Aster and Selenia sheltered in an abandoned building as Tigata City burned around them within the darkness of the underground arcology. The fighting raged all across Alsium Two, but the fighting had quieted around their portion of the city. The city defenses put up by the military units of the Rakaila, and those stationed within Alsium Two, had broken down into a chaotic melee. Nowhere was safe.

  The Starblight was running rampant. But the Federation was still in the fight, putting up stiff resistance all over Alsium Two. After the Rakaila had vaporized the massive beast with its main gun, the Federation had gotten a second wind, despite the severity. The End War veterans were putting enough backbone into the many inexperienced and green troops stationed within Alsium Two.

  As it was, it was difficult to tell who was winning or losing. But the Starblight was still streaming into Alsium Two from the giant tunnel connection to Alsium One. There were still civilians within the city and all around.

  Aster sneaked a glance through a window. The streets were relatively empty, though the occasional horror ran through them every now and then. He had no doubt Captain Rakaila was busy making her ship form operational again as quickly as could be. And if the warship Rakaila could get back into the fight, the pendulum would swing in their favor.

  Aster kept his eyes upward towards the skies as the swirling vortex of battle exploded with Proto Particle beams, weapons fire, and explosions. Danger always came from above, especially when it came to mobile frames. Mobile frames twisted and danced in deadly struggles with the larger horrors of the Starblight.

  Aster glanced towards Selenia, whose hands were awkwardly gripping the pistol Colonel Varsen had given her. Her finger was off the trigger and placed off to the side of the pistol. It seemed she had some training in the past.

  The ground shook as a mobile frame crashed nearby, an older GMF-03 Exan off down the street. The giant humanoid machine was motionless, lying with its back against a destroyed building. The cockpit centered in the chest was open. Its pilot is nowhere to be seen.

  “Come on,” Aster said to Selenia. “We need to get out of here.”

  “To that mobile frame?” Selenia said, joining him by the window, peering out at the empty streets.

  “Better than here,” Aster said.

  Selenia seemed nervous as her hand trembled over the gun.

  Aster held her hand, giving her a reassuring smile.

  Selenia returned it.

  Aster picked Selenia up, catching her with surprise as he leaped off, reinforcing his legs with Arcana as they moved with blistering speed down the street, carrying her in her arms. It was a good thing he did, too. Hordes of the smaller monsters rushed out at them. He dodged as he dropped her off in the cockpit of the

  older model mobile frame.

  Selenia fired off her pistol as quickly as she could until it ran empty, helping to cover him, knocking back several of the creatures as Aster dispatched several more with a bright blue Arcana blade he formed in his hand.

  Aster dropped himself into the cockpit, into the primary seat, quickly shutting the mobile frame’s cockpit hatch door right as the rest of the monsters struggled to get at them. Selenia moved into the adjacent seat attached to the primary one.

  Aster fiddled with the machine as the cockpit engaged, power running through it, the display screens turning on. The GMF-03 Exan seemed to be in working order. Though it was an older model, with nothing like a modern DMF-09 Arvan’s control interface with a 360-degree cockpit display, GMF-03 Exans were built industrially tough. They could take a pounding and deliver it back too. As fitting the Federation’s first true mass production mobile frame.

  The horrors the Starlight ran all along the mobile frame’s camera sensors as Aster gripped the controls, his hands around the seat’s joystick, his arm on the consoles, and his feet within the articulation pedals. The machine rumbled as Aster made it stand on its two feet, swiping away whatever horrors of the Starblight that still clung to it. He stomped on them with the machine’s giant feet, crushing them.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Selenia said, observing the battle all around through the displays. “Aren’t we a bigger target?”

  Aster grimaced as the Exan’s sensors lit up, displaying both friend and foe, at least, what it could recognize. The sensors of the machine were funky; the Starblight was wreaking havoc on the machine’s sensors.

  “No,” Aster said, glancing back at her. “But we need to get out of here. And if we can’t get out of here, then we’ll have to fight back.”

  Selenia nodded back at him, a determination on her face.

  The fighting was ferocious. All around them, mobile frames were fighting a desperate struggle as more of the giant horrors of the Starblight continued to grow in number. Wicked, malformed sickles and blades clashed with particle sabers. Weapons fire—proto particle beams, kinetic projectiles, missiles, and rockets flew against the horrors, even as dark, sharp projectiles were returned in kind.

  Hundreds of mobile frames were in the skies above and more on the ground around them. Each fighting their own individual battles, the sheer weight of the Starblight’s numbers made it hard to put together any kind of coherent defensive formation. Even the Starblight horrors as tall as a mobile frame outnumbered every machine at least three to one.

  In the distance, the Rakaila could be seen in the darkness from the growing fire that burned not just in the city but also in the forests of Alsium Two. Though it was lying on the ground, wedged into the rocky cliffs, in a state of severe damage, several of its weapons turrets still fired.

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  The communications chatter of the various soldiers over the battle net roared to life.

  “It doesn’t matter what state it's in, if it can fire a weapon, get it into the fight!”

  “Don’t back down! Push forward!”

  “Stand your ground! Hold! Once the Rakaila can recover, victory is ours!”

  Aster could make out Captain Rakaila herself over the many voices.

  “I want every mobile frame out into the fight! And whatever we have in storage, too, if any pilot can be found for it!” Captain Rakaila said.

  Aster thrusted his machine backward as one of the horrors charged towards him. He withdrew the mobile frame’s particle saber, igniting it to life in a long red beam. As he dodged the horror, he slashed at it, slicing it in two.

  “And whatever infantry units that can be mustered together should be sent to Tigata city to reinforce—” Captain Rakaila cut herself off over the communications line. “Aster!” Her voice redirected itself towards him. “Are you arlight? Is Selenia with you?”

  That was Captain Rakaila for you. As a spirit, few could match her senses.

  Aster grimaced as more of the giant horrors redirected their attention to him. A flash went off in his mind. His eyes widened as he picked up a nearby mobile frame shield, placing it in front of his machine as sharp black projectiles were sent his way, breaking upon the shield and deflecting off into the ruined buildings of Tigata city. The mobile frame shook from the weight of the fire pinning them down.

  “I’m fine,” Aster said.

  “And I’m here too!” Selenia added.

  “More reinforcements are enroute to Tigata,” Captain Rakaila said. “Just hang on until—”

  Captain Rakaila’s voice cut out as the communications jammed from the proto particles being put out by the Starblight. The proto particle density seemed to be increasing with every second.

  To his side, several mobile frames had been taken down in fiery explosions.

  More of the Starblight were about to flank him when a barrage of proto particle beams, missiles, and rockets made short work of them.

  A fresh wave of reinforcements of multiple mobile frame squadrons came down from above, firing down into the Starblight, landing amidst the ruined buildings of Tigata city.

  “Aster! Selenia!” Arnis spoke over the short-range comm line, his mobile frame, a DMF-09 Arvan, landing in front of them, covering them with his own shield, firing off his particle rifle. “Are you both alright?”

  “We’re fine,” Aster replied as Garrod landed in his own mobile frame, another DMF-09 Arvan, next to them.

  “We’re both just a little shaken,” Selenia said as she did her best to endure the mobile frame’s constant shaking.

  Garrod handed Aster a spare proto particle rifle as his own voice came over the short-range comm line. “Can your mobile frame make it to the Rakaila?” Garrod said.

  Aster ran over his machine’s internal data. The readings weren’t good. “The Exan’s losing a lot of power. And it's pretty banged up, though it's still managing to stay in one piece for now. It’d be bad if the mobile frame failed midway to the Rakaila.”

  “Then we’ll make a stand here,” Garrod said as he took position beside Arnis, adding his own machine as a shield, firing at the Starblight with his own particle rifle. “More reinforcements from the Rakaila are right behind us. And Captain Rakaila and the others will have the warship fully operational again soon.”

  Aster didn’t reply as his attention was taken up by more of the charging Starblight. He fired the spare particle rifle Garrod had given him, sending beams of dark red proto particles into the larger Starblight horrors even as more of the dark obsidian spikes were sent their way, blocked by their shields.

  More mobile frames continued to stream in, either landing in Tigata city or joining the fray in the dark, empty blackness above. Blue dots showed up on his cockpit’s display interface, marking the comforting presence of friendly mobile frames around him as they appeared visually on his cockpit’s display screen.

  In the distance, Captain Bernard had joined the fight, having reverted back to his full-sized form as a dragon, larger than even a mobile frame, and had been combating the Starblight, both large and small, with claw and dragon fire.

  That was Captain Bernard for you. He had no fear of getting down and dirty if he had to. He was taking down scores of larger Starblight and mowing down endless amounts of the smaller ones. His presence on the battlefield was an assuring one.

  Aster let himself breathe a small sigh of relief. This was good. Things were slowly stabilizing. And an equilibrium seemed to have been restored. At least for the time being. If they could just build up a new defensive line, restore formation, and get things under control, then even the Starblight could be pushed back.

  As Aster turned his head to and fro, he spotted new dots appearing on his cockpit’s display screen, marking new mobile frames approaching in front of him from the direction of the Starblight instead of behind him. Many of them. There was at least a platoon of them. Likely more.

  That was strange.

  Even though the mobile frame’s battlefield sensors were flickering due to the proto particle interference, they hadn’t given him any incorrect readings yet.

  There shouldn’t be any mobile frames approaching from that direction.

  So why were new mobile frames approaching from the front?

  And what’s more, they had no IFFs?

  What could—

  A barrage of dark purple proto particle beams shot out, lighting the darkness with a heavy wave of dark purple light, striking many mobile frames, the surprise attack catching many offguard.

  The communications chatter came to life once more in a sudden panic.

  “SFA mobile frames. Selenar!”

  “At least a platoon! Maybe a whole company.”

  “Don’t back down! Take them head on!”

  “W-Why is the Selenar Union here?” Selenia muttered in shock at his side.

  Aster blocked a stray dark purple proto particle beam as the Starblight ignored the new enemy mobile frames, which joined the fray, the dark black and purple mobile frames attacking the Federation forces. Some of them landed within Tigata city, though most kept to the dark, black, lightless skies.

  He gripped his mobile frame’s joystick in his hands tightly. What was going on? Why was the Settlement Front Alliance here?