User:NeloAngelo/RekanStuff/7

“Pulse signal eliminated.” Sanna muttered as she took out the second Unit with piercing beam of energy with White bird’s energy beams.

As she checks for remaining Units on her radar, the tracker suddenly emits a large heat signal coming from the sky and towards her, as if it has gone haywire.

Sanna tilted her head in an inquisitive manner, surprised as she peered towards the sky through the lens of White bird.

A blue pillar of electromagnetic energy greeted Sanna’s inquiry amidst the cloudy sky, as the white Unit hastily performed an evasive maneuver by initiating its boosters, quickly backing off. The shock impact managed to create a hurricane force of destruction, flinging the already flying White bird further than Sanna had anticipated, and slammed the white Unit through multiple collapsed building before stopping.

Barely escaping the target radius, the synchronization with White bird caused Sanna to feel a strenuous sensation on her pain receptors, as if her nerves are struck with countless needles. Biting her lips hard, a streak of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth as she wrestled back White bird’s flight path and analyzed her Unit’s condition.

To her shock, the white Unit that she had been so comfortable with suffered a greater damage than she had expected; White bird’s right side was caught in the target of the blast radius and was out of commission, the damage spreading close to her cockpit. Sanna then tried to check her radar for the enemy position, but it was jammed from the electromagnetic residue.

Seeking no alternatives, Sanna flew White bird towards the sky, the clouds now dispersed by the blast of the electromagnetic blast earlier. Through White bird lens, Sanna was greeted by a gigantic warship. Sanna’s attention was immediately drawn by the massive shock cannon attached to it, the muzzle looking as if the gigantic maw of a great beast, waiting to feast on a prey worthy of it - Armored Units. Sanna looked in awe of the warship’s colossal size, before being interrupted by the sound of assault rifles firing.

The sound of hot lead contacting cold steel ensued, as the pain Sanna received from White bird being shot brought her back from her distraction. Looking down, she saw the few remaining Units were aiming their guns at her. Initiating White bird’s boosters, Sanna quickly flew her Unit away from the firing range as White bird suffered even more damage, much to her dismay.

As she looked in return, the gigantic warship let out a loud cracking sound of electrostatic, cloaking itself into thin air. What Sanna last saw was the tip the warships’ shock cannon, the blinking blue light surrounding it resembling the death glare of White bird’s, seemingly mocking the pilot before vanishing in thin air.

Gripped with the fear, Sanna frantically activated her comm.-link, but the electromagnetic effect hadn’t worn off, as the pilot fumbled, desperately trying to contact her base while flying away from the enemy from down below- and the cloaked predator on the sky.

Beads of sweat started flowing from Sanna’s forehead, as the pain she felt from White bird’s continued. Her heart was racing furiously as she tried to activate her comm.-link again. For the first time, Sanna felt a fear of death.

Finally, the comm.-link indicates an “ONLINE” signal as Sanna gave a sigh of relief. As the comm.-link went online, Sanna was greeted with Bunyan’s voice.

“Velvet, report in! What happened? Our distant surveillance system tracked a huge electromagnetic signal from your spot.” Bunyan inquired; his usual guttural tone was mixed with a hint of bewilderment.

“This is Velvet...” Sanna said, trying her best to endure the pain, and continued, “I was ambushed by an unknown assailant...damage on Unit exceeded 40%...I’m sorry but I’ll have to pull out. “

Sanna’s words provoked a stunned reaction from Bunyan, who replied with a silence. The conversation was broken by the sound of assault rifles, as Sanna reactivated White bird’s booster, trying her best to evade them as she yelled in desperation, “Sir? Please, answer me!”

Sanna’s plea forced Bunyan back into focus, as the commander spoke once again, his voice somewhat shaken, “Understood. Velvet, pull out of the battle. Return safe.”

Sanna’s heart skipped a beat as she received the permission to retreat, but her problems were far from over. A cackling sound of electrostatic was heard not far from the place White bird is flying, as the cloaked warship now rears its face again, the shock cannon now aiming towards the direction of her.

“Oh, no…” Sanna replied weakly as she frantically activated White bird’s boosters, rapidly flying away from the firing trajectory of the warship. The large beam of electromagnetic ray was fired from the shock cannon again as Sanna was able to scrape away from it, the ensuing force once again throwing White bird into a turbulence.

As White bird was fling away by the thunderous force, Sanna tried to wrestle control of White bird’s flight again, taking one last look at the warship as it cloaks once again, her usual vacant expression now replaced with a state of confusion and shock. Calming herself down, Sanna switched open her comm.-link.

“This is Velvet...I’m returning to-” Sanna’s respond was cut short as she realized her comm.-link was once again jammed. “Arrgh!” yelling in frustration, Sanna banged at the comm.-link, then made the connection that her radar would likely be jammed as well, unable to indicate whether is she being tailed by enemy reinforcement.

Not wanting to risk herself anymore, Sanna quickly flew White bird back to its base.

Sanna was barely able to make her usual landing with White bird, and by the time White bird has been secured, she was on the verge of collapsing. Mustering her remaining strength, Sanna climbed down the white Unit as she is escorted by the landing staffs. As her foot touches the ground, the pain and stress took their toll as Sanna is unable to draw anymore strength; a large “thud” was heard as her face fell flat on the concrete floor of the landing gear.

The remaining crew was surprised to see Sanna’s state, where among them stood Illia, who quickly ordered the staffs to escort the wounded pilot to the medical room.

Sanna spent her unconscious self on the medical bay and by the time she woke up, two days has passed. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by a pair of lively red eyes she was so familiar with, followed by an even more familiar, friendly voice.

“Hey.” Erica greeted, sitting on a chair near Sanna’s bed.

“Hey...” Sanna replied, cracking a faint smile of relief. Focusing her view, Sanna found out she was in the medical room, and alongside Erica stood Illia, who looked at her worriedly.

“How are you feeling? You’ve been out for two days.” Illia asked as she walked towards Sanna, inspecting her condition.

“I’m fine, really.” Sanna answered.

“Feeling dizzy?” Illia asked.

“No.” Sanna replied.

“Feeling atrophic?””

“No.”

“Feeling any sickly symptoms you would like to tell?”

“No. I’m fine-“

Sanna’s response was interjected as Erica spoke, “Feeling dishonest by putting up a brave front?”

“No! I’m fine! Really!” Sanna replied loudly, her usual detached expression broke into an annoyed look. Crossing her arms, Sanna’s lips contract, pouting.

“Just kidding, just kidding.” Erica said as she patted Sanna’s head. Sanna looked away, replying nothing. Illia gave out a small chuckle at Sanna’s response, before proceeding, “Well, even if you’re fine, I still need to do some basic checkups on you.”

The trio’s conversation was interrupted as the sound of rapping on the door of the medical room was heard. As Illia replied ‘Come in.’, Bunyan stepped in, his cool demeanor broke into a rare relief of expression at Sanna’s recovery.

Realizing that she’s still pouting, Sanna blushed, and her already pale visage highlighted her flustered face. Erica and Illia looked at her reaction, both of them letting out a wry smile.

“This girl is really fun to toy with.” Erica whispered to Illia.

“I know, right? Underneath that bobble head of a doll face beats the heart of a maiden.” Illia responded cheekily.

“Ahem.” Bunyan gave out a light cough, bringing the three girls back into the situation, then continued, “I’m here about the debriefing of the mission. Excuse me, Reinhardt, if you would-”

“Ahhh..I got. I got it. Secret mission, right? Well, see you later, Sanna.” Erica said, as she stood up from her chair and left the room.

The situation fell into a tense atmosphere as soon as Erica left, leaving only Sanna, Bunyan and Illia alone. Looking dejected, Sanna first spoke, “I’m sorry…mission failed, right?”

“Yes. Granted, we weren’t expecting the enemy force concealing a super weapon. “Bunyan replied, looking at the dejected Sanna before continue delivering more bad news, “Unfortunately, since White bird was not able to clear out all enemy sights would meant the world has now truly acknowledged the Unit’s existence.”

Sanna whimpered, as Illia interjected, “Oh...that’s right, back then, the element of surprise played a big role in White bird rapidly suppressing conflicts.”

“The media isn’t being friends either. News are flaring over the incident of the super weapon’s shock cannon or White bird’s existence.” Bunyan added. What was something that should be kept as a battlefield legend, something in which White bird relied as a scare tactic now has its covers blown.

The two’s words felt like powerful blows towards the already dejected Sanna, who now covers her face in disappointment.

“At the very least, we were able to hide the traces of White bird’s relation to the AN, or Ehrenfels.” Bunyan slipped, trying to comfort Sanna, as he turned towards Illia, and continued, “Schwarzchild, how’s Sanna’s condition? “

“She seems to be in good spirits but I’ve still need to perform a medical checkup with her.” Illia replied.

Bunyan then shot a look at Sanna, who beamed with a look of confidence, nodding her head.

“And White bird’s condition?” Bunyan asked again.

“The Unit’s auto-repair system is working itself. It pains me to admit it, but White bird runs on a schematic beyond what we understand and I’d rather not tamper with it. Given the pace it’s repairing itself; I’d say it’ll be combat ready in 2 days.” Illia remarked as she adjusted her glasses.

“Two day...we’ll have to come up with a strategy to destroy it by then. Sanna, report to the command room after the checkup.” Bunyan said as he began to leave the room before stopping at the doorstep, and then continued, "...Sanna, what’s important is that you’re safe. Remember that.”