Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Resurrection ❯ Special Taskforce Aegis ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"The extraordinarily high level of perfection is unmistakably a goal searched. At the same time it hints the direction in which we shall head beyond the 're-creation of reality'. I pay my respects."
-Mamoru Oshii

Chapter 2: Special Taskforce Aegis

In all honesty, and the years since the Earth-Mars War, Major General Alan Taggart had never seen or felt such a dreadful silence among officials of the United Nations Space Forces. Actually, he never heard such silence period, in his forty plus years of service to the United Nations military forces. It was so silent that he had been tempted to slip a cigar out of his pocket and light it, or even hum to himself some old tune to keep from falling asleep, but he had to make an example as the commander of Special Taskforce Aegis, the autonomous force charged with the protection of Mars from armed radical factions. The only movement he made was to take off his officer cap for a moment and sweep his fingers back over his silver hair, then placed his cap back on when nobody was looking.

The staff room of Special Taskforce Aegis' HQ, located in the city Artemis in the Margaritifer County, was packed full of officers from different branches of the UNSF, as well as members of Aegis itself and civilian officials. It was the perfect area for a civil war between the different branch officers with loud voices and idle threats in place of command ships and LEVs, but instead, the participants of this meeting were united in attention toward the main monitor on the far side of the room. There, it showed captured images of Anubis, fighting off several Raptor type frames in the attack over Nereidum County in what seemed more like a dreadfully detailed science fiction movie than an actual battle. The feed soon changed from Anubis fighting the Raptors to it going after the SAM and homing laser turrets along the buildings. To that end, a good portion of the people in the room shuttered. “That's enough. You all get the idea.” Taggart said, turning off the monitor from a control panel near his seat. “In case you're wondering, we lost fifty four soldiers in the attack from the Raptors, and two hundred and thirty two more have been wounded. Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties, and the city has been mostly evacuated. The Type B orbital frame, which was identified as AFX-002B Anubis, has been taken into our custody. It is still unknown to us why it was created, but it is safe to say NUT Ltd. was behind this design. Our technicians report that the overall power output is only a third of the orbital frame from seven years ago, so there is no need for alarm.”

”Is that supposed to comfort us, Taggart?” said a regular Space Force officer with short brown hair and a stern face, somewhat unremarkable looking. “Or are you trying to dodge the issue that your organization screwed up?”

”If I recall, General Majetsu, it was the Space Force that was charged with defense of Nereidum County.” said an aqua haired female officer that was sitting next to Taggart, who had the rank tabs of a Colonel, “Aegis' task is to extinguish fires before they spread, not after. Even if it was, we do not have the necessary resources…”

”Excuses, excuses, Colonel Velasgo.” Said another member at the table, this one also being a General himself. He was a large man, bald but covered by his officer cap, and he wore red goggles over his eyes. “Necessary resources? You have a full wing of orbital frames either excavated or bought from NUT, a battleship and enough agents in place to keep every county on Mars under your watch, and you're saying that's not good enough?”

“Not when the threat is as big as this one.” Taggart stepped back in. “Let's not change subjects ladies and gentlemen, this is more than the re-appearance of Anubis. Compared to the battalion of Raptor-types that attacked Nereidum days ago, Anubis should be the least of our concerns. My people are already working to find who was behind this attack, but I need to ask from the same effort from the Space Force itself.”

”And why are you bothering asking, Taggart?” Majetsu demanded.

”This was a well-played attack, General. Besides Deimos and Margaritifer, Nereidum is one of our key footholds on Mars, and a major industrial center for the Space Force itself. But because the Space Force wasn't expecting such an attack to take place after the Crusades, defenses were light, too light to repel a squadron of Raptors.” Taggart said.

”Are you implying that this is our fault?” another Space Force official shot up like a weed, a weed with smoke coming out of his ears.

Taggart arched an eyebrow, “For getting caught with your guard down? Yes.”

That same member was about to go on a rant, but another sound caught him off. It was the sound of laughter, from the opposite end of the table. It was laughter from a black haired man with a `Musketeer' goatee and an accent that was identified as French in origin. His rank tabs identified him as an Admiral, “I'm afraid I must agree with the General, gentlemen, we have gone soft in all these years since the Crusade. The last imminent threat to Mars was only two years ago, and the Space Force reacted to it in the poorest fashion. Isn't that right, Paul De Franz?”

The bald man, General Paul De Franz, snarled at that. The wounds that had been inflicted upon him by that said incident still had yet to heal, and it was only by support from High Command that his own career hadn't been destroyed. The French Admiral continued, “Regardless, the thought of a battalion of Raptors is quite… unsettling to say the least. We have the power, so why not use it more efficiently? Or have we all forgotten why we are still here on Mars?”

Immediately, the other officers restrained themselves from throwing more bantering. The Frenchman, Admiral Rene Nunguesser of the UNSF's 3rd Fleet, had a very well known reputation to the other officers for being straight on with his verbal points, and this situation was no different. It was also known that, like De Franz, High Command supported him strongly, thus standing against his word was not a good idea if one wanted career advancement.

Taggart decided to take back the meeting at this point, “As it stands, I can honestly say we're not dealing with another mere terrorist organization, people. This attack was meant to show professionals, no matter their gains, are out to challenge the Space Force and perhaps the UN itself. If it were any other way, our adversaries wouldn't waste a battalion of Raptors in just one attack on Nereidum. Therefore, I am going to place Aegis under full alert, with our entire force at the ready. I suggest you do the same as well, gentlemen…”

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Raven couldn't tell how long he had been sitting in that interrogation room, but he did know it had been three days since his capture, according to one of his captors. Not that there wasn't evidence to support such a conclusion: he didn't have a shower in quite sometime, but his body odor wasn't so bad that he could he smell himself, and he hadn't been turned to a prison camp yet, which meant there were still a few more questions his captors had for him. Otherwise, black and purple haired would-be frame runner felt like shit. He had lost track at the number of punches and kicks he had received since he got to this place, his arms had almost gone numb on him from being kept in irregular positions for so long, and he could feel a light beard growing on his face. Oh yeah, and he also had a fever and perhaps salmonella from the rations he had been given. Much more, he had been injected with different drugs a couple of times, most likely different types of truth serum.

The room he was in was the kind you usually saw in FBI or CIA movies: clean, well kept and surprisingly well-lit. It was tiled on the floor, walls and ceiling with pure white tile, and there was no sign of a window or a mirror. That meant whoever was watching Raven sit there was watching through a camera somewhere. Raven himself was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, no table, no tray table with interrogation equipment (thankfully) and no one else in the room, for the moment. Spoke to soon. Raven thought, as the door open. Upon seeing his visitor, a vein bulged at the left side of his head, and his eye twitched. “Now I know I'm hallucinating from the drugs.”

Esteraund Legato grinned the same smug grim that Raven remembered from not long ago. “'Fraid not Raven. The real Esteraund Legato has stood up.” Esteraund Legato was a rather large man, although his actual height was 6'1”. This came from his muscular stature and broad build, products of vigorous exercise and physical training. To the regular eye, one could have sworn Esteraund was the reincarnation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, or at least the current Mr. Universe winner. To fit his build, Esteraund was clothed in a black t-shirt, gray trenchcoat and urban camo BDUs, plus black boots. He had long, navy blue hair that was spread over his shoulders and went down to his mid-back, the kind of hair you see on a bishounen character in some Japanese animation, as well as pale violet eyes and a serpent-like face. He wasn't ugly, but with his thin eyes, unmarked skin and his habit of grinning like Satan, one could definitely liken him to a serpent. And Raven knew he was more than capable of living up to his appearance.

Esteraund was holding a bucket of some kind when he entered, which he placed on the ground and paced over to the captive Raven, his large figuring overshadowing the bound frame runner's. Instead of feeling intimidated though, Raven let out a laugh. “I figured you went back to working for the Earth, but I didn't think you were still on Mars. So tell me, am I being held by the WIRED or just the Space Force?” Raven said smugly.

Esteraund replied by punching him across the face with his massive right fist. Not that he showed any sign of anger, he just wanted to make two points: he was the only smartass in the building, and he was the one asking the questions. This was signified by his grin growing larger. “Heh heh, you're lucky you caught me in a good mood.” He chuckled, “You're being held by Special Taskforce Aegis, formerly the UNSF's 74th Special Tactical Operations Division. It's autonomous now, so don't affiliate it with the Space Force.”

”That explains the black-and-red uniforms.” Raven spat, “It's hard to believe the Earth actually stooped low enough to ripping off the Titans.”

”Not that I'm Z Gundam otaku, but these guys aren't as bad as Jamitov Hymen and his thugs.” Esteraund said, remembering that Raven was a Mobile Suit Gundam fan, and although he wasn't as big on the franchise, he did have some knowledge. But that was a different matter for a different time. Now, he had work to do. “You know the game Raven: I'm going to ask you some questions. If you don't answer, then you get punched or worse. Click the action button to recover your health between blows.” He cracked his knuckles as he continued, “When your health bar drops to zero, you die. And there are no continues my friend. Once you're dead, you're dead.” he said sinisterly, then remembering one last point. “Oh yeah, and don't press that fucking rapid fire button! Believe me, I'll know…”

Raven rose an eyebrow, “Yeah, nice intimidation, but I still don't feel like talking to you.”

Esteraund just shrugged, “What…? Can't you let me have some fun with this? I've always wanted to say that line you know…” He walked over to Raven and leaned down so they met eye to eye. “Well, lets begin, Vostrikov.” With that, he leaned back and punched Raven with a right hook. “First question: what were you doing last night in that orbital frame?”

”I was going to Grandma's house with a basket of goodies.” Raven seethed, receiving another blow.

”Wrong answer kid.” Esteraund said, “It's obvious you're the frame runner of that unit, so you must know information about it. Why was it made?” Raven didn't answer that time, thus Esteraund kicked him across the head this time with a martial arts kick. “Was NUT planning to sell it for profit, or was there another motive?” another punch, “Maybe selling it to a resistance group. Know what I'm talking about?” Another kick, this one so powerful that Raven's chair was flipped back.

Raven turned his head to the side and coughed blood, the red staining the white tiles. Esteraund let him breath a little bit before he continued, to which he grabbed Raven by the jacket collar, lifted him into the air chair and all, then slammed his back against the side of a wall. “Any of this getting to you, Raven?” Esteraund smirked, “Come on, you can trust your old comrade Esteraund. I'll even slip some food and magazines to your brig cell…”

In a vulgar response, the boy spat blood onto Esteraund's face, directly into his left eye. “Shit!” Esteraund screeched, throwing Raven across the room with his tremendous strength, while he rubbed at his eye in pain. The shock didn't last long though, and soon, Esteraund found himself laughing while he rubbed at his eye to subdue the pain. “You clever bastard! I know people like to spit into their captor's faces, but blood in the eye? Shit, Raven, I'm not sure if your mom would be proud or ashamed.”

”She would be ripping you apart for beating a guy tied to a chair.” Raven shot back, ignoring the compliment.

”Hmmm… Yeah, I suppose she would.” Esteraund mock contemplated, “But she's not here now. Plus, I'm the one that's beating you, not saving either your Martian and Terran ass cheeks.” He walked over to a side of the room and picked up the bucket again. With a great heave, he threw a stream of water across Raven's body.

Despite being captured and punched around like a bag of sand, this was the first point in the entire time he had been captive that he was actually afraid. He didn't think Esteraund would go this far, not until he saw him crack his knuckles, electricity running down his skin and striking in different directions. Raven didn't know the details, but at some point in time, Esteraund went through an operation, which involved implanting electrical organs like the ones in electric eels and sharks into his body, specifically in his spine and the right side of his chest, opposite of the heart. Aside from enhancing his motor functions, Esteraund had learned to actually channel electrical voltage down his body, through his nerves and skin, giving him a special weapon aside from the antique SV Infinity he carried with him. To respond, Raven attempted to channel energy into his hands and legs, but he couldn't focus enough.

”Don't bother, the guys watching know about your Elemental powers. You've been injected with a tranquilizer drug that keeps your blood pressure low enough to keep you from focusing energy.” Esteraund explained, more electricity surging around his arms and form. “For the umpteenth time, what do you know about Anubis?”

”I told you everything there is to know…” Raven seethed, “I'm a test runner for NUT Ltd. running a new Orbital Frame. I don't have any secret agendas or Anti-Earth ideals, I just pilot weapons of mass destruction and get paid for it. If you want to blame anyone, go talk to NUT.”

”Don't tell me the obvious.” Esteraund clenched his fist and held it out in front of Raven. As he did, a bolt of lightning shot out of it and danced across Raven's body, generating what felt like thousands of raw voltage across and through his flesh. Raven jumped and yelled out at the pain running up and down his already wounded form, struggling to break out of the chair and kill the man that was tormenting him. The surge only lasted a brief moment, though, and soon, Raven calmed down, landing back against the chair, breathing sporadically. Smoke rose from different points around his body.

Another bolt of lightning shot out, and shot through Raven's flesh faster than snake venom, threatening to burn the internal organs within. He screamed now and struggled, throwing his head at different directions to try and relieve some of the pain. All he did though, was shake his chair around, and actually throw it down its side, but he didn't stop moving, even going so far as to bash his head against the tile. Esteraund casually walked up to him, the lightning continuing to stream out of the five fingers on his right hand, stopping for a moment to pick Raven off the ground and straighten his chair back up. “To be honest, this doesn't feel good, using my power to strike at one of my own.” Esteraund said. “My body can process over thirty-thousand volts of electricity through my nervous system. Even my finger tips can generate enough power to keep a sky scraper running through a black out.”

“That's nothing compared to what I have.” Raven spat.

Esteraund grinned, “But you can't use it now, can you?” he continued, “Last chance Raven. I don't want to hurt you any more than I have to.”

Raven drew in a deep breath for a moment, then exhaled to continue. “To begin with, I didn't attack the UNSF forces stationed at Nereidum. They were shooting at me, and I merely defended myself.”

”I can see that, but it doesn't take you off the hook for operating an orbital frame. That goes against the Anti-Metatron Body Act.” Esteraund said.

”Just wanted to get that cleared with you.” Raven said, “As Aegis' engineers and test runners have probably figured out by now, this isn't the same Anubis from the war. At best, I would say this model has only a third of the original's power, not nearly enough to create another compressed space wave like Aumaan.”

”So why did NUT bother designing it?” Esteraund asked.

”Don't know much, but someone outside of NUT commissioned the design. The deal was simple, for a large sum of money; NUT would duplicate Anubis and sell it to the UNSF under the guise of a government contract. The commissioner had blueprints, simulation data, and of course the money to back it all up. All NUT had to do was provide the Metatron and actually build Anubis.” Raven explained. “Thing is, the blueprints came from the original design.”

“The original?” Esteraund questioned.

“Yeah. I don't know which part came from the original, the AI, the cockpit system or the weapon systems, but this client had the exact design print for the original Anubis, the one they built on Antilia.”

Esteraund's blood actually ran cold at that revelation, but there was no way Raven or anyone else could see that. Does that mean the plan's already begun? “BAHRAM destroyed all sources for Anubis and Jehuty's designs just before Aumaan and the original design team were disbanded and either executed by the UNSF or thrown into exile. How could data for Anubis still exist?”

”Either way, the Earth shouldn't worry about it, it's obviously not perfected.” Raven's smirk became wider. “I know, I've used it combat. It's a cheap look alike of the original.”

”Yeah, but it's still an orbital frame. That makes it a threat to national security.” Esteraund said.

“Like you of all people would give a damn about national security.”

”No, but I'm getting paid for it. Perhaps I should take your life as an advance?” Esteraund threatened, flexing his right arm a little and causing more electricity to run down.

“Fine. I forgot when exactly, but sometime in `77, somebody from the organization came to my apartment. He wanted to know what Anubis' performance was, how it handled in a combat situation and stuff along like that. When I said it was nowhere near the original, he just laughed and told me to `give it time'. He said that this frame was worth more to him than I think and that I'd get paid handsomely if I could perfect it.”

”Do you know this man's name? Or a physical description?” Esteraund inquired.

”Yeah, he didn't seem scared to tell me.” Raven answered, “Wilhelm. That's the name he gave me. Big guy with long red hair, thin eyes, overcoat and he carried a staff with him. Something like an old 1800s saber.”

Esteraund simply nodded his head in response. Wilhelm. That means VANGUARD is in on this. Didn't think he would use them of all people. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

”That's about it.” Raven retorted groggily. He lifted his head up and spat some blood onto the floor.

”Ouch. I'd get that throat checked out if I were you, buddy.” Esteraund said, patting Raven on the right shoulder.

”I thought you liked a good Deepthroat, Legato.” Raven sneered in response.

Esteraund flexed his fingers around the shoulder blade and sent out one final jolt. Thus, Raven let out a long, shrill cry, but the cry dropped slowly, as Raven slipped into an unconscious state. The mercenary didn't use as much energy as he did before; instead it was no more than a taser shot, meant to knock out instead of cause pain. And seeing Raven drop his head into sleep, it had the desired effect, if one could ignore the slight twitching.

”Good night sweet prince.” Esteraund said, leaning Raven's head back against the chair. The old man will definitely want to hear this. He smiled, If I'm lucky, the shock will give him a heart attack.

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To say the least, Colonel Nadia Velasgo was not impressed with the interrogation of Anubis' runner. In fact, she wasn't satisfied at all with the information they had obtained. She didn't want to know about Anubis or who made it, she was hoping that Raven Vostrikov knew something about the attack that hit Nereidum three days ago. ”Hmph, and I suppose that's all you could get out of him?” Nadia said as Esteraund Legato walked up to the observation deck that overlooked the interrogation room.

Esteraund just shook his head, and then looked Nadia up and down, checking her features again. He had done it a lot, but he couldn't help but love the young Colonel, dressed in a form fitting black and red Aegis uniform. It especially went well with her aquatic hair and her pale, cold eyes. Nadia of course, glared at him for that. “Did you hear me, Mr. Legato?”

”Yeah, I did.” Esteraund said, jumping back to reality. The Colonel's temperament was the only thing that kept her from getting a boyfriend, in his opinion. “And we already debriefed him on the Raptors when we captured him. I don't want to torture him anymore than I have to, Nadia.”

”That's Colonel Nadia Velasgo to you.” Nadia snapped.

Esteraund looked up, as if thinking, “Nah, that's too long. I like Nadia better.” He replied. “There was Very-Sexy Velasgo, but that's too long also. Gets annoying after a while…”

Nadia glare narrowed, but she didn't give in to his sarcasm. “How would you know if he didn't have something to do with it?”

”Because I know. If Raven Vostrikov had an army of Raptors at his command, he wouldn't use them for some terrorist act, and he wouldn't join with such a group. Both are against his character.” Esteraund said, “You only ask the questions you can expect an answer for, no more, no less.”

”This isn't due to your past involvement with Nephilim, is it?” Nadia asked, inquiring.

”Nephilim is a thing of the past. I'm just doing what I'm getting paid for, Nadia.” Esteraund replied dryly. “One thing I suggest you do is have your agents check into NUT and into the UNSF. I don't think either of the two will tell us everything in a conference.”

Nadia laughed at that suggestion. ”If Anubis were a government contract, we would have heard about it Mr. Legato. Are you sure the drugs hadn't affected the boy's memory?”

Esteraund's face turned into a disappointed frown, “Ever gave the thought that the UNSF could be commissioning their own orbital frames? Perhaps De Franz and Majetsu have grown tired of just using Raptors?”

”It would be out of their style.” Nadia simply put.

”After the major `setback' they had two years ago? Hah.” Esteraund said, “Do what you want to, Nadia, but do be careful. There's more to this than it seems…”

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Lt. Yuriko Ishikawa slowly removed her orange and gray flight suit, relieved at the soft touch of cool air brushing over her pale skin as the tight suit came off her torso, then slipped down to her feet, where she casually stepped out of them. Opening her locker, she procured a casual outfit, a pair of jeans with a black, sleeveless top and her Aegis field jacket. She felt her muscles relax in response to the feeling of `loose' clothing over her. Despite the fact she was a Lieutenant in the United Nations Space Force; much more, an operative for Taskforce Aegis; she could never get used to the skin-tight and uncomfortable flight suits that were used when operating Orbital Frames. She had been told that the suits had something to do with `synchronizing' with the frame, where the suit was designed to react to the Metatron energy waves that flowed through the cockpit and control their flow through the OF's energy veins. It also allowed Yuriko to leave Grafficane or any other frame if it were destroyed in outer space, since the suit was skintight and kept the human body safe from the absolute-zero temperature and low-pressure environment of outer space. Safety reassurances still did little to help with the lack of comfort. Yuriko threw the suit into her locker and shut the door, making sure the automatic electronic lock system engaged before she left.

Outside the locker room, she found various scientists and security guards running around the base. Ever since she and Esteraund brought back Anubis from Nereidum two days ago, the base had been like this, running on an Earth-time 24-hour clock. The frame sent a mass of uproar through the higher ranks, even though Yuriko wasn't all that impressed by its capabilities. If that were the Anubis from five years ago, she knew she wouldn't have survived, even in a high performance orbital frame like Grafficane. Even the best OFs around would be little more than mildly amusing insects. However, the runner of this Anubis did seem to have enough skill to destroy several Raptor OFs, plus the three Phantomas, so he was detained for questioning, and the frame was locked away until the scientists got around to dissecting it. “Have to admit, though, this is a definite change from exterminating the usual anti-Earth factions.” she told herself silently.

After maneuvering though foot traffic for several irritating minutes, she made it to the base's cafeteria. It had been a long day, and she decided to herself that she deserved some tea at the very least. After getting her preferred beverage, she walked over to one of the tray tables, where Xander Roanoke and Sage Arthur, Aegis' young hacker and the main resource for information gathering, were sitting. “Mind if I join you two?” Yuriko asked before sitting down.

”Of course, Yuriko. Have a seat.” Sage said happily, his age showing. Xander only looked up once, and nodded, allowing her to join him.

“You know, many of us are wondering, what have you been thinking about lately?” Yuriko asked the taciturn frame runner.

”Pardon?” Xander replied.

”What she means is, you don't talk as much as the average human being, you usually hang out in a quiet area, and the look you give people is one of a thinker, not a warrior. It's like you have to come out of a mole hole just to make eye contact.” Sage explained. Unlike the other members of Aegis, Sage was around eleven years old, characterized by his white hair, crystal blue eyes and very upbeat attitude. However, despite his apparent age and personality, everyone agreed he had great talents on a computer, and his intelligence was enough that he could converse with adults, just like now.

”Some humans are like that, Sage.” Xander said, “For what I was thinking, eh, just wondering about our recent captive.”

”You mean Vostrikov?” Sage inquired.

”Yeah. He put up a pretty good fight for a guy from the slums.” Xander replied.

”I know. Colonel Velasgo is going over back over his civilian record, trying to see if he was some BAHRAM sleeper in the past.” Yuriko said. By sleeper, she meant a spy that blended into normal society for some time, even after the military he was apart of was long gone, and then strike a certain target.

“No, it's not that. His fighting style was just peculiar.” Xander said, “Remember when he fought that gang at Nereidum?”

”What about it?” Sage replied, not getting what Xander saw.

”The way he fought in hand-to-hand and with that staff… It was like what we saw with Anubis. A kind of finesse and precision that you don't usually see in this day and age.” Xander explained.

”So? We know his Elemental powers are developed at the very least. Of course he'd be able to use an orbital frame like that.” Yuriko said.

”Still, it takes more than just street fighting experience to develop fighting skills like that.” Xander continued.

”You're saying he fought in an actual battlefield?” Sage asked, raising an eyebrow. Yuriko's expression was similar, but she didn't put the thought past.

”Perhaps. Either way, I think Colonel Velasgo and General Taggart see it, and Esteraund Legato himself seems to know something about it too…” Xander informed them.

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The light of the screen projected a radioactive-seeming aura of light that filled the darkened room, but provided no real illumination. The faces of the occupants glowed eerily. How can Anubis have performed so well, even though the runner was a rookie? Nadia thought, observing the display with Taggart. The records being shown were from the earlier battle, in which Anubis was locked in combat against a Cyclops. Even though Anubis was definitely under-powered compared to what the UNSF had faced in Vascilia years ago, it still responded to each attack with incredible finesse and skill behind every move. The frame appeared to literally `dance' around the Raptors like it was playing with the opposing frames, dodging and then counter-attacking like it involved no effort at all.

A knock sounded out from the doorway, breaking Nadia and Taggart's attention from the display. “Pause.” Nadia ordered. The video-feed froze, just as Anubis was about to finally claim the Cyclops with its energy barrage. Taggart nodded, “Enter.” The door opened and a young red-haired female officer stepped into the office, at full attention posture. “I'm sorry, sir, ma'am. Am I disturbing something?”

“Nothing” Taggart responded. “You are not here to protest at young Vostrikov's treatment, are you Mirielle?”

Lieutenant Mirielle Faroh, the short haired redhead medical officer of Taskforce Aegis, shook her head, “I honestly don't like it General, but we have no choice now. As a former member of Nephilim, I think he understood that too.”

”Nephilim?” Taggart questioned.

”A BAHRAM combat program that used children as LEV and OF pilots and soldiers.” Nadia stepped in. “Basically, BAHRAM put together a combat division that was made entirely of children, both male and female, around the ages of six to fourteen years of age. The exact details of the project are unknown, but the combat units formed from the program were highly successful on the battlefield.”

”Children on the battlefield…” Taggart contemplated, “That's certainly twisted, but not below BAHRAM.”

”To humanitarian standards, yes, but to a strategist, this was probably the best thing BAHRAM made since the orbital frame. The Nephilim Program was running with great success until the program and all of its subjects were terminated in 2172 on Antilia, most likely from the UNSF invasion.” Nadia said.

”Then how did Raven survive?” Taggart asked.

“Esteraund Legato.” Mirielle said, “In 2166, Esteraund infiltrated Nephilim under orders from WIRED, disguised as a combat instructor for the children. He had a close relationship to Raven Vostrikov, and whatever killed the project, Esteraund saved Raven from the onslaught and brought him back to Mars where he would remain off the map until now.”

Taggart nodded at this, making a mental note to talk to Esteraund later, “Anything more?”

”Minor notes.” Mirielle explained, “He has experience in a LEV and Raptor-type, which may explain why he was selected by NUT to run Anubis. It's also said he actually led his own platoon of Nephilim children, despite his age.”

Taggart raised an eyebrow. “And why are you telling us this?”

”To show exactly what we're facing sir.” She grinned coldly. “Despite his age, he has seen his fair share of combat, probably more than the average UNSF grunt. This is a side note, but while another party provided the data and currency to get Anubis back into the world, Raven's father, Dr. Pavel Vostrikov, was assigned to the project, and thus provided Raven a way to gain Anubis for himself.”

“Regardless, that doesn't solve the mystery entirely.” Taggart responded, speaking his thoughts out loud. “We have a Type C grade orbital frame in the hangar that we know next to nothing about, a seventeen-year-old half-bred boy that doesn't seem to fit into this despite the fact being a former child soldier and experienced runner, and reports of suspicious activity coming from the Nereidum area. Until we find something of interest in that frame, that boy is our only source to this mystery.”

“You're not suggesting we keep him around, do you?” Nadia asked.

“Is that a problem?” Taggart asked in reply.

“No sir. It's just I don't think we really need him any more. If he's telling the truth and doesn't know anything else about Anubis or the attack on Nereidum County, then there's no point in keeping Raven Vostrikov here.”

“I'd prefer he stay here than having another incident like Tarver Urenbach.” Taggart justified, “Besides, there may still be the possibility that he would know something, but he's not telling us right off; and one thing you must know about me, Nadia, I don't like not knowing facts.”

“We have other sources of information.” Nadia responded. “His profile shows he is a test runner for NUT Ltd. and his father is one of their engineers…”

”If you're suggesting we investigate NUT, then you best forget it.” Nadia crossed her arms and frowned. “High Command would never let us near Nereidum, and even if they did, NUT has more than enough money to make evidence `disappear'. Besides that, with Dr. Pavel Vostrikov's alleged disappearance, our only source of information is the younger Vostrikov…”

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Raven didn't like his current setup. Being put under custody for two days in some damn Terran base unnerved him, especially when it had a smartass mercenary like Esteraund Legato running around in it, and a pack full of bloodthirsty Terrans that would have loved to take a punch at him. One was a Japanese woman by the name of Yuriko Ishikawa, who he assumed was the runner of the Grafficane that captured him, who had done a number of interrogations on him herself. Then there was that weird blonde guy that kept looking at him like he were some zoo display, constantly pacing back and forth around the room while he watched Yuriko take shots at him like some Terran puma. There were several other figures as well, like the Colonel with the blue hair, and a General who had all oversaw his interrogation, even came in at different points to look him over for choice cuts.

He could still taste his own blood from the two days of interrogation, and he hated it. Not that he wasn't used to bleeding, but he didn't like when it got so bad that he could smell his stench. He managed to get himself up off the floor and into a standing position. His strength had now returned, but his arms were still bound, thanks to the straight jacket, and the door was still locked, keeping him from hope at escape. It was quite unexpected when the two loud `thuds' could be heard from outside the cell. But a moment later, the door slid open and a large figure stepped in. “My, my, look who we have here.” A confident and somewhat arrogant voice commented, “A little raven that got trapped in a cage.”

“You're still not scoring points, Legato.” Despite having said that, Raven actually sounded relieved. “Of all the places I thought we would run into, I never thought it would be a UNSF base. What possessed you to switch from intelligence to the force?”

”I may be in a different position from you, but does this look like a UNSF uniform?” He waved at his gray overcoat, black t-shirt and urban camo BDUs. “Look, hate me if you want, but I'm still saving your ass, so don't complain.”

”I see” Raven observed. “If you're not an Aegis freak, then why are you here?”

Esteraund sighed. “Sorry. Times have changed, and I needed a good excuse to keep Raijin. Nephilim was fun while it lasted, but it simply didn't pay my bills after the other three disappeared. Then there's the WIRED giving me a desk job back on Earth, which would've been extremely boring. Aegis granted me their protection and pardon from the law, and I offered my frame running skills. It works out, doesn't it?”

Raven sneered at that last part. “If you're hear to beat me up like that damned harpy did earlier, then you're wasting your time.”

Esteraund laughed at that. “Oh, Raven…” he trailed off, recovering from his laughter, “I beat up two guards, bring you these…” he produced his hand from behind his back, to reveal Raven's staff in its knife form, “…and you dare compare me to a bitch like Yuriko? I thought you had a better judgment of character than that.” He ran his index finger along the dark silver blade, “By the way, next time you're captured, keep this thing in your Vector Trap. You almost clued Aegis off to what this thing is.”

He walked behind Raven while drawing the staff from its sheath, and then placed both hands on the hilt, while assuming a combat pose. With a quick strike combo, he slashed tears into the jacket, enough that Raven could actually break out of it with his strength. Raven immediately brought his hands forward and rubbed the wrists to ease the pressure, as Esteraund spun the staff in his one hand and reseathed it. Raven was grateful, but somewhat confused and suspicious. “Why are you doing this? Don't tell me its because you're my teacher or you're trying to owe my Mom.”

“Oh no, nothing like that.” Esteraund was still smiling. “Think of me as your Guardian Angel. If you need anything, you come to me for help. Or I come to you. Either way, you won't do much good for anyone if you're stuck here in this cell.”

“Then why…”

Esteraund held up his hand. “There's no time. You need to get out of here, with or without that orbital frame. I can take care of myself.”

Raven knew better than to argue with Esteraund, especially when he started acting serious, which was rare for a person like him mercenary or not. Grabbing his staff from Esteraund's hand, he practically leapt out the open door.

Esteraund nodded as he did this, “Fly little raven” he muttered softly, “Everything will fail if you stay in your cage…”

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The base was massive, but Raven could figure out his way around it. He remembered the way they escorted him from Anubis' cockpit in the hangar bay, to the debriefing room, then into his cell. He then ventured in and out of the interrogation area, but he didn't need to go there for anything. Currently, he was in the staff locker room, searching for his leather overcoat. He really shouldn't be wasting time on something so minor, but he didn't want to leave without it. Unfortunately, he couldn't find it, so he took one of the Aegis jackets and slipped it, leaving it split open down the middle. Not bad. He thought, before sneaking away from the locker room. His Nephilim training was really paying off here.

Now there was one more stop before he headed to the hangar bay itself. And that was the armory, where he assumed they kept a certain object of interest. There weren't too many people around now fortunately, besides the random security guard, but they were easy to sneak past because the base wasn't on alert. Yet. Those that he couldn't get past, he knew he could effectively deal with.

His confidence was well-founded. In what seemed like no time at all, he had found the necessary room. The Armory was a claustrophobic enclosure of dank metal and canisters and shelves of weapons. Raven set about rummaging though the most conspicuous container he could see, desperate to find a particular item. He was certain that they would have found it, the UNSF, although without knowing what it was they would have assumed it was a useless piece of junk and set it away into storage. Lucky for him.

He noticed a certain gold chain on one of the holders, the one he wore around his neck. He let a short sigh escape his mouth, Foolish Terrans, they must think I stole it from the local jewelry store or something. Not pondering the matter, he took the watch and slipped it onto his head. He then looked at one of the guns up on the wall, curiously. Knowing he may need that to, he reached out to grab it. But, before he could make a grip, his arm started shaking uncontrollably as it drew closer to the gun. Damn it... Raven thought, withdrawing his hand. The shaking stopped soon after. He curled his hand into a fist and shot it into the wall, grimacing at his failure to grab the gun. "A strange twist of fate..." he heard a voice from behind. Raven spun to meet the eyes of an Aegis officer, no older than himself, with long blonde hair and a knowing face.

Xander Roanoke was standing there, watching his quarry with the eyes of a hawk, waiting for him to make an action. Raven instinctively drew his hand across the hilt of his staff, and pulsed energy into it. The energy ran down lines along the hilt, and again it formed into a long staff. Xander responded by raising his hand. "Don't." he said, "Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Vostrikov, I'm not here to take you back to your cell. I just wanted to meet you, see you more active. You've caused our organization quite some trouble."

"I don't know, breaking out would really solve both my problems and Aegis', now that I think about it." Raven said, "I escape back to Nereidum, while you keep Anubis here for research and you place that UNSF attack on some Neo BAHRAM movement or something. I keep my mouth shut, while you find what you need from that OF."

"Wouldn't work." Xander replied.

"Oh? Why not?" Raven raised an eyebrow, somewhat angered.

"You are still the runner of that frame, so there is the risk that you know more than either Yuriko or Esteraund are giving you credit for." he said, still taciturn. He started to walk up and down, slowly closing the distance between him and Raven, "Now, will you please lower your staff?"

Raven seemed to comply, reaching for the handle of his staff and preparing to draw it. But, he noted Xander's closed distance from him, and the fact he didn't have a gun on him. Bad mistake, really bad. Raven slowly began to lower the staff, averting his gaze into Xander's somewhat majestic eyes. Xander turned to look at him for a second, giving Raven enough time to swing the staff back up.

”Perhaps not.” Xander sighed, jumping away from the slice. Raven immediately whipped the blade around and made a small cut along Xander's wrist, but his opponent chose to ignore it. He then averted his attention to the punch that Xander aimed at his head, instinctively ducking under it. He backed away when Xander followed that punch up with a flurry of punches to the gut, aimed to disable him, dodging each one as they passed his head. That's when he remembered the offensive, which he slashed across his torso for a horizontal assault. However, Xander backed away just in time before the staff could puncture his skin. Raven smirked, spun the staff with his hand and brought it to his side in a combat pose.

"Not bad. Your skills with the blade are quite impressive." Xander complemented, before dodging another slash from Raven. Raven cut him off with seemingly inhumane speed and attacked with the staff, but Xander also seemed to be able to keep up with him. Raven's attacks were fast, in both the initial attack and the recovery, but Xander found it was easy to predict each attack. After he made a slash at his throat, which he dodged, Xander made a striking blow with a massive punch into Raven's gut. Raven immediately dropped the staff and his mouth at the shock that came over him. Xander then kicked the staff away from their 'arena', where it landed to the opposite end of the armory. "Heh, nice..." Raven said, wiping the sweat off his chin, "Not bad for a Terran lapdog. Is there something special about you?"

Xander just shrugged, somewhat matter-of-fact like. "I'm not fully aware myself, but I use my power all the same." Seeing that Raven wanted go hand-to-hand, he cracked his knuckles and flexed, ready to attack.

Raven assumed a martial art pose, keeping his eyes trained on his opponent, "Heh, maybe we could be friends after all." Raven's grin intensified, "That is, if you manage to survive." He threw a punch at him, which Xander blocked with her left arm, then a second punch with his opposite arm, this time landing into his gut. Xander absorbed it and countered with a kick at the head. Raven blocked it, though barely, leaving him disoriented for a second. Xander took the opportunity to deliver a punch into his face, that sent him reeling back, then followed up by a kick into the gut. Raven recovered from this, however, and made a combo of punches and palm strikes that landed in his face, then a triple kick that landed into his gut and then the side of his head. Xander brought her palm up and bashed his nose, keeping him from progressing any further. Another punch pushed him back further, but Raven unexpectedly used the time to leap in the air and perform a flying roundhouse kick that sent Xander to the ground. Raven bent over as if to punch her, but he stopped midway, his fist a few inches from her face, "Again?" Xander didn't respond, but slipped his leg under Raven's, knocking him onto the floor, then kicking him in the hip. The blonde runner then flipped back up and moved to kick Raven again, but he grabbed the foot with both hands and twisted, spiraling him in the air. Xander somersaulted back, taking notice of his position in the room. Raven punched again, but he countered and put all her strength into a combo that made several palm strikes to different parts of the face, then a single punch that sent Raven falling back.

Raven got up and reached out to attack him again, but he stopped midway when Xander grabbed a his fist midway. And much to Raven's surprise, the guy actually held the fist in place. "We have a lot more in common than you think. For I too have been blessed with similar power." Xander said. Raven then felt a strange pressure come over his arm, to which he looked at in shock. A purple aura had manifested down the length of his arm, while it was the same for Xander's, except his was white. "Now, please, don't make me use anymore force than I have to."

Raven had no choice now, except to try a dire move. Anubis… he thought.

"Was that really necessary, Xander? I could have gotten him down faster.” came a new, more sadistic voice at the door, training her Ganymede Dragon handgun at his head. This one was of Yuriko Ishikawa's and Raven felt his whole body cringe at her tone.

”Well, well, Lieutenant Yuriko Ishikawa, one of many people in the world I can do without.” Raven made a smirk, “And how would you have gotten me down faster? You do your best work when the male is in bondage.”

Yuriko made a shot that grazed Raven along the cheek, making a cut, but not taking away his smirk. “We've had enough trouble out of you.” She hissed at him, “I don't know what you're thinking, Xander, but I don't see why you need waste time with this scumbag and make him like us.”

Like `us'? Raven thought. Then it occurred to him that he was feeling similar pressure from her, What, her two? His mind cried out. She was also generating an aura, but it was orange compared to Raven's purple and Xander's white. “Now, Vostrikov!” Yuriko ordered.

Raven complied, trying as hard as he could not to smirk or grin. "You asked me during one of your interrogations, how Anubis could perform so high, even though it was impossible to control, right?" Raven shot the question at Yuriko.

Yuriko raised an eyebrow at this. Why was he asking that question now? She doubted it was the fact guns were being pointed at him and there was no possible escape from this base, he wasn't the type for that. "Yes, I did." Yuriko answered, "Are you going to answer my question or what?" As she said that, warning klaxons blared throughout the hall ways, the sound of a distant rumble coming from every direction. The guards were in confusion, but Raven knew what it was. He had to, he wasn't looking around or asking "what the hell's going on?". Yuriko kept her gun trained at him.

"Five...four...three...two...one..." Raven's demonic, evil grin returned, "Rise Anubis!" he called out. In a single moment, the wall burst open, dust and metal flying through the air as a result. Yuriko and guards had enough sense to dive out of the way and cover themselves to keep the shards from flying into them. The dust settled a moment later, allowing Yuriko and Xander to get a faint gaze at what had punctured the wall. From where the wall used to be, a two pronged fist had pierced through the barrier, just a few inches from Raven's back. Raven just smiled, "It's called mental feedback." he tapped the gold chain he had on, "In order to bring out an orbital frame's true performance, the runner must be at 100 sync with the frame. This can only be done when the runner's body and mind are connected." he looked back at Anubis, "My nerve impulses are transmitted through this `chain' and broadcast into Anubis' AI, allowing me to control him the same way I control my body." he closed his eyes, "You couldn't have known that, so I can't blame you. Besides, Anubis didn't like you people to begin with, so he probably would've rejected whatever mind you put to running it."

Doesn't like us? Yuriko thought, What the hell is he talking about?

"What the hell-? Get away from the frame and step down!" a guard yelled out. Three security guards rushed into the room, having just heard about the perimeter breach from the wall klaxons, one firing his rifle to add leverage to his threat. Raven ignored him, picked up his staff, which had been shoved over to him when Anubis punched the wall and walked onto Anubis' arm, looking up at the jackal head. The frame seemed to return his gaze, averting its crimson eyes onto the boy. I still can't get rid of you, can I? Raven thought.

With its runner in safety, Anubis twisted around and flew away, leaving the damaged base behind...

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TO BE CONTINUED...

- Taskforce Acemos and the BIS are the factions in the Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars game boy game. If you want a good example of the two, think of Acemos as the Titans and BIS as the AEUG (Anti-Earth Union Group) from Z Gundam. Nadia is also from FoM, as well as Yuriko's orbital frame, Grafficane. However, this is a fanfiction, so it is doubtful Konami will hold me down for it.

- Tarver Urenbach is a reference to the Ganymede Crisis in Zone of the Enders: Triad by Silvace Atronach.