In his monitoring room, Aubrey watched footage of the remains of the battle that occurred through the view of several UEF Mega Armors including Seraph, Cherub, and Lupus II.
"Apparently, none of the enemy's new type of Mega Armor uses R-Core," Aubrey spoke in his mind.
"All of those ELC Mega Armors use Rochellium… where did they get it from?" Araia commented.
"Looks like someone is playing behind all this, Miss Benedict."
"Yes, I know. But I mean, who do you think they are?"
The boss and her subordinate may ask questions. But the expressions on their faces did not show that either of them was surprised as if they already had the answers to their own questions.
The Veracruz Outpost raid is over. Cathedral lands on their dock. The UEF soldiers who were there were amazed by the new warship which had never appeared before.
In the hangar inside the Cathedral. Most Mega Armors have a cockpit in their solar plexus. But as the new X Type, Seraph and Cherub have control room at their chest.
As soon as he got off the Mega Armor he was riding, Aiden immediately approached Aubrey and Araia who were waiting for him on the hangar's balcony. Karenina followed him from behind.
"What rifle are you preparing for Seraph, Aubrey?" Aiden was furious at his younger brother.
"That is a high-energy beam rifle…"
"I know. But as soon as I squeeze the trigger, the beam doesn't spray straight away. There was a delay of less than a second!" Aiden babbling.
"The weapon is not perfect. Who knew that we would go to the battlefield today?"
"Whatever. The sword too. I don't think the shape suits Seraph's speed. You should think about making another sword. If Seraph's arsenal was perfect, I might have brought the silver bogey here, Little Brother!"
"We didn't come here to really fight, Aiden. This battle was considered extreme training for you and Karenina to get to know the robots you will be piloting."
Miroslav came from Aiden's back. He speaking to his men. Alexis accompanied his commander.
Instantly Aiden fell silent. He turned to his superiors, then said, "Understood, sir."
"Karenina, Aiden. We will have a briefing with Veracruz in 30 minutes," said Alexis.
"Copy that, Sir," answered Karenina.
"Roger," Aiden replied briefly. He was about to leave but then he talked to Aubrey once again. "Fix those weapons, Aubrey. I don't want to ride a Mega Armor with trash weaponry," paused for a moment, Aiden looked at Araia and then continued.
"If you can't make good weapons, maybe Abelman Corp can help," said Aiden sarcastically then he left.
"Did he know that his status as an ace pilot could be revoked if he used Abelman's war equipment?" Aubrey said half whispered to Araia who smiled, as did Karenina.
The female lieutenant rubbed Aubrey's shoulder and said, "Be patient, Aubrey. Your brother is indeed a very ambitious person."
"And kind of dumb," Aubrey added. Her words made Araia chuckle while Karenina smiled faintly and then walked towards Aiden and her superiors.
After holding a briefing with the Veracruz Outpost leaders, Cathedral returned to New Haven. Now, Aubrey is in another session of Benedict Engineering's Mega Armor development laboratory.
The young Wildemann was in a wide and elongated place. He was on the balcony accompanied by a black man wearing glasses.
"My brother is a perfectionist... maybe he's also a bit too big-headed to forget that the Mega Armor he's piloting isn't actually 100% ready to go into battle," said Aubrey to his partner.
The man with him chuckled, then said, "Then just give your brother the Tz-608 magnum for Seraph to use, Mr. Wildemann."
"You can guarantee that the weapon will be finished the day after tomorrow, right?"
"The technicians will work hard today and tomorrow. So that the day after tomorrow it can be brought to The Chamber. Then, Captain Wildemann can practice using it."
"Thank you, Mr. Williamson."
"So, what do you think we should do with the Stromgarde rifle?"
"After calibrating, maybe we can prepare this weapon for Zerachiel."
What Aubrey said made Mr. Williamson nod. Down there in the spacious, long room, the two Benedict Engineering workers could see rows of giant weaponry intended for Mega Armor.
Aubrey's cell phone rang. He immediately reached into his pocket and looked at the phone's screen. Araia contacted him.
"Yes, Ms. Benedict?"
"Aubrey, Elon Abelman just contacted my father. He wants to visit our office. I don't know what the purpose of his arrival was. What's clear is that my father wants me and you to meet him too."
"Okay, Ms. Benedict."
Aubrey's conversation with Araia ended. Jarett Williamson watched Aubrey then asked, "Is there any important news from Araia?"
"Elon Abelman will come to our HQ."
"What for?" Jarett asked while frowning.
"Challenging us to a fight, perhaps," Aubrey said casually. Jarett smiled amusingly because of what he was saying.
Together with Araia, Aubrey came to Benedict Engineering's head office. 10 minutes after their arrival, Abelman Corp's small group arrived there too.
Abelman Crop is represented by Elon Abelman, son of Bennett Abelman, owner of one of the biggest weapons development companies in the Space Era.
Now, Elon is sitting in the Benedict Engineering meeting room accompanied by two of his subordinates. Aubrey really didn't like meeting people from Abelman Corp. For him, anyone who represents their competing company has an annoying character.
"I want to warn you, don't trust anyone. Crow 01, our stolen Mega Armor actually has no weapons—, more precisely, we don't know where that huge, yet powerful beam came from."
Aubrey's cold face made it impossible for people to know what was going on in his head. Without making a sound, he commented.
'This guy is a liar.'
"We admit, we made the katar weapon because... wait," Elon turned to one of his assistants who had the same convincing appearance as him. "Crow 01's katar is a built-in weapon, isn't that right Tony?"
'Stupid man.' Aubrey commented again inside of his head.
"Yes, it is true. That sharp weapon is hiding—, I mean, is inside of a panel in his left arm, Mr. Abelman," Tony confirmed his superior's words.
"Well, you heard it yourself. Once again, we really don't know anything about that Mega Armor beam rifle which is at the level of… what's that called, Chang?"
Now Elon said to his other assistant, a bespectacled Asian who looks awkward. Chang answered, "Hyper, Mr. Abelman. UEF told us that Crow 01 weapon is at hyper level," Chang answered while adjusting the position of his glasses.
"That's what I'm talking about. Can your weapons factory make weapons like that, Uncle?" Elon asked Arthur Benedict.
"Yes, of course, Elon. Very possible," Arthur answered.
"Ummm..., you didn't lose any of your weapons from the warehouse, did you?" Elon asked again.
This time Arthur was reluctant to answer. He just sighed. Aubrey looked at Elon with a fixed expression of dislike for the son of the owner of Abelman Corp. The problem is that Elon's words are like accusing Benedict Engineering of weaponizing Silveraven.
"Mr. Abelman, if we had lost a weapon like that, we would have reported it and we wouldn't be so stupid as to lose a giant object without us knowing," Araia answered Elon's question. Somewhat, offending her guest.
"I'm just making sure, Araia. Because we don't want any company to experience what we are experiencing now."
For a few moments, Aubrey felt that their meeting with representatives from Abelman Corp was wasting his time.
Luckily, after about 30 minutes of sitting and babbling incoherently, Elon left his seat. But as he and his two friends walked out of Benedict Tower, Elon said to Aubrey.
"Mr. Wildemann, I want Crow 01 returned without any loss to Abelman Corp."
Frankly, Aubrey felt that Elon's words should not have been directed at him. The one who has the authority to catch the silver bogey is Benedict Engineering but UEF.
"Sorry, Mr. Abelman. You are talking to the wrong person. You should say this to UEF, not to us," Aubrey answered calmly.
Feeling stupid, Elon was silent for a moment. However, he said again, "I mean…, let me tell you. If UEF fails to return Crow 01, it means that your Mega Armors are unable to face ours. Do you understand what I mean?"
Elon said as if threatening. Aubrey looked at the man standing in front of him straight in the eye. According to him, now Elon seems to want to issue a competition between Abelman Corp and Benedict Engineering.
"Our Mega Armors are always very well designed, Mr. Abelman. As for whether Crow 01 will be able to return without missing anything, it's not for us to say for sure. I think the Stella Polaris's ace pilots will decide that."
Trying to maintain his image, Elon smiled while nodding. Meanwhile, Aubrey had already lost all respect for him.
'His smile showed how stupid he was.'
"Yeah, yeah…, you are right Mr. Wildemann," Elon spoke. "Alright, it's time for us to…"
The Abelman Corp representative intended to say goodbye. However, Aubrey said something to Elon again.
"Mr. Abelman. I'd like to ask. Today we see ELC has four new types of Mega Armors. Are those robots also made by your company?"