Arc of the Souls Chapter 102: Arc 3, Chapter 25 - Preparations

Read chapter 102 of Arc of the Souls by Noyr on NovelPedia.

Claude and Mikael ran from one end to the other, passing the few soldiers that were present on the Soul-Core station. In that hurried motion, Claude fumbled to put his comms in his ear. “Dang it, why the rush!?” Mikael asked hurriedly. “Code 9002, Mikael! It doesn't get worse than that!” Claude yelled over the alarm. “That code is only reserved for allies that get attacked! Did we forget who rules over Kobaji!?” “Looks like the General's planning something that involves White Eye.” Claude responded back, “If White Eye falls, then the Eastern Region is completely under their control. That gives them an easy passage to Testharia.” “So they send us to pull them out of their rears.” Mikael summed up, now running side-by-side with Claude. “Nanasu...” he panted. “Where is she?” His mind kept flashing back to her final, vulnerable face in the barracks, a split second before chaos erupted. Was she leaving? Was she safe? A knot formed in his stomach. One that refused to loosen. “Can't worry about that now, soldier!” Claude skidded to a halt in front of the heavy blast doors leading to the Star Gazer Squad's hangar. He slammed his palm against the authorization panel. “Let's gear up!” The announcer boomed throughout the station. -- “Soldiers. We hate to interrupt your busy schedules. An unexpected news report has come in from Fortner City.” -- Claude's gaze locked with Mikael's, listening to the announcer. -- “White Eye is in deep trouble. They are being pushed back by the Nextellar Star Clan. But now Dark Intrinium has joined the war as a co-belligerent.” -- Claude's jaw tightened. It almost sounds like Dark Intrinium wants to end the proxy war between the NSC and White Eye. -- “Dark Intrinium's justification for this abhorrent act of war is to annex it under their sovereignty. Kobaji is home to White Eye's most valuable assets, with Nextellar Star Clan trying to occupy it for many years. With Dark Intrinium interfering, it looks like they might lose the planet.” -- -- “For this once, we shall be assisting White Eye in their underlying troubles. Get to Fortner City, A.S.A.P! Your mission is to defend and push back the Dark Intrinium forces at all costs. The SGS, CRS and the Special Division will serve as reinforcements in this mission. 17th to 64th Ground Infantry will be deployed via dropships to the city to push back against Dark Intrinium and defend civilian targets from the Nextellar Star Clan. As your General, I order you to fight, and that's an order. Over and out.” -- Mikael wanted to ask about Nanasu again but decided to keep her cowardice to himself. While he usually kept a restrained poker face during high stress, this was different. He looked around for her blue hair, scanning the faces of the scrambling soldiers. Nothing. Just an almost haunted thousand-yard stare from him. Claude grabbed his shoulder, shaking him out of it. “Focus, soldier. Let's beat down some Dark Intrinium and come back for dinner!” He said with a wide grin, showing white teeth through the dark tension of the hangar. “Lena’s gonna make her special stew!” “Yessir.” said Mikael. He was trying to be the good soldier he was trained to be. The good soldier who didn't let personal feelings cloud his judgment. But the image of Nanasu's tear-streaked face, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder, was burned into the back of his eyelids. No amount of training had ever taught him how to scrub something like that off. “...” The blast doors ground open. Their shuttle waited inside, pristine and dormant, its white and blue paint job gleaming under the hangar lights. A new one. The provided upgrade. More spacious, faster, a stronger and larger assortment of weapons, a bigger cargo bay. It should have felt like Christmas. “Woah... they even got special grade H.A cannons.” Mikael ran a hand along the exterior as he walked toward the ramp, and even that came out flat. “We needed an upgrade... But this... even this is a bit much.” “AWESOME!” Claude yelled, because Claude