“Perhaps it’s afraid to reawaken,” Chloe wondered. “The Asura Frame’s core strength lies in its ability to adapt to various situations, to improve itself in response to stimuli. If something is impeding that function, it stands to reason that the Frame would rid itself of the obstacle.”
“That Devicer was winning us the war!”
“I’m not so sure. Humans and elves created the twelve Asura Frames and spread them throughout the world specifically to defeat the archmages, but as far as I can tell, the Chosen Dharva still stand.”
The colonel went silent. The Dharva were the keepers of the portal-keeps, powerful sorcerers and fearsome fighters. Leaders of the anomalous threat and scourge of human civilization. They were all-powerful.
“My daughter had a funny idea recently that’s actually proving to be somewhat viable,” the professor said. “Tests will begin shortly. We’ll reawaken our shield soon enough.”
Aliya Todo was waiting in the Mark III Asura Frame’s underground hangar, impatiently checking her watch.
“Do you dunderheads have any idea how late it is?”
“Give us a break, they wouldn’t let us go all day,” Ijuin argued back.
Aliya liked to carry herself with grace in both mannerism and speech. However, that did not preclude her from insulting her friends, applying weird nicknames to them, and just being an overall joy to be around.
Her face went red. “I told you I could come and get you both! You don’t need my mom to remind those dolts that you have jobs to do! I can do that myself!”
“No.” Yu didn’t consider this up for debate. “Those guys are the last people any girl needs to interact with. You’d get it even worse than we do.”
“Stop treating me like a kid!” she growled. “You’re not my dad, you know!”
“Give it a rest. We can handle it. They can’t do anything we’re not already used to.”
Not even Chloe, essentially the camp’s second-in-command, was exempt from their lecherous gazes. And Aliya was a half-elf, which only made it worse for her. The blood of a beautiful race ran through her veins, and she looked the part. She was exceptionally seraphic, like an antique doll. The fact that her assisting with her mother’s research exempted her from daily chores was a very good thing.
“You do plenty as it is. I mean, what you showed us was pretty crazy,” Ijuin said, skillfully changing the subject. “No one’s been able to get the Frame to budge since its Devicer died, but you woke the thing right up!”
“Eight hundred candidates couldn’t even get the power on, much less armorize,” Yu added.
“Well, I was a little...hesitant about trying it at first. Frankly, I still can’t believe it worked,” Aliya admitted.
The three of them moved to a table where a photograph, some freshly picked flowers, and an urn rested. The picture was of the late Devicer Three, and the urn contained his ashes. The role of Devicer Three had been bestowed to the most charismatic and charming man in the Force, and the winning smile in the photo spoke to those qualifications.
“I’m sorry I called you pigheaded behind your back when you were alive!” Aliya quickly apologized. “You were a total creep, but I’m still sorry I said it!”
“You schmoozed the higher-ups, but really treated us like dirt,” Ijuin followed.
“But still, that doesn’t mean you deserve to be treated like this,” Yu concluded. “We just don’t have a choice if we want to wake up the Mark III. Please understand!”
Aliya gently reached into the urn and pulled out a small, white, satin pouch filled with the deceased man’s ashes. “We’ll bring this back! We promise!”
The trio regrouped around the Asura Frame, which had been lowered onto the floor. It totaled 195 centimeters long and 193 kilograms heavy. Aliya removed the weighty helmet and placed the last of Devicer Three inside, securing it with tape. Crude, but effective.
She placed the helmet back onto the body and raised her right hand out over the Frame. “Mark III, awaken! Superconductive turbine, activate!”
Much like during Ijuin’s trick at the observation tower that morning, a ring of light started to glow from Aliya’s palm. The undeniable mark of the nano-augmented.
The Mark III reacted to Aliya’s order and the small wheel embedded into the suit’s buckle started to spin. Just because it was small didn’t mean it was weak, though. This little generator produced more energy than an entire power plant, enough to fuel the wrath of one man-made asura.
“That’s one way to do it, I guess,” Ijuin mumbled. “Don’t got a Devicer? Just shove what’s left of the last one inside and make the Frame think there’s one! How did Professor Chloe explain it again? The seventh...something. Something to do with the foundations of the body and mind.”
“I think she meant there are like, pieces of the soul that get left behind after people die? Maybe?” Yu guessed.
“Manas, the seventh of the eight consciousnesses in the alayavijnana doctrine. It refers to the ego,” Aliya elucidated. “But turning it on is one thing. Eliciting enough power to get it to move efficiently in battle is another.”
Yu suddenly tilted his head. While Aliya was talking, he could hear a different voice. A woman’s. Horribly faint, but audible and captivatingly beautiful. It sang, as if reciting a poem,
Oh, Traveler. Heed me, oh Traveler,
Wanderer of the realm and distances vast,
Rejoice, oh Siddha. The awakening has begun.
An image of the elf girl in the pod flashed through his mind and the wheel in the Mark III began to pick up speed.
“D-Did you do that, Aliya?!” Yu exclaimed.
“No! But I’ll take it!” she shouted excitedly. “Let’s hurry and bring it outside. Yu, man the long-range controls. Ijuin, weapons. I’ll provide assistance and reconnaissance!”
The boys hastily threw the HMD goggles over their heads. They were slim and sleek, like what you might see in a game of airsoft, but came attached with a pair of over-ear headphones. The goggle portion covered the wearer’s entire field of vision with a Head Mounted Display.
Various stats and numbers blipped directly into view.