~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
[Mistress, I don't think it's wise to leave the location of our assignment.]
A synthetic female voice said to Leila, who was entering the atmosphere above the Atlantic Ocean and heading towards mainland Europe.
"It's not our assignment. Marcus didn't give me any of those. I have chosen them myself." The blonde replied as she looked at the green land getting closer.
[My creator still expects us to work at the site of the future base.]
"And we will, Andraste." The girl replied before pointing out." Besides, if I break the rules, you would turn hostile, right?"
[...Yes.]
"Then I am not breaking them." Leila smiled as she watched how the mech was entering the atmosphere.
[Very well.]
After a couple of moments, the fire surrounding Andraste ceased as they passed the outer layers of the atmosphere.
[Adjusting to Atmospheric Flight]
Holograms showed how Andraste's wings shifted, spreading wider to assist in flight in the atmosphere. At the same time, funnels in the wings adjusted for gravity as well.
All of that was automatic as Leila only needed to watch.
'Now let's see where Anna should be working right now.'
The blonde wasn't surprised that her AI was able to access Military databases and find where her friend was working.
'Weisswolf castle… they gave her entire castle to work in?' Leila's eyebrows went up in surprise; she didn't expect her friend to have not only a castle but an entire dedicated team to work on her Knightmare development.
"...not bad…" She was a bit jealous, not that it didn't last more than a second. After all, she was no longer in the military.
Andraste descended to the castle. The alarms did flare up, followed by walls rising from the ground.
'They didn't consider flying machines, did they?' She looked around before her AI notified her that the castle was trying to contact her.
[Mistress, the castle is trying to contact us. However, it's against my programming to allow you to have a direct communication link.]
"Why?"
[Pilot identities are secret, especially in this kind of situation.]
"...Ugh… then send a message that I want to speak with Anna Clement, tell her that she promised me a cat."
[Very well, sending a message.]
Leila waited for a while, and slowly she started to get nervous.
"I can meet my friend, right?" All of a sudden, she asked her AI.
[There are no specific prohibitions. While direct communication will lead to you being recorded inside a KK-Unit. Meeting outside is a different thing entirely.
My systems will deny any outside recordings thanks to Electromagnetic interference.]
"I see… good to know." She sighed in relief, as soon after, the sensors picked up a moment at the castle door.
The camera zoomed in and showed a light pink-haired girl breathing heavily; her glasses had almost fallen off her nose. She looked like she had run a marathon.
"...Anna." Leila's eyes brightened when she saw her friend.
"Leila, is that you in that machine?!" The haggard-looking Anna asked, her voice full of hope.
"Yes. It's me."
The light-pink-haired girl's eyes teared up as she took several more steps, but behind her was her staff. They followed their boss. They even grabbed her, not allowing her to get close.
"I need to speak with her. Can I leave the mobile suit?" The blonde asked her AI.
[Not recommended, Mistress. If anything happens to you, there is a 95% chance that I will be terminated.]
"...I think we will be fine." With that said, Leila proceeded to exit the machine.
"As long as there are no records of me or my machine, I am fine, right?"
[...Most certainly.]
"I know I am being difficult, but I need to speak with my best friend."
'Considering that we will be waging war against Europe anyway…' Leila frowned mentally, she would rather help her friend to get away before it's too late.
[I understand, I was designed to help you; that is my duty.]
The girl smiled when she heard Andraste's reply.
She wasn't expecting a full-time AI that could help her. But then again, her man is… well… all she can say is extreme.
As the blonde moved out of the cockpit, her mech assisted her in getting out.
"Leila! IT IS YOU!" Anna got out of the hold and dashed over to her friend. Her staff were surprised by how strong the scientist girl was at that moment.
Before long, the light-pink-haired girl hugged her best friend, whom she had not seen in months.
Leila hugged her back. After a while, she pulled back and looked at her.
"You do look a bit different…" The scientist girl commented as she cleaned her tears and fixed her glasses.
Her eyes ended up on her neck…
"...Is that a… hickey?" Anna asked, her tone was innocent, she was confused, before realising what this meant.
The blonde blushed hard as she looked away for a bit.
"...Y-You can say that."
"...What is going on, Leila? You have been declared KIA in the Taboo Incident." The scientist friend asked in a serious tone.
"...Taboo Incident?" The Andraste's pilot replied with a question of her own before looking at her mech and then at Anna.
"Can we speak in private?"
"...O-Of course." Anna looked at her team.
"We need to talk privately; we will use the backyard." The light-pink-haired glasses girl said to her staff, who waved their hands to indicate that it was okay with them.
"Andraste, I will be fine… can you wait for me?"
[If the backyard is open, I can fly there.]
The talking machine didn't faze Anna. She quickly replied to the Mobile Suit.
"Yes, you can go there."
[Affirmative, I will meet you there, Mistress.]
With that said, the thrusters ignited and the machine flew off.
Leila sighed, seeing that this was working.
"Umm… what is that, Knightmare? It looks nothing like I have ever seen! Which country made it?" Anna asked her with an excited tone. She was gushing with a giddy look.
"...A very long story." Leila looked nervous as the pair began to walk. Anna was leading, and the blonde was following her.
"...I think we have enough time to talk, yes?" The scientist girl asked her. But Leila looked a bit worried.
"I don't know, maybe…"
The glasses girl looked at her nervous friend with concern.
"...what is going on? Can't you tell me?"
"...I am trying… It started as you say, the Taboo Incident. When… my boyfriend attacked with his machine. He destroyed both sides.
He was rampaging through the E.U. base when he saw me."
"...Boyfriend? Really?" Anna was having a hard time believing that… but honestly, not seeing her for months and seeing the flying Knightmare made her believe this story.
"Yeah… as strange as it might sound, he found me attractive and picked me up… took me away… to the other side of the world."
Leila sighed while saying that.
"...He kidnapped you?" The glasses girl gawked as she realised what this meant.
"Yes…" The blonde replied with a dead serious yes.
"...That's irresponsible and crazy!"
"I know… he didn't care. And as you noticed in the end, I accepted my new situation." She motioned at her pilot suit.
"...So he took you away… in the end, you accepted that he wants you as his girlfriend… he then gave you the machine that brought you here."
Anna described the rest using the information she had.
"Yes, as he is a very scary genius, the technology he makes is decades advanced of anything we have," Leila explained, making the scientist friend of her's get interested. She does want to meet this guy, but at the same time, she is afraid of him.
"What is his objective?"
"...to spread humanity to every single corner of the Galaxy and then rule them." The blonde replied with a dead serious tone. But it didn't help as her friend simply looked at her, or more like spaced out.
"..."
In other words, Anna was so shocked or more like in disbelief, as she was phasing out her friend.
"I am dead serious!" Leila got snappy with an embarrassed blush. It's not that easy to say that with such a straight face!
"...Is that even possible?" In the end, Anna refocused and decided to believe this… a bit.
"...My Andraste is capable of interstellar travel." The blonde dropped a bombshell of information.
"..."
The Scientist girl pushed her glasses up. Her eyes were trembling. If what she said is true… then…
The glasses girl did some rough math; both E.U. and Britannia developed some primitive technology for travelling in the void.
But anything they did cost them millions and even billions to make, even the most basic means of transportation in space.
And if Leila's machine is easily capable of that.
Honestly, she can't even place a date when they could catch up to this kind of technology.
If all of that is true…
"... Leila… can you honestly tell me how bad the situation is?"
Anna is smart enough to know where this is going.
"...I can give maybe a year… or two before there are no countries left on Earth except one."
The blunt reply caused Anna's breathing to hitch as she got nervous.
"...He plans world domination, isn't he?"
Leila looked away. Now that her friend is asking she is feeling a bit… bad. To think that she is on the side that will cause total war.
She always wanted peace.
'Before peace, there is war, before war, there is peace. Both can't exist without each other, Leila.'
Andraste's pilot recalled Marcus' words. She never thought he was a philosophical type, as weird as it sounds.
"Yes… Either way… humanity will be united. Either through fear or military conquest." The blonde explained with a downcast look.
"He will continue to build, his technologies will make people aware of him, one way or another, there will be a conflict for his technology."
The pair walked outside through another set of large castle-style doors. Before them was a pond and a terrace to use next to the water. There was a small mist above the water.
It was a gorgeous place to have a military development base.
"...I see… I suppose he is too proud just to give away all of that technology." Anna joked, which made Leila pout as she recalled something.
"Hmph! For a pretty girl, he could give away machines like mine." She complained to her friend.
"...A womaniser?"
"Maybe? I mean, he is using his advanced technology to get a harem." Leila pondered loudly.
"...That's…" Anna fixed her glasses, trying to process what she just heard!
She had never heard anything like that before!
"Yes, I know." The blonde looked at Andraste, who was standing next to the terrace.
"I guess… it makes sense? Technology is the driving force behind many things."
The pair ended up sitting at the table in the terrace.
"Then, what do you want to talk to me, Leila?" The light-pink-haired girl asked her friend.
"...I would want you to join me."
Anna's expression sank. She looked down at her hands on the table.
"...I can't do that, Leila. I have many people depend on me." She explained with a pained smile.
"...I see… I hoped it won't come to this…" Leila sighed before looking at Andraste.
"Many people will die, and you will provide them with advanced technology, Anna, giving them hope to continue the fight.
A fight that is pointless, once my boyfriend starts space industries… There won't be any hope for those on the planet's surface."
When the blonde explained like that… Anna's eyes trembled; she realised that such a fight would end quickly, and it could be very destructive.
"...I know… but I can't simply leave." The glasses-wearing girl sighed; she was resigned to this fate.
"...I will ask him to spare you and those close to you, Anna. It's the least I can do." With that said, Leila got up and walked to Andraste, who picked her up, and the pair began to fly away.
Anna rushed out from the terrace and watched Leila, who was getting away. The girl was still in the mech's hand, watching her friend getting smaller and smaller.
"...No…Leila…"