Arthur Vance, the pilot who once participated in Project Icarus before being 'rescued' by a being that his new people call a god, stared nervously at the retrofitted F-15 Eagle.
"You know, you don't have to prove anything to anyone here."
Vance glanced at the old man with silver hair and warm black eyes.
"I know, Mr. Stone. But, I have to payback your people somehow for saving me all those years ago when you had no obligations to do so."
Vance smiled happily as fond memories of the past thirty-five years filled his mind. Memories of his little girl growing up into a splendid adult and becoming a successful researcher under Devon Corporation.
A sight that he would never have gotten to see if it were not for the colossal emerald serpent wrapped around the Sky Tower at this moment, and the people of Hoenn who took him in instead of simply eliminating him for knowing the secrets of their people.
"Besides, I am already nearing the end of my prime, so one last test flight before I retire for good will be a good story to tell my granddaughter."
Joseph Stone, head of Devon Corporation, one of the biggest industrial enterprises in the world, smiled at those words from his old friend.
"True. Little Zinnia would definitely love hearing such a story from you. She already idolizes you for your involvement with the Green Sky, so this kind of story would make her even more involved with you."
"Right? I don't understand why Samantha is so jealous that her daughter likes me more than her. I mean, what is more interesting for a child Zinnia's age? The stories of my encounter with a literal mythical being or her mother's boring scientific studies in Devon? No offence, of course."
"Haha! None taken."
Suddenly, one of the technicians waved over the two men, indicating that they were ready for the test.
Mr. Stone took a deep breath and shook hands with his old friend.
"Arthur, be careful, alright. Although we have made sure to include a closed-loop escape system, you need to make sure that you put that thing down the moment you see something wrong. Machines, we can replace. But people lost? They are gone for good."
Arthur nodded at his friend's words and put on his helmet, heading straight for the modified F-15's cockpit.
"Rustboro Control, This is Emerald Star. How Copy?"
"Emerald Star, this is Rustboro Control. We hear you loud and clear, over."
Arthur went through the pre-flight checks as per his training for this day, looking at the gauges and instruments as he continued conversing with ground control.
"Requesting start-up and pre-flight checklist. Over."
"Copy that. Initiating pre-flight checklist. Control Sufaces?"
"Check."
"Temperature and pressure?"
"Check."
"Heads-Up Display?"
"Check."
"Emergency Ejection System status?"
"Green."
"Instrument Status?"
"Green across the board."
"CORE Drive?"
Arthur looked at the readings on the screen, showing the very reason this test was being performed in the first place.
The CORE Drive. Fully named as the Crystalline Output Reaction Engine by the scientists, it is a system developed based on the virtually limitless amount of energy being outputted by the Hollow Earth Crystals that the Moving Mountain brought to Hoenn in exchange for more wine, much to the chagrin of the Green Sky.
Arthur would never forget the way The Green Sky wrapped around the Moving Mountain like a constrictor snake and made the colossal lizard give his younger brother a pitiful look, asking for forgiveness.
Truthfully, on some level, Arthur and the majority of the people in Hoenn agreed with the Green Sky in this case. They, too, believed that humanity was not yet ready for the kind of power and possibilities that these crystals provide to them.
However, what is done is done, so all they can do is use this power responsibly and make sure that the rest of humanity does not kill itself through its power when this system eventually makes it into the hands of the outsiders.
"CORE Drive status is Green."
"Redundant check on all control surfaces?"
"Pitch, Roll, and Yaw confirmed. Requesting taxi to the runway."
"Confirmed and approved. Don't break the new toy, old man."
Arthur smirked under his helmet as his jet taxied to the runway. A jet that would mark the coming of a new era for Hoenn and the rest of the world, should it succeed.
"Emerald Star, you are clear for take off."
"Confirmed. Activating primary flight systems."
The traditional jet systems activated, the air-breathing engines roaring to life and pushing the flight off the runway and into the air under the experienced hands of the veteran pilot.
It was only when the jet reached the projected testing height that Arthur felt his heartbeat speed up.
"Emerald Star, we are go for the next phase."
"....Confirmed. Activating CORE Drive in 3....2....1....Mark."
It did not roar to life, nor did it fail to activate.
The system developed by Devon Corp came to life silently, as if it were always online, as the primary air-breathing engines automatically shut off.
Yet, the jet did not pitch down or go out of control. Instead, it continued its cruise without any effort as a strange blue glow surrounded the jet.
The strange energy that Devon dubbed 'Hollow Energy' functioned exactly as predicted by neutralizing the gravity around the craft while the built-in prototype ion engines, similar to what NASA is starting to use in their satellites, activated, pushing the craft silently through the air.
At the same time, the crystal acted as a source of electricity by acting as a high-capacity battery leagues beyond anything that they could have imagined, providing power to the entirety of the Jet.
Simply put, Arthur understood the Hollow Earth Crystals as anomalous objects that break physics on their knees and tell it to go cry in a corner.
"Emerald Star to control. I am seeing the predicted luminescence surrounding the jet and the primary thrust systems are offline. I am cruising at a comfortable speed and am not seeing any turbulence."
Arthur smiled with wonder as he observed the blue glow around the cockpit.
"I dare say, the CORE drive prototype is a complete success."
"Copy that. We are seeing the same thing here."
The ground control crew chuckled through the channel before speaking out of protocol.
"I think the guys up top will appreciate this good news once they get back from that shit show at the UN."
"Yeah. I don't envy those Elders. Although I don't think we need to worry about much after today."
Staring at the instruments on the jet, a predatory smile formed on Arthur's face.
"After all, we have achieved something that would make sure that our people will always remain safe from any attempts at invasion from those petty bastards."
"Careful now, the conversation is still being recorded."
"Confirmed, ground control."
With that, Arthur continued flying in the experimental jet for some time before coming back down, noting that there was no stress on the system or himself despite the hard maneuvers he performed. Maneuvers that would have killed any other pilot through the sheer G-force alone.
Watching the technicians take the jet back into the hangar, Arthur could not help but smile.
'Yeah. This will definitely change everything.'
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Author Notes:
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