Chapter 51: The Call for War
Year 2033, March
10:00 A.M
Somewhere in Stockholm, Sweden
. . .
. . .
The three weeks that Melker Holm, His Supremacy, had announced for the preparation of Neo Africa's invasion passed by. And until then. they did not manage to command two of my separate Aegis crystals to form simultaneously.
So, their plan to use me as an ultimate weapon backfired thanks to my first Aegis's intervention. Still, Melker stubbornly forced my involvement in the war, which I gladly accepted. For them at that point, any extra Aegis User was as good to overcome the odds when fighting Gheele Folami later on.
"You're coming too, Maltyie?" I asked.
A limousine came for us that morning, with Alexander and Derrick in tow. We were supposed to arrive at the HQ in an hour.
"Of course, Ava. In this operation, I'm the strategist and a commander," replied Maltyie.
Both of us entered the limousine and it drove along the road at a steady speed. I sat beside Maltyie whereas Alexander and Derrick were at the seats facing us. All three of them wore the dark blue Great Corporate United's military uniforms.
"Have you decided a plan for Relly after this?" I asked Alexander and Derrick impatiently. My warm, black jacket comforted me, with my dark hair tied into a braid.
Alexander let out a breath. "I've been thinking the past two weeks. Yet I can only think of one solution if we really want to take down Relly."
Derrick made a subtle nod at his statement.
"And, what is it?" I prompted.
"Before that, Ava, you look... different today," said Alexander. He glanced at Maltyie to get his answer and she shook her head.
"The plan, please," I repeated.
Even after a week has passed since Hope's hospitalization, my hatred still churned inside, waiting to be unleashed on the two people that I despised the most.
Derrick straightened his sitting posture. "I believe if we subtly let Relly fights Gheele alone, there's a high chance for him to go down quick. And one of us could render him unable to fight after that."
"For that to happen," Alexander continued, "our movements during all the fighting must not be suspicious, at all. Lily's good at sensing oddity around her. Then there's Miranda. Her Aegis's specialty is Water Production. Her Aegis crystals can release huge volumes of liquid whenever she wants to."
"How is that a problem?" I asked, my eyes glared at those men.
"Ava..." mumbled Maltyie. She paused her hand in mid-air when I switched my glare to her, afraid of inciting my stirring emotions any further.
Alexander cleared his throat. "If we try to put our hands on Relly whenever she's nearby, there's a chance her Aegis is capable of turning the tide against us."
"Then there's Lily," I said. "Fine. I'll get Miranda. Lily's yours?"
"I'm afraid so. Caesar should be joining the fight too. And him alone could handle Alicia and Bart. Relly would just have to put up with Gheele until we manage to get Miranda and Lily out of the way."
"What's Relly's Aegis?" I asked.
Derrick rubbed his hair at my question, anticipating it to be brought up. "His Aegis is troublesome, I would say. I witnessed him using it once a few years back against the rebels in Kazakhstan."
"And?" I prompted.
"His Aegis's specialty is plasma induction by using his Aegis crystals," answered Derrick.
"His crystals could release plasma. What is that?"
Maltyie decided to answer my question. "Plasma is considered the fourth state of matter, other than liquid, gas, and solid. But what Relly can actually produce is a form of plasma which resides in lightning. It's very hot."
"Hotter than Hughes's white fire?" I said.
Maltyie looked at Alexander and he shrugged. "Indeed. It can reach up to thirty thousand kelvin. It can vaporize you in an instant. If used against Aegis Users... I doubt they'll survive," said Maltyie.
"So, he can basically take down Gheele by himself," I muttered.
"Perhaps," said Derrick. "But, there's so much we don't know about what Gheele's Aegis can do. That's why until now, His Supremacy had not made a decisive move on Neo Africa yet. Until he's sure that the odds were with him."
Maltyie pondered. "I heard from him that Gheele can produce his crystals out of thin air, without even moving. And he needs to spread its tiny particles first for that surprise attack to work."
"From what the others had concluded, Gheele can only spread his Aegis crystals as far as his throne room. I doubt he'll move out from there," said Alexander.
I wanted to say the truth to them about what Gheele really could do. But, I also liked to see what tactics they had devised to use against him.
The fact that Relly actually had a chance against Gheele made me anxious. The only way to find out was to be there myself.
. . .
All of the Aegis Users met up in the HQ's meeting room, donned in their military uniforms. Aya, on the other hand, had a close-fitted black combat suit. Alicia and Bart were wearing their own customized blue combat suits.
"Father..." said Maltyie.
Derrick was dispatched to go to one of the battleships, taking command of a squad there.
Melker had been looking at Maltyie with disdain. "Is this about that human trafficking again, Maltyie? I already told you I don't care. And Relly's the one behind it, you say?"
Maltyie raised her head high. "Yes, father. I believe Relly should be punished accordingly, given the crime he had committed."
"But he's very valuable to me, Maltyie," said Melker, adjusting the sleeve of his red military uniform.
"Still..."
"You know, after our invasion of Neo Africa succeeds, I'll let you dish out any punishment you want to Relly. Drag him to court if you want," said Melker. "Is that enough?"
Maltyie's blue eyes lit up from what Melker had said and hugged him. "Thank you, Dad."
I glanced at Relly, and sure enough, he was biting his lip.
Maltyie distanced herself from Melker and coughed.
"Then, let's make this briefing quick, Maltyie."
"Alright, father." She traced her fingers across her short, silver hair and walked to a whiteboard behind Melker. Maltyie swept her eyes around the room once before tapped at her A.I watch, sending a square, blue hologram to fill the whiteboard.
It showed the map of Neo Africa.
"As you can see, there's a lot of openings for us to sweep into. Tomorrow, at eight o'clock, our land forces will distract Neo Africa's main military force. Their battlefields would be around the borders of China." Maltyie pointed at Chad. "Since we have the absolute advantage in manpower and numbers, the only thing that remains a problem would be Gheele himself. And then, there's Caesar."
Lily raised her hand up wildly. "Oh, oh! I'll take care of Caesar."
Maltyie nodded. "I've considered that. And, since a few battleships of our own will also attack Neo Africa, it will be a pincer attack. I predict that Caesar would be in one of the two battlefields. The Aegis Users will swoop in using a Teria aircraft, making use of its invisibility, directly at Gheele's main palace in Chad. Judging by his stubborn behavior, he would certainly be there waiting for us."
Relly raised his hand. "So, our job is to take care of Gheele, preventing his involvement in the frontline, correct?"
Maltyie ignored him and pointed at Nigeria. "Derrick and a few other generals who are in the battleships handle the naval battle. Whereas I will be taking charge of our whole land forces, concentrated in China. Unless Gheele somehow finds a few helping hands, I don't see him winning this."
"Though he did single-handedly destroy a Teria aircraft by himself," said Melker.
"Yes, but his prowess is not that much to be reckoned with. If we hold him long enough, Neo Africa's downfall will be imminent in possibly a few days," said Maltyie.
"Wait, wait, hold on, Maltyie," said Bart.
"What is it?
"Can't we just deploy a bunch of those Teria airships along with us there and attack Gheele? With all that firepower, I'm sure we don't need to use our other military forces," said Bart.
"You can," replied Maltyie. "But CAN you actually handle the forces as large as Neo Africa on your own? The purpose of us even deploying the land and naval troops are to make sure you guys have an opening to strike. Since the Aegis Users' battlefield is likely the palace itself, there's not much room to move. But, Gheele cannot run if he wants to."
"Hm, I see." Bart yawned and rested his head at his hand.
"How about Ava's progress?" asked Melker, eyes on Alicia.
"Despite my commands, she still can only produce her second Aegis's crystals at best. I can only conclude that her first Aegis prevents Ava from producing two different crystals at once," said Alicia.
"Then, it can't be helped. At the very least, her purpose being there is to distract Gheele," said Melker. "There should be no problem if I give you control over my air forces during the invasion, Maltyie?"
"Yes, father. As you wish. Though, this time, I'm sure my contribution is not that needed for our victory." Maltyie tapped at her A.I watch and the hologram disappeared.
Melker smirked at his daughter's statement. "Nonsense, Maltyie. The many victories of our Great Corporate United are all because of your clever tactics and strategies. I do admit, our country might have lost a few battles without you there guiding our troops."
"Thank you, father," said Maltyie as she bowed slightly.
"Then, shall we all go?" proposed Melker.
The rest of the Aegis Users agreed as Melker stood up from his seat.
All of us that were present in the meeting room walked out, heading towards the Teria aircraft waiting outside.
As we were walking along the corridor, I pulled at Maltyie's sleeve so she would slow down her pace. "If it's that easy, why didn't they just invade Neo Africa long ago?"
"Hmm, that's because a lot of rebellions prevent my father from taking that action. Taking down Neo Africa would require proper planning and enough information, as Gheele is the unknown factor," said Maltyie. "Don't worry, Ava. I trust in you and Alex to carry out what you guys had planned. I'll try to slow down the advancement of our land troops, and Derrick would do the same for the navies. We buy you time, and you do your thing."
I clenched my fist. The time had come for me to take down Relly. But first, Miranda was my main concern. Keeping her to myself would be easy, as she hated me from the start. My first Aegis deactivated itself, so during the upcoming fights, I did not have to worry much about Alicia finding out.
"Can you use your Aegis, Ava?" asked Maltyie.
"I can. The drug has worn off," I answered.
"But Alicia commanded you to not use your Aegis yet, right?"
I nodded at Maltyie.
I still have not told them about Gheele's full capability. And it was for the best.
"What is your second Aegis's specialty, Ava? Alicia has gotten the blood test, right?" asked Maltyie.
"It has something to do with absorption, I think. She commanded quite a lot before this, where she attempted for me to unleash that specialty. But it did not work. Perhaps there's a special requirement for it to activate," I said.
Maltyie looked up. "Absorption, huh? Wonder what it does. "
We both made it outside of the headquarters and I waved goodbye at Maltyie.
"Stay alive, Ava," said Maltyie.
"You too."
'I don't care actually,' I said in my mind.
. . .
Our Teria airships were on their way to Neo Africa, and Alexander said that it would probably take us about five hours to reach the coast of Algeria.
All Aegis Users were required to change into their combat suits, and so I did. Mine was similar to Aya's close-fitting one.
"Your eyes changed," muttered Miranda.
I tilted my head towards Miranda who sat next to me.
"And I don't mean your red eyes," continued Miranda.
I understood what she meant. All things considered, what happened to Hope had a great impact on how I look. But at that time, I was more malicious than ever.
"You don't want to ask about Hughes?" I asked her.
Certainly, I hit a spot in her heart.
She gritted her teeth and looked at me. "You're just going to say the same thing, right? You killed my father."
'Oh, so he was your father,' I thought.
"After I'm done with this operation, I'm coming for you, Ava," threatened Miranda with her purple eyes.
"You don't say. I like to see you actually try."
Miranda clenched her fists and I savored the expression on her face. "Don't push your luck, kid." She then darted her attention elsewhere, much to my dismay.
Alicia and Bart were talking with Aya about something in the seats fifteen meters from me. Alexander was silent, and so did Relly. I guessed they could not talk much considering what had occurred two weeks beforehand.
Lily, however, was swinging her body sideways like a pendulum at her seat, grinning upon a thought in her mind.
'She must be thinking about Caesar," I thought. Speaking of Caesar, I had not pried about both of their relationships. Aside from Lily's weird demeanor due to her Aegis, she was very fond of Caesar. Perhaps she saw him as a mentor. Or a fatherly figure, like how I allowed Hope in my life.
Five hours passed by quickly as the Vlasta's Maidens popped out from another section of our aircraft, joining us in the upcoming fight.
"I never knew the Vlasta's Maidens were here," I said under my breath.
Everyone stood up after a clear sight of land emerged from the clouds. I, too, poked my head at the window.
Sure enough, Neo Africa was in sight.
The inevitable battle of control over it would determine the fate of many lives.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
HavenlyJeep
HavenlyJeep |Volume 2|
Upcoming Chapters:
* Chapter 52: Inevitable Clash
* Chapter 53: Aegis Users in Sight
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