Limitless
=== Mission One ===
Asayres Arcis
The booming sound of the alarm. Her head felt like her brain was on fire. The pain was ridiculously strong. What had happened? Right…the fight…the tremor…
And then? Suddenly, her partner dropped to the ground and seconds later, she also collapsed. The alarm was still ringing, getting louder as her senses slowly returned. She felt incredibly drained—she was all out of magic energy.
Opening her eyes, she could see the unmoving body of her lover just a few meters to the right. The alarm. Pulling herself together, she finally managed to get up and look behind her. The massive steel door had been blown off its hinges. That wasn't good…
Nanoha searched the room for her partner. She needed Fate's help. If their enemies were already inside, they had to take action quickly. Moving over to where the other mage was lying on the ground, Nanoha turned her over and shook her slightly. Fate had to be okay.
With a small moaning sound, the blond woman slowly but surely regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Nanoha's face.
"Nanoha…are you okay? When did the alarm start?" Fate was still confused, but knew the booming alarm in her ears wasn't a good sign.
"I'm okay, Fate-chan, but we need to hurry. We need to stop whomever passed through here." Nanoha figured they had little time until it was too late.
Even though the two women were very close to each other, they had little time to chitchat right now. The alarm had just changed from a loud booming to a piercing siren.
"Section S-7 has been breached. Section S-7 has been breached. Section—" The alarm was repeating the same line over and over. It was a nightmare.
They slowly got up and found themselves unharmed except for a stinging headache. Their magical capacity had been depleted in a matter of seconds, which was quite harmful to the human body. But even without their full capacity, they had to act.
"Raising Heart!" Nanoha proclaimed. Without further delay, the device changed form and Nanoha was back in full battle mode. She was loaded with new cartridges, and she would need them all if they were to stop the intruders.
"Bardiche!" Fate followed closely behind Nanoha, both of them entering Section S, running as fast as they could.
There was no one left alive in the first room or in the next few. Most guards had been non-magical personnel in case the enemy attacked with means of anti-magic fields, or AMFs. Over a dozen guards had been shot and were lying on the ground or sitting in their chairs, their eyes empty.
Nanoha feared for the worst. As they entered the second-to-last room, they could feel it. An immense magic energy almost forced them on their knees but they pushed on, both of them putting up magic shields to protect against the raging wind currents coming from the last room.
A shimmering light was coming from that room. Before their very eyes, the seal broke, and the door to Dimension 4AXC-AIX-77721-AX opened.
=== Limitless ===
Seventy-two hours earlier…
"I welcome all of you. I am General Merlus Min, direct second-in-command for the joint forces of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. You all are probably well aware that you have been called here for a specific reason."
The general, a middle-aged man with dark brown hair, a small mustache, and a military hat, looked every bit like what one expected a general to look like. He marched up and down the room in front of a blackboard with several wanted posters and diagrams. His eyes flew over the faces of the invited members. Although he didn't approve of most of them being female and so young, they had obtained respectable results in the Jail Scaglietti incident.
"The TEG has stolen several Lost Logia we had in our possession during the last three weeks. First we assumed they were simply trying to gain power, but now it is obvious that they are targeting very specific Lost Logia that are kept in separate locations for security reasons."
"Tea? What is the TEG? I haven't heard of them before." Subaru tried hard not to look at Teana while using her telepathy to ask her the question. While it was bad manners to do this in a briefing, she was curious.
"Time's Eternal Guardians. A group that combines both organized crime and religious
fanatics. The group has existed for nearly sixty years now and is still going strong. You should know these things." Teana was a little annoyed with her partner's lack of knowledge, but it couldn't be helped.
"We assume that they have learned the position of the dimensional prison. The Lost Logia they stole were keys used to seal the gateway to that particular dimension. I will not beat around the bush—they are trying to break the seal and open the gateway to Dimension 4AXC-AIX-77721-AX."
Someone raised their hand. Her. The general didn't like her, especially her. "What is it, Brigadier General Yagami?"
Hayate Yagami. The previous commander of Riot 6, a mobile squadron that was called into existence to deal with Lost Logia that had proved to be of essential value in the incident with Jail Scaglietti and the Saint's Cradle. She had many friends in the TSAB higher echelon, and many people had respect for her mostly because she was a very powerful mage.
"General, what exactly have we been called here for? We all received notices that we were relieved from our positions and that we were to come to headquarters immediately. I cannot imagine that the TEG stealing Lost Logia is a justifiable reason to call all of us here. Can't the Air Force deal with this?" Hayate's blue eyes were questioning the general's motive and demanding an explanation.
"None of you know what is in Dimension 4AXC-AIX-77721-AX and you don't need to. Let's just say that anything terrible you ever imagined is of a ridiculously irrelevant magnitude compared to what could happen to this universe if the residents of that prison are allowed to roam free. We—" The general stopped. A secure connection had been established to his terminal, a message from above.
After listening for a few seconds, his eyes quickly widened and then closed. The TEG had acted faster than the TSAB had anticipated and had seized the remaining Lost Logia. Now all they could do was guard the place as well as they could.
"You all will be part of the Asari Thread Negation Force, or the ATNF for short. You will be treated as a black ops corps from now on, code name Riot 6. I assume most of you are at least knowledgeable of the process. You are to board the cruiser Feraldia at 2100 hours. Further instructions will be given by Captain Jefir on board. Dismissed."
The general seemed to be in a hurry to leave. He didn't even pay attention to the people he left behind. He was continuously getting paler and had started to sweat. By the time he was down the hall, he was barely more than a shadow of his former self. They couldn't allow them to get back.
With the general gone, the remaining people relaxed. Most of them were several ranks below general, and even the ones in higher positions wouldn't dare to speak back to a general like Hayate just had. Said brown-haired mage was quickly approached by her two friends, Nanoha Takamachi and Fate T. Harlaown, both mages holding an SS rank after passing the exam three months ago.
"It's good to see you, Hayate. You were really brave to talk to a general like that," Nanoha said.
"It's just too weird. Calling us three…even Subaru and Teana are here. I had to bring along Signum and the others as well. I was ordered to. I still don't understand why we nine are now patched up as a black ops corps. And they really lack originality when it comes to choosing code names." Hayate was still annoyed by the general's attitude.
"I'm actually kinda happy to be able to work with you two together for a while," Fate threw in. She looked to the woman on her right side. Since the Jail Scaglietti incident, they didn't see each other much because of work.
"Hayate." Signum appeared. "We should go. It is already 2020 hours. Testarossa. Good to see you." Signum was a member of Hayate's personal strike force and the Wolkenritter still had a healthy rivalry with Fate.
Hayate turned around and raised her voice. "Everyone, we will follow orders and board the Feraldia at 2100 hours. There is still enough time to get your personal belongings, but I will not tolerate anyone being late. Dismissed!" Hayate had really gotten used to commanding a group of people in the last year. She had her own unit now, and while they were all capable people, they came a bit short compared to Riot 6.
"But what is the ATNF? I've never heard of a group named 'Asari.' Hayate, do you know something?" Nanoha was curious as to what kind of group these Asari were and why the TSAB needed to form a thread negation force for them.
"I know as much as you do. I didn't even hear about this transfer until yesterday." Hayate sighed and stretched her back. She was quite worn from all the sitting in an office chair, filing reports and other official work.
Hayate, Nanoha and Fate left the room and continued to walk down the hallway to their quarters. While the general had said that they had time to gather personal belongings, it was mostly cartridges and mission-related things they needed. Since it had been on such urgent notice, none of them had brought more than necessary.
"All of the present members were in Riot 6 three years ago. Do you think that's coincidence?" Fate was walking next to Nanoha, both of them a step behind Hayate. While they were old friends, Hayate was of a higher rank. Despite her claims she didn't like them doing it, it would cause trouble if others saw the three act indifferently about their ranks.
"I don't. Everyone here is S rank at least. Tea and Subaru took the exam just a month ago. I was in the jury. I completely forgot, but congratulations on passing your SS-rank exam, you two." Hayate turned around, showing a bright smile on her face.
"Thank you, Hayate." Both mages responded synchronously to the congratulations and looked at each other, smiling.
They reached Hayate's quarters first. "I'll see you on board. Don't be late. Understood, Nanoha?" Hayate smirked and vanished through the open door, leaving a blushing Fate and Nanoha behind. Signum left at the same time, carrying a small bag of belongings, mostly cartridges, spare clothes and necessaries for a trip. If they had to board a cruiser, then they would be transported a considerable distance.
Fate and Nanoha walked in the opposite direction of Signum, who was headed to the hangar. Both of them knew about the abnormally large fleet that seemed ready for take off. But they hadn't figured that they would be on board.
"It's been a long time since we were in the same unit, Fate-chan." Nanoha was a little excited about working with her partner again after three years. But she was also worried about what would cause the TSAB to rally up all of their aces.
"I'm happy we can spend more time together now. But I'm worried about Vivio, Nanoha…" Fate was always pampering Vivio a little since she was not at home as much as she liked. She and Nanoha even had quarters at the headquarters since they sometimes needed to stay overnight. They didn't share a room since they were in different divisions. Fate was in the Navy, Nanoha in the Air Force.
"I asked Ginga to look after her. I'll send her a message later. We don't have enough time to go home and tell her that we'll be gone for some time." Nanoha wasn't very happy about this state of events but she couldn't help it. In the three years since Riot 6, she had learned to obey a superior officer, even if it was sometimes painful.
Fate stopped in front of a door that led to a small room—her quarters. It was mostly just a small bed, a desk and a bathroom, since it only served her as quarters when she didn't have time to go home or had to work overtime.
Despite the fact that most of the TSAB knew that they lived together and owned a house on Mid-Childa where they lived with Vivio, not many knew that they were in a romantic relationship. Those that knew, mainly former Riot 6 members, kept quiet about it. Looking left and right, Nanoha checked if there was someone watching them. When it seemed all clear, she quickly stepped closer and kissed Fate for a second.
The blond woman wasn't as surprised as she should have been but still blushed. "Nanoha…" Fate was especially happy that this new black ops corps was entirely made of former Riot 6 members. That way, she and Nanoha didn't have to hide that they were going out.
"I'll see you at the hangar, Fate-chan," Nanoha said while they were still close together, then quickly stepped away. Not many people tolerated romantic relationships between military personnel.
Nanoha's quarters were a level down, since she was in the Air Force. Most of the more advanced soldiers and mages joined the Navy, and so it was often treated as superior division to the Air Force and the ground forces. Hayate had been promoted to brigadier general, which was why her quarters were up here.
Everything was weird. Why had the council not made them an official unit? Why a black ops corps? Was it that urgent? True, the TEG had been very active lately from what Fate reported, but what exactly was imprisoned at that particular dimensional gate? Was it really reason enough to pull all of them from their positions and form a corps just for it?
Nanoha was short on cartridges. Not even two dozen were left. She rarely kept many of them at her quarters here because her home was close to the ground forces HQ and she rarely worked with the naval forces. That fact was now hurting her. Well, she had to make some more later. Hopefully she wouldn't need them.
When she returned to Fate's room, it seemed the blond woman was already gone. Nanoha checked the time via a magical terminal that was accessible anywhere in headquarters. It was 2040 hours. She had to hurry. But she was not the only one late.
With a sudden gust of wind, one of her former students raced past her—Subaru Nakajima. After noticing that she wasn't the only one late, Subaru decelerated. "Nanoha-san."
Nanoha was still a superior officer, but the combat instructor felt most comfortable when she wasn't addressed as such by her friends, even at work.
"Why am I not surprised you're the only other one that's late?" Nanoha didn't stop to talk, instead she increased her pace. It seemed like nothing, not even Teana, was able to fix Subaru's lax nature. "And stop using your device inside headquarters. There is still enough time to get there normally. Hayate would scold you if she saw you coming on Mach Caliber," Nanoha scolded her and watched the blue-haired girl avert her eyes in shame.
The way to the hangar was a short one and they knew they would have enough time to talk later, so they postponed the matter of seeing each other again for the first time in months. Fate and Teana, their respective better parts, were already waiting for them at the hangar doors.
"Cruiser Feraldia ready for takeoff. Cruiser Feraldia ready for takeoff." The voice of a young woman boomed through the hangar. It was 2055 hours. Without many words, they got on board and were immediately directed to their quarters. It seemed to be an overnight trip.
The soldier that escorted Fate and Nanoha seemed familiar. "Major Takamachi, Lt. Commander Testarossa Harlaown." He saluted and then pressed several buttons on the door's security lock. "Your combination is AX7203. Captain Jefir wants to see all of you at 2130 hours in his office." He saluted again and then quickly withdrew from the hallway.
It was the same for all of them. Hayate, as brigadier general, was the only superior officer on board the Feraldia and was assigned the VIP quarters. The Wolkenritter were assigned 2nd lieutenant quarters. It seemed like the TSAB knew very well how many rooms they'd need.
Teana was assigned the 1st lieutenant quarters, while Subaru as her armed aide was assigned to a regular Warrant Officer room.
The Feraldia was one of the smaller vessels in the fleet. It was one of twenty cruiser class warships present. Beyond that there were eight destroyer class warships and one dreadnought class warship, the Judgment, a planet killer.
A considerably large fleet but only a small margin of the TSA's main forces. The joint forces counted over four hundred cruisers, nearly one hundred-fifty destroyer ships, and in total eight dreadnoughts, of which the Eternal was the most powerful ship to ever be built, easily capable of wiping out whole planets. Now, all dreadnoughts were classified as planet-killer ships.
The quarters were small but comfortable. It was 2125 hours by the time everyone had crammed into Captain Jefir's office. Zafira had shape-shifted into his humanoid form and was wearing a military uniform, like everyone else. When the captain entered the room, everyone saluted, followed by Hayate and the captain greeting each other like even-ranked soldiers.
"Captain Jefir, I'd like to know what all this is about. We were all called to headquarters on urgent notice and then almost immediately transported to an unknown location. I'd like an explanation of what is going on."
The captain knew Hayate from rumors, but wasn't intimidated by her status of being a superior officer. He was tall, muscular, had short dark brown hair, very bushy eyebrows, and refined features. He walked behind his desk and pushed a few buttons, unveiling a large screen on the wall behind his desk.
A map. It was showing the galaxy, with Mid-Childa at its center. "Before I explain to you the contents of this mission, I'd like to tell every one of you that there is an absolute gag order from the High Council on the details of this mission. Even I was only briefed yesterday about this. That is how urgent this is."
He pushed another button and the word "Asari" was displayed on the screen in marvelous font. "The Asari are, as far as we know, survivors of a civilization that was even superior to Al-Hazard. We have very little info on the actual persona, but we know names and estimated abilities. Those Asari are supposedly also responsible for driving the Belkans into warmongering, but that is only a theory that Head Researcher Yuuno Sycra of the Infinite Library published as of late."
He paused meaningfully. Nobody asked questions. This was not an explanation. This was a briefing.
"Now, a hundred years ago, those Asari had gained so much power and followers that it seemed virtually impossible to overthrow them. The Asari were worshipped as gods, and the numbers of their followers is estimated to have been in the millions. The TSAB at that time managed to trap their leader and the rest of them in a dimensional prison. I assume you already figured that this is Dimension 4AXC-AIX-77721-AX that I am talking about."
Hayate stepped forward and raised an interesting question. "But they must be long dead. A hundred years is a very long time, too long for any human being. Why break the seal now? Why go through all the effort?" Hayate stepped back and waited for a response. Brigadier General Yagami and the kind Hayate when she was off-duty seemed like totally different people.
"Those aren't humans. When I talked about the Ancient Belkans and a hundred years ago, I mean the very same people. There are four of them." Another push on buttons and four women were displayed with several info bubbles around them. While three of them were listed together, one of them was separate on the right, her name written in red.
"These four are still imprisoned in the alternate dimension, waiting to be freed. The TEG are their loyal followers. They are the last of the tremendous amount of followers they once had. Intel was delivered while you were briefed about your reassignment as ATNF that the TEG stole the remaining Logia to break the seal."
Hayate interrupted yet again. "Why was nothing done to prevent this? According to what you say, these Asari are an incredible threat to us." She knew that it was bad manners to interrupt a captain on his own ship, but she could only take so many arbitrary orders before she started questioning them.
"It was already too late when we caught wind of their plan. I don't have details, but it seems like the TEG has more resources than we thought. They wiped out the stations the Logia were kept in. There were no survivors. Over two hundred soldiers died trying to protect the Logia." The general clenched his fist.
"The High Council has decided to form a black ops corps to deal with this situation. It would take much too long to create a new division for this purpose. We simply lack the time. We are heading to inter-dimensional coordinates 00092-92041 as we speak, the site of the sealing gate."
Teana and Fate, familiar with dimensional coordinates, knew that it was the very edge of the known universe they were heading to. Just a few light years ahead was a high-density zone and the boundary for known space.
"Your mission is to stop the TEG from breaking the seal. You are authorized to use deadly force and are ordered to do so if necessary. The council has given Level 7 clearance for you." The general had started to sweat a bit.
Level 7 was clearance to override any mission concerning decisions from anyone below brigadier general.
"We cannot, under any circumstances, allow the TEG to succeed. It might sound exaggerated if I say the fate of the galaxy depends on the success of this mission, but trust me…it is not." He was sweating heavily now. He had been ordered not to say too much, but these people had to know. Had to know what they were dealing with.
"The Asari are invincible monsters. They are so far removed from normal human beings that the sheer thought of them being freed sends a chill down my spine. They supposedly were involved in the disappearance of Al-Hazard and the Ancient Belka. They have been alive for centuries. We cannot, under any circumstances, allow them to continue where they left off a hundred years ago."
"Captain…" Hayate was worried. The captain of a warship was usually a tough guy, but to act like this was very unusual. "We will stop them." She wasn't so sure about the use of lethal force. Those Asari were still people, and no matter how bad they were, they deserved a fair trial.
"I pray to God you are right. We will arrive at the location at 0455 hours. You all better get some rest. Dismissed." He pushed a button and the screen behind him went black.
Everyone except Hayate saluted and left the room, leaving Hayate behind. Looking at the pale Captain, she nodded, then saluted and left his room. Outside, everyone was a little disturbed by what they had learned inside.
"I've never heard of a mission that got authorization for use of lethal force from the High Council ahead of time," Nanoha started. "I don't like it."
Fate was standing next to her, looking more worried than disturbed. There was nothing that far out at the edge of the galaxy. No planets, no suns, just darkness. If they built a dimensional prison out there, then they must have had good reason to do so.
Initially, all of them had been happy to work together with each other after three years of going their separate ways, but this mission left them hanging a bit. Asari. People that were supposedly immortal and so powerful that they were even supposed to use lethal force to stop the TEG from freeing them.
"Brigadier General Yagami?" A soldier approached them from behind and saluted to Hayate. "I have orders from Captain Jefir to escort you and your unit to the security deck for the limiter removal."
"I haven't heard of any order like that," Hayate simply replied, and it just added to her confusion. Her limiter leveled her down to AA+, and everyone else was close to that. It was extremely odd for limiters to be completely removed. Released, yes, but not removed. Hayate hadn't heard of that even happening ever since she joined the Bureau.
"I have clear orders from the Captain, ma'am. I am to escort the members of the ATNF corps to the security deck where an agent of the High Council will remove the limiters of all members, ma'am." He saluted again. He obviously was intimidated by Hayate's position.
"Of all members?" Hayate was now a bit suspicious. It was one thing if only hers, or maybe even Nanoha's and Fate's limiters were lifted, but everyone's? The council must be really serious about their order of using deadly force.
"Yes, ma'am. Please, if you would follow me." The soldier turned sideways and seemed ready to guide them to the security deck, a part of the ship that was magically shielded from observation. It was rarely used except for coded transmissions.
Hayate just nodded and without a word, everyone followed her. They passed several soldiers that looked at them in surprise and amazement. It was an extremely rare occurrence to see so many high-ranking mages on board the same ship. Some of them were just staring because the entire squad, with exception of the soldier in front and Zafira in the back, was made up of women.
They reached the shielded door to the security deck. "Please, enter one by one. The agent inside will explain everything to you. Ma'am!" He saluted again and then quickly left, seemingly out of breath. It must be hard for a normal soldier to deal with the pressure of leading so many high-ranking people through the ship.
"I am going first," Hayate said, and entered. She didn't know what to expect, but this was certainly a surprise. The heavy door closed behind her and the others were left outside, alone.
"Don't you need approval by a general or the High Council to have your limiter partially removed?" Subaru started up a conversation.
Teana immediately turned around and sighed. Subaru was a good fighter and Teana really liked her, but sometimes she was really lacking in the information department. "You need direct authorization from your supervisor. In Hayate's case, that would be the High Council itself. In Year 0077, limiters became standard for mages exceeding AA+ rank. That's why almost everyone here has one. How often do you want me to explain this to you, you nuthead?" Teana was very knowledgeable about theoretical things. As she aspired to become an enforcer, she had to be. But it was hard work. The TSAB was full of rarely used rules and exceptions.
"But isn't it dangerous to completely remove limiters? I mean, they place them for some reason." Subaru was not very interested in memorizing these things. She relied on Teana for that.
"It is dangerous. But I guess that just shows that the council doesn't mind a disturbance this far out if it means success." Teana made a pensive face and thought about it carefully.
The door opened seconds after Teana answered Subaru. Hayate came out with a smile. "You two will be surprised by who the agent is. Also, they completely removed my limiter. I have full control up to my full SS+ rank now."
"I will talk to the captain again and see if I can find anything out. The council is clearly overreacting, ordering the use of deadly force and removing the limiters of everyone in this unit," Hayate said, and quickly vanished. There was a bit of lingering atmospheric magic where she had just been standing, an effect of the limiter's removal.
"I'm going next," Nanoha said, and stepped through the door. After her eyes adjusted to the weak light inside, she quickly recognized the agent. "Chrono-kun!" She then instantly remembered his rank and saluted. "Admiral Harlaown. It is good to see you again."
"No need to be so formal. We're old friends, aren't we?" Chrono smiled and waited for Nanoha to stop acting formal before he looked through a batch of documents on the desk in the room. "Takamachi…Takamachi…I didn't know you've been promoted to major, Nanoha."
Chrono pulled out a document that had several signatures on it. "I am not happy that so many of my friends are being sent on a mission this crazy, but there is nothing I can do about it. The High Council decided that it would be better to be careful. Give me your right hand, please, and hold your device." Chrono stretched out his own hand and waited for Nanoha to take his.
"I don't even know what to think of this mission, Chrono-kun. They are talking about some hundred-year-old prisoners that will doom the galaxy when they are freed. It sounds like a bad movie," Nanoha said and stretched out her right hand, holding Raising Heart in it.
As soon as Chrono touched her hand with his own, several small black magic circles appeared on top of Nanoha's hand. The limiter. Chrono took a deep breath and then went on to read the document. Even he couldn't ignore regulations, and knowing he had to read that document a few more times, he was starting to get a headache.
"Under the authority given to me by the High Council of the Time-Space Administration Bureau, I hereby remove all limiter magic from Major Nanoha Takamachi of the TSAB Air Force Division. Personal code E927-CA17-DF0, authorization code A92-70-12." All magic circles broke instantaneously and dispersed into the air. Chrono sighed and put the document back on the desk.
"Tell Fate to come in next. I have to lift hers, Signum's, and Vita's, as well as Teana and Subaru's limiters. I'm surprised the last two even got one, considering how they barely passed the S-rank test. I'd love to talk a bit with you guys in the officers' lounge later, but I need to leave as soon as I finish work. Try to get some rest. The next few days will be rough on you." Chrono was always serious about his TSAB work.
Nanoha could feel for the first time ever the foul amount of power of an SS-rank mage. It somehow was odd to be left without any limiter at all, but it wasn't a bad feeling. "I am happy to see you again, Chrono. I am sure Fate will be too."
With a smile, Nanoha left, aware that Chrono probably would have to fill out a lot of reports for this later. Just like Hayate, she left the security deck with a smile.
"You'll love the agent, Fate-chan. He said you should come in next. Then Signum, Vita, Teana and Subaru last," Nanoha explained. Shamal and Zafira didn't have limiters, as Shamal was mostly a medical and recon-specialized mage and Zafira's shape-shifting was causing problems with the limiter magic.
"I'll send Ginga a message before we enter hyperspace. I'll wait for you in the officers' lounge, Fate-chan." Nanoha smiled and turned, on her way to the bridge, where she would ask for an open channel to the TSAB ground forces HQ.
Relieved that Vivio would be safe and cared for, Fate entered the security deck.
=== Limitless ===
After Subaru finally had her limiter lifted, they all said goodbye to Chrono as he left. Even though they were still in planetary orbit of the TSAB, the preparations to go into hyperdrive were going on. It was way too far to go with normal engines to the outer edge of the galaxy. Even with a hyperdrive it would take a few hours.
Sitting together in the officers' lounge, the lot that was now the ATNF, a black ops corps, was being oddly quiet.
"It's…weird, isn't it? I haven't had my limiter lifted since I passed the AAA exam." Subaru threw her thought into the room, hoping someone would pick it up and start a conversation. But they all were confused. Being completely without limits was something they had not experienced ever since enlisting in the TSAB and reaching certain ranks.
The atmosphere in the room was dense with magical energy, leaking from their linker cores that were not used to maintaining this level of energy. It was like opening a dam after months of heavy rain.
The room was just one long table with roughly ten chairs, barely enough to sit all of them. After Chrono had lifted all of their limiters, he gave final instructions before leaving.
"The order for lethal force comes directly from the High Council. You better follow it. Hayate, you are the leader of this unit, and Nanoha and Fate are your subs. There are arrangements if you have to use authority." He then proceeded to explain the details of their new unit.
The ATNF. The Asari Thread Negation Force. A unit put together to stop the TEG from freeing those monsters from the dimensional prison. Almost completely composed of mages with S or higher ranks, it was the most powerful mobile assault force in the whole TSAB. Despite their few numbers, they posed a threat to enemy forces that was not to be underestimated.
Hayate's new authorization code was Solar One. Nanoha was going by Solar Two, Fate by Solar Three. Subaru followed up with Solar Four, and Teana ended the unit with Solar Five. The Wolkenritter, as Hayate's personal vanguard, were categorized differently, as Levitas One to Four, with Signum as their leader. All together, they were a small unit under the direct orders of the High Council itself, authorized to overrule any decision made by a brigadier general or lower-ranking officer if it concerned the mission.
Nobody was happy about this mission. Hayate had not gotten any additional info out of the captain. All they knew was that they had to guard the small facility that surrounded the dimensional seal. Several ships were already positioned in the space directly around it.
Teana stood up and looked at the digital clock. It was 2330 hours. They would have to get up again in roughly five hours. Teana knew it was a futile attempt to even try and pretend that she didn't share her room with Subaru, so she didn't bother.
"I'm going to bed, everyone. I'll see you in five hours." Teana still couldn't fully grasp the importance of her mission, but she was well aware that lack of sleep wasn't going to be of help when they arrived. According to the info they had gotten from the soldiers on board, the TEG could make their move any day now.
Subaru quickly stood up herself, looked around, saluted quickly and then went after Teana. The others could hear the young couple talk in the hallway. "Tea, you're so mean, leaving me like that!" Subaru's voice was so loud that probably a few soldiers heard them as well.
"Don't be so loud! I knew you'd just follow me, so there was no need to rub it in their faces!" Teana argued back and sighed loudly. After a short break, they could hear Subaru complain again, but this time they couldn't understand anything.
There was an awkward silence in the officers' lounge. "I always knew they would hit it off one day." Hayate said, and grinned from one ear to another. Everyone broke out in laughter after a few seconds, and the atmosphere was finally not as heavy anymore.
"But she is right. We really should get some rest too. Right, Nanoha?" Fate looked to her side and for a moment, everyone looked at her like a ghost.
"Like teacher, like student," Hayate said and this time grinned in Nanoha's direction, which made Fate blush in embarrassment and look for an excuse.
"That's not what I meant, Hayate! Really, you're still like that. You haven't changed one bit!" Fate complained back at the brunette before looking away.
After a bit of amusing silence, Hayate herself got up. "But you're both right. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late. Fate, I'll trust you to kick her out of bed if necessary." And with that, the brigadier general left the room, followed by her personal guards. Signum stopped short before leaving the room.
"You haven't changed, Testarossa." It was accompanied by a smile.
Hayate caught a few soldiers gossiping about Teana and Subaru and gave them a warning glare not to spread rumors. They immediately turned around and continued to work instead. Hayate didn't take kindly to the badmouthing of her friends.
But it was a little bit surprising to see how they had changed. Back in Riot 6, they had been friends, from what she could tell, but now there was a different aura about them. A bit like Nanoha and Fate. Hayate sometimes wondered if it was a coincidence that so many of her friends turned out to be interested in each other.
=== Limitless ===
The "morning" came way too soon.
Nanoha woke up lying on her side, a whole lot of blond hair in her immediate line of sight. Even though the beds were a lot smaller than the ones they had at home, Fate and Nanoha had somehow managed. Knowing they would need the sleep, they postponed any nightly activities for later and went to sleep quickly.
Fate was still snuggled in Nanoha's arms and sleeping soundly. "Fate-chan, wake up." Nanoha leaned forward and kissed Fate's forehead. The digital clock said 0430, so they had a little less than twenty-five minutes to get up and dressed. There was no time to take an extensive shower. A short one had to suffice.
After slowly getting up, Nanoha decided to let Fate sleep until she had finished showering. There was little else to do for her before she could shower anyway. It was difficult to get out of bed without waking Fate up with her movements.
Too difficult. "Nanoha…?" Fate was still half asleep but noticed that something was missing. Nanoha had stolen out of bed and was halfway to the small bathroom.
"Taking a shower. We don't have much time so…hm. Fate-chan…want to shower with me? That way, we can shower twice as long," Nanoha suggested and already decided that it was much better than to shower separately. Going back to the bed, she knelt down and looked right into Fate's red eyes. "Wake uuuup," she whispered, and caressed the cheek of the blond woman.
"I still wonder how you can be active after sleeping so little…" Fate yawned and sat up, first stretching, then looking a bit ashamed. "I'll shower with you."
Nanoha had already undressed on her way to the bathroom. The shower was small, so they would have to literally stand back-to-back in there to fit. But it wouldn't be the first time.
=== Limitless ===
By the time they were finished and dressed, Hayate and the Wolkenritter were already in the officers' lounge. They still had about five minutes until they dropped out of hyperspace.
"I would've bet you two'd be late. Morning, Nanoha, Fate." As she lifted a cup full of strong coffee, Hayate greeted both of them.
While Fate sat down next to her, Nanoha went to get two more cups. The ship was bustling with activity even at this hour as they prepared to drop out of hyperspace. Putting more sugar than usual in her own coffee, Nanoha took both cups back to the table and sat next to Fate.
Signum and Shamal were quietly drinking coffee, while Zafira was in his beast form, lying on the ground taking a nap until they arrived. Vita was lying on the table, half asleep.
"I don't see Teana and Subaru. Did they oversleep?" Nanoha asked and then noticed the big black circles under Hayate's eyes. "You didn't sleep well?"
With a big sigh, Hayate looked at the inside of her cup. She had developed the annoying habit of moving a lot at night, thus, in the small beds on this ship, she literally fell out of them a few minutes after she fell asleep. "Not much, no." Hayate tried to force a smile, but yawned instead.
"This is Captain Jefir. The Feraldia will now drop out of hyperspace. I repeat, the Feraldia will now drop out of hyperspace."
Nanoha looked at the clock. Three minutes early. And Teana and Subaru were late on the very first day. Well, it was probably Hayate's job to scold them, but she really didn't seem in the mood to deal with that sort of thing right now.
Seconds after Nanoha thought that, the door flew open and a very out-of-breath Teana and Subaru came running into the room. "They're early! We would've been right on time if they hadn't dropped out early!" Teana complained.
The mood froze. Then Nanoha burst out in laughter, and so did Hayate. Signum was turning around and quietly laughing to herself, while Shamal was looking on in amusement at the two S-rank mages.
"You shouldn't wake up at the last minute," Shamal commented, and pulled a small mirror from her pocket. "Here, look."
Teana looked in the mirror and immediately noticed what was wrong. They had been in such a hurry that not only she had left her hair undone, but there were several blue hairs all over the place in her long hair.
But that was not all. Teana also had a big blue-purple mark on her neck, which was obvious to anyone less than five meters away. Subaru quickly took a look when Teana touched the spot and then averted her eyes, thinking that she was in a pinch. Shamal then proceeded to have Subaru look in the mirror, who gasped for air. Several at least meter-long orange strands were standing out from her quite thoroughly rumpled hair.
With an angry look, Teana left her partner standing where she was and marched over to quickly get a cup of coffee before they left for the site. Subaru knew that talking to her right now would make everything worse. She didn't like coffee, so she sat down between Shamal and Vita.
"That Subaru…knew I'd leave a mark…" Quietly ranting, Teana took a big gulp of coffee and sighed.
Shamal leaned to her side and whispered something that apparently annoyed Teana. But shortly after that, the annoyance left and was replaced by relief.
A sudden shake went through the ship when it docked. There was no need for the other ships to dock, so it was only a matter of dropping Hayate and her unit off before going back into stationary orbit around the facility.
"Brigadier General Yagami and her unit, please respond to the hangar immediately. I repeat—" The voice was echoing through the ship. Taking a deep breath and gulping the last bit of coffee in her cup, Hayate stood up.
"It's time, everyone. Shamal, will you wake up Vita, please? Nanoha, Fate is all yours." Hayate left first, followed by Signum and Zafira. Subaru, who was now trying to calm down her partner, followed with Teana after. Nanoha, after getting Fate back from the realm of sleep, left shortly before Shamal, who had problems waking up Vita.
The captain of the Feraldia was waiting for them. The station lacked proper docking equipment, so they had opened the hangar for them to leave.
"I wish you the best of luck, Brigadier General Yagami. No—members of the ATNF." He then proceeded to salute, along with everyone in sight. It almost seemed like they were war heroes or something.
Hayate, and everyone else, saluted as well and then left. The ship's hangar door closed as soon as they were gone. A man in a uniform she had never seen before came up to Hayate. "ATNF, I assume? Follow me." No salute. No greeting. This was now a military operation that didn't officially exist.
The man led them into a big room that had been remodeled for this mission. A large terminal was in the back and a screen in front. "Headquarters said they would dispatch a special unit, a new black ops corps called ATNF. I'll make this short. If the TEG appears, we will shoot down their ships. There will be no warning, no negotiation. Yagami-san, you will be positioned on an orbital firing platform. We have devices in place in order to suppress any telepathy inside and out to prevent security leaks. You will be in permanent radio contact with the control center." The soldier turned around, facing Nanoha and Fate.
Fate recognized him. Alen El Sephas, a renowned tactician. He was not only famous for his exploits in a war twenty years ago, but also his merciless attitude. He did not negotiate with the enemy.
Nanoha couldn't take this talk. "Shoot them down without warning? That's cowardly! We should at least use warning shots." She knew that modern warships were equipped with AMF generators to deflect or lessen the impact of incoming magical attacks, but that would hardly be enough.
"Takamachi, this is not just any mission. We are the last wall between monsters far beyond your imagination and this dimension. They will not wait for us to warn them. They will not ask us to give up our positions. They are fanatics. They will strike when we least expect it, in a way we don't expect." The soldier then proceeded to open a digital terminal in mid-air and opened up a document.
"The High Council of the TSAB puts all of you under my command. For the duration of the operation, I have the authority of admiral general. Admiral General El Sephas. Understand?" It was not really a question.
Nanoha gritted her teeth but had to comply. Unless she wanted to risk a military trial or even be thrown into the brig, she had to obey. But she was not going to use lethal force without warning.
"Solar Two and Three, you two are to stand guard directly to the sealing room just in case. If anyone approaches—anyone—shoot them. Do not let them pass. If you two are passed, nothing stands between the unsealing. I am well aware from your record that neither of you has ever used lethal force during a mission, but this is an order. It is either you or them going down."
Fate nodded and was relieved she didn't have Hayate's job. The former brigadier general was as pale as a ghost. An actual weapons platform. It was maybe a three-meter atmosphere separated from space by a magical shield. It was the ultimate sniping platform.
"Levitas, you will be on call for any emergency situations. I am aware that you four are Yagami's vanguard, but there is little to nothing you can do up there. Protect the soldiers here in her name."
He knew what to say, Nanoha had to admit that. Positioning her and Fate as guard, knowing they would probably object to the use of lethal force. Using the Wolkenritter as mobile squad to cover breaks.
"Solar Four and Five will provide support for Levitas. There is no use for a sniper against massive battleships. That is all." He turned around and four men entered the room as if they had been waiting for his booming, powerful voice to stop.
"Yagami-san, please, this way." One soldier was escorting Hayate away. She was still pale and talking to Reinforce II. She would need her unison if she had to accurately disable ships instead of blasting them virtually to bits. Trusting that she could do this without causing too many causalities wasn't making her feel much better, but it was a start.
"Takamachi-san, Harlaown-san." Two soldiers saluted before them. "Follow us, please."
The hallways seemed endless. Nanoha had never been ordered to use lethal force. She had never killed anyone before. But hoping that Hayate could prevent anyone from getting here in the first place was just as horrible.
"Nanoha…" Fate was painfully reminded of her days working to collect the jewel seeds. During that time she wouldn't have hesitated to kill. But now, things were different. She didn't want to take the lives of people, even if they were criminals.
"I'm okay, Fate-chan. I'll try to hold back." Nanoha tried to force a smile, but the effort was in vain. The two soldiers passed several ID checks. Card. Iris-scan. Fingerprints. There were also several checks Nanoha didn't even notice.
"You will not be able to leave these rooms unless someone with security clearance lets you out. This door leads to the seven sealing rooms, one room for each Logia. Nobody is allowed past here, not even generals and admirals. There is a restroom to the right, and food is delivered every eight hours. There is a change in shift every twelve hours. Best of luck!" The soldiers saluted and left them.
"I feel like a prisoner…" Nanoha felt terrible. This mission was the worst.
"I'm sure Hayate will manage it somehow. She has Rein, she won't need to destroy the ships despite what this guy says." Fate tried to console the usually steadfast Nanoha, but it only helped a little.
"I sure hope so…"
=== Limitless ===
The central control room. It was usually quite empty, only a few soldiers monitoring data and scanners, but now it was full. Soldiers everywhere. Hayate had already taken position on the orbital platform and was waiting with Reinforce II in unison mode.
"I don't want to do this…" Hayate was talking to herself. She knew that disobeying direct orders from the council would end very badly and that they wouldn't have ordered them to do this if it wasn't necessary, but still…
Rein's voice echoed through her mind. "I'm sure it'll be okay, Hayate."
Rein was feeling insecure even though she just tried to reassure Hayate. Why lethal force? Maybe they could get around it if Hayate targeted the propulsion systems of the ships…
A booming alarm. The control room suddenly fell silent.
"Hyperspace portal opening…directly above us, sir!" A soldier reported from the hyperspace scanner. "It's a ship! A transport. It's on collision course. Twenty-seven seconds until impact!" The soldier was staring on the scanner. A suicide course!
Sephas lost no time. "Solar One. Destroy the ship. It's a suicide mission!" he shouted into his transmitter, and then watched the scanner.
Hayate's expression changed. Were they really using suicide attacks? Was this their way of fighting? If that was the case, she didn't need to hold back. She didn't want to hold back. If they were forfeiting their lives to take hers, she would not stand idly back and watch.
Hayate had already chosen her spell. The giant white triangle below her feet signaled that the spell was under way. Six enormous triangles formed right next to the ship—remote magic circles. It wasn't a direct blast attack. She couldn't do that here. But there was an excellent spell for this scenario. She just had to get the timing right…
"Eight seconds to impact! Six! Four!" The soldiers shouted through the control room.
"Jotunheimr!" Hayate shouted and unleashed the energy that had built up. Each triangle itself became an energy beam directly crashing into the enemy vessel, acting like an unstoppable avalanche, crushing everything in its way. The ship was right in the middle of the six triangles, one to each side and one above and below.
With one last blow, the enemy vessel exploded just margins away from the station. The shock wave rumbled through the facility. It was like an earthquake in space.
Out of breath due to the sudden exercise, Hayate tabbed her radio transmitter. "Bogey taken out."
Taking a deep breath, Hayate knew this was not the end. Her initial doubts had largely vanished. A surprise suicide attack out of hyperspace was the most cowardly thing she had ever seen.
"Another bogey at coordinates 9187-1050! Wait…one more at 2051-8712! They're attacking in waves! Ninety-two and fifty-four seconds to impact!"
"Fire everything we have! Radio the Judgment to destroy bogey number one! Solar One, do you read me? Take down the bogey that's right on top of us! All cruisers open fire on bogey number two!"
Hayate was not getting a break. Another massive vessel on impact course was right above her. Jotunheimr would destroy her and the facility alongside with the vessel.
"Rein, we're going for a full power attack. I don't need to aim at this range." Hayate was going in for the kill this time. If they were this desperate to destroy them, then she would not hesitate to fight for her life and the lives of everyone else here. A massive triangle below her and directly above her formed seconds later.
A critical mass of energy was forming right on top of the second triangle. Hayate had enough time. She still couldn't feel the pressure of the approaching vessel. She would show them what it meant to challenge an SS+-rank mage!
"Wielder of Lightning and Fire, Construct of the Gods, let your rage strike upon those who defy me! Mjöllnir!"
A piercing beam of energy impacted the front of the ship and ran through it like a spear, impaling it thorough. As she moved Schwertkreuz right over her head, Hayate shifted all her energy from power to control.
"Strike!"
The single ray of energy grew branches, like a rose grows thorns, and breached the hull, running through the entire ship as if a thousand nails of light had been hammered into it. With an enormous explosion, the second ship exploded.
"Bogey number four and number five also on collision course! They're out of range for the Judgment's dimensional weapon! Another hyperspace window opening! Four vessels from 4023-2174! They're heading for the port!"
"Solar One, we can deal with invaders. I need you to take down the other ships! Don't worry if you scrape the station, we have AMFs on the outer hulls!" Sephas commanded. He already knew it was futile to believe they would be able to shoot down all of the ships.
Meanwhile, the Judgment was in a pinch. The whole ship was on battle alert and they had just fired their main weapon, a dimension-warping beam that destroyed everything in its way. They had the bogey taken out, but couldn't fire the weapon again until it had recharged.
"Sir! Hyperspace window opening right behind us! It's their main fleet. Eight vessels, one of them dreadnought class. It's locking onto us…it's powering up weapons! Impact in two minutes!"
The commander of the Judgment was a veteran with forty years of service behind him. He would not be taken down like this. "Fire everything we have. Put shields to maximum power. We need to buy time. The fact that they brought out their main fleet means they are serious now, no more suicide ramming attacks!"
It was a gamble. There was no time to waste. That spell was dangerous, but Rein was with Hayate and she trusted her. "Rein, I leave the aiming to you. I need to concentrate on not messing this up." Hayate knew it was risky. If this went wrong, the entire complex could explode.
"Be doomed by the wrath of darkness. Nifflheimr!" A seemingly solid black sphere, rapidly growing, erupted before Hayate. "Rein!" Hayate shouted. It was immensely difficult to maintain the spell. It was on timed activation and Hayate could not hold on indefinitely.
"Not yet…not yet, Hayate!" The first ship would impact in less than twenty seconds.
"Rein!" Hayate was desperate. The fabric on her gloves was slowly disintegrating from the sheer power.
"Now, Hayate!" Rein gave the command and not even a full second later the sphere changed form and became a pillar, racing against time towards the ship. It impacted with the force of a dimensional weapon, but there was no explosion. Instead, it pushed the ship into its line of fire, taking it with it. A hypermagnetic beam of magic energy.
Yelling out in pain from the magic drain, Hayate's sight was getting blurry. This spell was way beyond her control, even in unison mode. It was truly an energy from a place worse than hell.
She watched as the first ship crashed into the second one, causing a chain explosion which destroyed both ships with an amazing force. But Hayate had to pay the price for saving the lives of the others.
"I'm leaving this to you, everyone…"
=== Limitless ===
The Judgment was destroyed. Taking a full hit of the enemy's dreadnought vessel was too much. But they had not gone down without taking half of the enemy fleet with them. The first two ships had already unloaded their forces into the port. It was like an invasion of ants, a never-ending amount of cultists, armed with illegal arms and magic users.
Teana had taken place on a tower high above the port. Over the course of the last three years, Cross Mirage had undergone several modifications. Taking a cartridge from an ammo girdle, Teana changed Cross Mirage into Sniper Rifle mode. With a special cartridge, Teana didn't need to take aim. No matter where she shot, she would hit her target. But that was not good enough.
A new ship was just coming in and Teana loaded five more cartridges. "Loading BE cartridge!" The device responded accordingly. "Cross Mirage, mode three, Burst Explosion."
Sniping single targets was useless. There were just way too many of them. But she could still help the others out. They were down there, doing their best. As she looked down, she saw nothing but chaos. Pure chaos. There was a steady gap of empty space between each wave of foot soldiers who died in battle with Signum and the others, but the incoming waves were endless.
But there was something only she could do. Aiming at the incoming ship, at its gate-opening mechanism, she concentrated. This would probably hurt.
"Not yet…not yet…Burst explosion, shoot!"
The recoil was immense. Teana was shoved against a small wall and could still feel it after all the training. The bullet hit the right part, and the resulting explosion completely destroyed it, jamming the gate and preventing it from opening.
It was a one-time shot. The enemy probably already knew how to prevent this from happening again. But there were other things she could do. Something that could help the others.
Several agents of the TEG were flying, most likely with the help of illegal magic and technology. She had never taken lives before, but she really had no choice.
"I knew this day would come when I enlisted, but I really hate shooting at people. I can't afford to mess this up. Cross Mirage, load cartridge." Sniper mode was extremely powerful, but slow and magic intensive. Lying down, Teana aimed carefully, then hesitated. Shooting at a living being was much harder when using lethal force.
"Shoot!" She hit a flying unit directly in the chest. In a matter of seconds, it dropped to the ground and vanished in the chaotic masses of the fight. The TEG had underestimated them. Subaru, Signum, Zafira and Vita were down there, fighting for their lives.
"There are just too many of them! And the next ship is already coming. Cross Mirage, mode four!" Teana changed to anti-aircraft mode. If she couldn't prevent them from docking, she could at least scare them off. "I only have enough cartridges for three shots in this mode left. Cross Mirage, I'm counting on you!"
The device replied and loaded six cartridges. "Beginning charging for destruction shot. Estimated time: sixteen seconds."
Getting up and using the wall as backup for the recoil, Teana aimed and waited for the charging to be completed. She purposely aimed too high. "Destruct Explosion, shoot!" Teana opened fire and the recoil almost knocked her out—this mode wasn't made to be used while under heavy strain—but she got her desired result. The explosion took out more than two-thirds of the incoming forces in the next ship.
=== Limitless ===
"Schlangenform!" Signum was continuously changing forms because the situation was that chaotic. She wasn't made to fight large-scale battles against an enemy that outnumbered her one hundred to one. They were holding their ground, each of them a line of defense the enemy had to pass. Signum was at the front, and occasionally she felt the shock waves of Vita using Gigantform for short periods of time to smash an incoming unit.
"Signum, there's too many of them! We can't take them all out by ourselves. I hate to say this, but we can't keep this up." Agito's voice echoed in Signum's mind. She knew that Signum had a limit. She was starting to get tired as well.
"Flying Dragon Flash!" She knew that her own limit wasn't far off. Just how many more of these did she have to take out? It seemed truly like an invasion of never-ending numbers. "I know, Agito. I don't like retreating, but it's our only choice for now."
"Nachladen!" Not many cartridges left. This was the worst. She wasn't made to fight dozens of small fries at once. It was her style to get close to her enemy and cut them, not to hold back masses. She had also come to dislike the stench of blood ever since Hayate had become her master.
The ground was stained with dead bodies and blood. It was quickly becoming impossible to fight. "Vita! We need to fall back, it's just too many."
The Knight of the Iron Hammer was breathing heavily and all out of cartridges. She must have crushed over a hundred of these fools, and yet there were always more and more. And that with Signum in front of her! A quick nod and both retreated from the hangar back to the last line of defense where Subaru and Zafira were.
"We need to get Tea down from there!" Nearly completely depleted of cartridges, Subaru finally understood why they had to use lethal force. There were too many. And they weren't fighting to just stun them either. It wasn't just a fight to hold them back anymore. It was a fight for survival now. The horrible feeling from taking lives was eating away on her consciousness. Teana must've been feeling the same…
"Signum-san, Zafira, can you two distract the enemy force just long enough so I can get Tea?" Subaru could use Wing Road to get up there. She had never learned to fly because she could rely on Mach Caliber for such situations.
"It seems there is no need for that." The tower Teana had taken cover on was collapsing. Apparently, enemy forces had noticed they couldn't approach from the air without being sniped, so they took down the whole tower.
"Tea!" Subaru yelled and watched the tower crumble. Her eyes widened in terror, and she was up and about to rush in the middle of the ruins, amidst the enemy forces to look for her, when Signum grabbed her arm quickly and held her back.
"Let me go, Signum! Tea is still over there!" Subaru shouted, trying to loosen the grip of the knight.
"She isn't. You should trust her a little more. She's an S-rank mage. There's no way she would just sit idle by and let that thing bury her." Signum explained in a calm voice.
"Would you stop stop talking and fight?" Zafira complained. It was bad enough that they had retreated back here, but now they were fighting amongst themselves.
A huge unit of enemies had been heading right at them while Subaru and Signum argued with each other. Zafira knew he couldn't handle them all, and Vita was all but a fighter specialized to take down masses. Their position would fall.
A torrent of magic bullets rained down on the enemy unit, killing more than half of the approaching forces and injuring even more. Zafira seized his opportunity in the confusion and unleashed his full power, white magic spikes impaling the rest of them.
"Stop making a fuss, idiot Subaru!" Teana landed safely next to her partner, with just a few scratches and a little cut on her left arm. "I used the dust cloud from the collapsing tower to get away. Would you have a little trust in me?" Turning around, Teana opened fire again. Rapid-fire mode was a lot of strain on her endurance, but it was perfect for scenarios like these.
"We need to retreat. There are more ships coming. I will destroy the shield generator they set up. The hangar will be exposed to the vacuum of space, but we need to get out of here." Teana knew it was a long shot, but worth the try.
"I've only got one shot at this, so Subaru, I'll trust you with my back. You better protect me." Acting tough in front of her partner was a given. It was just how Teana lived. But she was exhausted as well. With the few cartridges she had left, they would all be used up in this one final attack. After that, it was her only her own power left.
"Cross Mirage, mode four." Teana positioned herself slightly higher, on part of a collapsed wall. It was difficult to see the generator because it wasn't very big. The enemy was already firing at them. Subaru was positioned in front of her, using barriers to block incoming attacks.
"I'm trusting you on this, Lanster. Don't disappoint me." Loading her remaining cartridges, Signum posed for one last brutal attack against the enemy. While most of the time, magic energy was circulated to only knock enemies out, it was also possible to cause destructive damage with it. "Laevatein! Bogenform!" Signum aimed towards in the middle of the incoming forces.
"Explosion!" Laevatein loaded six cartridges, going for maximal impact.
Signum aimed and knew this would not only hurt the enemy but also her. She was well beyond her capacity limit. Shamal would have to patch her up later. "Flammender Adler!" Signum shouted and fired the charged arrow.
It sliced straight through a ton of units until it finally lost its velocity and impacted in the middle of the hangar and exploded into a raging fireball, easily the size of an explosion comparable to Nanoha's Divine Buster.
"Tea!" Subaru was also at her limit. She had suffered several hits to her right arm, which rendered her unable to attack.
"Starlight Breaker!" Teana shouted, much to the surprise of Signum, Vita and Zafira, who were unaware that Nanoha had taught Teana her spell.
A piercing orange beam of energy rushed through the hangar, destroying everything in its way until it finally impacted the other end of the hall, ripping a hole in the hull. The impact of the sudden vacuum of space sucking everything out of the room was enormous. Zafira was quick to respond with a chain spell for the initial impact.
"Retreat!" Signum shouted and opened the hatch to the hallway. After everyone had finally managed to get in, Signum closed the door and broke the opening device brutally with Laevatein.
But things were far from over.
=== Limitless ===
"Another hyperspace window! It's right on top of us! Impact in eight seconds!" the soldier who monitored the scanning device shouted. Most of the fleet of the TSAB had been taken out. And now another suicide attack? Those bastards of the TEG really were dead serious about taking the facility.
"Dammit…!" Shepas couldn't do anything. Yagami was supposedly being treated deep inside the facility by one of her guards. If she had been out there now…
Blinding light. The immense force of the impact and the following explosion ripped apart more than half of the station, tearing it to shreds. A gigantic shock wave ran through the entire complex, followed by an explosion. It shook and the alarm went off—a booming alarm that declared that the end was near.
Nanoha and Fate had been unable to join the fight. Unable to talk to anyone with telepathy, unable to do anything. And now, the enormous force of the explosion threw them against the wall, nearly knocking them out.
Then, sudden pain ran through their bodies. It was like someone had stabbed them with a million needles.
Trying to fight against it was futile. Fate dropped to the ground and saw how Nanoha was staggering, still standing, trying to fight against the incredible pain in her head.
"Na…noha…" Losing consciousness, Fate collapsed. Nanoha couldn't call out to her. Seeing how Fate dropped to the ground was the last nail in her coffin. Nanoha's vision went blurry and she fell, unmoving, having lost consciousness before she hit the ground.
=== Limitless ===
"Open, portal to the cage holding back the rightful lords of this universe!" One man was shouting a seemingly endless incantation. "Glory upon you who rule over the flow of the eternal river!"
Nanoha was spying on them from the previous room. They hadn't noticed them. Thank God cartridges were shielded against TAMG bombs, but who knew the TEG had such advanced weaponry? It was their fault for falling for such a cheap tactic. Her only option was Starlight Breaker. The resident magic emitted by the Lost Logia was tremendous. She could still stop this.
But to use Starlight Breaker, she needed a clear line of sight as well as time to charge. She didn't have the magic energy to put up the shields to compensate for immobilization. In situations like these, she wished she had strong close combat skills like Fate did.
"Fate-chan, can you use your Riot Zamber?" Nanoha knew that time was running out. They had already placed the Lost Logia. She hated the thought of shifting the weight of getting rid of these pests to Fate, but she couldn't be picky.
"I'll manage. But Nanoha, I don't think I can hold it up for long." Fate was just as low on magic as Nanoha. "I have twelve cartridges left. I can maybe hold it up for one minute, but no longer. I'm sorry, Nanoha."
"That is enough. They don't expect anyone to attack them right now. I really hate cowardly acts like striking from behind, but we have little choice. After all the commotion the council and the captain made…we need to stop them. I'm sorry to force you to do this, Fate-chan." Nanoha let her head sink slightly and averted her eyes.
"Don't worry, Nanoha. I am fine if I think of this as protecting you." Fate took a deep breath. "Overdrive, True Sonic Form."
Nanoha stepped back a few feet and got her own preparations going. Even if Fate took care of the intruders, they still needed to shut down the gateway somehow. And if everything failed, force was the only way left.
Bardiche was taking new form. The two twin blades were connected by a yellow string of energy. It loaded six cartridges to each side to sustain the form itself, it was down to Fate's own agility and skill to make use of this opportunity. At least she could still use Sonic Move like this.
With just a nod, Fate stormed ahead. The gateway, the alarm, everything was generating too much noise for them to even see her coming. It was too late to notice her until one blade of Bardiche was stuck in the chest of the reciting villain. With a quick turn, Fate slashed another villain standing near.
She had no time to determine the status of their arms or if they even had any. Ducking out of the way of an anticipated attack, Fate pulled Bardiche out of her first victim and slashed away at the legs of another. She felt terrible for taking the lives of others, but if it served to preserve peace in the galaxy…
Not even twenty seconds after she had entered the last room, Fate had cut down all but one enemy. She was confused and surprised, as they had proven to be no challenge to her honed skills. Forcing the last enemy on its knees, Fate demanded information. "Tell me how to stop this!"
"You can't stop it. Nobody can. Our lord will soon arrive in this world and you will perish." It was a fanatic, a cultist. His hands were bloody and ripped open. He was the one who placed the Lost Logia. It seemed like a sacrifice of blood was necessary.
"Nanoha!" Fate shouted, not letting the hostage out of her line of sight. Releasing Riot Zamber mode seconds before she ran out of supplementary magic from the cartridges, Fate used Lightning Bind on the man, rendering him unable to move, sitting on the ground, a few feet away from the glowing gateway.
"I heard everything. If you won't tell us how to stop it, I'll stop it by force!" Nanoha shouted, and took position. The room was a large rectangle, longer than it was wide. Nanoha had already taken position at the rear end, as far away from the portal as possible. Firing a Starlight Breaker at this close proximity would probably get both of them caught in it as well, but that was a necessary evil.
It was tiring, using Starlight Breaker in her condition. Nanoha was breathing heavily, as if she had been fighting for hours. It took every bit of her willpower to maintain the exceed mode and to continue charging the immense resident magical energy. There was nearly an unlimited amount here, but she didn't need that much.
Fate had taken cover behind her. "Nanoha…the instant you fire, I'll take us out of here with my Sonic Move. We might crash in the hallway, but at least we won't be caught in the blast."
Explaining things to Nanoha wasn't as easy. Fate was tired out, and even though her magic was recovering, the strong AMF in here made it a tough experience to use magic. How Nanoha was able to use Starlight Breaker in this environment was beyond her.
"Thank you, Fate-chan. I knew I could trust you." Nanoha forced a smile and continued charging. It was almost time. And just then, she ran out of what she desperately needed—time.
The gateway exploded in white light and Nanoha had to avert her head, as she was unable to cover her eyes. When the light finally withdrew, they weren't alone anymore. Next to the hostage was standing a truly weird woman. Taller than anyone they had seen, with bright green hair and eyes pitch-black like nightmares.
Nanoha changed her tactic instantly. If that woman was one of the so-called Asari, and she must have been, then Nanoha would blast her right back where she'd come from. Getting permanently rid of her was probably a good thing too.
"My lord, Vysfila!" The man that had been sitting on the ground was crawling towards the odd woman. "How long I have waited for this glorious moment of victory! Now we shall feast upon the infidels and…what are…please…sto—" The man was being lifted by his hair, up to eye level of the woman.
"Elas miru mertio risati lefarme nagaio? Riaxi unedo, lervus iri."
The voice was like the whisper of a fiend believed dead, that had just risen against to seek vengeance against his murderer. Dull and emotionless, but at the same time a disgusting feeling of hate was floating in it. The voice of a monster.
With a single brutal swing of her arm, the man crashed into the wall. The impact denting the massive steeling wall and probably broke every bone in his body. Not even granting a single look at its servant, the thing stared at Nanoha.
It was like it could see right into her soul. Suddenly feeling ill, Nanoha relived past, long-forgotten horrifying memories. The fight against Fate-chan. The fight against Hayate. The incident when she almost died. And the events in the Saint's Cradle. Her hands shook and she was about to let go of the collected energy.
"Nanoha!" Fate was holding onto Raising Heart, stabilizing it. She couldn't feel any of the pain Nanoha was feeling right now, but she could imagine from her expression.
"I'm…okay…Fate-chan." As Nanoha slowly came back to reality, the woman still stood there, as if waiting for Nanoha to shoot. Nanoha had amassed much more energy than she needed to break the machinery. But was it enough to kill that woman?
Nanoha, for the first time in her life, truly believed that killing someone was the right thing to do. There was something unbelievably inhuman about that thing.
"Eratio rias tyrati efrita."
It was probably her unique language or some ancient tongue. Nanoha couldn't understand it.
It was enough. The energy was beginning to become unstable. "Fate-chan!" Nanoha shouted, and Fate got ready.
"StarlightBreaker!"
Blinding light. Sudden movement. The explosion virtually ripped apart the room and everything in it.
Nanoha and Fate crashed into a wall in the hallway outside the seven rooms and fell to the ground. Fate had cushioned most of the impact with shielding spells, but they still could feel the force of the explosion. If the sealing room hadn't been so deep inside the station, it would have ripped apart the entire complex.
"Nobody could've survived that…" Fate looked at the smoldering remains of the sealing rooms. Asari or not, immortal or not, this had to have killed her. A Starlight Breaker of that magnitude, at point…blank…range…
Fate's eyes widened in terror. She must have hit her head on impact. What she was seeing couldn't possible be right. "Na…noha…" Fate crawled back, leaning against the wall. Her eyes fixated on the destroyed rooms.
Nanoha felt utterly helpless. The magic she had collected from the Lost Logia had been tremendous. It was probably the AMF's doing inside there that they were still alive. They had diminished the blast radius. But still, it should've been incredibly powerful at point blank. Then…how! How was she still alive?
Walking through the burning rooms, the unnatural woman slowly came closer. Step by step, her silhouette was getting clearer. Nanoha watched in fear how the beast stopped just a few feet in front of them. Not only was she still alive, she was completely unharmed.
She was unharmed. She took a Starlight Breaker, powered by several Lost Logia, head-on at point blank range. How was she unharmed? How!
"Miras. Tyr. Hera. Meratia elarti verxila arulia."
Words. Words the two mages didn't understand. But they understood something else.
They had failed. Utterly failed. Despite taking the lives of so many, despite their best efforts, despite destroying the gateway. Everything had been in vain.
Three more women stepped out of the remains of the rooms, standing behind the first. They looked nothing alike, there was but one thing they shared.
The eyes. The eyes of inhuman monsters. The pitch black eyes of manifested nightmares that had come back. The eyes of the Asari.
=== End of Mission I ===
