Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 13: D-Day

2 Days Later,

1st July 2043

Basement 3, R&D Facility 5,

Restricted Sector, Genaco Compound.

Suzuki and the rest of the Gladiator Trainees sat in a small conference room with several Full-Body Virtual Drives stacked horizontally across its walls. Across from the trainees stood Akarai Seki, who adjusted his glasses and regarded them sternly.

"First, I would like to commend you on your training this past week," Akari praised the nervous youths. "We have been paying attention to your planning and willingness to work together. Your decisions over the past week will reflect positively on your final assessment regardless of your mission's outcome."

The screen behind Akari turned on, revealing a top-down geographical layout of the mission's mountain range. Pulling up a picture of General Cassia next to the map, Akari said, "As you already know, your mission is to eliminate this General. What we have not told you is why." Akari glanced at every trainee pilot and then said, "Gladiator pilots are bountiful, but those capable of piloting Centurions are few and far between. Every Centurion pilot killed is a massive bonus to the overall war effort. In the setting of this mission, the alien invading force have a few Centurion pilots decimating Terra's local forces. The intelligence lucked out on finding this Centurion pilot tasked with securing the transportation of some sensitive materials. While we welcome any intel on the materials, your priority is only to eliminate Cassia. Are there any questions?"

Suzuki raised his hand and, when prompted, asked, "If the orbital elevator plays a considerable role in transporting these materials, are there any repercussions for blowing it up?"

Akari's eyes narrowed. "The orbital elevator is a multi-layered structure with foundations hundreds of meters deep. The foundations hold considerable weight, but a connected space-station orbiting Terra jointly supports the structure. In case of a breakage, the station sports powerful thrusters that can resist Terra's gravity. Blowing up a section of the elevator will not topple it if that's what you're thinking. At most, it will render it inoperable for a day or two while they perform repairs. So, no. I do not advise wasting resources to destroy the elevator. But to answer your real question, we might consider adding or removing some points depending on how any action affects the mission and its world."

"Understood." A dark light shone in Suzuki's eyes, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

Akari switched the camera to show a massive VTOL. "As per your leaders' recommendations, you will be transported via a single VTOL. They will also be responsible for your extraction, so plan accordingly. If there are no further questions, please enter the Full Drives so the assessment may begin. Taiga, and Minako, you both are exempted."

"Ah, and here I thought I'd sneak through," Taiga chuckled. He and Saeko remained in their seats while the rest walked over to the Full-Body Virtual Drives. All except Suzuki, who curiously walked over to crouch in front of Taiga and Saeko. Taiga's eyes brightened with apparent intrigue. Leaning forward, he whispered, "Hoho, I smell a conspiracy. What's going on in that devious mind, Suzu-tan?"

Suzuki coldly looked at both deviants and asked, "How much do you have in your accounts?"

"Oh my, what crazy plan are you thinking this time." Taiga's smile widened, mischief written all over his face. Without another word, he yanked out his phone and checked his account. "I've got just over 250 million Yen, but only 68 available. Why?"

Suzuki looked at Saeko, who nodded and said, "About the same available for me. Why?"

Suzuki frowned as he took out his phone and searched for something, his brows relaxing somewhat when he found it. "Just about enough," whispered Suzuki in relief. He then looked at the aberrants and asked, "Do you trust me?"