Awaken, The Soul Sentinel (Grammy)

[ShadowVigilante1]

September 8, OE 102
Bern, Switzerland
Jericho Forward Base
4:32 p.m

It was another day preparing for the inevitable battle at Berlin. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. When will people begin to understand that a fight such as this is unnecessary? What was even necessary to begin with, now that his life felt as undone as it was? His purpose was nothing but a fabrication, something built upon years and years of toil and torment, to defeat an evil so far removed from his memory that it hurts to even try and recall its appearance. A machine, a being built to do one thing and one thing alone. Was that really something worth chasing? His emotions made no difference to such a thing, so what was the point?

As Dimidas thought on, he absentmindedly was tinkering with the settings of his Wildschwein’s cockpit, the machine itself standing tall within a hastily assembled temporary hangar site. Dimidas at this point was simply fiddling with the buttons at his fingertips, not minding the ruckus that was being caused by a brand new visitor to the site. Though, whatever it was, it was sure to draw his attention sooner or later. Was it an answer to his question? Perhaps, but only time will tell.

 

[Grammy]

On the other side of the hangar, the source of all that noise as it turns out was an older model Gespenst. A mass production variant that looked as if it had been gathering dust for years, and a stubborn pilot was at the helm of it, starting up the machine before it subsequently broke down.

That same pilot had been there for as long as anyone was in the hangar area. No one knew what he wanted, aside from the fact that he wanted to repair the snow white Gespenst with green highlights, and it seemed like he was a new recruit, as his face wouldn't be familiar to many personnel. Anyone close enough would have heard his frustrated mutterings, as if he was talking to someone.

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

As sounds of the machine breaking down reached Dimidas’ ears, his body reacted almost on instinct as he gripped the controls, trying to raise the Wildschwein’s arm to try and fire at the noise. But since he was in diagnostic mode, he only managed to change the trigger sensitivity. His entire body was at attention, dragging him back into reality from his self constructed void. He stood up and exited the cockpit to see the old Gespenst, he didn’t recall seeing one such as that before. He quickly clamored down the Schwein’s docking bay’s stairs and wandered towards the almost mothballed Gespenst, a peculiar sight.

”Having problems?”

He said as he began walking up the stairs, wondering if this was able to provide a distraction from his thoughts. He quickly approached the cockpit and heard more of the frustrated rambling. Were they talking to themselves, or was it with someone or something else?

 

[Grammy]

"What's wrong, Gespenst?! If I woke up, you should be able to as well!" The answer to his question came quickly. It seemed this pilot had a particular connection to his machine, and had not noticed the other curious pilot until he heard him essentially talk to his machine.

".. Ah? Y-Yeah! I'm trying to start up my Gespenst, but he's not budging! I've tried running the diagnostics, but I'm not really good at figuring out what any of it means.." He replied. The pilot was a young man, who had a peculiar badge on him.. in fact, any keen eye would have realised that it was one that belonged to pilots of Terra Sentinel. Now what was he, of all people, doing here?

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

Ah, a connection with one’s machine, it was not something unusual to him. After all, he did the same thing at times, calling out to his mechs as if they themselves possessed a life. But compared to them, was he not just the same thing? A weapon.

“Let me have a look then. Knew someone who liked tinkering with their Gespenst, might find a problem or two with it.”

He said, now getting a closer look of the emblem on his jacket. Terra Sentinel, though from the looks of it, a jacket that simultaneously seemed old yet unworn. Perhaps stolen from storage? The soldier was out of action for a while? Or a gift from someone else? Whatever the case, curiosity and more importantly caution took hold of Dimidas as he kept his hand near a pistol he had strapped to his waist.

”Say… where did you get that jacket? Not exactly standard issue around here if you haven’t noticed, nor is it popular by any means.”

 

[Grammy]

"Really?! I appreciate it! I'm in your care!" The ecstatic fellow said. The pilot seemed to be in his late 20s, but as Dimidas could tell, he seemed to act out of his age, being so full of energy and innocence, acting more like a late teenager.

Still, he gave him respect and even bowed to show that to him. Yet, he wasn't sharp enough to realise the growing suspicions of this stranger, from the change of expression to him reaching out to his pistol. He didn't think much of it and answered with full honesty and ignorance.

"A-Ah! Well, it's a long story!" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "But, I woke up a few hours ago from a coma. Apparently, it was.. ten or so years? I think that's what the doctor told me.." He said, casually glossing over the how long he was asleep as if it was a nap.

"Anyway, I missed a lot. I heard that Terra Sentinel got really bad, and things went downhill for them. I realised what they did was terrible but.. A part of me wanted to keep my jacket because, uh.. Well.." Another aspect of his displaced age was showing, with him stuttering a lot in his speech. ".. I worked hard to become a pilot, and to get into Terra Sentinel back then! I thought it was for the good of everyone, and I put all my faith into it.. but in the end, all that ever got me was being the first one to go down and miss everything.."

He looked down, disappointed for obvious reasons. He finally mustered up the reason why he still had it on, which had little to no logical to it.. but a very emotional reason nonetheless.

"I just.. had a hard time letting this thing go after all that effort, you know?" He shrugged. It was just as simple as that. That reasoning could also apply to why he cared for this machine so much, despite its glaring age.

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

This man was asleep for 10 years? Well, that explained some discrepancies with his appearance and mannerisms, they were of someone much younger. Not to mention, someone who wanted to join the group of Terra Sentinel back when it was supposedly the “good guys” of the Directory before turning to a group of terrorists. That woman he met when he arrived must have been much in the same camp as he was.

”I see… quite the situation you’re in then. But you sound genuine enough, you’re not the first one I’ve met who was disillusioned by that organization.”

His hand moved away from his pistol as he stepped a little to the side to check on the controls, looking for any discrepancies with the machine’s diagnostics.

”So, given you’re still here, why is it you wish to support Jericho? Or are you not sure of that either?”

Despite this draconic soldier’s seemingly hardened exterior, his face was very much filled with some look of aimlessness in it. He seemed that he too was lost, though in what way was a bit of a mystery.

 

[Grammy]

The soldier quickly found what the issue was upon looking into the diagnostics: the generator's power was simply too low to start up the machine. It was too old and had not been given the necessary maintenance it needed until it was too late. The only reasonable way to solve the problem would be to outright replace the generator, which would take time, or charge it from another source.

"Because..." Sole clutched his fists, his brows lowered and his face concentrated. "Because.. I want to fix my mistake! I wanted the world a better place when I joined Terra Sentinel, but now they made it worst! I wanna be given the chance to redeem myself for ever associating with it, and do what I set out to do in the first place!" He pumped his fist, riding himself up. Too much, he would soon realise, as he almost falls out of the cockpit when attempting to step forward, cursing out loud upon realising it as he steadied himself and let out a sigh of relief. That naive spirit still had its flaws, but it could come off as endearing and amusing to anyone else around him.

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

As Sole made his proclamation of resolve, Dimidas was reminded of how his brother used to display such fervor when it came to carrying out their duties. He too was made to believe that the world was not lost, that it was able to be saved from the forces that threatened it. Was making the world a better place truly the right path forward? Regardless, perhaps it might be better to temper his expectations rather than shoot it down entirely. Just so that he will not end up in the same predicament as he was in. He looked at Sole, with a rather grim expression on his face.

”To fix a mistake… We all make mistakes, but yours was something completely out of our control. That wasn’t a mistake or a lapse in judgement, that was you being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Even so, second chances like this are not always as they seem. Yes, you can still try to change the world, to save it. But if you wanted to prove something, that what you did wasn’t a mistake, you have no need to worry. You need not toss away your entire being into the jaws of death for such a singular purpose.”

The last sentence he spoke hanged in the air for a moment, almost like a ghost spoke the words into Sole’s ear. Was this man really there, or was it simply the specter of a grizzled veteran reliving his righteous glory?

”Neither is it a purpose you can fulfill alone. What is your name?”

 

[Grammy]

Sole stood with his chest puffed up, expecting to be lectured by an adult yet again for being foolish and young. Yet, what he heard was unexpected. It was more so being told that he was blaming himself too much. But how? How could he ever forgive himself for sitting out all these events because of a battlefield mistake he put hundreds of hours into just to avoid that very scenario? Even if it was likely that he could not have changed the results, not even by a little bit.. There was always that one chance. One tiny chance that was thrown away by his incompetency. He wanted to make up for it despite that. Somehow. In some way.

As he was left pondering while looking down, slightly having a shiver from Dimi's little lecture, he brought his chin up and- Right away, he stood at attention and saluted. "2nd Lieutenant Sole Veingaer, sir!" Just like in training. He even called him sir, out of respect. That was probably not even his current assigned rank, just the one he remembered and always repeated like it was his name.

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

“At ease, Sole. You have no need for ranks or formality with me, you can treat me as your friend. But Lieutenant, huh? A high rank for someone of your maturity. I hope that rank translates to your performance. For both your sake, and that of others.”

He extended his hand out towards Sole, his fingers stretched wide as if telling him to grasp it in return.

”Dimidietas Corbyn, but you can call me Dimidas. It’s nice to meet you, Sole.”

He then pondered on a thought that was brewing at the back of his head. Someone such as Sole was going to need someone to guide him, inexperienced as he sounds given his 10 year coma. Perhaps… it was something to light a fire in Dimidas again.

”I have a proposal if you’d like to hear it. Well… before that, I should also mention that you will have to requisition new parts for your Gespenst. It seems parts like the Plasma Generator are no longer functional after being out of use for such a long period of time and also a lack of proper maintenance.”

He nearly forgot about the topic, what with psychological dilemmas in his mind taking precedence over all else in this depressed state he found himself in. So, in his still somewhat present awkwardness, he decided to finish that topic before moving on to something else entirely.”

 

[Grammy]

"A-Ah, thanks.." He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, as the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.. was about as low as one could get when they join Terra Sentinel. He just took the compliment as it was.

"N-Nice to meet you, Dimidas!" He was prepared to do a bow, but quickly recovered and gave the appropriate response of a handshake. He felt a bit happy that he was able to make a friend so soon and that was reliable too. It was definitely a change of pace for the young pilot.

"I see.. I guess plasma generators don't cut it anymore. Still, where can we find a new generator...?" He wondered, hand on his chin. Though really, he had no clue.

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

“If you need new parts, the mechanics might be willing to help with requisitioning and retrofitting your Gespenst with some parts from the storage. Jericho seems to have a habit of keeping old things not a lot of people see value in. In fact, one such project he’s likely kept in storage has me… quite interested.“

Dimidas looked towards his own machine, the Wildschwein, it was naught but the shell which inspired what some consider to be a walking nightmare amongst all Personal Troopers.

”Ever heard of the Vanishing Trooper Incident? The time a Personal Trooper powered by a black hole suddenly caused a gravitational anomaly? I assume you have, given that the incident is what led to Terra Sentinel’s creation in the first place. What if I told you that the sister unit of the Huckebein that caused the incident supposedly still rests untouched in a hangar somewhere? The trail essentially goes cold past a certain point, but who’s to say that Jericho hasn’t picked up the project? I still need to do more digging, but I was hoping of putting a team of specialists together for Jericho.”

He gave Sole a look of appraisal, inspecting him like a sculptor does their muse.

“You might be fresh from a coma, you might lack some modicum of real battle experience, but I see potential in you. And here, we have all the tools necessary.“

He paused for a moment, was he really going through with this idea? Was there still a point to trying to continue fulfilling his purpose of safeguarding humanity from greater threats? It was naught but an idea implanted into him early in life, something that festered like a cancer, eating away at his humanity to turn him into a single minded machine. But at the very least, he can delude himself, delude himself to think that there was still some merit to what he was doing. Fostering others so that they will not follow in his footsteps, that they can live a life different from his own. Perhaps, that was a purpose worth pursuing as a distraction.

”There’s something bigger than just us out there, waiting, watching, and one day it will come to snuff out the spark of humanity. I want us to be ready to fight at the very least, but given what I’ve learned and seen, I want to prepare others for different challenges as well. Not only to take on the world as fighters, but as people with a sense of… what is right for the worl-… No…”

Another pause… fighting for world was not exactly the right mindset. What is it that she would do if she were here? What would Ashley have said?

“Rather what is right for other people, perhaps not out of just a sense of justice, but to steer them towards the truth of their lives… Yes…”

What was he even saying at this point? He thought he sounded like a madman in front of Sole, speaking as if he were a king, dictating to his order of knights their creed of honor. The ramblings of a broken machine, a broken mouthpiece of an ideology that failed somewhere far away.

”Sorry if that was… a bit of a strange philosophical tangent. Are you… interested in such a group? I have found one other promising candidate similar to you in a way.”

 

[Grammy]

As Sole was listening to this conspiracy of the vanishing trooper, and the fact that it could be around here somewhere, a sweat drop was going down the side of his face as he subconsciously muttered out-

"A-Awesome...!"

-Much like a teenager being told about the location of keys to a car that they should not be having any access to. But as time went on, and the conversation became more sentimental, all that excitement washed away with reality that these are no ordinary vehicles. They were war machines, strictly meant for killing. Be it for good or evil. His smile faded away as he suddenly realised that he was now given yet another opportunity for a task with heavy responsibility.

"..." He froze still for a moment, deep in thought. He knew exactly what answer he was going to give, but he felt guilty because it was initially for the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, he spoke up.

"... I-It's fine! If you have that much faith in me, then I won't let you down!" He saluted, with a puffed up chest. "I'm honored to be considered! I'll be doing my best to earn my spot on this team! But..."

He had a look of concern. Something that bothered him for a bit, despite accepting getting into this group.

"... What will be our team name?" Of course. A youth's concern. Despite the many things a normal person would sweat over, Sole's highest priority was knowing what the team would be called. That silly naivety was enough to lighten up the room entirely.

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

After Dimidas had blathered on and on, he was able to sense a bit of Sole’s unease at his words. It seemed that conversation was still hardly his strongest trait, in fact it was very much one of his weakest. His natural charisma was abysmal at best, though it was easily compensated by his ability to read expressions in direct conversations. Thus, to rectify his mistake, the dragon decided an apology was in order. He bowed his head slightly before raising it back up to maintain eye contact with his subject of conversation.

”Forgive me for all of the long winded conversation. I’m not the best at pacing my talking so I have a slight tendency to keep going on and on. That and I have been doing a lot of… thinking. So my mind is quite the jumble at the moment, and might be so for a while longer. But I can assure you it won’t be a hindrance should we continue to work together on the battlefield.”

Though when Sole asked about a name for the team, Dimidas was taken aback. He raised a hand to his chin, his fingers rubbing his scales in deep thought. A name? Was such a thing so important?

”Now that you mention it…”

It is quite important. A name symbolized their identity as a group. It was a symbol that held its own meaning, a morale booster, a portent of terror, sometimes even the butt of a joke. But when it came to making names…

”I have not thought on that, but you are right that the team will need one. Only problem is that… well… I have an embarrassing amount of time reading Arthurian literature. So any name I come up with is likely to be something from there, which probably won’t roll off people’s tongues so well. What about you, do you have any ideas?”

 

[Grammy]

Sole had wanted to correct his superior, not desiring to make him blame himself for his unease. However, he was reluctant to do so, and felt at this point it was probably better that the subject matter was dropped. All he gave in response was an an unsure nod.

What he was more unsure about was the name. He didn't think he would be asked about it, but given no choice, he had to think of something on the spot. At least, that's what he thought.

"Uhm.. W-What about the Vanishing Troop?" He excitedly proposed, before immediately changing his mind and tapping his chin. "No- wait... The Vanishers? Banishing Vanishers? Vanishing, vanishing, vanishing.." It seemed that Sole was equally skilled to Dimidas in terms of naming conventions.