A/N: While it certainly is taking its time in the story, in the next chapter you guys are going to learn why I named this story: Reaper's Vigil. While this is a short entry granted, since people have been asking me in both reviews and PMs when I would be updating this story next, I figured I kept the fire dim too long and should ignite interest again.

Nearly two weeks have passed since the horrendous 'Last Stand of Cera' which forced the prototype Ceran carrier: Sunrider to flee their familiar airspace, being all but stranded in a distant system to avoid destruction from PACT forces who assaulted their ancestral home and with that crushing defeat lingering in the hearts and minds of the small crew of the ship, particularly the death of so many Ceran military officers and soldiers, attempting to maintain morale was difficult though they all did their best to hide such unease through their double shift work of repairing the damaged ship as best as possible, though when it came to working with the ship's reactor in the engineering bay, the only one among the roughly fifty member crew with any sort of technical skill in this regard was Ryland himself because of the lessons taught to him by Mei and because of how crucial it was to maintain power, he has chosen to set up a cot in the room itself instead of the rooms dedicated for Ryder pilots for a carrier of this size, and the doctrine of the Ceran military to begin with since they generally want their pilots to have a higher level of quality in their living quarters rivaling officers since they spend every battle out in the field instead of the relative safety of their ship. Those brave men and women risked their lives to an even greater extent so they believed their luxuries should be at a higher level, the concept of risk versus reward was their major mindset in this, however this is one luxury Ryland is sacrificing at present since he technically is not a ryder pilot with the loss of Destiny and with the Sunrider at risk the way things are, he does not want to be too far away from the reactor in case danger strikes.

During these two weeks however, morale among the crew has been low as they've been working such long hours and had access to minimal to no means of recreation to get their minds off the loss of Cera in addition to so many officers and soldiers in their space force and the loss of Cera's capital, and when Ryland and a few other crew members attempted to alleviate such depression with a game of cards, Ava found them as they started and told them off, saying that doing such things when they are military personnel is disgraceful though Ryland was able to convince her to back off just this once since they need a distraction, with a promise that they would not gamble since this particular game is infamous for such things happening and with this condition in place, Ava worded her response saying she would allow it this once to alleviate morale though Ryland felt like she was masking the true intention behind her military-trained stoicness, which was a subtle dismissal of accusation since she understands that a crew with destroyed morale will have little motivation to do their duties without being impressed to do such things. Although he was promoted to commander because of both his family lineage combined with his prowess with ryder combat, it was largely ceremonial since he had little aspiration toward actual leadership positions, even he knew that everyone needs R&R to avoid breaking down from stress.

"Geez. We really need to get this ship professionally repaired. We've reached the limit of what we can repair with extremely limited resources and near zero infrastructure. Honestly, we had to use what little remained of Destiny to repair a damaged aft section, same with our repair drones. I really hope Kayto and Ava have some sort of plan since we're dead in the water right now. We have no ryders, limited power for our trinities, minimal hell darts and saviors since we only got a bare minimal ammunition shipment from Cera, though this was ship was still being constructed, so I guess that's to be expected, they didn't want anything dangerous around until the ship was fully built; if we get caught in battle, we're in trouble." After silencing his thoughts for a brief time to focus on the routine maintenance checks of the engineering bay and after seeing that the conditions are still green, he walked toward a nearby intercom and hailed the CIC where he suspected Ava would be "CIC, this is engineering. We're hardly at one hundred percent, but all remaining systems are green. I've done everything I can considering I'm not a professional engineer but all non-critical systems have been either deactivated or reduced to twenty percent and I've rerouted that power to our other systems. Unfortunately, we took a few too many hits from Legion which fried our auxiliary shield generator yet it was still connected to the reactor which was a major risk to crew safety. I've managed to figure out how to separate it from the grid after two full days without sleep. I've diverted that power as well. We're going to need a proper engineer to get our systems repaired and back online without incident."

"Acknowledged engineering. Report to the CIC, the captain and I wish to speak with you regarding our current course of action commander."

"On my way."

Ryland always did consider it a strange design decision to have the engineering bay on the same deck as the CIC when it ought to be in an isolated corner but it's more a boon in this situation since he doesn't have to walk too far to reach the respective room, quickly entering and finding Kayto and Ava in the center of the room, surprisingly alone since none of the crew, save critical bridge personnel, are around, though Ryland suspects they are at work in other areas of the ship

"Glad you could make it commander. The captain and I have decided to take the ship to the neutral world of Tydaria for repairs and supplies. It's a neutral world which should be safe from PACT. But I wish to get your opinion as well considering you have experience traveling the galaxy. Is there any place you'd consider ideal for us to lick our wounds?"

"If you want my opinion, the Mining Union is going to be our best option considering PACT's conquering worlds left and right out here in the Neutral Rim. I've never had any extended contact with them sure, but their staunch neutrality and lack of interest in supporting either PACT or the Solar Alliance to any great extent may be an asset in of itself. As it is right now, we're not exactly equipped for drawn out battles but if we can get one of the Union's ryder mercenaries, we may be able to handle some battle until we can get the Sunrider fully stocked with ammunition. Hell, if we can acquire a ryder itself I can get out there and fight for you guys."

"Well Ryland is in agreement so let's head out there Ava. Set a course."

"Very well captain. Set a course for Tydaria."

WIth the order given, the crew activated the ship's warp drive with a destination in Tydaria in mind to restore the Sunrider to peak efficiency, arriving at the edge of the system as a measure of preserving fuel as they had expended over half during Kayto's insistence on maintaining beacons to contact the scattered remnants of the Ceran Space Force, to no avail since Ryland and Ava believed that they have either gone rogue or been impressed into the PACT fleets considering that what remained of Cera's civilian government had been utterly demolished nearly a week after the initial invasion, urging Kayto to stop in the fear that PACT would detect these efforts and kick them when they're down.

But not long after they restarted their trek on the way to Tydaria proper, what little worked of the Sunrider's radar systems began to ping

"We have unknown targets on an intercept course captain, their signatures report both ryder and conventional spacecraft. We're being hailed by whom I presume is the leader."

"Let's see who it is."

As the trio readjust their positions to surround the holoprojector, a young looking girl with dull gold hair and silver eyes wearing a dark violet colored ryder suit appeared above the projector itself where such things would appear when the Sunrider is contacted through these means

"Hahaha!" Moments after the holographic display of the girl appeared, she let out a rather cliche, yet still threatening to an extent, villainous laugh which rang out through the room "This is the infamous pirate ryder: Havoc; get ready to lose that pretty little ship of yours cause we're taking it for ourselves."

"Ugh, pirates. You all disgrace the proud name of ryder, piloting such noble vessels for your own warped ambitions."

"You dare bad-mouth me in such a-!" The pirate girl shouted in unbridled anger as she turned to face Ryland, studying his person before her expression turned even more venomous "YOU! Tell you what, turn over that man there and I may actually let you go."

"Forget it, we're not turning over our friend." While Ryland considered it par for the course for him to refuse said offer since he and Kayto were both members of the Ceran Space Force and old friends, he was still glad to know he didn't hesitate for a single second to respond to the pirate with a response practically bordering 'Bugger off'.

"Then you'll die alongside him!"

With this angry retort, the holographic display disappeared as Ava and Kayto shifted their gaze toward Ryland

"Commander, what exactly did you do to tick this girl off to the point where she wants you dead?"

"Don't look at me like that Ava. I have no flipping idea why she hates me this much. Best guess, she mistook me for my father since we look practically alike. Kayto, Ava, I know you two are the leaders here and all, but you mind if I take the reigns and act as a military consultant in this battle since I can't go out into battle this time round?"

"Considering you are the eldest child of the famous Evan family, be my guest commander. We're in difficult straits so we must fight with the utmost strategic capability we possess."

"Thanks Ava. Let me think. We're up against two old Imperial Mark 2 class ryders used before the Compact took down the New Empire, a customized version of the same class based on the frame's design but with what I'm presuming to be a chainsaw sword and a high-velocity rocket canister added to the hull, and two pirate destroyers. I've been involved in battle with such vessels once or twice when I traveled with my parents. Provided they possess the same armaments as the ones back then, they should only have trinities and hell darts. While they're certainly going to be dangerous against us captain, they're too far away to have a significant impact against us at the immediate moment, but we likely only have ten minutes until they arrive and give us hell. We should focus our arsenal of trinities and what few missiles we have left against the ryders before the destroyers make it to the battlefield. We don't have the means or luxury of predicting our enemy's locations to where they'd be at moment of impact so we're going to have to focus on where the ryders are the moment we fire, but we should still be fine; those old Imperial ryders have crap agility and we are dealing with pirates so their ability of strategy will hardly match that of a professional tactician. We need to shore our defenses against their missiles to the best of our power while maintaining an offensive; have the crew maintain full alert with our flak turrets. That girl is clearly throwing strategy to the wind based on her rapid speed since she's after me so let's give her a taste of our weapons and show her that the Ceran Space Force, while disbanded according to the old government, will not be pushed around! I laid down a strategy Ava, Kayto, but I'm leaving you two with how we actually fight in this battle. I'm an advisor, not an officer in this battle."

"Well said commander. Then allow me to take charge and give the orders in accordance to your plan."

As the battle commences, as the Sunrider fought against the pirate ryders with her trinities and limited supplies of missiles, taking several hits from the ryders' own weapons but unease filled their hearts and minds as a new target appeared from behind them according to their radar

"Oh shit! We're going to be flanked!" Ryland, for once, felt out of his element since he had never expected to be outclassed by mere pirates in terms of strategy.

However, that fear was quickly replaced with relief as one of the pirate owned former Imperial ryders is struck with a high powered laser in the weakest parts of a ryder causing it to erupt into an inferno, making the remaining fall back at the sudden arrival of what seems to be a friendly face as the holoprojector activates revealing a girl with red hair and green eyes, wearing a red tinted ryder suit

"Here comes the cavalry with my good ol' Black Jack!"

"Your help here is appreciated, but who are you?" Like usual, Ava was hardly the sort to just accept unconditional help in sudden conditions such as these and would always look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Name's Asaga Oakrun, Tydaria's local hero of justice. We can talk as much as you guys want when the pirates are gone. Let me handle the ryders and you take on the destroyers."

"Got it Black Jack. Make sure the pirates don't get to our engines."

"Yessir!"

After the holographic display of Asaga disappeared, Ryland hid the urge to twitch his eyebrows since he felt some odd hinge of nostalgia when it comes to her features, wondering if he had seen the girl in the past during his travels across space but shoved it aside for now since he needs to focus on the pirate threat, despite not being out in the battlefield itself

'Geez, I don't like the idea of being in the back-ranks like this. I want to be in the thick of battle like I always have been! Even if my talents make me a decent tactician, I freaking prefer using my talents in ryder combat to fight! But I am curious nonetheless, why does that girl seem so familiar? A red haired girl named Asaga Oakrun. Hm, don't make assumptions Ryland. But she does seem a bit similar to that little girl I briefly met when I visited the Ryuvian King Jaylor di Ryuvia with my parents during our little journey through the galaxy to learn about ryder techniques. It's unfortunate we couldn't save his wife when those pirates attacked even though my parents both had their ryders and I had been given temporary access to a Ryuvian one.'

With the arrival of the Black Jack, the other pirate using the standard Imperial ryder was quickly eliminated and the Havoc was defeated and retreated since the pirate girl lost both of her destroyers in addition to the two other ryders and with the danger passed, Asaga reappeared above the holoprojector

"Thank you for the assistance Black Jack. As a means of appreciation, we'd like to give you a lift back to Tydaria."

"I appreciate the generous offer there; I'd be foolish to decline right now since I expended a lot of fuel during my patrol. On my way."

"Ava, open the hangar doors for our guest so we can go meet her."

"As you wish captain." Ava carried a frown as she gave the order to open the hangar doors for the ryder as she followed after him with a hand at her right side which incidentally was where she held a standard issue CRP-12 handgun used by the Ceran Space Force.

Ryland normally would've gone back to the engineering bay to determine how much power they had expended in the battle and adjust the reactor accordingly to the best of his ability but the lingering thoughts in his mind led his feet toward the hangar deck, descending through the elevator, quickly finding himself in the vast open space which could hold up to twelve ryders as a carrier alongside Ava and Kayto as each one of them walked across the catwalk to where the bright red and white ryder that had helped in their battle, seeing it docked in Slot 001, coordinated near perfectly with the systems designed to store them.

"Engage Ryder hangar lift 001. I want our pilot guest here to be able to leave her ryder."

As the systems are activated, raising the lift which would allow the individual pilots to safely exit their ryders since, while each ryder is docked in a slot, there is still a 5 to 8 feet space between the ryders' cockpits and the catwalk which requires the lift to rise from the ground to safely maneuver from A to B and with the pathway secure, the girl who had helped the Sunrider fight the pirates made her presence in front of the trio with a expression emphasizing a degree of curiosity as she is looking all about the room and a surprising amount of youth in her features

"Nice ship y'all got here. This a carrier-class kind of ship based on the number of Ryder slots here I'm guessing?"

"Er, yeah. You certainly know your stuff."

Interrupting Kayto's rather modest remark, Ava quickly jumped into the conversation with her usual military-trained professionalism "That's enough. You may have gotten an offer for transportation from the captain, but I am not as trusting of random strangers. Put your hands in the air. I'm going to do a weapons check."

"Oh come on! I helped save you guys from the pirates and I'm treated like this?!"

"Ceran Space Force naval protocol 9-32B demands that unknown elements must be fully-"

"Ava, I understand you take this stuff seriously, but you're too rigid. Even I'm more flexible and I'm from a pure-bred military family."

"If you insist Commander. But in this case, I'm putting you in charge of this, if she does something that violates our rules, you will be at blame."

"Geez, you're vicious Ava. Er, would you mind just doing a little spin or something? It's not possible to hide weapons with those ryder suits, I know that first hand. I don't want a bullseye painted on my back."

"Okay, if it'll have the lady there ease up on us both." With a smile, Asaga did as asked, showing that she was disarmed, and with that concern allayed, even though Ava hardly approved, Kayto stepped forward and offered his hand.

"I'm Kayto Shields, captain of this proud vessel here: the Sunrider. This is my first officer: Ava Crescentia and my friend here is currently a combat advisor for us until he is able to get a new ryder; his name is Ryland Evans."

Asaga paid attention with a mild dull focus but her attention was peaked at the mention of Ryland's name "Ryland Evans? That's a name I haven't heard in a while."

"You know me?"

"Yep. Won't say where we met though. More fun if you figure it out yourself." Asaga simply smirked and chuckled as she bent her figure forward for a brief moment before straightening herself out "Anyway, I may like to consider myself Tydaria's hero of justice, but in all reality, I'm just something akin to a freelancer working toward protecting the innocent from danger like this and a little profit on the side. Even heroes need a paycheck here and there. The Mining Union has been one of my favorite supporters since they pay me for every pirate I knock out 'round here. Of course my pal Chigara has a more stable income fixing Union spacecraft in her garage. In fact, she was the one who built this beast here. I've primarily been using this guy to help me fight off Cosette Cosmos, the pirate we fought out there, and her gang of pirates."

"So that girl was named Cosette Cosmos?" 'I've definitely never heard that name before, so she must have mistaken me for my father. Well, considering that Mei was in the polar region, she should still be alive. Hopefully she found a way to evade PACT's conscription. She's really good with technology so maybe she could get me access to his files.'

"Yep. Anyway, I wanted to ask, this is a Ceran ship right?"

"Yeah." Kayto simply nodded as he acknowledged of their affiliation though he looked downward as the thought of Cera's defeat resurfaced.

"Sorry to hear about your loss there Capt'n, Ryland. Cera's fall to PACT has been all over the feeds, just about every world in the galaxy has been made aware that Cera has been annexed by em." Asaga's words made the trio turn their gazes away and develop expressions of unease "Say, considering that this carrier of yours seems devoid of ryders. Really weird decision of yours capt'n. You know what, since we were a real good team out there, I want to make an offer. Help me deal with Cosette's gang of pirates plaguing this sector and I'll join you as the Sunrider's first Ryder."

"Now hold up pilot. You're overstepping your boundaries. It's one thing to request transportation to where we were already going, but to even think about joining-"

"Ava, once again, you need to work on your flexibility when it comes to Ceran protocol and help in general. Remember that the Black Jack approached us from our rear flank. If Asaga was an enemy, she would've turned her weapons on us. But instead she focused solely on the pirates assailing us. Besides, considering her skill out there, she's nearly as good as I am with a ryder. Remember that carriers like the Sunrider is meant to represent her true strength through her ryders and we have none right now. But Asaga, let me rectify a mistake on your part since you couldn't have known otherwise. You wouldn't be the Sunrider's first ryder, you're technically the second since I had lost my ryder during PACT's invasion of Cera to their Legion."

"Ooh, I see. Sorry for the rather quick assumption there. Anyway, you mind if I get a tour during the trip? I don't need to see any of your military hardware. If anything, I'd appreciate just knowing where your mess hall is. I'd love to have a good bite to eat."

"I'm going to return to the bridge and have them plot a course to Tydaria. Remember that this girl is going to be your responsibility since you believe she's worth keeping around."

With a discontent sigh, Ryland urged Asaga to follow his lead through the ship's hallways, quickly finding themselves in the mess hall where she quickly helped herself to a small helping of the rationed meat preserves though Ryland quickly noticed that Asaga was fighting the urge to squirm from the horrid taste, since their food situation has been dire since they fled Cera, from every bite she took

"Not to your palette I take it?"

"N-No! I...I lvoe ti. Pcaks a...kick." Even though her words, scrambled as they were, suggested that she was lying about the horrible taste since she is a guest on the ship and should accept it.

"You don't need to lie Asaga. Since we've been working double shifts so long, our sense of taste has been dulled so we can bring ourselves to tolerate this kind of food. But if you don't mind, I'd really like to know where you met me since I can't really recall my side of this." 'Well, that's a half-lie since I have a good idea but I don't want to jump the gun until I know for sure. ESPECIALLY if my theory's right. It's not something I just want to blurt out.'

"Like I told ya pal, I'm not telling until you figure it out yourself. Mystery novels are no fun if the secret's revealed at the start, ya gotta find the answer through your own wit and this is one heck of a living life mystery. The only hint I'm giving ya is that we've met in the past. But I may ease up a little if ya spill some of your hobbies."

"Hobbies? Seriously?" Ryland sighed and gently scratched his cheek with a tiny faint blush "I've been raised in a military family, but I will admit that I've never exactly told that many people about this, but I like to experiment with cooking, cleaning here and there and...pressing flowers."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said at the end there Ryland, could you repeat that?"

Ryland turned his head from left to right, making sure no one else was in the room and for good measure, he walked toward the door and made sure no one was even remotely close as he returned to the table where Asaga was waiting

"I've spent a good amount of time pressing flowers from a number of worlds: Cera, New Eden, Ryuvia Prime, Solaris, etcetera. I have a fondness for nature."

"That's pretty cool, not going to lie. Anyway, I can't eat this anymore, so you mind showing me to a room? I want to get a little shut-eye before getting to Tydaria."

"Sure, I'll lead you to the quarters dedicated to our ryder pilots."