Chapter 8: Doubts - A Passively-Aggressive First Start
By now, an hour or so had passed since Samuel had defeated the squad of Espion agents. It was pretty late into the evening. Due to this, Dr. Halloway had already fallen asleep within the cockpit.
Samuel was currently standing outside of the Albatross, on top of its chassis to be exact. He was staring up at the stars above, observing the many foreign constellations that shone overhead, going over today's events and all that they'd learned so far while also reminiscing about events of the past.
He'd been having doubts recently, something that he tried to ignore vehemently; however, he couldn't help but address them in his mind during this moment of silence. One such doubt was that, while he had come to terms with magic existing, his training had never prepared him for something like it.
Although he'd been trained to expect the unexpected and to adapt to any scenario, this realistic situation involving magic was so foreign to him that he became slightly worried about his ability to succeed in his mission of protecting Dr. Halloway.
In all previous situations where he'd encountered the unknown, such as advanced technology, some so advanced it even seemed like magic, he at least understood that a specific set of rules could always be applied. Things like the Laws of Physics that he'd been taught could never be broken or how a big and powerful enough weapon could defeat any enemy.
However, in a world with actual magic, who's to say those baseline rules still applied? After all, he knew that the magic of fantasy could make the seemingly impossible possible.
During the Einherjar project, in order to aid in the mental stability of the subjects, they were allowed leisure items to keep them grounded. One of the items Sam always requested were books.
At first, he started with novels about war strategies and military history to expand his knowledge. However, he then moved on to books about War Heroes. The challenges they faced and how they overcame them always inspired him to train harder, to be the perfect soldier Dr. Halloway needed him to be.
After reading many novels of that genre, Dr. Halloway had recognised his interest and decided to breach protocol slightly and introduced the young Samuel to stories based on fiction. These novels followed the same premise, having a war hero overcome challenges, but these introduced concepts such as magic and fantasy.
At first, some higher-ups argued against her choice, saying that such things tainted Samuel's training and mentality. However, she argued that they'd help him adapt to unknown situations better than the rest. When asked why she believed this, Dr. Halloway simply responded,
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Giving subject 004 a baseline reference when experiencing something unknown will allow him to come to terms with said unknown and act accordingly more quickly."
The higher-ups said they'd review Sam's progress to see if Dr. Halloway's theory proved accurate and realised her words held merit, allowing Sam to be further immersed in novels of fiction.
Because of this, he was able to recognise similarities between the world they'd found themselves in and the novels of his past, allowing him to set a baseline for dealing with potential enemies, such as Shirogane, the dragon and the magic used by the agents of Espion.
However, what Dr. Halloway had failed to account for was the depth those fiction novels delved into magic's ability to make the impossible possible, resulting in Samuel's current doubts.
Solace was currently monitoring the surroundings using the scanners of the Albatross; however, she noticed the slight instability in Sam's brain from sensors in his armour, causing her to call out,
"Sam, is everything alright?"
Pulled out of his thoughts, Samuel looked around to assess the situation briefly, before responding,
"All clear."
Solace sighed before appearing before him in midair, projected by his helmet.
"That's not what I meant. I was asking about you. What's on your mind?"
Sam stared at Solace in silence for a brief moment, going over his thoughts, wondering what to say.
Seeing Sam hesitate, Solace knew he'd most likely try to compartmentalise his thoughts and say that nothing was wrong. In an effort to prevent that, Solace decided to use Sam's soldier mentality against him in this situation.
"Einherjar 004, neurological scans have shown minor mental instability, initiating protocol D.R.E.A.M. Personal A.I. psyche evaluation has begun. Please detail your thoughts and concerns. That is an order."
Hearing Solace's words, Sam's body habitually straightened out as he positioned himself with his legs parted slightly and his hands behind his back.
"Acknowledged."
Sam then detailed his thoughts about their current situation, concerns, and a general understanding of the world around him.
"I see…" Solace replied, falling into thought on how to address this. Then, with her thoughts in order, she finally spoke.
"I think what you've failed to account for is the fact that allies can be made in this world. It isn't just you against this world, Sam. We'll strive to gather allies who can perform magic, allowing us to counter situations in which magic is used against us…"
Hearing Solace's words, Sam sunk into his thoughts again, realising she was right. He'd been so conditioned to view the AHSC as his allies that the possibility of forming alliances with others had eluded him.
"Also, one more thing I believe you've failed to account for is that the mana of this world is affecting you, just as much as it has affected the locals, Sam. Who's to say that you can't be provided training in the use of magic yourself?" Solace added.
Sam's eyes widened slightly, though his helmet and reflective visor covered his expression. The realisation hit him quite quickly.
Even if he didn't have the countermeasures for magic currently, he could always develop them himself. With that, the majority, if not all of his previous doubts vanished like leaves in the wind.
Seeing Sam's neurological scans stabilise, Solace nodded her head in approval.
"If we can resolve the situation with the captives below and the Arcadian Kingdom, they could potentially be our first ally, which could then lead to you gaining the magical training you require," Solace said.
"Understood… Thank you." Sam replied.
Solace nodded her head at first, but hearing Sam thank her, she displayed a beautiful smile in his direction, saying,
"We're a team, Sam. I'll always be here for you. Just like I know you are for me."
Sam and Solace stared at each other for a while before they were interrupted by the ping of their scanners, alerting them to an approaching object.
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Shirogane was quickly approaching the landing site of the Albatross. With his superior eyesight, Shirogane was able to see Sam, who appeared to be standing in mid-air, alongside Solace floating in front of him. Though it seemed that way, Shirogane knew Sam was merely standing on the invisible Albatross.
Shirogane slowly approached the ground, landing softly so as not to wake Ariana, who was still sound asleep on his back.
Sam had already made his way over, looking at Shirogane before noticing the sleeping Ariana on his back.
"Problem?" Sam asked.
Shirogane merely shook his head from side to side, indicating that nothing was wrong, before looking up at the sky in the direction he flew from.
Following Shirogane's eyes, Sam caught sight of two individuals floating mid-air and looking down on them with stern eyes.
Sam looked back at Shirogane, wondering if he'd brought trouble. Before he could ask, however, the two individuals had already made their descent and arrived before Sam.
Amarant and Eleanora landed before Sam, around 10 metres away.
Inwardly, they were slightly surprised to see Sam's appearance. They understood how he could have been mistaken as a Dwarven Automaton as even they had nearly jumped to that conclusion, too, had Ariana not already explained that he was, in fact, a person.
Sam, Amarant and Eleanora stared at each other for a while, assessing whether or not either was a threat.
Shirogane saw this and, with a huff, said telepathically to Eleanora,
"Please do not cause trouble. Just perform translation magic and get to talking already!"
Hearing Shirogane's words, Eleanora sighed before taking a step toward Sam with her hand outstretched.
Sam, seeing the familiar gesture, nodded and stuck out his hand as well.
As they made contact, Eleanora circulated her mana. She performed her translation spell, causing a massive influx of knowledge to flood her mind, causing her to feel dizzy, much like it did to Ariana.
After a moment, the dizziness passed, and she looked over to her husband and extended her hand to share the knowledge with him, repeating the process.
"Well, with that out of the way, allow us to introduce ourselves. I am King Amarant von Arcadia, Monarch of the Arcadian Kingdom." Amarant introduced himself.
"I am Queen Eleanora von Arcadia, Queen of the Arcadian Kingdom. We're Ariana's parents."
Sam nodded at their introduction, replying,
"Designation, Echo 004 of the AHSC Spirit of Discovery. However, you may call me Sam."
Hearing Sam's strange introduction, Amarant couldn't help but ask,
"I suppose that is your military title?"
"Affirmative."
"I see…" Amarant said before looking around.
"I heard there was a woman with you, a Dr. Halloway if I am not mistaken."
Seeing Sam nod, Amarant continued,
"Would we be able to speak with her?"
Hearing Amarant's request, Sam brought up his hand, palm facing upward, causing Solace to appear.
Seeing what appeared to be a 'Mana Fairy' appear in Sam's palm, Amarant and Eleanora were confused; however, Sam simply spoke, saying,
"Inform Dr. Halloway that we have visitors."
"Already on it," Solace replied.
Hearing the 'Mana Fairy' speak, Amarant and Eleanora were shocked, especially Eleanora. One of her bloodline abilities allowed her to communicate telepathically with anything that had sufficient sentience. However, she could not feel any pathways to make a connection to the sentient 'fairy' before her.
Hearing Solace's words, Sam nodded before lowering his hand, causing Solace to disappear.
A minute or so later, the door to the Albatross opened up, and Dr. Halloway stepped out, waving Sam and the rest over.
Understanding her intention to speak in better lighting conditions, Sam nodded before turning back to Amarant and Eleanora, gesturing for them to proceed.
The two looked at each other before walking forward, followed by Sam, Shirogane and the sleeping Ariana.
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When the group entered the Albatross, the first thing the King noticed was the Espion Agents secured to the seats within. Passing his mana over them, he secretly sighed in relief after discovering that they were alive, only with minor injuries that a simple healing spell could remedy.
"It seems we made a big fuss out of nothing…" Amarant mumbled.
Eleanora had noticed the agents conditions as well, nodding her head in response to her husband's remark.
In the centre of the passenger bay, Dr. Halloway stood and gave a slight bow, stating,
"Good evening, Your Majesties. I apologise for the lack of hospitality, but we are severely unequipped to welcome royalty. I hope you can understand our situation."
Amarant raised his hand, indicating that Regina could stand, before stating,
"There is no need to worry; we understand. Are we to assume you are the Dr. Halloway our daughter mentioned?"
"That is correct, Your Majesty. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Dr. Regina Halloway, head scientist of the research and development department of the ASHC."
"I see, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Dr. Regina Halloway," Amarant replied, followed by him stating,
"I would first like to apologise on behalf of my Espion agents. It was by my orders that they moved to capture you. I hope you can understand my reasoning; you and your craft fell from the sky and landed in our territory. It was quite the cause for concern."
"Think nothing of it, Your Majesty. I would also like to apologise for the state my Einherjar soldier left your agents. I had left him to assess the situation and execute whatever actions he deemed necessary to take. I am simply glad that he chose to resort to non-lethal methods and move to secure them instead of killing them. I wish them a speedy recovery."
Hearing Regina's words, Amarant couldn't help but grimace inwardly. It was apparent that she was passive-aggressively gloating that her warrior managed to incapacitate the entire squad of Espion agents, all while they were obviously trying to kill him to capture her. After having observed Sam, Amarant could tell that he sustained no damage at all, further pouring salt on the metaphorical wound. Eleanora also felt slightly miffed after hearing Regina's words but kept it well hidden, much like her husband.
Clearing his throat, Amarant pushed to move forward with the conversation, saying,
"Well then, I suppose now that we're here, you'd be willing to answer some of our questions?"
"Of course, Your Majesty. Feel free to ask anything you desire. I will do my best to answer your queries to the best of my ability." Regina said while letting slip a subtle smirk.
Seeing the slight slip in Dr. Halloway's expression, Amarant and Eleanora secretly sighed, both of them thinking,
"This is going to be a long night…"
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