MTLNOVEL Chapter 45: Plans
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*Third Person POV*
Nyx moved stealthily through the skies, the material of her mech frame making it impossible for anyone to ever pinpoint where the signals were coming from. The woman, Cassandra, had passed out and the man was in a worse shape, though Aspen had managed to bring down his pulse and stop the bleeding through the use of tourniquets.
The entire time Aspen was working on the man, he couldn't help but feel a certain familiarity with him. At the same time, his mind was elsewhere, diving through the information Nyx had collected on the group they had wiped out. When he came to see that they were a proxy for Ajax's group, his anger boiled.
"Not only is that bastard a traitor, but he's also sponsoring a bunch of degenerates. That means that his backers aren't innocent either since they are pretty much footing the bill," Aspen said to himself. "Killing him will only be that much more delightful.
They arrived at the valley in a few minutes and made their way to the HQ. Nyx landed softly in front of the HQ before deactivating the optical camouflage. They would have gone by unnoticed if it wasn't for the sound of the thrusters. Aspen quickly got out of the cockpit with Cassandra and Alexander slumped over his shoulders.
A few of the pilots rushed to him, spotting the two people over his shoulders. He handed them over and ordered that they be taken to the infirmary and healed using the regeneration pods.
After handing them over to the soldiers, Aspen walked through the front doors of the HQ, his mind racing as he thought about his next course of action. The time for Ajax's death was soon approaching, and seeing just what Ajax was patronizing made his blood boil almost just as much as the death of his wife and kids.
'Ajax was too far gone, and even if God himself ordered me to forgive him like he had done through the Archangel Michael with Kai before Ghost finished him off, I will go against those orders and kill him.' Aspen thought to himself.
Suddenly, the world around him stopped and seemed devoid of color. Aspen looked everywhere before a voice spoke right next to his ear.
"Do not tempt the Lord, your GOD."
Aspen spun to the side only to see the Archangel Michael standing there, sword drawn and ready to strike him down.
"Michael, STOP. He is just expressing his anger, I understand that it was not meant as an offense to ME."
Another voice spoke, ethereal and soothing yet commanding and fear-enduring. This was the voice of GOD ordering Michael to stand down.
"I'm sorry, Father," the Archangel Michael said as he bowed his head, his wings covering his entire body. He then turned back to Aspen as he sheathed this sword. "Do not disrespect your creator like that again, PROTOTYPE."
And as if nothing had happened, the world around Aspen regained color and returned to normal. Sweat beads formed on his forehead. He quickly wiped them off before swiftly moving through the giant halls in the direction of the command center with Nyx slowly walking behind him.
Once he reached the command center, he issued an order for all key personnel to assemble. In the span of a few minutes, the room was filled with the most trusted and highest-ranked members of his forces. The air in the room was tense, everyone sensing the gravity of the meeting Aspen had called.
Nyx's towering frame stood in the corner of the room, her optics glowing a soft and dim golden color as she synchronized with the room's holographic interface. A large, detailed map of Ajax's base was displayed, compiled from the data collected over the past few weeks. Red markers indicated guard patrols, automated turrets, and high-priority targets.
Aspen leaned forward, both hands planted firmly on the table while his eyes scanned the room before he spoke.
"Listen up now. During my test flight with Nyx, we came across some interesting information. We found that Ajax has been funding and supplying the group we took out while doing a weapon's test," he began, his tone betraying the simmering rage beneath his calm facade. "This just leads me to wonder just what else he is patronizing. Nyx, if you would."
Nyx obeyed Aspen's order as multiple holographic windows popped up displaying varying windows and information.
"Both he and his backers who are the ones footing his bill, the Volkovs, have been using multiple groups as proxies. These groups, as you can see, work in the businesses of slavery, kidnapping, child abuse, both physical… and sexual," Aspen's fists clenched as he spoke. "We already knew he was a worthless bitch, but now we know that those around him are as well. They're invested enough to funnel resources into keeping scum like that in business."
"You don't have to convince us of anything, sir," Viking spoke. "We're ready to kill the bastards that killed us, you're just giving us more of a reason to do so."
"Viking's right," Jess said. "And thanks to that simulation pod you had us use, they won't ever stand a chance against us, especially when you consider all the Beta-tier pilots you have at your disposal. His death is already assured, we've just been awaiting your orders."
Aspen nodded as he chuckled softly. Jess was right, all the pilots he had been awarded with the HQs by the system were already at Beta tier with a handful of them having reached Alpha tier. They all had the potential to be Alpha tier pilots, but the limited amount of time they could get from the regular simulation pots made it impossible for them all to level up as quickly.
"It's kind of funny seeing you being respectful towards me," Aspen said as he looked at Jess.
"Yes, well, you're not exactly the brother I had, Commander," Jess replied.
"Yes, I guess you're right about that," Aspen said, his smile quickly leaving his face. "Well then, We're going to be striking next week. We're going to go in for the kill from the get-go. Takeshi, I want your group to be the diversionary force. You'll be going through the front gate, guns blazing. Eliminate as many as possible."
"I will do as you command," Takeshi responded with a bow.
"Ghost, Viking, Roman, Raven, Gray, you five will lead a group of 20 and will be in charge of attacking from the back. You're in charge of crushing their defenses, all cannons, turrets, towers, if it can shoot, you shoot it."
"Copy," Ghost said with a deadpan face.
"Takara, your bunch will be in charge of destroying any and all communication arrays. I don't want them getting the word out of being under attack. Once you're done with that, you will split up, half of your group joining Ghost's squadron and the other joining Takeshi's group."
"Yes, sir," Takara said, resting her hand on her Katana.
"What about you, bossman?" Viking asked.
"Nyx and I will be the eyes from above. I'll be coordinating everything while Nyx infiltrates their systems and cripples them from within. Once she's done with that, we'll be making sure everything stays grounded. Nothing flies by or flies off on our watch."
"We're not taking prisoners unless they have intelligence we need. But with Nyx's infiltration of their systems, I doubt there will be anything worth sparing them for. We'll begin our attack at 3 am on Monday. I want this mission over before sunrise."
"Any questions?" Aspen asked.
Silence reigned over the room, only broken by the sound of Nyx's shifting servos as she bent down. "In case the Commander's underlying message wasn't made clear, Ajax is his to kill."
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. It was only right, they had all lost something, but he was the only one who lost it all. He may not be the same exact man who lost it all, but his feelings of unbridled hatred and his desire to personally make Ajax suffer were not hidden from them.
"Good. Debrief the others and get your gear in order. We'll be moving out as soon as the clock strikes 1:30 AM on Monday."
With that, the meeting was dismissed, and preparations for this all-out attack began.
*Third Person POV: Volkov's FOB on Cenollia*
After finishing his call with one of Victor's men and learning of what had gone down with the Rowlers, Ajax launched a datapad across his office, slamming into the wall before shattering. "Of course, someone had to get involved and rescue them," Ajax said as he bit his nails. His plans to see what the Cassanova pair knew about Aspen Del Santo crumbled before he was able to obtain any information from them.
Alexander had been their instructor during their first year at the Pilot's Academy, a previous Captain from the Empire of Varkesh who messed with the wrong person and ended up being an instructor. He and Aspen had Formed a bond over Aspen's supernatural ability to perfectly predict an enemy's next move on the battlefield.
Ajax had a feeling that if anyone knew where Aspen was holed up, it would be Alexander. The man was not only an instructor, the two had a very deep connection. From Ajax's point of view, Aspen was the son Alexander never had, but wished he did.
And coincidentally, just a few months ago right around the time of the battle that supposedly claimed Aspen's life, Alexander appears on Dedrift accompanied by his estranged daughter. However, this wasn't a mere coincidence to Ajax which prompted him to order one of his proxies, the Rowlers, to kidnap the pair and use any means necessary to extract information about Aspen's whereabouts.
Shortly after their kidnapping, a reward was put up by Cassandra's mercenary squadron to find any information leading to her, whether she be dead or alive. And now, an elite team of pilots appeared out of the blue and saved the pair without leaving a trace of who they were behind. All mechs, even the tier 3 ones, were destroyed with what appeared to have been a single shot.
This put Ajax on edge, fearing that whoever did it was going to figure out the connection between the Volkovs FOB on Cenollia and them, deciding to come for his base next. Ajax stood up from his desk and left his office, making a few turns through the hallways. After about 5 minutes of walking, he reached Victor's office.
Ajax knocked on the door and waited to be let in. After a few seconds, one of Victor's 2 guards opened the door and let him in.
"Huh, you're alone here with Victor? Where's your partner? Did he abandon his post or something?" Ajax asked the guard in a mocking tone.
"He's doing something you rarely do," the guard stated with a straight face. "He's practicing with the rest of our men using the new Vanguards that were delivered to us this morning."
"Wait, we got new mechs?" Ajax asked, surprised
"Indeed we did. You would have seen them had you actually showed up for morning training instead of sleeping in," Victor answered, irritation radiating off his voice. "You may be my sister's plaything but you're also a soldier, goddammit. Learn to act like one." Victor stood up and slammed his fist on his metal desk, denting it.
Ajax didn't even flinch at this, keeping his nonchalance, and instead smiled. "So, where is my Vanguard?"
Victor sat back down on his chair, leaned back, and sighed. "They were bought for my troops, you can take your pick of the mechs we're no longer going to be using. There's one Reaper, though that's going to be Valina's. But there are a handful of Vipers, Sentinels, 2 void sentinels, and some Valkyries."
"I'm already piloting a tier 2 Reaper, I don't need anything short of a Vanguard," Ajax said, his smile waning as he sat down on one of the chairs. "Come on, I know you wouldn't skimp out on your sister's mech, and knowing her, she would make you buy me one too."
Victor's steely facade faded away as a tired sigh escaped his lips. He ran his hand down his face and stayed quiet for a moment. "Alright, alright. Your Tier 2 Vanguard is in Hangar 17. Valina's Tier 3 is on Hangar 2. You got lucky, AVI was reluctant to sell to us, but we somehow convinced them. The fact that they don't have many manufacturers and that they privately make their reactors has made it almost impossible to secure a Vanguard when there are who knows how many inquiries for possibly millions of mechs."
"So you're saying they have a product shortage and are being very secretive with the construction of their reactors," Ajax said as he scratched his chin. "Yeah, that sounds like a smart way to control the market. Release some secrets, but not all of them so they still remain in control."
"Yeah, with these mechs in hand, you and Valina can put to rest the thoughts of Aspen coming to you both," Victor said as he stood up and stood next to Ajac. He then raised his hand and placed it on Ajax's shoulder.
"Take care of my sister. If something happens to her," Victor squeezed Ajax's shoulder making him wince. "I will kill you myself. "
"Don't worry, I'll make sure no harm comes to her," Ajax confirmed as he pushed Victor's hand off his shoulder. "I'll protect her with my life. Plus, she's starting to become herself again, finally getting over Kai and Elara's deaths."
"Well then, I'll be heading over to say goodbye to my sister," Victor said as he stopped at the edge of the door. "We'll be flying up to the station tonight and departing tomorrow. Father resigned me to assist some of our boots in the Empire of Nyxar."
As soon as he finished talking, one of Victor's soldiers rushed in front of him. "Sir, there are reports of a cosmic storm rolling into our route 4 days from now on Monday. If we don't depart in the next 4 hours, we may be able to get past the brunt of it, but our travel time will increase by about 2 days due to a small deviation. If we leave tomorrow, our travel time will increase by 5 days. We must leave and depart as soon as possible sir, we cannot waste any more time."
Victor acknowledged the soldier's words and quickly left to say goodbye to his sister, ordering his men to get ready to leave for the station within the next 30 minutes.
Ajax followed Victor out of the office, turning down a hall in the direction of the mech hangars. After about 20 minutes of walking, Ajax reached Mech Hangar 17 and stood on the catwalks, looking down on the Vanguard that was being tested by multiple engineers.
"It's quite the masterpiece, isn't it?" One of the engineers said.
"Sure is," Ajax responded. "But can we paint it Gray with green and red accents?"
The engineer stood up and stepped away from the cockpit of the Vanguard, "Sure can."
Word Count: 2549 Words 👏
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