Chapter Six Part Three | Past

 Chapter 6 Part 3 | Past






 Where'd it all start?


 For me, I mean


 I think I've contemplated this before


 But I never know, do I?


 So is the shroud and complexity of the mind


 Perhaps the first kill?


 No - Before that.






 Akasha squadron was originally formed as a special forces squad.


 Instead of dealing with logistics of a full sized, highly trained, battalion of spec-op operators. NDECK-J high command settled on a 9 man squad. The best equipment, the hardest missions, and of course, the elite of the elite.


 That time demanded an almost soulless outlook on life if you were a part of Akasha. You would die, eventually. Then be replaced.


 Sure, they were experienced, very much so. But they also made for high-value targets to Nephilim. It was basically a suicide squadron.


 Not to mention, you couldn't elect to join, nor could you leave. Your commanding officer would recommend you. The NDECK saw these operators as merely tools.


 Akasha would see the worst of the worst in the battlefield. Some operators would deliberately take a last stand, just to escape their memories. But so what? Replace them.


 The best equipment of that time would be allocated - Prototype Gleipnirs and weapons, hidden from the regular military. It's in part why Akasha squadron was so efficient. Another reason operators of Akasha hated it so much - They were banned from ever speaking of what happens behind closed doors. Risking execution if they do.


 Eventually, after a fateful mission, Akasha squadron was deactivated. Newer officers in high-command seeing it as dehumanizing and barbaric. Their final mission, not a single one of them wanted to go on, and used the combat to be freed of this mortal plane. Except one; Shigure.


 How would he fight and kill if he were dead?


 "Shigure." An officer of almost equal standing as him approaches.


 "We are getting some prototype Heavy Cruiser GF-4s. Will you take it, or are you planning to argue with Sir Yamamoto again?"


 "No."


 He sighs. The man a GFM-Section Major, a rather high ranking officer in the Gleipnir Mechanized Regiment. All Akasha operators are GFM officers. He'd expected Shigure's refusal. "Why? It's that D.O.S. isn't it?"


 Shigure has an empty expression, like he wasn't invested at all in his comrade's words. "The new ones get you killed."


 "Bullshit!" For some reason, this man takes offence. "You're only a kid and you act like an old-timer! What would you know about the newer model's? You never touch the damn things!"


 Pointing to his epaulettes, twisting them into clear view of his comrade. A GFM-Commodore, the commander of Akasha squadron, is what Shigure is. Outranking the GFM-Section Major by a handful of tiers. A rank that isn't just throw around.


 He scowls, a distasteful expression not matching well with the pristine white uniform. "What? So just because you out-rank me, you're better?" He shakes his head in what could be described as disgust. "You're gonna get yourself killed acting like you are invincible."


 "Maybe."


 Truthfully, Shigure hadn't an ounce of fear towards death. Instead, it just made him frustrated. Why would he let fate dictate whether or not he could hold the joysticks? Dictate whether or not he can shoot, and kill.


 Perhaps Shigure refuses to operate new models due to D.O.S. As, the older version of D.O.S. is more... unstable, in simpler terms. Or he could really mean what he says about the newer models causing the death of their operators. Which isn't far fetched, considering they are prototypes.


 Shigure persists with the usage of a particular GF-1 Orion - HIS GF-1 Orion. The one he first piloted, and the one he's modified to perfection. The Orion class Gleipnir being the first Gleipnir mass-produced, the first shoved into combat. To say it was outdated... is accurate. Most it's systems dating all the way back to the 2250s. Truly a relic - Not even produced anymore.


 How he get's replacement parts is a mystery.


 All of Akasha's operators look at him like an alien. 'How the hell is he the commander?' 'How is HE a GFM Commodore?' All very common questions, and ones he hears muttered behind his back. Amongst insults and rumours.


 Ironically, the very man who warned Shigure that he'd die if he continued to 'act invincible', was the next whose blood got painted throughout his cockpit the following mission.


 A mangled, almost unrecognisable torso of a Gleipnir. What's in the torso? The cockpit. Who's in the cockpit. That much is clear. A mech of the mobile gun designation, infected with Nephilim, landed a sharp volley into the GFM-Section Major's Gleipnir. Stood right beside Shigure.


 Sparks blinded Sigure's cameras, and the fall of a Gleipnir shaking his own.


 Inside that cockpit would not be a pretty sight - That thought supported by the laboured and pained breathing coming through the radio. "S-Shigure... Shoot it... kill it... please..."


 It doesn't take Shigure any time to think, just a glance. The Section-Major's Gleipnir is totalled, almost cracked open. Even if he wasted his magazine dispatching that mobile gun, there's no saving a man ripped to shreds by shrapnel.


 They understood the risk and now they can face those risks.


 Instead he moved onto a higher-value target.


 The ground turned muddy and damp from a drizzle of rain. It just happened to be Autumn also. An Autumn drizzle... Shigure. Fitting for the final battle of Akasha squadron. Though, ruined by the stench of burnt metal and boiling oils. Shigure got the mission done - His squadmates found their final resting place.


 Littered with steel and carapaces of destroyed mechs, friend and foe. The landscape was ruined yet again by gunfire and explosions. A common sight for Shigure at this point.


 As per NDECK protocols, surviving members of a mission must scuttle any fallen Gleipnirs. To prevent Nephilim subjugation. Stored in each Gleipnir is a powerful explosive, capable to be detonated by the operator, or someone of sufficient rank.


 Shigure does as obligated, trekking across the battlefield, setting off 8 timed explosives.


 There goes another 8 bodies to never be buried or recorded.


 He can't even remember their faces.


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