Sigma/Star

Chapter 28: Nami's Folly

Abertyl was very nearly empty. It had been this way for quite a while now, since the war broke out and the evacuation process began. It was such a small village, still composed of older houses constructed of rock and brick that were deteriorating over time but left the town with a very quaint, homely feel of serenity.

Now it was empty and it was Aminat's job to make sure it stayed that way. From within her Goliath she oversaw the shifting of materials and supplies, as well as serving as scout for the village. Right now, nothing was moving. The few soldiers who were living in Abertyl were sleeping now, taking naps, or were within one of the few houses being occupied playing cards. They were only needed to move supplies or store new ones that arrived but that was a rarity.

Aminat sat on the fringe of the town, her enormous machine resting on a geological formation that shot up into the sky and was known as "The Saint's Thumb." Abertyl itself was nestled into a fairly rocky and mountainous region and sat on a flat plain of dusty wastes. It helped Aminat quite a bit usually since she could observe anyone approaching over good distances. There were a few patches of rock that could prove a bit of a problem but the final stretch to the town was barren and open and had been taken into account when the village was built.

So when she first saw the dust kicking up in the mountains to the south, coming from Narrius, she knew things weren't going to go well today. There had been no communication made for a delivery and Aminat felt in her gut it wasn't a welcome visitor.

* * * * *

The White Storm rumbled as Porter sat in its cockpit. The Crisis Rescue Unit had been coming down in a rather large shuttle with each of their Goliaths but it had been ruled that they didn't have enough time to land or deploy properly and so they would have to use the touch-down packs.

Each Goliath had been equipped with an enormous jetpack, built of massive twin rockets but only given enough fuel to allow a single use. The Goliaths had dropped from the ship thousands of feet up and were in a near freefall until the touch-down packs kicked in and slowed the descent. Porter's was just starting now and it shook straight through the White Storm's ancient armour.

His nerves were still active in his stomach and mind and he felt the tension in his hands. The first time they had battled had almost seemed like a game, for fun. This time Mr. Shotuku had given them sterner warnings and assured them that this strikeforce was not to be taken lightly. It wasn't going to be easy this time.

The viewscreens looking out around Porter showed the fires of friction that came from such a rapid descent and he had a last flash of fear (what if the jets fail?) before The White Storm landed hard, sending shockwaves through the earth just outside Abertyl and showering the warmachine in dust and dirt.

The touch-down pack disengaged with a hiss and click, the numerous restraints releasing and falling off like a reptile shedding its skin and Porter's controls activated. He saw Ardwen's "Mother Gaia" collide with the earth and throw off the pack with ease and Chase followed within seconds. Raul, Nami, and Riya had deployed after and wouldn't be touching down for another minute or so.

Ardwen immediately led the way into the sleepy-looking town. According to the intel they had received they would be arriving at the village just before the enemy did and so they had to move quickly. As they got to the edge of Abertyl a tall Goliath sprung out from behind one of the buildings and tackled Chase, the two of them rolling along the ground until Chase ended up with the upper hand and pinned the weaker machine down.

Upon seeing the insignia on the attacking battlesuit, Ardwen called Chase off and he reluctantly let the other Goliath stand once more. This one was an Ely-class suit, lacking a lot of armour and completely unarmed, built only for speed and high mobility. They were usually meant for utility purposes, such as delivering supplies or as supersonic messengers.

"Greetings. We are the Crisis Rescue Unit of the St. Maurius Academy and the Enian Federation, here to assist in the defense of Abertyl," Ardwen explained, motioning to the other two Goliaths.

"Ah, I'm Aminat, a messenger from Narrius." The female voice wafted across their communication network. "I look over the town and run the routes between. I'm afraid you don't have much time. The enemy will be upon us at any moment and I have to start removing as many critical supplies as I can." Ardwen nodded in his agreement as a sign of understanding. "Please, do your best to keep them out of the village. If they get too close the crossfire from the battle could destroy all the resources here."

"We understand. Don't we Chase?" Porter could imagine Ardwen's sidelong glance at the conceited pilot from within his cockpit.

"Yes we do," Chase grumbled.

"Thank you." And with that Aminat was gone, darting through the town to gather supplies up and head to a safer location.

Chase, Ardwen, and Porter could see past the tiny buildings to the clouds of dust that were quickly approaching. Unlike their last battle, there would be no preparation for this moment.

* * * * *

Nami and Riya had deployed too close to each other. They should've waited longer between drops and Nami knew it as soon as she had stepped out of the ship. But there was nothing they could do now. The controlling of the touch-down packs was minimal at best and let them shift very little in the air.

And so when Nami and Riya clipped each other, Nami wasn't surprised. She had braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut and gripping tight onto the controls and trying to think of the boy she loved but struggling to decide exactly which boy that was anymore before Porter came into her mind.

The touch-down pack struggled to straighten Nami out, who was wobbling and nearly flipping in the air, spiraling away from the main group and beginning to come down at the wrong side of Abertyl. She was managing to get a balance just before "The Pearl" glanced off the earth and bounced back up into the air, tumbling around until she came down hard on the ground and lay there for a moment, stunned. The touch-down pack had fallen off in pieces and the final bits disengaged.

Nami looked up to see Raul and Riya landing safely in the designated area and she let out a sigh of relief. The Pearl would survive. It had been a messy one, but she wasn't anywhere near a critical condition and as she rose up her wings spread out automatically behind her with the sound of hydraulics. That was reassuring at least.

Then the buzz came, a high-pitched whine through the air. A Goliath swooped down from the air in front of her in a flash and charged straight forward, just hovering above the ground as it did so. The impact caught Nami right in the chest and lifted her off the ground, launching her backwards.

The enemy took off once again, shooting up into the sky as quickly as it had come down. Nami scrambled to pull out her rifle and take aim, firing off a fast round that she saw graze the enemy's shoulder. That shot wouldn't do much more than leave a scorch mark.

Nami sighed and realized how deep in trouble she was now, stranded on the wrong side of the village with the enemy coming down around her. She stood up and took in a long breath. That was alright. She cleaned some of the dust off her weapon and hastily inspected it. They could come. She would be ready.

A/N: Let the battle for Abertyl begin! Nami has come down in enemy territory. Can the group get to her fast enough to save the young girl or does the crazy stalker even need their help? Who knows!