Our Sun is setting...

[empress_without_a_throne]

[The battle against the NUNE wound up spiraling into other things... which entailed the first formation of Solaris's newest, strongest combiner: SolSavior.  The same machine now returning to the Sakihama Base, triumphant after kicking serious ass.  Reason to celebrate?  Not this time.]

Sara... you...

... Don't be dead out there.  Please don't be dead!  You... we're... the Savior team... and if you're gone then nothing will...

[Yeah, she's been like this ever since the first battle with a new threat -the Indalph- ended.  The Director's granddaughter -her best friend no less- missing and possibly held prisoner, though most likely dead.]

Dido... I'm sorry.  Putting you in danger like that, ordering you to launch with Sara's machine... that's not what you signed up for.

This isn't anything like I thought would...

Comments

[empress_without_a_throne]

I... don't know. Not first-hand. Probably terribly though. We're all just hoping Sara's not dead now, and I'd imagine that feeling's even stronger for a grandfather.

And Solairs has lost pilots before. Most infamously when we lost the entirety of the first Balmung Team twelve years ago. But nothing like this. You really can't prepare for losing someone because they were doing some scouting and suddenly there are extradimensional invaders.

[ugyuuya]

Well there's no blood and no body so that's heartening at the very least. I guess we should focus more on a buddy system or something for scouting units just in case we have any more fun surprise moments.

That could just be my TSF training with the smallest tactical unit being the element of two in any combat area. I didn't know about the Balmung team though, I've heard a bit about Ken's parents while we scream at each other and I've seen your current setup but most of the past is kind of a blank.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Two-man teams for scouting's not a bad idea. You should try to pass it along...

Regarding the Balmung Team though... it was the greatest tragedy of Solaris. A group that, because of a freak accident, became trapped in the deepest, darkest reaches of the Great Black Void and had to fight their way to freedom and the world they'd vowed to protect. Solaris back then had no idea if they were even alive still or not...

But they were alive. They fought through countless members of the Eclipse Sentries, escaping after weeks. Things were good. They didn't stay that way though.

Just as sunlight and food connected to it via photosynthesis can harm me, Void energy can have severe effects on humans. Lasting harm would require exposure to tremendous amounts of the energy for an extended period of time but... that poor group of souls were just unlucky beyond unlucky. They didn't even live to see the end of the Sentries' leader; a bunch of other people on the base took it upon themselves to finish what the Balmung Team started.

... Sara was just eight when that happened too. I can't even begin to imagine what a shock like that could've been to her.

[ugyuuya]

Sounds almost like the origin of the Volk Data. After a long and drawn out series of operations a Russian TSF division tried to assault and capture the hive. They sent back a runner with map data every 15 minutes and after the 8th runner the BETA surged up out of the hive and the division was never heard from again. That data was used in the development of second and even some third generation TSFs and provides most of the data that is used for hive assault training.

I would hope that Sara was spared the worst of what happened with the Balmung team though. There's no way an eight year old could have been able to appreciate what occurred and it could have dealt some real lasting damage.

[Yuuya pauses for a minute before speaking again.]

You mentioned her Grandfather ran the organization. Don't tell me her parents were... [Yuuya's face carries an expression you haven't seen from him as of yet. A desire to be wrong tinted with fear and just a bit of horror.]