Author's note: The end of the series felt too depressing as it stood so I decided to try to bring some closure to the events between the start of the invasion and the flash-forward to the U.N. shuttle. Tsubael was a strong supporting character and it seemed she needed some time in the spotlight.

CHAPTER 1 –- 救うSukuu - Rescue

Tsubael found herself as near nothing; a hint, a figment within limitless blackness.

She felt gentle but unsettling motion- as though her very being had been reduced to a speck of dust and cast out to drift through the vastest of voids; flitting and weaving within the listless tumult of random, invisible currents. She regained a sense of time as the incessant drifting and lolling gave rise to wooziness and along with it a gradual awareness of self.

Pain and chill from the other parts of her body dragged her further into an unkind consciousness. She deduced that her situation had to be bad: her right shin wracked and seared, the shoulder on the same side radiated additional torture that spread up and into her neck, and her already swimming head felt heavy with unrelenting pressure. She became aware of the labor of her own breaths as her full faculties seemed to return in a rush.

She came to realize she was no longer in the capsule ejected from Blue, evidenced by the filth of dank soil and prickly leaves now beneath her legs and lower back. Her aching head and shoulders rested against something of greater comfort; a support smooth, firm, and warm.

She eased her eyes open to find herself facing the waning glow of a late evening sky peeking from between the inky silhouettes of overarching treetops. She recognized the sounds of forime close by, prattling in muddled, indiscernible tones. After a few moments of concentration she felt as though she knew some of the voices- some of the students the Commander had been living with at the academy, she surmised.

Cautiously, gingerly, she swiveled her throbbing head, straining to better survey her surroundings. She scanned into the dusk to her right, then left to find nothing but dense brush, allowing her only to see what she guessed as a few paces in any direction. She rolled her head back to check above and startled as she came to find a forime face staring down in reverse, presumably watching her the whole time. She relaxed a little when she recognized the girl- the tall one who enjoyed refining food for others, she recalled.

Eventually, an odd reaction became evident on the Tall One's face as if Tsubael's wakefulness struck her as amusing in some way. She maintained the doltish look and continued to gaze down. Her eyes stayed fixed on Tsubael's for some time before she slackened her mouth a little to grunt "Hey," as what had to have been a terse, primitive syllable of greeting.

Despite her slow, tumbling nausea, Tsubael now began to better understand her body's orientation from visual cues. With her left hand, she reached up to perform a tactile survey, confirming some of her assumptions. Through touch, she could tell a crude dressing had been banded around her skull and that the supportive warmth beneath her head and shoulders had to be emanating from the Tall One's thighs. She strained to tilt back a bit further and caught a better glimpse of the forime's dark, ornamented clothes. Not what appeared to be customary coverings for a forime, she pondered; perhaps a uniform? A costume?

It came back to her in a rush; everything that had happened- the school festival; the play.

The Tall One had a role in that play- the play that never concluded; the play at the site that she had failed to protect for the Commander.

She let her eyes sink shut. She swallowed. A feeling of dismay flooded into her as she now remembered more of what had happened- right up to the point Commander Ekaril ejected her from Blue. She weltered within a mix of gratitude and betrayal for those final actions of her closest and only friend.

Had Commander Ekaril succeeded? Had she stopped Novall? Tsubael wondered.

Eager for an answer, she began to ask, "The Commander... did... did she-" and then stopped herself, giving up, realizing she had just wasted what little strength she had trying to get information from a creature who would have no idea what she was asking about.

"Um, I'm not sure what you mean," the Tall One stated the obvious.

Tsubael released a disappointed sigh. The forime did not mean to be unhelpful, she reminded herself- it seemed doubtful that any of them could possess enough awareness of the situation to be of any use.

She then gasped, filling with the sudden, thrilling understanding that Commander Ekaril must have succeeded, knowing that none of the forime from that school would be alive if she had not.

That small surge of triumph seemed to come at a cost to her body as her heart began to beat a bit stronger and she had to clamp her eyes tighter in response to the intensifying throb in her head and the redoubled pain in her arm and leg.

Still driven to find out the details of what happened, she decided to ask simpler questions, ones the primitives might be able to answer. "How did I get here?"

"I'm not sure."

Tsubael felt herself almost groan in reflexive disappointment.

The Tall One then added, "We found you here- with a soldier from your side... was that your commander?"

Tsubael opened her eyes wide. Panic set in as her mind began to run wild with the possibilities implied by the forime's statement. "Soldier? My side? Who? How many?"

The forime seemed nonchalant about the matter, appearing ignorant or indifferent to the peril she and her whole planet were in. "Just one. She told us to keep you hidden. Wakatake told us she knew both of you so we went along with what the other one said."

The other's account left Tsubael baffled for a few moments until she could concentrate enough through her pain and dizziness to deduce who it had to have been. Azanael, she thought; Wakatake knew her as well, would have recognized her. Azanael could have survived, traced her capsule's automated distress beacon, and retrieved her from the sea before any reconnaissance craft from the main fleet might have found her, Tsubael concluded.

"Where is she? The soldier?" she asked as she urged her body to sit up in a reflexive attempt to locate the other. Her head swam from the effort. She closed her eyes again.

The Tall One's hands eased Tsubael's shoulders back down onto her lap. The forime assumed a infuriatingly haughty tone as she said, "Look, I may not know a lot about what you are but Wakatake said your blood turns white or something; and that means you've been bleeding from your head- a lot. And I'm pretty sure you have bones like ours- and the ones in your right shin are broken. You have to settle down and stay still until we can find a safer place and a way to move you without making things worse."

Though aggravated by the forime's bossiness, Tsubael begrudgingly decided to acquiesce since the Tall One's deductions surprised her with their accuracy. She admitted that after hearing the Tall One's application of logic she felt a little better about trusting that forime with her immediate well-being.

Despite the discouragement of her continuing pain, she felt compelled to press the other for more information, eager to find something that she might use to improve her situation. "I must speak to the one who brought me here. Where is she?"

"She's gone. She told us to look after you and then left in a hurry." After a moment the Tall One seemed hesitant to add, "That was a few hours ago, before it started getting dark. She kind of seemed like she was in bad shape as well- like maybe her spaceship crashed worse than yours did?"

Tsubael felt herself swallow; now realizing that Azanael had likely gone on some brash, idiotic final mission to finish herself off in an attempt to match the Commander's noble sacrifice. For a fleeting moment, she found herself selfishly wishing neither the Commander nor that overgrown show-off had been so consumed by their own sense of duty as to cast her aside and leave her behind to face her own inevitable, less courageous end in the alien world.

Though Azanael's arrogance and high-handed nature was beyond annoying, Tsubael acknowledged that given the finality of the Commander's bravest act that Azanael would have been her only surviving arume ally; Azanael who could have left her to die, but instead chose to save her; Azanael who as a final insult made sure Tsubael would be left with a debt that could never be settled; Azanael who she would never see again to thank.

It almost seemed that the Tall One understood Tsubael's thoughts when she then obviously concocted and stated, "I'm sure she'll be back... I could tell from the way she spoke to us. She was probably going to get help."

Tsubael released the truth in a sigh. "There won't be any help."

The Tall One continued her pointless speculation, saying, "Maybe she went off on some other mission? Maybe someone else crash landed like you did and she's gone off to rescue them too?"

Hearing the Tall One's last theory caused Tsubael's throat to ache. "There's no one else to rescue... not from our side." She swallowed to fight the sensation as she considered how the cavalier pilot had chosen to join the cause she and the Commander had taken; Commander Ekaril would not have succeeded without the advent of Azanael's skills.

She closed her eyes tight, hoping to quash what felt like an impending flow of tears. "How bad has the fighting been here?" she asked, now feeling a strong need to shift the conversation to any other topic than either of her fallen comrades.

"Hours ago, there were a lot of explosions close by... then nothing. All of those big ships above the school just sort of drifted south and the explosions seemed to follow where they went. Everything got really quiet once the light stared to fade; no more flashes in the sky, no more big booms from behind the hills." Her previously nonchalant tone dropped to betray a measure of regret as she added, "I think it might be over- everything."

The words and their delivery added to Tsubael's gloom. She now concluded that the seemingly indifferent forime well understood what had taken place- the subjugation of her entire world- and chose to maintain a strong outward appearance for the sake of the rest. That forime, she could tell, had been created to be a leader.

She then found herself admitting that the Commander's actions could never have stopped anything; she knew all along it would be a waste, a pointless mission, a gesture without lasting impact, but she chose to follow Commander Ekaril anyway- she now understood the simple truth that she would have followed the Commander anywhere.

She then began to second-guess her own actions, wondering if she should have found a way to sabotage Blue's final mission- perhaps a well-intentioned betrayal to save the Commander from her own futile goal. That may possibly have been the better way to serve her, Tsubael thought- to support Ekaril best by undermining her, ensuring she would live to lead the way in a far less hopeless operation.

She felt an immediate sting of guilt at that thought. Since that initial catastrophe that had killed countless number of natives and all but two of Blue's crew, she had been the only one left for the Commander to rely on, to trust completely- their eventual closeness in those twenty skoors spent in contact only with each other demanded that no such chicanery could have taken place and at such an important time.

The pressure of the tears she managed to choke-back earlier had returned, redoubled. Commander Ekaril, she thought. She squeezed her eyes shut a bit tighter and felt the tears escape to run down her temples and then back to her ears. She barely contained a heavy sob, now fully facing the reality that she had lost the most precious person in her life and she now lay stranded in an alien world: seriously injured, abandoned, and without options.

She could never return home, she knew. Her life too would end in this ugly, dirty, foreign place. Her people had conquered the forime and they would soon find her and execute her for her grand treason- and for the killing of hundreds of her fellow arume when she had dispatched with the rest of the advanced fleet to protect Ekaril. To her people, she was surely reviled as defective; a monster.

She then grew self-conscious, realizing that she had allowed herself to show weakness in front of the forime, so she choked back her self-pity and opened her eyes to look again at the Tall One.

The forime gazed back, her expression softer than before, returning a look that seemed to almost mimic an understanding of her situation. She then shifted her countenance to present a slight smile, as though she might have sensed the weight of Tsubael's profound collection of miseries.

"We'll find our way through this." She paused and added, "I'm Akane Kawashima," she said.

Tsubael realized the forime had begun one of their introductory rituals. It seemed worthwhile to foster the other's friendliness so she decided to participate in the perfunctory exchange. "Tsubael," she replied.

"Your eyes... they're beautiful," the Tall One said, her tone suddenly reserved, bashful.

"Someone's coming!" The warning came as a whisper from one of the other forime from close by.

The entire group seemed to be holding their breaths. The forced silence gave emphasis to the approaching sound of heavy, uneven footsteps against the forest floor. It became obvious by the syncopated gait of the approaching party that they might be wounded, staggering. A few more, slower steps sounded and then a stumble followed by a final series of thuds.

After a few tense, hushed moments, the Tall One pulled back and gently lowered Tsubael to rest flat on the ground. She then rose to creep toward the area where from which the unknown person's collapse had sounded. Soon others in the vicinity began to rise from their crouched positions as they seemed to follow the Tall One's lead.

From behind the closest thicket, one of them gasped, "Senkoji-san!"

At that sound, Tsubael's body seemed to demand she rise and join the others. Despite her pain, she rolled to her side and struggled to crawl and follow the others, now overflowing with hope that Commander Ekaril really was the one who came to them through the woods.

After dragging herself about a meter, her head began to swim and her arms buckled to drop her face-first onto the ground. With her eyes now cinched in agony, she began again to pull herself blindly toward the growing din of relief and excitement from the group a short distance away.

"Help her!" the Tall One's voice boomed out to command the others.

Within seconds, Tsubael felt herself lifted from beneath each shoulder followed by the sensation of hanging, being carried forward by a warm body at either flank. She opened her eyes. Despite her miserable condition she now bubbled with elation as she took in the incredible sight of two familiar Arume: Commander Ekaril and Azanael.

The two sat upright upon the ground, slumped against the trunk of a tree for support as the forime attempted to examine and tend to their injuries.

By overjoyed reflex, Tsubael felt herself gush, "Commander!" She closed her eyes again, letting herself succumb to a fit of joyful sobs.

She felt her forime escorts settle her down onto the ground. She felt the warmth of forime hands stroking and patting her back, seeming to appreciate and share in her happiness. She reopened her eyes, needing to see Ekaril, now determined to know what state her beloved Commander was in.

In the dim and fading light it seemed obvious Commander Ekaril's condition was grave: charred blotches on her face and neck, one of her eyes squeezed shut and the other half-lidded, her breaths looked labored as though she suffered through immense pain.

Despite those obvious physical problems, Commander Ekaril had a strange air of peace about her. To Tsubael, she appeared to possess the discreet piety of someone who had discovered the truth behind a long-vexing mystery.

The Commander's half-open eye contacted Tsubael's. "Tsubael," she sighed. She visibly labored to swallow and showed a small smile. After a few moments, she struggled to say, "Someone helped us- all of us." She then rolled her head to look to her right.

Tsubael followed the Commander's gaze to where Azanael sat also propped against the tree. She considered the other in the worst shape of the three of them: the skin of her face and neck was split and blistered; both her eyes seemed swollen completely shut, dried blood and soot crusted the whole left side of her face, and most of her scorched and tattered uniform seemed saturated from earlier uncontrolled bleeding.

The rapid beat of approaching footsteps on the forest floor seemed to set everyone on high alert. The whole group went still and silent at once.

As the hurried steps drew closer an excited voice called out, "Sugawara-sensei says the school is safe! She told us to bring the alien!" The group seemed to ease, chattering excitedly as they rose again from their concealment.

As the two running forime had nearly reached the group, Tsubael recognized one as Mari Wakatake.

Suddenly, Wakatake jetted past the other and broke through brush, now sprinting toward the group. She seemed to leap through the last few meters and flung herself toward Ekaril like a missile.

Tsubael felt herself wince as Wakatake threw herself onto the injured Commander but she forgave the other's brutishness when she witnessed the Commander's obvious relief in the other's clumsy, overeager embrace.

Tsubael found herself again in a losing struggle with tears. In that moment, it seemed she and all the other onlookers were equally taken by the sight of Wakatake's wordless reunion with the Commander as the two stayed locked together, silent, near-motionless for many moments.

The Tall One was the first to speak, apparently trying to turn the group's focus back to survival. "Everybody, let's get them to the school infirmary." She then stepped behind Tsubael, scooped under her arms, and began to lift her with the help of another forime.

Tsubael's head swam. She lost sight of the Commander as she felt herself being positioned and swung around. Things were happening faster than she could keep up with. As she finally grew more accustomed to her new situation in the support of the forime, she began to ponder the limitations of forime medicine and that led her to a sudden, desperate realization that only she had seemed to consider.

"Azanael?" Tsubael called out. Akane and the forime holding her stopped, apparently understanding and allowing her to address the other as some three other forime struggled to roll and lift Azanael's lanky, lethargic form. "Your craft... where is it?"

Azanael seemed listless as if unable to hear or understand.

Tsubael raised her voice, hoping to raise a response, better get through. "Getour? Where is Getour?"

Azanael's head seemed to perk and rotate toward the sound of Tsubael's question. She seemed to collect herself and then struggled to croak, "water," before apparently slipping from consciousness completely.

"Take me to the water, now," Tsubael then ordered the forime who held her upright.

"You're going to the infirmary." The finality of the Tall One's tone implied the issue was settled.

Tsubael struggled to control her temper as best she could and attempted to explain the facts of the matter; "The burns they have are from heavy neutron exposure. Nothing in your most advanced medicine can help them. They won't live more than two days as they are now. Her ship should have something we can use to heal them- in its emergency kit. I must get to-"

"We'll just injure you further if we have to make a side trip. I'm taking you to the infirmary so we can try to set that broken leg for you."

As Tsubael felt hands clutch tighter at each of her limbs, she realized then that she was offered no say in the matter. She called out to Commander Ekaril, "Commander, please tell them to let me go."

The Commander seemed conscious, but gave no response, as though the request had never reached her ears.

Knowing the lives of the other two were solely in her hands, now burning with frustration, Tsubael fought to free herself and lashed out, "I'll drag myself there if I have to! Let me go, you small-brained barbarians! I need to get to her craft now!" She then halted her struggle as she noticed a piercing gaze upon her.

Wakatake, shouldering one of the Commander's arms to hold her upright, had swiveled her head nearly backward to glare at her.

Tsubael had to look away, now self-conscious about her desperate, thoughtless outburst and lack of control in front of the Commander as well as the group of forime.

"Then I will take you," Wakatake said, her voice both calm and forceful.

The whole group seemed to still at the girl's statement.

"Wakatake, don't be-" the Tall One started.

"I'm not being anything! We need to find that ship now, before anyone else finds it!" Wakatake rebuked.

Tsubael looked back to Wakatake, met her gaze once again.

The girl's face was fixed in determination; she held an air of mature resolve that Tsubael had never before seen from her. At that moment, Tsubael began to realize that the Commander's impetuous companion might be her only capable ally on the whole forime planet.

The Tall One countered, "Let's get all three of them back to the school and then we can go and get whatever it is and bring it back to her. You can't carry her all the way to the shore and back... definitely not with her shin dangling in half like this."

"Yes, I can." Wakatake transferred her support of the Commander to another forime and turned to approach the Tall One. Her tone remained calm but her countenance carried an obvious air of challenge to the larger, older forime. "I'll use the groundskeeper's wagon. I can sit her on top of it and roll her to wherever the spaceship is." She added, "You make sure everyone else gets back to the school."

Wakatake then glanced to Tsubael for a moment and flashed what could only be interpreted as a cavalier grin. Without warning, she darted off into the woods, presumably to get the conveyance she had mentioned.

The Tall One released an aggravated groan. She and the other forime carried Tsubael a few steps sideways and set her gently back onto the ground next to a large tree.

Tsubael felt obliged to speak; to offer some kind of apology for her earlier outburst to the Tall One. She knew at least that the Commander would expect it of her. "Akane Kawashima," she began, "I made some regrettable remarks. I-I don't mean to seem ungrateful..." She struggled to recall the correct forime custom for a formal apology. She tried what she thought might be appropriate, offering, "Please, forgive my outburst."

Akane the Tall One gave a slight, indifferent shrug in response as if to indicate the whole matter meant nothing. "Forget it- It takes a lot more than that to hurt my feelings." She then smiled and said, "Wakatake doesn't have far to go. She should be back here soon. I'll stay with you until she comes back."

"You should catch up with the rest- they need their leader." She added, "I trust you with the wellbeing of my comrades. Please, hide them once you get back to the school. They mustn't be found- by your people or mine."

Akane nodded. She showed a confident smile. "I know well how to keep things hidden in that school."