BFSV-16 Polaris's Story

PROLOGUE: HAVEN

Year xx57, Aftermath Era.

The sun shined high above the vast, nigh endless stretch of the Gobi desert. The millennia-old, deep tan sand seemed fluid and soft, like an unmoving, all-encompassing ocean. Scraps of metal littered the dune surfaces, some small as a babe, others large as a battleship. But all were wrinkled, grey, and rusted.

Hundreds of baby blue tents stood in the middle of the desert, a temporary settlement, housing those who had come long and far to find a semblance of hope in a hopeless world. Men, women, and child alike waited anxiously under the scorching heat. Thousands formed lines, queuing in front of a red tent, where the Black Fang organization promised to provide food and supplies.

After hours of shuffling and feeling every corner of his body nearly combusting, a tall youth in a featureless black shirt and dusty tan pants stepped forward, his weary black eyes glancing to the large woman in front of him, clad in a pink apron and face mask and standing besides a large iron tin filled with gallons of pale yellow soup. To a normal man, the sight and scent would be nothing special. To the starving refugees, it was like a blessing from God.

The youth held up a small white bowl, which the woman quickly filled. He grimaced at the contents of the bowl for a few seconds. After so many dull hours, the soup felt like a pittance. Still, the young man nodded his thanks, then turned to leave.

"Nice hairdo," the woman remarked in a deadpan tone.

"Thanks," the youth replied just as flatly. He wondered if she was sincere. Probably not. The colossal mass of steel-grey spikes he called his hair could hardly be called 'fashionable'. But he liked it that way.

Out of the red tent, and back into the desert. The young man slowly looked up and squinted.

Before him, stood a gigantic landship. A mobile fortress of iron and steel, ten times the size of the temporary settlement, its rust red body shielding everyone from much of the unforgiving sun. Massive treads supported the vehicle, its rubbers new and almost free of dust and sand. Fifty cannons, each the size of five adult men, were mounted on both port and starboard sides of the mobile fortress.

Even after a week since he first arrived at this settlement, the spiky-haired youth could not stop marveling at the fortress.

An awe inspiring beacon of hope.

A refuge for the survivors of the unrelenting MASS onslaught.

"Haven".
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Hissing steam.

Rhythmic beating of metal.

All too familiar to those who took part in the construction of Mobile Fortress Haven. Nearly a year had passed since Black Fang's Arch Commander sent out his order. The workers, clad in their dirty blue overalls and oversized yellow helmets tolled through day and night to make sure the Mobile Fortress would be a stalwart place of refuge for the surviving humans of Eurasia.

"I need an english key, quick!"

"You got it!"

Orders shouted, tools exchanged. The workers moved swiftly as they delivered the finishing touches, sprinting upside down across the ceiling through magnetic boots, rolling through the interior with the aid of wheeled ladders...

Surveying the construction were two figures in Black Fang uniforms. The first, a tall, dark haired middle aged man with a gold-trimmed olive coat hanging loosely from his shoulder like a cloak. The second, a shorter young woman with bright orange hair and glassy green eyes, a neat and proper vermilion uniform on her person.

The two walked side by side, with the man, with one hand in his pocket, and another carrying a stainless steel flask, a casual smile gracing his face. The woman, in contrast, held a clipboard and pen in each hand, using the latter to tick away at several checkboxes.

"Commander Neuf, Section A and B are complete. The rooftops at Section C still need reinforcing, but it should be done by tonight," the young woman reported, maintaining a clear and formal tone.

The man, Base Commander Dix Neuf, gave a lax smile in response. "Good job, Tsubaki, send an alert to the Black Fang pilots. I want them to meet up with me at my office-"

"-Already done, sir," the young woman, Operator Tsubaki Horizon, quickly replied, the edge of her lips curving slightly into a proud smile.

Dix Neuf raised one brow in surprise, then smirked. "Working hard as always, eh, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki raised a fist to her chin, and chuckled slightly. "Someone has to, Commander."

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Haven's hangar. A gunmetal grey chamber, accented by yellow lights to break up the monotony. The whirring and clicking of machinery echoed throughout this interior, located upon Haven's bow. The hangar was the third largest chamber in the mobile fortress, and the first to be completed.

Seven intricate catapult mechanisms were built on the hangar's ground, each connected to six giant clamps carved on the walls. Upon several of the clamps, surrounded by dozens of vertical, diagonal, and horizontal ladders alike, were five of Haven's Silhouettes. Or rather, four silhouettes, one hover tank, and one mundane fighter jet, the latter two of which were secured on the catapult deck itself, and not the clamp.

Haven's mechanics stood on the many ladders surrounding the Silhouettes, performing regular maintenances and check ups.

One of said mechanics was a short and petite girl, with large brown eyes and pink hair fashioned into two giant drill-like ringlets. The girl pouted, with furrowed brows, as she inspected each Silhouette one by one. Two humanoids, two walkers. She looked between the machines and a clipboard in her hand, matching each one with their model numbers.

"Huuuuuuuuu...," the girl's eyes narrowed as she whined to herself.

"Most of these models are downright ancient!," she mumbled, eyeing the fighter jet 'Corvidae', and the hover tank 'DK-13' in particular. "Are we a Silhouette defense force, or a walking war museum?"

Even their newest model, the absolutely gigantic 'Paladin', seemed rather simple and primitive. Though she had to admit, whoever had the bright idea to include a chainsaw sword among its armaments was an absolute genius.

"These babies better have top tier pilots," she thought aloud and nodded.

The Gobi desert, a stretch of sand and mountains. Where once many interesting creatures lived. A marvelous sight when compared to what it has become of it now, where it's void of natural life, intermixed with mechanical debris from battles in the past. Persistence had been a notable thing with the creatures of Earth, especially humans in this circumstance. As there was a small encampment within the desert that they called home. From her perch, high upon one of the many mountain-like dunes, Raiza could see several blue tents in the distance, slightly obscured by the ever-shifting sands, picked up by the winds, and moved elsewhere for a brief time. Watching it almost resembled humanity for the pilot, as she moved quickly around the encampment, ready to intercept any threat and ensure the safety of the people under the hulking mass of steel known as Haven. It was one of few last hopes of humanity, ensuring the survival of the species, that was obviously too stubborn to die.

However, it felt dreadfully slow as the Variant Silhouette known as Polaris, as Raiza yawned. Waking to an early shift for a patrol, while she was no top tier pilot by any means, she had experience in patrolling. With an added bonus of how attentive both Raiza's eyes and mind was, it seemed as if she left no grain of sand hidden, she was not to let a single monster get even remotely close to that encampment, not without a fight at least. While the canopy was covered, the area was illuminated by the outside world through the on board field of vision map that rested on the inside of the canopy's shield plating, it allowed for vision as Raiza moved slowly, moving the head back and forth, sweeping for anything out of the ordinary, minus her allies of course.

And this march continued, as minutes passed to make hours. It seemed unbearably hot outside, as far as Raiza could see, which seemed nice that the cooling unit was active in Polaris, making it comfortable for it's pilot. Idle thoughts were all the poor pilot had, as she had run out of songs to hum to death and then some after about the first thirty revolutions, the woman sighed, "Note to self, I'm not doing this again... Oh right, nobody else will..." she had a light habit of talking to herself when isolated, as it was the only thing seemingly allowing for the silence to be broken every so often, as it was isolating to hear nothing but the steps of Polaris and the hum of all of the technology.

Yet a ping came up on the visor of her helmet, a notification from command, summoning all pilots to the commander's office, it felt like an eternity for something to come up, she laughed lightly as the pinging had taken her completely off guard and while she was on edge, as she opened her radio communications to Haven's bridge, as her communicator crackled before she spoke,

"Command, this is Black Rose, I am currently on patrol, and received notification that Commander Neuf wishes to see me in his office. Requesting a Return to Base."

"Confirmed. And that I am sure of."

With a confirmation of request, Raiza almost immediately initiated a transformation sequence, and within .92 seconds the once tall mech that stood on the dunes had changed into what appeared to be a fighter jet, it soon sped off, kicking up a massive plume of sand as the afterburners kicked in, now with the radiant sunlight glowing through the canopy, which looked green on the outside, though inside it seemed clear, another marvel at technology with Polaris, as it masked the pilot well. And with a mere few seconds passing, Raiza was banking left, circling the mass known as Haven, waiting for the hangar doors to open. Though taking her eyes off the mass, a small smirk drew across her face, as Polaris straightened before rolling right in a descending manner, 'I think the people could use a show, and Miss Tsubaki the wake-up...' the air-show was to be brief, with her merely enacting a couple of maneuvers before landing in Haven, one of those maneuvers, however, would take her close to the Operator's room. Speeding up she could hear the wind passing by the jet, and feel the roar from it, it was a familiar feeling, and an all too loved one at that. As she roared past Haven (and the Operator's Room in particular), Polaris' nose turned up to a sharp rise, an Immelmann turn, which was a simple 180 degree turn amiss an Aileron roll, landing the craft higher than she was one moment ago. With a laugh from the pilot, she soon dropped and ended her little stunt with a descent into the Hangar.

While she had enjoyed the show (likely to the dismay of Tsubaki), others, were not as happy. Engine roars end to echo through the metal structure, and often the reverberations would intensify said sound. Shutting down Polaris, Raiza rubbed her hand against the console, almost like one would see while petting a horse or animal, from the old movies and all. Though soon the canopy came up, allowing for Raiza to leap out, landing hard on the metal, the pilot stretched with a light groan, after a while being in a cockpit caused a lot of muscles to tense up, and since there's not a whole lot of room to move, it made getting out feel amazing to Raiza's body. Next was the helmet, which was promptly removed, releasing amber hair to rest on her shoulder, and uncovered a matching pair of eyes with said hair. Setting the helmet back with Polaris, Raiza looked to Genna, lightly smiling, "Polaris flies beautifully, thank you for ensuring that he's in great shape." Her voice, much like the smile she gave, was soft and warm, Raiza liked being with people, and being able to trust those around her, and vice versa.

Though, feeling she was late, Raiza moved quickly, not even changing out of her protective suit that she's given to fly in, she quickly made her way to Dix Neuf's office, she seemed to be a few moments after Minerva, though what had awaited her was not to what she was expecting. Neuf, stark naked, in a bathtub... With rose petals. As she stepped in, stopping a few feet from the door, where a motherly sigh came through as she pressed two fingers against her forehead,

"Commander, could you please at least look decent when the others arrive...? I don't think they wish to see this...."

Raiza stopped herself with a laugh, thinking about Tsubaki having a wolf, she turned looking at her with a tone to match the smile, "You can barely handle a gun in your presence, let alone an animal that weighs around forty-five kilograms. It probably would weigh more than you, Tsubaki." as the pen moved once more, it stopped, as she looked up, a screen was lit, showing the loose sand moving gently from presumably a breeze. While the sand moving was of no importance she looked back at Tsubaki, her voice being much, much more concerned,

"Tsubaki....? What have the wind speeds looked like throughout day...?" while she hadn't an idea what may come during the mission, Raiza had forgotten one thing, they're in a desert.... Sandstorms. They were almost impossible to deal with, as sand could get into almost anything that wasn't more or less airtight. Though she kept her strategy working, as she kept her eyes on several monitors, wind speed had played a factor in her tactic. As it would then rely on light signals.... That is, if everyone else knew of them...

Hours passed without much worth noting....

As Raiza had stopped her planning after a while, and soon had gone for a meal. Having been the type to eat light, she needed a healthy portion of food. Though it was harder in this time than any for her.... Picky (If one can call it that).... Eating habits. Little to the knowledge of most of the other enlisted members, Raiza favoured to not eat most meats. It wasn't too bad in a sense, as often she found a way to minimize the consumption of meats, as she'd get sick otherwise, and that was not a good thing.

Yet her search had been cut off by the familiar voice of Tsubaki once more, calling for a General Quarters, with a sigh the pilot turned on her heels before running towards the Hangar. A few minutes passed as the woman moved herself around the large rolling city, as she avoided the civilians that were entering. Every here and there, she slowed her pace to get around people without running into them. The rush had set in as she began moving once more, and this time, in a full sprint. It took a little time for Raiza's legs to carry her to Polaris, whom now had the full equipment that would scare any aircraft away, but once she was there, it took her two steps to climb into the cockpit, as she glanced to her allies she spoke into the radio, with a light laugh and tone, she spoke as the canopy lowered,

"You all best make it back, supper's on me." she laughed once more to herself, it was an attempt to motivate people and even cheer some up. As the systems booted up, she lit up her comm once more, "This is Black Rose, Please clear the runway." With a slight pause, her Comm lit up again, "Polaris... Launch!". And with that, she launched out once more, showing off her skill once more, this time, with one of the more unnerving move, a Tailslide. With her aircraft flying straight up, she felt the craft losing power as it got higher in altitude, before it stalled. With a calm breath Raiza felt Polaris slowly slipping back and down, here was where she would have to fight her own Silhouette. As she kept the nose up, she watched her altitude as she began to roll around, this time with the nose down, and once again, flew normally. While most thought she was showing off, Raiza knew what she was doing, she pushed Polaris as hard as it could, to ensure the controls are in perfect order.

Thus began another sortie for the Black Rose, with the gleam of the sun reflecting off the crimson skull....

The Gobi Desert. 1400 hours. Haven's defense force mobilized around the massive mobile fortress. The Diesever, the Sarissa, the DK-13, and four tanks watched over the starboard entry, while the Paladin, the Stinger, and five tanks stayed vigil by the port side, both entryways pivotal for the masses of refugees which came. The nine tanks which accompanied the five silhouettes were considerably more primitive compared to the DK-13, built for suppressing and defensive fire instead of direct MASS combat.

"Heyyyy, Babe... hic... sweet... tanks ya got there....," a drunken tank driver called out to Anna, his slurry voice providing static through the intercomm.

"Marcus?! Have you been drinking AGAIN?" another tank driver reprimanded him.

From his cockpit, Renzam watched as thousands marched upon the ramp. Fathers. Mothers. Children. Merchants. Tradesmen. People of various shapes, sizes, color, and origin, yet of one destination. The Diesever's iron fingers wrapped around its bazooka's handle as the massive weapon rested on its shoulder. "This will take a while...," the spiky haired pilot thought aloud, transmitting his voice through the intercom. "Thank heavens this monkey suit has built-in air conditioning...."

Black Fang ground troops stood in front of the Silhouettes and the tanks, deployed to maintain peace and order, and, like the tanks, not to fight the MASS. One of the younger troopers looked up, gazing at the Stinger and the Paladin's huge and mighty forms, and whined, "Why can't I get one of those?", prompting an older trooper to bark at him, "Hey! Kid! Focus!"

"Scorpion has deployed the Stinger's scanner drones. Analyzing data...," Tsubaki's voice reported across each of the defense force's cockpit communicators. The operator's eyes and fingers moved about rapidly in the navigation tower as she shared a live feed from the drones' perspective. A steady, rhythmic beat. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"This is Black Fang's outrider force, we'll scout from ground level," a hoarse voice remarked. Heavy engines roared across the dune sea as Black Fang soldiers rode atop rusted, yet agile jeeps. What the Stinger's scanner drones couldn't pick up from a certain distance, the outrider force would catch with their eyes. Until the sandstorm comes, that is.

While Scorpion's drones and the Outriders kept an eye on the ground, the Polaris and the Corvidae took to the skies, soaring across the blue expanse and followed by five less advanced, non-Silhouette worthy fighter jets, each bearing the Black Fang sigil upon their left wing, each following the lead of the two Silhouette pilots.

"Let's do our best, Madams!" one of the fighter pilots encouraged them.

Far ahead, across the ocean of sand, the fighter squad could see it. Colorless, formless distortions in the air, creating ripples the size of olden skyscrapers. A low, droning noise emitted from within, as the indescribable distortions swelled and contracted...

"I-is that it? Freaky..." one of the fighter pilots stammered.

Rhys looked across the desert, or more accurately stared at the massive sand wall mere inches in front of his viewport. So much sand, if some crazy person could gather it all they could make a massive city made out of sand. A reassuring thought which kept the buzzing nervousness in the back of his head. Sure, they were in danger of getting killed by some alien which would unnerve most people. But the last thing to do was show any of that, or even hear yourself with panic in your voice. Keeping a brave face would be pretty good for moral. "Alright everyone! Let's do some hard work out here. Let's go kick some mechanical ass and get back home in time for lunch. So, anyone know who our fireteam leader is? It would be a good idea to establish a squad leader to maintain order. You know, one person to give the orders instead of a mosh pit of ideas when things go to hell. Last thing we need are mix-ups." Rhys asked.

Sure, Rhys was no tactical genius or even a soldier. However one thing everyone could agree on was a head figure to keep them organised and running together as one. "Oh, and when we do get back I got cinnamon rolls for all of us. So let's work up an appetite!" Rhys added with confidence. A big grin plastered on his face which no one would see. One thing he learned, if one person is confident then others will be less tense. If he could show everyone that if they work their hardest they can win any battle, and with the weight of the civilians his determination could only grow at this point. "Time to see the enemies hand..." he muttered to himself.

Flying through the sky once more, it reminded Raiza of the older times she had, when everything was peaceful, where she could fly where she wished, how she wished, and had not worried about a MASS of flailing tentacles trying to kill her. With the sun gleaming in through the canopy once more, Raiza took a light breath, reminiscing in the days she so longingly missed. While there was a squad of five fighters, along with Polaris and Corvidae, it was notable that the pilot had not moved like her usual antics, more so flying straight, letting the jet itself fly, while keeping it level. It'd look bad should Raiza, someone whom credits herself with no crashes in any manner, just suddenly plummeted into the sand. Meanwhile, her mind drifted to her life before the MASS, wondering if the little plane she had been working on was still in working shape. Raiza was no engineer when it came to the more up-to-date jets and Silhouettes, but older planes she had some knowledge on, and could do minor repairs, it felt much easier to repair an actual engine, rather than.... Whatever powered the jet, it was lost to the woman as to what it was that caused the jet to fly.

Though said daydream was cut off by the chatter over the radio, mainly a few tank drivers bickering, since one was already drunk, at a mere two in the afternoon, well, it's five'o'clock somewhere.... A light laugh came from Rai, as she listened to the two argue a degree before the Outrider Force chimed in, giving a notice that they were scouting the ground, Raiza opened her radio to them, "You all be careful now." her words sounded that like a mother's, she didn't wish to see anyone else die, having dealt with the MASS for a while, she has seen various members of the Black Fang fall in combat, though several pilots chattered to Camille and herself, as they flew, she made a promise to every one of them, including Camille, and the Silhouette pilots on the ground,

"So you all know, I will do my best to make sure you six get home. Even if it means I push death to reach you, if you're in danger, and need help, I'll be right there. Let this be a promise to all of you." Her words were serious, Raiza wished to remain with the same squadron for as long as she could. Though one of the younger pilots pointed something out, that caught Raiza's attention, distortions, at the distance they were at, the distortions were faint, colorless and nearly invisible, rising as high as what Raiza had remembered were the massive skyscrapers she saw as a child. An instinct kicked in, as her Radio soon was alive once more, as Raiza's throttle increased ever so slightly, as Polaris entered combat speed,

"Distortions detected. Eighteen degrees Northeast, distance Five-hundred (NM). Closing in to engage. Adjusting course by fifteen degrees."

With Polaris speeding forward, Raiza prepares for the fight to ensue.