Chapter 15: The Chariot and The Hermit

As the Executive Councilor processed my answer, a small partition in the armor of its thigh opened. It pulled out a small medal and held it up to me. It looked similar to the same medal my uncle wore though in the center was the crest of the Albion Academy.

"We of the council recognize your acceptance," the Executive Councilor stated. "We will begin preparations for Nova Astra's establishment. Please take the next week to prepare to sortie."

Taking the medal, I gripped it tightly. Weirdly enough even though it was so little it was quite heavy. There was so much depending on the success of Nova Astra now, not to mention what would happen if I fell short or failed. Executive Councilor Panopticon returned to its seat.

"With Subject Xenthos's acceptance and by the will of the council. This tribunal is adjourned."

Everyone who'd been seated rose from their seats. The Chieftess and Empress were the first to leave as Agents escorted them out of parliament. The Chieftess did give me the stink eye as she left which let me know she still was against it. She had a right but she didn't have to be so jaded. As the Ambassador and The Grand Arbiter were escorted, they took the path past me.

"Do your best, my dear boy," Grand Arbiter Justinia mused as she passed me.

The Ambassador stopped beside me before proceeding any further. "I will always follow, Executive Panopticon's judgment as it has not failed us thus far. Do not allow my trust in the Executive to waiver."

"Duly noted," I thought. I made my way over to Alice and Seraph who seemed just as worn out as I was.

"Ugh... All of these politics remind me of when the Majors would meet," Seraph said. "Too boring and full of problems."

"It at least allows us to act without being restricted by the council," said Alice.

"How would they restrict us? We weren't the ones on trial."

"Yeah, but considering we're all Arcadians, the likely chance they'd exile one and not the other two was pretty high," I added.

Alice nodded, "The Executive Councilor didn't wish to make more enemies."

It was weird to assume that the Prime System would have more enemies. Given my initial impressions of Alice, I doubt she'd make a fuss about being exiled. But since she said that it made me wonder.

"That went rather well," my Dad chirped as he mosied on into our conversation. "I wasn't expecting two council members to vote against but we got the outcome that was most favorable."

"Being conscripted into some sort of a black-ops organization was our best outcome?" Asking that aloud and my Father's accompanying nod made the idea seem so ludicrous it was hard to even fathom that a machine was the one to make the final decision.

"Anyways, I must go along with the Executive Councilor, we have much to prepare for in the next week. I believe the Lance Corporal should be here any minute. She'll take you guys to Nova Astra's appointed headquarters."

I didn't think I'd get to meet the Lance Corporal so soon. But I guess it was as good a time as any.

"Oh yes, I believe she'll be accompanied by someone as well," Dad added. "I hope you're prepared Soran."

Dad left me with that little ominous bit to converse some more with the Executive Councilor. As there was no longer any purpose to staying in Parliament the three of us got up and headed for the door. Approaching said door, I noticed there was a presence behind it. It was the same presence as Alice or Seraph exuded. Beyond the door a small yellow symbol glowed, depicting a young knight riding a chariot pulled by a pair of horses. He carried in his right hand a lightning bolt too. Whoever was beyond the door opened it themselves. I could feel my excitement rise as I saw who bore such a mark, then felt an incredible amount of dread as I realized what it meant.

"Yo Snow White, How's tricks?"

I could feel my eyes burning as tears filled them. Ever since I woke I'd been so absorbed in all the things I'd been learning and what I was going to get into that I hadn't had so much time to worry about my friends. Yet, here and now my best friend had been right before me, his smile oddly radiant. I reached out my hand for him to shake and part of me was worried that this was all a dream and I'd been hallucinating it. As he took my hand my suspicions were quickly cleared though I wasn't expecting what came next. Pulling me toward him he raised his other hand, clenching his fist tightly, and even though I couldn't see his fist do it, I felt something smash right into my face so hard, that spit flew out of my mouth.

Alice caught me before I fell and Seraph stood in between us now. As I stared at my best friend astonished at the punch he'd just delivered I could see his smile never faded. Strangely enough, I could see sparks zip about along his right hand.

"That's for keeping secrets," he said. "With that, we're even."

That was right. I'd completely forgotten I kept Bahamut a secret from my friends. What's more, I'd forgotten what that meant for Andrew and me.

"You've given your greeting Agent Pendragon," spoke a voice from behind Andrew. "Now let's be off so we can get the Commander back in fighting shape."

Alice and Seraph helped me to my feet and I now could see who'd been speaking. She'd been a dark-haired woman wearing a skin-tight combat suit I sometimes saw a lot of the special-ops troopers wore in old mission files. She had pieces of armor protecting her knees, elbows, and chest and wore a blue cropped jacket.

"Ugh... Alright, I deserved that," I muttered. "I'm guessing that must be Lance Corporal Bordeaux behind you."

The Lance Corporal stopped next to Andrew and saluted me. "That is correct", she answered, "though the Lance Corporal rank is a formality."

"Yeah, she's apparently a badass," Andrew added, "And a hot one too." Lance Corporal Bordeaux jabbed her elbow into Andrew's side making him buckle and wince a bit. I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle.

She cleared her throat and held out her hand. "You may call me Claudia if you wish, Commander Xenthos."

Shaking her hand, she had a weirdly firm handshake. Thanks to Andrew I'd started to notice her more womanly features and couldn't stop my cheeks from turning red. It reminded me of Satomi, which was bad I knew but I really couldn't help it. Shaking my head I tried to focus on her eyes instead of allowing my friend's perverse thoughts to seep into mine.

"Just call me Soran," I said, "The Commander thing is a little too formal."

Claudia shook her head, "You'll be learning much as you take command of Nova Astra. The importance of rank and how your men look up to you is one of those things. Now if you will..."

Claudia headed down the stairs leading up to parliament. After making sure I was ok Seraph and Alice followed after her leaving Andrew and me to be the last. I wanted to apologize to Andrew for the secret I'd kept from him. Yet as he kept his smile it seemed it was best to leave it at that punch. For a long time, I knew that I'd have to tell my friends about Bahamut, and for a long time, I knew the one who'd be hurt by it the most would be Andrew. His father was a legend in the Economic War, and the machine I piloted had been the one to end that legend. So instead of feeling sorry for myself and expressing how much I didn't want things to turn out this way, I thought of something else.

"Everyone is ok right?"

Andrew's smile faded and he crossed his arms as the two of us made out way down the stairs. "None of us got injured if that's what you're asking. But everyone has been worried sick about you since... you know..."

There wasn't a need to say it. The state I'd been in said enough.

"You don't know how envious I am of you. You got so many girls worried about you I almost wanted to lose an arm. Granted one of them is your cousin so I guess she's just worried cause the two of you are like siblings."

I wouldn't admit it to him, but it was nice to make Andrew jealous for a change. His days as a playboy came come to an abrupt end. I wasn't sure if he notice that he'd probably get his chance for Minerva now.

Exiting the tower, there'd been another aeromobile awaited us. Claudia and Seraph took the front row with Claudia being the driver. Andrew, Alice, and I squeezed into the middle row as best as we could. Taking off into the night sky we'd passed by the skyscrapers again, though now we were headed further west. This gave me time to figure out something related to my stinging cheek.

"So Andrew, how in the world did you punch me so fast? I could barely tell you even moved."

Andrew tapped his finger against the left side of his chest. I could see the Marker without him even needing to move his clothing out of the way. "Miss Alice told us that there was some sequence this guy named Solomon created. The moment you awakened back at the academy we all got hit by beams of light."

Talia also had a Marker, but it was located at the back of her neck. It was safe to say the others probably had Markers too.

"Anyways," he continued, "All of our Esper Abilities got nitro-boosted ever since we got them. It took me a week to stop spontaneously turning into lightning."

"Wait you can turn into lightning!? I don't see how that's a step up from your normal insane reflexes."

"It's not that farfetched," said Alice. "The Power of the Majors far exceeds anything most would consider normal. Solomon himself could create life while he possessed the Fool."

Looking at my Marker I hadn't considered what I was even capable of yet. The white flames I'd been able to use seemed a lot stronger than the flames I could use before. As I thought about it, I remembered that nasty feeling I'd get while I was out. "I guess I just shoot white and black flames huh?"

As I looked away from my Marker I noticed everyone seemed a bit spooked. Being confused I asked why everyone looked as though they'd seen a ghost. Alice didn't look like she wanted to answer at all and the two up front remained silent as well.

"I'll let Talia get mad at you about that one once we reach the Doc's place," said Andrew.

Seeing we were going into Neo Arcadia's Zenobia district it was clear where we were going. The Zenobia district was famous for being an entertainment district. Lots of theaters, arenas, arcades, and more. The perfect place for a certain scientist to be hiding out. There were so many holo-ads and bars everywhere you'd think this was an Earth city. We landed in front of a model starship store and got out. Inside only the store clerk, a human that seemed to be bored out of his mind until we came in.

"Welcome to Al's Starship Emporium where we... Wait a minute is that you Soran!?"

Nearly leaping from the back of the counter, the pudgy guy shuffled his way toward me and started shaking me a bit. "Holy shit you're awake, that freeloader told me you'd be out for another month! Thank god you're here you gotta save me."

"Woah Al... Chill out man, read the room a little."

Al looked past me to see the others having an assortment of stares. "My bad Soran. She told me as soon as you all got here to go ahead and go to the back. Here, I'll get the door for you."

He scurried behind his counter and reached under it pressing a button. On the floor below us, a hidden door opened revealing a staircase. The sounds of steel being struck echoed out of the rather strange opening. This store also served as Kat's lab. As we descended the stairs the sounds got louder and louder until we reached another door which opened as soon as we reached the last few stairs. The lab nearly reminded me of what I saw in my nightmare. There were screens with data everywhere and tables lined with boxes and unfinished machinery. On the other side, Kat had been overseeing someone dressed in a full-body suit hammering away at something. The hammer itself was unlike anything I'd ever seen and every time this person raised it to strike it would glow a bright orange. I only could figure out who it was as I saw the familiar Marker on the back of her neck.

"Talia? Is that you?"

Both Kat and her assistant turned to face me and the latter removed her face guard. "So-So? You're awake?"

Dropping her hammer Talia came running toward me, her eyes filling up with tears. Tackling me to the ground she held onto me and began sobbing into my jacket. She started pelting my chest with her small fist. "Ya big dummy how could you just go on and nearly get yourself killed!" Honestly, this was a little more of what I was expecting. Patting her head I tried to at least apologize but I figured I could save it for later. I hadn't seen Talia cry since she was little.

She began to quiet down after a few minutes and raised her head from my tear-soaked jacket. "You owe big time ya know that."

"Yeah, I know..."

"No you don't actually," she said as she pointed at a small pile of destroyed parts. "It was hard enough watching you get nearly blasted off the face of the earth. But you went and destroyed a lot of good work too."

Among the parts, there were some robotic fingers, joints, and even a couple of pauldrons. They were parts for an arm. "Wait, I did all of that?"

"Yeah while you were out," said Andrew. "Those black flames you were talking about earlier. They'd spontaneously combust any arm we put on you. The parts were completely unusable, even down to the smallest screw."

"Yes it was quite the curious development," Kat said. "Even the two Arcadians didn't know what to think of it."

I waved to Kat so I wouldn't seem like I'd just forgotten about her, then looked to Alice to confirm what the former had been saying. Alice seemed just as puzzled as everyone else which was a bad sign.

"I'm glad you all have had your touching reunion," sighed Claudia. "But I believe you two were supposed to have something ready."

Talia let go of me and wiped her eyes. "Commander? Oh, then I guess the council made their decision."

With Andrew being with Claudia back at parliament and Talia seeming to know about my tribunal. It was safe to say the others were very informed. Talia returned to her workstation picking up her hammer along the way. She then picked up something else and brought it back with her. In her hand was a metal left arm colored black with some red accents. The hand was clawed and the forearm and shoulder were heavily armored.

"If it wasn't for Empress Kurokami's generous donation I don't think I could get my hands on Zorophene," said Talia. "Soran I'll need you to run a quick test before installation." Handing the arm to Andrew, Talia whispered something into his ear. Then Andrew held up the arm and flashed me a wide grin.

"Give this a good whack bro," he said. "Though I doubt you can do anything to it."

Everyone took a couple of steps back and even though I knew Andrew was provoking me on purpose I decided it would be better to humor my friends. Raising my hand, flames erupted from my fingertips taking the form of the beam sword Ninth Light. Even though I couldn't use my full strength I could at least give it the best I got. Swinging downward the blade struck the prosthetic but despite the nature of the sword, it bounced off the prosthetic as if I were striking a solid rock. I almost tumbled backward being unprepared.

"YES!" Talia cheered, jumping up and down as she marveled at her hard work. "I finally made one that will work. Zorophene is the strongest material known to anyone in the Prime system." Taking a remote out of her pocket she clicked a button and a chair rose from the floor right beside her. "I hope you're prepared Soran. All of my blood, sweat, and tears are going to be repaid right here and now."

The mischievous glint in her eyes sent signals of danger to my brain and before I knew it both Alice and Andrew grabbed onto me before I could run. Forcing me into the chair they took off my jacket and shirt, then started strapping me into the chair.

"Uh guys, I know you're all just doing what Talia says. Let me out and we can talk about this."

"I do apologize for this Soran," said Alice, "But I'd already promised Talia to help her out with this."

"You can't dodge what's coming," chuckled Andrew. "It's nice to see you at the other end of a girl's wrath."

Putting her face plate back on she raised her hammer and approached me slowly. Taking off my bandages there'd been a large mass of black metal grafted into my body as well as an open port for a prosthetic. Holding the shoulder to the port Talia raised her hammer and the orange energy began to radiate from it once more. As she brought the hammer down she struck the space between the prosthetic and the port, the energy spreading between both as the arm connected. Black flames burst from the exposed portions of the armor forcing Talia to back away. I had no control over these flames but I could at least feel the arm now. Raising it upward I clenched the fist creating the white flames to gain some control over my power. The two flames overlapped each other in a double helix before calming down. It felt like something had been slithering beneath my skin from where my prosthetic was connected. It made its way up until it reached my left eye. I could feel something filling up the empty eye socket until the void that took up my vision was replaced by the sight of those standing to my left.

"Woah... that's not the outcome I was expecting," Andrew blurted out.

I felt my face with my organic arm, feeling some residual heat from my flames. Tapping my left eyelid I could feel and see my finger. What's more, my new prosthetic didn't feel strange at all. It felt similar to when I'd regenerated back at Albion.

"Oh my, it appears you've regenerated your eye," said Katia. She started examining me immediately, being careful not to miss a single detail.

"I assume this has something to do with Soran's marker?" Claudia asked as she glanced over at me as well.

"Yes and no," Kat said. "Ms. Milos can you explain."

"Gladly," Alice acknowledged, "The power of The Hermit that Ms. Vitalis possesses allows her to forge anything she can understand. However, it seems during this process Soran's regenerative abilities and the power of The Fool appear to try to regenerate Soran's body while this is happening. No material seems to have withstood Soran's flames until now. The Fool governs the aspect of creation so it seems that Soran was able to regenerate his body unconsciously and transmute the metal grafted into his skin into new cells, effectively allowing him to regenerate."

I appreciated that Alice liked to explain everything as plainly as she could but I could only come up with the gist of it. My power and body thought the new arm Talia made for me was my real arm and even used it to make me a new eye. The Markers were pretty wild.

"In any case," spoke Claudia, "This means the Commander has recovered and our business is done here. Thank you for having us Dr. Machina but I'll have to leave here with Talia. "

Kat let me out of the restraints and returned to the terminal on the far side of the room. Talia looked worried and her eyes darted back and forth between Kat and Claudia. Sensing her hesitation, Kat raised her head. "You can go with them, Talia. You've been a splendid student. I have nothing else to teach you."

Talia's eyes filled with tears once again. Holding her hammer tightly against her chest she bowed.

"Thank you, Dr. Katia. I'll use everything you taught me to the best of my ability."