Well alright! I finally figured out how to apply author's notes prior to a chapter so...I apologize for not having author's notes on Chapter 1! Now with this in mind, I'd like to explain how this story works: there will be multiple OC characters appearing throughout the series, all belonging to a "unit" that they have been assigned into (just like how Daigo (OC) from the first chapter was assigned to the Wingal unit). For the next few chapters, there will be jumping between different characters until it is time for them to actually come together as a collective and initiate the Great Invasion War of Planet Cray. There will be more author's notes at the bottom of the page. Anyway, enjoy the reading!
Chapter 2: Welcome, to the Ripple Squadron
King's Diner, Royal Paladin State (10:05 AM, Day -1)
The two newly-promoted knights enjoyed themselves in the eatery as they celebrated to their hearts' content. They exchanged stories about the participants that went before them and the results that those participants got. Another newly-promoted knight was captivated by their conversation and decided to approach them and join in their conversation.
"Hello," the stranger greeted. "Do you mind if I sit beside you?"
"Oh, I remember you!" Daigo exclaimed. "You were the first guy to take the exam this morning! Niko, was it?"
"I'm rather flattered that you remember my name," Niko replied. "I assume you passed the exam then? You seem pretty happy about it."
"Well you see here, my friend just got her promotion as well!" Daigo put his arm around Tabitha's back. "She just got assigned her own unit!"
Tabitha pushed Daigo away. "Geez Daigo! Too much contact!" She shifted her attention to Niko. "Sorry about my rude friend…my name is Tabitha, captain of the 'Devoting Jewel Knight, Tabitha' unit. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand to offer a handshake.
"A pleasure to meet you as well, Captain Tabitha," Niko replied as he extended his hand to shake Tabitha's. "How does it feel to be a captain so far?"
"Err…I don't know yet. It's my first day and my office is to be assigned tomorrow. I do hope I will get recruits to join the corps."
"Best of luck to you then."
"Hey Niko, which class do you belong for the training sessions?" Daigo interrupted, sensing that the two might be getting too friendly with each other.
"Class 1-F," Niko replied. "And what about you?"
Daigo reached into his pocket and produced a folded sheet of paper. "Oh cool, we're on the same training class ! Looks like I'll be looking forward to working with you!"
"I am glad to be of some help to you." Niko's phone began to vibrate inside his pocket as they conversed. "Sorry, I have to take this. I'll meet you some other time, alright?"
"Alright! See you around!" Daigo waved as Niko walked away.
Tabitha eyed Daigo with a sly smile on her face. "Mhm…so what was that?"
"What was what?" Daigo asked, puzzled.
"Oh…nothing~" Tabitha replied cheekily.
"I don't get you sometimes…"
"Geez Daigo…you're like a rock in the bottom of a lake." Tabitha took a sip of her drink and became silent all of a sudden.
"What's the matter, Tabitha?" Daigo asked Tabitha after sensing that something was amiss.
The maiden held the straw for her drink and began to stir her drink. "…I guess I'm starting work tomorrow…"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Daigo asked. "Your dream's coming true." Daigo turned around and leaned his back against the bar. "The fun times were plenty; the future will only bring more." After a short pause, he sighed lightly. "It's not bad to be selfish sometimes; you have to put yourself above others."
"…"
"And no, you can't be emotional now. I'm not going to allow you to."
"You're such a jerk…"
"You can punch me later outside."
Star Sign Atoll, Bermuda Triangle State (6:23 PM, Day -1)
The sunset's rays reflected off the clear water's surface beautifully, signalling the coming of the end of the day. The continuous crashing of waves were disrupted by a small transport boat that was heading towards the Ripple Fleet Battleship, a battleship commissioned by the Aqua Force state to patrol the waters of the Bermuda Triangle state and investigate Granblue pirate activity. Somewhere inside the battleship were two soldiers discussing the plans for the arrival of the new cadets, along with the current situation at hand regarding the growing concern towards the increasing number of attacks coming from several fleets of Granblue ghost ships.
"Here are the most recent reports regarding the latest raids that the pirates did, Captain Genovious," a young seaman handed a folder filled with papers towards the captain.
"These are all from C.P.O. Pavroth, I assume?" Genovious asked Sotirio. "Has he returned from his patrol?"
"He will be arriving soon, captain." Sotirio raised his arm to check his watch for the time. "I am not sure when he shall be arriving, however."
Genovious opened the folder and laid down its contents on the table in front of him. Using rapid scanning technology software installed in his programming, he read through the documents in a span of five seconds. He then looked outside through one of the windows of the control top and observed a group of storm clouds not too far coming towards their direction. "If you can contact him Sotirio, tell him to hurry up. The new recruits will be on the deck any minute now. If he has not arrived within five minutes of the recruits' arrival, please do start the welcome speech and briefing. That is all. You are dismissed."
The two saluted towards each other, and Sotirio left to tend to his duties. Genovious sat down and with a push of a button in the table produced a holographic geographical map of the local vicinity. He then marked out the areas where Granblue raid activities occurred and began predicting where the pirates' next activities would occur. After a few moments of analysis and forecasting, Genovious stood up, grabbed his sheathed blade that was propped on the wall, contacted a few of his crew mates, and headed out for a night patrol.
Ripple Fleet Battleship Main Deck (6:36 PM)
The new recruits stood around and chatted with each other as they waited for their supervisor to give them a briefing. Among the new recruits were a gillman, an aquaroid and a bioroid, all around the age of sixteen to eighteen barring the aquaroid (who was around mid 20's), and were wearing standard Aqua Force navy uniforms. Upon seeing Sotirio arrive in the main deck, the trio lined up before everyone else.
Sotirio clapped his hands to catch everyone's attention, and everyone went into position for the briefing. Upon seeing the groups all lined up and silent, Sotirio cleared his throat and began to speak. "Good evening, everyone! C.P.O. Pavroth has yet to arrive from his patrol duty, so I will be filling in for your orientation. I am Sotirio, leader of the 'Silent Ripple, Sotirio' unit and a fellow seaman just like all of you. I would like to thank you and welcome you all to the 'Silent Ripple, Sotirio' unit, where the bravest of the brave stand with their own views of justice along with their comrades in the midst of danger. We who are under Captain Genovious's command are allowed to believe and practice any way of justice that we want; however, we are all here in order to shape our justice for it to become the ultimate blade to fight off evil. Before we get into introductions, I would just like to say: best of luck to you all in the battlefield, and may your own justice lead you to the correct path. Now, from the top left, please, introduce yourself."
"Sir yes sir! My name is Juchen Taiga, graded up from the 'Tri-holl Dracokid' brigade! Starting today I shall be in your care! I hope we get along –" Someone suddenly hit Juchen at the back of his head, causing him to wince in pain. He slowly turned around as he rubbed his head to ease the pain.
"'I shall be in your care'?! We're not here to babysit you weaklings! We're here to take care of those damned pirates!" the aquaroid standing behind Juchen exclaimed.
"Well hello there, Officer Pavroth," Sotirio greeted. "It is very nice of you to drop by late for these cadets' orientations."
"I had to pass by the sickbay to get some repairs," Pavroth explained. My right arm got blown off after getting hit by a high caliber bullet shot from those matchlocks. Damn those Bluebloods!"
"I see. Would you be able to join us for the rest of the night then?"
"Hah! As if! I have to get tuned up just to make sure I'm functional tomorrow!" Pavroth walked away as he waved the group goodbye.
After seeing his tactless superior evade his duties, Sotirio could not help but sigh. "The curse of the underlings. Anyway…let's get back on topic, everyone! What is your name, lad?"
The aquaroid clicked his shoes together and saluted Sotirio. "I am Dayamei Palude, graded up from the 'Advance Party Brave Shooter' unit. Glad to be of service, sir." Sotirio acknowledged him with a nod and proceeded to observe the next cadet.
The bioroid looked around nervously. "U-ummm…" She tried to speak, only to stutter. "M…my name…my name is…"
"Ah, I remember you!" Sotirio yelled to try to help out the girl. He began to approach her. "You're Yuki Shimizu from the 'Starting Ripple, Alecs' unit, am I right? Captain Genovious talked about you a lot, being a good sniper and all of that."
"I…I'm not that good…" Yuki replied softly, trying to act modest.
I heard that you're not of Aqua Force origin. Where are you from?"
"I…I'm actually not sure." Yuki then reached around her neck to produce a locket and showed it to Sotirio. "This is the only clue I have that could lead me to my origin."
Sotirio took hold of the pendant and pressed on it, causing it to pop open. Inside the pendant was a small image of two small girls, one with white hair and the other with brown hair, and what looked like the parents of the two standing behind them, all smiling. Based on the background that the picture was taken in, which had a small house near a forest, Sotirio concluded that she might be someone from the Zoo nation. He did not disclose anything however, and instead returned the pendant without saying a word. The rest of the introductions proceeded as usual, and after the last cadet introduced himself, Sotirio began the orientation.
"Cadets, we're about to do a tour around the ship. Please do familiarize yourselves with the locations of things in the ship as you could easily get lost," Sotirio turned around and continued to speak, "for the folks that don't have photographic memory, that is." The tour went quickly and smoothly, and the cadets were all dismissed to their quarters.
"Oooh! I call top bunk!" Juchen exclaimed. He quickly jumped onto the higher bunk bed and laid there. Dayamei looked around and saw two more available beds: the lower bunk bed and a separate single bed on the other side of the small room. He turned around and saw Yuki, to which he extended his hand and gestured her to pick which bed she would like to take. Yuki nodded as thanks and proceeded to pick the single bed. The trio began to unpack their belongings and settled on ground rules on who would use which facilities in order. After their small conversation, they all decided to turn in to get ready for tomorrow.
The night began rather silently, and the discomfort of being in an unfamiliar place began to get to the trio. To alleviate his boredom and discomfort, Juchen began to talk. "So what spurred you guys on to join the Aqua Force regiment instead of living a peaceful life as a land dweller or a Bermuda Triangle cadet?"
Dayamei replied first. "It has been my way of life since my creation. Before joining the 'Advance Party Brave Shooter' brigade, I was actually coming from a long break from a mission. I was once a member of the 'Storm Rider, Basil' corps, but I was put out of commission until recently as I have taken a lot of damage during one of our mission raids in the Zoo Nation about five years ago."
"Oh! That's pretty cool! Are you sort of a veteran then?"
"More or less. I can file for another grade up right now, but I think I'll try to take it easy for now."
"Oh, okay." Juchen turned his attention to Yuki now. "What about you, Yuki?"
"I was thinking that perhaps if through my travels as an Aqua Force cadet, I could find out about my past, one way or another." Yuki held her opened locket up high and stared at the image that was inside it. "Ummm…sorry, but I don't really feel well. I'll be going to sleep for now." The lady was about to cover herself with her blanket when she remembered something. "D-don't try to pull anything, alright?!"
Dayamei chuckled. "Don't worry. You're in good company. If the guy above me tries to do anything, I'll blow his head off."
"Hey! That's not funny man!" Juchen protested.
The two continued to converse as Yuki dozed off. In a span of an hour, the gill man has asked the veteran aquaroid over forty questions, and he still had more to ask. As he was about to start another question, a loud boom echoed near the ship, and the ship suddenly shook violently.
The public announcement system of the ship turned on. "Attention to all marines currently stationed in the Ripple Fleet Battleship, please proceed to your battle stations. Pirate activity has been detected a kilometer away from the battleship." The message repeated itself continuously, alarming all those who were awake and waking those who were asleep. Soldiers rushed out of their rooms, some in their pyjamas and night gowns, others still wearing their uniforms, and headed towards the armory of the ship. Those in charge of the cannons manned their post; amphibious vehicles were deployed from the ship to intercept the incoming troops, while the rest of the soldiers remained in the vessel.
From the horizon, a large collection of low, dark clouds neared the boat. Lightning flashed inside the clouds, revealing a silhouette of what looked like a fleet of frigates. Loud thunder followed, which acted like a signal of some sort. The roar of the dead sea filled the air, and the once calm waters became erratic. From the dark clouds emerged five stormride ghost ships.
The public announcement system of the battleship turned on once again, and the voice of Pavroth came out. "Alright! Listen up cadets! Captain Geno's not here so we'll have to give these pirates the message and drill it to their undead bodies: we don't want them in these waters! Let's show them what the Ripple Fleet can do!"
The cheer that came from the cadets were nothing compared to the sound of cannons firing from the horizon. The crew in the command center activated the ship's force field mechanism, which stopped the cannonballs from hitting the ship. However, as the energy consumption of the barrier was rather high, it could only withstand a few more shots.
"Advance party one, calling advance party one, C.P.O. Pavroth here. Distance from closest enemy ship?"
One of the cadets picked up the intercom and pressed the talk button. "Seaman Fleming here, advance party one reporting. Distance from closest enemy ship estimated to be five hundred meters. Assault commencing shortly. Please send Storm Riders and Tear Knights for back up –"
Pavroth heard the screams of his men as something attacked the group. He continued to listen in until all he could hear is the sound of water flowing around the intercom as it sank down towards the bottom of the sea. He quickly turned on the public announcement system again and was about to order the storm riders and tear knights on board to head out for reinforcements when Sotirio stepped in and grabbed the mic away from him. "Cadets on board, this is Sotirio speaking. I advise everyone who does not carry a melee weapon to head back to the armory and grab either an R-038, C-090, or a C-088 blade type weapon, or if you prefer trident types, P-012 or P-019. I'll be joining you shortly on the main deck. Those who are confident with long range weaponry, please come meet me when I get there and I will select who will get to use the HP-018 or the HP-008 sniper rifles. That is all."
"What's the plan, Sotirio?" Pavroth asked, curious.
"We can't afford losing troops by sending them towards the enemy. We can't risk friendly fire if we have troops in the enemy's grounds. We'll whittle them down from afar, and if any gets close, we have the advantage of having easy access to reinforcements. It's not in the pirates' nature to just attack something that has no value, and I believe, based on past trends, that they will try to ransack the ship for valuables." Sotirio grabbed the intercom from Pavroth as well and began conversing with the advance parties, telling them to retreat. After issuing his commands, he walked away towards the exit. "Come on Pavroth, our subordinates are waiting."
Upon reaching the main deck, Sotirio met with a group of cadets standing by. He observed each one of the cadets, and after retracting the information regarding the soldiers from his memory drive, compared them to each other to see who would be fit to be the snipers. He then looked around the ship to see where they can be positioned. "Alright, Dylan, Heinz and Yuki, take those positions," Sotirio ordered as he pointed towards three different location of the ship. "Head to the armory quickly and take anything you need."
The sound of cannon fire began to die down as the three war galleons that remained after the exchange came closer. The pirates readied their harpoon guns so they can anchor their ships towards the battleship and have the planks be readied for the attack. "Ready your blades and guns, men! Take everything!" the captain of the pirates hollered. "Hrmmm…playing pirates once in a while isn't so bad." The man, wearing a fine silver cape, complimented with white dress pants and even a white vest embroidered with jewels, raised his sword, signalling his crew to ready themselves for the attack. As the planks went down, an army of skeletons, banshees and ghosts poured forth from the three ships and ran rampant in the battleship.
"Stay close! Don't stray away from your positions! Hold your grounds and we can win this battle through attrition!" Sotirio said to his comrades. Pavroth was about to charge head on again when Sotirio elbowed him right on the chest. "I have a special task for you, C.P.O. Pavroth," he said to his superior.
Pavroth laughed nervously. "That's one scary smile you have there, Sotirio."
Meanwhile, the three snipers have docked themselves on their positions. Yuki, who was positioned at the maintop, quickly set her eyes at the enemy. "In position, Captain Sotirio."
Sotirio smiled as he pushed his earpiece closer to his ear. "Captain? Yuki, you know that's too high of a rank."
"S-sorry!" the flustered maiden said in apology. "Ummm…what would you like me to call you then?"
"Anything is fine, cadet. Let's settle with Sotirio so we can get back to work, alright? Listen clearly and listen well: their captain is probably the man wearing the silver-and-white attire who's sitting comfily on the middle ship. Do you think you are up to the task?"
Yuki aimed her rifle towards the middle ship and looked through her scope. "I have a visual of the target," she replied calmly.
"Alright. Wind is blowing North-North-East at 60 kilometers per hour, average. How does it feel handling a High Powered – 018 Sniper Rifle? It's a smaller and lighter version of the A910 Howitzer that Captain Valeria tends to lug around whenever she goes out to a mission."
"It's still rather cumbersome, Sotirio. Not to mention it's rather awkward to use when I'm lying down like this…the stock is way too large, and I can't rest my shoulder against the recoil pad."
"Your feedback is very much appreciated," Sotirio replied as he recorded their conversation. "Alright, I'll leave the rest of your mission to you. We have our own matters to deal with."
Meanwhile, Pavroth was already in the frontline rallying everyone and giving commands. As he was restrained from making rash moves by his junior's orders, he could only feel irritated as he kept himself on the defensive. It did not stop him from hacking away at the enemies, however, and as he took down one pirate after another, his grin widened. "Don't break from formation! I'm going –"
A shot from behind Pavroth stopped him from advancing momentarily. "Where are you going, C.P.O. Pavroth?" Sotirio asked his superior.
"He…hehe…nowhere," Pavroth replied with his most innocent-sounding impression.
As the fight dragged on, the Aqua Force platoon's formation began to recede. Although many of the Granblue pirates have been taken care of, many more continued to emerge from the ships. Seeing that the tide is beginning to turn towards their favour, the captain of the pirate fleet decided to join the fray. Before he could get up from his seat, however, a bullet managed to hit him squarely at his chest and easily pierced through his flesh. He looked down and saw a large hole on his uniform. Enraged, the captain let out an ominous howl that sent a shiver down everyone's spine. The captain's eyes suddenly turned red, and mist began to come out from his mouth as his breathing became heavy.
Yuki continued to observe the captain through her crosshairs. She aimed for the captain's head this time, but her target completely disappeared from her view before she could pull the trigger. She frantically searched for her target through her scope, but she couldn't find him. A loud scream from the main deck soon gave away her target's whereabouts. She quickly shifted her sniper rifle towards the sound's general direction and saw the pirate captain holding a cadet by his neck, the cadet silent and unmoving.
The pirate continued to grip the lifeless cadet's body. A dark aura then began to flow out of the soldier's body and into the captain's body, and the injury that the buccaneer sustained began to mend itself. "Much better." The captain threw the body on the ground and propped his right leg over it. "Listen up, Aqua Force grunts! I ask of you to surrender this base to Xeamnz, yours truly, and I will only turn you to my ghoulish crew!"
Before the pirate could speak another word, a bullet hit him right through his cheek and exited from under his jaw, with the force of the large calibre bullet causing his head to jerk to the side. Another bullet followed, but he caught the bullet in his palm this time, crushing it to smithereens. He then extended his other hand towards one of his crew mates, an armed ghost, and uttered something under his breath. Suddenly, two dark bands surrounded the revenant, and its body began to contort weirdly as the two bands began to press against it. Another shot was aimed towards Xeamnz, but a magic barrier was already set up and so the bullet stopped and fell on the deck, making clinking sounds as it bounced against the metal floor. The once ghastly apparition, now a small sphere with the two rings orbiting it, gravitated towards Xeamnz, and a crimson hue began to flow from the orb into Xeamnz's wounds, healing it instantaneously. The dark orb disappeared, and the captain turned his attention back to the cadets, his face lacking the evidence of the damage he took earlier.
"Sea folk these days…they are rather rude and tactless!" Xeamnz remarked as he snapped his jaw back in place. "Fine! I guess there's no point in bargaining any further! Men, show them the strength of the freezing squall!" A dark fog began to settle in the ship, and the combatants were put in the midst of the darkness. The buccaneers began to mobilize and create loud noises in order to confuse the enemy.
"Hold your positions! Don't rush out recklessly!" Sotirio issued to his subordinates. He looked around to check the three snipers he sent, but the fog was too thick for him to see anything. "Pavroth! Take charge! I need to check on the cadets!"
"Will do!" Pavroth replied enthusiastically. "Finally! I can feel like a supervisor!"
Yuki struggled to keep her aim at the pirate captain's silhouette as the fog continued to thicken. As she was about to pull the trigger, her built-in scanning radar pinged, alerting her of a nearby enemy. A sharp object barely skimmed over her chest as she tried to evade her assailant's attack. Her necklace got caught on what looked like a three-pronged dagger, and as the assassin pulled away his weapon, the necklace's chain broke.
"No!" Yuki exclaimed as she watched her locket fly in the air and disappear through the fog. Moments later, she heard an object hit the waters, and her heart sank.
"Oh, this is interesting. You're feistier than the other two." The assassin stepped into Yuki's vision range and revealed himself. "I'll finish you soon enough, so please, do be patient," the man said as he took off his hood, revealing a cyberoid with long, wavy black hair, a wicked smile etched on his face. He slowly put up his arm, producing a dagger-like weapon with a weird handle. In closer inspection, there seemed to be a trigger system in it, and as the cyberoid pulled it, two daggers slid away from the central blade.
Yuki scrambled to take a stand against the cyberoid, only to find very little space for movement. One step back would lead to a long fall; one step forward, and she would be impaled with three blades.
"Well, girl? You have three seconds to decide your death."
Reading Notes:
C.P.O. stands for chief petty officer.
C-090 blade type weapon refers to Cutlass-090, similar to Battle Siren, Calista's cutlass. The number 090 was taken from her set number in Booster Set 13: Catastrophic Outbreak.
R-038 blade type weapon refers to Rapier-038, similar to Tidal Assault's beam sword. The number 038 was taken from his set number in Booster Set 13: Catastrophic Outbreak.
C-088 blade type weapon refers to Cutlass-088, similar in design to Blue Storm Soldier, Tempest Blader's sword. The number 088 was taken from her set number in Booster Set 15: Infinite Rebirth.
P-012 and P-019 refer to penetrating weapons (spear/lance types) similar in design to Battle Siren, Cynthia and Tear Knight, Lucas' tridents, respectively. The number 012 was taken from Cynthia's set number in Trial Deck 7: Descendants of the Marine Emperor while the number 019 was taken from Lucas's set number in Booster Set 11: Seal Dragons Unleashed.
HP-018 and HP-008 sniper rifles refer to high-powered sniper rifles similar in design to Tear Knight, Valeria and Tear Knight, Theo's sniper rifle and gun blade, respectively. The number 018 was taken from Valeria's set number in Booster Set 8: Blue Storm Armada while the number 008 was taken from Theo's set number in Trial Deck 7: Descendants of the Marine Emperor.
The armed ghost that Captain Xeamnz extended his arm towards was an Undead Pirate of the Frigid Night, to which he performed "lock" and absorbed his energy. You can probably then guess what unit Captain Xeamnz belongs to.
Anyway, thank you for reading! Tentative release date for the next chapter is June 24!