Yuren's first instinct was to check his computer; he rushed over to his desk. Finding his usual chair occupied by a soldier.
"What are you doing?"
"C-c-commander Gotsutoa?! You're back?!" The soldier stared in shock before scrambling out of his seat.
"What were you doing? Tell me?" He demanded as the man froze.
"I was order to look at the android's management system... But it appears to be locked down by the Final User protocol. I didn't see anything." The man swiftly stuttered.
"Of course because it's stored on my NUWA, the program on my computer is for transfering the android's performance logs. So who ordered to snoop around?"
"Uhhh.... General Saratoga?" The young trooper's eyes darted from him to the ground and back.
Yuren quickly reactivated his implant to make sure all of the battalion's androids were still together.
"Notice, all members are present and on standby." Naiola's voice echoed through his mind; her familiarity sent a shiver down his spine.
"Out, out, out." He waved the soldier away, "Return to your station, you snoopy bastards. No one is to enter this office until further notice."
He watched the man stumble around, rush out the door, and slam it shut before collapsing into his chair, suddenly remembering that the Vice Minister had made the 701st a private force under contract to the military.
She has authorized him to lock down this system and transfer command to him. The generals probably wanted to take back control of the battalion, but didn't have the authorization.
The protocol locked control of the androids to him as the very last user, so their scheme wouldn't have worked regardless of what they tried; still, it was nice to see nothing had happened to his unit during his absence.
He decided to check his emails and notices, and one of them stuck out.
The Empire's grand council ended just a few days ago, and the new Vice Minister for the Ministry of Defense is now in effect.
The former Vice Minister Amalia VolStenthorn was reported missing.
Missing? That was incredibly concerning, considering how well planned she was, especially the last few days before her scheduled appearance on the council meeting. Her schedule was packed from early dawn to late evening, with meetings and briefings between herself and her peers.
How could someone so busy disappear? Was there a reason? Was it forced? No such thing had been stated, but why would she vanish without leaving a trace?
Missing person case or assassination and cover-up? It was honestly too early to tell, but this information needs to be brought to attention.
"Naiola, is Amalia really gone?" Yuren swiveled to glance at her, finding a set of lights glowing, and he decided against speaking. Using the implant and projecting his mental voice into her network, rather than physically making noise.
"Yes. The vice Minister was last seen via security footage entering an aircraft, shortly after you had disappeared with the apocalypse class Meteorn." The android replied via the connection.
"And you're sure it's her?"
"Absolutely. I have confirmed that it was her. Her nuwa's last active connection to the military network was at the hanger she was last seen."
"What about the aircraft? Where did it go?"
"There are no records of a flight plan, no recorded activity. Unregistered identification number, logs for the aircraft do not exist. It cannot be tracked." She replied, "Also, the NUWA used by the Vice Minister is no longer active."
"Huh? Did someone kill her?"
"Unclear, unable to confirm." Naiola shook her head.
The door hissed as it opened. Lina stepped in, sighing. "Please come back, Yuren... at least for a day... the battalion can spend anything without your confirmation." She stopped in surprise as she turned and saw him.
"Am I seeing things? Can androids hallucinate?!" Lina eyed him from the doorway.
"Negative. Androids cannot hallucinate." Naiola replied flatly.
"Naiola please..." Lina gave her a side glance, "And Yuren how did you get back so quietly? Are you okay? The Meteorn didn't do anything to you did they?"
"Please reword that question. If the Meteorn were to attack or harm Commander Gotsutoa, he would not have arrived in the battalion's office."
"Naiola goddamn it!" Lina pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
Yuren chuckled a little, shaking his head. "Yeah... it's me. I've returned. It looks like I was left with a lot of administrative mess to clean up. As for what they did... well actually... they show me a few things."
"Nothing harmful right?"
"I'm more traumatized by some revelation."
"Like?"
"I'll tell you later, not here." The boy's smile was gone; he rose to his feet and pushed his chair in. "Have the unit board the Eisendrache. We need to leave. Have Ester organize everything we need for a long deployment and wait with the rest of the battalion on board."
"Wha-what?"
"I have terminated our contract with the military. It will be a while before they get the message. I highly doubt they would do anything rash now because I'm back. But first I need to get you all out of here before they try to pull something."
"H-hold on, what? What are you saying?" Lina stood in his way as he walked by.
"What I'm telling you is simple, we are no longer a part of the military. And I'm taking the 701st with me." Yuren looked directly in her eye, "We are going on our own now."
Lina's concerned expression only grew as she shook her head, reaching out to grab him. "Does this have to do with what you were told?"
"It has a lot to do with it to be honest. But we can talk about it here." Yuren pushed the girl's arm away, "for now, do as I said, gather the unit. We leave right away. Naiola, you too, get to the ship."
"Yes sir." Naiola pushed herself off her charging stand and followed.
"I need to speak with Colonel Iraj before I go. We'll leave when I get back." He left Lina standing there, dumbfounded, and left, heading for the elevator.
The battalion's block was quiet, void of the soldiers that usually walked the halls, the military's emblem was still proudly displayed, and the same posters remained intact on the walls.
Yuren rode the lift to the ground floor and stepped out. He could see into the main hall, and there were no meetings in progress.
Only several notices about a project to restore the northern district of the imperial capital, construction would begin as soon as the city began accepting bids for contractors.
He shook his head and made his way to the strategic command offices, dodging a few glances.
Yuren slipped in the hall unnoticed. He proceeded down the wide corridor and opened the door to the center room. He peered inside, and the staff was dutifully doing their work.
Colonel Iraj glanced up from his console, "C-commander Gotsutoa!?!"
The conversations in the room came to a halt as he walked inside, looking around the room.
"You're looking at the real me. Good thing I didn't miss you guys..."
"Give us a report, where is the Apocalypse class? What happened when it took you?" General Rolf moved closer.
"Where are the Meteorn located? Even Requiem hasn't been able to locate them." General Vult looked around anxiously.
"Can you give us coordinates? The Kingdom will work together with us on this to dispatch a cooperative assault." General Sennheiser added.
General Saratoga remained silent, though observing intently, avoiding eye contact.
Yuren cleared his throat, "I'm not going to tell you anything about them, the Kingdom or anyone else."
"Are you seriously going to commit treason? WHERE ARE THEY?!" General Lazlo demanded.
"Nowhere." Yuren placed his hands on his hips, "While I'm here, I want to revoke the contractual agreement between the 701st Division and Argentia Imperial Military."
General Sennheiser drew his gun, "Think very carefully about what you are doing boy. Or did they brainwash you?"
Yuren stayed his ground as the weapon was aimed at him; his determined stare did not falter.
"Why does it have to be this way?" General Lazlo added in disappointment, "What did they promise you that has suddenly changed you like this?"
"They promised me nothing." Yuren simply replied, "it's what I was shown."
"You believe lies so easily?" Rolf frowned as he loaded his gun, raising it toward the boy.
This wasn't going as he hoped it would, but the truth that was once hidden from the eyes of the innocent bystanders, the ignorant crowds, the naïve fools, and those living in bliss had turned the hearts and minds of all those gathered into cold hatred towards him.
Yuren sighed deeply and shrugged. "If this is how it's going to be, go on then... fine." He raised his hands and closed his eyes, "I'm going to need some help here."
The ceiling suddenly burst open, and Jytenreu slammed onto the floor behind Yuren. Her tail aimed at the generals, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"N-Nidhogg?!" Sennheiser cried in shock.
"Ha! These worms are threatening you, Master?" Jytenreu swung her tail around Yuren protectively. "Do you want me to torch them?"
Rolf fired several shots at her, the rounds simply bounced off her armored tail, like water off a duck's back.
General Saratoga glanced to his companion in silence, choosing to remain passive.
"He has Nidhogg with him?!" One of the support staff cried in fear.
Jytenreu's tail came down from the ceiling and slammed onto the console, cracking the structure, making the generals jump.
"Save your pathetic weapons for yourselves! My master is being kind to you. So you'd best listen." Jytenreu warned with her voice full of venom.
"Master?! What is the meaning of this, Yuren?" Iraj gritted his teeth, watching as the boy crossed his arms.
Yuren took a deep breath and remembered what Esotonia taught him. He focused on drawing in resonance energy. He slowly closed his right hand, concentrating on creating a small sphere of distortion. The air in the room seemed to tense up around him; his clothes shifted ever so slightly in response.
His eyes turned red, with a distinct black slit, as the others around him watched in shock.
"I simply found out what I truly am, and why I came to be," Yuren explained, his voice echoing slightly.
The generals, support staff, and Colonel Iraj. All of them watched him in disbelief, the young boy before them.
"And what I want is for you to release the 701st division. Void the contract and give me Bei and Jia's bodies. You can't have them." Yuren's body was enveloped in the same red energy as Jytenreu as they stared.
"You are as good as a traitor!" Rolf clenched his fists and shouted.
Yuren's eyes began to hurt; there were so many people here, the mass of individuals flooding into his senses. He did his best to reduce the detection range.
General Lazlo looked to his colleagues, his expression uncertain, "release the androids. Void their contracts." He lowered his head, "This is our loss."