Maria made her way up the rusty stairway, bringing her up to deck level with the Red Wing. The loading deck stretched out before her, its wide berth credited to the sheer size of the vessel. As she made her way across the bridge, her footsteps echoed out, a metallic ping with every step.

She looked up above her, the dust still unsettled from the ongoing fight, making the lights above give off a hazy atmosphere. It almost made the place look like some rundown warehouse, not an airfield hangar.

Giving off a quick sigh, she regained her breath from the long walk across and stepped foot onto the flight deck. To her right, a long span of the ship ran, sporting a small runway and turrets lined up on two rows. The nose of the ship then tapered off into a fine point, a seam running down where each side met in the middle. Underneath the runway sate a large MAC cannon, exposed only when the nose separated and pulled itself out to the sides.

To her left, the command bridge and pilot compartment sat nestled atop. A wide spread of windows gave full view of the front of the ship from the commander seat, the green glass embedded with pop up UI and HUD interfaces.

Inside, there was seating for everyone of the command crew, including battle stations for the turrets up front. The captain sat in a modest looking throne like seat that had different control capabilities on either side of the arms. In front, a dual handle steering device and altitude lever could be used to control the ship.

Directly under the command bridge, the living quarters were situated. The halls contained a red and gold themed setup to match the exterior style of the Red Wing. There were 20 rooms onboard, more than enough to accommodate a large scale force. Each room contained a set of bunk beds, with a false window that was a large piece of glass that stretched across the far wall. The glass screen received a transmission of the outside view from an external camera that simulated a real window without the danger of compromising hull integrity.

Finally, behind all that sat the supply armory and cargo hold. The armory contained all the ammunition and supplies the ship needed and had direct access to the engine compartment directly overhead in case of an emergency. The cargo hold contained ground vehicles and a drop hatch for the use of bombs. Despite the sheer amount of things loaded onboard, the Red Wing still possessed more than enough room to be comfortable.

As Maria finished looking over the ship, she strolled across to the command bridge and made her way inside. She quickly shut the door behind her and placed herself firmly in the captain's seat. If anybody was going to be in charge of her creation's first takeoff, it was going to be her.

“This is Dr. Sukomoto. We are beginning takeoff preparations for the Red Wing. I need the flight crew and respective units to begin boarding and prepare for takeoff. We have directives for an emergency takeoff and must begin now.”

“Copy that doctor. We'll begin to withdraw from the airfield and will begin boarding immediately.”

It was reassuring to hear the soldiers answer so diligently. Despite little experience as what it was like to truly be human, they were dependable. While she never sympathized with them quite like Lyria did, Maria still understood why they were important to the cause. Not only were they willing to fight to the death for their cause, they were also quick learners. It had not taken very long for Maria to train a handful on how the airship should be handled.

While she waited for the crew to begin boarding, Maria ran her fingers across the controls of the ship on the arm of her chair. The thought of the ship taking off sent a rush through her body. It was almost time to show everyone just how strong she really was. She laughed as she thought of what the faces of Helix's scientists would look like when she showed off the Red Wing. She wouldn't just be a number to them anymore, her name would be known.

She reached over and began flipping the power switches, sending electricity throughout the vessel and allowing all the oils and fluids to begin priming. After a few moments, she reached over to on of the levers and cranked it downwards. One of the sensor lights lit up and from far behind, she could faintly hear the sound of hydraulics kicking in. From outside the ship, the noise was much more intense as the cargo bay doors opened, allowing quicker entry for the incoming crew.

Maria had to wait until the she was greeted by the crew members at the command bridge before she could begin to start the engines. The vessel was just too large to see what was immediately around it, so it wouldn't be safe until everyone was confirmed aboard.

From somewhere behind her and down either side of the stairway leading to the bridge, Maria could hear the clanging of footsteps charging to her position. It was nice to know they were in a hurry.

One by one, W.R.A. soldiers began to populate the command bridge, taking up seats along the battle stations and other system stations. After the last one had taken their place, a lone standing threw a salute and called out, “M-57 reporting for duty 'mam. All personnel for takeoff accounted for. We can begin takeoff procedures.”

“Good to hear. How many are left on the airfield of our own?”

“Around 3 fire squadrons mam.”

“That's a shame. I would've preferred not to leave anybody behind but we don't have a choice now. Let's continue on.”

Looking above the city, it would questionable to any normal individual as to how an aircraft was going to take off with no way to enter clear skies. However, a fact had been undisclosed to the citizens of Celestia about what lay underneath the city. A series of channels had been discovered deep beneath the city by Lyria and the others when first coming to Celestia.

These tunnels had proven more than useful when establishing the airfield. They could be used to store fuel underground, but one tunnel had shown a special priority. Beneath the hangar the Red Wing sat in, one of the tunnels had been converted into a launch shaft leading underneath the wall that encircled Celestia. It's exit lay outside the city, covered over by artificial terrain made to be impossible to detect.

Maria gave a grin as she began firing up the systems. It was time to give everybody a shock. She reached over and placed what looked like an eyepiece on her face, a lens folding over to lay over her right eye. A miniature HUD system popped up, with a hologram overlay in front of her. She darted through the different menus, the soldiers waiting patiently for her actions to take effect.

Suddenly, a loud popping and whining could be heard from underneath the airship. Slowly, the floor beneath them began to turn and spiral downwards, the hissing and stirring of hydraulics filling the air. As the began to descend, the interior of the vessel grew dark. In a matter of seconds, it was too dark to see anything inside.

After a few more moments, the platform came to a slow halt, spitting out a large hiss of steam as it did so. Time seemed to stand still for a moment as they sat in complete darkness. With a large thump, the lights in the tunnel began to spring to life one by one.

As light began to pour into the command bridge, a voice suddenly came over the intercom. It sounded devoid of life, signifying that they were hearing an AI speak instead of a person.

“Beginning launch sequence. Launch bay doors opening.”

The crew waited in silence, expecting to hear the loud groans of metal as the terrain would be split apart and a way out exposed. However, the length of the tunnel was too long to be able to actually see the exit.

“Launch bay doors open. Scans detect no debris in tunnel. Proceed with takeoff.”

Maria grinned once more and began to flip switches. Lights on the consoles began to flash on, signifying that everything was good to go. Finally, she reached down between her feet and pulled a long handle up towards her, then gave it a quick shove back into its initial position.

With a roar, the ship sprang to life. The four thrusters in the back burst to life, the whine of the turbines filling the hollow interior of the tunnel. Maria began to crank forward on the throttle knob, the thrusters turning from a dull orange to an intense blue flame as the vessel began to lift up and forward. In a matter of seconds, the ship was moving down the tunnel, hovering just above the ground beneath it.

“Alright everybody, this is it. It's time to take to the skies and show Helix what we're all made of.”

The crew let out a impulsive cheer. It didn't matter how prepared or armed they were. Dr. Sukomoto knew that they wouldn't be prepared for this. As they neared the end of the tunnel, a dark sky greeted them from above.

As they approached the end of the runway, Maria began to lift up on the altitude lever, pulling the nose of the ship up to greet the heavens. Slowly, the ship began to lift off further off the ground. As it soared up and out of the tunnel and into the sky, dust blanketed the land behind it. The force of the thrusters began to shake the dead and barren trees and throw debris across the terrain.

With a loud cry, the Red Wing ripped upward and into the sky above the city. It's shadow blanketed the city, the light shining through the dome becoming an abyssal purple from the blackout.

“Lyria, this is Dr. Sukomoto. We have a successful liftoff. We're ready when you are.”

Lyria gazed upward as the figure of the Red Wing could be seen through the mostly transparent dome. As it soared overhead, her hope for the success of the W.R.A. began to soar.

“Jesus Christ, is that what you meant by drastic action?”

Marcus was just as surprised as everybody else. They had seen the Red Wing but its sheer intensity didn't hit them until it was full flight above the city.

“I told you, we had a plan.”

“We wondered how you even planned to get that thing airborne. You could have told us about going under the city.”

“Too much risk. We trusted you, but we didn't know how committed you would truly be to our cause.”

“Well with the things the way they are now, we don't have much of a choice but to be committed.”

“Fair point. Alright, let's hit the road and get out of here. By the time we reach outside, most of the residents should be evacuated by then.”

As Lyria climbed back into her mech, she realized it wouldn't be so easy to just “get out.” Helix soldiers still encompassed the area around the headquarters and Briggs had also wrecked the only means of transportation that Generation had.

While trying to quickly determine the best course of action, a call from one of the commanding soldiers on the battlefield popped up in her comm link.

“What is it soldier?”

“Mam, we have a request to make.”

“A request soldier? You would be the first to ask one from me.” It was the first time any of the soldiers they had recruited to the W.R.A. had wanted to ask something. Before they had always done as they were told and were given freedom to do as they wanted when not on duty. The behavior caught Lyria off guard.

“Yes mam. We're aware you've enforced an evacuation order, but we would like to discard that order. We wish to stay here at the headquarters and hold out for as long as possible.”

“I'm sorry soldier, but I can't allow that. We have a live bomb on our hands. It would be meaningless to try and save the HQ at this point.”

A few seconds went by before the soldier responded, “I see. That still doesn't change our resolution. This is our home. We want to do what we can to protect it as long as possible. If we can buy you and Generation extra by holding the line here we will.”

“I-”

Lyria cut herself short. She could hear the dedication in his voice. He didn't just speak for himself, he spoke for all the soldiers throughout the city. Sure, they had plenty of soldiers aboard the evacuation vessels outside the walls, but she didn't want to let go so easily. It was obvious they weren't going to give her a choice though.

“I understand. You all may hold your ground. We need a transport if you have it though.”

“No problem mam. We'll get one around to you. Also mam, it's been an honor. We've had more of a chance at an actual life with you and the W.R.A. than we ever could have asked for. We couldn't be more thankful.”

While she was never directly attached to any of the soldiers under their command, she felt a pain sting in her chest. A tear almost began to well up in her eye but she fought it back. After all, she was their leader. She couldn't dishonor them by growing into despair at this moment.

Marcus and the rest just stood in silence at the soldiers request. Many a time Marcus had been in the field before as a soldier. He understood what it meant to these men to have this request granted, as did the rest of Generation.

In a few moments, a large black jeep vehicle pulled around to the crashed gunships. Two soldiers hopped out, one from the drivers seat and one from the turret mounted up top. They were both bloody and covered in dust. It was clear they had been fighting valiantly. Without saying a word, Marcus and the others hopped into the vehicle and fell in line behind Lyria in her mech. Behind them, the soldiers stood at a firm salute, disappearing from view as Marcus and the others drove away...