Chapter 2: The Sinking Secretary

"Javelin, you are to take Z23's place on the main squad. You've been on the frontline before so I'm assuming you are familiar with your duties," the Commander informed .

"Yep! I'm aware of my duties commander, thanks for giving me this opportunity!" Javelin replied with a smile.

"You are dismissed. You're now to report to your squad immediately. Duke of York will inform you of your next mission," the Commander ordered, prompting a salute from Javeline. As Javeline left the office, she began jogging down the wall, not catching sight of Z23, who'd been listening in the whole time.

"So...Javelin is to take my position...she's so ditzy that she could neglect to check her equipment. Heh...that will work just fine," Z23 muttered to herself, immediately making her way to the hanger. Using her key card she was able to get in just fine, slowly making her way over to her own rig. Her e yes darted around the room, taking in every single personnel's positions within. Lowering down, she began weaving through the countless number of rigs for the girls throughout the ship.

Slowly, she tip-toed right behind one of the works, quietly tailing him for a moment. The moment the worker stopped, Z23 kicked out the back of his legs, pulling him down into a strong strike to the neck before a sound could leave his lips. Now unconscious, she proceeded onto the next one. One after another, Z23 disabled all 7 workers, managing to stay out of the security camera frames due to her height. Just before knocking out the last personnel, an alarm went off, signifying that security noticed a few unconscious workers.

"I've gotta move quick..." Z23 said, darting around til she came across Javelin's rig. She removed a wrench from the floor next to it, immediately tinkering with various parts of it that revolved around the communication system. Z23 wiped sweat from her forehead, refusing to buck under the pressure as security entered the room. After a minute she reassembled the machine, placing the wrench in its original position before moving away from the rig. Escaping wasn't a difficult task, weaving in and out of the rig to avoid security.

"We have several people down in the hanger bay, there may be an intruder! Everyone get into position one caution and sweep the area!" One of the security called to the main command center. In the midst of the chaos, Z23 remained calm. Clearing the hangar bay and making it to her quarters, she was officially safe. She removed her barret and gloves, placing them on the table before tossing herself onto her bad to relax her nerves.

"I...can't believe I just did that..." Z23 said quietly as she closed her eyes. The comping sounds of boots stomping through the halls sounded like a wild rhino stampede; shouting, calling out, and occasional sound of a fire arm could occasionally outside of Z23's room. A loud banging came from her door, causing her to flinch from her resting position. She rubbed her eyes to clear them up as she approached the door.

"Z23! Are you in there?! Open up!" A familiar voice muffled through her cedar door. Z23 wanted to ignore the obnoxious noises all around her, but she was also aware that if she did nothing there might be a slim chance she could be traced. So reluctantly she slid on her gloves and adjusted her hat before opening up. Standing there was Cleveland, clearly out of breath from running everywhere.

"What's going on? Why is there a position 1 alert?" Z23 feigned ignorance in hopes that she could get by with it, which seemed successful since Cleveland paid no mind.

"There's a possible intruder within HQ, so arm yourself before jumping out here and helping!" Cleveland stated, dashing from Z23's doorway. Her eyes grew cold as she turn towards a small safe on top of a filing cabinet in the corner of her room. Put in the combination carefully, the notification light turned green, allowing her to open it. Without hesitation she removed a Baretta handgun, quick loading a clip into it. She then cocked it to put a bullet in the chamber before flicking the safety on. She then closed the safe and charged out the door.

Hours went by as every one searched every nook and cranny of HQ, not finding a single intruder within the facility. After the first few hours the security alert lowered down to lvl 1 security alert, which meant it was up to designated personal to handle. A new mission came over the intercom, with Z23 being forced to stay in HQ.

xxx

"There's the enemy dead ahead. San Diego and Javelin, both you move ahead in a flock formation but do not stray too far away from Takao. Javelin, it's up to you to give us the call sign to advance and attack, understood?" Duke of York ordered, Javelin smiling with a nod.

"You can count on me!" She replied. Moving into formation, the battle was now to commence. As planned, Javelin and San Diego moved in first, firing away once they were in range. San Diego and Javelin began picking off ship after ship, quickly weakening their frontal forces. Takao then moved forward, firing off her heavy piercing rounds at the arrow point of the next wave, immediately grabbing their attention.

"Here they come, hold position. Javelin, are you ready to make the call out?" Takao stated, firing off short bursts of gunfire to pull in the enemy forces. Closer and closer they approached, their shots being fired grew in the bulk of their fleet confronted the three girls, Javelin held up her communicator to her smiling lips.

"Fire at will!" Javelin shouted into the communicator. Closer and closer the enemy crawled but not a single shell of support came to their aid.

"Do you read me?! Fire at will!" Javelin ordered again, and again, nothing happened. Before she could try again the gunfire from the enemy grew to fierce, forcing the three of the lonely ships to fend for themselves. San Diego cried out as she was pelted by a barrage of gunfire while Takao clenched her teeth tightly, taking volley after volley of gunfire into her sturdy hull.

"Javeline! Pull back and alert the others, we'll keep em' at bay!" San Diego said, moving in front of Javelin to cover het without a word, Javelin took off at top speed, quickly arriving back at the support.

"Javelin, what are you doing back here!?" Duke of York barked at Javelin. Javelin quickly explained what happened, Duuke of York growing more and more irritated with each word as they took off to Takao's and San Diego's positions.

"Idiot! Why didn't you double check your system diagnostics?!" Duke of York growled, knowing too well what this could end up resulting in. It was about five minutes travel before they arrived, only to find that all the gunfire had subsided. There were no signs of their allies nor the enemy forces, Javelin moved down to skim the water, hoping to find any clues whatsoever as to what happened. Sure enough, getting right next to the water she found both San Diego and Takao, floating on the surface of the water with their rigs completely destroyed around them.

"Oh my God...a-are you two OK!" Javelin cried, her eyes welling up with tears as she stared at the aftermath she had caused. Takao grunted and winced grabbing her arms in pain as she stirred to life while San Diego continued to float like a plank of driftwood.

"S-She's not dead...I secured her vitals. I am currently suffering from several lacerations and trauma...I'm not sure how long I can hold steady like this..." Takao coughed, holding out her strong arm for Javelin to grab onto. The loud sound of rushing water quickly encroached on the three ships, with Arc Royal finally catching up to them.

"Come on Javelin, I'll help," Arc Royal said, grabbing a hold of Takao while Javelin grabbed San Diego. The trip back to HQ was very quiet, with only Arc Royal and Javelin sharing words with one another. The debriefing was harsh with Javelin being scolded a number of times for neglegance of her equipment and comrades, however, she wasn't dismissed from the team, with her equipment being chalked up to the fault of maintenance. Z23 was listening in just like before, her teeth clenching behind her lips knowing that Javelin was still on the main squad.

"I'll fix that..." Z23 grimaced, walking back towards the repair bay. Later that night, Javelin decided to check in on her system specs as to not have a repeat of the day that just occurred.

"Lets see, let's see...I'll do a full diagnostic..." Javeline sighed, inputting her commands into the main control board. Taking her time, she went through each diagnostic, yawning occasionally from mental fatigue as she went. Coming into the gun and launcher section, to her surprise a warning came up for her launcher diagnostic, detailing a part that needed immediate replacing.

"That's strange...something like this should've been caught earlier, I hardly used my launchers in the last battle..." Javelin pondered, hopping out of her rig to check her part stock. Opening up a drawer on her steel part cabinet, she found the part with no problems, smiling as she grasped and removed it from the drawer.

"Alright, let's crack open the bay and change this sucker out," she said quietly as she grabbed a wrench. Torque after torque Javelin put all of her strength into each shift of the bolt, not remembering that she screwed the panel back in so tight. After a few more pushes a satisfying *caching!* sounded. As she tried to remove the panel. She felt a resistance behind it, like it was struggling to keep it in place. Grunting loudly, Javelin pulled with all her might until a loud snapping noise rung from the other side.

*KABOOM!* The blistering shriek of an explosion echoed through HQ, the ground shaking in its wake. Sirens and yelling came alive as security detail, the commander and his secretary, Prinz Eugene we're first on the scene, finding the smoldering remains of Javelin's rig.

Security and the commander immediately laid waste to the fire with a barrage of extinguishers while Prinz Eugen tried to locate anybody that may have been injured. Sure enough, about 40 feet from the blast was Javenile, burnt all over as she coughed and gasped for help. Prinz Eugen immediately dashed to her side, immediately looking her over for anything fatal. The burns were quite severe, covering patches of her arms, legs, chest and the left side of her face. She was shaking violently as she coughed and cried, grasping weakly onto Prinz Eugen's hand.

"MEDIC! I NEED A MEDIC NOW!" Prinz Eugen screamed, growling anxiously at the lack of man power in the room. Screaming again at the top of her lungs, a medical team rushed in, the screeching wheels of a medical bed roaring with them.

"You'll be fine Javeline, just hang tough OK?" Prinz Eugen said calmly, with Javelin nodding back weakly. After Javeline was carted away, Prinz Eugen sighed heavily, her eyes glaring around the room viciously as she approached the commander.

"Eugen, I believe we found the culprit. Take a look at this schrapnel..." The Commander said, waving Prinz Eugen over. Prinz Eugen knelt down, analyzing the bits and pieces that they gathered together. Being an Iron Blood, it was easy for her to pick things out that were relevant to her training; using this knowledge, she noticed the trigger mechanism and how it was possibly put together. Immediately she rose up, taking off into a sprint from the room.

"Soon Commander...I'll be your number one again..." Z23 sighed contently, clenching a framed photo of the two of them to her chest. Her pillow was drenched with tears over what she had just done to get closer to her Commander. Guilt began to overtake her, whoch she knew would subside over a night's rest. Suddenly, a loud banging came from her door.

"Z23! I know you're in there! Get your ass out here now!" Prinz Eugen yelled. It wasn't hard for her to piece things together after seeing the mechanism. She was already aware of Z23's emotional state as well as the relationship with the Commander. Piecing it all together made for an easy picture to see. Z23 did make a sound slipping out of her bed quietly. Prinz Eugen began banging again, shouting that she was a coward and a worthless piece of trash in German, driving the point in harder. Again, no answer.

"Screw protocol...!" Prinz Eugen growled quietly, removing a Luger pistol from her belt. She quickly shot the handle twice without hesitation, destroying the locking mechanism. She then shoulder tackled the door harshly, busting it wide open in one simple motion. She rushed in, looking around the room with her firearm locked and loaded. Foot steps leapt from beside her, Z23 bolting out of her room past her. Z23 immediately charged down the hall towards the repair bay, but Prinz Eugen was too quick, jetting past her then grasping her free hand around Z23's throat. Prinz Eugen then pinned her to the wall by her throat, putting her gun to Z23's forehead.

"Don't move an inch!" Prinz Eugen growled, footsteps charging towards them. The guard detail turned the corner to see the two of them engaged, them more worried about the gun than her ppossible explanation.

"Prinz Eugen! What are you doing!?" The first security officer shouted, reaching for his fire arm.

"I've located the possible culprit for the bombing, at ease security I have it under..." Prinz Eugen casually explained but was hushed by a second officer charging in from the opposite side.

"Prinz Eugen drop your weapon and get on the floor, NOW!" The new security officer shouted, pulling his own fire arm on her.

"What is the meaning of this?! Ive captured the culprit!" Prinz Eugen barked at the security guard.

"Stand down now or I will fire!" The guard said, aiming cleanly at her temple. Prinz Eugen was baffled at what she was hearing. She had the right to override their orders but here she was, frozen in place as if she committed the crime.

"Officer listen to me! I'm not..." *POW!* Prinz Eugen was cut off as a bullet whizzed through her ankle, dropping her to the floor in shock. Z23's body tirelessly slid down the floor until she was sitting, her face looking at the floor as if she were knocked out, The officer kicked her luger away, pinning her face down before yanking her arms behind her. The Commander came barreling around the corner, seeing the wild, unbelievable sight for himself.

"What is going on here?! Why is Eugen subdued?!" The Commander ordered angrily, the restraining officer handing over a tablet to the other officer. The Commander then looked over at Z23, tears streaming down her face with a deep red imprint if a hand wrapped around her neck. The officer tapped the Commander on the shoulder, getting his attention to show him the footage.

"What...?" The Commander said, staring at the video slackjawed. Prinz Eugen tried to struggle beneath the officer, trying to turn her eyes up to his.

"Commander! You believe me right?! That was apprehending the purpatrator?!" Prinz Eugen shouted up at him, but it was if her words fell on def ears.

"I...don't believe this..." The Commander said, glaring down at Prinz Eugen, who was waiting for the Commander to get the officer off of her. Instead, he handed it back to the officer, now checking on Z23.

"W-What the hell is wrong with all of you?! I'm not the perpetrator!" Prinz Eugen barked hysterically, her eyes shifting towards Z23. Prinz Eugen went pale at the sight of Z23's face; her eyes were glaring into Prinz Eugen's like that of an assassin, her lips curled into a menacing smile that sent a chill down Prinz Eugen's back. Fear filled her eyes as the tablet was places in front of her face.

On the screen was a surveillance video. In the video, it showed her knocking out guards then tampering with Javelin's rig, smiling all the while. Her eyes began to water as they stared in horror, shifting her eyes back towards Z23, who was now mouthing words to her.

"I'm sorry, but this is goodbye for you," her lips read, falling dead as the Commander returned his attention to her.

Continuing...