“Lieutenant MacLeod! Sir!” Athena had been attempting to reach James MacLeod for the past ten minutes. She had received no reply. Either the vents were constructed from a material that interfered with communications, or the systems built into the cockpit had been damaged from combat and the temperature in these vents.

Athena was certainly in desperate straits. She was very much trapped in the magma vents. When she sensed that the enemy unit did not pursue her cockpit sphere down into the magma vent, she thought she’d be able to return and escape her predicament through the opening that she had tumbled down into this underground system.

Her cockpit sphere extended tiny grappling arms that allowed her to scamper unsteadily about. These arms were designed to allow an ejected pilot the ability to perform some level of navigational, attach the cockpit to an asteroid, retrieve some minor emergency supplies and similar actions in space.

After a brief struggle with these somewhat weak grappling arms, Athena only discovered that the enemy unit had obliterated the opening to the vent. Her heart immediately sank to the very bottom of the mariana trench.

This underground system was no safe haven. The geothermal plant used many of these vents to regulate the temperature and risk of the supervolcano that it drew energy from. At any moment, one of these vents could very well be filled with magma-- she was certain to be boiled alive, a curling shrimp in a hot pot.

A sense of dread filled Athena’s heart-- the idea that the enemy unit was here to sabotage the plant occurred to her. If the geothermal plant that regulated the area was sabotaged, that also meant that the systems regulating the whole underground thermal control might very well go haywire, further decreasing her already questionable chances at survival.

She could only swear inwardly. The main issue was that she did not have a map of this underground system! And the fact that her cockpit sphere was not all that mobile. And that she had no neuro devices that she could send to scout the tunnels and vents.

Athena closed her eyes and calmed her mind. Her mind replayed much of her training and her superior’s words. “Survive to fight another day. As long as you survive, one day, you will discover yourself the master of your craft,” she muttered James MacLeod’s words to herself. Athena recalled the sacrifice of Smirnov and the fates of Levy and Saad. She could not fall here. Not now. Not to the burning flesh of the Earth!

She took a deep breath within her cockpit to relieve her anxious mind. Special Lieutenant MacLeod would search for her. Will the special lieutenant come across the destroyed magma vent? If that terrorist attacked the geothermal plant, her superior might find his eyes drawn elsewhere rather than a damaged magma vent!

If so, then it would make it pointless for her to remain close to this magma vent. Yet, she might very well completely lose herself within the underground system if she attempted to find an escape path by herself.

Athena was very much attempting to put herself into the shoes of her most likely rescuer, James MacLeod. If she could think like him, then she’d know where she needed to go to be saved.

James MacLeod should be approaching from the northwest of the Kasvallian Yellowstone Complex. It was rather likely that he’d notice damage to the geothermal plant, and hearing no word from her, head to observe any damage that the terrorist might have caused.

Would he be able to sense her position? If it was the material that the vents were made of that affected her comms, Athena doubted that her superior would be able to sense her position.

Eventually, she realized that she had no choice but to believe her superior would find the signs to her. Yet, that did not mean she could not increase her chances of survival. She marked her path along the walls of the entry magma vent that had collapsed, and climbed upwards, searching for a side vent.

If the temperatures were to rise, it would be safest to be on a higher sidevent. The main vents would certainly be boiling if not filled by magma itself.

Just as she dragged her cockpit sphere into the highest side vent reachable in the main vent that had been blockaded at a curve, a sudden heat wave released from some underground source sent the cockpit lights flashing red in dire warning. Athena breathed a sigh of relief at having barely avoided being hit directly in the cockpit by said heat wave.

She then had no choice but to patiently wait in this side vent, occasionally shouting into her comms in hopes of reaching James MacLeod.

As for James? He was currently pulling his hair out. He had completely lost communication with the youngest and least experienced of his team.

When the plane transporting his nexarm unit back to the Kasvallian Yellowstone Complex came within range of the last known location of Athena, James sensed the launch of the startram system. He was too far to interfere and could only watch as a space shuttle accelerated up into the sky and climb into space.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. The Kasvallian geothermal complex was up in flames and many locations. Many helicopters had just exited the mountain tunnels that lead to Vezna’s abode within the Grand Teton Peak, carrying large balloons of chemicals meant for putting out the flames.

“Vezna. Inform me of the events here.” He immediately attempted to obtain information from the man.

“Welcome back, James,” Vezna sounded completely unperturbed, which further irritated James, who was already desperate to find and confirm the status of Athena. “Some terrorists attacked our geothermal plant in Yellowstone before leaving using the startram. All-in-all, nothing major. A bit costly to repair, but it’ll return to functionality soon enough.”

“Yes… yes…” James could barely control his agitation. “Did you notice Watanabe in combat?”

“Our complex entered lockdown once a battle started. The initial battle close to the complex? That, we have recordings of. As for the zone between the complex and the geothermal plant-- there is a surveillance gap in that area. The enemy appeared out of nowhere! Perhaps my assistance in rebuilding Warsaw was not appreciated by said terrorists.”

A beep sounded and James received the holographic recording of the initial battle. His eyes widened at the sight of the haisnaf, a hulking menace in comparison to the nexarm’s knightly stance.

He initially considered that the destruction of parts of the geothermal plant might be caused by combat, and would be the best place to start the search for Athena. Seeing this footage, he decided to be thorough and start from the initiation of combat.

He dropped down in his nexarm and activated his thrusters towards the area between Grand Teton and Middle Teton Peak. He then followed the signs northeast to the geothermal plant. He spread out his sensors attempting to find any signs of a battle between two exo-armors.

He immediately noticed some snipers perched on high vantage points that had been disconnected. A number of surveillance helicopter devices spread out and James soon came to a collapsed magma vent where the debris collected and blocked off a curve.

It has to be here, James MacLeod thought. He backed off and initially considered activating a few missile systems to remove this debris, but then realized that such a move was reckless. If Athena was trapped within, such an action might take her life instead.

Thus, he instead activated many laser devices that began heating up the debris blocking the vent. It was tedious work, but with a calculated approach, James softened the critical blockages that eventually led to the debris cluster collapsing and sliding down further into the vent harmlessly.

The marks Athena left behind soon led him to Athena’s cockpit sphere resting listlessly in a side vent.

“Ensign Watanabe!” James hollered into his comms, only to receive no reply. A quick analysis of the cockpit sphere and James discovered that the interior of Athena’s sphere had already reached a temperature of thirty-five degrees celsius. She was literally being steamed to death!

His nexarm was too large to enter such a side vent, so he had to control a number of neuro devices to attach to Athena’s cockpit sphere and thrust the sphere out of the side vent into his arms.

Then, James heard a rumbling from the ground and his cockpit flashed red in warning.

Warning! Incoming magma expulsion!

James immediately activated his thrusters, yet he was still slow! He lost a number of neuro devices that he had sent down into the vents to scout the tunnels. Last he sensed from them was a rising magma.

As he rose back out of the vent, beneath his feet, a rising tide of lava climbed and a sudden shot of lava was sent spewing directly at his nexarm!

“Fuck!” James wrapped his nexarm around Athena’s cockpit sphere in urgency, and his nexarm plates’ integrity dropped to twenty percent as the surface of his unit was covered in the scorching thick fluid.

“Activate vibration mode!”

A motor system within his unit began a small-scale rapid shaking accompanied by a droning noise that loosened the fluid off of the nexarm-- it would be a disaster if the thick fluid coating his nexarm was allowed to cool and dry.

He returned back to a plateau on the northeast Grand Teton Mountain Ranges away from the magma vent, and desperately pried open Athena’s cockpit sphere. 

James found an Athena delirious from heat, eyes half-closed in a state of hallucination.

“Special Lieutenant…?” She whispered. “The sun is so cold…”

James MacLeod immediately set his nexarm down in a kneeling position, dropped down to the ground and pulled Athena out of her cockpit.

He carried Athena and pulled on the hook. The wire dragged them both back into James’ cockpit. James then removed Athena’s pilot suit, and Athena was left in her sporty undergarments. An oxygen mask was attached to her face.

“Activate medical assistance.” James was no medical expert, but he knew that the nexarm cockpit, at least one not detached from its unit, should provide emergency life-saving services.

A number of mechanical arms secured Athena’s body along with many sensory devices that began analyzing important physiological markers.

Cooling required. The cockpit will enter combat mode.

A second later and the cockpit was filled with the cool gel liquid normally used to absorb impact during combat scenarios.

A mechanical arm then began injecting fluid into Athena’s body through a tube into her elbow.

James finally breathed a sigh of relief within his exo-suit as the nexarm unit informed him that Athena’s body was stable and would recover in just a day.

A short moment later, the gel within his cockpit was withdrawn, and James returned to Athena’s dilapidated cockpit sphere and connected himself. This allowed him to observe the information within the black box, and his mind received a clear detailed combat against the unknown exo-armor unit.

“Well done, Athena,” he muttered to himself. She had survived and successfully collected valuable insights into the new exo-armor. James believed that this would prove critical in future encounters. This should be more valuable than losing a nexarm unit, and they are unlikely to receive punishment from his higher-ups.

Now, the major question that James had was where this unit had come from! Try as he might, he could not come up with any concrete theories.

Many nexarm units had been stolen over half a year ago, so who knew who exactly could have built this new unit? Perhaps the new unit was created on top of an original nexarm frame!

He certainly had suspicions of the Kasvallian Yellowstone Complex. Yet, the Kasvallian Group is the primary funder of rebuilding New Warsaw, and had also received substantial damage to their geothermal plant.

___________________________________________________________________________

One week later. Pacific City.

James MacLeod informed his superiors of the events on the west coast of North America. There was an initial uproar on delivery of Athena’s black box. Many investigations were launched, but no concrete evidence was found.

Regardless of the results of the investigation, this was no longer an issue under James MacLeod. Currently, the four--James, Olivia, Cyrus and Athena-- are at the Rebirth Bunker. They were here to check on Clio.

Sitting in the waiting room, James’ face was grim in consternation.

“Why are all the replacement candidates of such a young age...” He murmured as he scrolled down a hologram. They needed to replace Levy and Smirnov, and potentially Saad. Yet, all the candidates with at least a total of eighteen plus neuro channels were twenty-five or younger, with minimal experience.

“If I were to guess…” Olivia replied with a slight frown. “It must be because of our evolution to control more neuro devices due to the Neurorave system. So, it is the newest generation most likely capable of controlling a multitude of neuro devices…”

A woman in a lab coat then appeared in the waiting room.

“One visitor only at one time,” she firmly stated.

The four nodded at each other, and James was the first to enter.

When James returned, he looked befuddled but also disheartened.

“She did not speak. It was as if I didn’t exist.”

The very same thing occurred with Olivia and Cyrus as well. Both returned distraught at the lack of response from Cliupatra Saad.

It was Athena’s turn. She herself was still rather beaten down in regards to the events at the Kasvallian Yellowstone Complex, but she pushed herself forward relentlessly.

She entered to find Clio tending to an underground greenhouse, with artificial sunlight supplying the many plants that surrounded her on all sides. This was a reassuring sight to see. Clio had only her brain protected after the destruction to her nexarm unit. To see her having a body and moving about was a great source of relief.

Athena initially wished to directly ask if Clio would rejoin the team, but after a short silence, recognized that it was pointless to broach the subject.

“What’s the name of this plant?” Athena put aside her initial motives, curious as to the plant that Clio was tending to. She was surprised to receive an answer-- her compatriots had said that they were thoroughly ignored.

“It’s the… what people call the white acacia,” answered the egyptian. “A beautiful sapling, isn’t it?”

“Mmm. What is its use?”

“Well…” Clio gazed at this plant lovingly. “Supposedly one of the key plants in history that prevented further desertification of the Sahara in an age long past.”

“Mmm…” Athena found it difficult to imagine when the Sahara wasn’t green. Ever since her birth, she had known the Sahara to be green. She wandered around, examining many different plants that Clio had been tending to during her recovery.

“I’ll be returning to Egypt,” Athena heard Clio say behind her in a soft tone.

“I’ll visit one day,” Athena beamed in return.

“Thank you.”

Athena no longer intruded into Clio’s world and excused herself.

“She won’t be returning,” Athena informed her superior. She discovered that she was happy to inform James MacLeod that Clio would not be returning. Was that… wrong of her?

James MacLeod seemed rather disappointed, and nodded his head dejectedly.

A single wave of the arm and the four rode the elevator back to the surface. They would now need to seek three replacements.

____________________________________________________________________________

Interamnia, The Belt, September 8, 1000 Solar Era.

Khan had been promoted and placed to defend this resource node in the belt. The martian fleet had been struggling to protect the nodes that they had taken earlier in the year. Nearly all of the smaller resource points in the belt had already been recaptured by the EFSF after their newly-built starship fleet entered the fray.

Her superior, Vice-admiral Zheng was at Pallas, while Vice-admiral Laurent was at Vesta.

“Khan. Trust your instincts,” advised Zheng through the comms. “Admiral Sullivan examined your skirmish records and specifically ordered this post for you.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Let me give you a bit of encouragement,” Zheng mysteriously stated. “I’ve come across details on those who sabotaged and harmed my mentor, your father.”

“You have?!” Khan straightened herself in her command seat upon this news.

“Survive this battle and perhaps we will have an opportunity,” was Vice-admiral Zheng’s reply.

Khan locked her fingers and cracked her knuckles in preparation for the defense of Interamnia.