New ERA Saga

Chapter 13 – Vera’s Past

The helicopter that picked them up from the apartment has landed. After donning the necessary gear for the mission, Nouel set off. He had equipment stored at the base and some in his apartment. Since the new drone, now a support weapon, was ready, he utilized armor equipment with a mount indicating the locations of those drones.

The helicopter was the same one used for previous transports, taking the team on their missions. They boarded and took their seats as the helicopter promptly lifted off.

Inside the helicopter, Nouel began inspecting the equipment and weapons he had prepared, ensuring everything was functional and ready for use when needed.

“By the way, how do you spell your friend’s name? I’ve been struggling to pronounce it since the pickup helicopter arrived,” Vera resumed the conversation that had paused when the pickup helicopter came. Earlier, Nouel had discussed a friend with a challenging name.

Nouel shrugged. “It does sound difficult. It takes practice and a specific accent to say his name. I used to call her ‘D.’”

“’D?’” Vera repeated.

“Yes, easier and shorter.”

“Ah, got it.”

After that, silence fell between them for a few seconds.

“Captain, are you interested in hearing my story?” Vera asked, sounding like she was inviting Nouel to listen.

“No, probably as boring as mine,” Nouel replied, rejecting the idea with an indifferent gesture and tone.

Vera, slightly annoyed by the response, retorted, “You’re annoying. I want to share my story with you.”

“I don’t care and don’t want to know, so let’s not talk about it again.”

“Even if you don’t care, I’ll still share everything with you. Just listen,” Vera insisted, determined to share her story with him.

“For what?”

“I often work with you, we’ve been on missions together for a long time. How can you not know about me?” Vera replied, using it as a reason.

“I’ve said it, I’m not sentimental. I won’t care about things like that, and it won’t affect me. And one more thing, I really don’t care. Knowing about you and your past won’t impact our performance. All I need to know is the skill you have and how well you work in the team.”

“But I care, so just listen.” Vera pushed a bit, not wanting rejection from her captain.

“I’ll just listen to music.” Nouel intended to activate music from the computer system installed on his armor.

“Captain!” Vera protested.

“Okay, suit yourself.” Nouel finally gave in.

Vera smiled in satisfaction, while Nouel chose to close his eyes and lean back. After a brief pause, Vera began recounting her own life story.

“I was born with an incomplete body, my legs were not perfect. When I was in my youth, my family had an accident. The dome was already built, but remnants of the past wars were still present in some parts of the city. That’s what caused my family’s accident – a massive explosion while our vehicle was passing through empty streets, and we ended up in the water.”

For a moment, Vera paused her story, while Nouel just listened without saying anything, waiting for her to continue.

“Due to that accident, my entire family perished. I was the only survivor, severely injured to the point where my life seemed meaningless. Most of my organs were damaged, and I would spend the rest of my life in bed, a living corpse unable to do anything but see and speak.” Vera revealed it with a human touch, expressing sadness and pain as she spoke, unlike Nouel, who seemed indifferent when recounting his dark past.

“Well, you probably just wanted to die back then,” Nouel commented, having opened his eyes. He made a casual remark.

Vera nodded. “Yes, I wanted to die. My life had no purpose, I had nothing I could do. It would have been much better if I were dead.”

“What happened next?” Nouel inquired, seemingly curious about what Vera had to say. “What made you endure?”

“Honestly, I found it hard to accept that reality. I couldn’t fathom that my life would be like that forever. I, in my desperation, asked the nurse who took care of me to end my life. I screamed and begged to be killed countless times, but no one was willing to do it.”

“Clearly, they would get in trouble if they followed the wishes of a patient wanting to die,” Nouel muttered quietly. Vera nodded, agreeing.

“Until one day, Professor Volkov visited me. He offered me a better life, talking about technology that could turn someone into a cyborg with extraordinary abilities.” As she narrated this, her facial expression became brighter than before.

“I didn’t want extraordinary powers, I just wanted to live a normal life again. Professor Volkov told me that the missing parts of my body would be replaced with machines, my hands and legs would be replaced with bionic limbs allowing me to stand again and live normally. Some of my internal organs would also be replaced.”

Vera looked a bit melancholic when recalling these details, as if remembering the difficult times in her life.

“What about your spine? How far did the replacement go?” Nouel interrupted again, intentionally breaking into Vera’s narrative.

“From the skull to the tailbone. The top of my head is also protected by a kind of metal coating, making it bulletproof.” Vera pointed to her forehead while smiling faintly. It turned out that there were quite a few changes and additions of machinery to Vera’s body. Approximately half of her body could be considered machine, hence she could be called a cyborg.

“But if I shoot you with a bullet this size, you can still be penetrated, right?” Nouel murmured, making a gesture with his index finger.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Then Nouel asked Vera to continue her story. “Okay, what happened next?”

“I had no other choice, my only options were to die or become a volunteer to become a cyborg. I chose to become a cyborg. What other risks could frighten me? I had no other purpose, my life would be meaningless.”

“And in the end, the project succeeded,” Nouel guessed, or more precisely assumed.

“Yes, after that lengthy operation, I finally got my life back, even though part of my body is a machine. I came back to life as a cyborg.” Vera expressed it with a tone that seemed slightly pleased, and her facial expression seemed to be reliving those moments.

“Do you feel pain?” Nouel asked, for some reason continually interrupting Vera’s story.

Vera shook her head, then continued to explain. “No, this cyborg project didn’t give me any pain. However, for some time, I was still numb and couldn’t do many activities. It took me months to get used to the machine body, which was very different from my original body. I also needed time to recover. Nevertheless, in the end, I could start a new life, a truly new life as a cyborg.”

Nouel diverted his gaze to the window for a moment, he didn’t comment at all on Vera’s story.

After a brief pause, Vera resumed her life story. “Until one day, I could do things that ordinary humans couldn’t. I could lift heavier loads than an average person, move faster and more agile. When I saw news about the recruitment of soldiers, I thought my strength and abilities would be valuable as a special forces team member.”

“And when accepted, I met Professor Volkov again. We became colleagues and good friends from then on. After several years of training and undertaking numerous missions, I joined your team when you needed cyborg team members, and of course, I joined your team thanks to Professor Volkov’s recommendation.”

“It seems like you’ve become quite close to Volkov, huh?” Nouel commented, more of an assumption than a question.

“Hmm, I consider him my father,” Vera proudly stated. As someone who no longer had parents, finding someone who cared for and looked after her, it was natural for Vera to feel that way.

“Predictable.”

“Yes, that’s my life story. I never regretted my decision, I’m happy to take on missions like this, protecting the city from criminals trying to disrupt the peace fought for by our predecessors.” Vera honestly expressed what she felt.

After sharing her background, Vera remembered Nouel’s sudden appearance as a valuable warrior capable of surpassing and defeating cyborg soldiers. His emergence was truly abrupt, not announced when he joined and what he did.

While reminiscing about her long journey as a cyborg soldier protecting the city, Vera realized something about Nouel’s existence. He wasn’t very conspicuous, she wasn’t even aware of his presence until he was appointed as the new captain.

“By the way, Captain, how come I never saw you before? You suddenly became a valuable and crucial warrior. How?” Vera asked curiously.

“I initially served as a reserve member, I rarely went to the field. I also rarely participated in battles at the base because there was no activity or job for me there.” That was the answer that made sense, explaining why Vera and many other unit members never saw him.

After a brief pause, he continued his story. “I mostly assembled weapons and all the equipment I needed. I first descended when there was a major attack. The previous captain of the Wolf team had died, so there was no one to command the team at that time. I knew the enemy’s attack pattern, so I had to step in. Fortunately, the team members were not troublesome, and they were willing to listen to my directions.”

Nouel briefly recounted his journey that ended with him becoming the captain of the Wolf squad, an incident that occurred unexpectedly.

“That’s how it is. I think at that time, I was still in the training soldier team.”

***