Ed watched as an army of 100 men headed towards the base. He rose an arm in the air, "Open the gates!" A creaking sound rang out as the two large steel gates were opened by the guards. Gunther stood nearby while watching.
The Sinless HQ army marched past the gates and traveled down the street towards the central plaza. Ed and Gunther quickly followed behind them. They stopped in front of the large stage that was used for speeches previously.
Captain Fang took off his helmet and smiled. His black eyes looked around the base with an inquisitive gaze. His black hair was buzzed short and his thin mustache was barely visible.
Ed walked towards the man and reached out his hand. "You must be the one in charge of these men? I'm the Reef Sinless leader. You can call me Ed."
The captain rose an eyebrow while shaking his hand. "I'm Captain Fang. You're so young? What happened to Tom? He should have been in charge here."
"It's a long story… Let's get your men situated first and then discuss it?" He questioned.
"No need." Fang shook his head. "These are only part of my forces. The rest are still on the boat. Normally, we drop in first and provide emergency relief, but this base doesn't seem to need it? I'll go ahead and start the next phase. We'll be clearing a path from here to our ship so we can bring in our non-combat personnel. Do you have any forces you can provide?"
"Sure." He nodded. "Gunther! Send out 100 guards and 10 mechs."
"Yes!" Gunther replied. He began yelling orders to gather the guards. Soon, 10 squads were gathered. Each squad had 10 guards. An additional 10 mechs were behind them. One traveled with each squad of guards.
"This is quite impressive!" Fang whistled. "I've never seen such a well-organized base in the west. People are usually too busy trying to ward off starvation and mutants after the nightmare attack. Are those mechs what made the big difference?"
"They were part of it." Ed nodded. "I also trained a team on how to make steam rifles, which allowed us to expand the guards tremendously. Every member of the base has an assigned role they must complete. Without the mechs securing a steady food supply, it would have been impossible."
"I see." He nodded. "Well, let's get going then. You're coming along, right?"
"Yes." Ed followed behind the captain. He left his personal mech behind for Dupe to defend the base with. The Reef guards and mechs took the rear while the HQ soldiers led in the front.
"What's that armor your men are wearing?" Ed questioned. "I've never seen anything like it before. It doesn't seem to be mech armor, but it definitely isn't ordinary armor either."
Fang grinned. "These are exo suits. Invented by our top scientists at Sinless HQ. Unlike the west, the east is still ruled by ordinary humans. Espers live in fear and hiding from us. Those that are captured are either executed, imprisoned, or enslaved."
"What?!" He replied in shock. "How? Espers are too powerful. Would the international community even accept that? Wouldn't OP Baldy put a stop to it?"
"He won't." Fang shook his head. "We have different cultures. The EU is extremely stable and united. He'd practically be starting a world war if he interfered too heavily. He can't be everywhere at once."
"Oh… but I heard that the 1st princess of England was an esper and next in line for the throne?" He responded.
"Eh? I'm surprised word spread that fast to the west. What you've heard is true. Things have gotten a bit complicated ever since an esper awoke in the royal family. They actually sent her overseas to keep her safe until things calm down."
"I see." Ed nodded. 'So, Relm joined the academy for her own protection? That's surprising. How did I never know about the EU being a paradise for ordinary humans? It isn't taught in schools at all. Is it a government coverup? That must be it… They must want to prevent the idea that espers can be dominated from sprouting within the people. Who knows how much chaos it would cause. Interesting…' He grinned while continuing to walk next to the captain.
They marched through the streets. Once every mile or so, the captain would stop and throw a glass of pink liquid. The mutants would come charging and his men easily took care of it. Ed's men barely provided support. Only the mechs were somewhat useful in providing some crowd control on the hordes.
Several hours later. They reached the harbor. A large steamboat looked to be made of some type of steel alloy. It was a bit far from shore due to its massive size. It looked to be over 100 meters long.
"Wanna take a look?" Fang questioned.
"Yes!" Ed's eyes sparkled with joy. He hadn't felt this excited since he had seen the steam-core powered mech at the academy. A 3-meter-long steamboat traveled from the ship towards them. A single man was driving it. They both got on board.
Captain Fang put his hand on the driver's shoulder. "Wait here on shore."
"Eh? Why?" The man questioned.
"It's an order. Just do it." He commanded.
"Okay…" The man got off the boat confused.
Fang grabbed the wheel and took the boat out of the harbor. A tall pipe released steam and a large wheel near the rear spun as the boat traveled. They were halfway towards the large boat when he suddenly pulled a lever to cut the steam engine. He turned around and aimed his rifle at Ed's head. "I've got some questions for you."
"Oh?" Ed smiled while rising an eyebrow. 'Is he suspicious because I brought up the princess earlier? Or because Tom is gone? Maybe because our base has mechs, which can also be considered unusual? Plenty of suspicious things to question me about... I expected this though. I was originally hoping to speak with him in the base to provide my explanations. If I refused to follow him here, it'd be even more suspicious. What a pain…'
"What happened to Tom?" Fang questioned.
"Nine of the original guards were murdered in a single night. The 2nd in command was the original suspect. I took over during that time since the base had almost descended into chaos. An esper later attacked the base and admitted to committing the crime. Anyone in the base can testify this."
"How did you get the mechs?"
"Found them in the factory my father used to work at. He was a military engineer."
He continued to ask questions while Ed provided perfectly reasonable explanations. They covered several topics over the course of 10 minutes.
"Final question." Fang lowered his steam rifle from aiming at Ed's head to his chest. "Why is an esper trying to lead the local Sinless group?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ed replied immediately while tilting his head in confusion. He chuckled to himself internally. 'Did you think you'd catch me off guard with that question? You guys are really being careful here. Was I really that suspicious? We just met. The base citizens love me. Aren't they jumping the gun a bit with the questioning? Wait…' His heartbeat sped up as he got lost in his thoughts. 'This is going too far. Did I miscalculate? He really did know I was an esper from the beginning? How?! I'm wearing clothes that block mana-waves. It makes no sense!'
"Hmm." Fang frowned. He tilted his gun to the side a little and squeezed the trigger. Bang! A bullet penetrated Ed's shoulder.
"Ugh!" He frowned and grabbed his shoulder. A small amount of blood was pouring out. The bullet stopped when it hit his metal shoulder bone. 'Fuck! That hurts! Maybe I shouldn't have connected the pain nerves after all!' He glared at the man. "Interesting way the headquarters does things. Shows up and shoots the local leader."
"I didn't shoot the local leader." Fang sighed. "I shot an esper pretending to be the leader."
"Haha, you're bluffing." Ed laughed. "If you were sure then you would have shot me in the head."
"You sure are calm for just getting shot?" He questioned.
"I've been through a lot the past few months. A gunshot doesn't really feel like much in comparison." Ed grinned.
"I see…" Fang nodded. "Well then, I'll tell you why I know you're an esper. My mana-radio isn't working. It's been constant static ever since you got near me. An esper ordinarily wouldn't cause that to happen. However, I've met espers that wear clothing that block mana-waves. It's pretty much standard attire for espers in hiding in Europe. So, I'm right aren't I?" He grinned. "You're an esper!"
"Pfft! Gahahaha!!!" Ed laughed while hunched over. He was holding his stomach while trying to calm down. "Just for that you shot me?! That's your brilliant deduction? Are you fucking retarded?!"
"Hmm?" He shook his head. "You're still going to try telling me I'm wrong?"
"True. I wear clothes that block mana-waves." Ed nodded. "So do the other higher-ups in the base. My right-hand man, Nick. The captain of the guards, Gunther. Every pilot in charge of a mech. All of us wear them. You're sure going to have a lot of espers to execute when you get back if that's your guideline."
"What?!" The captain frowned. "Why would ordinary humans wear clothing that block mana-waves. I've never seen such a thing in the west nor the east. Only espers wear them."
"Simple." Ed smiled. "Before I took over, there was a sinner group in the area. Their leader could control people's minds. I had reason to believe he used his powers through mana-waves, so I provided the mana-wave blocking uniforms to all the key personnel within my base."
"That…" He hesitated. "But how did you know their leader could control people's minds? And how do you even know about mana-waves?"
"I knew about mana-waves before the nightmare. I told you my father was an engineer in the military. He let things slip from time to time. As for the clothes… There were originally two sinner groups in this city. One led by a man called Phantom and another led by an esper known as King. Phantom gave me the information about King's powers and provided me with the clothes in exchange for cooperating to take down King." Ed explained.
"Why would you agree to such a deal?" Fang questioned. "How did that possibly benefit you?"
'I've got him. He took the bait!' He smiled. "We were already in conflict with King's group. We lost many men to his espers before I joined. Ask anyone at the base. The deal was a good opportunity for us. I was also worried about my men being controlled, so the mana-wave blocking uniforms were a godsend. Best part is, we never ended up having to do anything. King's group mysteriously disappeared. I'm assuming Phantom took care of them. Things have been quite peaceful ever since."
"I see." Fang lowered his gun and looked down with a depressed expression. He sighed, "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I'll get you fixed up when we reach the main ship." He pulled a lever and the steam engine started up to drive the small boat forward.
"Sure." Ed nodded. His heartbeat started to calm down. 'Holy shit I'm lucky! Jarrod's powers required direct contact! He was already dead before I got the clothes. Obviously I didn't prepare them for that. Part of what I said was the truth though. I was worried about espers possibly influencing my key personnel from afar, so I provided the mana-wave blocking outfits to them too. All my plans almost came to an end today over something so stupid!'
The small boat traveled over the waves. Ed spoke up, "So, why don't they wear mana-wave blocking clothes in Europe? It seems to me like they're quite useful for blocking certain types of power from afar?"
"We have no need to block mana-waves in Europe." Fang shook his head. "We already have a firm grasp on things. Also, mana-radios are big over there. Tons of people use them. The interference would cause big issues."
"Oh, sounds nice." He nodded. He looked back towards shore where his men were standing. "Perhaps my own country can become that way some day."
"Haha! Maybe!" Fang laughed.
'Moron.' Ed thought to himself. 'I'll be running the show even if we do become like Europe. What's superior? Espers or technology? When I was a little kid I thought it was espers. This is what most people in America believe. When I grew older, my father caused me to think technology was superior. Based on what I've seen today, this appears to be what those in Europe believe. It was only after talking with Mordy that I realized the truth. The superior one is neither. The combination of the two is the correct answer. Technology cannot live up to its full potential in ordinary men's hands. Espers will always reach a limit to what their powers can do.' He looked down towards his hand. 'Look how far I've come with combining the two so far. Could any of my former classmates even match me anymore?'
"We're here!" Fang yelled, awakening Ed from his thoughts. The 3-meter steamboat looked tiny in comparison to the large behemoth of a ship in front of them. "Let's get on. I'll get you treated and then give you a quick tour."