God Shell

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Asuras

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GOD SHELL
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Primordial - Baldr Besatt

"'Life' is an easily warped word. As malleable as the flesh that it often features."

Aboard the ODD cruiser, 'Virtue'

An elevator of metal monstrosities descended outside the reinforced window, partially organized in a series of curved lines. The ODD's 4th Fleet hovered silently in formation above the skies of an inconsequential planet. So unrecognizable and commonplace was its surface, Baldr could not possibly deduce whether or not the thing served as a colony. It sufficed to say, they were in the middle of nowhere.

Baldr had been commanded to meet with a certain commander aboard the vessel despite having no 'official' ties with the ODD in service or duty. An unknown job was put forth, which meant pay of course, but the details were withheld until he complied and met in person with the one who offered it. Waiting in the lobby of the private docking bay, Baldr was faced with an empty room with cushy furniture and a broad view of the fleet outside. Having landed Spectral Siren in the bay, he was told to keep his position in the lobby until someone retrieved him.

After a few minutes of silent waiting, a door hissed open and an attendant greeted him with a characteristically robotic demeanor.

"Mr. Besatt, I am here to bring you to the Commander," she said monotonically and with a short, perfectly executed bow. Following her through the long hallways, they eventually came upon a massive circular elevator dotted with a few groupings of large steel crates. Likely a service elevator. The machine lifted noisily and slowly, eventually bringing Baldr's vision up to floor-level of another dock, this one massively greater in size to the private one he entered initially.

Though the war had ended, the dock was nevertheless quite busy somehow. What the engineers and pilots needed to do at the time was beyond him. The attendant gestured for Baldr's attention and continued the trek onward, proceeding further into the dock past fighters, other mecha, and red-eyed drones.

Standing in the middle of the dock, facing two others, was presumably the 'commander' he was to meet with. Noticing their approach, the commander, a tall and black-haired woman with a sharp gaze, dismissed her conversation participants and turned towards Baldr with a vague smile.

"Baldr Besatt. Well met," she said apathetically, extending a nevertheless firm hand to shake with.

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The Ascendants - Nidalie Haste

"They choose us for a reason. And just like any mysterious reason, it is up to us to decide what that is."

The rumor was common; Nidalie knew that much was true. Its validity however was doubtful. The words of a military's suspicious and frantic populace were vague at best, but this one in particular had seemed quite cemented. The story changed rarely, and soldiers seemed particular sure of themselves when they spoke of it; perhaps they had retrieved it from a higher ranking officer?

A group of dissatisfied God Shell wielders had gone and formed their own society, or so the rumor went. There was a clear worry of power rifts in the ODD ever since the end of the war, but through that it would make sense for rumors and legends to crop up whenever someone had the time to shit their pants. What were these God Shell pilots thinking after getting their newfound power? Did they feel special?

A belief that they would form a society seemed to fall in line with those sorts of worries, but all the same it seemed quite logical to do; Nidalie wouldn't pass up the chance to investigate. After all, a location was found within the rumors as well, pinpointing this "God Shell society" to a particular planet. The very idea reeked of a sense of superiority, and where pride went, bad behavior often followed. Were these the war criminals she was searching for?

The planet, which went by the code GXC-49 (unnamed at the time), was an arid earth-like world that had been discovered late into the Orion War and marked for future colonization efforts. The society likely jumped at the chance to secure it first and for themselves.

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To Me It's All a Game - Marcus White

"Man often makes the mistake of assuming the greatest powers lack in desire."

It was particularly eerie, but the message was sincere and hopeful all the same; a transmitted signal from deep space, seemingly targeted at Marcus's very God Shell, distorted and enigmatic. It spoke of a similar situation, and a desire to understand what had transpired during the war, specifically for themselves. No name was mentioned, but the individual (sounding male) clearly sounded as if they knew Marcus and furthermore, his very life.

A code for a location to meet at was included, pointing in the direction of an unnamed moon somewhere in the outer spindles of the Orion Arm; quite a distance to travel, and far from the reaches of human-controlled space. Given its remoteness, it seemed strange that the mysterious entity spoke as if it were human, but with a few moments of consideration, it didn't seem all that impossible. It reeked of association with the God Shells.

Without a hyperdrive, however, Marcus had no chance of reaching the destination; he'd need to get a ride.

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What's Justice - T.J. Johnson, Gerald Sinn, Leon Hexer, Orion Caster, & Aurelia Antilles

"Might makes right, and we have a right to make might."

Skith homeworld, Jhovus

The place was decimated everywhere they cast their eyes. Though the architecture was alien, they could nevertheless deduce where things had gone wrong, where the structures had split in two, and how beautiful they must have been before. Jhovus was reduced to a collection of dust that just barely held its former shape, able to be distinguished as a home, but dilapidated nonetheless. Not many stopped to reflect upon it, however; no one could count how many human worlds looked the same at the hands of the Skith.

A gargantuan mobile land base stood over the crumbled remains of a Skith compound, its immense tracks crushing the concrete underneath like paper. Bright halogen lights illuminated the ground in front of it, ensuring those standing at its feet had ample light to traverse the wreckage. A docking rampart was left opened, revealing a similarly grandiose interior where countless trudged about.

T.J. Johnson, Gerald Sinn, Leon Hexer, Orion Caster, and Aurelia Antilles had all gathered at the base of the ramp, their God Shells standing upright a couple hundred feet from the mobile base. They'd been proscribed a special mission to be carried out by themselves alone by a rather slow-to-move superior officer. In the aftermath of the war, and upon the scorched remains of their enemies, a good number of the human military had become lazier, as if basking in the delight of seeing their success.

And so they awaited the go-ahead, biding their time before setting off.

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A Back Door - Vahan Darbinian

"200 years gives you more than a technological advantage."

While the 'war' had ended, the battles had not. Zera was still under the vengeful eye of a Skith fleet hiding behind another planet's moon within the same solar system. The ODD had only just arrived, answering the call to action as a cleanup crew. The Skith force was quite large, undoubtedly a gathering military of escaping Skith fleets hoping to regroup. Either they would retreat and hide away elsewhere, or they would attack the planet in a final, suicidal attempt at maintaining their honor as a species. Whichever decision they made, the result would be unfavorable and the ODD had planned to attack them before they could do either.

Vahan Darbinian, having proven himself as a capable warrior aboard his God Shell would then, of course, be a valuable asset in such an assault. What was unfavorable, however, was the fact that the pilot seemed to be entirely focused on ground combat skills. His effectiveness in a stellar environment was questionable, as powerful as the machine he operated was. Without a military background, he surely had learned of battle solely through his experience in the God Shell, and thus lacked a sense of familiarity with space.

The executive decision was made to keep him on Zera as a backup force. He wouldn't be alone, as the ODD had proscribed a retinue of forces to stay behind on the planet, including a traveling God Shell pilot by the name of Seika, whom Vahan was encouraged to meet. With a phone number and a few texts, he'd agreed to meet with the pilot at a local cafe in his hometown (likely the most intact locations on Zera at the time), if only to shake hands and be on his way at the most.
 
Bombs. That must have been it. Nothing else gave off that kind of smell. Or.... could it have been fuel? The wondrous alien fuel that he had spent so much time watching burn during the war? Gerald had spent three hours inspecting a single crate of goods, wondering what could have possibly been inside. He wasn't just going to open it and spoil the fun. Oh, no. he was making a game out of it. You couldn't cheat in a game. If you cheated in a game, that simply made it more difficult to resist the next time. Keep on succumbing to temptation, and you're not playing a game, anymore. Your just looking in crates like a freak. Francis said that, once. Francis... Gerald stopped. He missed Francis. All that time he spent fighting to scrub the scum from his name. "Francis the sell out", "Francis the spy", "Traitor Francis". That last one really tore Gerald up, inside. He sat up against the crate he had been inspecting and put his hood over his head, a sign to all that had known him that he was not to be disturbed.

He had been doing this for three hours. Inspecting crates, leaning up against them, and putting up his hood. Nobody was quite sure why he was doing it, nor what he was really even DOING. As far as they could see, he was just staring at boxes. Of course, ask anybody else, and that's exactly what he's doing. Because, in essence, that was it. Nobody could really know what he was thinking. And why would they want to? He failed multiple psyche evaluations and was deemed mentally unstable by near a dozen psychologists, both military and civilian. Nobody was quite sure why he was even still here. The last news was that he had been discharged from service. But, to the surprise of most everyone in the military, The Reckoning of the Battle From Twenty Paces showed up not too long ago, appearing just as suddenly as the God Shell and the sniper cannon that he made his name off of. But you couldn't tell that Gerald was a war hero, anymore. Just the empty, ranting, wandering shell of one. But you still couldn't deny his aim....

Nobody could.
 
What's Justice

Staring up at the mobile base Orion couldn't help but a feel a small sense of security, the things were so massive they were hard to get used to at first but soon enough he had taken a liking to them; even finding it easier to fall asleep nestled nicely in Providence with the hum of the bases engines and the ever so slight rocking as it trudged along, crushing any and all caught under its massive tracks. The sense of security however, came from the fact of just how many God Shells were stationed on this base in particular, five in all, more than Orion had seen in one place since the war ended. Peculiar, what could they possibly need this many God Shells for... Orion let out a small laugh as he realized that the top brass was expecting him to actually work with other people for an entire mission, "Funny" he mused aloud.

Taking a look back toward Providence and the other God Shells he noticed all the different variations. That one looks like some kind of a tank, a bruiser even... Interesting Orion thought looking over the pure white God Shell that seemed to remind him of one of those knights you read about back in grade school. I wonder who that belongs too? Looking around the group of pilots he was able to pick out the most likely candidate, a small girl with long white hair in a suit that made it easy to figure out which God Shell belonged to her. The suit was strikingly similar to the God Shell itself which was something Orion had never noticed on a pilot before; I wonder if it has any function relating to her God Shell...

Averting his attention he moved onto the next God Shell, huge and bulky. Standing on six legs like a crab with two massive cannons on top; That God Shell has to be something like 20 meters tall... Things huge, probably pretty slow too. Looks like it could easily weigh a few thousand tonnes. Orion mused to himself as he turned back to try and find the most likely candidate among the group to be it's pilot. Looking over the group gathered at the ramp there was the small white haired girl, a rather tall dark skinned guy in a trench coat that looked like he could snap Orion with little to no effort at all. Note to self: Don't fight that guy. Orion thought. Next was yet another extremely tall man in a grey hoodie and some obviously used jeans, he seemed older than some of the pilots Orion concluded; and under the shadow of the hoodie Orion could just begin to make out a rather large looking scar that seemed to curve around his face to the side of his head maybe even farther, but there was no way to tell with the hood up, I'll have to ask about that some time later. After the man in the hood came the last pilot in the group, probably mid-twenties if Orion gauged correctly. Nope not a fucking clue, at least that girl had a distinguishing feature to her Shell. Orion thought, slightly defeated.

Moving onto the next God Shell Orion couldn't help but notice that it didn't seem to have any obvious weapons or even ports that weapons may be held in. Maybe it has the ability to summon weapons, I've heard of it being used by some of the Shells but I've never seen it before. This could be rather interesting in action he thought. Orion had a visible smile on his face as he stared the white and blue God Shell up and down intently. The idea that it might have the ability to summon its weapons had Orion in a trance, it might have been one of the few things he hadn't seen a God Shell do before and he was very much building in anticipation just thinking about the possibility it may be capable of summoning weapons. I wonder what kind of weapons it uses... Energy weapons? Maybe Kinetic? Orion's mind was wandering away in the idea.

Okay get a hold of yourself, it's awesome and all but there's still one more Shell left. At this point Orion had to pat his face a few times in order to come out of his imagination and back into reality. I'm definitely not going to figure out who pilots what, but that doesn't make these Shells any less interesting to look over.

Moving his attention onto the last God Shell save for Providence; which he knew enough about; he found himself staring down a God Shell that was probably only a few meters taller than Providence, painted on the chest was a wolf insignia, this God Shell was notably slimmer than most of the Shells present, especially when compared to the monstrous crab-like Shell Orion had looked over. Looks like it could be suited for closer combat, especially with its small size... Less of a target. Orion figured it would be nice to watch a Shell that was actually good at close quarters when compared to Providence and himself, Yeah those fights are never pretty, definitely not one of those "dances" I've heard about with the close-quarters oriented Shells.

"They're supposed to be beautiful to watch at work" he said under his breath.

Feeling like his quick look-overs of the other God Shells was complete Orion peered around and grabbed a small container. Pulling it over to the group of pilots and taking a seat, "How does the old saying go? Hurry up and wait, right?" Orion said to break the silence that was forming between the pilots. Normally he'd be rather withdrawn around others but he couldn't take the awkwardness forming in the circle as they waited for their brief.
 
Aurelia stood straight up but still felt short compared to those around her. She stood 5'8" but was still small compared to all of them. She took notice to each and every one of them and wondered if they had served at all during the war. She was born around its outbreak and didn't see any action during any of it. She wanted to know how each of them came into contact with their God Shells but didn't feel like proposing the question. Even she didn't really want to talk much about it. The mobile base was absolutely massive in size and she couldn't really think of any reason why it was on that planet. The Skith was quelled and she didn't understand why they needed to still be there. The sheer volume of the God shell made her second guess that last thought.

She looked back at all the God Shells and took in each of them while trying to figure out what pilot had which God Shell. It was obvious for others to pick her out due to the Neural suit she wore that resembled the God Shell she piloted. She loved the variety of them all and wanted to run up and inspect them all even against what their pilots may say about it. All of them sparked her attention but she still stood in awe of Templar even after a year of working with the large God Shell. She went through hell and back with it and never suffered to major of damage with it. Even at this distance she could feel its presence from wearing the armor that linked her to the God Shell.

She redirected her attention to all of the pilots around her. They all looked bored out of their minds and even slightly pissed that they had to be there. This was her first time with other God Shell pilots and she wanted to ask them so many questions. Her mind swam with the possibilities that may occur with such a large force but she finally settled on just standing there and watching them all awkwardly. She felt so small compared to them all but she knew she most likely would have rank over them all through the ODD. She smirked over that and let out a little giggle. She was still young compared to many of the officers in the ODD but she felt distant due to what she had seen while piloting Templar.

The awkward silence was finally broken when a man she had no idea about spoke up "Waiting... I did a lot of the when I tried figuring out what happened in the closing year of the war. I hate waiting... brings back bad things.. makes me think and though I like thinking it makes my mind wander and my ADHD to go crazy. I cant sit still and I want to move." She suddenly rambled. Her face began to turn red from embarrassment. 'Did I really just do that?' She thought to herself but kept herself from trying to slip away.
 
T.J. sat down beside Orion. "Yeah. I much prefer the hurry up part myself. All this waiting is going to drive me mad." He sighed, looking out over the devastation. They should never have pushed this deep into enemy territory. He'd signed on to defend humanity, not to raze alien worlds to the ground. If he ever got promoted... No, that would never happen. There was a glut of Majors who were senior to him on the rolls.

He wondered what WarHowl would think of the destruction. They were an awkward pair to say the least, his unyielding style compared with the freewheeling and improvising machine. Wasn't it the other way around in the books? Regardless, they made it work, and work well. The Malkehon campaign had been proof enough of that.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a datapad. He had the video on it memorized, but he couldn't help watching it. His little girl Anna taking her first steps. Someday, darling, I'll see you for real, not just on a screen.
 
That kid must be embarrassed as hell.... Gerald thought. He could have shot the tension with his A.M.S.C. and it still might have remained. From what he could gather, this wasn't an act of bravery. Nervous fidgeting, minimal pauses between sentences, not staying on one topic for long. Gerald knew the kid had ADHD before she even got the chance to blatantly announce it. Well.... I did double as a therapist.... He stood up and removed his hood, shaking his head to get the hair out of his eyes. He looked over at Aurelia with the type of cold and cruel gaze that even the most hardened war veteran would crumble under. He walked over to her and sat down. She would feel better if she didn't have what amounted to a giant looming over her. He stayed quiet for a bit, idly glancing around at all the other Shells. He never did get to see any of these during his time in the war. He had heard storied of the variety, but it amazed him just how many of them weren't at all like Seva.

"The waiting always gets to me, too. Though, mostly, I'm waiting from the other end of a scope. You would think that the tension would stay thin at two thousand yards away. My guess is that it's probably thicker." He looked up at her and smiled, somewhat softening his battle hardened face. "The name is Gerald, and you have three questions. The answer to the first is that I pilot the big blue and white one without any guns, over there." He jerked a thumb over to Seva Kiro, which seemed to nod ever so slightly. "The second is that the scar did come from battle, with the followup answer being no. You don't get to know where. The third is that I am not a psychic, but I might as well be. You might not have known that you had the third question in mind, and that would be because you didn't. But now I have you thinking, don't I?" He chuckled to himself, tracing a finger unconsciously along the scar on his head, scratching lightly, now and then.
 
Leon stood against some of the stacked boxes staring directly at his God Shell. It wasn't as 'fancy' as the others, but he always preferred performance over looks. He pulled out a small case from his jacket and pulled a cigar from it before putting the case away. He lit up and let out a puff of smoke, seeming to calm any nerves he felt. "Unfortunately we don't have any say on the waiting matter. Guess its a good thing I'm used to it. Ain't the funnest thing in the world for sure, but life ain't always fun war." He said before taking another puff.

He didn't enjoy the war truly, even though he found his God Shell from it. He always felt a part of himself missing from it, maybe his lost home or the squad he lost in the ruined city. He could never quite figure it out, but he tried to keep it from bothering him. He merely took another puff before looking over at the other pilots. "Anyway, names Leon. And the God Shell with the big guns is mine, call him Legion. He ain't fast, ain't quite maneuverable, and ain't quite small, but you can hear his guns thunder from miles away. And when those guns fire, the enemy hides before the shells even hit. Sometimes speed doesn't incite fear, that's where fire power comes in. And he's defiantly got it. So whose gonna introduce themselves next?" He said holding the cigar a bit away from from his face. as he looked over the pilots.
 
Breaking out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket without moving his eyes from the the task of lighting the cigarette Orion gestured toward Providence behind him, "That big white and gold one over there is Providence, and I'm Orion. Yeah yeah I was named before the war" He joked, "and the war sure as hell wasn't named after me." he let out with a smirk on his face. Taking a long drag on his cigarette he turned his attention toward Gerald "You see the battle through a scope too huh? You'll be the second pilot I've met since the war began that can call himself and his Shell a Sniper, If you even call yourself that." he took a second to take in the conversation at hand. Gerald seemed to be trying to come off as less intimidating by taking a seat, and from the look on Aurelias' face it seemed to have worked, the red in her cheeks was beginning to clear away after her... Outburst.

"Aurelia, you seem a bit young to have taken part in the war... If you don't mind my asking, Did you?" putting the question on Aurelias' lap wasn't like Orion in most cases, but if they were going to kill time, Might as well make it interesting. Orion leaned back and took another drag from his cigarette, tilting his head back just enough to see the gold of Providences' head glint in the light he blew the smoke up and away from the group.
 
Aurelia looked at the group then up at her God Shell. She hesitated to speak for a minute as she felt slightly shy being among all the older people. "That large Knight like God Shell is Templar and I am Aurelia... I found him when searching for my parents who went missing during the final year of the war.... I was in officers school when they went missing and have the Rank of Colonel within the ODD. That was before I left to try to find them... Instead of finding them I found a entire world full of all the horrors of war.. Inside of that pile of horrors was Templar... A shining light of hope for me. Templar was a perfect match for me in all ways. He helps me handle my depression and is close combat oriented. I have figured out all that's inside of it and there's something about him that still.... eludes me as if there is more there." She said she then noticed a tall man sit next to her.

She looked over at Orion "Well... Like I said I was in officers school when the last battles of the war were being fought. I was trained specifically in close combat Mech fighting techniques... I had the best the Orion core had to offer. I learned a lot but I never had combat experience until I ran into Templar. My parents were both Brigadier Generals and I have big boots to fill to make my family continue to look good. Though I never fought in the war I wish I did compared to what I have been doing recently." She finally finished and put her head down. She didn't like death but as of recently it came more as an act of policy than not. Thinking now began to bring back memories of the destruction she unleashed upon a Rebellious regiment of ODD soldiers. She shook her head as her pupils dilated. She felt a odd sense of calm as she felt the presence of Templar through the suit and she took a breath to keep herself composed.
 
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"Roger that Ma'am" Orion said to Aurelias' response, half courtesy and half mocking at the fact this girl was higher ranking than him. "Trust me Colonel, you definitely don't want to be wishing you took part in the war. Anything you're doing now may seem worse. But it's not, I've lost more than I can count and I've killed more than I care to remember... You should be happy you didn't have to take part in it." he said as he flicked the butt of his cigarette away, ember still glowing its warm red all the way to the ground. He took a look at Aurelia once again, so young and yet so much responsibility was already on her shoulders. No, their shoulders. He realized as he looked back toward Templar. This girl said it herself, Templar is her support... It's sad, she's already a bit screwed up without even seeing combat for too long.

It was true though, Providence was always his support when he most needed it, the one that would always be there when no one else was, even if he wasn't sentient like many other God Shells. It must be good she has Templar to help her through, especially after losing her parents things have got to be hard. Orion wasn't one for talking too much, and it was beginning to stress him out. He reached back into his coat pocket and grabbed the cigarette box once more, taking one from the box he lit it and took a drag while placing a second behind his ear Might as well prepare for later he thought as he blew the smoke out of his mouth in a small stream, once again away from the rest of the pilots. "Second hand smoke kills" he said with a comical tone.
 
"So do artillery shells...." Gerald smirked, tracing the scar on his head. He stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Call me Gerald. I pilot the big blue and white Shell without any weapons. Her name is Seva. Seva Kiro. She's a long range killer. Any of you ever heard of the Battle from Twenty Paces?" If they had, he would have been surprised. Twenty Paces was one of the few almost exclusively vehicular battles in the war. There were almost no infantry on the field, and what little there were died when Gerald blew up all the tanks. It was one of the deepest buried battles in the war, seeing as that was were you could say that Gerald lost his mind. Of course, he had lost his mind years before. That was just were it manifested.

"Anyway, enough about me. Any of you have a bottle of liquor I can borrow?"
 
Waiting was something Baldr was both used to and fine with. It gave him time to look around and soak in the area. He looked for any places that might be of interest later, perhaps places to find hidden stashes or odd pathways. Military vessels, though, lacked most of that, so he simply took in the sights of people milling about.

Siren, meanwhile, was bored. She would have made him fidget if she was in control. The only thing that kept her from commenting on how long it was taking for the attendant was that there were people to observe. She kept her eye on them, well through Baldr's eyes anyway. She took note of who looked interesting as a prospective date. None really caught her attention beyond the sense of minor possibility.

Then, the attendant came and got the attention of both. Following her through the ship, Baldr kept silent. He observed what he passed, but he had no intention of veering off course. The elevator was slow, but he was none too bothered unlike the other occupant of his body.

"Come on, get to the floor already! I want to do something!" Siren whined into Baldr's head rather loudly. It seemed that she was reaching the end of her patience. Baldr was not surprised that the inaction was bothering her. She craved action, which normally was fulfilled by his exploration. Negotiations and job briefs always drove her nuts.

Much to Siren's delight, they finally reached the second bay. The attendant led them through the throng of pilots, engineers, drones, and vehicles until they came upon the commander. She turned and offered her hand to Baldr. He took it in his own firm grip and then let go after just one shake. His countenance pretty much matched hers, one of general disinterest. Inside his head, though, Siren was poking and prodding him.

"Hey, she is kinda cute. You should totally ask her number after this!" His response was curt and short. "Not looking at the moment. Job time. Focus." Siren let out an intentionally cute harumph and went silent. Baldr couldn't help but wonder what people would think if they heard the stuff that Siren said in the privacy of their shared mind.

He responded slowly due to dealing with Siren in his mind. It actually took a couple seconds for him to register what the commander had said. "Pleasure is mine, commander. Shall we get down to business? I would hate to waste time."
 
Leon smirked at Gerald's comment before tossing away his cigar. "Haven't heard of it myself, but I second that about artillery shells. Legion there is very good at making sure things need to absolutely wiped off the face of the universe. It can fire both cannons at once which you'd be looking at about a 650mm payload hitting you. Not sure a whole lot of God Shells would survive that in one piece honestly. Honestly though do you always take a drink before every mission, thought snipers were supposed to be precise? Well being the bad influence I can be, take it." He said as he pulled a small bottle out of his pocket and tossed it Gerald. "Ain't much I know, but its a tad bit stronger than your average drinks. You might like it."
 
Gerald caught the bottle and smiled at Leon, popping the top and taking a swig. He was right. It was a bit stronger then most bottles he could get a hold of, but nothing special. He tossed it back to Leon. "Yeah. Not enough to throw off my aim, but enough to satisfy my needs. It dulls the pain, you know?" He tapped his scar and smiled, sitting back down. "I'm not surprised you don't know that particular battle. It's what got me discharged from the military. Not sure what they wanted me back for now, though...." he had gotten the call from his bathroom, which his doctor required he keep a phone in at all times. They hadn't said anything other then they needed his long range expertise and that they needed it at blank location at blank time. They had also threatened him with jail time if he didn't do it, which was enough to spur him back into action.
 
Aurelia finally completely pulled herself together and sighed. She looked up when Orion began talking to her again "Trust me Colonel, you definitely don't want to be wishing you took part in the war. Anything you're doing now may seem worse. But it's not, I've lost more than I can count and I've killed more than I care to remember... You should be happy you didn't have to take part in it.". Aurelia nodded slowly "Yeah... I guess not. I heard stories and read files on it all the time.. I shouldn't stick my neck out where it doesn't belong I guess." She said in a low voice.

All the others around her seemed to be starting conversations but she felt comfortable talking to Orion more than any of the others. For some reason she felt that she was able to talk to him. "So... I wonder what this is all about? I mean the Skith are almost entirely annihilated. I mean I know the reasons for starting the war and all but what we did is just... beyond words." She said and seemed to drift off as she looked around. She refocused after several seconds and sighed "You know... If my emotions controlled Templar I would be in trouble. But... in combat I feel so different. As if I was a in another body and safe. When I take control of Templar I merge with him entirely. Its amazing..." She said not sure if the others shared the complete neural transfer.

Her mind began to drift again as she thought back to when she found Templar. "I don't know where I would be right now if I didn't find him. Hes like a parent to me that I never had. Theres more there than meets the eye and I know it." She continued. Her voice began to trail off as she looked up at Templar. "I look forward to fighting along side you Orion... If you don't mind.. how old are you?"
 
Leon grabbed the bottle and slipped it back into his pocket before looking back at Gerald. "I didn't get out much during the war. And where ever there was a battle I was miles away with Legion. And I may not show it, but I've got scars of my own mentally. You see I found Legion under a less than pleasurable experience. I was with my unit scouting out a destroyed utopia when enemy bombers struck the city for unknown reasons. I had been with those men for years, they were like family to me. And after the dust cleared I was the last one alive, I tried to find an exit to the building and fell through a weak part of the floor. Much to my surprise there was a God Shell underneath the wreckage. It was damaged, but it got me home. Though I still felt I came home alone that day."

Leon stopped for a moment and looked away before turning back to Gerald. "Anyway enough about the reason keep a drink or two on me. I did modify my God Shell quite a bit after the war ended. Mounted the machine guns on it to help dealing with close range adversaries as firing one of those big guns would do a lot more harm than good for obvious reasons. What about you, your God Shell always look like that or did you add a more personal touch to it?"
 
"... If you don't mind.. how old are you?" Aurelia asked, "I don't mind at all, I'm 20." he answered quickly. "That doesn't mean I wasn't in the war though, I signed up to fight when I turned 17, found Providence over there just a month after my eighteenth birthday. What a god send he was, to find him then and there... If I hadn't I wouldn't be sitting here, that's for sure." He said, his voice trailing away near then end. Orion took another long drag of his cigarette to regain his composure. "I do have to agree with you though. They went out of their way to move me here from eleven systems away and now they have me just waiting around. That's not to say you didn't come from far either, I doubt any of us were on Jhovus before this mission came up."

Looking around the group of pilots he could see Gerald and Leon were striking up a conversation A bit personal for my likes, but it's good we're all talking Orion thought. I wonder what she meant by "merge", something to do with the suit from what she said... Removing his thoughts from the link between Aurelia and her Shell he looked to Aurelia. He gave her slight warm smile, tilted his head to the side and blew out the smoke, "I look forward to fighting with you too."
 
Aurelia lowered her head "You were in the war when I was 16 then... You are only a year older than me.". She couldn't even begin to understand what he may have seen through it all and began to feel uncomfortable. She was the only one most likely out of the group that was never in the war itself. She didn't know what to do and simply stood up. She did what she thought was right and began to walk away from the group. Her social side began to slip away and she retreated from the situation like a routed group of soldiers.

She began to walk towards the group of God Shells for the first time since she landed. As she walked she glanced back over her shoulders and sighed "This is why I rarely group with people." She said out loud in a half depressed and half happy voice. The looming form of Templar began to form above her as she slowly approached it. She activated the Comm system of her suit so the others could tell her when they were leaving. At the current time she wanted to sit and not feel odd among all the others.
 
Orion watched as Aurelia began shifting awkwardly in her seat What's up with her, is she really that uncomfortable? he thought. Suddenly Aurelia stood up and began to walk back towards her Shell, back towards Templar. Orion was half tempted to get up and follow her but he thought the better of it, opting to let Aurelia be in the comfort of Templar rather than back in the group of pilots that she knew next to nothing about. "I guess she just needs her space." Orion said openly as she got closer and closer to Templar. She's an odd one, but she seems like the kind you can trust... She's brutally honest Orion reflected. As Aurelia got closer to Templar he couldn't help but take another look at her Shell, it was large and the metallic silver of a suit of armor coupled with the pure white of Aurelias' hair in certain places. It made for a good match with Aurelia herself, but Orion couldn't help but feel uneasy at the fact that that girl was to be on the front lines of a fight, keeping the others safe, she just seems too unstable.
 
Aurelia looked back once at the group and sighed "You know Templar... I bet they think I am unfit for war." She said suddenly. She couldn't help but laugh at herself "War... I was trained for this purpose all my life. I am bred for war... Yet I feel uncomfortable around others. Is it because they suffered and I didn't? I did but not nearly as much. I have such a vivid memory and it hurts me." She continued. A booming voice filled her mind "War tests all who fall into its cadence. You are not unfortunate... Things all happen for a reason my dear." The voice of Templar said in response. She sighed "That is true... Misery finds us all and it all depends on how we handle it... we are all different. I myself enjoy the solemn company of myself and my own mind over others. Am I unstable Templar?" She continued and spoke out loud.

Templar's hull lit up lightly and her eyes seemed to glow in response "You are far from unstable. Thinking as such will lead you down a path you do not want to go down. You fight close and personal to all people you kill. Seeing them from the end of the scope is not the same as delivering the crippling blow. Seeing blood and oil splattered is different... Being covered in it directly is another entirely. You feel all when you are linked. You take the pain... Deal the damage and destroy those near." Templar said suddenly in a deeper than normal voice. Aurelia nodded slowly "So I do... I always forget.. I try to at least. Keeps me from freaking while in a fight... I block it all out and focus like I should. I can't bring luggage into a fight... slows us down. I need to carry that over to this.." She said and stood up from sitting on Templar's foot.

Templar's hull stayed lit "So you do Miss. Keeping things that should be dismissed is dangerous. Do I keep things that happen?" Templar boomed once more. Aurelia shook her head "You are a machine... You don't have memories." She suddenly said. The lights on Templar seemed to increase "A Machine I may be! Linked to you I am! I share your thoughts and I know.... Do you not think that at one momment I could be like you? We are merged by the soul. Linked as one. We fight as one." Templar boomed once more then began to settle. Aurelia sighed "I apologize... I let my emotions get the better of me." She said out loud once again.

Aurelia looked up at the large God Shell "I know that we fight as one... We share things among each other that many may never have. You are the closest thing I have to family now... and I took advantage of that." She said and closed her eyes. Templar's lights dimmed "Family.... You never said this before... I know what family is... I look into your mind and experienced what you have. Hmm... So be it my dear." Templar said before the lights went out and the machine's spirit settled. Aurelia actually smiled "Yeah... You are. Thank you Templar... My knight is shining armor."
 
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