2022-06-23: The End Of Halcyon Days
- Cutscene: 2022-6-23: The End Of Halcyon Days
- Cast:Lina Lombardi
- Where: The New Roman Academy/Moralia
- Date: 2022-6-23
- Summary: Troubled with thoughts of the past, Lina reminisces on the day everything was taken from her.
November 3, 0091.
A day like any other at The New Roman Academy, one of several military academies that fostered the future talent of the AEU armed forces. Today, two students were performing a simulator exercise, with the rest of their class watching. This was two of the brightest stars in the academy going head to head, these cadets wouldn't miss it for the Sphere. A flight type mobile suit and a ground type can be seen on the simulator bay's display, fighting in a nondescript desert. The flight type had the upper hand currently, which surprised none of the other cadets. Hardly anybody could beat her once she was up in the air.
The flight type easily dodged a barrage of missiles from the surface, and was about to move in for the finishing blow, when...
"STOP THE SIMULATION!"
The view from the display screen and from within the simulator pods went black as the exercise was cut off. The academy's headmaster walked into the bay, followed by a man wearing an AEU uniform. The other cadets parted like the Red Sea and erupted into a hushed murmur as the two walked up to the simulator pods.
"Cadet Linelise Lombardi. Your presence is requested." The pod on the left opened up and a young woman with shoulder length green hair in a cadet uniform emerged. Her face was mixed with annoyance at the fight being cut short and confusion as to what she was needed for. Was she in trouble? Was she being drafted ahead of graduation?
"Yes...what is it?"
"There is something we need to discuss with you in private."
September 24, 0091.
Whenever Sergeant Felix Lombardi was in Rome, he always made sure to take time to visit the New Roman Academy to see his eldest daughter. There was a fancy restaurant not far from the academy that was usually too expensive for Lina to go to out of her own pocket, so Felix always treated her when he visited. He always ordered the bolognese, and Lina swore by the pomodoro.
"So, finals are soon, aren't they, Hotshot?"
Lina looked up from her plate, hastily sucking a noodle into her mouth with a nod. "In a couple months, papa. There's still plenty of time."
"Yes, but I'm probably not going to be able to see you until graduation. This is my last real opportunity to tell you to study the hell up, heh."
"Papa, you know I've got it!"
The soldier chuckled and put down his fork, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. "Lina, I just want you to know how very proud I am of you. You've accomplished so much, and I'm so happy that soon, we'll be fighting together. Close your eyes, I want to give you something."
"Papa..."
"Just close them." Lina sighs and shuts her eyes, leaning back in her chair. She feels something drape over her shoulders. "Now open them." Her eyelids spread open and she looks down. She's now wearing the bomber jacket her father had just been wearing.
"E-Eh? Papa, this is your jacket!"
"I know. Think of it as an early graduation present and a good luck charm. Lord knows that thing's brought me luck over these years."
"Papa..." The two embrace, neither knowing that this would be the last time.
November 3, 0091.
"HE WHAT?!"
"Cadet, please compose yourself." The headmaster and the AEU soldier had taken Lina to a private office where she had been presented with her father's uniform, a manilla folder, and the news that he had disappeared over the Pacific.
"Your father was on a routine mission last week, and he and his platoon failed to return to base. We performed a search operation, but unfortunately were not able to find any trace of them."
"So my father was shot down? He's dead?!"
"We don't know that. Our logs don't show any record of a conflict before they cut off. We're still performing an investigation, and any information we can share with you and your sister, we will provide as soon as we can."
Lina flipped through the folder that the soldier had given her, full of this so-called information. What she found
was black.
An endless sea of black bars, redacted information, a mystery. She knew certain information would be classified, as she was still technically a civilian, but this was almost an insult. There was barely anything there! This only served to make her more confused about the situation. What was her father doing...?
The headmaster placed a hand on Lina's shoulder, in an attempt to reassure her. "Cadet Lombardi, I understand how difficult this must be. Though your father isn't officially...well...the Academy is still going to allow you some time off to process. Of course, we'll accommodate as far as final exams and graduation are concerned. My condolences."
After that meeting, Lina found herself drifting back to her dormitory, standing in front of her bathroom sink and splashing some water onto her face. She raises her head to look in the mirror and...
June 23, 0096.
...an older face stares back at her, hair longer, eyes shining a little less, some dark circles. Damn, girl, you need to get more sleep, she says as she's awake at 5 in the morning. Lina had been awoken by troublesome thoughts early in the morning, finding herself in the bathroom of her loft. For some reason, she had found herself thinking of the past more recently. Maybe it was her sister leaving her a message asking if she could spare some time to visit the family home in Italy, maybe it was the presence of one of her academy instructors popping up in G-Hound, maybe she was just getting old and nostalgic at the ripe age of 27. Whatever it was, could it wait until at least 8?
"Geez, what the hell is wrong with me...?"
She sighs and picks up the phone next to her that she had used as an impromptu flashlight, pulling up her sister Elsa's message. It was even earlier in Italy than it was in Moralia, she'd get chewed out if she sent a text. Email would be better.
"Hey sis, I thought about it and I'll see if I can get some time off, okay?"