xp194
2010-08-08, 07:08 PM
So, explanation? I had read some NGE Fan Fic and was in the midst of those times when your brain is wierdly creative. I thought of this, thought "What?" then went "Hell with it, I'm gonna write it." I'd like to thank QED, Byrnbot08, Chiasaur11 and SonofSkz for helping with ideas and proofreading. Hope you enjoy!
My Girlfriend is a ~200ft Tall Killing Machine
In the year of Our Lord,Two Thousand and One, humanity came under attack from an extraterrestrial being. No negotiations were held, nor attempted by the newcomer. Using weapons and equipment operating on laws not then known to science it looked like the battle would be a walkover... until a desperate offensive caught it off guard, and it was killed. The body was claimed by an unorthodox organisation, EARTHDEF for study. Of the things learnt from studying the alien, the most disturbing was that it was not alone... and more were coming.
Nine years later, in the year of Our Lord Twenty Ten, Earth awaits the imminent arrival of a new alien. But things will be different this time. We are expecting them. We have a new form of defence that outclasses anything we've fielded before. We are Ready.
“Tokyo again. It's always Tokyo that gets attacked. Why?”
The question was asked by a young man in the passenger compartment of a private jet as it flew across the Pacific Ocean. Joshua Falmoth was sat in a window seat alternating between looking at the expanse of blue below, or around at those also on the plane.
“Well, yes it's the predicted location of the coming attack... but it does also happen to be where most of EARTHDEF's assets are located as well. Japan's been one of our biggest funders, you know.” said Janice Young, Josh's 'minder' for the trip. “You could say they're sort of prepared for the eventuality.”
“That's... not quite what I meant...” Josh said, shaking his head. “Why not attack... London? Or New York? Heck, even Paris if they wanted to be inventive. Tokyo's cliché.”
“We know they're targeting Tokyo. That's all we know from the communications we've recovered and that's all we need to know at the moment. Whilst the majority of the population has evacuated or gone into emergency bunkers, you always have a few people who can't or don't leave their homes for some reason or another. You'll be fighting for lives here.”
Josh sighed. As if the situation didn't already sound cartoony enough, not only was Tokyo in danger but he was being flown in to pilot a giant freaking robot war machine. He wasn't incredibly certain on the details, apart from some explanation he was given about “genetic markers” and “natural affinity.” He didn't really recall most of it, to be honest, as his brain was then divided into a camp that said, “What.” and a secondary, much louder camp that yelled “WHEEE GIANT ROBOTS” The enthusiasm had worn off somewhat mid-training and now questions were clamouring to be answered...
Janice spoke a phrase in a language that he didn't understand, which threw him off his musing. Watching his confused expression, she sighed and repeated in English “I was asking whether you had your translator switched on, which, I gather, you didn't. You'd better activate it before we land.”
Joshua nodded and flicked it on. The translator, a piece of reverse engineered alien technology was a... well, universal translator. There was even an optional HUD that could be used in conjunction with it to translate the written word.
There was silence again in the cabin, broken only by the loud roar of the jet engines. Until it was broken again by a small pinging noise coming from Josh's bag. Grinning somewhat sheepishly, he pulled out a small laptop computer and unfolded it. The pinging noise was coming from an IM program trying to get his attention.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Yello?
Alanna: Hey, how's your flight?
Ah. It was Alanna. She was a... well, a 'pen' friend, he was introduced to by a friend of a friend of his parents... if he remembered correctly. He was eight or nine years old then, and apparently she'd lost quite a few friends in the Extraterrestrial Contact war. He'd been in regular contact with her ever since and they got on pretty well. She'd been excited to hear about his transfer to Tokyo as that was where she lived and was therefore hoping they could meet up.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Pretty boring, to tell the truth. Long haul always is though. Still, we're nearly there, I think.
Alanna: Missing the UK?
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Not yet. Probably will at some point but I only left a few hours ago so... homesickness hasn't really had time to kick in.
Alanna: Heh. Well, Tokyo's a nice city, hopefully you'll find it easy to live in.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Yeh, well, you may have to take me on a tour then, show me the sights and the like...
Alanna: Yeah... that'd be nice... who'd you say you were being employed by again?
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: EARTHDEF. Why?
Alanna: Thought so. I work there as well, sort of. Ask around after me, hopefully one of the staff will point you in the right direction.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: You're well known then?
Alanna: *shrug* You... could say that, I guess.
Josh was interrupted by the pilot informing them that landing was imminent and could all electronic devices please be turned off. This was accompanied by the seatbelt sign being flashed on
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Gah, got to go, we're landing soon. I'll try and meet up with you, although... I don't even know what you look like. Guess I'll work something out. Bye.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur is offline
The landing was uneventful, and as soon as all the luggage was offloaded, he and Janice were taken to a chauffeured car. After a few minutes of driving, the car slipped into a tunnel that ran fairly deep underground.
“Welcome to EARTHDEF Japan.” Janice said, as the car drove through the tunnel. “Built a hundred metres or so under Tokyo. 5 metres of steel armour plating on the outside walls. Pretty much a fortress. Even has missile defense batteries for use in a pinch.”
“Right. The Japanese military isn't threatened by this at all?” Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.
“A little, but technically they have more hardware than we do. And we have to ask them for permission to field anything other than the PCUs. Oh... that's the acronym. Stands for Primary Combat Units.”
“The robots?”
“Yes. Three of them, at the moment, few more planned. You'll see them soon enough, but the Commander would like to speak with you first, so that's where you're going when you get there. As a small piece of advice, don't wander around the base until you get your keycard... security doesn't like it much, and it'd be embarrassing for everyone involved,” she finished as the car drew to a halt and they exited.
While there was silence between the two, and the two security escorts tagging along, Josh's mind was working overtime, taking in his new surroundings. The main corridors were a fairly sterile and minimalist environment, Bright white walls with coloured stripes indicating where various facilities were... dual language text providing directions and safety warnings...
“Ye Gods...” Josh thought, “Is the whole base like this? Can't imagine being here for any length of time... I would go crazy... or snow blind...”
Josh stood before the door that appeared to lead to the Commander's Office. With a hiss, the door slid open revealing a darkened room, lit mostly by screens showing maps, various telementary and information that had to make sense to someone, right?
"Enter." An unseen voice stated. Josh and Janice filed into the room, and an overhead light above a desk flickered on. Josh sat at the offered chair across the desk and Janice left the room.
"So. Joshua Falmouth. Resident of the British Isles... Never been in a combat situation before have you?" The commander spoke, suprisingly softly.
"No sir. Been a civilian all my life so far," Josh replied, a touch apprehensively.
"He must have a file on me..." Josh thought, "No point in lying really"
"I'm Commander Tarvis, Leader of EARTHDEF. You need to understand that, right here, right now. Whatever I say? Goes. Doesn't matter what anyone else tells you, my word is law on these premises and on any operations you undertake. I'm supplied with up to the second intelligence and reports, and I'm ex-military myself, so you can trust me to make the right decisions for you, because, out there, piloting one of those contraptions? You won't have time to think. It sounds bad, but that's how it is. Mulling things over too long, leads to deaths. Yours, or your team mates, or civilians. Or all of them. I know that you understand me."
Josh nodded. He didn't like it much, but on reflection, he saw the logic behind it. Time was not an infinite resource, and those behind him would generally have a better view of any proceedings.
"Any questions?" Commander Tarvis enquired.
"When will I meet the others, and who'll be in charge of the robot unit?" Josh asked, after a few seconds of thought,
"We don't have a command structure in place for you. Yet, anyway. You've got a few days of group training in front of you, which is when we'll decide who'll be giving the field orders. You'll meet them soon. I won't say more because... well, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, would I?"
"Would you?" Josh asked, a little confused. The two stared at each other a second, minds preforming a move similar to two cars heading in opposite directions down a narrow road, waiting for the other to back up first. Amazingly, the Commander gave out first.
"Touche," he grinned. "Is there anything else?"
Josh racked his brains, but could find no pressing issues and said as much.
"Very well then." The Commander said, motioning Josh to stand up. "My door isn't always open, but... there are times and times, you know, once in a while. Catch me during a good moment and I may be willing to help you. Say "Hi." to the others for me."
Josh left the room, pacing quickly to catch up with Janice,
"Where're we going now?" he asked.
"You'll see." Janice answered cryptically.
Commander Tarvis' Office:
"So. What'd you get from him?" Commander Tarvis asked to a figure standing in the shadows
"He seems.. not incredibly bright... but we don't need philosophers, so that'll be fine. What I'm worried about is mostly about his background. His home and family are on the other side of the the world. What has he got to lose?"
"Does he need anything? He's got most of it already..."
The commander smiled, this time without humor.
"His life, for one thing."
"Even so..." the shadowy figure began.
"I understand your reservations, but I don't believe that any additional... coercion is necessary at this time, at least. He's got the world to fight for, and I think he understands that. He'll be fine."
"As always, it is entirely up to you commander." The man bowed a little mockingly
"Don't take that tone with me, Jester. I may be getting on a bit, but I know what I'm doing. I hope."
"As you say sir," he droned respectfully
EARTHDEF Living Quarters
"And this is your home for the duration." Janice finished, indicating with a vague motion of her arm. The room in question had enough room for a bed, a desk and some storage boxes. Not exactly 5 star living, Josh thought, but it'd do.
"Your luggage is being brought up from the car so you don't have to worry about that at the moment... in the meantime, let's introduce you to the other pilots..." she continued, as Josh meandered around the room. She swept out quickly, Josh following her through the facility to a break room.
Just as they were about to enter through the door, the low murmur of conversation halted abruptly as a well spoken, male British voice yelled, "HANDS OFF MY EARL GREY!", followed by a crash and sounds of a scuffle.
"On second thoughts... maybe now isn't the best time?" she said, hesitating. Before they could leave however, a young man arrived through the door. While horizontal. And unconcious. Janice grimaced, while Josh looked at the newcomer in mild shock.
"Charles? For heaven's sake it's TEA!" she yelled, storming in, "If you can't behave yourself, you can think about it in the brig. You know I'd do it."
"B-but... but, it's EARL GREY!" He wailed "I have to get it IMPORTED!"
Janice gave a long suffering sigh and covered her eyes with her hand. "Joshua, this is Captain Charles Montgomery. Charles, this is Josh. Don't kill him please, he's the new pilot."
"Don't worry, I left my knife in my quarters this time." Charles grinned.
"You still have your sword..." Josh observed, a mite timidly.
"Of course," Charles chattered, the grin growing wider, "Try to take it off me..."
Backing away, a series of panic signals ringing, Josh found himself against the wall. "He's a freaking nutjob!" he thought, trying to stall for time, unsure of the man's mental processes.
"You're a captain?"
"Ex-Royal Fusiliers, British Army." Charles explained, extending a hand. Josh returned the shake and tried not to wince when the bones in his hand were ground together. Charles was apparently stronger than his thin frame suggested.
"Has she told you I'm a pilot too?"
Josh blinked. "Not yet..." he started, but Charles cut him off, winding onto another tangent,
"Yes, I'm the pilot of the Light Mech Byron. Named after a poet, don'tcha know. I mostly work as our sniper, or a scout sometimes," he smiled whimsically, turning to Janice, "I like the boy."
"I'm gonna go get some tea," he chuckled, "Would you like some, Joshua?"
Josh turned to Janice, noting the frantic hand signals. "Maybe some other time," he replied, straightening out slightly as Charles reached for his teapot.
Charles' smile grew slightly "He learns quickly, I like him a lot," he leaned back and poured a cup, humming quietly to himself.
As they made their escape, Janice let out a large sigh of relief "He may not've spiked the tea but it's better to be safe than sorry. You chose wisely," she said, grinning at Josh's look of mild confusion and outrage. "Just joking around a bit."
Josh shook his head wearily. "So... that's two pilots, including me... there's a third, right?"
Janice nodded, "Yeh, I was expecting her to be in the breakroom as well. Maybe she's back in her quarters or something."
"She's just avoiding me Janice!" came a shout from the breakroom.
"With good reason!" Janice yelled back
"Bite me!"
"Yeah, probably in her quarters then," Janice said, ignoring the retort, "Let's go see if she's in."
MedBay
The two nurses looked at the new casualty to have arrived through the door. One picked up the file while the other looked the patient over
"That's... pretty nasty..." she said, somewhat concerned.
"Yeh. He opened a door with his head." the other nurse replied whilst she flipped through the file.
"Oh, a stupidity count then?"
"Thrown through it head first by Charles..."
"Assault then?"
"After touching his tea."
"No, wait, that's stupidity." the nurse sighed, "It's strange how we work in the only organisation that has that sort of injury as a keyboard shortcut..."
" If Charles wasn't here how much quieter do you think our jobs would be?" the other nurse said, putting the file down.
"We'd probably be made redundant." The first nurse said, "I'm probably the first person to say this... but thank heavens Charles works here..."
Living Quarters
"Kojima? Are you in?" Janice asked, knocking on a door. There was a muffled reply to the affirmative, and Janice opened the door. Josh hesistated, not sure whether he should go inside.
"What? First time you've been in a girl's room?" Janice asked, sticking her head back out. Josh looked a bit sheepish.
"Yeaa-no... maybe? Possibly? You can't prove anything?"
"Stop screwing around and get in here. You're wasting time." Came the terse reply from inside the room.
"Fine." Josh said, closing his eyes tightly, stepping inside and tripping over something unseen. "Ow. It appears as though my shin has cracked."
"Smooth." The girl inside said, grinning.
"Totally." Josh replied, picking himself up, "Did you see that arc? Vertical to horizontal in one sweep."
"Impressive," the girl said rolling her eyes, "He's new here?" she asked Janice
"Yes, He's the new pilot" Janice replied.
"It's official. We're doomed." The girl said, Josh wondering whether or not she was joking. "Kojima Miharu. Well, anglecised, it's Miharu Kojima, but you've got to respect tradition, sometimes, yes?"
"I'm Josh. Joshua Falmoth"
"Well Josh, Joshua Falmoth why are you in my room bothering me?"
"He met Charles in the break room and we wanted to convince him that we aren't all insane." Janice explained calmly.
"Well... at the risk of sounding immodest, I'd count myself as sane." Miharu said, grinning. "Nice to meet you, sorry about the mess, I try to keep it clean but..." she shrugged
Josh looked at the room properly for the first time. It was a tip, and larger than his, by a large margin.
"How come your room is huge?" Josh
"I was here first," Miharu said, as if that were an explanation. Josh blinked, rubbed his nose and decided not to persue it further.
"Miharu here pilots the heavy mech." Janice explained, leaning on the doorframe
"Right, I'm the immovable object to your unstoppable force." Miharu grinned, "Now... sorry to seem rude... but I'm kinda working... see you later?" she asked, indicating an open textbook
"Ah, right... yeah, later then..." Josh said, leaving the room, giving her a final wave as he left.
"Nice girl, isn't she?" Janice said as they walked away
"A little sarcastic, but yeah nice..." Josh replied smiling slightly.
"Get your mind out of the gutter boy."
"But I... I wasn't... WHAT!?"
"Kidding, but... I don't think she's your type."
"I never... urgh... Hey, do you know anyone here called Alanna?" Josh asked quietly.
"Um... Alanna... Uh... I don't think so..." Janice answered a bit awkwardly...
"You know her, don't you?"
"Need to know info. That's all I'm going to say." Janice said
"What... urgh. Fine. That's... strange." Josh replied, trying to work out why the whereabouts of a friend were classified.
Janice looked at her watch. "Ack!" she exclaimed, "We need to go. Got to get you set up in your robot, I think we spent way too much time tracking down Miharu..."
She walked at a brisk pace, Josh close behind her, his mind abuzz with the day's events. Surely he could be allowed some rest?
A few minutes later, they arrived at a set of doors with heavy security. Janice unlocked the door with keypad and retina scanner, and motioned Josh in...
"Whoah..." he breathed...
The room was huge and cavernous. It could easily fit a five story building in it, with room to spare. There were three pens currently seperated, each with people buzzing and fussing around them. In the pens were large metal humanoid structures, with scaffolding surrounding them. Josh estimated them to be around 60 meters high... and if he remembered the conversion to imperial measurement correctly, around 200 ft tall.
They weren't, however, uniform. The one closest to them was lean, and appeared to have been modeled around light medieval armor, its stomach was almost concave and had the words PCU 001 stamped across it's chest, the armor was bone white with black trim and it had what appeared to be a huge sniper rifle on its back. The other noticeable armnament was a revolver prominently holstered on its chest.
Behind it was a heavier looking machine. The bodywork was mostly straight and undecorated, a blue and grey camoflage pattern serving as a paint job. Like the first, it had PCU 002 stamping on it. There wasn't much in the way of visible weaponry on it, but there did seem to be a few barrels along the arms and in the torso.
Behind PCU 002 was a huge hulking monster of a machine.It had thick armor and generally seemed to be built on the principle of "Add Mass and add guns." While PCU 002 had a few inbuilt weapons, PCU 003, as it's chest designation proclaimed it to be, was pretty much covered with them. Additionally, beside it was what looked to be the mother of all rapid-fire weaponry, a huge gatling gun, evidently designed for use by this monster. The paint job was a deep red with intricate yellow curved designs, apparently a labor of love.
Janice walked quickly past PCU 001, Josh barely managing to keep up whilst staring in awe. She stopped at the group of labcoat wearing people of various races, and waited for them to stop looking at figures and notice her."
"If your wondering, PCU 003 was hand painted by Miharu. She's very dedicated to it." She said to Josh, while waiting.
"Ah, Janice." Said one of them, apparently the one in charge. "This is him, is it?"
"Yes, Joshua Falmoth." Janice said. "Joshua, this is Doctor Matsuo. He's the head of the PCU development and maintenance team."
"We're running a bit behind schedule," the Doctor said, slightly flustered, "But we're ready to go when you are."
"Wait, what're we doing?" Josh asked, apprehensively.
"We're going to put you in the cockpit and put you through a few training simulations. Nothing too much, just to get you acquainted with the controls and capabilities."
"Uh... Why are the Mechs... you know... Mechs, Doctor? I thought they were supposed rather... less useful than say, tanks?" Josh asked, regaining control of himself a second.
"Well, the Official reason is that it provides morale. They're big and recognisable, which is good. The Science reason? The materials we 'borrowed' from the First Alien happen to work well like this. Don't ask why, we don't fully understand it ourselves. Build a Mech, it works well. Build a tank, and it collapses. Strange, I know." explained one of the technicians standing near him.
Doctor Matsuo pointed at an access lift. "Use that to enter the robot and we'll begin." As a few scientists went to the lift as well to help Josh get set up, Matsuo leaned over to Janice.
"Does he... know about Alanna?" he asked.
"Not yet," Janice breathed, watching him "Thought he'd react better if she broke the news to him."
The doctor nodded. "I hope you're right." he replied, sitting down behind a console...
Josh shivered, trying not to look down during the long trip skywards. He wasn't usually scared of heights, but when all that's seperating you from a long drop is a metal rail...
As the lift slowly slid to a halt at the chest of PCU 002, a technician unlocked the hatch with a quick tap, revealing a snug little cockpit inside. It was quite a tidy little outfit, with a single wide screen dominating the wall, controls laid to the side of the control chair. "Proceed inside pilot," the technician said, nudging him gently towards the waiting seat.
After working out the seating arrangement, and having the controls handed to him, Josh was left alone. The eerie, though efficient humming of the machine was his only comfort inside this space. He stared into the screen as it flickered to life.
"Simulation Prog#01/01?" Josh was a little confused by the numbering they'd chosen. Was this the only program or what?
"I know right? I tried to convince them to change it but noooo, It can't be called 'Robot Pilotin' and Fightan' it has to be professional..." A voice he hadn't heard before sounded over the speakers
Josh had gone completely still. "Who's there?" He asked, thoroughly spooked. As if in response, a section of screen on the control panel lit up, displaying a young woman, about his age, though she was unnaturally beautiful and had long, light brown hair and clear blue eyes...
"Hi Josh." the girl said happily, "We meet at last."
"Do I know you?" Josh asked, brow crinkling
"Only for about a decade," she said, smiling. "You know, speaking on and off? Although I guess I'm not quite what you expected to see in person..."
"You mean you're... the robot?"
"Yes, I'm Alanna, PCU 002. Nice to finally meet you Josh," she finished, looking directly at him.
"Wha... hrgfghgbleee..." Josh said as his brain finally gave up on the day's events and he slumped forward.
Janice and Doctor Matsuo watched from the monitor showing the image from the incockpit camera. The screen divided and Alanna's avatar popped up beside it.
"Well... that could've gone better..." she sighed.
Doctor Matsuo nodded curtly. Janice, still looking at Josh's drooling form, could only think of one thing to say.
"Whoops..."
My Girlfriend is a ~200ft Tall Killing Machine
In the year of Our Lord,Two Thousand and One, humanity came under attack from an extraterrestrial being. No negotiations were held, nor attempted by the newcomer. Using weapons and equipment operating on laws not then known to science it looked like the battle would be a walkover... until a desperate offensive caught it off guard, and it was killed. The body was claimed by an unorthodox organisation, EARTHDEF for study. Of the things learnt from studying the alien, the most disturbing was that it was not alone... and more were coming.
Nine years later, in the year of Our Lord Twenty Ten, Earth awaits the imminent arrival of a new alien. But things will be different this time. We are expecting them. We have a new form of defence that outclasses anything we've fielded before. We are Ready.
“Tokyo again. It's always Tokyo that gets attacked. Why?”
The question was asked by a young man in the passenger compartment of a private jet as it flew across the Pacific Ocean. Joshua Falmoth was sat in a window seat alternating between looking at the expanse of blue below, or around at those also on the plane.
“Well, yes it's the predicted location of the coming attack... but it does also happen to be where most of EARTHDEF's assets are located as well. Japan's been one of our biggest funders, you know.” said Janice Young, Josh's 'minder' for the trip. “You could say they're sort of prepared for the eventuality.”
“That's... not quite what I meant...” Josh said, shaking his head. “Why not attack... London? Or New York? Heck, even Paris if they wanted to be inventive. Tokyo's cliché.”
“We know they're targeting Tokyo. That's all we know from the communications we've recovered and that's all we need to know at the moment. Whilst the majority of the population has evacuated or gone into emergency bunkers, you always have a few people who can't or don't leave their homes for some reason or another. You'll be fighting for lives here.”
Josh sighed. As if the situation didn't already sound cartoony enough, not only was Tokyo in danger but he was being flown in to pilot a giant freaking robot war machine. He wasn't incredibly certain on the details, apart from some explanation he was given about “genetic markers” and “natural affinity.” He didn't really recall most of it, to be honest, as his brain was then divided into a camp that said, “What.” and a secondary, much louder camp that yelled “WHEEE GIANT ROBOTS” The enthusiasm had worn off somewhat mid-training and now questions were clamouring to be answered...
Janice spoke a phrase in a language that he didn't understand, which threw him off his musing. Watching his confused expression, she sighed and repeated in English “I was asking whether you had your translator switched on, which, I gather, you didn't. You'd better activate it before we land.”
Joshua nodded and flicked it on. The translator, a piece of reverse engineered alien technology was a... well, universal translator. There was even an optional HUD that could be used in conjunction with it to translate the written word.
There was silence again in the cabin, broken only by the loud roar of the jet engines. Until it was broken again by a small pinging noise coming from Josh's bag. Grinning somewhat sheepishly, he pulled out a small laptop computer and unfolded it. The pinging noise was coming from an IM program trying to get his attention.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Yello?
Alanna: Hey, how's your flight?
Ah. It was Alanna. She was a... well, a 'pen' friend, he was introduced to by a friend of a friend of his parents... if he remembered correctly. He was eight or nine years old then, and apparently she'd lost quite a few friends in the Extraterrestrial Contact war. He'd been in regular contact with her ever since and they got on pretty well. She'd been excited to hear about his transfer to Tokyo as that was where she lived and was therefore hoping they could meet up.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Pretty boring, to tell the truth. Long haul always is though. Still, we're nearly there, I think.
Alanna: Missing the UK?
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Not yet. Probably will at some point but I only left a few hours ago so... homesickness hasn't really had time to kick in.
Alanna: Heh. Well, Tokyo's a nice city, hopefully you'll find it easy to live in.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Yeh, well, you may have to take me on a tour then, show me the sights and the like...
Alanna: Yeah... that'd be nice... who'd you say you were being employed by again?
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: EARTHDEF. Why?
Alanna: Thought so. I work there as well, sort of. Ask around after me, hopefully one of the staff will point you in the right direction.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: You're well known then?
Alanna: *shrug* You... could say that, I guess.
Josh was interrupted by the pilot informing them that landing was imminent and could all electronic devices please be turned off. This was accompanied by the seatbelt sign being flashed on
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur: Gah, got to go, we're landing soon. I'll try and meet up with you, although... I don't even know what you look like. Guess I'll work something out. Bye.
Joshi_t3h_Dinosaur is offline
The landing was uneventful, and as soon as all the luggage was offloaded, he and Janice were taken to a chauffeured car. After a few minutes of driving, the car slipped into a tunnel that ran fairly deep underground.
“Welcome to EARTHDEF Japan.” Janice said, as the car drove through the tunnel. “Built a hundred metres or so under Tokyo. 5 metres of steel armour plating on the outside walls. Pretty much a fortress. Even has missile defense batteries for use in a pinch.”
“Right. The Japanese military isn't threatened by this at all?” Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.
“A little, but technically they have more hardware than we do. And we have to ask them for permission to field anything other than the PCUs. Oh... that's the acronym. Stands for Primary Combat Units.”
“The robots?”
“Yes. Three of them, at the moment, few more planned. You'll see them soon enough, but the Commander would like to speak with you first, so that's where you're going when you get there. As a small piece of advice, don't wander around the base until you get your keycard... security doesn't like it much, and it'd be embarrassing for everyone involved,” she finished as the car drew to a halt and they exited.
While there was silence between the two, and the two security escorts tagging along, Josh's mind was working overtime, taking in his new surroundings. The main corridors were a fairly sterile and minimalist environment, Bright white walls with coloured stripes indicating where various facilities were... dual language text providing directions and safety warnings...
“Ye Gods...” Josh thought, “Is the whole base like this? Can't imagine being here for any length of time... I would go crazy... or snow blind...”
Josh stood before the door that appeared to lead to the Commander's Office. With a hiss, the door slid open revealing a darkened room, lit mostly by screens showing maps, various telementary and information that had to make sense to someone, right?
"Enter." An unseen voice stated. Josh and Janice filed into the room, and an overhead light above a desk flickered on. Josh sat at the offered chair across the desk and Janice left the room.
"So. Joshua Falmouth. Resident of the British Isles... Never been in a combat situation before have you?" The commander spoke, suprisingly softly.
"No sir. Been a civilian all my life so far," Josh replied, a touch apprehensively.
"He must have a file on me..." Josh thought, "No point in lying really"
"I'm Commander Tarvis, Leader of EARTHDEF. You need to understand that, right here, right now. Whatever I say? Goes. Doesn't matter what anyone else tells you, my word is law on these premises and on any operations you undertake. I'm supplied with up to the second intelligence and reports, and I'm ex-military myself, so you can trust me to make the right decisions for you, because, out there, piloting one of those contraptions? You won't have time to think. It sounds bad, but that's how it is. Mulling things over too long, leads to deaths. Yours, or your team mates, or civilians. Or all of them. I know that you understand me."
Josh nodded. He didn't like it much, but on reflection, he saw the logic behind it. Time was not an infinite resource, and those behind him would generally have a better view of any proceedings.
"Any questions?" Commander Tarvis enquired.
"When will I meet the others, and who'll be in charge of the robot unit?" Josh asked, after a few seconds of thought,
"We don't have a command structure in place for you. Yet, anyway. You've got a few days of group training in front of you, which is when we'll decide who'll be giving the field orders. You'll meet them soon. I won't say more because... well, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, would I?"
"Would you?" Josh asked, a little confused. The two stared at each other a second, minds preforming a move similar to two cars heading in opposite directions down a narrow road, waiting for the other to back up first. Amazingly, the Commander gave out first.
"Touche," he grinned. "Is there anything else?"
Josh racked his brains, but could find no pressing issues and said as much.
"Very well then." The Commander said, motioning Josh to stand up. "My door isn't always open, but... there are times and times, you know, once in a while. Catch me during a good moment and I may be willing to help you. Say "Hi." to the others for me."
Josh left the room, pacing quickly to catch up with Janice,
"Where're we going now?" he asked.
"You'll see." Janice answered cryptically.
Commander Tarvis' Office:
"So. What'd you get from him?" Commander Tarvis asked to a figure standing in the shadows
"He seems.. not incredibly bright... but we don't need philosophers, so that'll be fine. What I'm worried about is mostly about his background. His home and family are on the other side of the the world. What has he got to lose?"
"Does he need anything? He's got most of it already..."
The commander smiled, this time without humor.
"His life, for one thing."
"Even so..." the shadowy figure began.
"I understand your reservations, but I don't believe that any additional... coercion is necessary at this time, at least. He's got the world to fight for, and I think he understands that. He'll be fine."
"As always, it is entirely up to you commander." The man bowed a little mockingly
"Don't take that tone with me, Jester. I may be getting on a bit, but I know what I'm doing. I hope."
"As you say sir," he droned respectfully
EARTHDEF Living Quarters
"And this is your home for the duration." Janice finished, indicating with a vague motion of her arm. The room in question had enough room for a bed, a desk and some storage boxes. Not exactly 5 star living, Josh thought, but it'd do.
"Your luggage is being brought up from the car so you don't have to worry about that at the moment... in the meantime, let's introduce you to the other pilots..." she continued, as Josh meandered around the room. She swept out quickly, Josh following her through the facility to a break room.
Just as they were about to enter through the door, the low murmur of conversation halted abruptly as a well spoken, male British voice yelled, "HANDS OFF MY EARL GREY!", followed by a crash and sounds of a scuffle.
"On second thoughts... maybe now isn't the best time?" she said, hesitating. Before they could leave however, a young man arrived through the door. While horizontal. And unconcious. Janice grimaced, while Josh looked at the newcomer in mild shock.
"Charles? For heaven's sake it's TEA!" she yelled, storming in, "If you can't behave yourself, you can think about it in the brig. You know I'd do it."
"B-but... but, it's EARL GREY!" He wailed "I have to get it IMPORTED!"
Janice gave a long suffering sigh and covered her eyes with her hand. "Joshua, this is Captain Charles Montgomery. Charles, this is Josh. Don't kill him please, he's the new pilot."
"Don't worry, I left my knife in my quarters this time." Charles grinned.
"You still have your sword..." Josh observed, a mite timidly.
"Of course," Charles chattered, the grin growing wider, "Try to take it off me..."
Backing away, a series of panic signals ringing, Josh found himself against the wall. "He's a freaking nutjob!" he thought, trying to stall for time, unsure of the man's mental processes.
"You're a captain?"
"Ex-Royal Fusiliers, British Army." Charles explained, extending a hand. Josh returned the shake and tried not to wince when the bones in his hand were ground together. Charles was apparently stronger than his thin frame suggested.
"Has she told you I'm a pilot too?"
Josh blinked. "Not yet..." he started, but Charles cut him off, winding onto another tangent,
"Yes, I'm the pilot of the Light Mech Byron. Named after a poet, don'tcha know. I mostly work as our sniper, or a scout sometimes," he smiled whimsically, turning to Janice, "I like the boy."
"I'm gonna go get some tea," he chuckled, "Would you like some, Joshua?"
Josh turned to Janice, noting the frantic hand signals. "Maybe some other time," he replied, straightening out slightly as Charles reached for his teapot.
Charles' smile grew slightly "He learns quickly, I like him a lot," he leaned back and poured a cup, humming quietly to himself.
As they made their escape, Janice let out a large sigh of relief "He may not've spiked the tea but it's better to be safe than sorry. You chose wisely," she said, grinning at Josh's look of mild confusion and outrage. "Just joking around a bit."
Josh shook his head wearily. "So... that's two pilots, including me... there's a third, right?"
Janice nodded, "Yeh, I was expecting her to be in the breakroom as well. Maybe she's back in her quarters or something."
"She's just avoiding me Janice!" came a shout from the breakroom.
"With good reason!" Janice yelled back
"Bite me!"
"Yeah, probably in her quarters then," Janice said, ignoring the retort, "Let's go see if she's in."
MedBay
The two nurses looked at the new casualty to have arrived through the door. One picked up the file while the other looked the patient over
"That's... pretty nasty..." she said, somewhat concerned.
"Yeh. He opened a door with his head." the other nurse replied whilst she flipped through the file.
"Oh, a stupidity count then?"
"Thrown through it head first by Charles..."
"Assault then?"
"After touching his tea."
"No, wait, that's stupidity." the nurse sighed, "It's strange how we work in the only organisation that has that sort of injury as a keyboard shortcut..."
" If Charles wasn't here how much quieter do you think our jobs would be?" the other nurse said, putting the file down.
"We'd probably be made redundant." The first nurse said, "I'm probably the first person to say this... but thank heavens Charles works here..."
Living Quarters
"Kojima? Are you in?" Janice asked, knocking on a door. There was a muffled reply to the affirmative, and Janice opened the door. Josh hesistated, not sure whether he should go inside.
"What? First time you've been in a girl's room?" Janice asked, sticking her head back out. Josh looked a bit sheepish.
"Yeaa-no... maybe? Possibly? You can't prove anything?"
"Stop screwing around and get in here. You're wasting time." Came the terse reply from inside the room.
"Fine." Josh said, closing his eyes tightly, stepping inside and tripping over something unseen. "Ow. It appears as though my shin has cracked."
"Smooth." The girl inside said, grinning.
"Totally." Josh replied, picking himself up, "Did you see that arc? Vertical to horizontal in one sweep."
"Impressive," the girl said rolling her eyes, "He's new here?" she asked Janice
"Yes, He's the new pilot" Janice replied.
"It's official. We're doomed." The girl said, Josh wondering whether or not she was joking. "Kojima Miharu. Well, anglecised, it's Miharu Kojima, but you've got to respect tradition, sometimes, yes?"
"I'm Josh. Joshua Falmoth"
"Well Josh, Joshua Falmoth why are you in my room bothering me?"
"He met Charles in the break room and we wanted to convince him that we aren't all insane." Janice explained calmly.
"Well... at the risk of sounding immodest, I'd count myself as sane." Miharu said, grinning. "Nice to meet you, sorry about the mess, I try to keep it clean but..." she shrugged
Josh looked at the room properly for the first time. It was a tip, and larger than his, by a large margin.
"How come your room is huge?" Josh
"I was here first," Miharu said, as if that were an explanation. Josh blinked, rubbed his nose and decided not to persue it further.
"Miharu here pilots the heavy mech." Janice explained, leaning on the doorframe
"Right, I'm the immovable object to your unstoppable force." Miharu grinned, "Now... sorry to seem rude... but I'm kinda working... see you later?" she asked, indicating an open textbook
"Ah, right... yeah, later then..." Josh said, leaving the room, giving her a final wave as he left.
"Nice girl, isn't she?" Janice said as they walked away
"A little sarcastic, but yeah nice..." Josh replied smiling slightly.
"Get your mind out of the gutter boy."
"But I... I wasn't... WHAT!?"
"Kidding, but... I don't think she's your type."
"I never... urgh... Hey, do you know anyone here called Alanna?" Josh asked quietly.
"Um... Alanna... Uh... I don't think so..." Janice answered a bit awkwardly...
"You know her, don't you?"
"Need to know info. That's all I'm going to say." Janice said
"What... urgh. Fine. That's... strange." Josh replied, trying to work out why the whereabouts of a friend were classified.
Janice looked at her watch. "Ack!" she exclaimed, "We need to go. Got to get you set up in your robot, I think we spent way too much time tracking down Miharu..."
She walked at a brisk pace, Josh close behind her, his mind abuzz with the day's events. Surely he could be allowed some rest?
A few minutes later, they arrived at a set of doors with heavy security. Janice unlocked the door with keypad and retina scanner, and motioned Josh in...
"Whoah..." he breathed...
The room was huge and cavernous. It could easily fit a five story building in it, with room to spare. There were three pens currently seperated, each with people buzzing and fussing around them. In the pens were large metal humanoid structures, with scaffolding surrounding them. Josh estimated them to be around 60 meters high... and if he remembered the conversion to imperial measurement correctly, around 200 ft tall.
They weren't, however, uniform. The one closest to them was lean, and appeared to have been modeled around light medieval armor, its stomach was almost concave and had the words PCU 001 stamped across it's chest, the armor was bone white with black trim and it had what appeared to be a huge sniper rifle on its back. The other noticeable armnament was a revolver prominently holstered on its chest.
Behind it was a heavier looking machine. The bodywork was mostly straight and undecorated, a blue and grey camoflage pattern serving as a paint job. Like the first, it had PCU 002 stamping on it. There wasn't much in the way of visible weaponry on it, but there did seem to be a few barrels along the arms and in the torso.
Behind PCU 002 was a huge hulking monster of a machine.It had thick armor and generally seemed to be built on the principle of "Add Mass and add guns." While PCU 002 had a few inbuilt weapons, PCU 003, as it's chest designation proclaimed it to be, was pretty much covered with them. Additionally, beside it was what looked to be the mother of all rapid-fire weaponry, a huge gatling gun, evidently designed for use by this monster. The paint job was a deep red with intricate yellow curved designs, apparently a labor of love.
Janice walked quickly past PCU 001, Josh barely managing to keep up whilst staring in awe. She stopped at the group of labcoat wearing people of various races, and waited for them to stop looking at figures and notice her."
"If your wondering, PCU 003 was hand painted by Miharu. She's very dedicated to it." She said to Josh, while waiting.
"Ah, Janice." Said one of them, apparently the one in charge. "This is him, is it?"
"Yes, Joshua Falmoth." Janice said. "Joshua, this is Doctor Matsuo. He's the head of the PCU development and maintenance team."
"We're running a bit behind schedule," the Doctor said, slightly flustered, "But we're ready to go when you are."
"Wait, what're we doing?" Josh asked, apprehensively.
"We're going to put you in the cockpit and put you through a few training simulations. Nothing too much, just to get you acquainted with the controls and capabilities."
"Uh... Why are the Mechs... you know... Mechs, Doctor? I thought they were supposed rather... less useful than say, tanks?" Josh asked, regaining control of himself a second.
"Well, the Official reason is that it provides morale. They're big and recognisable, which is good. The Science reason? The materials we 'borrowed' from the First Alien happen to work well like this. Don't ask why, we don't fully understand it ourselves. Build a Mech, it works well. Build a tank, and it collapses. Strange, I know." explained one of the technicians standing near him.
Doctor Matsuo pointed at an access lift. "Use that to enter the robot and we'll begin." As a few scientists went to the lift as well to help Josh get set up, Matsuo leaned over to Janice.
"Does he... know about Alanna?" he asked.
"Not yet," Janice breathed, watching him "Thought he'd react better if she broke the news to him."
The doctor nodded. "I hope you're right." he replied, sitting down behind a console...
Josh shivered, trying not to look down during the long trip skywards. He wasn't usually scared of heights, but when all that's seperating you from a long drop is a metal rail...
As the lift slowly slid to a halt at the chest of PCU 002, a technician unlocked the hatch with a quick tap, revealing a snug little cockpit inside. It was quite a tidy little outfit, with a single wide screen dominating the wall, controls laid to the side of the control chair. "Proceed inside pilot," the technician said, nudging him gently towards the waiting seat.
After working out the seating arrangement, and having the controls handed to him, Josh was left alone. The eerie, though efficient humming of the machine was his only comfort inside this space. He stared into the screen as it flickered to life.
"Simulation Prog#01/01?" Josh was a little confused by the numbering they'd chosen. Was this the only program or what?
"I know right? I tried to convince them to change it but noooo, It can't be called 'Robot Pilotin' and Fightan' it has to be professional..." A voice he hadn't heard before sounded over the speakers
Josh had gone completely still. "Who's there?" He asked, thoroughly spooked. As if in response, a section of screen on the control panel lit up, displaying a young woman, about his age, though she was unnaturally beautiful and had long, light brown hair and clear blue eyes...
"Hi Josh." the girl said happily, "We meet at last."
"Do I know you?" Josh asked, brow crinkling
"Only for about a decade," she said, smiling. "You know, speaking on and off? Although I guess I'm not quite what you expected to see in person..."
"You mean you're... the robot?"
"Yes, I'm Alanna, PCU 002. Nice to finally meet you Josh," she finished, looking directly at him.
"Wha... hrgfghgbleee..." Josh said as his brain finally gave up on the day's events and he slumped forward.
Janice and Doctor Matsuo watched from the monitor showing the image from the incockpit camera. The screen divided and Alanna's avatar popped up beside it.
"Well... that could've gone better..." she sighed.
Doctor Matsuo nodded curtly. Janice, still looking at Josh's drooling form, could only think of one thing to say.
"Whoops..."