Chapter 4:

The rhythm between workdays, rest days, and days where she uses her R-Suit grows steady. She plans out a raid one or two nights per month, goes to work each day, rests on weekends, and accepts the innate anxiety that comes with every time she uses the R-Suit. Tzil’s life is back to being normal. 

She had expected things to change after she took up raiding as an activity. Yet the more she did, the more that everything seemed to settle down back to the start. For her part Tzil was happy about this particular development. Nevertheless, it still feels odd to her. 

Tzil spends that day giving maintenance to her R-Suit, the Bluelight properly speaking. Because of how they work, R-Suits require minimal service work, mostly focused on ensuring that every part can still move as necessary. The actual engine and how it works is self sustaining, as it interfaces with Tzil’s own brain in order to function.

Aside from that there’s also cleaning and maintaining the R-Suit, which gradually makes it look new again. For a brief period of time she wonders to herself why she does that for an R-Suit that nobody will ever see up close, but she leaves those questions aside and continues cleaning it up and scrubbing it. 

It has been a long time since she did her first prototypes, tiny ones connected to large machines that funneled energy into them in order to test their movement. Then there were energy output tests. Tests in different cores to see how the Rhydian cores would react to micro tampering, since she couldn’t afford to make a single mistake on the one she was actually using for the Bluelight.

Work was meticulous, she recorded all of her hypotheses in long documents, as well as her theories, and then the results. She had a record of failures infinitely larger than her record of successes, And she didn’t rest until every single failure or circumstance in a particular test was satisfyingly explained. It made work long and arduous, but what was more important for her was that it made work precise.

Most of the things she was learning from the R-Suit were things that she wound up applying elsewhere. People around her stall were quick to mention that her electronics were growing much better by the day, and as a result she received an influx of clients whom she learned to deal with. As a result of learning to give great service to her clients, she acquired more clients from recommendations. 

Her life is easier than ever as a result. Everything falls into patterns of repetition that she can recognize and acknowledge. And whenever she repeats these patterns, she feels a certain calm. She isn’t sure whether it is happiness, but it certainly is calm. This calm allows her to keep at it in order to maintain things as they are. She doesn’t know why she wants to keep things as they are, but she does it anyway since it’s what she knows to do.

The maintenance work takes a few hours regardless of how simple it actually winds up being. The robot is tall enough that polishing and greasing every small detail becomes a large task divided into many much smaller ones. Each joint, and each scale, everything has to be done one by one. It’s the nighttime when she finishes, she had intended to utilize that time to make some electronics for her shop, but she accepts that she’ll have to work on them during the weekend and moves on from the fact.

She puts the Bluelight in the truck as per usual, and heads back home in a most uneventful evening. Same road, same cableroom number 3, same time from her workshop to the house, same guards. But when she gets home she sees something that is not the same. There’s military trucks parked all around her home.

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From the information that she gathered from the tavern owner, Quixila was able to divise that the R-Suit had been attacking exclusively places to the east of Iltzik. From there she was able to find out more about the specific order by asking around, and from that they could find out who would be capable of that. 

The army utilized the timing and  the possibilities to limit the number of people who had the ability, location, and money that would allow them to make such a machine. The number could be counted on one hand, and factoring in the rough time estimates and the locations that were attacked, Tzilpapali wound up being the only one that could be capable of making the R-Suit. 

Quixila informed Il’Ilo of this, who in turn figured out where Tzilpapali lived, and surveyed the area for when she was found leaving. Once she left her house, Il’ilo sent the army to wait for her, and to set up an ambush.

The reasons why they had to go through such roundabout methods were that they didn’t want to alert her that they were looking for her R-Suit. An R-Suit could wreak havoc in a way few things could match, and any attempts to contain one were bound to have vast civilian casualties. s such, they had to attack when the person in question wasn’t inside the R-Suit with absolute certainty. Which is why they didn’t implement stronger check ups to go to the outskirts, since those would be immediately suspicious.

The trucks surround the house and then wait for the person in question, who arrives without issue and is quickly handcuffed and taken inside together with her truck. Once inside, she is made to wait, the army makes her wait for 15 minutes until field marshall Il’Ilo appears at the location. Quixila walks in first, then Il’Ilo, whose presence immediately alerts Tzilpapali. Without waiting for long, Il’Ilo begins questioning her.

-Your name is Tzilpapali.

He states.

-That is correct

Says Tzil.

-Do you know why we are here?

He says

-To take my R-Suit

Says Tzilpapali. Upon hearing this, Il’Ilo smiles and nods, then he talks again. 

-I like that, straightforward. But I have to say that you are only half correct.

He says, upon hearing this, Tzil is confused and scared, however she maintains her sight firm and her back straight.

-Why are you here then?

She asks as honestly as she possibly can. She can’t imagine what the military might want from someone who decided independently to hide an R-Suit, except perhaps to jail them. However, Il’Ilo doesn’t seem to be intent on causing any form of harm.

-We need your R-Suit, that’s true. And we also need you.

Tzilpapali is immediately taken aback by this and is intent on replying, however, before she can do so, Il’Ilo continues.

-You made the R-Suit, you must know that now you are a craft mechanic. That aside, you know how difficult it is to interface an R-Suit with a new pilot, right?

Tzil nods quietly but doesn’t respond any further.

-It might take 10 or 15 men dying before we can find one that can interface properly with your R-Suit.

Says Il’Ilo, to which Tzil remains quiet, but visibly nervous. At this point, Il’Ilo finishes speaking.

-My men found the suit in your truck, we’ll be taking you and it to the military base for the time being.

Finishes Il’Ilo, leaving the room accompanied by Quixila and motioning for Tzilpapali to follow, who does so obediently. She is taken away from  her house by a military vehicle. Curious gazes turn to stare at it, it’s rare for the military to be mobilized within Iltzik. And rarer still for them to do so without prior notice. 

This is one of those rare occasions and Tzil is part of it. In a sense she counts herself lucky, as there will be relatively few persons with similar experiences to her. However, for the most part that is just her mind justifying itself to her, and trying to evade the fear that pervades her to her core at the moment.

The rest of the people in the truck are silent. Men and women fully decked out in combat suits and armed with standard issue rifles. Their visors make it hard for Tzil to tell if they are looking at her, she assumes they aren’t, but can’t know for sure. 

And at that point, one thought remains in her head, she wants to see her R-Suit. She wants to see the Bluelight and she wants to know that it’s faring well as it should. Logic dictates that it is largely unharmed, but logic is not a weapon she can rely on at that moment. she is currently relying on her heart, and her willpower. 

She is sitting straight and facing forward. Her expression conceals all her angst and worries with a determined furrow in her brow. She knows that one part of them is shocked that someone so young can make an R-Suit, and she feels that for the next thing that is going her way, she will need to use that shock to her advantage.

On their own end, Quixila and Il’Ilo are in a separate vehicle, together with Quixila’s group. The vehicle has a division between the driver seat and the passenger’s that makes it impossible to hear what is being said by the passengers at any point in time. This is particularly important since aside from Il’Ilo, only the special operation agents from Quixila’s group are privy to the full breakdown of the plan and the intentions that the military have with Tzilpapali.

-She’s unsure

Says Il’Ilo mostly to himself.

-It’s just for now, remember she’s young, sir.

Says Quixila with a calm and somewhat jovial disposition to herself. She prefers to assuage Il’Ilo’s concerns for the time being. Both of them are well aware of the cost that comes with failing to bring Tzilpapali in with the military. And neither of them wants to resort to getting other people to interface with the R-Suit.

They are nervous, but neither shows it. Il’Ilo has to maintain his air of authority in all circumstances, while Quixila has trained long to keep her emotions in check while on duty. Thus, when the car arrives at the military base, both of them, as well as the other two men that accompany Quixila go down from the car seemingly no worse for the wear.

Il’Ilo has assigned a man to give Tzilpapali a tour of the base, as well as to show her the living rooms for high ranked personnel. She’ll be taken safely around the base with cordiality before being taken to the war room in order to continue the interview. Il’Ilo motions for Quixila to remain in a corner of the room while he seats at the head of the table. It’s a ritual that he has whenever he needs to talk about something difficult. He prepares physically in the position that he is going to hold for most of the talk.

Eventually, Tzilpapali arrives, escorted by a man who immediately leaves and closes the door as he is exiting. Tzil takes a seat three chairs away from Il’Ilo, and two chairs away from the edge of the table. She sits up straight and awaits for comments or questions. The room is silent for a minute, before Il’Ilo breaks the silence.

-So, did you like the rooms?

He asks while keeping his ever present stern tone.

-They are nice yes, large too.

She responds

-You have until tomorrow to make up your mind, but you’ll have to stay here today.

 Finishes Il’Ilo, before motioning for Quixila to take her to a room. Quixila nods quietly and goes towards Tzilpapali. She removes Tzil’s handcuffs and takes her out of the war room. Il’Ilo stays inside and clasps his hands together in front of himself then places them in front of his forehead and looks downwards. Afterwards he leans back and looks upwards to the ceiling.

At that point in time, he can choose to head back home, his wife and daughter are waiting for him. But he chooses not to, he phones home and talks to his wife.

-Lakla, I’ll stay in the barracks today, there’s a mountain of work I’m behind on.

He says as he talks to her.

-Yes, both of you all the same, yes It’s paperwork.

Il’Ilo says before finally saying his goodbye and hanging up. He wants to inform his wife Lakla about the R-Suit, about how happy it makes him to know that there’s hope against the Ilvyrians. He wants to tell her about the Ilvyrians, and how they are secretly planning to invade the Huitzlian empire. But he restrains himself from doing any of those things. He wants to tell her that there’s a chance that he’ll have to send many men to their death as they try and fail to interface with an R-Suit that already has a pilot.

Holding himself to the same secrecy that he requests of the subordinates that know about Tzilpapali’s R-Suit, he keeps his mouth shut. Il’Ilo has never been a glutton, or one to take drugs. At that moment however, he is glad that neither of those things are present in the military base. If they were, he’d partake in both without blinking.

While Il’Ilo undergoes that, Quixila and Tzilpapali are going towards high ranking living quarters. Neither has said a word just yet, Tzil doesn’t know if she has the right to speak, or if the person that is guiding her is willing to do so. The situation has her stressed and anxious, so she doesn’t think of asking if she can make small talk. This is alleviated the moment that Quixila breaks the silence.

-You know, I didn’t think it was true, but it is, that machine is quite a something.

Says Quixila to Tzilpapali.

-How long did it take to make, six, seven months?

She asks

-3 years, it was my life’s work.

Says Tzilpapali before Quixila interrupts her 

-It still is, come on, you know it’s still there, right?

Says Quixila, prompting a mild huff from Tzilpapali.

-By the way, I saw what you did to those guys in those communities.

Tzilpapali tries to remain straight faced when she hears this, however, she can’t help but to hold curiosity over what Quixila is going to say next. She never checks on the communities whose weapons she destroys after the fact. Quixila is thus, the first person to bring it up to her.

-I mean you sure took care of the raiders for a bit don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think the other communities were all that happy about this.

Hearing this, Tzil is surprised, she keeps on listening to Quixila.

-They don’t like these raiders, but they dislike the empire more. A couple of folks are even helping the communities you attacked get back on their feet.

Says Quixila.

-What do they think of the Bluelight?

Tzil poses a question which Quixila answers.

-It’s called the Bluelight? Great name, catchy. anyway, they don’t exactly like it, they think it’s some government thing, they feel for the people you attacked. You know Empress Tsuk’A is doing more for them than previous emperors but it doesn’t quite reach everyone if you get me.

Tzil remains quiet at this, and doesn’t speak much for the rest of the journey towards her room. Quixila leaves her and locks the door from the outside, but the room is well ventilated and somewhat spacious, comfortable enough to rest. She rests in her bed and thinks all night, she resolves to do one thing more, and that is to learn. And in order to learn, she has to do something in particular.

The next morning, she confirms to Il’Ilo that she is going to join the military.

Tzilpapali talks to her dad over the phone. She is asked to inform him that she’s been scouted by the military without giving details of exactly what reason the military had to scout her. Lahocotl on his side assumes that Tzilpapali was hired based on her market stall, and that she now has a high paying job, which pleases him. Then she is asked to go one last day to her stall at the electronics market.

She begins the procedure to leave her stall, and pays a fine for leaving it in such short notice, which the army is happy to pay for her. Then, she says her goodbyes to Yala and Atzxi’om, who took good care of her.

-Take care my child, you’ll do well wherever

Says Yala.

-They say that army parties are the best, you better misbehave ya hear me?

Says Atzxi’Om, 

Both of them hug Tzilpapali and bid her farewell, while Tzilpapali herself leaves with tears on her face. The electronics market has been her second home for years, as well as her main source of income. It’s a difficult step to leave it, but she has no choice. 

Once she’s done with that part of her, she makes way to the military base, she has been informed that she will be taken to Otzin, an industrial city with a much larger military base with a large enough complex to hide Tzilpapali while she’s training with the Bluelight. 

There’s large, guarded railroads that lead to certain protected cities. Among those protected cities that are connected by railroad to Iltzik is Otzin. A city coming from the south. There’s a large number of metalwork factories there, as well as a bustling commercial district selling mostly machine made and brand name goods. Unlike Iltzik which utilizes cablerooms to transport people from place to place, Otzin still relies heavily on frequent, scheduled, buses in order to take people anywhere

The city trees are more suited to the slightly colder weather, with the most common ones being pines. The people are unassuming and don’t seem to put particular care into their appearance beyond the basics unlike Iltzik, and there’s less food stalls, corresponding with less people walking around the city.

Tzil notices this while she is taken from the train station to Otzin’s military base in a small unassuming car. She notices that the car is going away from the more populated areas and to the outskirts, then past that to a place where there’s a lot of unused land. There’s still trees but they progressively grow smaller giving way to wide open plains. And in the center of these plains is a large grey cubic building. It’s made with effectivity as its prime purpose. Its design is not aesthetically pleasing, but it does the work well enough.

The vehicle heads inside the cubic building. Inside there’s two uniformed men in camouflage brown and green clothes. They make sure to take Tzilpapali through the different facilities that the building has available. There’s a large weapon storage and a shooting range, as well as a large court in which to play Ulakza A game where one has to utilize the hip, shoulders, and abdomen, to shoot a ball through a vertical hoop overhead. 

There’s training grounds where new recruits are drilled with repetitive exercises in order to get them to commit important details to muscle memory. Lastly, there’s a truck that takes people towards flight practice ranges. The military keeps people far away from the practice ranges for their safety, and as a result, they are the ideal place for Tzilpapali to be given proper training to utilize her R-Suit.

She is taken to her quarters, personal ones, more spacious than average. There, she is asked to rest for a short while. Her R-Suit will take a few hours to arrive, Il’Ilo informed her of that in Iltzik. He told her that she is expected to showcase its use as soon as it arrives.

Hours pass quickly, by the time she notices, it’s late, and her R-Suit has just arrived in a heavily protected convoy. Both Il’Ilo and Quixila are present, as well as people that Tzilpapali recognizes as important people from the government. She can’t tell specifically who they are.

The group is taken to a wide open space with nobody in a 5 km radius. The R-Suit is placed on the floor with the aid of a platform, and Tzil climbs inside of the Bluelight. Despite having been inside only weeks prior, after everything that has recently happened to her, she finds that being inside the suit gives her a sense of belonging. 

She turns it on, the panels around her illuminate, and she gradually loses control of her own senses. She attunes herself to the machine, taking in its senses as if they were her own. Standing still, the increased speed of her thoughts allows her to create a scenario for what she is about to do inside her head before she’s had the need to move a single finger. What does she need to show, and how is she planning to do so.

When she decides it is time to move, the body feels stiff. As if it was using muscles that had laid dormant for a long time. She begins by moving the Bluelight’s shoulders, then its arms, then its legs. Once she feels in full control of it, Tzilpapali doesn’t hesitate. 

Its propulsors turn on all at once, utilizing the energy from the blue rhydian core in an oppressive glow. Tzilpapali elevates far past the clouds, then she descends at equally high speeds, stopping mere meters before hitting the ground in order to turn the other direction. Were she seating on a jet plane, less than half of the g-forces that would have been placed in her body would’ve instantly killed her. But her suit is able to protect her from these, moving, stopping, going side to side without a thought.

Eventually, Tzil has decided that she is done with the display. She straightens up and makes a gradual descent. One that seems to her as if it’s taking entire minutes, even if in real life it’s only a few seconds long. A fittingly dramatic end for the most explosive show of her abilities that she can muster without risking harm towards the people present.

While he is watching this, Il’Ilo stands straight, his mouth agape and his eyes wide open. He has seen the R-Suit from the north before, he has seen it move, he has seen it fly, and he has seen it shoot. Yet regardless of that, seeing an R-Suit rise up and take to the skies with mobility far beyond what is possible for any other man-made machine is always awe-inducing.

Tzilpapali opens the hatch and leaves the Bluelight. A truck drives her back to where Il’Ilo and the rest of the people from the government are standing. Once she arrives there, the nervousness that she had when she was first taken to the military base in Iltzik is done for. In turn, Tzilpapali now feels strong, she feels skilled in her area and as if she has the power of the world.

-I will need suitable targets if you want to see its weaponry.

She says to Il’Ilo plainly and while commanding a robust, confident tone of voice. Immediately, Il’Ilo laughs with the heartiest laugh he’s had since before he first learned of Ilvyria’s plans to attack the Huitzlian Empire.

-There’s no need for that, we’ll make suitable training drills for you and your R-Suit, I’m told it’s called the Bluelight, to practice daily.

Then another man from the government speaks, introducing himself.

-Well well well, if the mountain runs to us we’ll better climb it quick am I right? I’m Joh, you won’t be hearing much from me, but my people will make sure that you are safe.

Tzilpapali didn’t quite understand what the man meant by that sentence, which she felt was obscuring the man’s purpose. She did feel that he was somehow complimenting her, and she felt happy about that, oddly so. 

Soon after, the whole thing quickly became a show of shaking hands and informing her of who each person was. Some of them showing true admiration, some not. Her merchant eye was reasonably good at discerning which one was which, even though dealing with people trained to lie meant that she still had to keep herself on her toes. 

Eventually, Il’Ilo spoke again, managing a posture that enabled him to immediately call the attention of everyone present, but directing himself only at Tzilpapali.

-To our knowledge, the Bluelight is the smallest R-Suit ever. Because of that, we have  a special role for it in mind. I’ll brief you on it tomorrow morning.

Tzilpapali cocked her head to the right, curious to know what he meant.

-Tomorrow morning?

Il’Ilo smiled.

-Well yes, unless you want to miss the dinner and drinks.

The last remaining bit of tension on Tzilpapali’s shoulders relaxed. Her back straightened naturally. Her breathing went back to normal rate. Everything was finally working as it should have since the beginning.