A handful of shells flew in from the east, landing here and there on the base. One of them exploded just fifty yards away from Sousuke and Kaname.
"What?"
"Enemy reinforcements," explained Sousuke, wiping the sweat from his forehead. They ducked low and hid behind a building.
Now that the enemy's backup had arrived, the helicopters that had come for the Arm Slaves would be under too much fire to wait for them. They had to do something.
One of the jets roared past them.
"Ah! There they go."
"It can't be helped."
Like a cloud, the dark truth of their situation hung over them, reminding them of their failure to rendezvous with their allies.
Swaying and shaking, two C-17s rattled along the torn-up runway.
Small pebbles clacked against the fuselages, the wings trembled, and the engines shrieked. There was an explosion about a hundred feet away from the plane.
Everyone screamed.
"Remain calm! Stay seated!" shouted a soldier.
Most of the students were too terrified to get out of their seats, anyway. The only one who wasn't holding his breath was Shinji Kazama, whose cheeks were damp from large teardrops.
"Are you scared, Kazama?" inquired Kyouko, somewhat out of the blue.
"No, I'm just so… happy," he explained. "We got to see M9s in action, and we're riding in a C-17. I can die a happy man now."
With a sudden increase in speed, the aircraft reached VR—the speed at which liftoff was possible—and ascended. Following suit, the second plane took off, as well.
From the ground, a soldier fired an anti-aircraft missile at the second plane. When the plane turned on its ECS, however, the missile went awry and flew around wildly before crashing harmlessly into an unoccupied corner of the base.
While the planes traveled deeper into the western sky, the VTOL fighters kept close to protect them.
"So much for the hard part," muttered Mao, watching them go.
"The party's over," said the pilot of a large helicopter that landed nearby. "A large opposition force is incoming."
"Wait. We haven't heard from Urzu Six—or Seven and the girl."
"This is Teiwaz Twelve," announced one of the attack choppers overhead. "We spotted M9 wreckage that appears to be Urzu Six's. It's in a river to the north of the base."
"Say what?" Mao paled.
"The torso's been sliced in half."
"Did the operator make it?"
"Don't know. The smoke's too thick to see much."
"Well, keep looking. And what about Sousuke?"
Before answering, the helicopter pilot swallowed thickly. "I want to look for them, Mao, but we simply don't have time."
"Just one minute. I'll go, too."
"Withdraw at once. I forbid you to search," interrupted Lieutenant Commander Kalinin, who was in one of the recon choppers.
"But, Lieutenant Commander!"
"The reinforcements already are across the bridge. Interceptors are on their way. If we stick around, you'll all be wiped out." His tone indicated no room for negotiations. "Teiwaz Twelve, fire your remaining rounds at the M9 wreckage. Don't let the enemy get their hands on a single screw."
"Teiwaz Twelve, roger."
"Wai—"
Firing a rocket, the attack helicopter carried out the command, blowing Kurz's AS to bits.
"Urzu Two, hurry up and dock with the transport helicopter."
For the briefest moment, the lieutenant commander's coldness infuriated Mao, and it took a great deal of effort for her to swallow the word "murderer" before it came out of her mouth.
"Urzu Two, roger."
Kalinin was right; the enemy would be there shortly.
Gauron climbed down from his inoperable mech onto the damp ground.
Grunting, he looked up at the silver AS. The chest armor plate was largely crushed, its internals exposed. The actuator stabilizer trickled out like blood, and smoke spewed from several joints.
The AS called the Codarl was overheating. This happened because Gauron had to use the unfinished Lambda Driver, which shorted the MOTIVE system. All he could do for the time being was hide in the brush and hope to keep out of sight of the enemy helicopters.
The Lambda Driver had powers unlike any previous man-made invention. With the ability to amplify the operator's attack and defense impulses, it converted thoughts into pseudo-physical power. Scientific types called it a "false-axis repulsive-field generator system."
Although this system had the potential to change modern warfare completely, that was still a long way off. There simply was not enough information. They had to get their hands on a new source of knowledge.
That was their motivation for abducting the Whispered.
"Piece of crap!" declared Gauron, looking toward the base.
Mithril's helicopters and VTOL fighters receded into the western sky.
"Kalinin… that smug bastard." Even Gauron didn't anticipate a rescue operation to occur so quickly—only half a day after the hijacking of flight 903.
On top of that, Mithril disposed of the bomb Gauron had planted on the plane.
With no dry run and no recon group, the surprise attack defied all common sense of special operations.
