Chapter Text
In the far reaches of space, just outside of the familiar solar system was a giant floating tower that served as the base of operations for AEGIS. AEGIS was a recent intergalactic coalition formed as a response against an urgent threat looming across the galaxy. Currently, the leader of AEGIS’ combat division, General Lance Lightfoot, was in the base’s hangar, walking and talking with a potential recruit.
Lance Lightfoot was the spitting image of a military man, his light blond hair done in an old-fashioned flattop, his grey eyes piercing yet thoughtful and his dark blue military uniform impeccably neat and presentable. In contrast, Arthur Bearheart was a Native American man with neck length hair, laid back, dark brown eyes and a black, skintight Metallica t-shirt with faded jeans and cowboy boots. The two were as different as night and day, which was especially highlighted with them walking so close to each other.
“So, it seems we have the honor of having the Arthur Bearheart on board with us,” Lightfoot chatted with the man behind him. Their footsteps echoed throughout the metallic halls of the outer hangar, an air of discomforting silence growing between the two men. Lightfoot cleared his throat and spoke, “I think you have an idea on why you were called here.”
Bearheart, with a smirk, coolly replied, “Hm, if I had to guess it would have to be my impeccable piloting skills while in the Air Force, flying experimental, potentially dangerous, aircrafts without a hitch as a test pilot or my winning personality and good looks.” Arthur Bearheart flipped his long, shaggy hair upon saying this, hoping to get a reaction from the general.
“How humble,” Lightfoot muttered, rolling his eyes. The general had heard stories about Bearheart’s incredible talents and immense ego that came with said talents; for AEGIS’ sake, Lightfoot hoped that his talents backed up his swollen head. The two continued walking until stopping at large, metal doors, locked away with a keypad at its right side. As General Lightfoot typed at keyboard, he continued talking to his guest, “As I was saying earlier, given your admittedly impressive track record, you can probably guess we requested you something important. I couldn’t tell you about that something earlier but here it is.”
With that, the massive doors slowly open until they eventually revealed the inner hangar of AEGIS’ base of operations. As the two men walked in, Arthur looked around the hangar; it was not all that different from how Air Force operated, with technicians running around the compound of steel as they prepped up the myriad of ships and weapons for deployment later. Commands were being shouted about and curses were being returned with impunity. Amid all the frantic movement, some soldiers were in a corner, playing cards and avoiding busy work. If it were not for the fact that they were deep in space, it could have been like coming home again for Arthur.
“From one army man to another, this is a nice setup you got running up here Lightfoot,” whistled Arthur, genuinely impressed. “So, I’m guessing you’re in need of another pilot for your group here. I take it the men you have aren’t flying to your standards?”
“You’re not…completely off Mr. Bearhart, but there’s more to it that. Much more,” Lightfoot answered. He then waved and called out, “Prince Byo-sei, Dr. Crawford, over here! The potential recruit I was talking about is here.”
Two figures came over to where the general stood, catching Arthur’s eye for different reasons. One was a slender African American woman in a modest grey blouse and a black knee length skirt, with a white lab coat covering her ensemble. She wore her hair in box braids tied into a ponytail and had a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose; behind the lenses were a pair of light brown eyes that Arthur found particularly dazzling.
The other person was much less human than the woman was; he vaguely humanoid with insect like features. He possessed peach colored flesh, no nose, and eyes the size of small oranges. In the place of hair, his scalp had a hard, reddish brown colored carapace on it, with a distinctive horn growing on the front. He wore an ornate white and gold armor, with pointed shoulder pads and a segmented chest plate further adding to his similarities to a beetle.
The exotic looking figure in the armor spoke up, his voice soft and regal, “Warmest greetings Arthur Bearheart. Allow me to introduce myself formally; I am Byo-sei, son of King Sho-wan and current prince of the Izana. I am serving under AEGIS as the representative and diplomat of the planet Amate-rume.”
“And I’m Dr. Gwen Crawford, AEGIS’ resident head scientist,” the female scientist stated, her formal, to-the-point speaking patterns contrasting with Byo-sei’s more flowery speech.
‘A member of alien royalty and a supermodel scientist; I guess my horoscope was right about today being a brand-new experience for me,’ mused Arthur internally, taking in the two people before him.
“Well, now that we are more formally introduced with each other, it is time to discuss some very urgent matters,” Byo-sei continued, “As you know, AEGIS chose you based on your extensive credentials in piloting. We have been looking for people with extraordinary skillsets in our current conflict. Arthur Bearheart, do you know of the Goethians?”
The smirk on Arthur’s face disappeared as he heard that name, the atmosphere becoming much more serious. “Yeah, I’ve heard a bit about them here and there on the news. Bunch of warmongers who’ve been starting a ruckus in the outer planetary systems. Not nice people I’m assuming.”
“Is that all you’ve heard? Then you really don’t know the half of it,” Lightfoot uttered gravely. “The Goethians are despots in the very sense of the word; they invade other planets and practically enslave the people, using violence and intimidation to grow their empire. And they have no intentions of stopping; we have word that they’re advancing to more worlds, including planets like Earth. It’s not a stretch to say that they won’t settle for anything less than total control of the galaxy.”
“Total control of the-” Arthur sputtered, unable to believe what he was hearing. “The news back home can’t even give us good pictures on what they look like; how does an entire species just pop up and start taking over an entire galaxy?”
Dr. Crawford, looking melancholier, answered his question, “It’s their technology. The Goethians have weapons and ships that outclass most of we or any other planet has now. Even the Izana, one of the more advanced civilizations of the galaxy, have a hard time keeping up with the onslaught.” Byo-sei nodded solemnly, no doubt hurt for his people’s pride and those he was unable to help.
Arthur was speechless, slowly processing everything that was being told to him. He eventually found the words, “So what exactly can you all do? You’re going up against an enemy that wants complete control of everyone in the galaxy and they have the tech to make it happen. It's going to take more than just me!”
“All is not lost Arthur Bearheart,” declared the prince, as if to dispel the heavy atmosphere cloying on them. “In addition to the great contributions of AEGIS and the talents of people such as yourself, we possess a certain wild card that just may give us an advantage over the Goethians.”
Hearing this, Arthur raised his eyebrow, asking, “Do you happen to have a secret weapon of mass destruction just lying around here?”
Rather than say anything else, the Izanan prince simply gestured everyone to follow him and walked to another direction in the hangar. Lightfoot and Crawford followed suit, with Arthur just standing around, confused.
“What exactly is everyone going? I was joking about the weapons thing; please don’t tell me you have an actual nuke on board here.”
“You’ll have to come and see,” called Dr. Crawford.
“Try to keep an open mind Bearheart,” affirmed General Lightfoot gruffly.
Slumping his shoulders, Arthur started walking in their direction, his mind awash with what they could be hiding in the base. They all arrived at the most spacious part of the hangar, where seven large shadows casted over the four. Arthur looked up and was met with seven towering figures, all clad in shining steel. Every single figure was around 40 feet in height and vaguely human in shape, resembling warriors in armor and helmets such as knights or samurai. They each possessed a unique color scheme that complemented their sleek yet imposing frames.
Arthur stood in absolute awe at the metallic behemoths, having never seen anything like this back on Earth. “Are these…giant robots?” he asked, voice shaking a bit.
“One could call them that. In the legends of Izana, we considered them armor, gifted from the gods,” Byo-sei uttered in a hushed, respectful tone. “As the legends foretold, these mighty behemoths would appear in the galaxy’s darkest hours. Both the legends and these giants were lost to time…until recently that is.”
“We call them the Olympians, each one named after a major Greek god. It seemed fitting and we had to call them something,” explained Dr. Crawford, “We managed to find them in excavations around the solar system of all places. After doing some testing, we found some serious power surging in each of them; seems the Izana’s legends held some water after all.”
“And by sheer coincidence, we managed to find that they each have cock pits inside them. Almost as if they’re just begging for a decent pilot,” General Lightfoot said, drawing a glance at Arthur.
The man noticed what the general was getting at and shifted his focus to Lightfoot. “You want me to drive these things? With all due respect, I wouldn’t know the first thing about piloting these things! These are technically alien vehicles, way above my pay grade!”
“You piloted experimental crafts before. This isn’t much different from that,” retorted the general.
“There’s a big difference General Lightfoot. Nothing I ever piloted back home was the size of a building,” Arthur sharply replied. “If you need to fly one of the other ships around here, I’m your guy. But if you’re looking for some poor sap to drive one of these monstrosities, count me out.”
Lightfoot frowned and was about to say something when the prince interjected, “Arthur Bearheart, I beseech you. We need all the help we can obtain in the fight against these monsters. The Goethian’s completion of their conquest would the death of our civilizations.”
Arthur looked at Byo-sei, making it clear to the Izanan royalty that he now had the Earth human’s undivided attention.
Byo-sei continued, his voice now grim and hardened as opposed to his earlier, softer speech, “I have seen what the Empire has done and just what they are capable of. They practically enslave any species they encounter, forcibly drafting them into their army and using them as expendable units. The Goethians destroy their homelands and cultures and remake them in their own bastardized image. They do nothing but consume and leave a trail of destruction in their path. I cannot in good conscience, especially as a future king, allow them to go unopposed.”
The pilot stood still, feeling the conviction coming from the prince. He was surprised to see the sudden shift in mood with the gentle and polite prince. It just signified how dire the situation was and how much was on the line. He thought back to Earth and all the troubles it had in its past; all the dictators and tyrants who ruled with an iron fist, making millions suffer. Arthur thought to himself, ‘This isn’t much different. Just more power-hungry monsters who need a good ass kicking.’
Staring into Arthur with his large eyes, Prince Byo-sei said, “I would never ask someone to go up against such vile creatures unless it was absolutely necessary. If you choose to walk away now, I’ll understand your decision. But I must ask you one more time Arthur Bearheart; will you help us?”
Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment and replied, “Well, you said it yourself, these Goetians are real bastards and need to be stopped. I can’t really walk away when all that’s going on, so I’m on board, simple as that. AEGIS just found itself a new member.”
A smile of relief spread on the prince’s face. “A thousand thanks to you Arthur Bearheart. And I am terribly sorry to have to drag you into this scuffle.”
“It’s alright your highness; can I call you your highness? This just feels like a natural extension of what I was doing back on Earth with Air Force.”
“On that note,” interrupted Lightfoot, “as an official AEGIS recruit, we’ll need you to stay on base. Rest assured you’ll be provided room and board, scheduled R&R back to Earth and secured communication with any friends and family. Got to keep our best assets close to us.”
“I was planning on moving out of my apartment anyways,” Arthur shrugged nonchalantly. “I do have a few favors I’d like to ask of AEGIS. Number one; I request a few of my personal effects be brought on to base.”
“So long as they’re up to regulation I don’t see a problem with that. Key word being regulation Bearheart,” the general replied, wary of what Arthur planned on bringing.
“Number two, I need the full details for this thing. If you want me to drive or fly this thing, I need to know what it’s full capabilities. I can do a lot of things for you but going in blind isn’t something I do as a pilot,” explained Arthur.
“More than reasonable; you have my assurance that both AEGIS and I will provide you with as much knowledge as we can,” promised Byo-sei.
“Finally, my most important request. You’ll need to listen closely for this,” Arthur said, “I’m going to need…a date with the fine doctor here.”
Dr. Crawford crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the smirking man. “Not going to happen Mr. Pilot,” deadpanned Dr. Crawford, voice getting chilly.
“Ah well, two out of three isn’t so bad,” joked Arthur. Getting slightly more serious, he turned to the Olympians, still standing tall and silent. “Well, might as well got started on these guys. Let’s turn them on and I’ll practice piloting them a bit.”
Upon uttering those words, an awkward silence fell over the three members of AEGIS. After a few moments of staying uncomfortably quiet, Byo-sei spoke up, “Well, you see…we haven’t been able to get them to function properly.”
Arthur’s good mood faltered, and he gave the prince a quizzical look. “You can’t get them to function? Did you break them or something?”
“No, no, that’s not what Prince Byo-sei was trying to imply,” Dr. Crawford intervened. “As I said before, we were able to discover great power within the Olympians and the diagnostics we’ve run so far don’t indicate anything is wrong with them internally or externally. It’s just that…we haven’t been able to turn them on, per say. They’ve stayed stationary and depowered since their excavation.” The doctor was quick to add, “It is something we’re currently trying to fix.”
Arthur had an incredulous look on his face as he mentally processed what he was told. “So let me get this straight,” he spoke slowly, “you somehow got your hands on incredibly powerful robots, something you miraculously needed against a vicious intergalactic empire…and you can’t get them to work.”
The three continued to stay silent but the looks they gave basically confirmed everything Arthur said was correct.
The pilot sighed and furrowed his brows. “Well…I already promised I would be in this for the long haul and I don’t plan on backing out anytime soon. I think I’ll just try to get my stuff shipped up here. In the meantime, I think it would be for the best if you and your crew got the Olympians up and running ASAP.”
Arthur shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away from the group, heading to the hangar’s exit.
“Well General Lightfoot, I have to admit, he’s exactly as you described him from top to bottom,” said Dr. Crawford as she watched Arthur walk off. “I just wish you didn’t undersell his pig headedness. Hopefully, his skills make up for what we have to put up with.”
“I am personally elated that he’s joining us,” Byo-sei differed optimistically. “I could tell from talking to him that he’s truly a good person. And a good person with strong convictions is as valuable as the most highly trained warrior, at least in my opinion.”
“Well say what you will about him, I can agree with him on one subject,” said General Lightfoot, turning to the Olympians with a grimace. “We need to get these metal hunks of scrap up and running as fast as possible.”