The Legendary Junkmaster

Captain Horst approached the Infinity cautiously. His eyes constantly scanned it for any signs of movement. The tension that he felt made him ready to fire his rifle at the slightest thing that felt off.

However, the Infinity remained still as he finally came up next to it. Captain Horst looked at the hole in the chest only to see that the metal was covered in blood. When his eyes moved up to the helmet, a curious frown appeared upon his face.

The visor that protected Jason's face had shattered, revealing his appearance to Captain Horst. The latter crouched down and carefully peeled away what remained of the shattered glass to get a better look at Jason's face.

"Sir! This one isn't an officer!" Captain Horst shouted out after a brief pause.

Colonel Barnes, the leader of this mission, turned his head with a curious gaze towards the Captain. 'Not an officer? Why would they waste so much on a mere cadet?'

The Colonel's curiosity had been piqued as he approached the Infinity. As he stood beside Jason, he too seemed confused by the young man inside of the armour. When he took a better look at the Infinity, he noticed that all of the armour seemed to have been shaped from different items. 

None of it looked like it had been freshly produced to specific standards. 'So this armour is probably makeshift with whatever was on hand. So that means the boy probably made it himself. Hmm. But for that to happen, then...'

"Sir? What should we do?" Captain Horst asked as he noticed that the Colonel's expression had become grim.

"We take him with us." Colonel Barnes replied with a heavy tone.

"So do we still take the other two? Or just one of them?"

Colonel Barnes halted for a moment as he considered the question. "Both. I'll report this to HQ. Bag them up!"

Barnes waited for Horst to cover the Infinity in a gum that shaped itself into a bubble. Once the procedure was complete, the bubble began to float slightly off the ground. First then attached a leash shaped piece of gum to it and walked off to collect the other two, towing Jason behind him.

Once Horst was far enough away, Barnes pulled a slim disc-shaped object from inside of his coat. He took a few deep breathes as he collected his thoughts. If he was right, then he would undoubtedly get a promotion.

However, if he was wrong...

Barnes pushed the single button on the disk, and a humming noise came from the object. After a few moments, a deep voice came from the disc in his hand.

"Colonel, what's the meaning of this? Why have you broken radio silence?" 

"Sir, we came across an unusual individual during the operation," Barnes replied before explaining everything that had happened. "In my opinion, sir. I believe we have discovered an undeveloped Junkmaster."

Barnes waited with bated breath as the voice on the other side of the disc went silent.

"How confident are you in this assessment?"

"At least 60%, sir. There's always the chance that he's just the pilot for the suit. At the very least, it means the Mannes Empire has one that they are cultivating." Barnes replied as he voiced his thoughts on the matter.

A minute of silence passed before the deep voice spoke again. "Good job, Colonel. Bring him in for questioning. Even if he is not a Junkmaster, he may know the identity of one. You have a new priority in this assignment. Protect that captive at all costs."

"Of course, sir. I'll do my best. However, it seems that the Empire's top pillar has returned too soon. We might not be able to escape with him intact." Barnes thought about Rust's Jellyfish fortress and the crimson beams that were fired from it.

"Don't worry about that, Colonel. I'll contact Brigadier Danton and have him use his beasts to stall them. You have twelve hours to reach the rendezvous. I'll meet you there."

The humming from the disc suddenly cut off as the deep voice went silent. Barnes stared at the communicator with wide eyes. 'The General is going to take action personally?'

Barnes began to wonder if they had bit off more than they could chew with this mission. They had used the internal conflict of the Empire to slip inside of its borders. The idea was to snatch some new recruits that were highly valuable.

Then, they would either brainwash them to fight for their side or send them back as spies. In the meantime, they could gather information from the captives about the general layout of the Empire.

In the nearly seventy years since the two powerhouses had come into contact, the Empire's forces had prevented every attempt to gather any information about it. If it had not been for the anonymous tip they received from someone within the Empire, they would never have gained this chance!

Barnes silently stared at his squad that we're waiting with their new baggage. He nodded at them before marching off towards the border, where they had slipped into the Empire.

"Sir! It looks like the Pillars are coming back!" Horse suddenly shouted as he spotted the flying fortress on its return journey.

"Ignore it, Horst. We don't have to worry about those two." Barnes sneered as old memories resurfaced.

First was about to argue that they should definitely be concerned, but a black cloud appeared in the sky as it chased Rust's fortress. Horst frowned when he saw that. He knew that only the Brigadier was capable of controlling so many beasts at once.

Seeing that sight made Horst realise that something about their mission had changed. Before, the attack could have been brushed off as an Outbreak. However, that was clearly a targeted strike that went against the beasts instincts.

It would not take much for the Empire to realise that an external force had attacked them. First worried about what that would mean for his country. They would undoubtedly be the first suspects that came to the Emperor's mind.

'Is a war brewing on the horizon?' First sighed as he thought about his family back home. His wife and two kids lived in a town near the border, so it would be one first places affected if anything happened.

However, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he continued to follow the Colonel. He was in no position to question the orders from above. He could only hope that whatever was going on was worth it.

Meanwhile, in Rust's fortress...

"Shoot them down!" Rust roared as she watched the black cloud approaching in the distance.

Sentinel grunted as he placed a hand on the smart cannon he had created. After a few seconds of communicating with the technology that made up its body, the cannon began to heat up.

A crimson glow appeared at the end of its barrel while Sentinel concentrated on how figuring out how long this weapon would hold out for before it became molten metal.

A few seconds later, a crimson beam shot from the barrel. It shot through the sky, looking like a streak of bright light before tearing a hole in the cloud. A few maimed bodies fell the edge of the hole where the beasts had escaped being vaporised in a single strike.

However, the beasts were underrated by the show of force. Sentinel frowned as he studied their reaction. 'Something isn't right. These bars should have fled by now.' 

His mind raced to different conclusions before one among them stood out. 'They're being controlled! Who's attacking us?' Sentinel ground his teeth in outrage as he forcefully compelled the cannon to overheat another shot.

As the cannon hummed when it released the shot, the beam split into various smaller ones. The scattered lasers shot down numerous bats, but they still did not turn around.

This just confirmed Sentinel's previous thought. 'Was Jason amongst those fighting? He better have hidden inside, or I'll kill him!' Sentinel became furious when he thought that his apprentice might have done something stupid while he was gone.

As the cannon recharged again, Sentinel turned and looked at the empty air beside him.

"Friday!" Sentinel growled. 

"Yes, sir?" The projection of an old man appeared as it bowed.

"Where's Jason right now?" Sentinel hissed as a crimson flash appeared beside them.

"He joined the fight to hold off the Outbreak. I think you'll be impressed by what he recently created." Friday replied with a cheery tone.

"The Outbreak is over! In fact, it probably was not an Outbreak in the first place! So tell me, has Jason returned to the compound?" Sentinel was growing impatient with the AI as he awaited a clear answer.

"I'm afraid that he has not returned yet, according to my data. However, he is not in the infirmary either." Friday frowned as he scanned the information that entered his network. "Sir, none of the cadets have returned since the fighting on the ground ended. But, there's something else. There's been a breach on the northwestern border!"