1 Chapter 1: Death (1)
There was a large battle taking place. On that dark night, the outcome of the battle was uncertain. The city that once stood there was in ruins. The sky was covered in dark clouds that were heavily raining on the combatants beneath. The floating islands in the sky, or what remained of them, made the already dark night even darker with their shadows that drowned out the light of flames.
On one side of the now ruined city was a large group of military personnel and forces. Decked out in their blue and red uniforms, the infantry on the ground were constantly firing their weapons without break as long as they saw enemies in front of them.
The heavy vehicles and tasks behind them fired laser, bolts, and artillery on the other side of the city. But the most obvious things on the battlefield were the mechs that were between 15 and 25 meters tall.
Their weapons wiped out entire squadrons of infantry or took down the enemy vehicles by completely destroying them or at least disabling them.
This army would have looked mighty and royal if they were under any other circumstances. Now, they looked sorry and almost defeated.
Their armor and vehicles were covered in mud, weapon scars, and blood. The men and women were not leading an assault but instead having a last stand defense.
On the other side, the winning side, were a large number of people, mechs, and vehicles that looked very different from one another. There were 3 main groups among the enemy forces.
The ones in black and green were the natives of the planet that was currently being battled on. These reptilian humanoids had an average height of 2 meters with he largest being even 3.
Another group wore gold and pink. These outlandish looking people were the Russan pirates. They had their main base on the world and did not wish to allow the Cerulean Republic to take over. If they were able to win, one of their first missions would be to wipe out or arrest the pirates.
The last group was the most mysterious. These beings looked like they were top of the line military/professionals. This group was made up of members of the Zeo Federation. They were enemies of the Republic and would attack any armies they could or disrupt their conquest of planets.
These 3 groups had no other common interest for working together than to simply stop the Republic. As for what would happen afterward, no one was sure. But that did not matter to them. All that mattered to them was to press on their attack and kill all of the Republic's army that had been sent to this world.
And they were acomplishing this goal at the moment.
-----
Standing under a tent, a man wearing an officer's uniform was looking at his communicator. He had just gotten done with talking to their reinforcements. The group could not ensure space superiorty for a long period of time so he left the officer with 2 choices.
Either fight as long as they could and hope the reinforcements would arrive before they were wiped out or to call in a large transport ship and board as many of his soldiers as possible.
Neither was a great option. The first would mean almost certain death for the forces on the ground. The second was not much better. Not only did they have to protect the transport ship while boarding it, but they would also have to fight off enemies themselveswho would try their best to not allow anyone to escape.
The officer gave it some thought for a moment before he chose the second. When the Admiral asked why he chose that option, the officer replied with
"We have 2 Espers down here. We lost 3 of our 5 Espers while their ACEs were heavily damaged in a battle with the enemies forces. We can use those two to ensure that our army gets as many soldiers as possible on the ship while the suffering the smallest amount of damage. With their skills, even with their ACEs damaged, they should be able to follow us on board."
Hearing the explanation, the Admiral nodded his head and said that he was sending down the craft. The officer afirmed that he heard the orders before hanging up.
A solemn look appeared on his face once he did. He had downplayed the injuries of both of the Espers and their ACEs. While he made it seem like their were missing a limb or some of their systems were not working right, it was better to say that they were on their last legs.
But he had to harden his heart. If the pair did not act, the chances of everyone dying was very high. So as the commanding officer, he had made his choice.
He looked toward his aide and said, "Call Jalim and Sunia here. I will brief them over their mission."
The aide looked reluctant at first but once he thought about the circumstances they were under, he agreed and went to get the pair of Espers.
The officer sat down in his chair and said a silent prayer,
'Please let this be the right decision. For if it is not, I will truly suffer when I get back to Silia. While I am willing to atone for my sins, those are only the sins I truly acknowledge I have committed.'
