Porter stumbled into Mr. Shotuku's office, nodding at the rest of the CRU in attendance. His body was aching all over from the beating he had taken while he had been in a Resonance state (which had eventually been explained to him by everyone else). Not to mention he was still feeling the effects of his class with Ochenkov as a punishment for starting the entire panic and zombie outbreak. "I swear I'm going to find a way to put you in prison for all this," Porter muttered under his breath as he sat down, giving a hard stare to Shotuku. "That wasn't even my fault." He thought about that night in his room, when he had found out his search for Carter Veillon had come to a screeching halt. That must've been his trigger into the state. It had hit him fairly hard because of the commitment he had put into it.

No, that wasn't it. That wasn't why. It was a reminder. It was a reminder of Sigma, of a lost brother who had disappeared as well, who had never existed to begin with, who had come and then gone just as soon. It was just a scar on his mind, on his emotions. It was a part of him now, a deep part of him, that would influence everything he did from now until the day he died. Sigma was now a piece of Porter.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I called this emergency meeting," Shotuku began.

"Yeah, I was enjoying my nap!" Chase laughed before receiving a double whammy between Nami smacking him and a slipper slamming into his face.

"Certain people aside, there is a major alert going on down on Earth right now from the United Federation."

"United Federation?" Ardwen asked, cocking his head to the side, causing his glasses to slide down his nose a bit. He pushed them up and held them in place without adjusting his head.

Mr. Shotuku sighed at the front and brought up new images on his screen of the first encounter with the Jahari, now labelled in history as Contact. "Since Contact, there has been a wartime measure put into place between the Enian Federation and the Artisan Confederate. As the two closest nations to the initial conflict, there has been a temporary alliance forged to help preserve each country. It is now called the United Federation. While we may still be the Enian Federation in government and name, we are the United Federation in arms." The group nodded in understanding as they followed along.

"Scouts along the northern front here," Shotuku continued, pointing to a map on the screen, "have picked up on potential Jahari signals. Strange biological readings have been coming in underground and there is a belief of a Jahari attack coming soon in the north. It turns out that both countries already had armies in the area, for other reasons, but reinforcements are immediately being demanded. Since we are still down quite a few Goliaths and pilots after Contact, plus the incident with Syn, the academy is being asked to take action."

Shotuku motioned for more images to take place on the screen, with an analysis of terrain, a list of commanding officers, and strategic locations on another map. He paused a minute, placing his hands on the screen and taking in a breath. This was a man who had seen a thousand wars, and sent a thousand more pilots to their death in war. Shotuku waited more before speaking again. He wanted them to think about things for a bit, to weigh the situation, and to decline. He wanted them to pull out and quit.

This was not going to be a normal war. This was not going to be a simple engagement or side mission. There was no little objective to take or people to evacuate. This was purely war, on the grandest of scales. One side would clash with another and whichever one came out the victor, there would be death. There would be loss. After the amount of time Shotuku had spent here in this academy, with all the students he had taught, he just wasn't sure if he wanted to watch more of them die before they even got to live. To him, these were his own children he was sending to the grave.

"Well, you and Ochenkov will be heading down to this location here." A circle appeared as Shotuku spoke. "You'll be asked to join up with existing units who will take over from there." Shotuku realized his hands were shaking as he talked. It had been a very long time since he had been this nervous before. Not since...

Ochenkov burst through the door, his massive girth demanding the attention of everyone in the room. "We fight, we win. Jahari will not win day with me. None will die." Porter cringed at hearing Ochenkov's booming voice, memories of the private class flooding back. "Follow me to victory!"

"Mr. Shotuku." Ardwen raised his hand and the teacher let him speak. "I'm not sure if we should be under the strategic command of an officer who does not even have a decent command over our language."

"I speak language of nature!" Ochenkov bellowed, gripping Ardwen by his shoulder and yanking him out of his chair, waving him around like a ragdoll. "War not spoken!"

"U-u-u-u-understood." Ardwen barely managed to get the words out as he flew through the air.

"Ochenkov knows what he is doing," Shotuku said, taking control of the class again. "Remember that he was a general in the army before coming here. He has seen more battles than you've taken tests Ardwen, and has a scar for each one. He will help bring all of you back alive." Shotuku stumbled over the final word, breaking his authority for a second and sending the class into silence. "He will," Shotuku repeated, and Ochenkov nodded.

"Maybe if he was a better fighter, he wouldn't have so many scars!" Chase nearly fell off his chair at his own joke, and this time was meant with a triple whammy combo of Nami, Shotuku, and Ochenkov smacking him in some way or another.

"But Shotuku," Porter cut in. "I thought Ochenkov was discharged by the army when he left the hospital." Porter and Ochenkov exchanged a glance of understanding. It had been Ochenkov who had found Sigma and for that Porter had a deep admiration for the barbarian.

"Indeed," Shotuku answered. "But with the casualties from Contact, the Federation has temporarily reinstated. The Kaiser wasn't extremely happy about it for one reason or another, but war has needs the supersede little squabbles." It was Shotuku's turn to trade looks with Ochenkov, a secret held between them as to why Ochenkov had left in the first place.

"And I got to hang out with my brother!" Nami chipped in, happy to have seen Namio. It was a rare event for her to connect with her sibling and the two of them relished every moment.

"Oh right, I always forget you're related to the Kaiser," Riya laughed, sharing in Nami's joy for a moment.

"Nami helped us a little in swaying the Kaiser's mood when it came to Ochenkov," Shotuku added. "He was certainly a bit happier at reinstating Ochenkov once somebody had hugged him."

"He gets like that," Nami sulked for a second before perking up, "but that's why he has me!"

"Officially," Shotuku cut in, trying to finish his serious explanation, "this has been declared a White Alert. The engagement runs under that code name and is not to be discussed with the other students. While we don't want to, if we have to we will send more in and will tell them when the time comes. For now, we're putting a lot of hopes in your abilities, and in Ochenkov's leadership. You'll need to collect your things and get to the hangar by the end of the day. You'll be dropping in overnight." Shotuku dismissed the group and they took their leave, each one holding individual feelings and fears in their hearts as they headed for their rooms.

* * * * *

"Porter," came Riya's voice from outside the student's door. "Can I come in?" Porter looked down at himself in his underwear, his face going beet red as he began dashing around his room finding clothes.

"Uh, yes, one second! Let me just move some things!" Porter was panting when he finally opened the door, releasing the lock so it will slide open. Riya was out of uniform, her raven hair freely flowing down her back and hanging around her pale face. She was wearing a lengthy dress, a soft, silken one she would normally sleep in. Porter stood for a bit, his mind churning and filled with different thoughts and feelings and emotions. He opened his mouth to speak but it dried up in an instant, leaving his tongue flopping around as he gurgled a bit. What was going on?

"Can I enter?" Porter nodded, moving out of the way so the girl could finally pass through the doorway. The door slid shut and locked itself with a little click, one that sent Porter's stomach into conniptions. He had Riya...in his room...out of uniform...with a locked door.

Everything about this was so...nerve-wracking. It was...what was it? Was it ok? Was it even allowed? Porter knew he was allowed to have anyone ins his room at any time but this just seemed so...so different. Riya sauntered in casually and sat down on the bed, looking up at Porter. The teenager was caught standing, his legs locked in place, unable to move, to think, to speak, to anything.

"How are you feeling?" she finally asked.

"Good," Porter blurted out instantly, shocking Riya with his sudden response, and turning his cheeks red, as well as hers. Say something else you idiot! he thought. "I'm good."

"Yes, you said that." Riya giggled a little, and Porter's ego sunk a bit lower. The girl smiled afterwards, and Porter felt his chest go warm at seeing it.

"Well...uh how are you feeling?"

"I'm good too Porter." Riya said, still holding on to her soft smile. The two were stuck for a bit in the quiet room. "Well...not that good really."

"What's wrong Riya?" More concern came out in Porter's voice than he realized, and the girl gazed up at him with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Am I useless?" The tears started to stream out, burning a pathway down her cheeks and onto the ground, dripping off her chin.

"Useless?" Porter was a quite shocked by the sudden question, coupled with the emotional outpouring. "You're not...why would you think you're useless?"

"Well," Riya sobbed. She had to take in sharp breaths between heaves just to speak. "I mean you have all your training, all your talents. Chase has all his emotions and fire. Ardwen is super smart and has his plans and Raul is a ninja. Even Nami can control her bullets!" Porter tried to reach his hand down, not entirely sure what to do with a girl. He tentatively placed it on her shoulder and she immediately snatched it away to clutch to her chest, quickly soaking it in tears. "I have my Goliath and it's big and fancy but I can't do anything. I'm nothing special! I might as well not be on the team."

Porter stiffened at hearing this, his face darkening for a moment as he became serious. "You think you're useless Riya? Ever since I got here I thought I didn't belong. I thought I was a waste of space. I was a waste of space. I couldn't do anything and now I'm suddenly second in command of the top Goliath team in the academy. Now I've been in conflicts, been part of a war. I've almost died Riya."

"And I couldn't save you!" She burst into more tears, releasing Porter's hand so she could cradle her own head. "You fight for us and I can't do anything to stop it. I couldn't save us in Easley. I was the one struck down in Abertyl. When you were duelling with the general, I just watched...I watched. You almost died."

"We all almost died Riya. But that's the point." Porter bent down and grabbed the girl's hands, pulling them aside so her face lifted up to look him in the eyes. "We do this with the intention of dying. We know the risks and we know the consequence. We chose this life and took on that burden so that others could live. I stepped forward to fight the general. Not you or anyone else and that's how I wanted it. I know what you can do Riya. You're a better pilot than almost anyone else here, with a state of the art Goliath. You can do so much, but you just haven't had to yet and that's...better." Porter sighed, hanging his head as feelings came to the surface for him to admit to. "I don't want you to fight Riya...I don't want any of us to fight. If we have to, only I should, so the rest of you are safe. I don't want to lose my friends, to lose the people I love."

Riya's eyes went wide at hearing this, as did Porter's as he realized the accidental statement he had just made, of the hidden emotion he had blurted out. While it wasn't a direct admittance of love, it was a proxy and that seemed to count just as much between the two of them. "You're not useless," Porter mumbled, playing with his fingers. "You are as much a part of this team as I am. So long as the guy who falls down all the time is in it, so is the beautiful, quiet girl in the corner."

Riya blinked a few times, choking a bit on her tears. "You...I'm beautiful?" She tried to smile a little at the compliment, her heart fluttering in her chest.

"Well...I mean...you're certainly...like you're beautiful...and I'm sure everyone knows...it's just...I think you're...well pretty is the same thing...cute...yes..." Porter hung his head again in shame, trying to hide his intense embarrassment.

"Porter," Riya said, bringing his attention back up to her as she stood.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." She bent down and kissed his forehead before darting out the door. It hissed shut and locked once again, popping into place as Porter stayed crouched on the floor in a daze.

"You're welcome..." Nothing had happened like that before. Nothing had prepared him to deal with that or anything like it. He could chop the head off a Goliath before he could take a kiss to his head or that kind of discussion. Where was a war when he needed it?

"Let's go already," came the singsong voice of Chase outside the door. He started banging on the door to grab Porter's attention and the teen dragged himself from the room in compliance. "Come on man, or the ship leaves without you!" Chase went sprinting off down the hall, far too excited to be going into combat. Why wasn't he like that on the way to the Eastern United States? Porter thought to himself.

"Yeah, hurry up slowpoke!" Nami went skipping by with a bag in tow, and Raul and Ardwen sauntered by afterwards. Does everyone live past me? Porter shook his head as they went by, trying to clear it so he could focus. It was time for war now, time for him to enter into a zone he did not fully understand. If it was the only path to victory, it would be the one he walked. His legs shook a fraction as he took his first step, and he wondered about the consequences his style might be taking on his body. But there was no time to dwell on it. It was time to fight.

 A/N: Well, if every anime and manga ever has some sort of war in the north...why doesn't Sigma/Star? It does! Let the fight begin!