"Shooting Stars" Chapter 3:
Konata glanced at the Primarchs that Haruhi had gathered so far. It took only a fraction of second for her to recognize the faces she saw in her vast collection of manga. Kagami took her time, but she recognized some familiar faces right away. Tsukasa and Miyuki didn't have the slightest idea who they were.
"Hello, everybody!" Konata said, getting more confident by the second.
"My name's Konata Izumi. The tsundere beside me is Kagami Hiiragi." Kagami frowned at that statement. "The other girls here are shy-girl Tsukasa Hiiragi and moe-girl Miyuki Takara." Both girls waved their hands shyly.
"Hi, my name's…"A boy with glasses took the first word among the Primarchs, however Konata interrupted abruptly.
"You're Tohno Shiki." Shiki and the other Primarchs were very surprised that the petite blue-haired girl already knew his name. "And," Konata added, "you must be Edward Elric, you're Takamachi Nanoha, Fate Testarossa, Yagami Hayate, Lelouch Lamperouge, and Sagara Sousuke," she said, pointing at the right person each time she mentioned a name. The Primarchs were astonished at her knowledge of their identities, as none of them expected to be recognized on sight in this universe.
"Are you… a psychic? Or a psyker, as they are referred to in here." Edward asked her.
"Nope," Konata responded. "I'm a really normal girl with no fantastic powers, and my abilities are just some basic martial arts movements."
"And a so-called talent for tactics and strategies, as the Empress said." Kagami added helpfully.
"Then how did you know our names before we introduced ourselves?" Nanoha asked.
"I have really good knowledge of manga and anime, that is why" Konata replied proudly. The other Primarchs looked confused at this statement. This confirmed to Konata that no friends on either reality would understand her otaku hobbies.
Meanwhile, Kagami was about to explode while Konata was performing her "psychic" showoff. After she heard the words "otaku", she couldn't hold her emotions anymore.
"I'm about to go crazy!" Kagami shouted, causing everybody to look at her. "This can't be possible! Meeting Haruhi in flesh was pretty shocking already, but this is gonna kill me! They're just fictional characters! Fiction! How can they be here?!"
"Oh, come on Kagamin!" Konata said. "What's the problem with meeting some manga characters in real-life? Besides…" She started to whisper in Kagami's ear. "…you now have the chance to personally meet your favorite character, Sousuke."
"What? No! That's… that's not my point!" Kagami stated, immediately staring at a wall, blushing a bit.
"Heheh… now you don't think this reality can be really that bad, do you?" Konata whispered, grinning. Kagami, in response, stared at the opposite wall, but while doing so, she looked Sousuke in the eye, causing her to blush even more.
"Hahaha… I've got your weak spot now." Konata grinned happily.
"Arrgh! I hate her!" Kagami thought.
After the weird welcome, the Primarchs were showing off the Palace installations to the girls, as well as meeting the companions the Primarchs had with them when they were called. Konata greeted them excitedly while Kagami had the looks of someone who was going to faint when she saw Kaname Chidori.
The next part of the tour was really astonishing to the four girls: the Space Marines housing and training facilities. Konata and her friends, guided by Nanoha, visited the barracks and the training fields, where they saw inhumanly tall and broad soldiers in purple and gold powered armour in combat training. The moment the group entered the training ground, the Marines stopped their exercises and saluted them with incredible precision. Nanoha returned the salute with equal care. It was an impressive view for the girls.
"Are… are these the soldiers we're going to command?" Konata asked.
"Well… not exactly," Nanoha replied, her purple robes fluttering in the wind. "This is my Legion, the Empress' Children. The Marines are separated into different Legions, each under a different Primarch. You will be commanding a Legion of your own, so naturally training, customs and traditions will differ from Legion to Legion. Your Marines are already assembled for your review; just go up on that podium." Nanoha pointed out a strange podium with a levitating platform.
The girls stepped on the platform, which began rising slowly. Nanoha chose to stay behind, understanding that the upcoming ceremony was to be a private affair between Konata and her troops.
What the girls saw when they reached the top made their jaws drop: a large quantity of blue armoured Space Marines was looking directly at their podium, and they all stood to attention the moment the platform stopped. One of the Marines marched forward reverently as Konata stepped to the podium. She felt totally confident, a sense of destiny guiding her actions and her speech. Konata knew precisely what was happening, and her role in it.
"My Lady, I am Captain Lucas, Captain of the 1st Company of the 13th Legion. May I know the name of the Primarch who will lead us forever, the Primarch who will lead us onwards to greater glory and honor?"
"I am the Primarch of this Legion, and Izumi Konata is my name to give." Konata responded firmly, then continued, "My warriors, from now till forever, you are the 13th Legion Astartes, the Ultramarines. You will attain glory and honor in the name of the Empress, and you will be the greatest champions and defenders of Humanity."
Lucas turned to the assembled Marines, and shouted: "All kneel to Lady Izumi Konata, Primarch of the Ultramarines! With her guidance, along with her honored commanding squad, we will have victory over all enemies who stand before us in the battlefield!"
The entire formation of Marines knelt down on one knee to Konata, who experienced a rush of pride and power running through her veins at the sight. Kagami was astonished beyond measure, but she respectfully bowed to the kneeling Marines by reflex. Miyuki and Tsukasa smiled, doing the same.
Lucas turned back to Konata, and knelt down to her as well. Giving her a warm smile, he said:
"Welcome home, my Lady."
"I can't believe they were actually kneeling down to us like servants," Kagami stated. "Now I now feel like being part of a royal family. Oh, and Konata, how did you know precisely what to say and do just now?"
"I don't really know how. I just knew what to do instinctively. Maybe it is a side effect of being in this universe?"
"The soldiers look really tough," Tsukasa pointed out. "They're adults, and we're just teenagers. I'm scared at the thought of them revolting, kidnapping us or worse..."
"I don't think so," Konata said. "They look really honest, and they're older than the Lady Empress, but they're still faithful to her. I've also talked to some of them already. These Astartes seem bred for pure loyalty and discipline. The Empress did a good job creating them."
"Can't you stop referring to Haruhi as a godlike person?" Kagami said, annoyed.
"Nope," Konata responded, smilingly. "She is my Empress and I'm her loyal servant, and even if it weren't like that, I would still respect her 'cause she's my favorite character."
"Yare yare…" Kagami sighed.
After the tour of the installations that took some hours, they went to their bedroom without hesitation, since they were pretty tired for the day.
Konata asked Miyuki while they were entering their room. "Do you have any military knowledge, Miyuki-san? I will be depending on you for information."
"Emm… I'm afraid not," Miyuki responded. "I know some little things here and there, but only on the militaries in our reality. I'm afraid I don't know anything about these Astartes, but I'll do my best on researching."
As soon as Konata saw one of the two double-beds in the room, she quickly let her body fall on the bottom bed.
"Oi, you lazy Primarch," Kagami called. "You should be getting all the information you can about your troops, or weaponry, or anything."
"No problem," Konata responded. "I have Miyuki-san to do that job." Miyuki smiled and nodded when her name was mentioned. "Oh, by the way, Kagami…"
"Yes?"
"You and Tsukasa will be on the battlefield." Kagami and Tsukasa felt a chill down their spine, a really cold one.
"You've got to be kidding me, right?" Kagami asked.
"Well, technically we are all going to be on the battlefield, but you know what Haruhi said: you're the First Captain along with Tsukasa as assistant. This means you are going to lead the… elite company or something. Yeah, you will be leading the best in my Legion."
"Onee-chan… are we really going to fight, using guns and… killing?" Tsukasa nervously asked. Inwardly, she prayed that Konata was merely joking.
"Probably… but… Konata…"
"Hm?"
"Promise me that you will call on us only when it's really necessary, like in an emergency or a really important battle."
"Relax… I don't plan on using my beloved friends and my elite troops as cannon fodder." Konata said lightly. Tsukasa and Kagami breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, look what I've found!" Miyuki excitedly said.
"What is it?" Kagami asked. Konata sat up when she saw Miyuki holding a pair of videos that were taken from the table on the middle of the room. There were still some videos left there.
"Training videos," Miyuki replied. "I think all the military knowledge we need is here. Look at all these… armor specifications, weaponry, a background on the Space Marines… I think the Lady Empress was pretty cautious when she made her plans. I think I can fully trust her."
"Oh, so now you call her Lady Empress too?" Kagami said, shaking her head.
"Ehehe… no, I was being polite. I meant that, if she was really cautious enough to give us these videos it means that she knows what she's doing." Miyuki explained.
"Whatever," Kagami said with an indifferent look. "Shall we start seeing these videos right now?"
Konata gave Kagami a really tired face and spoke with a lazy tone. "I'm really tired, you know. We can see it tomorrow. Besides, my Lady Empress is going to take some time to unite all the chosen Primarchs, we have plenty of time."
"She's right, onee-chan," Tsukasa admitted. "I'm too tired to watch these on the same day we've arrived at this place."
"Alright," Kagami said. "But you have to wake up early, or else I'll wake you up in the most annoying way I can think. I'm looking at you, Konata and Tsukasa."
The other girls nodded, confirming their promise. After they changed to the pajamas they found in a closet discovered, they went on to sleep, with everyone thinking what the future will bring them.
