Perfect Sacrifice (16 page)

Ray's eyes widened as she looked through the now broken eye slot.  Her monitors were all down, so it was the only way to see the outside.  Something twisted inside her as she saw the mess of metal that was their Genos.  Leon's was under hers.

Ray pressed the button that would release her from her cockpit.  It hummed and buzzed, slowly opening.  The second it was far enough, she jumped out, nearly tripping as she landed on the sandy ground.  She ran to where the cockpit of Leon's Geno supposedly was.

"Leon!" she called out, praying for an answer.  When she didn't receive one, she began to panic.  Had she just killed him?  Had she killed Dr. Solaris's eldest son?  "Leon!"

There was a soft beep, and the cockpit began to open.  Once it was fully open, Leon stood up.  He jumped down, nearly falling over when he hit the ground.  He regained his balance and took a step forward towards Ray.  She was apparently very relieved.

"Leon…thank God," she said breathlessly, relief biting the ends of her words.  He walked up to her, and she was able to get a good look at him.  He had a bruise placed nicely at his temple.  There were a few random cuts on his arms from where the glass from his Geno's eyes had obviously hit him.  Probably the most severe injury was to his head.  Blood ran down the side of it, dripping from his chin or trickling down his neck.

Ray bit her lip, knowing full well that it was all her fault.  Everything that had happened could easily be blamed on her.

"Thank you," she whispered, seeming slightly embarrassed.  A great deal of shame was present on her face.  "I…couldn't have done it without your help."  He just gave her a warm smile.

"It was nothing," he assured her.  "We'll just call it even."  Ray nodded, still feeling a little guilty.

"But how…how did you use your Geno?" she questioned, confused.  "I thought the system failed."

"It had," he explained, "but thanks to one of dad's inventions, I was able to override it."  Ray's eyes widened slightly.

"A Sacris card?" she questioned, and he nodded in response.  "I thought those were illegal…"  He just smiled sheepishly as she gave him a skeptical look.  The GRC had banned those cards from ever being used in battle.  They just weren't fair.  However, this one had managed to save her life.

Leon cringed and placed a hand near the large cut on the side of his head.  Blood still trickled from the wound.

"Sorry," Ray whispered ashamedly.  Leon was about to tell her that it wasn't her fault when the conjoined voices of his brother and father caught his attention.

"Are you alright?" asked Chris as he stopped in front of his brother.  Ray slowly backed away, leaving Leon with his concerned family members.  Dr. Solaris didn't seem quite as worried as his younger son did, obviously realizing that Leon was going to be fine.  His Geno was another matter, but it could always be repaired.

"Ray!" shouted a deep, angry voice, drawing everyone's attention.  Gordan was walking towards Ray, who cringed when she heard his voice.  She slowly turned to him, a slightly nervous look upon her face.  Abby and Brian were with him, but they were following at a distance for obvious reasons.

"Hey Gordan," said Ray, hardly able to keep the uneasiness out of her voice.  His deep scowl only made it harder.

"Ray, what in God's name were you thinking?" he shouted angrily.  "You should have listened to me!"

"I'm sorry…" she began, only to be cut off by her general.

"Sorry isn't good enough this time, Ray," he stated.  "For some reason, you seem to have the impression that you can do whatever you want, that you don't have to listen to me.  Maybe you'll shape up after I tell you this.  You're going on probation."

"What?" she exclaimed.  "But that's not fair!  I didn't get hurt!  You said that if I got hurt,
then
you'd put me on probation!"

"Ray, do you really think that matters right now?" asked Brian softly.  Ray shot him a small glare before turning back to Gordan.

"It wasn't my fault," she stated.  "I don't even know why Ramirez is after me.  Do you think I wanted to get attacked?"

"Ray, the point is that it happened," explained Gordan.  "If you had only listened and postponed the battle until your arm healed, this…"  He pointed to her wrecked Geno.  "…Wouldn't have happened, and Leon wouldn't have gotten hurt!"  Ray cringed at the last part.  He just had to bring that up after what he had already said.

Ray realized that this was one battle she wasn't going to win.  Gordan was very strict when he needed to be, and this was just one of those times.  She sighed in defeat, lowering her head.

"What's my punishment?" she asked downheartedly.

"You won't be allowed to battle for at least a month unless it's absolutely necessary," he told her.

"But…"

"No buts, Ray," he cut her off.  "Now, the good news is that I will have your Geno repaired.  Unfortunately, you will have to remain at the base.  You can't leave until your month is up."  Ray's faced paled in horror.  A month of being stuck in the base would put her over the top.  She'd go insane after one week.  She already couldn't take more than three days without going out at least once.

"That's not fair, sir," she stated.

"Then maybe next time you'll think twice before being so rash," he said while crossing his arms.  Ray sighed deeply.  It just wasn't fair.  She was beginning to think that the battle hadn't been worth it.

Abby and Brian were simply standing by, watching as Gordan brought down the whip on Ray, punishing her with everything he had.  Maybe a real whipping would have been easier on the knight.

Abby sighed and turned around to scan the battlefield.  Wrecked Genos lay strewn everywhere, their pilots long gone.  Some had been captured, but over half had managed to escape.  That or they were hiding amongst the discarded and charred armor.  That idea was unnerving.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement.  She spun in the direction where she saw it.  Her eyes landed on a man getting into one of the wrecked Genos.

"General!" she exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.  Gordan turned and watched as one of the enemy Genos got to its feet.  It was shaking, but the feline like creature managed to straighten itself out.  It roared in assumed victory.

"Damn," cursed Gordan, realizing that there was no way to escape from this.  They didn't have a functioning Geno left to use.  The enemy Geno was slowly turning its single remaining gun towards the group of seven standing nearby.

Ray clenched her fists and lowered her head.  This wasn't fair.  Not to mention the fact that it was her fault.  They were after her, and she was supposed to have destroyed all of them.  How could she have been careless enough to leave one that still worked?  None of this was fair.  Her mind was racing, and she hadn't even noticed that the Geno was lining her up in its sights.

From nearby, a deep sound came from Ray's Geno.  One of the side panels fell off, landing softly on the sandy ground.  Everyone but Ray looked to it.  She was too deep in thought to care about what was going on.  Everything was her fault.  She wanted to fix this, to save them.  There had to be a way.

A single shot fired, and she closed her eyes.  However, nothing happened.  She slowly opened her eyes, looking to the enemy Geno.  It lay on the desert ground, sparks shooting from its sleek body.  She was indeed shocked at the new development.

"What happened?" she questioned, clueless as to what was going on.

"Ray?" questioned Chris, drawing her attention.  He had a bewildered look on his face.  "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" she questioned.

"Your Geno…it just…"  Dr. Solaris placed a hand on his son's shoulder, quieting him down.

"Let's save this for another time, alright?" he suggested, not wanting Chris to finish with his question.  Chris only nodded, not planning on continuing.  "Besides," continued Dr. Solaris, looking to Gordan.  "There's something I want to talk to you about concerning Ray's punishment."

CHAPTER 7

Reassignment

It had been about half an hour since the battle had ended, and a clean up crew had been brought out to clean up the mess of metal in the desert.  The few pilots who had been hiding amongst them were now being escorted to the prison of the GRC.  The Solaris family, along with Gordan and the other GRC officials were still standing around in the desert.  Dr. Solaris was currently talking to Gordan, standing far enough away so that the others couldn't hear their conversation.

"What do you think they're talking about?" asked Ray as she watched them talk.

"Probably discussing your punishment," said Brian as he stood with his arms crossed, his eyes also on the doctor and the general.

"Maybe Dr. Solaris can persuade him to lighten it a bit," she said hopefully.

"I doubt it," said Chris as he sat down in the desert sands.  "He might be asking to make it more severe."  Ray cringed at the thought, not seeing a way that it could get worse.

"Stop fidgeting," said Abby, drawing Ray's attention.  Her friend was currently giving Leon first aid treatment.  He hissed with pain as she cleaned the large cut on his head.  All of the minor cuts had been taken care of.

"Sorry," he said as he tried to stay still, but it was hard.  It really did hurt.

Dr. Solaris and Gordan were still talking, discussing various topics.  One happened to be about what had happened that day.  Most of it was just catching up on current events.

"Tell me," began Dr. Solaris.  "Why is Ramirez after Ray?"  Gordan just sighed as he crossed his arms.

"I really don't know," he said somewhat depressively.  "She is the ace knight, but I don't think that's the reason."  Dr. Solaris sighed deeply, crossing his arms.

"She must be exhausted.  This is the fourth attack in the last week," he said.

"Yeah…" echoed Gordan, but something quickly caught his attention.  "Four?  I thought it was three?"

"No, there were definitely four.  One before she came to us, then at the battle royal, then again in Torran…"

"Whoa, hold up," said Gordan, stopping Dr. Solaris's recollection of Ray's recent attacks.  "In Torran?  She never told me that."  Gordan shot a glare in Ray's direction even though she couldn't see it.  He began to rub his temples as he felt a headache coming on.  "That girl will be the death of me," he mumbled.  Dr. Solaris only laughed at his long time friend and coworker.

"Then perhaps you should stop trying to be her father," he told Gordan with a smug smile.  Gordan only sighed in response.

"Now," he began, deciding it was time to get back on track.  "What did you want to discuss about her punishment?"  Dr. Solaris recovered his business like look again as he recalled his proposition.

"Instead of keeping her at the base," he began, "I was thinking that you could let her stay with us."  Gordan quirked an eyebrow, glancing over at Ray as she argued with Leon about something that they couldn't hear.  He watched her cringe as she attempted to move her arm.  Abby was now scolding her as Brian just shook his head.

"Are you sure?" he asked Dr. Solaris, seeming doubtful.  "I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into.  Ray may be nineteen, but she's a handful."

"I'm aware of that, but there will be rules," explained Dr. Solaris.  "I think we can handle it.  She might be reluctant at first, but I'm sure she'd rather be stuck at my base than yours."

"Need I remind you that this is a punishment?" he asked with a sigh.  "We're not trying to make things easier for her; we're trying to teach her a lesson."

"Well…" said the good doctor, seeming to be in deep contemplation.  "It really wasn't her fault that she was attacked.  However, I wasn't suggesting letting her have more freedoms."  He lowered his voice as he continued.  "If she stays with us, Ramirez may have a harder time finding her.  I want to do this in order to keep her safe.  She can participate in battles and take a break from being the 'ace knight'."  Gordan thought it over for a while, but he finally nodded in acceptance.  This plan really was quite strategic.  Ray needed protection, and the Solaris family could probably provide that.  Besides, it'd be good for her to take a break from her dangerous job.  Maybe she'd learn a thing or two.

Ray was now sitting on the ground, a scowl on her face.  Not only had she lost the argument with Leon but Abby had scolded her about moving her arm.  It would probably be a few more days before she could use it properly again.

Everyone turned and watched as Gordan and Dr. Solaris approached them.  The two men looked to Ray, who stood up, now awaiting her punishment.

"Ray, come here," demanded Gordan.  Reluctantly, Ray walked over to them.  Brian followed her, leaving Abby with the two Solaris brothers.  Apparently this was a private discussion.