Chapter 1 - Pilot

They said it was a war.

A war so dangerous that half the population was killed to keep it a secret. I know that the mages fear them even now- those war machines of Earth. My father is a human, and a mage is my mother.

I've been at sea for over two days now. My tiny row boat has run out of food, and I'm starting to feel starvation. There's no way I can turn back now, not with the mage watch.

'Huh?'

Something hit my boat through the mist.

A steel wall caught my attention. The wall towered way above my sight in the fog. Being made of pure steel, it was a telltale sign of something from Earth. 'Was this it?!' I thought that maybe, I could find some clues about my father.

It took half an hour to row around the wall, before I came across a corner. Shortly after the corner, I found a way in.

Once inside the fortress, the fog almost completely faded. Inside was a massive marine hangar. About 4 large steel boats waded in very shallow water, and I was certain that more were sitting beyond the mist.

A single ladder revealed itself through the fog, with a balcony above it.

Once on the balcony, there were a few things I could see. Full sets of clothing dotted the floor. I saw weapons here and there, but there was no one left to use them.

It didn't take much thinking to figure out where everyone disappeared to.

Just like my father, these people had disappeared all at once. It was the result of blood magic- which removed an entire species using divine dragons as a sacrifice. 

I smiled to myself, feeling reassured that it had been easier to hunt five divine dragons than to shut down Earth's nations.

The pathway continued for a very long time, before an emotionless voice caught me off guard.

[ Intruder detected! ]

[ Please Identify yourself! ]

"I'm Connor O'Donnel-"

I said this, terrified, and not seeing where the voice came from.

[ Are you related to Mitch O'Donnell? ]

".. yes?"

[ Voice recognition confirmed. Family member of the Lieutenant- ]

[ Please do not enter restricted areas without proper permission. ]

"Where do I go then? I can't even see anything."

[ I will direct y- ]

The voice abruptly cut off, which caused sudden panic. I was almost certain that the voice belonged to a low-level war machine. Its AI could have grown defective after being unattended to, and it could kill me in an instant.

[ This is Aegis-II speaking. You are a half-mage, correct? ]

Another war machine had taken control of the lesser unit. I felt relieved. Everything was exactly as father told me.

"Yes- I'm half mage and half human." As if the war machine could read my thoughts, the voice continued.

[ No need to be afraid. My AI has not gone defective. Are you hungry? ]

Even though my stomach grumbled, I needed to ask. For me, hunger couldn't ever compare to knowledge-

"I need to know, what happened to you all?"

….

….

Captain Mach gazed into the distance, feeling oddly tense. He led the United States' 23rd aircraft carrier fleet-- an incredible accomplishment for someone his age.

"Aircraft on the radar."

One of the officers made note of the radar, and another tried to contact them. 

"No response."

Captain Mach felt doubtful. Tension between the United States and Russia was too thick. With the war in Ukraine, one rogue missile could mean the start of world war 3.

"Do not fire unless fired upon."

More than likely this plane would be some kind of taunt. Russia and China had been probing US defenses almost every week. Captain Mach expected that the aircraft would do a close fly-by, then wait for the enemy bureaucrats to call their ships unprofessional. 

He almost chuckled, thinking about how childish the twitter posts would sound, but stopped himself. Even though the enemy had laughable leaders they didn't have laughable power.

"Sir! Seven incoming projectiles."

"Really? Intercept them." Mach answered calmly.

One of the escort destroyers locked its anti-air weapon, the CRAM. The name CRAM stands for "Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar," but the name was underwhelming. It costs $12,000 to fire it for 10 seconds.

A wave of bullets cut into the sky. They collided with the enemy's projectiles after a few seconds, and echoed with little pops. 

"All projectiles destroyed."

"Hold on, we've got a lock on the enemy. It's not a plane." One of the officers turned around in his chair to show Captain Mach the image. They were fighting a dragon.

"There's a person on its back." Mach mentioned. "Warn them by loudspeaker that we'll shoot them down if they want to go further." When Mach said this, the dragon turned towards the ships. They didn't have enough time to warn them.

Two anti-air missiles launched from an escort frigate. Captain Mach watched them soar to the enemy. The dragon collided with the missiles, but kept flying at full speed.

"Brace for impact!" An officer sounded the alarm while the various CRAMs let out thousands of bullets. The dragon suddenly slammed onto the deck, and slid into the edge of a helicopter. 

"I want soldiers on that deck! Asap! War Machine's included!"

"On it!" Twenty maries entered the deck on foot. They shuddered, abruptly realizing that they were facing a dragon with only assault rifles. The dragon groaned with a quiet roar. No one could fire a shot.

Several War Machines entered the deck, armed with .50 caliber machine guns. The sound of their robotic-joints bounced like springs. Another low roar. Marines who had been shocked to see the robots turned their attention back to the dragon. The dragon lifted its wing slowly..

>Bang!<

A misfire. One of the soldiers pulled the trigger by accident. He was shocked to see a young woman sheltered by the dragon's lower arms.

[Humans..]

The dragon spoke. Its voice echoed past the carrier, but didn't feel loud. Captain Mach entered the deck a few seconds later.

[Are you with the empire.. Humans?..]

Captain Mach watched the dying beast. It looked pitiful. The soldiers lowered their aim without thinking, but quickly raised their guns again when the captain recklessly approached the dragon.

"I've never heard of a country called the empire."

Mach calmly sat down next to the head of the dragon. It let out a snort, kind of like some kind of massive horse. He almost wanted to pet it- no, that'd be crazy..

Really, Mach felt respect somehow. It managed to pass through the fleet by sacrificing its own body. But, all to protect one person. Captain Mach knew as soon as he saw her. The dragon was just trying to keep her safe. Even if it meant she'd be a prisoner of war.

[Can you.. Protect her?]

Captain Mach looked at the woman. She looked like royalty, if that was a skin tone. Her vibrant white hair color seemed to glow a little bit. He thought about it rationally.

The U.S. would surely take her in, but the dragon attacked their vessels. She'd probably have to leave the dragon's body behind to research..

"I can, but my country will want to take you…" Mach couldn't say the words, but the dragon understood what would happen to him.

[All you have to do is protect her.]

[Please tell her when she wakes up, to be healthy and strong.]

"I will."

As if the dragon was gripping his soul, he finally let go. Its eyes faded to gray. Captain Mach sighed. 'A super cool beast dies, but all I'm gonna do is fill out paperwork..' He turned to the crowd of soldiers.

"Take this lady to.." Mach paused. "Take this lady to the new model. She'll be under his jurisdiction."