Chapter 27: Developments

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1.5 Weeks Later

– Mondia, Beauth 11, 8034 –

“…Eh? What’s goin’ on in here?”

“Oh, hey Davídrius,” Kevérin turned to face the Introtechnic as he entered the base’s Chaotic sparring room, “Christeané and I were just checking out our new gear.”

Davídrius crossed his arms as he looked the other two Chaotics up and down, inspecting the layers of robing draping down around their legs. “…New clothes?”

“Ha! No, it’s Chaos Armor,” Christeané snorted, “There’s armor under the robing. Well, for you guys, at least – I have a specially-made chest plate,” he knocked on the plate proudly. Whereas Kevérin was wearing a variant of his Transfer Captain jacket over the armor, Christeané’s chest plate was on top and had a Battlehammer slot under each armpit, connecting two Battlehammers to a cord reel mounted on his back.

“These are prototype armors, work-in-progress pieces made by the Tekdecénian military,” Kevérin explained, “The armor itself is only a skin-tight bodysuit with a couple pieces of armor. Gauntlets, greaves, chest plate, codpiece; you know, like usual armors. The clothing is Chaos Robes, provided by the Archoné of Riverana himself, manufactured using the Master Ayas.”

“Oi, Chaos Armor, Chaos Robes,” Davídrius shook his head wearily, “There’s a ‘Chaos’ variant of everything, isn’t there. Anyways, so, we’re actually taking that one guy’s advice about armor?”

“He had a point,” Kevérin pointed out, referring to their encounter with the Black Suns Lieutenant General on Teghica. “I mean, you saw how our fight –“

“’Our’?” Davídrius echoed incredulously, “You barely lifted a finger!”

“…Well yeah, there wasn’t much I could do in that situation, you know? Besides, I was injured, remember?”

“Oh, stop crying about it,” Christeané quipped, “You got out fine. Rebehka’s worse off than you and even she only has a few bruises and twisted joints.”

Kevérin shot the Master Lieutenant an annoyed glance before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. “Anyways, this armor has actually been under R&D for a couple years, but the Commander pulled a few strings to get us some prototypes.”

“So we’re essentially beta-testing the hardware that’ll eventually replace Nimalia’s current standard gear?” Davídrius deadpanned, “Look, Chaos Armor sounds great and all, but I’m not a big fan of using a prototype. It’s called a prototype for a reason, ya know. If we gotta have battle armor then just give me some of the regular electrical stuff.”

“You say that,” Christeané smirked, “But can regular armor stand up to this?” He suddenly threw his fist forward, slamming Kevérin’s chest with massive force and knocking him into the wall behind him. The wall was shielded and received no damage – and neither did the Transfer Captain, who quickly picked himself up and stomped back over to the Superstrength Introtechnic.

“The hell was that for?!”

“I was just showing off the armor,” Christeané shrugged nonchalantly, “I knew it wouldn’t hurt you.”

“…Tch,” Kevérin scowled before turning back to Davídrius. “…The other sets of armor are back,in shipping and receiving. Make sure you get the set marked specifically for you, ‘cause, well, you won’t really fit into any of the others…”

Davídrius chuckled self-amusedly; the Transfer Captain was right. The Tresédian stood at least a good half foot taller than everyone else in Hero Machina, except for Kievkenalis – though even the Riveranian was noticeably shorter than Davídrius. “Alright, I guess I’ll at least try it on,” he commented, “but I’ve got an important question, before I even consider wearing this on a mission.”

“Yeah?”

“How much work do I hafta do to take a piss?”

“Uh.” Kevérin glanced over at Christeané cluelessly before returning his attention to Davídrius and scratching his head confusedly. “I, I don’t know. That hadn’t actually occurred to me…”

“He’s got a point,” Christeané pointed out, “I mean, there’s a reason Citan and Black Suns armors have internal waste systems, you know? Even the Earthians have a way to deal with this shit. Literally!”

“The Earthians use the equivalent of a big diaper,” Kevérin deadpanned, “Do you really want to wear a diaper?”

“Well… no.”

Kevérin shook his head wearily. “To answer your question, Davídrius, I don’t know. I haven’t tried to take the robes or the codpiece off yet, so I don’t know how long it takes.”

Davídrius snorted. “See, this is why I don’t like prototypes.”

“If only we had a Hydrotechnic…” Kevérin mused.

“What? No! That’s disgusting!” Christeané grimaced, “Did you actually just suggest that?”

“…Uh–“

“There you guys are!”

The three Chaotics turned toward the entrance of the room, through which Siyuakén quickly stepped. “What are you guys doing? You’ve been gone for three hours!”

“Hey, whoa, I just got here,” Davídrius replied defensively.

“Relax,” Christeané smirked, “We’re just checking out our new armor.”

Siyuakén glanced between Kevérin and Christeané before asking, “Will I still be able to use my swinging gear?”

“Not the gear you’re wearing right now,” Kevérin answered, “but your armor set has built-in gear of its own.”

“Wait, these things are personalized?” Davídrius questioned, “…personalized… prototypes?”

Kevérin shrugged. “I didn’t make these. They just got here yesterday – great timing, too; this is a great birthday present.”

“Oh, it’s your birthday?” Siyuakén questioned.

“Well, two days ago. It’s actually on the 9^th.”

“Happy belated birthday, then!”

“…Huh? People say that?” Davídrius responded confusedly.

“Say what, ‘happy birthday’?” Christeané smirked, “Well, yeah. The Earthians do it, too, from what I hear.”

“Weren’t you paying attention last month when either mine or Kaoné’s birthdays came around?” Siyuakén crossed her arms.

“Uh… no?” Davídrius scratched his head, “…people keep track of this stuff?”

“…You don’t?”

“All I know is that I was born during the Quake, probably this month. I think. …It’s not really a priority back in Treséd.”

“Oh… right,” Kevérin responded uneasily, “I guess you were probably busy protecting yourself and your compound or something, right–?” The Pyrotechnic froze when he caught the cold glare the Tresédian passed his way.

“…So, Kevérin!” Siyuakén spoke up, “Wasn’t there some important data analysis you were supposed to do today?”

“Not quite yet. The raw data still has to finish processing before I can start trying to get anything useful out of – oh wait,” he paused as an alert suddenly popped up on his glasses display, “…well would you look at that, the processing just completed! …Uh.” He glanced down at himself, “…guess I get to see now how long it takes to take the armor off, eheh.”

Siyuakén watched him leave before turning back to Christeané and Davídrius. “Three hours…?”

“This stuff takes a long time to put on,” Christeané replied, “between the bodysuit, and the armor pieces, and all these robes,” he glanced down at the layers of robing that fell around his legs, “takes a while, you know?”

“If it takes that long, is it really worth it?” Davídrius questioned.

“…Maybe not for you and me, but we’re the only Introtechnics here so yeah, it’s probably worth it in the long run,” Christeané answered, “I mean, you saw what that Black Suns officer did to Kevérin and Rebehka.”

“I’m actually surprised they weren’t hurt worse,” Siyuakén frowned, “Slam is supposed to be one of the more brutal directed-type Chaostechnic moves… speaking of Rebehka,” she turned to face Davídrius, “She’s a little irritated that you skipped the last two of your fencing lessons.”

“Eh, there’s not really any point anymore,” Davídrius shrugged, “I have a new weapon now! And it’s nothing like a sword.”

“You mean that Ayas weapon?” Christeané snorted, “I can’t believe Nikéyin actually agreed to let you keep it.”

“No, I can’t keep it. I can only use it on missions.”

“Regardless, you should’ve at least told her that,” Siyuakén pointed out, “You know, instead of letting her waste her time.”

“…Uh. Sorry?” Davídrius responded uneasily.

Siyuakén shook her head wearily. “I’m with Christeané on this one. Why you? And a Dark Ayas, no less.”

“Just ‘cause a Riveranian claims the Dark Ayas have some sort of ‘dark influence’ doesn’t mean they actually do,” Davídrius shot back, “That’s all up with the Oraculm nonsense. It’s bullshit. The Ayas are just massive Chaos Energy generators, nothing more.”

“If that’s true, then what’s with the weapon that comes with it?”

“Beats me. But there’s no ‘dark influence’. I felt no different when I used the Ayas back on Teghica, and I won’t in the future – and even if there does happen to be some sort of weird influence, I won’t let it get the better of me. It won’t happen.”

Christeané and Siyuakén exchanged uneasy glances. “You seem really sure about something you know very little about,” the Master Lieutenant commented.

“I’ll be fine,” Davídrius insisted, “…hah, you wanna get on me about mental stability? How ‘bout that Overdrive unlock, eh?”

“What? My Overdrive is cool as fuck man, how is it not a good thing that I unlocked it?”

“I’d be impressed if you had, I dunno, saved the lot of us from being utterly obliterated. But from what I hear you just got pressed into sand and then suddenly, Overdrive.”

“Says the guy who was knocked unconscious by a security mech while wielding an Ayas weapon.”

“Don’t turn this on me. I’ve been through much worse back on Treséd and I still don’t have my Overdrive, so what’s up with you unlocking yours?”

“You’re trivializing the moment. The sand on Teghica wasn’t that soft shit you have in Treséd; I was almost crushed to death, you know? I’d say that counts as a life-threatening situation!”

“A life-threatening situation isn’t the only criteria for an Overdrive unlock,” Siyuakén pointed out, “It’s said that it’s somehow linked to one of your deepest fears…”

“What, I can’t just be scared of death?” Christeané crossed his arms irately.

“That’s–“

“Maybe before you start getting on other people’s cases you should sort out your own problems, huh? What’s up with you and Kaoné?”

“I– what?” Siyuakén drew back, “There– …nothing’s up with me and Kaoné.”

“You sure got defensive real quick,” Davídrius snorted, addressing the Superstrength Introtechnic.

Christeané turned away from the other two Chaotics and took several deep breaths before turning back. “…Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap like that. I just need some air, that’s all. I should probably take off this armor, too, heh.” He promptly exited the room before either Davídrius or Siyuakén could question him further.

Davídrius whistled out of mild amazement before glancing over at Siyuakén. “Somethin’ goin’ on between you and Kaoné?”

“No. The two of us are fine.” Siyuakén quickly made for the exit herself, “Don’t spend too long in here. You have work to do.”

“…And they think I’m the one with problems,” Davídrius snorted. He shook his head and began walking back to the Hero Machina office, leaving the sparring room emptier than when he had entered.

*             *             *

“Oh, hey, Kevérin.”

“…Hey,” the Transfer Captain responded as he passed Rebehka’s desk on the way to his own. As he sat down he glanced around the room, surprised to see that Rebehka was the only other person present. “Where’d everyone go?”

“I thought you’d know,” Rebehka turned to glance back at him, “Christeané left with you this morning, and Siyuakén left to check on you. I don’t know about the others, though.”

Kevérin frowned. “There’s never a moment where all seven of us are actually working, is there…”

“Not to be rude, but I have to agree with Davídrius on that point…” Rebehka replied, “There’s not really enough ‘work’ to warrant all seven of us being here at the same time.”

“So you all just decide on your own that you can take breaks like this?”

“What? …Kevérin, is something wrong?”

The Transfer Captain sighed as he slowly began looking over the data his computer had just finished processing. “It’s… maybe. I dunno. I mean, it’s not like anyone actually cares.”

“What?...”

Kevérin looked up to find Rebehka staring curiously at him.

“If you need someone to talk to, I’m here,” she replied.

The Transfer Captain sighed again. “…How do you see me?”

“What? …Uuuhh,” the Cryotechnic responded uneasily, “…when I said someone to talk to, I didn’t–“

“No, not like that,” Kevérin shook his head, “I mean, like, am I your co-worker? A friend? A leader?”

“…All of the above, I suppose.”

“What about the others, what do you think they think?”

“I think they’d say the same. …What’s this about, Kevérin?”

“I dunno, it just… it feels like no one ever listens to me. I’m a Transfer Captain, I’m the highest ranking member of Hero Machina. I’m supposed to be the Commanding Officer, but no one ever listens.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that…”

“You just said yourself that everyone’s not here because they think they can decide for themselves whether or not to skip work.”

“That’s not what I said. And even if it was, that isn’t insubordination to you specifically, is it? And you can’t really deny that you aren’t here all the time, either.”

“…I guess so.”

“If it’s being viewed as a leader that you’re worried about, well, you shouldn’t worry so much,” Rebehka commented, “Only Davídrius, and maybe Christeané, show any open insubordination, and that’s just how they are. I think they’ll listen to you once you know each other better, as long as you make good points.”

“We’ve been working together for over a month. This isn’t how the military is supposed to work anyways, I shouldn’t have to wait for them to get used to me.”

“Then… I don’t know what you want me to do. This is a problem between you and them. The only immediate solution is to just go to Nikéyin about it.”

“Hn… I guess so…” Kevérin responded reluctantly, his gaze focused directly on the monitor in front of him. Rebehka watched him for a few moments before slowly turning back to her own computer, still somewhat wary about the Transfer Captain’s well-being. It was barely a minute later before she was interrupted from her work again, however, as the Pyrotechnic suddenly leaped to his feet, exclaiming, “Ha, that’s it!”

“What now?” Rebehka turned back to face him.

“Thanks to the data I pulled from Teghica, I was able to locate the hypocenter of the Chaos Energy Quake!” Kevérin replied, “Though… it’s in Black Suns space. Specifically, the Sector 2, Tier 4 World of Rossindon.”

*               *               *               *               *

==================== End of Chapter 27 ====================

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Data Entry: Chaos Robes

                Even considering the Chaos Energy Quake of 8012, there is no denying that Chaos Energy can make virtually anything far more powerful than it could be conventionally, with few drawbacks. For the most part, this applies to technology – be it Chaos Armor, faster-than-light (FTL) travel, or other space-bound weaponry – but it can also apply to something as simple as clothing.

                Fusing trace amounts of Chaos Energy into clothing is far from a new concept. Both the Dra’kis and the Riveranians of Nimalia crafted vast amounts of “Chaos Clothing” up until the Chaos Quake, which completely dissociated any previously existing Chaos Clothes from Chaos Energy, rendering them as ordinary garments. After the Quake, the practice nearly died away, due to the galaxy suddenly doubting the stability of Chaos Energy. With over twenty years of stability afterwards, however, some are returning to the creation of Chaos Clothing.

                The benefit of such clothes is seen only by Chaotics; a non-Chaotic who dons the clothing will notice no difference in their being. Even for a Chaotic, though, the effects are subtle – a slight increase in reflexes, and a slight increase in their ability to use their own abilities. During day-to-day activities the slight increase is barely noticeable, but in intense battle situations Chaos Clothing can often be the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death.

                The term “Chaos Robes” is reserved for Chaos Clothing crafted using the Chaos Ayas themselves. As the Ayas are generators of massive amounts of Chaos Energy (along with possessing many unique and unknown qualities), their use can create clothing that bestows a rather significant and very noticeable increase in ability for the Chaotic who wears it. Because said clothing can only be created with the help of the Ayas, Chaos Robes are relatively rare and, prior to the Chaos Quake, were largely restricted to the CSA. However, as powerful as Robes are, they were still rendered inert by the Quake just as all Chaos Clothing was.

                The concept of Chaos Clothing and Robes originates from the ruins of the ancient and long-gone civilization of the Aldredas. The Aldredas are thought to have controlled the entire galaxy at some point in the distant past, and among their many legacies and artifacts are clothing that strongly resemble the modern versions of Chaos Clothing, what with being infused with Chaos Energy. Studies on the Aldredas artifacts suggest that they were able to achieve a much higher fusing efficiency than any modern method, but no one knows how that could possibly be the case.

Chapter 26: Negated Chaos

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“Everyone, scatter!”

The moment the words left General Bitincher’s mouth, the Black Suns soldiers sprinted for the room’s exits as Bitincher and Reginko both transported themselves to the topside of the roof. Reginko immediately fired off several Chaos Strikes at the mechs, all of which fizzled out mid-air before Bitincher had to step in and erect telekinetic barriers to stop the hundreds of bullets the mechs began filling the air with.

“They must have individual CENT fields…” the Commander scowled, “My attacks didn’t go through…”

“Then sideline yourself, Commander!” Bitincher ordered, “You’re the wrong type of Chaostechnic to be of use against these mechs, and you just had to let your armor expire, too. Looks like I’ll have to rely on your squad to take care of this situation…”

“Don’t forget about us!”

“…The Nimalians,” the General grumbled, “What do you want?”

“We can help,” Kevérin insisted just after alighting on the rooftop. He was quickly followed by the rest of Hero Machina as Kaoné lifted the ground below their feet to be level with the roof. “This is our fault, after all…” the Pyrotechnic admitted.

“Ha! I need no help,” Bitincher snorted, “These are just run-of-the-mill security mechs. Large, sure, but they are just mechs. I don’t need help from Chaotics who can’t even beat Commander Misunderstanding over there.”

Kevérin glanced at the mechs around the complex. Some of them had started to close in on Bitincher, but none of their bullets were making it through the General’s barriers. “…Well, if you say so–“

“Wait, something’s off,” Kievkenalis interjected, “…Davídrius–!”

The Superspeed Introtechnic needed no further warning – he immediately jumped in front of the Black Suns General and began deflecting the incoming bullets with remarkable speed as they began to somehow pierce though the barriers.

“My barriers expired?!” the Psychotechnic scowled, “Wait, my powers–“ his gaze suddenly transitioned to a small ovaloid object as it rolled to a stop near the center of the group. “…CENT grenades?!” He immediately grabbed the object and chucked it to the side before turning back to the mechs and once again stopping the bullets with his barriers.

“So those things can fire CENT fields at us?!” Kaoné exclaimed, “But that’s–!”

“It sounds exactly like something the Citans would do,” Bitincher retorted, “I guess I could use your help after all! Watch out for CENT grenades – I’ll draw fire! You Introtechnics, focus on destroying the weaponry – the rest of you can work on disabling the mechs! And you with the Ayas, it’s on you to destroy as many CENT fields as possible, you hear me, boy?! Now, on my mark, scatter!”

“Wait what?” Davídrius turned on the General irately, “Why do we have to take orders from you?”

“Who’s got the most experience here, boy?” Bitincher shot back, “This is battle! No time for arguing–!”

He was interrupted as two of the mechs suddenly leaped forwards, crashing down on the facility rooftops barely ten meters from the group of Chaotics. Immediately Christeané responded by twirling his hammer around, but Bitincher was quick to stop him.

“Are you suicidal?!” the General shouted, before taking a moment to lift up several pieces of debris from the ground floor and launch them forwards, toppling one of the mechs. “Those things have local CENT fields! Don’t just go flinging yourself into them! We have to take care of them smart-like–“

A sudden explosion attracted everyone’s attention to the left. The chest of one of the mechs had just imploded on itself, and the mech itself began to collapse forward. Two Black Suns soldiers alighted on its head before severing the neck connection and then throwing themselves to the ground just in time to get clear of the mech as it smashed into the ground and obliterated itself.

“–and that’s the mark! Scatter!” Bitincher shouted, dashing away from the two nearest mechs. Davídrius made to argue further but was distracted as another CENT grenade rocketed past his head. He spun around and threw the blade-end of Hastryth after the grenade, slicing it out of the air before swinging the weapon back around to slice a chunk of armor off a mech that was approaching. He rolled to the side to avoid being squashed underfoot and then leaped into the air, grabbing a piece of the mech’s thigh armor and throwing himself higher. He then stabbed the mech’s chest plate and swung upwards just in time to avoid being swatted away by the mech’s wrist-mounted blades. The moment he was level with the mech’s head he launched Hastryth’s blade, snagging part of the mech’s armor and swinging under the chin and up around the other side of the head, alighting on top. As soon as he landed he lifted his right leg into the air and smashed it down on the metal plating, obliterating the entire surface. He sliced at the back of the head as he threw himself to the ground, catching himself just in time to sprint forwards and intercept a CENT grenade flying toward Kievkenalis, who was busy calling several forms of support attacks and carefully monitoring the rest of the group.

“Chaos Assist! Chaos Heal!” he called for the third time since fighting broke out, ignoring the few bullets flying his way as they simply bounced off his Chaos Armor. “…Kaoné, look out!”

“Huh–? Uagh–!” the Materiatechnic stumbled backwards as a nearby mech suddenly thrust its fists forward, pulverizing much of the building Kaoné had been standing on. She quickly scrambled backwards as she ripped metal supports out of the fallen rooftops and flung them forwards with great speed, smashing through the mech’s left shoulder and tearing its arm off. The force toppled it over backwards but before Kaoné could attempt to finish it off another mech came charging in, guns blazing. Kaoné quickly erected reinforced barriers but was barely able to create a full shell before the mech got close enough to negate her powers. It then tore down the barrier and reached its arm around, wrist-blade extended, just before a metal strut swung through the air and clobbered the mech, sending it stumbling backwards and falling down on top of the mech Kaoné had just knocked down. The Materiatechnic quickly recovered and grabbed the metal strut from Christeané before dangling it in the air above the mechs and releasing, allowing it to pierce through their chests and destroy their CENT generators. Christeané quickly took advantage of the opening to fling himself forward, grabbing the strut as he flew past to stop himself on top of the two mechs. He then began twirling his hammer for a second before releasing it downwards, completely obliterating the entire mid-section of both mechs. Jumping forwards, he smashed both of the heads for good reason before ducking behind some metal walls to evade gunfire.

Across the base, General Bitincher jumped off the roof and to the ground before leaping forward and creating a telekinetic barrier around three of the Black Suns soldiers and pulling them backwards, just in time for two mechs to try and stomp them. The unexpected lack of material underfoot caused the two mechs to lose balance and stumble forwards; just before they could recover, Bitincher flung two of the soldiers up into the air. The two soldiers quickly drew blades in a similar fashion to Reginko and sliced at the mechs’ neck areas as they flew past. One of the soldiers managed to stab her blade into the back of the mech’s head and swing around to fire several laser blasts from her arm-mounted cannon, but the other soldier missed and went sailing through the air… straight into the waiting hands of a third mech. Before it could squeeze or otherwise murder the soldier, Davídrius launched himself upwards, cleanly slicing through the mech’s elbow with Hastryth before whipping around in the air and launching the weapon at the mech’s chest plate, using it as an anchor point to swing around to the mech’s head and demolish it with a fierce kick, as he had done to two mechs prior. Just before he could jump away, though, a different mech suddenly charged forward and barreled through the collapsing remains of the mech the Introtechnic had just destroyed, sending him flying through the air uncontrollably. He tumbled to the ground and rolled to a stop, unable to properly catch himself on the soft sand of the desert. Once he finally rolled to a stop he quickly moved to dash back toward the combat, but was caught off guard as a mech suddenly landed behind him, snagging the blade-end of Hastryth just as the Introtechnic took off and yanking him backwards. Without losing a moment it raised its foot and stomped Davídrius before he could even recover – or it attempted to, at least. Before its foot slammed down on the Introtechnic, a large cement rock smashed into the mech’s chest, sending it off-balance. Two laser cannon shots pierced through the mech’s chest before Bitincher himself bounded forward and tore the mech asunder with crisscrossing barriers. He then flung Davídrius to his feet with a barrier and had barely given the Introtechnic a nod of acknowledgement before dashing back into battle, two soldiers on his tail.

“Haha!” Christeané grinned as he pulverized another mech on the other side of the base, “Another one down!” He quickly surveyed the area before exclaiming, “And only three more to go! What pushovers!”

“I didn’t think this would be quite so easy,” Kaoné commented as she erected another metal barrier.

“They are just security mechs,” the Master Lieutenant smirked, “I mean, yeah, the CENT grenades seemed like they could be a threat, but in the end there’s just not much you can do to stop Chaotics!”

“Unless you’re an elemental…” Kaoné remarked, referring to Kevérin, Rebehka, and Siyuakén. The three of them had been forced to take refuge with Reginko, as their abilities did not allow them to fling objects through a CENT field as easily as everyone else.

“Well, not everyone gets to participate in every battle,” Christeané shrugged, “I’m sure this isn’t the last fight we’ll get into.”

“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Kaoné rolled her eyes.

“Well, I mean, yeah. At least it’s gotta make the mission reports more interesting. Imagine how boring it must be for Nikéyin to just read about ‘we went here and did x and then we went there and did y’ all the time.”

“Uh huh.”

“And now we’ve wasted more than enough time,” Christeané turned around and began twirling his hammer – only for the object to fall to the ground with a disappointing thud as he yanked the cord unsuccessfully. “Uh… oh…?” he muttered as a shadow suddenly fell over the two Chaotics. They both glanced upwards uneasily just in time to see a mech stand over them and train both of its weapons on them.

It was also just in time to see Davídrius rocket through the air, Hastryth-first, and crash straight through the mech’s chest, removing a large chunk of its internal mechanisms. Christeané immediately responded by launching his hammer upward, demolishing everything that Davídrius hadn’t. Kaoné quickly caught the scrapped and short-circuiting material and flung it away, clear of the two Chaotics.

“Alright! Ha ha, Davídrius, perfect timing!” Christeané exclaimed, and then turned around warily when the Introtechnic failed to respond. “Davídrius…?”

“Guagh…” the Tresédian managed to pull himself into a standing position as he clutched his right shoulder painfully. “Ow… ow ow ow…”

“Are you okay?” Kaoné asked uneasily.

“Ugh… yeah, I’ll be fine,” Davídrius squinted in pain, “I’m an Introtechnic, sure, but that doesn’t stop it from hurting when you decide to smash through two meters of metal and circuitry…”

“Ah, you’ll be fine,” Christeané replied nonchalantly as he turned to survey the area again, “…look, the Black Suns just finished off the last mech.”

“…So they have,” Davídrius observed as General Bitincher turned toward the Chaotics and waved them over. The three approached the edge of the roof and jumped down, where they rejoined the rest of Hero Machina as they approached the wreck of the last mech.

“Some help you three were,” Bitincher scowled once Kevérin, Rebehka, and Siyuakén had approached.

“It’s not our fault,” Siyuakén replied defensively, “There’s not much we could do against CENT fields.”

“They’re elementals, sir,” Reginko explained, walking up behind the General.

“Oh. Tch. I suppose I can understand, then… it is true that Navitastechnics fare worse against CENT fields than other Chaotics…” Bitincher shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Alright, kill count, go. My soldiers and I destroyed six.”

“Kill count? What? Why?” Davídrius questioned.

“To make sure that we’ve accounted for them all,” the General answered, “Only count mechs that you dealt the final blow on.”

“In that case… three,” the Introtechnic replied.

“And I got five!” Christeané exclaimed.

“Three and five… is that it?”

“I helped some, but I never downed any…” Kaoné responded.

“Hmm… six, three, and five… that’s only fourteen.” Bitincher suddenly became alert again and began surveying the area warily. “There were fifteen to start with. Where’s the last one?”

“Of course it wouldn’t be that easy…” Davídrius scowled, brandishing Hastryth as he turned to inspect the surroundings – and was suddenly punted clear across the base. Two of the Black Suns soldiers were bowled aside before one of them fired blindly, landing a hit on something – a something that revealed itself to be a mech, formerly hidden by the invisibility cloak that the soldier had just destroyed.

“A cloak?! What in the–?!” Bitincher started, but was forced to interrupt himself and dive out of the way as the mech swung its wrist-mounted blades at him. It swiveled around and obliterated three of the Black Suns soldiers with its guns before turning again to grab Davídrius out of the air just before he could pierce the chest plate. It threw him at the ground with amazing force, knocking him out, before turning again to face the remaining Introtechnic.

“Shit–!” Christeané exclaimed, diving out of the way just in time to avoid being stomped. He quickly backpedaled before spinning on his heel and attempting to dash at full-tilt, hoping to get clear of the mech’s CENT field. However, the mech was faster – it jumped forward, landing directly in front of Christeané and just close enough to Kaoné to prevent her from stopping it. It landed unevenly, however, and its right leg slipped out from under it on the soft sand, causing it to collapse forward – and trap the Introtechnic under its palm. Without hesitation, the mech suddenly pressed down with such force that its hand became submerged in sand up to its wrist.

“Wha…at?...” Kevérin responded slowly, blinking several times in disbelief. “Christeané…?”

“Over…drive:… Omni Crush!!”

Immediately, a large chunk of the mech was utterly flattened. The Superstrength Introtechnic punched his way out of the metal mess and walked over to the rest of the mech, where he irately slammed his fist into the top of the mech’s chest – and completely obliterated the entire machine, simultaneously throwing up a massive dust cloud as the force scattered all of the nearby sand.

“Uh… what?” Kaoné stared on confusedly.

General Bitincher seemed to understand what had just occurred, however, and chuckled bitterly. “You unlocked your Overdrive with that?” he snorted, as Hero Machina and the remaining members of the Black Suns squad re-converged on his position, “…I really don’t know what to say, except that I was just about to take it out myself, you know.”

“Yeah, well…” Christeané shrugged, “whatever.”

“’Whatever’, he says,” Bitincher shook his head wearily, “I remember when unlocking your overdrive was a momentous thing… but you say ‘whatever’. I’ll never understand you Nimalians.” He turned around and began marching off, with the Black Suns soldiers quickly falling in line behind him. “The security’s out and the base is as good as destroyed. At this point I don’t care if you manage to salvage anything from that mess, but you’d better be gone by the time we return for proper clean-up! And I had better never see the lot of you again!”

“I… you… what?” Kevérin responded confusedly, “Wait, but you… we…”

“Let him go,” Christeané replied, “He’s right, there’s not really anything else to do here.”

“And he’s also right that unlocking your Overdrive is pretty significant!” Siyuakén exclaimed, “That was… what happened?!”

The Introtechnic shrugged. “I almost got crushed. I’d say that qualifies as a life-threatening moment.”

“…But–“

“Now’s not the time to start analyzing everything…” Kevérin cut in, “It seems like the Black Suns are giving us a free pass, so we had better take it and leave.” He gestured to his glasses. “I’ve already claimed all of the data we need, anyways.”

“About time. I’ve had enough of this heat… and dryness… and CENT fields… and everything,” Rebehka sighed wearily.

“Someone’s going to have to drag Lieutenant Hasty with us, though,” Siyuakén retorted.

“Heh, I’ve got it,” Christeané smirked as he moved toward the unconscious Tresédian.

Kevérin watched the Introtechnic for a few moments before finally glancing at the time – and balking. “Uh… bad news, guys.”

“Uh oh,” Kaoné frowned, “…what is it?”

“…We’re going to miss the next window back to Damunin.”

“What? No. We are not staying here for another twenty hours,” Rebehka declared before rushing forwards, Siyuakén quickly following. “C’mon! Let’s go!”

“Well… I won’t argue with that,” Kevérin leaped into the air and began hovering with bursts of flame as Kaoné manipulated the ground under Kievkenalis and herself to rush forwards. The Transfer Captain glanced toward Christeané and shouted, “Hey, Christeané! We’re leaving!”

The Superstrength Introtechnic responded with a thumbs-up before hoisting Davídrius over his shoulder and then flinging himself forward with his hammer. Kevérin smirked and blasted forward himself, shouting, “Hero Machina… move out!”

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==================== End of Chapter 26 ====================

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Data Entry: Overdrive State

                Chaotics are often rated by their power and abilities, and for the most part are judged by how they are able to do in normal combat situations. However, simply judging a Chaotic’s abilities by their normal performance is not a completely accurate metric, for there exist several states of higher power for Chaotics, such as the Berserk State, or the Chaos State. Of all possible states, the Overdrive State is considered the most widely known, and the most widely accessible – yet also the most specialized.

                The Overdrive State is a state of increased power and ability that lasts for thirty minutes to an hour (on average) before wearing off. Upon activation, it can overwhelm any local CENT fields, temporarily shutting them down – but it will not counter the effects of Dead Space. The state can be reactivated immediately, but with higher frequencies of use, there is a higher possibility of a major drawback activating: on deactivation of the Overdrive State, there is a possibility that the user will become unable to use any of their powers for some unspecified amount of time (averaging around twenty-five hours). The disability period is known as the “Cooldown State”, and its length as well as the probability of it activating are both directly proportional to the frequency of Overdrive usage. On average, a Chaotic can use their Overdrive State twice in a row, or three times within a period of twenty hours, before encountering the Cooldown State. It should be noted that the probability of inadvertently entering the Berserk State instead of the Overdrive State also increases with the frequency of Overdrive usage, but it increases much more slowly than the probability of the Cooldown State activating and is thus considered a negligible risk.

                While the Overdrive State is most commonly known as a state of increased power and ability, it can sometimes have individual- or type-specific side effects. For instance, the Overdrive of a Pyrotechnic may cause flames to suddenly bathe a small area around them upon activation, or the Overdrive of a highly skilled weapons user may spawn weapons for them to use during the duration of the state. Individuals who possess specialized Overdrives are often valued higher than individuals with generic Overdrives.

                The State is activated by verbally calling out its name, similar to how a Chaostechnic must call their attacks. However, unlike with Chaostechnics, the volume or length of dramatic pause between starting the Overdrive’s name and ending it do not influence its power – the only thing that makes Overdrive States more powerful is by being more powerful in one’s base state, as Overdrives are viewed as offering increased power based on percentage of the base, rather than by an absolute value.

                The primary drawback to the Overdrive State – aside from the Cooldown State – is that it must be unlocked. That is, no Chaotic is able to activate their Overdrive from the get-go. To unlock their Overdrive, a Chaotic must go through a life-threatening experience somehow related to their most deep-set phobia. Because of this, unlocking one’s Overdrive is often seen as a “rite of passage”, as a step of maturation – though in modern times people have become increasingly wary of putting themselves into danger simply for the possibility of unlocking more power potential.

Chapter 25: Filling the Blanks

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“Ahaha! Where’s all of that fighting spirit now, huh?”

“Shit,” Christeané scowled as he glanced between Reginko and the soldiers behind her. “Man, Kevérin, why didn’t you–“

“I wasn’t looking up information on the base’s defenses, I was looking up other stuff!” the Transfer Captain shot back, “I never expected there to be CENT generators in a place like this!”

“To your credit, neither did we, when we first came around,” Reginko commented, “But it’s situations like this why we don’t rely solely on Chaos Energy.” She knocked on her breastplate proudly, producing a static sound and flickering affect – signs that her armor shielding was still active. “Even our Chaos Armor has backup electrical batteries. Face it, there’s nothing you can do.”

“You keep saying that…” Davídrius scowled, brandishing Hastryth, “But with your Chaos-fueled shields down, an Ayas weapon might just pierce through, ya know?”

“…You might be right,” the Commander admitted, “but you’ll never get to find out. You’d be riddled with bullets before you got close enough to stab me.”

“Tch–!”

“Davídrius…” Siyuakén spoke up warningly, “Don’t get carried away…”

“Get carried – you don’t need to tell me that!”

“Dude, you get carried away all the time,” Christeané sighed, “Settle down.”

“Oi!” Davídrius suddenly flash-stepped in front of the Superstrength Introtechnic and stared him down. “’Settle down’, you say? And what about those guys with guns pointed at us, eh?!”

“…Uh.” Christeané blinked, and then glanced over at Kevérin. “…The CENT fields are still up… right?”

“They sure as hell should be,” Reginko scowled. She raised her hand, paused for a moment… and then dropped it. The moment she did the rest of the Black Suns soldiers opened fire, unleashing a full ten seconds’ worth of ammunition into Hero Machina. The soldiers then ceased fire and stared forward, dumbfounded, as the members of Hero Machina stood fully intact – and the ground between the two groups was littered with sliced and deformed bullets.

”Ohohoho… ahahahaha!” Davídrius suddenly grinned as he brandished Hastryth again, “I think I see how it is. The Ayas is canceling out the effect of the CENT field!”

“What–!” the Black Suns Commander exclaimed, but didn’t have any time to react as the Superspeed Introtechnic obliterated all of the Black Suns weaponry in the blink of an eye. He then appeared directly in front of her and dealt a roundhouse kick to her face, knocking her to the ground.

“Where’s all that fighting spirit now, eh?” Davídrius smirked, before raising the blade-end of Hastryth into the air in preparation for a stab.

“Whoa, Davídrius!” Kevérin quickly cut in, “that’s enough for now!”

“Huh?” he glanced over at the Transfer Captain, “…but she–“

“We didn’t come here to start a war with the Black Suns!” Kevérin countered, “You’ve already dismantled their weapons – we’re on relatively equal footing now, bar you. There’s nothing to gain from killing her!”

Davídrius stared at the Pyrotechnic for a few moments before backing away from the Commander. She pulled herself back to her feet and stumbled backwards as well, glaring at Davídrius indignantly.

“The CENT fields likely aren’t the last line of defenses that this base has to throw at us,” Kevérin continued, “There has to be active defenses that are coming online, and there’s no way we can fight those without our abilities.”

“Let me guess,” Davídrius dismissed Hastryth and crossed his arms, “You want me to go destroy all the CENT field generators?”

“Well, yeah.”

Davídrius glanced over at the Black Suns soldiers uneasily.

“You heard him,” Reginko spat, “Go on, get going. We’re no threat – that damn kick of yours already shut down my backup shielding.”

“Keheheh, that’s Introtechnism for you!” Davídrius grinned. “Alright then, I’ll find the generators and take ‘em down before you know I’ve even left!” And with that he disappeared, speeding down the hallways of the abandoned base.

Reginko glanced after him and then looked down at her hands. She pounded her fists together and frowned – no static sound was produced. Her shields really were dead.

“So much for those backup shields, huh?” Kevérin smirked, reaching over for his glasses and putting them back on. “Taken out by a single kick.”

“…They shouldn’t have gone down so easily…” the Commander replied uneasily, “that kick…”

“Well, what do we do now?” Kievkenalis questioned as he scratched his head.

“We should really get out of here,” Siyuakén suggested as she helped Rebehka to her feet, “Like Kevérin said, there’s probably active defenses somewhere. We should get going while we still can.”

“I don’t think so!” Reginko snarled, moving to block one of the room’s entrances as two other Black Suns soldiers blocked the other entrance. She planted her feet and extended her legs, giving her an extra two feet of height to tower intimidatingly over Hero Machina. “I may not have won against you in a straight up fight, but I was sent here to stop you, dammit, and stop you I will!”

“Tch,” Christeané frowned as he glared up at the Commander, “…man, why couldn’t you be a Citan?”

“Why are you still standing in our way?” Kevérin questioned irately, “We’re willing to leave!”

“And I told you when I first got here – we’re here to get rid of you,” Reginko countered, “You have information we can’t allow you to keep!”

“I didn’t even find anything on the Black Suns!”

“And I’m just supposed to believe you?”

“Well… yeah?”

“Hey, there has to be a peaceful way to resolve this… right?” Kaoné stepped forward warily, “Just tell us what you want.”

“…Just how deaf are Nimalians?” the Commander snorted before reaching behind herself and pounding on her back once with her fists. Two handles suddenly extended downwards out of the thick armor plating, which she grabbed and yanked out, revealing two short blades. “I’m not here to negotiate. I’m here to kill you!”

“Whoa–!” Christeané exclaimed as Reginko lunged at him, arms outstretched. He quickly dodged to the side and then grabbed the Dra’kis’ arm as she flew past, yanking sideways and pulling her off-balance. As she stumbled Siyuakén kicked her backside, sending her flying to the ground, from which she recovered quickly with a roll and a flip.

“Surround them!” Reginko barked, prompting the Black Suns soldiers to quickly block off the entrances again before slowly approaching Hero Machina. The Nimalian Chaotics backed up against each other warily, unsure of how to defend themselves against a group of better-equipped soldiers.

“I’ve had enough screwing around,” the Commander declared, “I’ll take care of the lot of you here, right now… and that arrogant Introtechnic once he clears out the CENT fields. Then we can get out of this damned abandoned base… well, here goes–“

“Commander Tri’kar Reginko, what the HELL do you think you’re doing?!”

“Huh–?” the Commander glanced to the side just in time for a tall, pasty Citan man to charge forward and head-butt her ferociously. She immediately dropped her blades and clutched her head as she drew back in pain. “What the hell…?” she scowled, but trailed off once she got a good look at the man who assaulted her. “…G-general Bitincher–!”

“Lieutenant General, Commander, Lieutenant General,” the Citan growled, “Now what the hell is this?”

Reginko glanced toward where Bitincher was pointing: the Nimalians. “Uh, I was just getting rid of the information threat, sir, like the mission briefing said–“

“The briefing said that you should keep an eye on them, dumbass!” the Lieutenant General snapped as he backhanded the Commander across the face, “You were only to engage if they were an active threat!”

“But… but they were extracting data–!”

“The only data on these computers is the data we pulled down from the CIN a decade ago! There’s nothing here on us!” The General then held a hand to his forehead as he sighed irately. “Goddamn, Reginko, I have no idea how you got to be a Commander. Must’ve been that bitch Gy’kan, before Hrisabeth replaced her…”

“Sideros wasn’t–“

“Not to mention that you talk too goddamn much. You’d do well to learn how to shut your damn mouth.” He then glanced over at Hero Machina. “Though I suppose the lot of you should be grateful for Reginko’s incompetence.”

“Uh…” Kevérin responded uneasily.

“Oi, stand down and back off,” the General barked, prompting the Black Suns soldiers to quickly comply.

“Ah… thanks,” Kaoné sighed of relief.

“Don’t take this to mean I’m on your side,” the Citan scowled, “I’m only here to keep the Commander from putting the Black Suns on Nimalia’s blacklist.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Christeané frowned, “Uh… who are you?”

“Lieutenant General Sristof Bitincher, Black Suns, Sector 2,” Bitincher replied, “And you are…?”

“We’re Hero–“

“We’re, uh, we’re Hilarious Marauders,” Kevérin cut in.

Silence ensued.

“Goddamnit, Kevérin, again?” Siyuakén sighed.

“’Hilarious Marauders’, ha,” Bitincher snorted, “The only thing hilarious about you is your competence. Just what are you doing here, anyways?”

“We, uh, we were just, uh, looking around,” Kevérin replied uneasily.

The Lieutenant General crossed his arms. “Uh huh. ‘Looking around’ my ass. Who are you, really?”

“We really can’t tell you.”

Bitincher stared down Kevérin for several seconds before shaking his head wearily. “Is this what passes as a Spec-OPs team on Nimalia? Goddamn primates.”

“Uh, sir,” Reginko spoke up quietly, “There’s a seventh one. He’s not here right now, but he had an Ayas with him.”

“An Ayas…? Now that’s intriguing,” the General glanced back at the Transfer Captain, “…I may not know what you’re up to right now, but don’t think that not telling me will stop me from finding out. The lot of you have plenty to learn before you’re actually whatever it is that passes as what the Nimalian military wants you to be. For starters, get yourselves some goddamn battle armor. There’s no way you’ll last in a fight against other Chaotics without any. And if Nimalia’s too primitive then I’m sure the guys over at Sector 4 would be plenty happy to commission you a set. Second of all, at least try to be stealthy. Our god damn passive sensors had the lot of you pegged the moment you stepped foot on this planet. The Citans won’t know you’re here, but don’t take us Black Suns lightly; we can do just as much damage with this information. Consider yourselves lucky that today’s one of my good days and I’m actually feeling benevolent – you won’t hear any of this from me a second time. Got it?”

“Uh, yes, sir,” Kevérin replied reflexively, “Uh, thanks for the advice?”

“Don’t mention it. You’ll make me gag,” Bitincher retorted, “Now, once your friend with the Ayas gets back after destroying all the CENT generators, I want the lot of you to leave, and I want to never find you again in Black Suns territory without express permission. Understood?”

The rest of Hero Machina nodded in response.

“Good,” he replied. He glanced upwards before returning his attention to the Nimalian Chaotics. “In fact, you’d do well to avoid seeing me ever again, period, full stop. As I’m sure the Commander can attest, I’m not a pleasant man when pissed off–“

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Davídrius dashed straight back into the room, slamming Hastryth’s blade end into the General. However the weapon simply rebounded off an invisible barrier, not even reaching the General’s armor and leaving him unfazed as Davídrius recoiled from the painful shuddering of the rebound. The Superspeed Introtechnic then glanced up at the Lieutenant General uneasily.

Bitincher blinked twice before the vein in his forehead nearly exploded. Suddenly, Davídrius found himself hanging in the air before being thrown harshly against the back wall. “You’ve done pissed me off, boy!!” the General snarled, “You goddamn Superspeed Introtechnics! You’re always pulling shit like this. Well it won’t work against a Telekinetic Psychotechnic–!”

The General’s tirade was interrupted as a distant explosion sounded and the entire base shook violently, throwing everyone off of their feet.

“…God damn it!” Bitincher fumed, lifting himself back to his feet with his telekinetics, “The base’s full defenses have activated. This is what happens when you gather a whole flock of dumbasses together, isn’t it?!”

“What– what was that?” Kaoné questioned worryingly – just in time for the ceiling to suddenly crumple inwards. Immediately she seized control of the falling material and tossed it aside, only to reveal the open sky above them –

– And a group of fifteen heavily armored, full-sized automated mechs standing around them!

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==================== End of Chapter 25 ====================

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Data Entry: Core Space Alliance

                The Core Space Alliance, commonly referred to as the CSA, is a group of three civilizations who hold space relatively near the galactic core. They are the biggest cohesive force in the galaxy, but not necessarily the most advanced – they will use their size and power to occasionally attempt to coerce the Black Suns, Nimalian Territories, or SERRCom into doing their bidding, but their own politicking and bureaucracy can get in the way of such attempts. In the end, though, the CSA is a net positive force, as it holds back the Drakkars from the rest of the galaxy and provides plenty of trade opportunities for the smaller or less advanced galactic entities. The three civilizations that make up the CSA are the United Siion Nations, the Dra’kis World Coalition, and the Citan Republic.

The United Siion Nations (USN) is the civilization of the Siions. Their Homeworld is Siionleh and they are ruled by the Chancellors Garron Vakar, Sciken Kaverus, and Zoiuus Tirken. The USN controls five Transpaces on its own and is one of the first two civilizations to have formed the CSA (the other being the Dra’kis). The Siions are a no-nonsense, militaristic people, and represent the vast majority of the CSA’s military power. This fact rises out of necessity, however – Siion territory shares vast portions of its borders with Drakkar space, causing them to suffer constant attacks from the malicious aliens. Their military prowess and the massive size of the Siion space fleet (combined with the Drakkars’ tendency to fight amongst themselves) has allowed the Siions to stay their ground, as well as offer plenty of protection to the other CSA civilizations.

                The Dra’kis World Coalition (DWC) is the civilization of the Dra’kis. Their Homeworld is Y’kisdral and they are ruled by President Dryden Wear’c. The DWC controls five Transpaces on its own, with one of those being the Origin Transpace. With the USN, the DWC was the first of the civilizations to form the CSA. The Dra’kis are a cultured, long-living people who usually favor peace and diplomacy over violence, but are fully capable of recognizing when military action is unavoidable. The Dra’kis represent the CSA’s common sense, often reigning in the Siions or Citans when they get ahead of themselves or become too short-sighted – additionally, the Dra’kis handle much of the CSA’s diplomacy and politics, which also means that they are (mostly unintentionally) responsible for much of the alliance’s bureaucracy. The Dra’kis are the only CSA civilization to have no space bordering the Drakkars, and so are generally culturally and financially stronger than the other two civilizations – the result of this is that the Dra’kis are also the source of much of the CSA’s funding.

                The Citan Republic is the civilization of the Citans. Their Homeworld is Citici and they are ruled by the Citii Danshel Makstrif and the Acitii Arone Smitich. The Citan Republic controls a mere two Transpaces on its own, and controls the least amount of space of the CSA civilizations. This is mostly because they began exploring space after the Siions and the Dra’kis, and joined the CSA after the former two had created it. The Citans are a very scientifically-minded people, however, and very quickly outpaced the other CSA civilizations in terms of technology. In fact, behind the Drakkars and the Taizen races, the Citans are the most technologically advanced civilization in the galaxy, having set up such advanced and extensive satellite networks as the Citan Observation Network (CON) and the Citan Information Network (CIN). The Citans share only a small portion of their border with the Drakkars, allowing them to focus on technology – they represent the CSA’s brains, crafting technology and strategies to use against various organizations or situations (though mostly against the Drakkars).

                All three civilizations share joint control over the Transpace nearest the galactic core, which is one Transpace jump away from the Origin Transpace. The Transpace World in that system is Oriciid’kas, and is the cleanest, busiest, richest, and most advanced of all the CSA worlds. It is also home to the CSA’s ruling bodies: two chairpersons from each of the three member civilizations and the accompanying advising and oversight committees. The Siion chairpersons are Sollovus Matjes and Nikan Felssor, the Dra’kis chairpersons are S’Rative Reich and Ki’Chin Tchrat, and the Citan chairpersons are Radley Herring and Gaven Warich. Oriciid’kas, as the CSA capital world, is valued just as highly as each of the civilizations’ Homeworlds and is thus one of the most secure places in the galaxy.