal soldier (for the most part), Emesto is a family man to the core. He will fight when he has to, but ultimately, he would never bring himself to harm a relative of his, especially his sister, Altima. He is not one for words, preferring to speak with his actions.

History: Emesto lived in what you would call the "ideal" family in Benjlakk, alongside Altima. Her being much younger than him meant he was the one she looked up to. Like any other sibling, of course, there were arguments as well as good times. He worked as an Apprentice Solar Technician, learning from someone whose been in the field for decades. It would seem his future was bright due to his growing capabilities. All that changed, however, when he was drafted to participate in a siege against a massive clan of mercenaries that attacked some islands just off the coastline of the Gatwashiim Peninsula, the reasons unknown, though the abandoned laboratory on one of those islands could be linked to such motives. The siege took five months to complete, the first of which was all the time Emesto ever served as a Benjlakki Republic Navy Pilot. His piloting skills were exceptional, his body count larger than the typical pilot's. All that counted for naught, however, when his mech went down. Considering the condition of it when it crashed onto the ground, you would think he was dead.

Even though Benjlakki authorities listed him as KIA (a logical listing, at that), Emesto was actually in a deep coma when a squad of the mercenaries found him and dragged him to their outpost while nobody witnessed. It was there that, while he was stabilized and tended to, that he received his alternate personality via nanoidron injection into the brain stem: George Lucius. Once they confirmed that the alternate personality was successfully implanted and placed as the dominant one within Emesto's body, the mercenaries planned to ship him, frozen in a cold sleep, to their mafia base located deep within the Metargo mainland. There, he remained in his cold sleep for ten years. When out of that sleep, at last, George remained the dominant personality, the one to be deceived into thinking he was of Metargo blood, at that. This led him to enlist as a Royal Navy pilot, where he fought in the two-year war against Mysticara and became a mech ace worthy of joining Lion Team, the best of the best of Metargo mech pilots.

The Battle of Gatawashiim was what finally triggered Emesto's awakening within his own brain, where he is at odds with George for control of the body they share. The fact Emesto is Benjlakki both by blood and at heart while George is loyal to Metargo does not help matters.


Nationality (Benjlakki or Metargo): Benjlakki (only Emesto knows that, so far; George still thinks he is Metargo)

So begins...

Emesto Andrew/George Lucius's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Benjamin Malachi Character Portrait: Kyle Scipio Character Portrait: Zechariah Malachi Character Portrait: Cecilia Lumine Character Portrait: Aaron Lextu Character Portrait: Dao Danmao
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Captain Aegidius Aetius did the usual routines aboard the newly built Seraphim, checking to see if any damages needed repairing from the last battle the ship went through alongside the rest of the 101st Republic Fleet. It was strange: the months since the war's initiation were the first ones in a long time he had set foot on natural ground since voluntarily moving spaceward to Orbital Colony Shiona, the first operational space colony above Myrstrarkia to house an entire civilian community. He was there when the Seraphim first launched, with him as its first and current captain. Just to be chosen for the honor of commanding a magnificent vessel was a feat, but to survive quite a few battles against the battle-hardened Metargo Royal Navy with that same ship was another entirely. He and his crew would have to keep in top shape in order to make it through this war.

Speaking of the crew, Aegidius was expecting a new squadron of mech pilots called the Brown Wing Team to complete training and come aboard when they were ready. In the meantime, he had to make sure the units of the latest mech design, the A3B-7 Eagle, were in top shape for the new pilots who would be the first to operate them. Not all of them would make use of the new model, but one could never be sure which model a pilot would use.

Walking up to Sina before saluting, Captain Aetius asked his subordinate, "Are the Eagles ready for the Brown Wing Team? Admiral Holt is expecting they will arrive any day, now, considering their near-completion of training back at the Couratarn Training Camp."




"Big Brother, please don't overwork yourself. You always seem to be up to something and not telling anybody."

"I'll be fine, Antea. Don't worry."

"I hope so, Abercio, I truly do."


Abercio and Antea were always close, so close it always pained the former on the inside to lie to the latter. Whenever a war is not occurring, the two siblings were nearly inseparable. Now, with an invasion to help conduct, the Crown Prince had to divide his duties between his family and the military. This was what he and Belladonna had anticipated would happen, knowing Romano Lopez's nationalistic stupidity. (The Prime Minister may technically be family, yet Abercio considered him a stain on the family honor.) It was what the two "partners in crime" had been working together in preparation for the whole time. With spies and a personal army on their side, Abercio and Belladonna were capable of doing things without necessarily having the approval of the Crown Prince’s father.

Meeting back up with Belladonna, in their personal ship that stored the mech they co-piloted, he waved to her. "Phase 1 is complete, now for Phase 2: We will take our personal troops and set up a diversion of our own up in space as we keep the Benjlakki forces near Orbital Colony Shiona occupied enough to prevent any mech drops from there. That way, my father need only concern himself with what is happening within the Benjlakki Mainland. As for the islands Benjlakk controls, we will have to play it by ear with our spies."




Antea felt as if she was all alone every time it was just her in the family that was in the castle located in Metargo City, even though there were maids, butlers, and her own personal Royal Guard around to keep her company. Everyone around her treated her well, but never saw her as her, just as the younger princess. This left her with the thought of how life would be if it were this way forever, with no relatives or friends to see her in person. It would be a lonely existence, even among others. On the topic of relatives, she remembered her sister, Sorell, was travelling towards their father's location to talk about something. So, she dialed the number on her comm disk, waited for her to answer, and said, "Sorell, are you doing okay over there? I hope you have not run into trouble. It is pretty dangerous in Benjlakk, right now, with the war."




Onboard the Titan, Aaron and the rest of Lion Team were awaiting the pilot whom transferred to their prestigious mech squadron. Most pilots in the Metargo Royal Navy could only dream of such an honor. To Aaron's shock, however, it was someone whom he fell in love with at the academy, Cecilia Lumine. The sight of her caused him to lose his composure and blush a few shades of red, unable to complete his salute.

Right behind the Lion Team were Saul Leo Metargo and Chanah Metargo, the King and Queen respectively. Saul gave a silent sigh in disappointment. It was not that Cecilia was not a bad pick by his wife to be a part of the squadron, it was just that with her and Aaron having to spend time around each other, the romantic past between the sergeant and the transfer pilot could cause them to lose focus when on the battlefield, which could prove lethal. As a matter of fact, now that he thought about it, he whispered to Chanah, "I question your motive for transferring Specialist Lumine to Lion Team, knowing the past between her and Sergeant Lextu." He already figured he knew what was coming, thus he would not be surprised if his intuition was correct.




Intensity. Pure intensity. That is what described the Brown Wing Team’s training. The trainees whom did not pass the needed tests to be part of the squadron transferred elsewhere. Every part of the brain and body underwent stress so to forge the pilots into the troops they had to be in order to stand up to the battle-hardened foes they would inevitably fight. Oddly enough, the Shapiro twins endured all of it better than the others did, yet nobody could explain why. Dao Danmao has taken up to trying to woo Chemda in what little spare time there was outside of training. Humorously, it ended up with Chemda being oblivious due to having received gifts at seemingly random over the course of her high school gymnast days while Adira threatened to expose Dao's bribes and smuggling to that end if he continued going against military protocol.


And then, there were the Malachi brothers, Benjamin and Zechariah. They were two young men whom now had a family reputation to live up to. whereas Benjamin embraced it fully, Zechariah did not. Despite this, Zechariah was able to rank higher than Benjamin on the training ranks, which caused the older brother to become envious. Regardless, they were brothers, thus would not mean any harm on each other. The younger brother realized nothing would ever be the same. Once the actual combat began for Brown Wing Team, there was no going back.

During a break for water, Benjamin snuck a message to Oriana about what went on in training so far. He figured she was so busy with things, she could not see the messages, yet. He included some of the more comedic moments. Zechariah, on the other hand, simply drank his water and wondered what the future held for him. Would he make it through the war, or would it consume him?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Benjamin Malachi Character Portrait: Kyle Scipio Character Portrait: Zechariah Malachi Character Portrait: Cecilia Lumine Character Portrait: Aaron Lextu Character Portrait: Dao Danmao
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Captain Aetius nodded to Sina's reply. "Good. The admiral is making this ship his flagship, and he places quite an emphasis on readiness. I did some personal inspecting on the Seraphim, and I've noticed the doors on the starboard hangar of this ship have been damaged from our last battle, plus we've lost a few unmanned guns on the outside. See if you can fix all that." He handed the necessary files on the damages and went back to the bridge.

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Soon enough, Admiral Holt arrived at one of the hangars. He could already see the fighters and mechs at the ready for when the new pilots arrived. The 101st fleet was among the best of the best the Benjlakki Republic Navy could provide, yet even they required new recruits to replenish from the previous battles that resulted in brutal losses on both sides. Hopefully, this Brown Wing Team would last longer than the previous bunch of mech pilots.




Abercio nodded, then walked on over to his and Bella's ship's hanger where their co-piloted mech, the 5T-1 Olympian, a mech which had the appearance of a feminine individual in ancient armor, with a round shield, a couple rifles, and a mech vibroblade capable of slicing beams in two. He put on his costume/disguise and climbed into he cockpit, waiting for Belladonna to do the same. Once both co-pilots were inside, Abercio contacted the personal troops with, "The time has come, comrades, to commence with our first battle! What we do in space will ultimately determine the outcome of the war with Benjlakk! Our destination is the military space station above Myrstrarkia! The objective: keep the Benjlakki troops from dropping their mechs! For this purpose, it will be a siege on the space station! Orbital Colony Shiona will no doubt send reinforcements, so stay on guard!"

Setting the coordinates, Abercio gave the orders for all mechs and ships to launch. Soon enough, They were in the atmosphere, then in the space above Myrstrarkia. As expected, the enemy space station had anticipated the arrival of Metargo troops, launching missiles in the direction of Abercio's troops. "Evasive action! Power to shields!" Most were able to prevent serious damage, aside from several ships and some mechs that were destroyed in the process. "Units up front, take out their missile launchers and other interception guns! The rest of you, prepare for mech-to-mech combat! Ships, stay at the ready!"

The missile launchers on the space station were destroyed in quick order, along with several interception guns. This forced the station to send out the mechs. Any Benjlakki mechs that attempted to destroy the ships would be forced back. This in turn caused said Benjlakki pilots to man their mechs against those of Abercio's troops, collectively called the Moon Force. The siege had begun, with mechs on both sides suffering heavy damage and/or being destroyed. Abercio gave orders as situations arised, the Moon Force not letting up in the face of danger from the Benjlakki mechs.




Aaron received the papers from Cecilia, still shell shocked by her coming onboard as part of Lion Team. If she thought he blamed her at all for the break up, it would not sit well with him. After all, he had nothing against her, but her father. The break up was forced upon them. Once the formalities were finished, Aaron regained his posture and told Lion Team, "All right, to your quarters until further notice! We won't see any action, for now! Cecilia, come with me to your room on the titan." He showed her where she would be staying, which was next to Aaron's room.




Adira and Chemda were a little surprised that Dao gave the two some water. Although, the question of how they came to be so fit was not anything new. Adira answered with a vague answer, "I would have to say it is a combination of lessons from gymnastics and having naturally developed the endurance. We... always have been odd among our peers in that we were always the stronger, faster, and tougher."

Chemda chimed in with, "But, we never let that bother us!" Sipping some water, Chemda continued with, "I've noticed you've become quite a swordsman! I've heard not many people can master a blade so quickly!"

Adira nodded calmly with a serious face. "It takes a great deal of determination and devotion to the mastery of the weapon in order to be skilled at it. I am impressed, myself."

Meanwhile, Zechariah and Benjamin were drinking up a lot of water due to exhaustion from putting in extra effort to improve their skills and athleticism. Benjamin received Ori's message and laughed a little, hiding the disk so nobody would notice. So much happened during the first four months, and with the training coming to a close, ben could not wait to be on the action. Zechariah, on the other hand, wished he was anywhere but a place involving the military. Looking up at the sky, he barely noticed a small dot in the sky, which fell from sight behind the trees. "I wonder what that could have been."

Benjamin finished chugging his water in time to pose the query, "What was that?"

Zechariah shook his head. "Nothing"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Benjamin Malachi Character Portrait: Kyle Scipio Character Portrait: Zechariah Malachi Character Portrait: Cecilia Lumine Character Portrait: Aaron Lextu Character Portrait: Dao Danmao
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Abercio listened intently to what Belladonna had to say, nodding with her. She does have a point. We can still win this and seize the space station. It does not have to be a siege. Thinking over what he witnessed in battle, and knowing his fleet's current capabilities, he came up with a bold plan. "What if we were to use the Raven and Mighty Duck's hulls as bait? They are a bit damaged, but can still take some damage. Their durability will provide enough time for our bombers and mechs to launch from those two makeshift carriers while the other seven ships flank the enemy fleet. Of course, in order to fool them into thinking we are vulnerable, those ships will pull out as if bailing out on us. This will give us the element of surprise and enable us to outflank them on two sides, three on one, four on the other. If it works, we will be rid of the battleship and the remaining two gunner vessels. Orbital Colony Shiona will not be able to send anymore reinforcements due to needing them to defend the space colony, which means we will be safe once the space station is ours. How long that will last, I cannot say."

Thinking on it some more, he realized something. "Wait a minute! I know! I can contact the captain of a shuttle headed to the Titan to see if they spotted a training camp. He is one of our trusted men who know of what we are doing out here." There was no reply. "Captain Commodus! Come in! Do you read me!?" Still no reply. The worst part was, this captain was escorting one of his sisters! If he crashed, and she was dead...

The reality of the danger left him distraught. "No... she can't be dead... not sweet lil' Sorell..." Normally, he would let his parents command the Lion Team, but since his sister was involved, he could not think straight until he knew she was safe. In a rage, he punched in the numbers to call Aaron Lextu on his comm disk.

Soon enough, the two men were connected, Aaron bowing his head in respect to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, it is an honor receive a call from you! How may I serve?"

"My sister, Sorell! She's stranded in enemy territory! She could be dead, or worse! Take your squadron, and a transport shuttle with troops and the princess's maid, to the last known coordinates of the shuttle that crashed, the coordinates of which are being sent, now! If anyone jeopardizes her safety, kill them!"

"It will be done, your highness."


Abercio ended the call after the exchange of words. His mix of anger, fear, and sadness kept him from focusing on the task at hand. He knew somebody had to lead the fleet, so he put on his mask/helmet and told Belladonna, "Take over the fleet, for now, Bella! Somebody with a cool head needs to lead these men!"




Kyle shook his head. "N-no, I... I-I don't need anything... I-I just... uh..." He became flustered for a moment. "I-I just could not help but notice how attractive you are."He then attempted to try to catch himself. "B-But that doesn't mean I want to sleep with you, or anything!" Catching himself in a lie, he groaned. "Okay! Sometimes, I want to, but that would be breaking all the rules! Besides, I..." Kyle soon gave up on explaining himself and opened the door to his quarters. He added in frustration, "Oh, what's the use? A street guy like me doesn't stand a chance with a royal maid!" Once inside, he punched the "close and lock" button angrily while beating himself up mentally.

~About the time after Abercio made the call to Aaron, and while Sorell was discovered to be the Princess by Zechariah...~


Kyle spent the free time he had perfecting his illustration skills. Unlike the more destructive modes of distraction, like premarital sex and alcohol, sketching was a lot more soothing for him. He picked up on the skill from George Lucius, one of his fellow Lions. For some reason, however, Kyle felt the older young man looked like one of the pre-war Benjlakki aces he heard about from the Prime Minister's son. The particular illustration Kyle was creating was of Fion. As perverted as he was, you would think he would depict her in an erotic pose or something like that. Instead, he drew her in her maid outfit with the armor she wore when out into battle, holding a spear in one hand, and a handgun in another. It may have been a depiction of her ready for battle, yet he wanted to make her look gorgeous in the process (not that he needed to put in that much effort). Right when he gave the finishing touches, the emergency alarm sounded with Aaron Lextu - who had special permission to use the alarm due to the Lion Team's standing- stating on the intercom, All Lion Team pilots, to the hangar! Fion, you are requested to be part of the landing force boarding a shuttle! This is a rescue mission to retrieve Princess Sorell! All pilots and assigned troops, to your vehicles and mechs! This is not a drill! Prepare to rescue Princess Sorell!"

Immediately, as the alarm went off with Aaron's orders, Kyle sprung out of his bunk and sprinted to the Titan's hangar, where the maintenance crew was already hard at work preparing all the weapons, mechs, and the shuttle for take off. The soldiers assigned the rescue mission boarded the shuttle single file in two columns. The whole of Lion Team got into their mechs in quick order while waiting for Aaron's signal to go. "All Lions, report in!"

"Lion 14, standing by."
"Lion 13, standing by."
"Lion 12, standing by"

After Cecilia gave her designation number (which was eleven), the rest of the Lions reported in.
"Lion 10, standing by."
"Lion 9, standing by."

"Lion 8, standing by,"
stated Kyle as he focused on the rescue at hand with the controls in his mech's cockpit in his grip.
"Lion 7, standing by."
"Lion 6, standing by."

George checked his controls and systems while reporting in with, "Lion 5, standing by." Then, the rest of the Lions reported in, down to Lion 2.

With all Lions and troops -plus the maid- reported in, Aaron gave the signal for the hanger doors to open. With all systems go in the mechs, he knew the time has come to launch. "Lion Team, launching!" The whole squadron went out first, followed by the shuttle. The rescue, and the Lion Team's first encounter with the Brown Wing Team, was poised to commence.




Meanwhile, Saul stood next to Chanah in shock. He could not believe the shuttle Sorell was in crashed somewhere. He could only hope his daughter was safe somewhere. Normally, he kept his cool, but considering this involved one of his own offspring, his concern and disbelief leaked out clear as day. He could not even speak. All he could do was watch from his and Chanah's personal cabin as Lion Team and the rescue platoon launched.




Antea was surprised at Orland's sudden lifting her up bridal style. It made her blush, honestly. Once in her room and in bed, she felt for his hands and held one of them to be sure he was still there. "Thank you." looking in his direction -although, she could not truly see him in her current state- her smile faded as she decided to say what was on her mind. "Orland? Do you ever feel... alone?" She turned her head as she clarified why she posed such a query. "I'm sorry! It's just... Whenever the family's away, I feel like... I don't have much of anyone to talk to. True, I am surrounded by many folks, but all they see is a princess. They don't exactly see me as, well, me."

Turning her head back so she faced upwards, she added with tears threatening to come out, "What if my parents and siblings were to die in this war? I'd be practically all alone in this prison they call a palace! Nobody I can relate to... nobody to share the pressures with... I... I..." Opening her blind eyes, she turned towards the boy with tears coming out. "Orland... Please, help me up!" Once she was sitting up, Antea felt for Orland's shoulders and clung to him, sobbing.




Zechariah heard Sorell's voice cracking and knew she was crying. At the query of his actions being a trick, he turned around and said in a frantic protest, "No! Not at all!" Great, you're making it worse! Calm down! Tapping his forehead, he thought aloud, "Come on! Think! What would momma do?" He then pointed to himself in confusion and realization. "What would I do!?" He paced around for a brief instant until he had an idea. Pulling out a disk, he played a recording with a kitten playing with yarn. "Kitty cat?" After waiting, he raised an eyebrow and laughed awkwardly. "It's... not working, is it? Okay, um..." He played a different one, with two puppies rough-housing as only cute little puppies would. "Puppy?" Whatever the result was, he did not feel it was working. All he thought he was doing was confusing her.

If only I had teddy with me! He always makes people feel better! Groaning before shaking his head, he chose to hug her gently until she felt better. He was not sure if it would work, but it was all he could think of.

After a few moments like that, he let go after catching sight of the backpack that only Benjamin would leave behind in the shower cabin. And, that could mean only one thing. "Ben, did you sneak in some of the rations, again? Sheesh! When will you just follow the rules people give you!?" Zechariah pulled out the water and food Benjamin left in there while adding, "Seriously! I'm always bailing you out, big brother! Well, serves you right, 'cause a scared-to-death girl needs them more than you do, right now!" Placing the contraband in a different bag, he gave them to Sorell with a smile.

Suddenly, Benjamin came in after hearing he was caught by his own brother, again. "What do you mean, "scared-to-death girl"!? I could have sworn... Metargo!" He caught sight of the Princess and was about to point his new rifle angrily before Zechariah came between them.

"Don't you dare shoot!" The younger brother was determined to see to it that the girl was safe. It was shown clearly in his eyes and stern expression.

"Out of the way! Don't you know who that is!? It's Princess..."

"I know! I'm not stupid! But, I also know she's scared out of her mind!"

"You're so naΓ―ve! We can't let her tell some troops that there is a camp, here!"

"How would you like to give your alibi in a court marshal in front of President Anderson, for killing or otherwise harming a defenseless individual?"
Angrily, Zechariah added, "And, I'm the one who will press charges!"

"You wouldn't!"
Benjamin could not believe it: his own brother was defending a Metargo! And, not just any, but one of the Princesses! And now, he was threatened by him with a military lawsuit.

Emboldened by determination and courage, the younger brother stood there with a firm stare. "Try me."

Now, Benjamin was in for it! Once Zechariah makes such a demand, you know his mind is made up! In resignation, Benjamin lowered his rifle. "Fine! We'll do it your way! So, what's your master plan to get us out of this mess?"

"If Aaron Lextu's profile is any indication,"
replied Zechariah, "he will jump to conclusions and assume we captured her and tortured her. That would give me the opportunity to incite an honor duel under the condition that nobody gets hurt around here. Win or lose, Sorell goes with Lion Team back to her family."

"You would fight the Falcon of Fury!?"

"If I die, then I'm the only casualty."


Benjamin raised his rifle in anger at the thought of seeing Zechariah dead. "Other than him!"

Zechariah raised his voice in frustration. "Benjamin Jacob Malachi!"

Benjamin relented with a groan. "My full name..."

At that moment, Eitan Shapiro entered the room. "Ben, if you were to kill Aaron in retaliation for killing Zechariah, it would be a breach of the agreement your brother wants to make, which would leave nothing to stop Lion Team from blowing the whole training camp to dust and rubble. Unless you think we can beat that squadron with training mechs and machine guns, I believe Zechariah's route is our best bet."

Benjamin began to protest. "Yeah!? Well, there's no way the Captain in charge of the garrison will go for that!"

Suddenly, an elderly voice was heard. "Actually, he thinks it is an excellent idea!"

"Captain Richardson!?"
All three Brown Wings were bewildered to find out the Captain overheard the whole conversation. They knew he was a veteran of the Civil War and a tough man, but for him to agree to what Zechariah sought to do? That was news for them.

Richardson tipped his hat to the Princess in respect. "As much as I feel we must win this war, we must first break away from our old habits from our previous wars. Killing an unarmed individual, royalty or otherwise, would make them a martyr. Not to mention, it would not stand up to moral scrutiny. The Deity forbid we turn into such brutes as we were in the past who mindlessly go around on a killing spree out of some sense of vengeance. Proceed as planned, Brown Wing Team!"

All three men in the room saluted with, "Aye, Captain!"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Benjamin Malachi Character Portrait: Zechariah Malachi Character Portrait: Cecilia Lumine Character Portrait: Aaron Lextu Character Portrait: Dao Danmao Character Portrait: Sorell Metargo
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The Raven and Mighty Duck prepared to have the top hulls face one another while the bottom hulls were used as shields. The full plan would not be executed until Abercio gave the okay to Bella. Brutally efficient, I see. It will have to do. He was still in no state to be leading the fleet, so he gave a silent signal that meant for Bella to proceed.




Antea's sobbing fell silent as she blushed (though Orland would not be able to see it) when he said she had him, shortly before she heard him try to correct himself. He... has a crush on me? Of course, she never actually considered romance, feeling herself not ready for it. Not to mention, she did not want things to be awkward between her and a would-be royal guard. And yet... something was drawing her to him. Could it be a romantic attachment, or something else? She pushed such thoughts aside, and simply smiled while lifting her head and nodding once before returning the hug. "I'd like that."

Suddenly, a royal guard in the typical full-on, white-and-silver armor of the more militarized members of the guard entered the room, only to see the hugging. "Uh... is this a bad time, Princess Antea?"

"No, Marcus! Not at all!"
Antea turned her face towards the armored man, even though she could not see him in her current state. "We were simply having a conversation as friends! Nothing happened!" Her cheerful voice diffused what would otherwise have been an awkward and scandalous situation.

"Oh! Well, in that case, there is news from the Ministry for Agriculture." The guard, known as Marcus, brought out a disk and played the message from the college-aged Minister for Agriculture, the analytical Maximus Estevez.

"Princess Antea! The demand for food is steadily rising with each passing week! We should never have declared war on the very hand that was feeding a very significant portion of our population! I keep telling the Prime Minister to call for a cease-fire, but he won't listen! He is bent on conquering Fertaninn! Our stocks are being drained as this war continues! If we keep fighting like this for a year and a half, roughly a third of our people will starve! We have got to do something to at least delay this crisis from coming!" The message ended with an angry shout from Romano Lopez to attend the meeting that was about to take place as Maximus was leaving his message, with the Minister for Agriculture turning off his comm disk after that.

Antea, after careful thought, turned to Orland and said, "Please, set me in my wheelchair. This dilemma is too important to just watch from the sidelines." Before, she was undecided as to whether this war was worth it, but now that she heard from the Minister for Agriculture on the current dangers of resuming the war, she now felt determined to do what she could until she could convince Parliament to vote on a cease-fire. [color]"Marcus, gather any of the guard that are currently off-duty because of this war and tell them to prepare for a trip to the reservations in the Brigiuog Islands. We must negotiate an agreement that would involve a broader sharing of resources."[/color]

Marcus began to protest with his hands up. "Madam! There are still Caninisian rebels in our half of those islands! They would not hesitate to slit your throat, or worse!"

"That's where you come in, Marcus!"
It was no use arguing with her once she set her mind to something she knew would help her people. "This is what you've trained for! Make the necessary preparations at our armory and let's go once a shuttle is ready for us!"

Marcus hesitated, then bowed his head in resignation. "Yes... your Highness." Clearly, he feared the worst would happen to Antea. he sprinted off immediately to contact all off-duty royal guard to suit up in full armor and weapons at the armory in preparation to escort and protect the Princess, while also calling in a shuttle to prepare for their boarding with her.

Antea sighed in relief, then smiled and turned her head toward Orland from in her wheelchair. "Would you mind pushing the wheelchair, Orland? It would be nice of you."




Zechariah had just completed telling Chemda, Adira, Eitan, Dao, the rest of Brown Wing Team, -aside from Benjamin, who was letting off steam with a punching bag- and his trusty robotic bird, Gary, about how the duel would work when Sorell showed up right in front of them all, sitting down on one of the benches and talking to Zechariah, specifically. The query regarding his brother was responded to with a nod and a smile. He was about to tell her that he was a softy once you got to know him when Sorell got right to the point, causing him to listen in curiosity. The moment she concluded saying for him to call her if he ever felt like talking left him confused. "Huh?" He then noticed her give him a paper with her contact information, smiling once he heard her speak of how she wished they met under different circumstances and had the ability to end the war. "I know what you mean!" Hugging her, he added, "And, I'll be sure to call you when I get the chance!"

Noticing the shuttle preparing to land nearby, he let go of the Princess and signaled for Gary to connect to Lion Team's communications for him. Back when the younger Malachi brother and Karl Lopez were attending school together (Karl was an exchange student, and Romano Lopez's only son), they worked on plenty of robotics projects together, Gary being one of them. Karl snuck into the green, robotic bird a hacking system in case Zechariah ever needed it. For some reason, he felt danger was up ahead that would require the hacking system. The younger Malachi brother now felt grateful that Karl did install it, regardless of how he felt of such an action before. The Metargo marines had just gotten out of their shuttle and begun to sprint towards the camp when Gary finally connected to Aaron Lextu, a hologram of him showing from the display ray installed on the ceiling of Gary's upper beak.

"Aaron Lextu, this is Zechariah Malachi, from Brown Wing Team! Sorell is safe! There is no need for a fight!"

As expected, the Falcon of Fury was not buying it. He gritted his teeth and angrily shouted in Benjlakki, "You can't fool me, Benjlakki scum! I know your type! What did you do to torture her after you seized her!?"

Benjamin, upon hearing Aaron's interrogative remark, became insulted at what was said to his brother and got in between him and the hologram. "You calling my brother a liar!?"

"Benjamin Jacob Malachi!"
Once Ben relented after hearing his full name and got out of his younger brother's way, Zechariah resumed with the talk. "I assure you, we did nothing to hurt her. She snuck in here after her shuttle crashed, and we only found out about it later."[.color] Blushing, he awkwardly added, [color=blue]"Don't ask! A-Anyway..." Composing himself, he resumed as planned. "Since the honor of this base has been insulted, you leave me no choice but to challenge you to an honor duel. That's the traditional procedure when somebody in Metargo wants to defend someone's honor, right? Karl Lopez once did that to defend my brother's back in high school."

~During Zechariah's high school days...~


Benjamin was hard at work on a card for Oriana's birthday, and he was hardly poetic. He was so busy thinking up words and discarding them in his mind, that he forgot to look where he was going in the hallway. The result was him bumping into a boy and causing him to accidentally spill his protein shake on his girlfriend, who stormed off before an apology could be given. In a rage, the boy that was bumped into turned around and began crunching his knuckles, saying to Ben, "So, you get jealous that I had a girlfriend, and now you decide to ruin my date, huh? This is gonna hurt!"

Now enraged himself, Ben got into a fighting stance while retorting with, "I was going to apologize for bumping into you and not paying attention to where I was going, but since you are throwing a hissy fit over something you could have avoided by keeping that stupid bottle closed, I guess I won't!"

A brawl seemed imminent prior to Karl getting between them, clearly angry. "Enough! Stop this madness!" He then turned towards the boy that accused Benjamin of bumping into him on purpose. "And, as for you, you dare to insult the honor of my friend's brother!? Only a duel between you and I shall settle this!"

The boy spit on the floor and sneered. "A duel, huh? Sounds fun, whatever that is!"

Zechariah could not believe Karl was serious about a duel! Someone could get hurt! Just as he thought things turned out for the worst, Karl gave the terms of it: a martial arts mattress was to be set in the gymnasium after school, both duelists to be armed with wooden swords while padded. The first person to hit the protected torso of the opponent with a wooden sword, wins. If Karl won, the boy was to apologize to Benjamin for his false accusation. If the boy Karl challenged won, Benjamin would owe him a protein shake. Details cut short, Karl easily outmatched the boy and managed to knocked the wooden sword out of his hand to stab him on the padded torso for the victory, resulting in Benjamin receiving his apology. Once the duel was over, Karl told Zechairah that honor duels were common in Metargo when settling disputes, especially among soldiers, royalty, and the nobility.

~Passing forward to Zechariah's challenge to Aaron...~


Aaron narrowed his eyes intently while using the signal-flare gun equipped to his mech to shoot a flare up as a way of telling the troops on the ground to stand down. He landed, the rest of Lion Team following suit, while shutting down all but the exiting and communications systems on his Falcon. "I'm listening."

So far, so good. All Zechariah had to now was give the terms before the action began. "First, the condition for after the duel: Win or lose, Sorell goes home to her family without any further fighting."

"Go on."

"As for how it will be fought: We both start off unarmed, then each time a minute passes, we stop what we are doing and somebody passes a weapon each to us. Rifles and handguns are to be set to stun, no ballistic firearms allowed. Only ranged weapons to be used are plasma weapons that can be set to where it is nonlethal. Whatever ammo is in there is all you can use. Swords and knives are permissible. A maximum of two weapons will be allowed throughout the duel. After each participant receives two weapons, that is it; no more will be used. Victory is determined when the opponent is in a situation where he can no longer fight, or if they give up. Do you accept?"


Pleased with the terms, Aaron opened the cockpit of his Falcon and used the AI-controlled rope to exit without breaking his neck while coming down from there. He walked up to talking distance of Zechariah, whom was now out in the open, and gave his approval with, "I accept." Now speaking in Metargo, he contacted Kyle on comm disk with, "Private Scipio, hold on to my weapons! Toss one of my two swords to me after every minute that passes!"

"Gary," Zechariah told his robotic bird, "keep track of the time and signal when a minute has passed. Do that for two minutes, okay?" Gary nodded and started to fly over the two duelists like an eagle, waiting until they got into their stances before imitating a sports foghorn to signal the beginning of the duel.

Aaron wasted no time in closing the gap and throwing a punch at Zechariah, who spun around in an evasion while countering with a punch aimed at his head, deflected by Lextu as he turned his head to reface his opponent. As the minute passed with them continuing the duel, it was clear immediately that Zechariah was faster and more agile while Aaron relied more on his strength. The foghorn imitation blared without either of them landing a hit. While Kyle tossed Aaron a sword, Adira did the same for Zechariah. He knew this was a risk, using a melee weapon first when Aaron is more experienced, but at least he could buy time and make the duel interesting. Aaron went on the offensive, with Zechariah blocking with speed and grace. Aaron just began to gain the upper hand when the imitation foghorn blared once more. This time, while Aaron was tossed his other sword, Chemda tossed Zechariah once of her plasma handguns, set to stun.

Now was his chance! The younger Malachi brother wasted no time aiming it at Lextu as he was charging at him before shooting one at his shoulder, forcing him backwards while Zechariah ran towards him before leaping into midair for a spin kick that landed squarely in Aaron's left eye. The Falcon of fury quickly recovered to block the incoming blade. the upper hand would go back and forth before Aaron finally managed to destroy the barrel of the handgun and knock the sword out of Zechariah's hand, forcing to dodge until he could grab Aaron's arm and one of the swords. While they spun around, Zechariah bought his time with it until he let Aaron push him so that he was bending backwards, which was just what he wanted him to do. Zechariah headbutted him before resuming with a swordfight.

This time, with two critical blows to the head, Zechariah had the upper hand. Aaron's movements became slower while Zechariah used his final moves to maneuver in a way that he can finally get past his parries and blocks to have the blade at the Falcon of Fury's neck. Zechariah has won.

Victorious, Zechariah declared in Metargo, "A man's word is to be honored!"

Aaron, admitting defeat with the gritting of his teeth, nodded. "It shall be so."

the duel was over, with both participants returning weapons to one another, before Zechariah returned Adira's sword and Chemda's destroyed handgun. then he told Sorell with a smile. "It's okay. You can go home, now."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Benjamin Malachi Character Portrait: Kyle Scipio Character Portrait: Zechariah Malachi Character Portrait: Cecilia Lumine Character Portrait: Aaron Lextu Character Portrait: Dao Danmao
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Abercio heard Bella, yet did not listen until his name was mentioned for his attention. The query of whether there was a traitor was answered with a shrug. "Possibly. I'm not leaving anything I'm considering a possibility off the table. If so, we will need to send in a spy to Orbital Colony Shiona to find out more. I will handle that." Sending a coded message to one of his personal spies, he continued to talk. "It could also be that a Caninisian rebel was able to get a hold of some records detailing the technology. He or she would have to have been very clever to pull it off. If not that, then possibly a mercenary or other hired scoundrel was responsible." Abercio sat up. "Right now, until my spy I just informed gets to the bottom of it, we should focus on what we are doing right now. If there is indeed a traitor involved, we will know about it in due time."




Antea did hear that Africanus Bastion died on his way to work as part of the Royal Guard. To hear that Orland and his mother, Alivia Bastion, were the only ones left in the household, left her a bit sad. And yet, she found it heart-warming that Orland spends such quality time with her, baking together. She could not help but smile. The convseration was shotlived, as it was suggested that Orland be armed with a concealable weapon. "I have to agree with Argento. the rebels that are still out there won't expect you to be able to fight them off. a military-standard knife that can be concealed should come in handy, plus a concealable handgun. Argento, see to it he gets those two weapons."

"It will be done, milady."


Antea placed her right hand on Orland's to assure him it was okay. "Once I can see, I will teach you some basics on how to shoot. I may not be able to fight for prolonged periods of time, since I never exercised all that much, but I have learned how to use a handgun efficiently. Abercio was very adamant that I attain such a skill, in case I'm in trouble."




Saul hugged and kissed Chanah back in joy and watched as Cecilia brought Aaron to one of the medics for medical attention. Chancah's words left him chuckling softly. "Always the matchmaker you are, love!" After his wife had gone down to play cupid, Sorell was up in the cabin, welcomed by the King with a fatherly hug.

"It is quite the relief to see you alive, my daughter." Letting go, he posed the query in concern, "Tell me: What went on while you were out there?"




Aaron groaned at Fion's sudden horror. It was not as if she and the rest of the troops and Lion Team did not see him get kicked in the eye by Zechariah seconds after he was shot in the shoulder by a stun blast. They saw the blood that came out of his eye sockets, did they not? It should not have come as any surprise. His mood changed once Cecilia began examining him. Her worried expression left him both confused and awkward. He was about to say something when she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along to the medical bay.

He had to regain his balance once he was shoved in front of a medic, who began to examine him. "How did this happen, Sergeant Lextu?"

Aaron's tone became angry at the thought of his defeat. "That Benjlakki scum, Zechariah Malachi, kicked me there after he stunned me with a plasma handgun during our duel! He'll pay for..."

"Yes, we know. It is no secret you are slow to forgive, most of the time. Anyway, we'll have to examine it more close with an X-ray."
preparing the X-ray, he asked, "You had your RL-5 Falcon on autopilot when returning to the Titan, correct?"

"Yes, sir. If I were to have piloted it manually, I would not have kept the mech flying straight."

"Good, good."
After careful examination, the medic was ready to give his report. "Sergeant, I have some good news, and some bad news. The bad news is, the damage to the eye is permanent, leaving you without the 20-20 vision necessary to qualify for piloting anything in the military. The good news is, we can replace that eye with a cybernetic one. It won't be brown, like your right eye, it will be silver, but eyes are not for show, are they?"

"No, sir."

"I did not think so."
The medic began contacting the surgeons and the Head Mechanic on the Titan, Bibiana Durrans, to make the arrangements.

Meanwhile, Aaron had time to talk to Cecilia. "So, uh... How's your brother?"




Kyle was surprised to be standing face-to-face with the Queen. His right eyebrow rose a bit in curiosity. "Yes, your majesty?" Technically, he was a Private, but to be called an officer by Queen Chanah was kind of an honor for him, even though his mischievous behavior kept him from being promoted. Upon request, Scipio gave the report.

"Well, there were no casualties on either side, for one, which is a first. The reason for that is, Aaron Lextu was challenged by a Zechariah Malachi to an honor duel when the base we found the Princess at was accused of capturing and torturing her. Apparently, Zechariah found out about honor duels from the Prime Minister's son in high school. Details cut short, Zechariah managed to beat Aaron, and the condition for after the duel was, win or lose, Princess Sorell was to return safely home without further fighting. Your daughter thanked Zechariah Malachi for the safe passage to here without bloodshed the traditional way, bowing while reciting the Expression of Gratitude, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. It is rather odd, a Malachi, of all people, wanting an issue between himself and his enemies resolved without a fight to the death. Anyway, that is the sum of what happened. It seems he was expecting to be outmatched in a swordfight, and he made up for it by being a deadly shot. The plasma handgun he used was set to stun, since ranged weaponry was not allowed to be lethal for that duel. He did not solely fight with a ranged weapon, though he did use that to help him gain the upper hand. If there's one thing I can gather from seeing him fight, he will be Sergeant Lextu's greatest adversary."

Meanwhile, Bibiana Armine Durrans was already examining the mechs when Fion came up to her. She expected it was about the mechs. "Here about the mechs, Miss Silk?" She let Fion say what she had to say before telling her straight. "We are checking 'em, dang it! It's standard flipping procedure under my watch to do it when they arrive!" While scanning, she gave her report. "You know, this is the first time I am unable to find much of anything wrong with the mechs. No malfunction, no parts damaged, only signs of Sergeant Lextu's RL-5 Falcon's communications having been hacked. What went on back there, anyway!?"




Benjamin was feeling far too awkward to say anything, until he noticed Oriana had a robotic arm. He blatantly ignored her query of whether he and his brother wanted to be the death of her and rushed to her side. "Holy cow! What in Myrstarkia happened to your arm!?" He grabbed hold of it like the man in love with her many people knew he was. "When did this happen!? Who did it!? I swear, if it was those Metargo filth, I'll..."

"Seaman Benjamin Jacob Malachi!"
Captain Richardson had just returned from sending Zechariah to a corpsman who would take him to the infirmary for examination.

Benjamin relented and said, "Yes, sir."

Richardson began with the promotions, starting with Benjamin to Seaman Apprentice, the second lowest rank."In charge of Brown Wing Team from now on will be Petty Officer Zechariah Malachi, who clearly has the mind to think through a dire situation." As he listed other promotions, Brown Wing Team stood at attention. Eitan Shapiro and Sevrin Angelle were promoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class, The Shapiro twins, Dao, and one other member of Brown Wing Team, were promoted to Petty Officer 3rd Class. The others, like Benjamin, were promoted to Seaman Apprentice.

Once the promotions were over, the Captain calmly looked at Oriana. "To be fair, Secretary Aspiral, we simply were preoccupied. We were going to send Sergeant Malachi to the infirmary, either way."

Meanwhile, in the camp infirmary, Zechariah looked at the stripes given to him that indicated he was now a Petty Officer 1st Class (full title Mech Pilot Petty Officer First Class), the equivalent to a staff sergeant in the Army. While he appreciated the promotion, he was much more pleased that Sorell was safe and sound. "I'll be leading Brown Wing Team, won't I?"

"Yes, Petty Officer."


This meant the burden would be on him to lead Brown Wing Team to victory, especially against the Lion Team. That would not be easy, physically, mentally, or emotionally. The blood of many Metargo would be on his hands, a shame that he would possibly carry the rest of his life. His thoughts, however, returned periodically to Sorell. For some reason, he could not stop thinking of her.