Inedible

Secundi Lux

The battle between metal and earth ends with a victory in Selma’s favor. The drone she’d throw off axis stumbles backward, it’s long legs all askew as it tilts over. Right into the impact zone.

There comes a great shuddering of concrete and fraying metal, an enormous rumble like some great beast awoken from slumber. The skeleton of the office building, the survivor of one apocalypse, will stand no longer. Gravity and magic bring its steel beams and crumbling columns tumbling down in a grand cacophony of dust and debris, a tidal wave of force that sweeps across the nearby street and swallows up anything unlucky enough to be nearby.

Including the approaching army of drones.

Those stalwart autonomous soldiers were neither prepared nor designed for was comes to meet them. Their metal frames groan and squeal as the weight of the building comes down on top of them, burying the opposition in one fell sweep.

The air is thick with dust now, the dark of night made even darker. Yet not even one light can be seen amidst the rubble, no blinking LEDs or any sign of survivors. The frozen metal husk of the flying drone lays ruined on the street as well, crystalline fragments of frost scattered around its final resting place. Save the residual creaks and groans of the settling office building, all is quiet.

Until, at last:

“Field is clear--no more targets.” Comes the message from the Officers team. “Remaining teams are completing their objectives. We’re holding for now.”

The rain slows as the next hour passes by and the group of officers move forward to establish a small base in the shell of a more intact building nearby. From there they monitor the rest of the battlefield, but no further drones approach Team Kheper’s outpost.

“Good work.” Liam, apparently the leader of the trio of officers, offers to the team of Ars Magi as they wait in their makeshift shelter. “With the building.” He nods toward Crystal after, adding, “And the flyer—we weren’t expecting that one.”

“I can’t believe you just threw that mech around,” Gushes cadet Green, a tall and dark-skinned girl manning the computers. She’s already replaying the footage of Selma’s battle with the drone, re-examining the verdant Ars Magi’s bench-press technique. “We thought you were out for sure.”

Time passes further, and eventually the officers receive word that the exercise has concluded.

Transports arrive to pick up the Ars Magi and their team of officers, ferrying them back out of the military zone. They part at the entrance to Nova Lux, the three officers saying their farewells before returning to their own academy.

When they make it back to the dorms the building is alive with activity, abuzz with the fervor of a successful mission. Most of the girls appear to have returned unscathed, though a few show bruises or other wounds from their encounters. Stories are being swapped, mostly of encounters with the same type of bipedal foe that Kheper faced in their own exercise. There are a few outliers though, and at least one tale of a building-sized version of the metallic walkers.

Eventually the gossip windows down as it nears time for sleep. The Ars Magi retreat to their respective dorms and the lights go out, signaling the end to another day. Tomorrow are debriefings and performance reviews, but tonight…

It’s time to rest.

Secundi Lux

The streets are quickly becoming more crowded as the autonomous enemy force begins to close in. The drones bob and strut with almost bird-like movements, their strangely jointed legs carrying them ever forward. Most of them are still in formation, a cluster of blinking lights and swiveling weapons seeking out their next target.

One of those targets is Selma Rosemarie, who finds that she has company once she’s finished launching her makeshift projectile into the skies above. Two of the more enthusiastic drones, the front-runners, are approaching with both speed and violent intent. The peppering of magitech gunfire around her position is a brief prelude to the real attack; the first drone to reach her reels back one hefty leg and aims a kick at the verdant-haired Ars Magi, the hunk of metal aiming to knock her from her feet so the second can follow up with a crushing stomp.

Thankfully, the rest of the vanguard doesn’t arrive to press Selma any further. Mostly due to the molten ball of magic from Rivka that rips through the frontrunners of the drone formation, blowing a hole through first one, then two more mechanical adversaries behind. The little nova lights up the street for just a moment, revealing broken windows and ruined asphalt. The after-image of a dozen marching drones are burned into each girls vision for just a moment before the street goes dark again.

Meanwhile, high above, Crystal finds that Selma’s opening gets her a hold on the flying drone that was assailing her. It’s bigger than she might have expected—nearly twice the size of the machines on the street below. There’s a lot of internal circuitry for her magic to freeze, and it takes some time for the frost to spread far enough that the machine begins to sag and struggle to stay airborne. Crystals of cold begin to form along the metal surface, then thorns of frost, and soon Crystal finds that she and her adversary are descending at an alarming rate.

And the flying drone isn’t the only thing threatening to come tumbling down. As Chie gathers and focuses her magic the office building behind Selma begins to creak and groan, the skeletal remains of the structure being pressed upon by a sudden extra weight.

The cluster of drones are still on approach, about to unleash a new volley of projectiles on the gathered members of Team Kheper.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

The days that follow are busy.

With the exercise completed there’s naturally a mass of debriefs that follow. Each cadet is taken aside and given both a cross-examination and evaluation. Hours are spent pouring over footage captured by both the enemy drones and cameras set up around the military zone, analyzing each decision and combat maneuver in excruciating detail.

The members of Team 3 – Team Radiant Storm – are awarded top marks for their efforts. They were, they find out later, one of the three teams to take out a heavy combat unit—the building-sized mecha that Penny blew a hole through. Team 2—Amanda, Priya, and Blair—get partial credit, but most of the accolades go to Radiant Storm.

With the exercise complete the next month passes uneventfully—the usual drills and classes, but no joint exercises or big excursions. The main focus instead is on preparing for the Field Readiness Examination—a group of written tests and smaller live exercises that will determine if a given Ars Magi is cleared to be sent on real (supervised) missions.

A grueling series of weeks pass by; long nights studying, endless magical exercises and a battery of preliminary tests fill each Ars Magi’s schedule. There’s barely any time left for their own devices, whatever they may be.

Time passes quickly—until, finally, it’s time.

The written portion of the exams have fill up about a half-days worth of work. The real test, however, comes after:

Each cadet is assigned a senior Ars Magi to supervise their test, and each has a challenge crafted for their specific skill set. The exercises are designed not just for the cadets to show off their strengths, but also to determine how well the Academy’s training has hammered out their weaknesses thus far.

And they begin—

Now.

Secundi Lux

One after another the machines are dispatched. Aoife’s blade sinks deep into her target, needles of water spearing into the metallic shell along with the deep bite of her Gladius. The mass of metal topples, falls into a heap with a crash and her beside it.

The other’s volley of missiles, aimed for Selma, blossom into a harmless ball of blue-white fire when they’re detonated prematurely by Rivka’s blast. Her next shot blows a chunk out of its shell, a short prelude to its demise at the crushing weight of Crystal’s gravity well. The sound of crumpling steel is an unpleasant shriek that fills the empty street, echoing into the night.

Crystal can hear it from the perch she’s taken, high above the field of battle. Up there on top of the building she’s met by darkness, whipping wind and freezing rain unimpeded by the derelict structures that provide some protection to those below. Her field of vision is dim, a great expanse of darkness broken up only by the pin-point blue lights of the Nox diffusers that line the abandoned district. The barest glimpse of the moon can be seen through the carpet of clouds above, like a pale eye peeking through closed lashes.

When she turns her gaze down toward the street again she can see the lights, a tiny parade moving through the dark. A dozen maybe, red dots moving at a quick pace down the surrounding streets. More drones closing in on the team of Ars Magi down below.

There’s something else, too. The flash of something in front of the moon, a shift in the weight in the air. Her warning comes as red light begins to gather in the air above her, an ominous glow that illuminates the shape of something huge hovering in the air above her. Its outline is sleek, almost insect-like. Four wings, one central body, and a long stinger protruding from its bottom.

--but not a stinger, exactly. The tip of it is where the light gathers, and the point from which it lets loose the blast that carves through a chunk of the rooftop next to her. The beam slices neatly through the space just beside the girl, leaving a clean line of smoldering, red-hot concrete in its wake. A miss—but barely.

The four members of team Kheper can see the flash above them from the street below. Yet they have little time to ponder it before their earpieces crackle to life again:

“More coming down the intersection—prepare to engage.”

They round the corners of buildings, the heavy stop of feet signaling their arrival. More drones pouring in from intersection, from left and right. Cones of spotlights flash across the street, illuminating the four Ars Magi in their path as they march forward.

Secundi Lux

rip

Secundi Lux

Concrete bursts, cracking and shattering as the ground tears itself asunder at Selma’s command. The fissure cuts a jagged line along the rain-soaked street, the earth below letting out a groan of effort as the green-haired giant’s magic pulses through it. A vicious line that ends underneath the vulnerable foot of one of the hulking machines that Chie’s called to the hunt, the explosion of rock, mud, and asphalt throwing it off balance.

Off balance and right into the spear formed to meet it. In the wake of the attack, it rests impaled against the nearest building, the spike of earth entombed partway inside of the drone’s center mass. Heavy legs twitch and buckle, but they seem to be dying throes rather than anything that might be cause for alarm.

The remaining two drones make themselves less easy targets. The fall of one alerts the other, and then move with surprising agility toward the source of their fellows demise. Heavy legs flex in long strides, the machines propelling themselves over debris and toward the advancing Magi.

There’s a shrill hiss from the first as it lets loose the opening volley, four distinct trails of smoke exploding from one of the rectangular shaped pods attached to its central body. From each contrail leads a bone-white missile, a painted cylinder bearing a magic-charged payload to be delivered in full to one Selma Rosemarie.

The second machine, perhaps surprisingly, doesn’t double-down on the threat to the green giant. Instead it chooses to focus on the other sources of magic that burn in the rainy nighty. Staccato machine-gun fire rips through the darkness, tiny flashes illuminating the ruined street. The rubble that Chie’s sequestered herself behind pops and cracks as bullets perforate her shelter and puffs of dust begin to rise from the detritus. The machine lopes closer still as it fires, threatening to soon overtake her.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

The blasts from Dana’s gleaming weapon and the additional rays that flash from her stars cut an impressive swath through the swarm of missiles. Gleaming lines of sunlight slice through the metallic cones, detonations following in their wake. The sound is like popping popcorn, but a dozen times louder; pop, pop, pop, a dozen explosions that light the night sky like fireworks.

There are more missiles though, metal darts that careen through the air toward the figures on the streets and rooftops. Several more peel off as Nicole glides by, marking her as a target and acting accordingly. The redheaded Magi is too swift for such simple machines though, and she’s treated to the sound of several more detonations

She doesn’t shake all of them though—but that’s where Cordelia’s doorway comes in. The mirrored doorway forms in front of Nicole, and as she vanishes through it and further into the sky. The missiles detonate in the air behind her, well away from her comrades on the street below.

At the same time, Penny rockets down into the enormous machine’s center with the force of a comet. The gigantic hammer she wields shatters through the thick coating of ice and brittle metal beneath it, piercing through to the machine’s heart in one clean line. The metallic skeleton, the gears and wires that power it, and everything else around them all cave in under the force of GroB Eisen and its diminutive wielder. She leaves a line of smoking air behind, a trail of lightning that burns her afterimage into the night sky.

The force of the blow is enough to drive the frame further into the crater of the building it collapsed into, concrete and steel groaning in protest.

Penny can feel a sudden heat as something cuts a line through the machine just above her. Blair’s flaming claymore carves a wicked line through half of the thing’s center mass, and Penny for a moment feels like the heat of a furnace as the Scottish girl skids to a halt next to her in the gaping cavity that Penny’s created.

“Fuck,” She complains, “Y’took all the fun, ye’—”

The rest of her complaints are cut off by the deafening detonation from off near the machine’s shoulder, Cordelia’s flung projectile blossoming into a ball of flame as it burns across the metal. The last few lights along the metal chases die soon after, flickering and dimming as the mecha powers down. It’s arm, half-raised, falls limply into the crater of the building.

All is silent for a few moments, a pregnant pause filled only by the sound of howling wind.

Then, the crackle of Aiya’s voice in the team’s ear: “Field’s clear. Orders are to hold until exercise is over. We’ll rendezvous shortly.”

---

Aiya and her officers join the group within the next twenty minutes, meeting the team of Ars Magi at one of the nearby abandoned structures. The first floor of an old office, a reception area that has at least a few small tables and chairs remaining inside. The group is joined by Team 2, the officers and Ars Magi they just rescued. The other group has the same orders: Hold until further notice.

“Penny!” Says Dima, breaking briefly away from the group of officers. “You were awesome. Like—way better than Altea.” It’s unclear if he heard all the swearing. Considering he’s supposed to be handling Blair, he might have gotten used to it. “I’ve got to go set stuff up, but, I’ll talk to you later—soon—hopefully--”

“Hah.” Snorts Blair in passing. “Penny’s got a boyfriend, huh?”

“How cute.” The dry assessment comes from Amanda, the sour looking blonde girl stepping forward toward. Pale blue eyes regard the smaller Ars Magi clinically, and for a moment it seems she might have one of her usual biting comments to share. Until, with reservation, she offers her hand to shake. “Good work, Grenoble.”

“You too, Noel.” Amanda adds, giving a short nod in Dana’s direction. “Good aim.”

“Great aim.” Corrects Noah, giving Dana a thumbs-up from his place near the radio. “We got to team up after all, huh?”

Meanwhile hurricane Priya is blowing through, stretching her hand out to fist-bump Nicole and flash a cheery grin at her fellow Magi. “We gotta team up more often,” She says, moving to throw an arm around Cordelia’s shoulder next.

“Nice moves with the mirrors too.” She praises, “I’m making you an honorary member of team sword girls, Cordelia.” Only small swords for normally allowed for official members, apparently. “Foods on me at the next meeting.”

Over the next hour the cadets from the officer’s academy reassemble their equipment, checking in periodically with command via the radio.

Finally, sometime in the dead of night, the radio crackles to life.

“Operation complete. All teams prepare from transport. Repeat—operation complete, return to base.”

A few minutes later the helicopters arrive. Magitech-powered lights glow along their sleek exteriors, the low hum of their engines filling the air as they touch down and load both officers and Magi inside. The vehicles take to the sky soon after, cutting their way over the abandoned district and back to the academies staging area.

There, after a short debrief, farewells are said between Magi and officers before the cadets part ways. The Ars Magi find themselves once again at their dorms, though they’re given no time for idle chatter. Lights go out after about thirty minutes and the halls are quiet soon after.

A more thorough debrief will come in the morning. For now, though, it’s time to rest.

Secundi Lux

[ MUSIC: Tension ]

At the point of Chie’s focus long lines of water begin to bend downward, crashing into the street under the force of her magic. It’s not long before the distortion begins to draw attention, just as the officers said it would.

Beams of light begin to illuminate the street, fluorescent cones that sweep across the cracked concrete and broken windows. They herald the arrivals of the drones they are attached to, 12 foot bi-pedal machines whose bodies are made up of heavily armored legs and rectangular ‘heads’ mounted with machine guns, antennae, and spotlights. Blue LEDs flash periodically across their surface, blinking in the darkness.

They appear out of the darkness, one, then another, and a third after. The drones converge on the disturbance on the street, walking warily at its edges. Finding no acceptable targets within their headlights begin to roam once again, over the nearby buildings, searching for the source of the magical disturbance. If not prevented they’ll soon begin to move in Chie’s direction, attempting to locate her and the rest of team Kheper amongst the ruins.

The tiny radio in their ears hisses to life, the officer on the other end instructing:

“Engage at will, team.”

Secundi Lux

The next several weeks pass uneventfully now that the pageantry has finished. There’s plenty of time in the immediate aftermath of the ball for gossip and swapping stories, and there’s more than one Ars Magi that’s got a later engagement with a partner from the ball. Selma herself receives a gift a few days later: A bouquet of flowers from the confident cadet she’d favored with a dance.

Eventually, however, it comes time to return to schoolwork, magical drills, and the normal routines of Academy life. As each Ars Magi becomes increasingly familiar with their powers their exercises ratchet up in intensity, gradually building each girl toward a confident proficiency in their unique abilities. Occasionally Palmyra’s senior Ars Magi offer personalized instruction, testing individual cadets in mock-battle.

Throughout the month there are also rumors swirling around, mostly based on gossip overheard and stories traded at the ball. There’s talk of the new anti-Void machines, and of the upcoming joint exercise between the academies. The latter is confirmed by Nova Lux’s instructors soon enough, the date set for the end of the month.

The time passes quickly for most, until the day draws near.

---

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚊 𝙻𝚞𝚡 𝙰𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚢
𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖
𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟸𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟺:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Masuzu Chie, Crystal von Caelestis, Rivka Sokolov, Selma Rosmarie, Aoife Strumgaard

---

“This will be your field of operation.”

The screens in the center of the briefing room flicker, cycling through green-tinted images until an aerial view of Palmyra’s abandoned district appears on the central monitor. From above the tall concrete walls cordoning off the district are made visible, towering above the desolate half-structures that fill the empty streets. The Nox diffusers, tall pylons that stretch above the streets, glow a pale blue in the afternoon light. The cadets will recognize at least some portion of the district from their entrance exam, and one of the observation towers is still half-destroyed from the incidents during that exercise.

The officer presenting, instructor Drier, gives her audience a moment to digest the image. The cadets from Nova Lux are arranged in a circle around the central monitor, all seated in neat rows and sorted according to their established teams. In the dim evening light the monitors are clear and glowing, and the five girls have a good vantage from their place near the front row.

“In this exercise you will be clearing and securing several key structures, marked here.” On the monitor buildings begin to light up, their skeletons highlighted in fluorescent yellow. “Accompanying you will be several cadets from the Officer’s Academy, who will act in a supporting role as your operations team.”

She continues on, beginning to point out routes and instructions. Selma, Chie, Crystal, Aoife, and Rivka are designated as Team 5—a military moniker unfortunately not as regal as Crystal’s Team Kheper—and instructed:

“Team 5 will be drawing fire away from teams one and two while they secure their targets. You will be directly engaging the enemy in combat.”

The screens flicker again, the images of ruined buildings and debris-filled streets vanishing to make way for something new: Pictures of machines. Tall, bipedal constructs with boxy looking bodies, rectangular heads, and long flexible legs.

“As Voids would be too difficult—and dangerous—to coordinate, your opposition for this exercise will be automated drones, provided by Juno’s Defense Force. Their magitech armaments have been reduced to less-than lethal capability for this exercise, and you are allowed to use any amount of force within your means against them.”

Discussion and planning continues for another hour, until the cadets are dismissed. The next evening, the mission commences.

---

𝙿𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚢𝚛𝚊 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝙴𝚡𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚉𝚘𝚗𝚎
𝙰𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚝
𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟹𝟶𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟼:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Masuzu Chie, Crystal von Caelestis, Rivka Sokolov, Selma Rosmarie, Aoife Strumgaard

---

When time Team 5 arrives at their rendezvous point the evening sky is grey, overcast, and very wet. Sheets of rain wash over the empty streets and run-down shattered buildings, forming deep puddles in the pockmarked streets. As the Ars Magi step out of their transport, they find that their partners from the Officer’s Academy are already arrived and waiting outside a small building, three figures shrouded in cobalt cloaks to protect them from the downpour.

Among them is at least one familiar face; Liam Neptune, Crystal’s dance partner from the ball. The other officers aren’t quite as recognizable, a boy and girl, the former wiry and pale, the latter taller and darker skinned. They introduce themselves as cadets Soma and Green respectively, and there’s enough time for brief greetings as the red LEDs on everyone’s clocks slowly count down the remaining minutes until the exercise commences.

“We’re assigned to support you from our outpost here,” Liam explains, “You’ll be engaging in direct combat with the drones, so we’d only get in the way in a straight-up fight. Instead, we’ll be in your ear and keeping you updated on the flow of battle.” He wipes a few errand raindrops from his brow before turning to his comrades, requesting: “Green, can you tell them what they’ll be going up against?”

“The opposition is unmanned drones. Not very smart, but they come with sensor arrays and communication relays. They’re designed to kill Voids, so they’ll probably be good at picking up anything that uses a lot of magic.”

“Right.” Says Liam. “Your job will be to advance up this avenue and, basically, draw fire. We’ll tell you where to move when the other teams need you to.”

The timers beep once, signaling a minute left until the exercise begins. Another beep at thirty seconds. Again at ten. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

“Team five,” Comes the static-laced voice over the group’s radios. “You’re clear to begin.”

Lights begin to flicker to life in the distant streets, specks of red and blue that are soon followed by cones of fluorescent yellow. Spotlights begin to move across the streets and the faces of buildings, and the heavy sound of metal crunching through debris can be faintly heard in the far distance.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

As Penny accelerates across the skyline she can hear the staccato gunfire following in her wake, charged magitech energy tearing into the ruined buildings just a few feet behind her. She can see Blair moving in parallel to her on the other side of the street, jets of fire propelling the girl in a sharp arc across the crumbling skyline. She too threads the needle of gunfire, shouting profanity as she rockets through the air.

Between blasts of electricity and gets of fire the massive robot’s weapon systems, turning pods and cannons to melted slag as the two Ars Magi work in tandem. The turrets and pods that line the surface of the machine are decommissioned one-by-one, its armaments disappearing one by one.

The machine does not stand for this for long, however. The barrel of its enormous rifle swings toward Penny, giving Priya and Nicole a reprieve from its blasts. Penny, unfortunately, is no longer so lucky. Energy swirls around the barrel of the cannon as it begins to charge, unleashing a beam of energy to chase after its tiny assailant.

Back on the ground there’s not much left of the advancing machines after the blast of the Dana-charged grenades envelopes the street, leaving only half-constructed husks of steel and broken concrete behind. Noah finds the time to give Dana a quick high-five as the group reassembles, flashing a bright grin toward their gunslinging savior. There’s a brief conference between the officers before a decision is made:

“We’ll retreat to the roof and do what we can.” Says Dima, making a quick motion toward the portal. The cadets proceed quickly after, vanishing through Cordelia’s doorway and assembling on the relative safety of the half-collapsed roof that the girl stands on.
Amanda lowers her bow as the officers make their retreat, the girl giving a short nod of acknowledgement to Dana.

“Come on.” She says, turning toward the towering figure of the war machine the other Ars Magi are engaging. “Let’s go.” She sets off at a quick jog afterward, drawing her bow back as she takes aim, a frosty arrow materializing on the string.

As she takes aim Nicole is already preparing her strike, wind whipping around her as she calls the font of her elemental power. Air ripples and distorts as she sends her strike toward the already damaged leg of the mecha, the force of her cut sheering through the hard metal shell of the giant weapon. She leaves behind exposed wires and a thin metal frame upon which the machine still balances precariously—until Priya, with a blade made of gleaming fire, flashes by to finish the last of the work with a final slash.

Without one of its supporting feet the machine begins immediately to topple, it’s great bulk tilting to the side. The goliath falls, its bulk crashing into and halfway through one of the ruined buildings nearby, a plume of dust and debris clouding the street from the impact.

As the machine struggles to right itself arrows begin to perforate its elongated ‘head’, bolts of freezing cold fired from Amanda’s bow. Frost begins to spiderweb across the surface of the machine, biting into the metal and forming crystals of ice across its surface.

“Grenoble! McKenzie! Smash it!” Calls the girl in white.

But the machine it isn’t done yet.

Not content to sit and wait for its deathblow one of the remaining pods on its shoulder, half-burnt and scarred from earlier impacts, opens up to reveal a silo of a dozen gleaming missiles. They take flight with a hiss, racing into the sky, contrails of smoke swirling behind. The projectiles arc sharply soon after, turning back downward, heading for the street and surrounding buildings. Several streak toward the officers on the rooftop, others toward the Ars Magi on the street below.