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Revelation
By Alex Owens

Prologue

It’s amazing how sometimes such stories can come from a heart of simple children. It’s really a wonder how sometimes their stories are sometimes able to enchant us.

But there would always be another world, another story. Revelation would be this one.

Occurring in 2486 U.W., Revelation served more than one purpose. They fought. They befriended.

And again, sometimes the rarest connections comes from befriending.

Chapter One
Preparation

“I’ve relayed all the information,” Lovita said, “They’re probably about one hour late, but I don’t believe that the Black Market Federation satellites can move that fast. We should be safe for the next three hours.”

“Can you do a scan on their satellites?” Vincent asked.

“Yes.”

“Give me a spec report on their satellites.”

“Yes sir. Scanning now. Relaying information process at 12%. T minus seven seconds until full information relay complete. Four. Three. Two. One. Information relay complete.”

“Give me the specs.”

“Twin fusion engines: Can travel up to 32 miles per second in our set space ring. Advanced shields: Not very powerful, but can put all its power in the striking position, so singular attacks won’t work very well on it. Three BC-24 ion power generators: Powers everything in the system with enough secondary power to power the satellite for immediate evasive action and return to any HQ in the world from any part of Earth’s orbit. Machine guns: Armor piercing types, Eagle warheads, shields against improper impact. Ion cannon: Penetrates almost every underground system there is. That’s all the data I can relay.”

“Good job, Lovita. Order our satellites to form a mirror around our territory to reflect the ion cannon and put in immediate defensive position if in attacking position. Meanwhile, get Lei. We need her to get out there in Rev01.”

“It’s too dangerous! Sending her out into space may result in not being caught in orbit! She may never come back! She never received training for this!”

“We’re not going to send her out into space. There’s a convoy going along the southern part of the Mediterranean to send material to create more satellites. More of them would be trouble for us. I need her to trace the convoy and destroy it as well as the supply and manufacturing depots.”

“Yes sir! I can do that!” Lovita saluted and left the room, leaving Vincent in the dark control room, staring at the screen.

*****

“God, I’m really going to hate the math exam,” Ragnarok sighed as he sipped his can of Mountain Dew and brushed his brown hair back from his blue eyes.

“Why is that?” Mikado asked as she stared at the vending machine with brown eyes behind her purple hair, deciding what soda to get, “I didn’t study last night and I’m not feeling nervous at all.”

“Let’s just say math isn’t Ragnarok’s favorite subject, sister,” Hinako laughed and leaned back, allowing his black hair to fall back from his brown eyes. The three were in the cafeteria of the United World Primary Military School. They were moments away to math class, another primary course of the students.

“Your brother’s right,” Ragnarok sighed, “I’m probably going to get a B- or something like that with my unexceptional math skills.”

“B- is already pretty good,” Hinako remarked.

“For you,” Mikado laughed, “I wouldn’t be able to stand anything below a B+.”

“Your sister is probably going to end up as a genius scientist when she gets a profession,” Ragnarok whispered to Hinako.

“Hey, you know, we have to get to Revelation Base after school,” Hinako reminded everyone, “We still have to do some drills. And we also got to see if Mikado qualifies as a Revelation pilot.”

“I think your sister will have no problems,” Ragnarok laughed, “She’s just like you.”

“What is it we have do…shooting drills?” Hinako pondered.

“Actually, I think we’re supposed to take a mini-mission. We have to operate an aerial strike against the Black Market Federation.”

“That shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Are we going to do it with Mikado, if she passes?”

“I don’t know. We’ll see.”

“Ragnarok.” Ragnarok turned around to see a teacher behind him. Immediately, Ragnarok, Hinako, and Mikado stood up and saluted.

“At ease.” The three relaxed.

“Ragnarok, I need you to give this data card to Lei,” the teacher said, passing a data card to Ragnarok.

“Understood, sir,” Ragnarok said.

“Although it is probably not suggested to take a look, it concerns about the Revelation missions.”

“Yes sir. I’ll take a look just in case of backup sources.”

The teacher nodded and left the three by themselves.

“Why did he have to give the card to you?” Hinako sighed, “He could’ve asked me to give it to her.”

“Why?” Mikado asked, “So you can date with her or something? Not likely. Lei wouldn’t go out with anyone if her life depended on it. No one has ever even seen her smile. Her life has been bound to military rule.”

Ragnarok laughed, “Why is everyone talking about this all of the sudden? It gets on my nerves just for you guys to gossip.”

“Well, it’s Hinako’s fault.”

“By the way,” Hinako cut in, changing the subject, “have you heard that the Black Market Federation is planning an orbital attack on us? Feels scary with all the satellites above us.”

“God, you know, with the Black Market and all, even the most top secret files on U.W. have chances of leaking out into the Black Market. That’s how they have enough power to attack us like this. They have resources, money, spies, everything. We just try to keep them under control.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ragnarok sighed as he got up, “I’m going to get to math class as soon as possible and give the card to Lei. After the drills, we have permission to take the Revelations for a few ‘test flights’, or in other words, more ways to get in trouble.”

“Getting into trouble is the best way to get killed,” Mikado warned.

“Don’t worry. I’m ordering some extra equipment after selling my old ones. Target locking homing missiles, wide and deep target tracking radar, head with improved additional radar capabilities as well as night-vision lens and body heat, energy machine gun with low ammunition costs and LL-64 prototype legs.”

“Hey, those legs are state-of-the-art,” Hinako said, “They go really fast and carry a decent weight load. What’s the rest of your Revelation like?”

“Arms are decent with advanced shielding and great shell and energy resistance, central is pretty decent as well with high shell and energy resistance as well as secondary power units, a really good generator and engine, soft wings with shields exclusively for shaking off enemies, and a pistol in case the energy weapon doesn’t work.”

“Sweet. My layout is a rocket launcher as a double arm weapon, explosive energy weapon as a back weapon, slow but maneuverable wings, and short but accurate radar.”

“Leave it to him for pretending to be a hero,” Mikado laughed, “I’ve heard the Revelation technicians are preparing a good Revelation for me: High accuracy sniper, long range pistol, spread gun as a back weapon, fast wings, and long but shallow radar.”

“Let me guess,” Ragnarok laughed, “You’re going to be a covert operative.”

“Figures.”

“If the technicians are already preparing all this, they must have quite a lot of confidence in you.”

“I guess so. How many pilots are there in Revelation?”

“Just Ragnarok, Lei, and I,” Hinako replied, “Ragnarok, what’s on the data card?”

“I’m looking,” Ragnarok said as he pulled out a pocket computer from his pocket, “Here we go. It’s a mission in the southern Mediterranean. She’s suppose to conduct an aerial strike against a Black Market Federation convoy and base.”

“Very nice,” Mikado said hurriedly, “Now come on! We’re going to be late for math class if you don’t stop pondering around!”

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Nine-hundred ninety-nine billion nine-hundered ninety-nine million nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall...

Chapter Two
A Lesson On Basics

“Ragnarok!” Hinako hissed.

“Not now!” Ragnarok hissed back as math class was dismissed. As Ragnarok thought, he had gotten a B- on a test, and he was afraid that if Ragnarok was whispering to him like that, the teacher might think they’re sharing the grades to each other.

When they finally got out of the classroom, Ragnarok asked, “What?”

“We’re going to combat class today, and Mr. Green said that we’re using simulation robots today. You know what that means?”

“He’s going to ask us to represent the class?”

“No, you idiot! Lei’s going to be there too!”

Ragnarok sighed, “You’re desperate for a girlfriend, aren’t you?”

“Oh, shut up!”

“Fine,” Ragnarok said as he passed the data card to Hinako, “you give the data card to her. I want to see how much you can screw up.”

“What an interesting idea,” Mikado laughed as she caught up with the two down the hall, “Hinako, you better paint your cheeks white before Lei could see them turning red.”

“Shut up!” Hinako laughed as he nudged Mikado slightly. Mikado responded with a straight punch.

“That should shut him up for a while,” Mikado smiled deviously as Hinako choked for air. Ragnarok laughed uneasily.

*****

“Alright, now listen up!” Mr. Green barked to the twenty-three students assembled straightly in a line, “You’ve learned almost everything I can teach you. You know the moves, but you lack the experience. From today, we’ll be putting your newfound skills into use. You first be using simulators, then real life simulators, then mind simulators, until your damn sick of the simulators and want the real thing. Then I’ll give you some skirmishes. Is that clear!?”

“Sir, yes sir!” the students hollered.

“We’ll be practicing with armored suit combat, our home’s front lines. Armored suit combat ranges from far ranges. There are automatons, and giant armor suits. What you get depends on your skill, patience, and endurance. Are you up to it!?”

“Sir, yes sir!”

“We have many mechanic warfare divisions in U.W. We’ve got Genesis, first of its class, which division conducts ground zero attacks. We’ve got Exodus, who is known for its lethal attacks from the sky. And we’ve got Revelation, the newest division of mechanic warfare that specializes in both ground and aerial warfare, and the members are right here in the classroom. Hinako Brar, Ragnarok Falcon, Lei Loyola, step forward!”

Immediately, the three stepped forward without hesitation. The students would’ve started murmuring amongst each other if they were in any other class besides this one. “These three are the backbone of the newest Revelation divisions. Every military supervisor has taken extreme precaution in choosing these pilots. With the combination of the pilots’ skills and the extreme technology, these soldiers are more likely to come home alive than any other soldier. These three students are the soldiers that make up Revelation!” Ragnarok blushed and he can feel that Hinako was probably turning red also.

“Step down!” Mr. Green barked, and the three went back into line.

“The simulators you are about to see are state of the art. The cockpits of the simulators are designed so that your mind will be tapped into the simulator. You will have full control of your suit, no doubt. You will engage in a few exercises in the simulator that I will relay to you. Hinako, Ragnarok, Lei, you are obviously on the top of this lesson. You probably know more than me, so you will head your class and explain everything to your classmates. Is that understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!” the three saluted.

“Alright,” Mr. Green said as he pressed a button. Immediately, a curtain that had not caught the students’ attention swept left, and the students were staring at  thirty simulators in a line.

The students immediately stepped beside each simulator. Mr. Green shouted, “Get into your simulators!” and the students climbed into the capsule shaped simulators.

As soon as the simulators closed, Mr. Green’s voice was heard over the P.A. “Attention. I will now activate radio communications. From there, Hinako, Ragnarok, and Lei will start the class.”

“Alright,” Ragnarok started, “As you can see, a computer screen has been projected right in front of you. Normally, this doesn’t show up in your Revelation, but I assume its just a simulation aspect, so just listen up. The monitor obviously lets you choose the pieces you want for your Revelation. So, there are a some things you have to equip. Head, radar, back weapon, arms, arm weapon or weapons, legs, central, generator, and wings. Now, choose your Revelation parts. Each will have an spec report, yeah, yeah, you get the point.”

“Now, choose your Revelation pieces,” Hinako said, “and within five minutes, we’ll start the simulation…hopefully. Remember, each Revelation has a weight and power limit, so don’t exceed the limit by making your Revelation too powerful. It can’t always have the very best parts. Lei, do you have anything to add to that?”

Her answer, as Ragnarok and Hinako had expected, was, “No.”

“Oh yeah,” Hinako added, “just a little basic. The Revelation suit is like a suit of armor, so expect the Revelation to be just about your size. Don’t expected it to be big and large.”

As the other classmates customized their Revelation, Ragnarok, Hinako, and Lei started to upload their custom Revelation to the simulator. Almost immediately, the three pilots were done.

Finally, five minutes were up. The classmates were ready. “Alright,” Hinako said, “Mr. Green, we’re ready to start the simulator.”

Spectrums of light flashed through the monitor. Finally, when the light cleared, they, the Revelations, were standing in a forest simulation. Everyone was there. All twenty-three of them. Ragnarok immediately recognized the Revelations of Hinako and Lei’s. Mikado took a bit longer to look for, and soon, they were all assembled. A single class.

The Revelation suits were well designed. Ranging very much, they were mechanical armor that coated the user from head to toe. In the real thing, the armor would be attached directly onto your body. But for now, Ragnarok felt much more comfort than the real Revelation armor.

“Attention,” Mr. Green’s voice echoed over the P.A., “in a few moments, your heads will be connected with the simulator. You will be navigating with your mind, not your body. The simulator will evoke your nerves so you will feel pain, but it will not kill you. This is going to be a free for all battle. Every one of you will be pitched  in battle in the forest. Hinako, Ragnarok, Lei, you will not participate in battle. You will be watching the battle overhead.”

“Understood,” the three chorused together. Immediately, all of them felt drowsy. Ragnarok felt that this was probably the effects of having the mind connected to the simulator, because in a few moments, his head cleared, and he was wide awake.

“Alright,” Ragnarok said, “I know this exercise pretty well. Move into a desired position and wait for me to launch a missile in the air to start battle. The battle will last five minutes. We’ll see who’s left standing.” The classmates scattered.

“How do you think they’ll do?” Hinako asked.

“I don’t know,” Ragnarok admitted, “never seen them in combat before. But I like the layout of the blue on over there. It’s number is 15. Fast and maneuverable legs and wings, light but strong armor with plenty of shielding, great wide radar, machine gun in one hand, Desert Eagle in the other, strong energy weapon as a back weapon, I like that. Very powerful combination.”

“I think the red 16 over there is pretty good. Very powerful armor all the way and a surprising speed for someone with that much armor. Average shielding. Rocket launcher as a arm weapon and missile launcher at the back. Hey Lei, what do you like?”

Lei didn’t respond for a moment, then she said, “Orange 5. It belongs to Helen. Her legs are heavy and powerful, but the rest of her armor is light. She has a beam saber in one hand and a automatic in the other. Chain gun in the back, close range radar.”

“Nice,” Ragnarok said, “Do you think I should launch the missile now?”

“It’s your call.”

Ragnarok nodded and fired a missile in the air. For a moment, there was silence. Then gunfire erupted below.

“Oh look,” Hinako laughed, “My number 16 already has a victim! And…there goes that green Revelation! She’ll be down until this round ends! It’s hard to resist a lot of rockets, you know.”

“Look,” Ragnarok pointed at a cliff, “a sniper. She positioned at a very good place. Rocks on all sides but the front to cover her.”

“Well duh,” Hinako laughed, “That’s Mikado!”

Ragnarok blushed and laughed, “Oh yeah! I forgot!”

It was obvious that the interest of Ragnarok and Hinako unusually interested Lei as well because she started talking. “I admire the battle style of the 15 Ragnarok chose. He’s taking quite a lot of air and attacking. No one can hit him, but I can expect that if someone has good aim, the 15 will be blasted out of the air.”

“Revelation team,” Mr. Green said through the radio, “I’m sending over a copy of the program the shows the statistics of the simulations. You should receive them in a moment.” Mr. Green was right. Within moments, a map showed up in the three pilots’ heads, as well as the statistics of every classmate, and who was still active. There were still sixteen students left fighting.

“Four down already,” Hinako said, “all with pretty light layouts. If that’s the case, I don’t think a lot of people in our class have bad aim.”

“That will remind me to grab heavier armor,” Ragnarok said, “There’s still about three minutes left.”

“Whoa, Mikado’s in trouble. Lei’s…well, Helen’s Orange 5 is simply pinning down Mikado with her chain gun.”

“If I were her, I would probably use the spread gun. Even though accuracy is low, the effect usually scares the enemy. Hey look, we’ve got three people in a dogfight.” Ragnarok pointed in the air to see three Revelations in the air, rapidly firing at each other. A missile flew at one of the Revelations, and it was jettisoned into a tree. However, the other Revelation shot rapid machine gun fire at the other, completely shooting off the right wing of his enemy. It dove straight for the ground.

“That was Blue 15!” Ragnarok laughed, “Hinako, you owe me some money!”

“We never betted on it,” Hinako replied smartly.

“Oh shut up, don’t cut the fun. We’ve still got two minutes. Only nine students left on the field.”

“Yeah, I have my own little program Mr. Green sent us, you know?”

The last nine were holding up a strong gunfight. Mikado, still pinned down by Helen, was exchanging rapid gunfire through her pistols. Ragnarok’s Blue 15 was doing aerial combat with Red 16. Missiles flew out of Red 16 and laser beams did likewise out of Blue 15. Meanwhile, there was very little gunfire between the other five students that were still alive.

“One minute…” Ragnarok said. It was still the same sequence until…

“Ha! Ragnarok, look!” Hinako pointed at the dogfight that took place in the air. Ragnarok only saw the Blue 15 Revelation crash to the ground, but he knew what that meant.

“Oh, nuts!” Ragnarok laughed and patted Hinako on the shoulder.

“You owe me some money!” Hinako laughed smartly.

“We never betted on it!” Ragnarok laughed equally as smartly.

“Well,” Lei’s quiet voice said, “Mikado finally was able to defeat Helen.” Ragnarok and Hinako looked; Helen’s Revelation was lying on the ground, motionless, while Mikado was firing at a different target.

“Sweet,” Hinako said, “How did that happen?”

“Mikado was able to sneak to another rock, and while Helen was still firing at the old rock, Mikado took the opportunity to snipe at Helen’s head.”

“Ouch,” Ragnarok laughed, “The simulator’s going to give her a headache.”

“Ten seconds, six students left.”

Ten seconds flashed by. Suddenly, all of the Revelation suits were standing in another arena. Everyone looked around; this time, the simulator took a lobby as a setting.

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Nine-hundred ninety-nine billion nine-hundered ninety-nine million nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall...

Wha...no one wants to read my story...  

*****

Chapter Three
Rising

“The forest was the first type of training we had,” Ragnarok said to the class, “and this is the second one. The forest was the first type of combat we had, kind of all around. Almost anything can fit in the scenario. Now, we take a turn in the lobby, where close range fighting is mandatory. Here, I trust that quick and rapid weapons will gain and advantage, and that you should worry more about staying alive and building your defense instead of trying to kill someone and use your offense.”

“As you can see,” Lei said, “There is a balcony. However, it is very dangerous; if you don’t duck, you’re exposed to fire on all sides. Also, a door in a back doesn’t make your back very secure. Not sniper heaven if you ask me.”

“There’s also another balcony,” Hinako pointed out, “that takes you around the second level. Now note that we’ve limited the area, so a lot of the doors are bolted shut, and won’t even blow up to your rocket launcher. How that’s possible, we don’t know, but we’re not supposed to go past the doors.”

“Alright,” Ragnarok said, “splitting up here is going to be quite hard, because almost everywhere you stand you will be exposed to fire. So this will be difficult, and I’d like to see how many students are still alive in the first thirty seconds. This battle will only take two minutes. Scatter.” The students obeyed.

“Start!” Ragnarok yelled moments later. The lobby became crowded with gunfire. Orange streaks flew all over the place as rubble flew, Revelations dropped, and the rapid sound of gunfire sounded more like a loud hum than rapid bangs.

By the time two minutes was finally up, only three Revelations were standing: Helen’s Orange 5, Blue 15, and Mikado, which was Purple 6.

Again, the simulator changed the setting. As the students looked around, they were in a desert. “We’ve learned to take cover behind various objects,” Hinako started, “In the forest, you hid behind rocks and trees. In the lobby, you ducked against pillars and walls. Heck, I even saw someone hide behind a flower vase before being hit by a Desert Eagle.” Various chuckles swept the classroom.

“But this time,” Hinako continued, “We’re going to see what’s going to happen when all the things you can hide behind are taken away from you. Only a flat plain. A tip: The sky can be your best friend right now.” Almost immediately, three-fourths of the class jumped up and activated their wings as they took the skies.

“Start!” Ragnarok shouted. Quickly, the Revelations opened fire. But the bullets suddenly stopped in midair. The simulation stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Hinako asked, suddenly tense.

Suddenly, their minds felt much clearer. Ragnarok felt that they were out of the simulation and back in the capsules. Inside, the lights were blaring red. “Attention!” a voice said, “This is a top priority alert! All members of Genesis, Exodus, and Revelation, report to the hangar bay now! Everyone else, evacuate to a safety shelter! This is no damn drill! I repeat…”

“That means us!” Lei shouted as she got out of the simulator to Ragnarok and Hinako, “Let’s go!”

“Mikado, stay alive when we get back,” Hinako said to her sister as he got out of the capsule.

“You too, Hinako,” Mikado whispered.

“Come on!” Ragnarok shouted to Hinako, “We got to go!” Hinako nodded and ran down with Ragnarok.

Outside, people were scrambling left and right. The order that normally was in the halls were now replaced with panic. Students all around were running around, screaming, shouting, yelling. The older students were directing the others to the nearest shelters while the younger ones followed. All making the Revelation team disrupted in getting to the hangar.

When they finally did get to the hangar bay, Genesis team was already dressed in their Genesis suits, and Exodus was still getting dressed. Genesis and Exodus were teams made of mostly young adults. Genesis had ten people in the group, Exodus had six, and Revelation obviously had three.

“Revelation team here,” Lei said to the nearest military supervisor, “I’m Lei Loyola, Revelation leader.”

“Get into your Revelation,” the supervisor said, “We don’t have much time.”

“Yes, sir.” The Revelation team saluted, and climbed into a machine. The machine was operated to put the armor on to maximum stability. When the three were situated into the machine, a metal hatch closed over them.

Ragnarok had been in the process many times. First, the central unit was lowered. The power generator had already been loaded onto it. The two plates were pressed together on his front and back part of his upper body, and a machine drilled the screws together. Then the arm and leg plates. Like the central units, two body plates were pressed in on both sides, then screwed together. Then came the weapons. The back weapons were put on by a machine while the arm weapons were lowered in front of him. Ragnarok easily grabbed his energy machine gun and his pistol and put it in a harness attached to his hip. The radar was lowered onto his left shoulder. The wings were carefully attached onto his back. Finally, the head armor. The helmet came slowly to his head. Ragnarok closed his eyes as the helmet was put onto his head. When the helmet was safely attached, the visor started glowing red. He looked around; the new helmet he ordered seemed to be in working order.

The hatch opened and Ragnarok jumped out swiftly. The humanoid armor provided maximum flexibility in body movement. Lei jumped out too. Her armor was a bit lighter than what Ragnarok had. Her helmet looked like an arrowhead. And a loud crash on the right side of Ragnarok told that Hinako’s heavy armor had jumped out from the machine. His thick armor made him look much larger than he really was, and his head almost disappeared behind his shoulder armor and back weapons.

“Hinako Brar,” the supervisor said, “I believe I have told you not to do that.”

“Sorry sir,” Hinako said sheepishly as he blushed.

“Alright, seeing you’re all here, we have an emergency mission. Obviously, it’s an emergency. That’s the only thing we have you guys handle with. Two hours ago, we had found enemy satellites closing on us with weapons. We had intended to take them on later, because we expected them to reach us an hour from now. Obviously, we were wrong. Giga City, thirty miles north, has been attacked. If we don’t get you in an offensive formation now, they will attack us. You are to go into space and destroy the satellites. Expect anything. We have provided rockets for all of you. Get ready!”

“Yes, sir!” nineteen soldier chorused in unison. Ragnarok looked around. Nineteen soldiers. He may not see many of them again. There was even a great chance he would not come back.

The nineteen soldiers walked out a gate and into broad daylight. Outside, ten rockets were lined side-by-side. Technicians immediately started to attach the soldiers onto the rockets roughly. The lighter suits were put in three on a rocket, the mediums had two on a rocket, and the heavy ones like Hinako had one for themselves. Their backs were attached to a thick stick of metal. A whirring and click told Ragnarok that he was attached.

“Once you get into space,” the technician said to Ragnarok’s rocket, “the machines will automatically release you. Movement will be conducted by rockets. You get back with retro-rockets too. You had space training before, right?”

“Not really, sir,” the three soldiers on the rocket answered.

After every Revelation suits were attached onto the rockets, the technicians ran from the launch pads. “T-minus sixty seconds and counting,” the speakers said. Nearby, Ragnarok could hear someone muttering a prayer. Only if he could be sure prayers worked…

“T-minus thirty seconds and counting…” Ragnarok looked around. All around him, he could feel the people tense. It wasn’t something he could see, but he could feel it. Or perhaps it was only him…

“T-minus fifteen seconds and counting…” The whirring of the machine began to be audible. Sweat began to pour down Ragnarok’s forehead. If only he could wipe it away…

“T-minus ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…” The flames burst from the rockets. Deafening sounds blasted into Ragnarok’s eardrum. Ragnarok gritted his teeth as he withstood the pain of the pressure pressing into his ear. He was sure the others were experiencing the same thing.

After a few seconds, the pressure didn’t push into his ears, but into his head. They had went far past the speed of sound, and the rockets didn’t sound as loud anymore. But the speed did, as it pressed down on the armor.

Suddenly, an explosion. An nearby rocket which was carrying members of Genesis and Exodus exploded in midair. First, it sped quickly past the other rockets in flames, but then slowed down as it split apart into debris. One soldier, part of Genesis, was able to break free and fly away from the wreckage, but the other two started to plummet toward the ground.

Ragnarok was shocked, but not surprised. In such a hurried deployment, there had to be something wrong. Ragnarok watched as the debris fell quickly away from view.

Finally, Ragnarok could feel the pressure lessen. He looked up as the retrorockets kicked into commission. The rocket floated in the void. They were in space.

Suddenly, another explosion. Just as three soldiers left the rocket, a thick laser beam blasted a rocket. The concussion pushed all the other rockets away, but no other serious damage.

Ragnarok felt himself being released as he felt free to move around. He used his rockets to move himself around. Looking up, he saw Black Market satellites floating above the United World ones. A laser beam sliced through the void toward a U.W. satellite. The U.W. satellite quickly moved a large mirror to deflect the blast, but missing the Black Market Satellite. Immediately, another blast from a different Black Market satellite sliced through the middle of the U.W. satellite, causing it to explode rapidly.

“This is Genesis leader,” a voice said through the radio, “All leaders, report in!”

“This is Revelation leader reporting in!” Lei’s voice crackled through.

“Exodus leader was caught in the rocket explosion earlier!” a voice said, “He’s dead!”

“Fine!” Genesis leader said, “Who’s Exodus 2?”

“He was killed also!”

“What about Exodus 3?”

“Here, sir!” another voice said.

“You’re promoted to Exodus leader! Report in!”

“Yes, sir! Exodus leader, reporting in!”

“Genesis unit, move left and forward! Take cover behind the satellites!”

“This is Revelation leader!” Lei shouted, “Revelation unit, move right and give Genesis Unit cover!”

“This is Exodus leader!” the previous Exodus 3 said, “Move forward for a direct strike toward enemy satellites! Break formation after 100 away from target!”

“Target analysis complete! Twenty-nine targets!”

“Affirmative, Revelation leader!” Genesis leader said, “Genesis squadron, try to get two satellites for each man!”

Their move began. The Revelation unit moved right, the Genesis unit went left and front, and the Exodus unit charged.

“Be prepared to break formation!” Exodus leader shouted.

“This is Exodus 6! I’m picking up high energy signals from the opposition!”

“Break formation!” Exodus leader screamed. The Exodus unit split apart just as an ion beam sliced through their previous formation. It was aimed toward Earth.

“Careful not to let those things hit you!” Lei shouted.

“Revelation 2!” Lei shouted, “Prepare for a circular hit and run!”

Revelation 2 was Ragnarok.

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Nine-hundred ninety-nine billion nine-hundered ninety-nine million nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall...

Chapter Four
Falling

Ragnarok knew he didn’t hear wrong. Lei wanted him to attack.

“Yes, sir!” Ragnarok shouted as he began his path in a circle.

“Genesis unit,” Genesis leader said, “move and attack in a right hook!”

Now the play seemed perfect. The Exodus were just seconds from attacking the satellites. Genesis was moving in to cover. Ragnarok himself was conducting a speedy hit and run. Nothing can go wrong…”

“Attention all units!” Exodus leader shouted, “Opposition has machine guns! ARGGHHHH!” Exodus leader exploded as machine guns punched holes in his armor.

“Exodus unit!” a new voice said, “This is Exodus 4! We only have three units left! I will put myself in position of Exodus leader!”

“Revelation leader!” Hinako shouted, “I’m moving in to cover Revelation 2!”

“Granted, Revelation 3!” Lei replied hurriedly, “I’ll cover both of you!” The two dove from their shields of satellites and headed toward the shields.

“This is Exodus leader! Three satellites have been destroyed! Twenty-six left!”

“This is Genesis leader! Be advised, opposition have advanced tracking systems! Shake them off as best as you can! Intel did not provide complete information, so be prepared! We are currently attacking the enemy! Revelation leader, what’s your status?”

“We’re conducting a hit and run, and will enter from the rear after!” Lei replied.

“Negative!” Hinako suddenly cut in, “We’ll exit after completing a 240 degree circle!”

“Revelation 3, that was a direct order! We will conduct a 540 degree circle before moving into direct combat!”

“That’s a negative!”

Ragnarok was puzzled. Hinako was not the type of person who argues with another, nor was he the one that came up with brilliant plans.

“Fine,” Lei sighed, “You will conduct a 240 degree circle, Ragnarok and I will conduct a 540 degree one!”

Ragnarok could tell Lei was exasperated. During combat, Lei had never called him by his true name, always Revelation 2. Her mind must be finally breaking down, Ragnarok thought.

Soon, rapid machine gun fire erupted. Exodus unit was already sweeping left and right like a broom while Genesis unit was flying all over the place. Revelation unit began to open fire.

Ragnarok made the first shot. Shooting six missiles out of his rocket launchers, he immediately locked on to six different satellites. Then, pulling out his machine gun, he quickly add fire to the combat area. Hinako came next. Taking his rocket launcher, he wildly shot all over the place as rockets zoomed their way to the combat area. He fired a shot of an energy weapon to add to the destruction. Lei moved in closely to the satellites and quickly fired her automatics. Added with the armor-piercing guns, the area became a rain of bullets.

“All units, clear the combat area!” Lei shouted. The results were dramatic. The Genesis and Exodus retreated just before Ragnarok’s missiles hit the first six satellites. He was not very lucky though; only three missiles hit vital points of the satellite that made them explode. His machine gun did little better as it only struck holes in the satellites, allowing gas and coolant oil to leak out rapidly. Hinako’s results were devastating. Rockets burst along a trail of satellites as his energy weapon exploded just as they were in the heart of the satellites’ formation. Lei’s results were the worst. She only struck down one satellite and did not damage another. All together, Revelation unit hit twelve satellites. Fourteen left.

“Good job, Revelation unit!” Genesis leader whooped, “We’ll continue our sweep through the satellites.”

“We’ve got a target coming from Earth,” Lei suddenly said, “Identity is Revelation 4. Could it be…?”

“Attention all units!” a familiar voice crackled through, “This is Revelation 4! I will start giving cover behind the satellites!”

“Mikado!” Hinako gasped, “What the hell are you doing out here!?”

“General Vincent told me to get into a Revelation. He told me that the simulator was evidently the test I needed to get through. Enough with the talk! I’m engaging sniper cover!”

“Affirmative, Revelation 4!” Lei said, “Welcome to the team.”

“Mikado…you’ll be alright, right?” Hinako asked worriedly.

“I’ll be fine!” Mikado said, “Just worry about your own hide!”

A sniper bullet flew from Mikado’s sniper as it struck another satellite. An explosion erupted and blasted the satellite into another, causing both of them to explode.

“Attention all units,” Exodus leader said, “There are ten units of opposition left.”

“Wait! This is Genesis 7! I pick up immense energy readings from the satellites! They aren’t the ion cannons!”

Everyone looked. The satellites had moved. But it didn’t mean move around. They meant moved. Pieces of the satellite started moving.

First, the solar collectors of the satellite were covered by a coat of metal and retracted in by three feet. Next, the guns of the satellite were moved outward as the ion cannons were moved slightly upward. The bottom of the satellite split apart, and the pieces of the part started to resemble itself into a leg. Finally, a capsule popped out on top.

“Enemy satellite has transformed into enemy robots!” Exodus leader screamed, “All units, defensive retreat!”

“Negative!” Genesis leader said, “Genesis unit will provide full resistance!”

Suddenly, machine gun fire blasted all over the place. The void of space was penetrated with blasts of rapid bullets.

“This is Genesis 6! Where’s my cover…ARGHHH!”

“This is Genesis 4! I can’t take any more…” the radio went dead.

“This is…ARGHHH!”

“Genesis leader! This is Genesis 8! We’ve lost Genesis 4, 6, and 9! We only have six units left! We can’t take much more of this!”

“Alright,” Genesis leader sighed, “Defensive retreat!”

“I will provide you cover! Uh…this is Revelation 4!”

“Don’t our satellites have any offensive capabilities!?” Ragnarok screamed.

“Yes, but the enemy is not in firing range!” Genesis 5 replied.

“This is Genesis 2! I’m under fire! I repeat, I’ m under fire!”

“I’ll cover you!” Ragnarok said as he broke from formation and headed toward Genesis 2. He concentrated on his radar. Genesis 2 was at his 1’o clock position. Already, he could see Genesis 2 trying to shake off the enemy’s line of fire.

“I’ve got you…” Ragnarok whispered as he locked onto the enemy. He fired.

Three missiles flew out of Ragnarok’s missile launcher. The missiles closed in onto the enemy. The enemy turned and destroyed two of them, but the third blasted the enemy in the head, causing it to explode.

“Thanks, Revelation 2,” Genesis 2 sighed, “I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ragnarok said, “Get out of here!”

“This…Exodus leader…under fire…repeat…” Radio went dead.

“This is Exodus 5! Exodus 6, you and I are the only ones in Exodus that are alive now. Let’s make good use of it. Prepare to retreat behind…ARGHHHH!”

“Exodus 5!” Exodus 6 screamed, “Exodus 5! Oh my god, Exodus 5! All Exodus units respond! Oh god, don’t tell me I’m the only Exodus here!”

“Shake it off!” Genesis 2 shouted, “We have no time for remorse! Save it until the battle is over!”

“You bastards!” Exodus 6 screamed as he charged toward the robots. He shot through the first and second one, but the rest opened fire on him.

“Go to hell you…” He was gone.

“Exodus unit has been wiped out!” Lei shouted, “I repeat, Exodus unit has been wiped out!”

“Damn it!” Genesis 7 swore.

“Come on!” Genesis 3 said, “We can’t make the same mistake as Exodus 6! We must keep our calm!”

“There are eight targets left!” Lei said, “All units report in! This is Revelation leader!”

“Revelation 2 here!”

“Revelation 3 standing by!”

“Revelation 4 standing by!”

“This is Genesis leader!”

“This is Genesis 2!”

“Genesis 3 here!”

“This is Genesis 5!”

“Genesis 8 here!”

“Genesis 9 here!”

“We have ten units left!” Lei said, “Everyone take a unit! Immediate offensive movement now!”

The Genesis and Revelation immediately turned and released fire on the enemy. Mikado caught two on her sniper on a perfect ricochet. Lei charged through the first one as Hinako blasted the second. Ragnarok was facing off another enemy with great difficulty. Genesis team was already under heavy stress; it didn’t take a man for themselves, they simply flew around and fired at the nearest enemy.

“Six units left!” Lei said.

“Revelation leader, watch out!” Hinako suddenly shouted. Machine gun fire struck Lei at the side, but no serious damage. However, just as Lei took evasive action, the enemy was on her tail.

“Revelation 3, cover me!” Ragnarok shouted, “I’m going to help out Revelation leader!”

“Roger, Revelation 2!” Hinako agreed as he blasted the enemy behind Ragnarok. Ragnarok dove after the enemy. Just like Exodus 2, Ragnarok told himself, there’s nothing to worry about.

“I’m coming, Lei!” Ragnarok shouted as he pulled the trigger of his machine gun. Machine gun fire shot around the enemy, then into the center. At first, the arm of the robot was shot off. The robot broke away from Lei and tried to evade, but was destroyed seconds later by a bullet straight in the head by Genesis leader.

“No problems, Revelation 2?” Genesis leader asked.

“No problems,” Ragnarok replied, “Thanks for the assist, Genesis leader. Lei, are you alright?”

“Although I’d prefer you call me Revelation leader,” Lei said, “thanks for covering me.”

“No problem,” Ragnarok said.

“This is Genesis leader. We have four more targets. Prepare for full offensive movement.”

“Roger, Genesis leader,” Lei said, “Revelation unit, move in!”

Ragnarok nodded, although he knew it was not seen, and fired four missiles from his missile launcher. It was not necessary. Bullets sprayed from Genesis unit immediately destroyed the rest of the opposition.

“Area clear,” Genesis leader sighed, “we won.”

“At a great price though,” Lei reminded, “We lost Exodus unit and much of Genesis unit.”

“God…” Genesis 2 whispered softly.

“Let’s get home,” Genesis leader said, “We still have some reports to file.”

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Nine-hundred ninety-nine billion nine-hundered ninety-nine million nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall...