Hiro Kuat

Three Coalition bulwarks on each side, rushing at us with their weapons. Six more hovering overhead, being kept in reserve. Mari is slumped on the ground, a glassy look spreading across the face, the blood running from the cut off ear staining her clothes. Madam lies completely inert next to the wreckage of the car, unconscious. And Sara and the priestess are huddled together by my side, staring at the tightening noose. It's a bad situation all round for sure.

I've come to a decision. I just need the bravery to see it through. Hope Nomi is not too disappointed with me.

"Sara!" I yell through my bulwark's speakers, "Make a break for it with the priestess! We'll cover both of you!"

Sara hesitates, staring at me with tear filled eyes. I give her an encouraging nod as the priestess grunts her acknowledgement of my plan from behind the hooded robe. Without another word, my machine blasts off, intercepting the three Coalition machines in a counter charge.

"Damn it." Nomi grumbles without any rancor as she whips her scythe about, clashing with her own opponents, "You aren't strong enough to survive this, you know."

I slash outward with my twin swords, locking the bayonets thrust at me with a single motion. Strength flows through my bulwark as I exert the full power of an A ranked pilot. Extending my arms, I singlehandedly hold off the oncoming wave of steel as the Coalition machines grind to a halt against my guard. The Coalition pilots push frantically against me, their machines straining with the effort, but D rankers are nothing before a proper Valkyrie.

Not saying I'm a proper Valkyrie, but well, I've got to work with what's available.

From the corner of eye I note Sara and the priestess fleeing through a gap in the enfilade, the Coalition too preoccupied to bother with them. But just as my heart lifts with this bit of good news, my bulwark shrieks a warning as the power output of the Coalition machines begin increasingly abruptly.

It's happening again. My opponents' power levels spike upward, rising to C, then peaking at the limit of B rank. I feel a sudden burst of force and the three Coalition bulwarks twist their rifles about, breaking free from my clinch through brute strength alone and sending me flying backwards. With no time to react, I am sent flying head over heels, completely out of control. But before I crash into a building, someone catches my machine, giving me the opportunity needed to right myself.

"Nomi," I pant, dizzy from all the tumbling, "Thanks for the save."

"This is bad." my friend replies, her machine standing tall, the gold engravings blazing with power, resembling veins of liquid fire, "You were right Hiro. These guys are much tougher than they look."

I turn around, seeing the large gash carved into the road by Nomi's scythe. Beyond it are the three Coalition machines she had been fighting, the pack having retreated a safe distance away from her fury. The trio notice the momentary distraction and raise their rifles, opening fire with a barrage of divinely empowered lead. Nomi scoffs and her scythe spins like a cyclone, forming an impenetrable barrier against the attack. The slugs ping impotently against the scythe, eliciting a shower of sparks but little else.

"You're handling yourself pretty well." I comment, encouraged by how easily Nomi dealt with that attack. If her custom machine is as good as she says it is, we just might have a chance.

"No. I'm not handling things." Nomi curses as she keeps spinning her scythe, keeping the bullets from hitting us, "Hiro, something is badly wrong, and not just with the weird increase in power those Auxila received."

"What do you mean?" I ask while keeping an eye on the three Coalition pilots who had tangled with me just now. They keep their distance, fearful of getting caught in friendly fire. On the plus side, they are also ignoring Sara and the priestess, who have both managed to clear the enfilade by now.

"My bulwark has strong divine protections." Nomi explains through clenched teeth, "It should be impervious to most attacks, even from B rankers. But -"

Before Nomi can complete her sentence, the Coalition leader rasps on the general line.

"A God machine? Very impressive. Who are you really? Which bloodline do you belong to?"

"God machine?" I blurt out in confusion.

"Never mind that." Nomi hisses through clenched teeth as she bats aside the last of the Coalition salvo, "My bulwark's divine protections aren't activating. The machine is taking damage, Hiro!"

As Nomi brings down her scythe to a resting position, I notice what she is talking about. The once pristine scythe blade is now marred by tiny hairline cracks, barely noticeable, but there nevertheless. Bulwarks rely on their armor for passive defense, but that's not entirely accurate. As weapons blessed by the divines, each bulwark is suffused with holy energy, the only difference between them being the degree. Any attack needs to first disrupt the matrix of holy energy soaked into the armor before even having a chance to scratch the machine. Its why mundane weapons are almost completely ineffective against even Auxila.

Nomi's bulwark is channeling gargantuan amounts of divine energy. Just scanning it causes my sensors to go crazy. She had never unleashed her machine to this extent before, its performance during our mission against the Fallen was squarely within the parameters of an A ranked machine. But that's not the worrying part.

"Your bulwark's divine energy isn't dissipating." I remark in surprise, "That's impossible."

"I know." Nomi responds in consternation, "Its as if my bulwark is ignoring the attack and deliberately letting it through."

"You are of interest to us." the Coalition commander pronounces in his clipped, urbane voice, "No. 75, make sure to take the God Machine's pilot alive."

"Sure thing 69." the lead machine facing Nomi casually salutes and regards Nomi calmly, "So how about it, Missy? Peaceful surrender doesn't sound so bad now, does it?"

"Don't make me laugh." Nomi snorts, "If you know what this machine is, then you should know your chances against it if I really cut loose."

"Meh, our chances look pretty good from where I'm standing." 75 remarks cockily. And at his signal, the three Coalition pilots facing me barrel forward, hoping to take Nomi by surprise.

"Watch out!" I yell before interposing myself between the enemy and my friend. The three Coalition pilots might have B ranked power levels, but this time I am ready for them.

As the first of the trio charges forward with his bayonet extended, I whirl about, pirouetting to his rear and lash out with one of my swords. The blow strikes home and the enemy machine is sent stumbling with a smoking wound in its back. Not enough to take it out, but that guy is going to be taking me seriously from now on. Dancing in between the remaining two enemy bulwarks, I deflect another incoming bayonet with the flat of my swords and deliver a hard shoulder check to my attacker with thrusters firing at full blast. There's a crunch of metal as the velocity sends the target flying into a nearby tree, breaking it in two.

As I cruise on an intercept path towards the last of my opponents, the bulwark's thrusters melting a molten trail in the road, I notice a small notch in the blade of one of my swords. It must have been the result of blocking that bayonet just now. Nomi was right. The Coalition pilots have a way of getting past our divine protection, making our machines far more vulnerable to damage than they otherwise would be. I'm going to have to be careful.

"Keep fighting! Don't give up!" Sara's voice rings from just beyond the enfilade. The priestess is trying to pull her away from the scene, but Sara remains resolute, planting her feet firmly on the ground in an effort to stay with us until the end.

"Ms Loudmouth is lucky no one is interested in her." Nomi scoffs as she exchanges a rapid series of blows with 75 before backing away thanks to his partners encroaching on her flanks. The titanic boot of her machine arcs upward and catches one of the flanking machines straight in the torso, sending it flying off its feet with earth shaking impact. 75 presses forward again, jabbing his bayonet like a spear, but Nomi remains too fast and strong for him. Both of them are deadlocked before Nomi shoves him backward again.

"They're dangerous, but we can still deal with B rankers, even with strange abilities thrown into the bargain." I gasp as my swords fly out in a flurry, cornering the third Coalition pilot with a series of attacks. My opponent parries skillfully, but his rifle is not an ideal choice for melee combat. Slowly but surely, I begin breaking down his guard.

"The Coalition is just testing us." Nomi bites out her response, wholly preoccupied with her own battles, "There's still another six of them hovering above us. That 69 must be confident that he can end this fight anytime he wants."

"This is one heck of a test of a test though." I agree, slicing downward with both swords at once. The enemy pilot darts back, causing the blades to merely graze his bulwark's armor. A pair of thin scratches is all I achieve in this exchange.

"I was hoping to hold them off by going all out." Nomi staggers backward under a combined attack from all three of her opponents, "But with their ability to bypass a bulwark's divine protections, I would be taken out before things went that far. I'm sorry, Hiro."

"Sorry for what?" I ask before sending my machine flying through the sky and landing in the middle of Nomi's attackers. The impact sends them scattering in surprise, giving my friend some much needed breathing room.

"We still need to save Mari. And Madam." I quickly reassure Nomi, "Plus there's no one I would rather be fighting beside than you."

"Thanks." Nomi's voice lights up despite our dire situation, "It took you long enough to say it, y'know."

"Sorry?" I mumble, "The right occasion never came up?"

"Well, its alright." Nomi quips happily, "At least I now know. Its never too late."

The six Coalition pilots get back into formation, tightening to noose around us again. Nomi settles back into a fighting stance, her bulwark aglow with all the divine energy it is channeling. But the halo surrounding it only highlights the pits and etches carved into the bulwark's armor by the Coalition. Nomi is clearly worse for wear. And from my HUD, I'm probably not much better off.

"Well, shall we?" Nomi swings her scythe in challenge at the Coalition pilots, her movements strangely refreshed.

"Ladies first." I offer graciously. A delighted laugh comes from the squad com link.

"Naturally."