Chapter 1: New Life.
I woke up to the sounds of people commuting right outside my house. The years have been tough, but it is finally time for me to move away from Earth into a new space city called "Eurasia". The entire project took 30 years to develop, and has recently opened for public use. I managed to save up enough money for a flat in the city, which I am moving in on this particular morning.
I grabbed my jacket, hopped on the semitruck and drove to the spaceport with the ticket in my hands. Along the way, I looked over the beautiful mountains of Canada for one last time, before my new life began. Life seemed great, apart from the occasional scolding from the manager, I am doing well.
After riding for about 3 hours, I reached the spaceport. Shuttles were flying practically overhead, and in the distance, I could see military starfighters parked neatly within their hangar. All this looking around made me forget that there were other people there, and I bumped into someone.
- I'm sorry mister, I didn't see you!
I took a look at the girl, who ran off immediately after I bumped into her. She was a beautiful woman, with blue eyes and silvery white hair, which she must've dyed. It's almost as if I've been graced with the presence of a goddess, who would absolutely not have any interests in an ugly person like me. She was really beautiful though.
- NUMBER 279, APRIL HOVERMIKE, PLEASE STAND IN LINE!
I suddenly snapped back to reality when my name got called. I quickly grabbed my baggage and moved towards the gate. The procedures were boring, as always, where they scan the luggage for potential hazardous stuffs, then I'm off to one of the many "shuttle waiting rooms". After the war, the UN had been reestablished, and they put all of their efforts into building new shuttles for space transport. It seems that prospect hasn't worked out that well, as only 20 are in service. To make up for the atrocious waiting times, the waiting rooms have excellent air conditioning.
- Quite a good time to take a nap, right?
I murmured to myself, before lying down onto the many mattresses laid out for economy-class passengers. Eventually, I dozed off.
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- Anomaly spotted at point BZ. Requesting aerial assistance.
- Roger that, Toronto International Spaceport. We are deploying starfighters to your position.
Within the hangar of a military base, two attack spacecrafts perform liftoff. Designated as the SF-22, these spacecrafts are top-of-the-line attack spacecrafts developed by the Canadian Space Agency following the end of the Great War and the move to space, calling for a space peacekeeping force.
The two spacecrafts zoom towards point BZ, which appear on the radar as "Gate 482" of the Toronto International Spaceport.
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I woke up to the sound of the announcer calling all passengers to begin boarding the shuttle. I quickly picked up my luggage, put on my jacket I had been using as a blanket, and headed for the gate. It was only then that I noticed the same beautiful girl I had bumped into before was on the same trip as I did, and eventually she would sit in the seat right next to mine when we boarded the shuttle. I tried to strike up a conversation.
- Hey, we've met before, didn't we? - I asked.
- N-no, I-I don't know who you are...
The girl was wearing a big trench coat that covered her entire body, and on her head a black beret. She looked as if she was some kind of celebrity, and didn't want anyone talking to her.
- My name is April Hovermike. Pleased to meet you.
- U-um, nice to meet you too.
She turned her head on me without saying a word. Am I that bad at striking up conversations?
I took a glance at her again. She truly is magnificent beneath that 20th-century outfit. The silver hair, the big blue eyes, and her sweet sweet voice. She was truly an angel amongst layman.
As we soared through the sky, attendants started going around the shuttle, providing food and drinks for hungry customers. The girl besides me have fallen asleep, and she unknowingly placed her head on my shoulders while sleeping.
- I'm such a lucky guy.
I watched as her steady breathing grew slower as she dozed off into a deep sleep, while I was being highly alert for any potential disruptions to her beauty sleep.
Just then, a loud bang was heard, and the entire shuttle shook. The girl woke up from her sleep, and opened the window next to her seat to take a look at what was happening outside.
- This can't be... No...
I took a look outside, and there it was.
My first ever encounter with a Giant.
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- ALL UNITS STAND IN POSITION!
- PREPARE FOR ATTACK!
Hundreds of soldiers, each wearing parachutes and armed with firearms descended onto a grotesque, reptilian beast, whose height is as tall as a small building. The beast spews toxic acid over the spaceport, disrupting civilian spacecrafts using its ultrasonic sound and decimates surrounding areas with its large claws and tail.
- OPEN FIRE!
- FOR THE GLORY OF THE PRINCIPALITY!
Canadian soldiers opened fire on the beast, with several attack spacecrafts firing rockets and dropping bombs on the beast to no avail. Civilian spacecrafts crash onto the sea as their control module is destroyed; however, amidst that chaos, a hope arises.
A civilian spacecraft suddenly returned to the battlefield.
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Moments after the rumbling was heard, the shuttle started free-falling in the air as a shockwave hit the spaceship. The mysterious girl started making her way towards the cockpit.
- Wait, what are you doing?
- The cockpit is damaged, I need to check up on the pilots. I'm a nurse! Let me go!
- Wait! I'll go as well.
She looked at me weirdly. But then a smile appeared on her lips as we both head for the cockpit. We navigated through the panicking guests to the front of the shuttle, where two attendants were seen resuscitating the fainted pilots.
- Let me lend a hand.
The mysterious girl rolled up her sleeves and began resuscitating the pilots, while I sat onto the pilot seat to figure out what has been happening. "How do I control this thing?" I questioned as I scrambled through the buttons. "Manual, manual. Where is the fucking manual?".
My hands were trembling. I frantically looked around the cockpit when the girl threw the manual towards me from one of the pilots' pockets.
- Thanks, partner!
I flipped through the manual as quickly as I could, but I couldn't understand a thing. "Come on, come on, I don't want to die here!" I looked at the controls. There was a singular keyboard.
- OS-controlled vehicle?
I put both my hands onto the keyboard. Just then, I had a painful headache.
- Mr. Hovermike! Take these aspirins!
The mysterious girl handed me the medicines, and when I looked at the keyboard again after the headache, suddenly it all made sense. I quickly stabilized the shuttle, then turned the shuttle around to face the beast.
- SS17, we demand you to keep going! This is extremely dangerous! Over.
I was unfazed. I deployed the built-in machine guns to provide support fire for the many starfighters.
- SS17, IT IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS HERE. DO NOT ENGAGE THE GIANT.
I ignored the order and kept on shooting at the beast. With one swift motion, its tail quickly destroyed other starfighters, but I managed to dodge the tail swipe.
- HOW ARE YOU MOVING THAT FAST?
The ATC was screaming at me, but I kept on shooting. Suddenly, the entire operating screen flashes red, with red letters blinking at a high speed:
"FRAME UNITS INCOMING. DISABLING ALL MANUAL CONTROL SYSTEM"
The AI moved the shuttle far away as a blinding light descended upon the battlefield. From afar, I could barely figure out what that object is, but it seems like a giant mechanical robot.
"MANUAL CONTROL ENABLED. OBSERVATION FROM A SAFE DISTANCE IS ADVISED"
I activated the zoom function of the shuttle, and finally I could make out what the bright object was:
"EFU-015 Seismic."
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