Created for Open Hangar, the Super Robot OCG that you can download here: https://kiaayomahkwa.itch.io/open-hangar

SABBI VOLUNTEER RECORDS
باسم الحياة العظيمة، عندما نجتمع معًا

Name: Waheeda Habib
Place of Origin: [REDACTED BY ORDER OF SABBI], SPEC Station 3
Birth Date: [REDACTED BY ORDER OF SABBI]
Height and Weight: ~149 cm, ~41 kg
Assignment: Ashurbanipal Special Protection Unit [REDACTED BY ORDER OF SABBI] Unit Aleph
Etc.: [REDACTED BY ORDER OF SABBI] Unit Aleph. Any changes to assignment will result in immediate and extreme [REDACTED BY ORDER OF SABBI]

—

Waheeda Habib, first daughter of the Society for the Protection of Earth’s Culture (SPEC), watched from the portholes as the SPEC airship Shlama as they flew northward over the desert of what was once known as Arabian Peninsula. Waheeda did not want to be here. She was well known for not wanting to be many places, but if the teenager were to create a list of places that she did not want to be, all of the top places were on Earth, and any desert would likely be in the top 5. Luckily, (or unluckily, as it gave her less to complain about,) the desert quickly gave way to a lush green forest with trees reaching skyward that forced the Shlama to gain altitude to avoid.

Much of north-eastern Iraq had been quite verdant through a solid chunk of Earth’s history, but ever since the Himalayan Disaster, strange flora and fauna have reclaimed more and more of the Arabian desert. This was widely considered in the Asian branch of SPEC to be the closest to the Himalayas that was safe to explore in order to retrieve old Earth artifacts. But Waheeda could hardly believe it as she saw a 6-winged raptor fly past the window carrying another, larger bird in its beak.

“Now approaching Al’Ahdath Mosul. Please remain seated for the docking procedure.”

Al’Ahdath Mosul was, technically, another airship, but calling it that buries the lede. It’s much more like a floating city-slash-military base, held aloft by a series of Chargon engines and anchored by a thin elevator down to what was once the original Mosul. Waheeda’s cross-chest seat belt tightened in preparation for docking as the ship slowed, and settled with a solid ship-wide SHUNK.

“Welcome to Al’Ahdath Mosul. After leaving the ship, tourists and journalists must stay in the right corridor, and SPEC members transferring to SABBI must stay in the left corridor. Please enjoy your stay.”

Well, the girl formerly of SPEC but now of SABBI thought as her seatbelt automatically came undone, I’m definitely not here for fun. Left it is.

—

“Face forward,” a voice from outside the tiny photo booth said. A bright flash of light that seemed to pierce straight through her eyes and into her brain momentarily blinded her, and she involuntarily winced. “Don’t worry,” the same voice said. “Everyone does that. It came out fine.”

Outside the booth, her new handler Rami leaned against the doorway like a towering statue, his arm tented against the top arch. Her new ID was in his other hand, outstretched to her. It was already laminated and on a lanyard. She looked down at her dark, angry face and long curly hair surrounded by her relevant info, and a number indicating her clearance.

“Do you have to look at me like that?” Waheeda asked as she glanced sideways at Rami.

“Like what?”

“Like a creep.”

He stood up straighter, perhaps realizing that he was leaning over the girl in an intimidating way. “Depends…”

She didn’t like where this conversation was going, so made a conscious effort to get as far away from him as possible, walking in a random direction down the hallway they were in. “Depends on what?”

Rami laughed as he followed her “Are you a Lunarian?”

Waheeda felt sick to her stomach that this was the guy who was in charge of her, and could order her around. “Ew, no! I’m exactly as old as I look.”

“Ah, shame,” he replied. “Oh, and you’re going the wrong way, by the by.”

Waheeda stopped, and looked to her side at a sign painted on the wall. The direction she was walking had an arrow pointing labeled “Personal Chambers,” while the arrow pointing behind her was labeled “Mosul Elevator - SABBI Only.” She sighed, pointedly, while picking up her stride.

“Look, I have had a LONG trip and entering the atmosphere was NOT a fun experience. I just want to unpack my stuff and get used to natural gravity, ok?”

A sudden iron grip on her upper arm stopped the teen in her tracks, and she dropped her bags and turned around ready to slap the man holding her. She was interrupted by the terrifying gaze Rami brought down on her.

“I’m sorry if that didn’t sound like an order. You’re going topside no matter what. Leave your things, someone will grab them for you.”

—

The elevator was long. Long, uneventful, and scary, as Rami stood like an erect gargoyle in the exact middle of the enclosed space and Waheeda shrunk into the corner to get as much space between the two of them as possible. How long is this stupid elevator shaft, anyway, she thought to herself as time continued to stretch onward. Mosul isn’t THAT high up, is it? Eventually, finally, the elevator stopped, and a red light shined a laser over the entire space.

“Two occupants detected,” a robotic voice intones. “Provide identification.”

Rami raises his ID next to his face, and after a moment, the voice goes, “Rami Hafeez confirmed.” He turns around to the other occupant of the elevator expectantly, and finds her already following suit. “Waheeda Habib confirmed. Clearance granted to Yushamin Hangar 01.” The massive doors slide open, granting access to a metal grated walkway overlooking one of the secret prides of SABBI, Yushamin Unit Aleph.

As Waheeda walks onto the walkway, she immediately revolts in shock, her back slamming into the now closed doors of the elevator they had stepped out of. Her hand over her mouth does little to muffle her shocked outburst.

“JOHN the BAPTIST WHAT IS THAT?!”

Comparing it to a Lanzer is what most minds would do, but that’s not even half of this thing. Waheeda could only see it as a monster. It was vaguely humanoid in shape, covered in spikes in the most terrifying places. The core of the thing was mostly shining dark metal, but covered in red plates and yellow… scales? And the entire thing was covered in transparent veins showing some liquid flowing underneath. But she spent the most time staring at what appeared to be the head.

Vaguely shaped like a crystal or a plumb bob, it was pointed at the bottom with a spike on its chin, widest at its forehead, and an amazing conical crown made of even more spikes on top. Its neck was not in the expected place, but rather sticking out the back of the head. It appeared to have 4 blank eyes and a covered mouth, and the entire display almost made Waheeda miss that massive metal halo behind its head, and its… floating(?) wings(???) that were glowing a faint green.

“That, my dear Ms. Habib, is why you’ve been transferred here,” Rami calmly explained while Waheeda began to hyperventilate. “You and your family care deeply about old Earth’s heritage. Well, it’s under attack, and long story short, we can’t trust Lanzers anymore.”

Art by  artsyrobo