Carrie appeared in front of Tsuike, Akari and Saya as they arrived on the ship.. "I sent Kori to the infirmary, and I'm gonna need one of you to... Tsuike! What the happened?! I'm sending you all to the infirmary!"
When the three of them arrived, Akari took charge. "Okay, Saya, was it? I am going to need you to take care of Kori's hand while I take care of Tsuike's arm."
Saya shook her head no. "I'd rather wrap up Tsuike's."
"Fine, Fine, you can work on Tsuike's arm."
They each both Saya and Akari began their tasks in silence. A couple of minutes passed. Then Akari broke the ice by yelling at Tsuike. "Why did you use your energy?! Even after I told you that it was dangerous! You saw what happened to Kori, did you not?"
Tsuike turned slightly to look at Akari while she was talking. "If I didn't do something, we were all going to be killed by that thing."
"No, you don't understand. That was Chaos that it was emitting."
"What is Chaos?" Kori jumped in.
"Chaos is a particle. It joins to energy and absorbs it. However, the travel speed of energy through our bodies faster than the speed of the Chaos' consumption. In other words, it binds itself to particles when it is traveling through your body. When it exits your body through the gaps between molecules, the Chaos rips apart the skin, creating a wound. With normal and elemental energy you take damage proportional to the amount of energy used. That is what happened to Kori. However, the energy you use to use that sword is not basic energy, but energy that only royal Ura can use. It is what allows royal Ura to interface with Iragi Technology. It is quite obvious that that sword that you carry around is a key- something that allows you to interface with Iragi technology on a mental level, creating a connection." Akari explained, her attention to the task at hand slipping.
"Ngh!" Kori flinched, reacting to the disinfectant.
"I am almost done disinfecting the wound and now is when you feel it?!" Akari chastised.
"Anyway, " Tsuike interrupted, "How can it create a blade as well if all it is meant for is to be a key?"
"The Ura energy is actually a lot more complicated. Even the current King and Queen know little about where it comes from. When making a key, you can actually customize it to do different things. They aren't just for interfacing with technology, they also act as a medium for that special energy. Kori's bracelet uses a little Royal energy to amplify her energy attacks. Do you remember how I said that all basic energy has to have a medium? My basic energy, plus some royal energy, with a little help from my key, " she lifted her bangs and pointed to her headband, "Creates a pretty solid barrier with varying densities depending on the amount of energy put trough it."
"So if Royal energy is so great, why not use it all the time?" Tsuike asked.
"Some do eventually get strong enough to use it, but it is very dangerous to try to use energy like that constantly without training. However, Royal energy is more intertwined with your system than your normal or elemental energy. When Chaos attaches to Royal energy, it affects the entire body part that the energy is being channeled through. It tends to cause three times as much of the normal damage to that particular body part. You could kill yourself if you had used that sword for five minutes under the influence of Chaos."
"So where does Chaos come from?" Saya asked.
"No one really knows, or rather, it is a top secret matter. Real Chaos is more damaging than fake Chaos, but is very rare. It is near impossible to find in this dimension. That was artificial Chaos that that snake was emitting. Artificial Chaos is created in a generator using random particles of matter, antimatter, and gamma rays, bouncing around. The constant collision of the different particles creates the artificial Chaos. There, I am done. It shouldn't take too long to heal now."
"I'm done too. How does it feel?" Saya asked Tsuike.
"It's a little tight, but I can deal." Tsuike responded.
"Good, 'cause I need to see you in the lab." Carrie interrupted.
"There is a lab?" Tsuike asked, before he was teleported away.
"As you know, your old key is gone. Without it you won't be able to interface with any systems." Carrie began as soon as he appeared.
"What do you mean? I thought that Seretion was a key?"
"Well, you can't use Seretion that way. It's definitely different from your garden variety key, but I haven't quite figured out how yet. I am going to get with Saya later, but I thought that you need to get a new key made as soon as possible. Saya is going to need nanomachines before I can make her a key. That means she needs a physical. But enough about that. What do you want your key to do?"
Tsuike began to pace the floor, crossing his arms as he did so. "Well, I think it would be cool to wield two blades at once."
"So it'll be a sword then..."
"And I'd also like to connect the two together to make one double ended weapon."
"That is also possible..."
"And I'd also like to be able to connect the two of them to create a sort of blade able to fire condensed energy. Sorta like a gun blade."
"You done yet?"
"Nope, I'd also like it to be able to transform into a pair of sunglasses when I am not using it."
"..."
"..."
"..So are you done yet?"
"Yeah. So is it possible?"
"Well, yeah..."
"But...?"
"Well, One: Due to the fact that it will probably take a decade of training to be able to use your Royal energy proficiently, you will have to use continue to use metal blades, which means you will have to wear two sheathes, even though you it'll look like you only have one sword. While we are on the subject of power, it won't touch the true energy output of Seretion." Carrie paused for a second. "Two: You will have to have staff training with Kori. I'm sure she will agree. That way I know I will be able to trust you with blades on both ends. And last but not least, I will need you to take a marksman test. It will take a while to be able to make your key. But you are going to have to have at least an 88% accuracy total. That is 44 out of 50 total targets. On moving targets you must have a 76% accuracy rate. I'll administer that later."
"How'd you know that that was what I wanted?
A hologram of Lady Novaus appeared. "Because you are kinda predictable. Let's get this conference call started!"
A hologram of Kori, Akari and Saya from the infirmary appeared as well.
"We are all here, milady." Akari bowed respectfully.
"Don't do that. Now, I know Kori and Akari should know something about space and physics, not just the theories and guesses of the so-called intellectuals on planets that are behind in development. However, I know that Tsuike and Saya more than likely do not. With that in mind, I would like to introduce someone."
Two more holograms appeared. A tall man with black unkempt hair, glasses, and stubble appeared, wearing machinery on his arms. "Standing" next to him was a slightly shorter woman with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She was wearing machinery on her wrists. They both looked like they were in their early thirties. "I'd like to introduce Kannu and Syerie." Surprisingly, she "pointed" to the hologram of the man and said, "This is Kannu. He's the head of the engineering department at the Uragin Development Facility. He specializes in physical design and aerodynamics."
Kannu waved his hand. "Yo."
The woman who had to be Syerie smacked Kannu upside his head. "Come on, behave yourself! We are in front of the Royal family." Kannu shook his head and responded, "Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you and whatnot."
Lady Novaus coughed, and the two ended their minor quarrel. "And Syerie is the head of the research department of the the Uragin Development Facility. She specializes in energy conservation, generation and consumption."
Syerie bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Prince Tsuike."
Tsuike shook his head. "I'm honored and all, but don't call me Prince. Tsuike is just fine. It's nice to meet the both of you, but why are we meeting?"
Lady Novaus smiled. "Isn't it obvious? Just because your school was destroyed and you are about to leave earth doesn't mean you don't have school anymore. These two will be your teachers. Formally they are Kannu and Syerie Scientia. Starting tomorrow you are to report to the communication room for school."
Kori jumped in, "You two have the same last name, so does that mean that the two of you are married?"
"NO!" They both screamed at the same time. Then Syerie continued, "We are brother and sister. No way will we ever be married."
"ANYWAY, " Lady Novaus interrupted, "There are two more people to introduce you to." Another hologram of a man appeared. Standing at attention, or as close to it without being at attention, he stood decked out in all green. His hair was short and kept, and his eyes were small, but piercing. "This is Virgalant Fiernace. He is over the sector of the galaxy that you are in for now. He does not wish to speak, but if you need anything, let him know. " Virgalant bowed slightly, and his hologram then disappeared. "Last but certainly not least... " Lady Novaus began. However, she was interrupted by a voice familiar to Tsuike. "I actually believe I can introduce myself." A man who looked to be in his forties interrupted. He was taller than most people, with straight brown hair. His eyes were brown and soft, but they did seem to have a fire behind them, especially when his gaze was fixed upon Tsuike.
"...Dad?!" Even though his father looked totally different, Tsuike could tell it was him by the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes. "Yeah, it's me. From this point on, you have to really fight. Me and your mother are now law bound to not help you."
Akari jumped in, "So that means that you two have become king and queen of Uragin?"
Queen Novaus answered, "Yes, that is true. Now, on to the last bit of business. We detected another Princess signal, but this one is coming from another planet. The planet that was once under your father's jurisdiction before the attack on our fleet sixteen years ago. You are headed to Planet Tackard. Apparently this planet is in the middle of a civil war right now, so be careful. Carrie!"
"Yes, my queen?"
"I am ordering Tsuike, Saya, and Kori to the bridge. Akari may go along if she so wishes. Remember Carrie, they are first timers. Make sure that the bridge settings reflect such."
"Yes, my queen." As she agreed, all the holograms disappeared. Tsuike was then swallowed by a bright light...
Tsuike appeared in a carpeted room. Looking around, he saw consoles with clear diagrams of different parts of the ship. In front of those consoles he saw chairs of varying comfortability and size. Behind him, he saw a noticeably larger chair with one chair on each side. The chair had a blinking light on the right arm. Tsuike began to walk toward the chair, drawn by the light.
Another flash of light, but this one was larger. Out of it stepped Akari, Saya, and Kori. "Do not touch that chair. It is the captain's chair. Obviously, you are on the bridge to the ship." Akari said when she noticed Tsuike. Walking in front of Tsuike, she sat in the captains chair. As she did so, the blinking light stopped. Akari closed her eyes for a second. As she reopened them, several holographic diagrams appeared in front of her. A Carrie hologram appeared and said, "I'll leave the settings and actual takeoff to you, Mistress Akari." The Carrie hologram disappeared once again. Akari took one of the diagrams and moved it directly in front of herself. Touching a portion of it, a second hologram with a keyboard appeared. She began to type, and as she did so, comfortable chairs formed out of the vines that had been seen before, but after these took the shape of a chair, they morphed into something more metallic. After that, cushions formed on the chairs. "Please, sit." Akari said, motioning toward the chairs, but not looking up. As she continued to type, the back lighting of the bridge died down, making the bridge dark, bathed only in the light of the blue holographic displays. The typing continued, and the bridge no longer seemed to be there, if it weren't for the chairs and diagrams that could still be seen. It looked as if they were sitting in the forest behind Tsuike's house. Tsuike and Saya were in awe over what had just transpired, having never seen anything like it in their lives. "Okay, we are all ready here, Carrie. 1/8 of normal takeoff speed."
"Inertial dampeners?"
"I did not like being forced back into my seat my first time, so yes, inertial dampeners."
"Okay, 5..."
"Can we just get on with it? The wait is quite annoying."
"Yes, mistress."
Suddenly, the ground that seemed to be right below them began to become smaller as the ship took off. The roaring engine sounds that Tsuike expected was not heard, as the ship ascended faster and faster. "Oh crap!" Tsuike said, remembering his fear of heights. "Do not worry, you have nothing to fear." Akari said, trying to console Tsuike. As they rose above the clouds, the blue hue of the sky faded to black, and everyone got a good look at space. The small shining beacons in the sky seemed to call out to each of them. "Your first takeoff is always special. Ura has more of a green hue, as the planet's water is normally underground, and it is covered in forests. But your planet has it's own charm." Akari said, looking downward. The three of them shifted their eyesight downward, and saw the azure sphere floating upon nothing beneath them. The three of them drew in breaths of appreciation of the sight that they were beholding.
Carrie interrupted the sightseeing. "Okay. It will take a day or so to reach our destination. I believe that the four of you should get some rest to prepare for tomorrow. However, I need to see Tsuike on the training field so that I can administer your marksman test, and I need to see Saya in the infirmary so that I can give you a physical and get the specifications for your key. Akari and Kori, I will see you in the morning. All four of your quarters have been prepared and can be rearranged according to your specifications."
The next morning in a classroom in the communication part of the ship....
Tsuike, Kori, Akari and Saya were all sitting in chairs with holographic keyboards and screens in front of them, waiting for class to start.
"Wow, you got a 98% on the marksman test?!" Akari exclaimed.
"Yeah," Tsuike responded, "I just missed the first shot. How'd your physical go, Saya?"
Saya blushed and looked away. "Wait! I didn't mean it like that! I meant what did you ask for in your key?"
"Oh." Saya said softly. "I wanted to be able to encase my elemental energy inside of energy to keep the heat from spreading. That way I can make certain things really hot, and it'll also increase the effectiveness of my attacks."
"What is it going to look like?" Akari chimed in.
"I like the headband you wear, so I want it to be a ribbon I can wear in my hair." Saya responded.
"That's a good idea. I think that it would look good on you. By the way, that was a really good breakfast this morning. I'm really glad we have a healthy cook now." Kori said, still eating some of the fresh bread.
"Thank you." Saya stopped and looked down. "I'm glad you're a lot nicer than all the girls you see on TV..."
A hologram of Syerie appeared. "Settle down class. Today we will go over elemental energy. Okay first off, what elemental energy is best used for propulsion in space travel?"
Tsuike and Saya looked at each other and shrugged. "Fire?" They both said tentatively.
"Fire needs oxygen to give it power, which we know that in space, there is an absence of. Unfortunately, that answer is incorrect."
Akari spoke up next. "Light energy." She said, confident that her answer was correct.
"Light energy is the more stable energy source, but unfortunately that answer is incorrect too."
Kori spoke up last. "Dark energy is best used."
"Correct. Even though Dark energy is unstable, the creation and destruction of antimatter is better in propulsion than light energy. I see we have to start off at the basics of the basics. Akari, can you tell me what are the basic elemental types?
Akari stood, trying to make up for her incorrect answer before. "Yes. Light, Dark, Fire, Ice, Water, Nature, Earth, Lightning, and Wind."
"That is correct. Now each intelligent being has an affinity for a certain element. I understand that Kori is of the Ice element, correct?"
"Yes ma'am." Kori held out her hand with her palm pointed upwards. A ball of ice formed in her hand and just floated before it disappeared, dropping her hand as she did so.
"Good. Now does that mean that you are only limited to that one element, Kori?"
"No." Kori held out her hand in the same fashion as before, and concentrated noticeably harder. A ball of green swirling energy of the same size as the ice ball appeared in her hand.
"Ooh, nature. Good job, Kori. What she just demonstrated was molecular shaping. Just as our minds and bodies develop the ability to breathe, our bodies have the inborn ability of shaping the molecules to some whim, giving us an affinity to an element. It's like our bodies are that element to a degree. However, there is a drawback to this. Tsuike is of the lightning element. If he were to try to form something of the earth element, the devastating effects of creating that element would cause as much damage as if he were using energy while chaos was floating around in the air! Getting hit with earth energy would be even more devastating, and more than likely fatal for Tsuike. This is what we call an elemental weakness. Every basic element has a weakness, except for fire, which has two. For Light there is Dark and vice versa. For Fire there is Water and Earth. For Ice there is Fire. For Water there is Lightning. For Nature there is Fire. For Earth there is Nature. For Lightning there is Earth. And for Wind there is Ice."
Tsuike raised his hand. "You keep saying basic element. What do you mean by that?"
Syerie responded. "Good question. There are other elements that don't necessarily rely on molecules for their formation. Time and Gravity are some examples of that."
Kori then raised her hand. "Are there exceptions to the elemental weakness rule?"
Syerie looked expectantly at Kori. "Is there some reason that you ask that question?"
"Well..." Kori held her hand out one more time, and closed her eyes. She wrinkled her brow, and focused a lot of her energy to the palm of her hand. A ball of fire appeared in her hand.
"Thank you Kori. Even though this is a little advanced, there are exceptions to the elemental weakness rule. Even though you can form fire energy, you cannot get hit with it, correct?"
"Yeah." Kori said, releasing her tension and letting the ball of fire disappear. Sweating, she tried to catch her breath.
"Would you mind taking off your bracelet and showing the underside to the rest of the class?" Kori then took off her key, and showed the underside to the rest of the class. There was a small white gem in the underside. "As I thought, that gem allows you to be able to create energy that would normally harm you without effects, right? That means you come from..."
"Please stop right there." Kori said, putting her key back on. "Anyway, I have another question. If everyone has an element, and all of us princesses were all one at one point in time, and each of us is energy combined with a part of the original princesses' mind, how can both me and Saya exist? Wouldn't the part that is me have a weakness to the part that is her?"
"Normally yes. But originally, the princess exhibited the uncanny ability to be able to control all elements. That made her an exception. That was also one of the reasons she was betrothed to Tsuike at such a young age. Normally you would wait until the two who were to be promised to each other were about two or three years of age, but in this case that decision was made when they, I mean you, were about two weeks old. Don't ask, it's just too much to explain, and then the fact that most of it is top secret doesn't help. Why the princess had that kind of power or why the decision was made I do not know. Anyway, are there anymore questions?"
"I have a question. If you look at me, I am full Urian. However, Kori is half Urian and half something else, and Saya is Half Urian and Half Human. How is that possible if the original princess was Full Urian?" Akari asked.
"Well, just like we pick up certain traits from our environment, you all adapted to the one who took care of you when you first split. Akari had human foster parents, therefore she adapted to being half human. It is actually a part of that splitting process. The mind made sure the body was complete. We still don't quite understand this yet. We'd have to study all of you for that. That will be all. Class is dismissed." The Syerie hologram disappeared.
Tsuike stood and stretched. "Well, that was a lot of information to digest. Let's get something to eat."
"Nope." A hologram of Carrie appeared. "Akari and Saya can go. You and Kori still have to go through training. Then again, we might as well have Akari teach Saya how to control her energy. Please report to the Gym/Sparring room."
An hour of intense training later...
Carrie's voice could be heard all throughout the ship. "Please go ahead and take a shower. After that, come to the bridge in about twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes later...
"Good, you all are here." Carrie's voice was heard, but her hologram didn't show up. "Sorry about the fact you can't see me. I seemed to have overused Hectarian's holographic generator. I should have that fixed soon. Anyway, if you will direct your attention to the view screen. The big screen ahead of the four of them changed from a pitch black screen to an image of a planet. This is Planet Tackard. The planet's land is 46% desert with underlying Zhing, some of the most precious metal in the universe, 44% covered by fertile farming areas, and 10% covered by thick forest. The the two major lands are actually led by two separate governments. The smaller, forested land sits between them. The planet is one large island, with the composition of the planets metals causing the different changes in climate. Originally, this planet was a part of the LOIB, or League of Intelligent Beings for those who do not know. Over 80 years ago, this planet broke into civil war over sharing of resources or something like that. This war went on for 62 years. To settle this, the LOIB sent in a neutral party to lead. The neutral party was Taryan N. Taryan found a way to get the rulers to work together. Meanwhile, the leaders of of the two separate government died in an assassination attempt on Prince Taryan's life. However, 16 years ago, Taryan, his wife, and his twin children came under attack. Presuming him to be dead, the LOIB decided that the death of the previous leaders meant an end to the civil tension. However, when the children of the previous regime took over, they decided to continue the nearly century old feud. They pulled out of the LOIB and considered any interference by any planet within it's ranks or Uragin as an act of war. Be careful while you are there. By the way, Tsuike, your new key is ready." A sheathe appeared at his side and sunglasses with a sliver frame and blue lenses appeared on his head. "The gun feature is enabled, but combining the weapons to make them double bladed is disabled for now."
"Thanks, but I have two questions. One: Who is the LOIB, and two: Who is Taryan?" Tsuike asked while looking around, not sure of where to focus his question.
Kori spoke up first. "The short answer to your first question is a coalition of space faring planets banding together to protect themselves from invaders. Uragin is NOT a part of the LOIB, because some governments wanted Uragin to share their power and technology, which Uragin refused. Why? We don't know."
Akari finished up. "And a short answer to two is: Your father, King Taryan Novaus. Married to Queen Dayko Novaus, rulers of Uragin."
Tsuike started to exclaim "Wha...!?", but Carrie interrupted him by saying, "We don't have time for you to be shocked, a skirmish was detected in the general area of the princess. You will have to go down there and find her on foot. Good Luck." A bright light engulfed the bridge and the four of them disappeared.