Sigma/Star

Chapter 104: The New World

A shuttle pierced through the clouds above Porter and the rest of the Crisis Rescue Unit. They had all gathered in a circle in the middle of the battlefield, left alone by the majority of the other soldiers, save for the Brigadier General. All of the pilots were now outside their Goliaths and stood together, barely able to look at once another as Chase's unmentioned death weighed down upon each of them. Sigma watched with curiosity before focusing on the approaching vessel. He already knew its occupants, understand everything about it and where it had come from, through nothing more than a cursory glance. Sometimes, even his own computer brain astounded him.

The ship landed next to the group, kicking up the loose top layer of snow and swirling it around the hull of the machine. The door opened on the side and Mr. Shotuku stepped out, gathering his robe up around him as his frail body shuffled forwards on the ground. He hardly had enough weight to sink into the white powder, his black slippers leaving soft imprints behind each step he took. He was soon followed by Gretta, who poked her head out slowly at first before leaping out of the vessel, and she was succeeded by Rick, who sipped a cup of tea calmly as though he were in the middle of a mansion and not the remnants of a devastating war.

"Hello students." When Shotuku spoke, the rest flinched anticipating punishment. His presence alone reminded them even more of their failure to keep Chase alive, of the mistakes they had made during the fight that had cost one of them their lives. They had never really trained for dealing with death. "I thought if you're going to make life-changing decisions, you may want your teacher to come along, and perhaps a mechanic to keep things in order." Gretta waved from behind Shotuku, her body slowly sinking into a soft patch of snow.

"How did you know?" Porter narrowed his eyes at the professor, increasingly wary of those he once trusted.

"Perhaps I can answer that," Marian cut in, descending from his Goliath as it knelt down to let him exit.

"Better yet, let me." Sigma waved to silence everyone else, his mind already hacking through the controls of Marian's warship, spinning it around and drawing it in close, having it begin to deploy dropships to gather up the Goliaths and the students. "I have some interesting choices to make in my life now, and I may want to start by helping grant Porter his wish, with the blessing of his teacher of course." Shotuku only nodded in answer, the android and elder having gained a common understanding between them.

* * * * *

"I want an explanation," Porter demanded, muttering it through closed lips. They had all been gathered into one of the meeting rooms that Marian traditionally used to address his soldiers. Gretta and Rick had been left outside, with Gretta assigned to begin repairs on the battlesuits and Rick serving as a bodyguard to make sure the discussions remained uninterrupted.

Sigma, Marian, and Shotuku all stood at the front of the room, almost as if they were on trial before the students. It was Marian who responded first. "There were no orders granted to authorize any of you being at this battle. It was Shotuku who sent you down here, for a variety of reasons I can only guess at. But I can explain the gaps in the Enigma Project and the attacks by the Jahari from what I know."

"As I am sure you all figured out," Marian continued, "the man who was killed out there, Christian, was a member of the Enian Federation as one point, or maybe never, we aren't really sure. It was initially his idea, through much research, to attempt to draw out the Jahari and use them as a weapon against the other nations. It took a lot of convincing, but it was Kaiser Namio himself who authorized the first expeditions deep underground to search for them." Marian's eyes shifted over towards Nami, gauging her reaction, but the girl did not meet his gaze, staring at her feet instead. "Upon discovering their existence, we realized we would need a weapon that would threaten them to keep them in line. Our deal with them would be simple: we trade Sigma, and they trade the Jahari armies."