Arrival

You and Trinia don't have a lot of time for small talk as she tells you their base is coming up shortly. You look around for it but only see a mountain range, possibly man-made, until maybe fifty miles in. There is a clearing in the mountains and in it is what looks like a normal office building and a huge parking lot.

"Wait thirty seconds and then do what I do," Trinia tells you and starts to descend. As she did, a hole in the ground opened up and she lowered her Frame into it before it closed again. "This is how we keep our Frames hidden from bombing runs and stuff. Don't worry, we're safe here. We've survived dozens of them. This is just a precaution."

"Who bombs you guys?"

"Earth, mostly. Sometimes Earth sympathizers and the occasional mercenary. Most mercs won't work for Earth though, since they have kind of a reputation for short-changing employees. Oh, you should probably start coming down now." You begin Jehuty's descent. At first, you're worried the ground won't let you in, but soon it opens. "Once you land, I guess we're gonna meet face to face, huh," Trinia says as much to herself as you.

"I guess," you say, suddenly feeling butterflies in your stomach. It feels like a blind date with a girl you've talked to on the phone now.

"Well, I hope you're as handsome as you sound!" You can tell she would be doing an anime wink-smile if you could see her. She may be doing it anyway, a theory re-enforced by the faint sound of her muttering 'ugh, i'm such an idiot...' before her logo disappears.

"ADA, be on the lookout for any traps or ambushes."

[Roger.] ADA's display goes red again for a second.

"Is something wrong?"

[...no.] That's suspicious. ADA can't lie to you, can she?

Jehuty passes the ground and is now in a sloping tunnel. Easy enough to follow, even when the hole closes and the lights come on before it goes dark. You save your game, dreading a surprise. But it doesn't come, instead you land Jehuty on a large metal pad with a walkway leading to another area. Its kind of like the Batmobile's parking on Batman the Animated Series.

Once Jehuty is on the floor and the cockpit opens, you stand up and look around for Trinia as well as your bearing. The whole hangar looks really...metallic. Everything is silver and suspiciously clean. Like if one of the Transformers could turn into a hospital, this is what it would look like inside. You slide down the cockpit and land gently on the floor with a slight clang and start down the walkway, eager to finally lay eyes on Trinia. The door at the end opens and a woman steps into the room. Shes clearly Japanese, long silky black hair, almond eyes, slender build under her dark red officer's uniform. You start to smile until her voice (and frown, you suddenly notice) makes it apparent that this is not Trinia.

"Where were you," she asks. The commander's voice.

"Following Trinia."

"Why did you arrive so much later than Bern and I?"

"I made sure Trinia was alright after our sparring match and by then, you were off my radar." The woman gets closer and looks annoyed at that.

"Don't ever disobey me again. When I tell you to come along, leave behind whoever can't come with you. Is that understood?" You assure her it is. She turns and leaves the room without another word or wasted movement. You exhale, wondering if this was the right side to take in this conflict.