With the decision made, Aryan leaves the suburbs to head further into the city. There would be no point in staying in the suburbs if he couldn't help them. Likewise, he had no support from the strike group in orbit. One wrong move and he couldn't expect them to jeopardize the thousands of men and women on the ships for a single pilot.
Moving through the suburbs with the decision made, he continues passing alleys and similar robberies and muggings. Street gangs and thugs harass the citizens of the city for 'protection money' or simply commit crimes for the hell of it. While the desperate merely steal from those they deem to be ' more well off ' in their own desperation.
Seeing all this brings a scowl to Aryan's face beneath the helmet. The sheer aggression and indifference from everyone he passed... The lack of responses and the fear from the crowds that pass the alleys... Even the few that appear as though this is ' normal '.
" How could a city such as this exist? Where are the police? The enforcers? Hell, This city is worse than the Frontier... And that's really saying something. " Aryan whispers to himself with contempt in his voice.
Even though there is a storm, it is still considered 'daylight' for the next few hours. That fact alone should mean there would be law enforcement or some sort of organization ensuring safety on the streets.
Even on the Frontier, there is robotic law enforcement. They're not common deeper into the Frontier, as only a few moderate settlements can afford to import or supply their personnel, but even the 'outback' of a literal Frontier in SPACE has law enforcement.
Either modified M.V.R.Ns capable of subduing individual criminals, or the military Spectre units taking on crime organizations... Yet here Aryan is, in the middle of a city on Earth... With little to no law enforcement in a suburban area...
That fact alone brought concern to Aryan. Noting this, he opened the datapad on his forearm and inputted notes of his exploration of this version of 'Earth'. Specifically the lack of authority and enforcement present on the streets... And likewise, the level of poverty he has observed.
With the contempt for this version of Earth continuing to build, he continues taking notes on his datapad attached to his arm. Lack of authority, poverty, high crime rates, civilian indifference. All of this should have led to this city collapsing or falling into the hands of a crime lord, or lord(s).
Yet here it is. People still walking to work, the occasional car driving passed him, shops open and attendants giving their best forced 'smile', and families going about their lives as if there hasn't just been a shootout between rival gangs a few blocks away.
To Aryan, this was certainly a confusing and infuriating situation.
Finally done with the city, he was preparing to input the codes to gain a connection to the fleet in orbit, just before a series of T.Vs in a nearby shop turned on, and revealed a strange yet intriguing situation.
[ "This here on GNN, we're currently presenting a live view of 'Batman' as he is combatting an ongoing robbery and hostage situation! " ] All the televisions say at once in a muffled volume, slightly faded by the ongoing storm. A blonde woman in a green and red suit can be seen behind a desk as a portion of the screen is replaced by a live video.
' Batman? What the hell is a Batman? ' Aryan thinks to himself, as he maintains the cloak and steps around pedestrians towards the Television.
Stopping in front of the televisions, Aryan pays attention to the ongoing scene in the live video, ignoring the news reporter and focusing on the fight. A man in a black suit with pointed 'ears' attached to a helmet can be seen fighting a group of criminals in black clothing with balaclavas, each armed with either a pistol or shotgun.
The 'Batman' can be seen striking each criminal in either the neck, face, or gut. Throughout the entire fight, he wasn't seen using any sort of lethal weapon whatsoever. Sometimes he can be seen throwing a sort of strangely shaped boomerang, or throwing a disk at a criminal before an electric shock can be seen coursing through them.
' A... Vigilante? ' Aryan thinks to himself as he continues to watch the fight go on. Now constantly inputting notes into the datapad on his forearm.
A few minutes pass as Aryan watches the screen, occasionally stepping out of the path of a pedestrian while he is cloaked. Eventually, the fight comes to a conclusion. All the criminals are either unconscious and moving or have a leg or an arm bent in the wrong direction. Yet, none of them seem to be dead.
Police vehicles appear on the scene, some in tactical gear from SWAT vans, while others are in blue uniforms securing the area. Ambulances arrive shortly after and begin to place the criminals on stretchers back into the ambulances, before driving off to what is likely the hospital.
With the fight over, the live feed shuts off and returns to a full view of the blonde news reporter.
[ "With that, we have a conclusion of another bank robbery which has been prevented by Batman! We still have no news on who this strange vigilante may be, or what his apparent origin is. But what we do know... Is that he's a hero to the people of Gotham! " ]
' Vigilante? Hero? There's no mention of him back in the IMC academy... We learned about all the heroes back then. Mainly war heroes. But heroes nonetheless... I'll need to check on this back on the carrier. ' Aryan contemplates to himself while making a mental note to check the old history records back on the ship.
(A/N: I made this part up... But wouldn't it make sense for the most 'elite' soldiers in the IMC to have learned about the history of old heroes, war or not? Especially the combat-related ones?)
Finishing that thought, the Television continues broadcasting, albeit the more average news. Daily events, charities, or the random birthday of an old man hitting 100, and finally a series of different news flashes on the multiple televisions:
[ Man seen swimming underwater with a trident! ]
[ The 'Wonderwoman' of WW1. Real or fake? ]
[ Superman saves the day in Metropolis once again! ]
[ Red flash passing through cities across the United States. Another super-human? Something more? ]
' This... This is definitely not the Earth I know... ' Aryan thinks to himself, with a surprised expression beneath his helmet.
With all this new information, Aryan decides to conclude the exploration early... These new unknown variables that were completely outside of any expectations are a new threat to the safety of the fleet.
' Did they know we already arrived? Are they a threat? Are the 'Super-Humans' dangerous to humanity as a whole? Why has technology been stagnant for so long? ' These thoughts fly through Aryan's mind as he sprints through alleyways and side roads back towards the forest.
Passing through the alleys and avoiding civilians, thugs, and the strange figures with purple clothing and dyed faces, he finally reaches the treeline of the forest as the storm continues thundering down on the city.
Deactivating his cloak, Aryan treks his way through the forest, passing the clawed trees and scorched holes in the ground as markers for his path back to the drop pod. Once there, he presses a series of buttons on the panel of his forearm.
" Lieutenant Aryan to the fleet, do you read? Over. " Aryan asks while pressing down on a button on the side of his helmet.
A few moments pass in silence as Aryan waits for a reply. Finally as Aryan was about to ask again, a muffled response comes in through his helmet. [ [ " Copy, we read you, Lieutenant. Over. " ] ]
" Enough with the formalities over comms. I need evac from my landing site immediately. The details I've gotten from the last few hours have been... Different than expected... "
Aryan replies in a hurry. The strangeness of his mission has left him uneasy... Vigilantes seemingly working with the law enforcement of the city, scarce as they may be, and the news of other significant figures who go beyond the normal scope of an un-augmented or augmented human.
[ [ " . . . Understood, Lieutenant. Goblin-14 is on a rendezvous on your coordinates. " ] ]
With that final message, the comms cut out in his helmet, leaving him in silence waiting for the extraction as he activates his cloak and waits for the dropship to arrive. Off in the distance, a small feignt flash of blue light in the clouds can be seen as the dropship 'Goblin-14' jumps into the lower orbit and descends through the storm.
A few minutes pass as the orange light from the dropship's thrusters pierces through the storm and begins to descend towards Aryan's drop site, opening its side doors as it does so.
Hovering a few meters from the ground, Aryan jumps into the dropship as it begins to ascend back through the storm. The flashes of lightning lighting up the interior of the ship's personnel bay, and the thunder rumbling through the armor of the ship.
" Fly this thing steady, will you?! " Aryan yells towards the dropship operator in annoyance. " I swear my legs are turning to gelatin with the way we're shaking! "
In response, the pilot simply closes the door to the cockpit while raising his middle finger.
" . . . "
Aryan... Had no response to that. Just to frown, sit down, cross his legs, and return another overly-exaggerated middle finger back at the dropship operator.
As this strange encounter continued, they finally passed through the storm and entered the upper atmosphere, the local onboard gravity field keeping Aryan on his feet within the dropship. Outside, the fleet can be seen in all its glory... If glory counts as multiple repair ships moving around the carrier and its escort trying to repair the damaged hulls.
As Aryan is admiring the fleet out the porthole, the standard lighting deactivates in return for a pulsing red light. The pilot's voice comes in through the intercom connecting to the personnel bay.
[ [ " Dropship landing in a few moments. Stay strapped down, cause' I'm not going to be paying for any of your medical bills if you crack your skull for not listening. " ] ] The pilot's voice comes in through the intercom.
With that final message, the dropship slowly begins to enter the hangar of the carrier. M.V.R.Ns can be seen strolling throughout, either delivering cargo or doing menial repairs and checks on the other docked dropships.
As the dropship lands, Aryan jumps out and is greeted by an IMC Grunt. " Lieutenant Aryan? "
" Yes, that's me. "
" The Captain wants to see you at the bridge. He needs details on what you found during your exploration... And something he wants to show you. "
" Understood. I'll be on my way, then. "
As Aryan says that, the IMC Grunt salutes and turns away, running his way to deliver another message to other personnel in the busy hangar bay. Aryan though, turns and begins to walk out of the hangar bay, going through a series of corridors of the Carrier to the bridge.
Climbing stairs and a few more corridors, he arrives at the bridge entrance. Opening the door, he enters to see a group of other pilots and some of the IMC Grunt commanders sitting around a holographic map of the Earth, as a series of screens flash in front of each of them.
Noticing his arrival, the Commander and others inside turn to look at him.
" Welcome, Lieutenant Aryan. Please have a seat. We have much to discuss, and you have much to tell us on what you have found... "