Chapter Twelve: Love and War

After the retreat of the assassins and the flight of Chieri and Atsuko, the remaining members of WOTA fought Kamiko's team in the heart of the zoo in a brutal short-range firefight.

Mayuyu and Shin traded fire as they moved from cover to cover at inhuman speeds without ever managing to catch each other. They fought at a pace no human could follow and left no possibility for their comrades to intervene. Shin's camouflage cloak stole him from view and turned Mayuyu's missiles aside whenever she cornered him, while the light of her kirara deflected every shot he landed on her. With her clip of missiles spent and his grenade launcher empty, they inevitably clashed in the middle of the street, blade against blade. "I've spent enough time playing with you. Get out of my way," Mayuyu said. She pushed his knife aside with her sword and threw an explosive punch towards his helmeted face.

Shin swayed to avoid the blow and countered in an instant. His armoured fist smashed into a wall of light before they broke off and stepped back to regroup. "Don't be like that. We're just getting to the good part."

"We're not allowed to fraternise with men," Mayuyu said. She stepped in again and struck with a flurry of linked strikes that blistered the air, but the flashing silver knife turned all the strokes aside. Mayuyu gritted her teeth.

"Too bad. But still, this is a first for you, isn't it?" Shin said. His explosive kick to Mayuyu's waist was stopped cold by a flash of blue light, but cracks spiralled through her kirara's shield. He dodged her swift counter-attack with lithe footwork and split the air with his knife. Mayuyu swayed out of reach of the blade but he drove his left fist clean through her shield and punched her hard in the stomach. He threw his knife at her chest as she reeled back and forced her to block with her sword, then rushed her down and tore her micsaber from her hand. He threw the dying blade down and forced her back with another savage kick. "We're both monsters, but you don't know the meaning of defeat. I'm different."

"You're more talkative than me," Mayuyu said. She fought back ferociously but the precarious balance between them had been broken. He anticipated her attacks and countered perfectly, then broke through her guard and pummeled her. She stumbled backwards until her legs folded under her and she crashed down, her uniform torn and her body battered.

Shin approached at a walking pace and hauled her up by one of her twintails. "Any last words?"

Mayuyu looked away from him and forced a whisper through cracked lips. "I've lost any number of times, you know. To an unfair woman."

"I see. Hold onto that." He pulled a long-barreled black pistol from a belt holster.

"Get off her!" Mikako screamed. She picked up Mayuyu's fallen micsaber and activated the blade mid-swing as she rushed Shin down from behind.

Shin flipped over the curve of her blade with impossible grace for someone so huge. He cracked the pavement as he landed and scythed her legs away with an explosive kick. "Don't interrupt." He pointed his pistol at Mikako's head as she sprawled across the ground.

Mayuyu erupted towards him from behind and suplexed him into the ground so hard the paving stones beneath his black armour were smashed to dust. She scrambled up, tore his pistol away from him and threw it into a cage full of terrified birds. "We're all human, you know."

"Did you really think that would put me down?" Shin asked. He planted a hand behind him and sat up.

"Not really." Mayuyu pulled two grenades from beneath her skirt and tore out the pins with her teeth.

Shin jumped away as the two grenades bounced around him but the twin explosions of light still caught him and swallowed his body in overlapping jade bubbles. He fell clumsily in his armour and looked up at the blue sky. "I can respect that, I suppose."

Mayuyu ran to Mikako's side and helped her up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I've been through worse than this." Mikako pressed the micsaber into Mayuyu's hands. "We'd better go."

Mayuyu slipped the micsaber into her thigh sheath and picked up Mikako bridal-style. "Hold on tight." She broke into a run and leapt on top of the bird-cage in a single bound. Beneath them, DES's commandos shouted and rushed towards their fallen sergeant.

An unmistakable boom echoed as Shin smashed his pinned arms against the ground. Hundreds of cracks spiralled through the glittering cage that bound him.

"I'm not comfortable with this," Mikako said. Her legs dangled helplessly ten meters above the ground.

"You'll get used to it," Mayuyu said. She leapt from the bird-cage and raced out of the zoo at a relentless sprint. She held Mikako with firm arms.

Mikako looked up at Mayuyu's bruised face. "Sorry. If I hadn't been shot down, it wouldn't have come to this."

"Don't worry. I'm getting used to you messing up," Mayuyu said. She jumped up onto a low shop, then jumped to a two-story building and raced across the rooftops.

"You're merciless, aren't you?" Mikako said.

"I'm honest," Mayuyu said. She slowed down a little as they left their pursuit far behind. "That was the first time I couldn't afford to fight in a beautiful way. I'm also reflecting on my faults."

"He was a cyborg, wasn't he?" Mikako said.

"No. There are no mechanical parts under his armour," Mayuyu said. She studied her reflection in the shimmering glass of the broadcast tower as they raced towards their objective. "But you're right in that he wasn't an ordinary human, just like me."

"I see. I guess the galaxy's a big place," Mikako said.

Mayuyu slid to a halt as they finally reached their objective and handed Mikako over to the WOTA members fortifying the lobby. "Look after her. She'll need medical attention."

Mikako shook off a WOTA. "Never mind me. Did Chieri and Atsuko make it back?"

"We haven't seen them," he said. "We thought they were with you."

"Of course not. They made a break for here while we held the commando team off," Mikako said. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket. "If they're not here, where the hell are they?"

"I'm going," Mayuyu said. She sprinted away before Mikako could respond. Her bright twin-tails bounced behind her as she leapt onto the flat roof of the restaurant opposite the tower.


Kamiko jumped into the wide fountain at the heart of the zoo and flirted with the assault rifle presented by the arms on her back.

Yuko jumped after her into the ankle-high water and traded blows with her at point-blank range. The water slowed her movements and it was hard for her feet to get a firm grip, but she kept up the pace of her attacks by force of will alone. If she slowed down for a moment, she'd seriously die.

The vast yellow sun towered high above and wrung the moisture from them. The cool water of the fountain was scant relief from that punishment. Normally, children should be laughing as they splashed in this shallow, white-tiled basin. Parents would watch them indulgently, while lovers would sit on benches and hold hands while they ate ice cream or sticky sweats. This was that kind of place. But the square surrounding them was still and disturbed only by their splashing and the periodic ripple of gunfire.

Kamiko flicked water up into Yuko's eyes with the tip of her blade and used the moment's distraction to cut open Yuko's left arm with a smooth slash. "You should be more careful. If you lose an eye or an arm, that's the end of your career," Kamiko said. She parried Yuko's counter-attack with her moistened blade and laughed as sparks of lightning scattered around them. "Of course, I wouldn't stop there."

"Say what you will. You won't be standing after I hit you," Yuko said. She'd been cut in four places and the pain burned, but she'd read each strike and avoided a deeper blow. Either way, there was nothing to do but fight.

"When will you hit me?" Kamiko asked. She faded away as Yuko charged and slipped behind one of the fountain's pillars of water. Her sword slashed through the froth and curved towards Yuko's neck.

Yuko parried the blow cleanly and shoved the sword away, then burst through the pillar of water and thrust her second sword towards Kamiko's chest. "I'm in no hurry. Time is on my side," she said.

Kamiko swerved away from the thrust and brought her sword back to parry the next strike. Her black helmet was a blank mask that concealed her face, but this time she made no reply.

Yuko grinned as she pressed forwards and drove Kamiko out of the fountain. Her wounded legs stung like hell when water splashed on them and her whole body burned from the heat and Kamiko was plain better than her with a sword, but she was still so alive. Her eyes followed Kamiko almost without blinking as they traded blows. In the ebb and flow of this duel, she refused to let herself rest for more than a few seconds. She'd advance, one step at a time.

Kamiko took several steps back as Yuko bore down on her with fearless eyes. "I'll admit it, I'm not as young as I used to be." She planted her feet and changed her stance to cover her body with the full length of her sword. "I won't take another step back, so let's settle it here."

For the first time, Yuko stopped for a moment. If her enemy's stamina was depleted to the point they couldn't move, everything was going according to her plan. But that unyielding stance preyed on her mind. Something lower than thought, a whisper at the base of her spine, spoke of a fatal danger.

"What happened to your previous energy, my girl?" Kamiko asked. "Run, and I'll bring out my guns. Stay and my squad will arrive. So come. Let me kill you."

"I see," Yuko said. She'd stopped singing because that sword made short work of anything her kirara could do, but that was a mistake. They sang because they were AKB0048. "You held the goodbye you gave me in the palm of your hand." She stepped in and thrust her right sword towards Kamiko's chest.

Kamiko deflected the thrust and countered with the full length of her sword. She forced Yuko's second blade away with military precision and drove her thrust home. Blood ran up her blade as she slashed open Yuko's shoulder. She brought her sword back to a neutral position as Yuko slid out of range.

"Your kindness makes my heart race and I become warm." Yuko tightened her stance as she surged forwards again. She'd give up on trying to cut Kamiko down. She dodged and wove into range past several flickering thrusts and drove her glowing blades against the long silver weapon. With renewed focus, she parried and blocked Kamiko's counter-attacks and aimed only to make contact with the silver sword. The shock of the repeated impacts jarred her arms to the bone and her swords hissed and flickered.

"You can't cut my sword, no matter how hard you try," Kamiko said. She lashed back with a curving slash that nearly took Yuko's head off. Her sword glowed with a pure white light.

Yuko grinned as she flipped away and slowed herself by driving her blades into the pavement. Fine brown stones cracked and split as sparks ran up her swords. She could hear the pounding of armoured boots behind her. "I'm coming." She kicked off the ground and interlocked her swords as she charged. "As I cry, I smile. Let's send you off!"

Kamiko blocked both blades with her unyielding sword and drove Yuko down with sheer force. But lightning snaked up her longsword and ripped into her arms. Her strength failed her moments before she cut Yuko down. "Why?"

Yuko caught herself before she collapsed backwards and straightened with her swords raised. "It answered my song. No more, no less." She smashed her right micsaber against Kamiko's guard with the whole weight of her body behind the blow. "You halt and look worriedly back at me over and over again-"

"You impudent child," Kamiko growled. She planted her feet and forced her leaden arms to move with sheer force of will as Yuko's radiance ran up her blade and surged through her black armour. As if answering that stubbornness, her glittering sword sheared clean through the first of Yuko's blades. Sparks erupted from the hilt as the crystal lens cracked and the blade of light withered away.

"But as I cry, I smile," Yuko's second micsaber smashed into Kamiko's sword and brought her down with an iridescent shower of lightning. Kamiko collapsed backwards with her arms still gripping her sword tightly even as her consciousness flickered out. Yuko stood over her fallen body and panted for breath. Sweat like tears filled her eyes and made it hard to see. "Until I grow used to being alone, I won't be able to move from here."

Kamiko's elite squad hit cover in a wide circle and aimed their assault rifles straight at Yuko. But they remained still for a moment as Yuko stood tall over their leader and waited for an opportunity.

Yuko slid her broken micsaber into her belt sheath and ripped Kamiko's sword away from the unconscious soldier. Her fierce light bled from the edge of the silver blade as she half-turned and twisted her neck to stare at the remaining commandos. She smirked as blood dripped down her shoulder and soaked through her white blouse. "If you think you can stop my song, give it your best shot. I'll treat you all gently."

Five minutes later, Yuko regrouped with the remnants of Chieri's original escort. She hauled Kamiko over her unbroken shoulder and gripped her micsaber tightly in her wounded arm as she approached the casually-dressed soldiers. Several of them were nursing wounds themselves, while the others took cover behind parked cars in the middle of the street and maintained the perimeter. For now, the sounds of battle were a few blocks away. Yuko dumped Kamiko's armoured form at Daiki's feet. "Take her back to the broadcast tower. She's one of their officers, so Tsubasa might have a use for her."

Daiki struggled to lift up Kamiko's power-armoured body and stared at Yuko's slender figure. "Yes, ma'am. We'll escort you, so let's head back."

"I'm not going back yet," Yuko said. She turned away and drew Kamiko's sword with her dominant hand. She'd prised the sheath from the suit's rear arms and lashed it to her belt with a ribbon. "I'll fight until we've brought everyone back."

"We're going back, ma'am," Daiki said. "That's an order from Minami Takahashi."

Yuko paused for a long moment, then exhaled. "Okay. If Takamina insists."


Atsuko stood on steps made of glass. The world around her was as blue as the calm tropical sea on Summerstar. Clear white light poured down from above, as if it was strained through stained glass in a lofty cathedral. It illuminated the hundreds of glass staircases that surrounded her, but died away by degrees beneath her feet as the ocean plunged into an unfathomable darkness far below her. A strong wind rippled through the azure world and batted her hair into her eyes. She placed her hand on her forehead to shield her as the unrelenting wind buffeted her. When she faced that wind, it was hard to breathe.

But that was where Chieri was. She sat at the edge of another spiral of glass and let her legs dangle into the void. Her long hair fluttered around her as she folded her hands in her lap and smiled. "Hello, Atsuko."

"Hi." Atsuko smiled. "It's been a while since we were here last."

"I suppose so. But it feels like this place is always right by our side," Chieri said. She closed her eyes for a moment and the strong wind died away.

"I see what you mean," Atsuko said. "I just wish I knew why."

"This world is power without will," Chieri said. "It answers our thoughts and feelings."

"I know," Atsuko said. "But why us? Even someone like Susumu has will and ambition."

"I don't know. But don't you think music has a certain purity? It's congealed emotion," Chieri said.

Atsuko giggled. "You're making it sound like jelly."

"You don't have to tease me. I'm trying to have a serious conversation here," Chieri said. She rested her chin on her hands and smiled. "Still, we're not the only people who love music. You'd know more than I do about how 00 was founded and why Sensei-Sensei came to embody our will."

"I don't remember," Atsuko said. She wrinkled her brow. "I'm sure I know, but I don't remember. Now you've reminded me, this going to annoy me all day."

"Sorry," Chieri said. She pulled her legs back onto the crystal stairs and stood up. "Please sing, Atsuko. If it's you, you'll be able to bring everyone together."

"What about you? That's your role," Atsuko said. She folded her arms and sighed. "Don't go forcing it on me just because you feel lazy."

Chieri smiled. "Well, I'll do everything I can to help, but you know how it is." Her playful expression settled as she looked through Atsuko. "We need to protect the others first. After that, please save me."

"I know. I'll definitely save you, so just wait for me," Atsuko said. She folded her hands over her chest as her gaze crossed the void between them and embraced Chieri. "It's a promise."

"I'll hold you to that," Chieri said. "But be careful. That woman's different from other people. I don't know why, but I'm sure of it."

"I know. But we're also strong in our own way," Atsuko said.

"Violence is pure too. It's in the blood and bone, in all of us, right here," Chieri said. She ran two fingers down her chest and stopped just above her heart. "Even so, you're right. I'm sure you won't lose to Susumu Hashimoto."

Atsuko nodded. "Just wait for me."

Chieri bowed to Atsuko, then turned away. Dozens of the staircases that surrounded them had shattered in one place or another, ancient pillars riddled with decay. Chieri's staircase had broken away just below her feet. There was no way back, only a void that plunged into the depths beyond sight. But she ran up the stairs with her head held high.

Atsuko turned to face the lonely crystal helix that twisted above her. Any step might break and throw her into the darkness. Still, the only way was up.


When Atsuko's eyes flickered open, all she could see was the black boots of a DES soldier. She could hear a dozen of them fanning out around her and shivered when someone put a cold metallic hand on her back.

"What's the order?" someone asked.

"Take her and go. Make sure her limbs are bound, but hurry up," another said. "We're not safe here."

"Nothing good ever comes of taking this kids prisoner," a third said. "You all heard about Kasumigastar."

"If you want to tell the admiral that, be my guest," the leader said. "You can go spacewalking without a suit."

Atsuko's eyes flickered across the ground. Her micsaber was just out of reach and she was running out of time.

A smoke grenade crashed down just in front of her and erupted. Urgent shouts whipped around her as the soldiers raised their guns and searched for their target. Atsuko kicked free of the soldier who'd taken hold of her and lunged forwards to scoop up her micsaber. She swung as the blade of light flickered to life and swept the legs of the soldier behind her. He collapsed cursing as lightning engulfed his legs.

Mayuyu sailed down from above and kicked their leader in the head. She landed on top of him with a strange grace and shot forwards. Her sword lashed out and brought down the other soldier near Atsuko before he could react, then she scooped up Atsuko and ran away with inhuman speed. Bullets cracked down into the ground around them as Mayuyu took a running jump and landed on top of the kitschy gift shop opposite them. Mayuyu sheathed her sword and carried Atsuko with both hands as DES pursued her at full speed using their thrusters. "Where's Cherry?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I think Susumu took her, but she's definitely alive," Atsuko said. She gripped Mayuyu's blouse with firm hands. "Take me back to the others. We need to escape first, then we can do something about Chieri."

"But-" Mayuyu began.

"Trust me," Atsuko said. She gritted her teeth. "I'm losing my mind, but please. Just go."

DES pursued them at full speed and aimed an unrelenting barrage of fire at Mayuyu as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop. She'd already stripped all the ammunition from her skirt and used the last of her grenades. Without missiles, she could do nothing to hold them back, but she couldn't use her micsaber while she was holding onto Atsuko. Given the energy she had to put into dodging and anticipating their fire, DES was closing by the second.

"Mayuyu, head north up that block then jump down to street level and take the second right," Takamina said. She continued to relay instructions to Mayuyu moment by moment as they scrambled to stay ahead of DES. Then they burst into a narrow street and slid into cover inside a bus stop. "Bingo," Takamina said.

DES ploughed after them and crashed down from above to surround the shelter with their rifles raised. Then WOTA erupted from cover on all sides and caught DES in a hail of fire. Several soldiers were knocked out while the others cursed and scrambled for cover. Using that opening, Sayaka and Sae charged DES down and brought down several armoured commandos with an explosive combination of micsaber blows and martial arts. Sayaka grinned as she caught a soldier's arm and pulled him onto her glowing blade. "Don't underestimate idols."

Takamina slid her hands into her pockets and sighed as the rest of the squad were chased down and knocked out. "I'm all for hard work in general, but I can't approve of DES trying this hard," she said. Her eyes settled on Atsuko. "What about Chieri?"

"She's alive," Atsuko said. "But even though DES probably has her, we have to go back to the others now."

Takamina stared into Atsuko's unblinking eyes. "You'd never give her up. Do you have some kind of plan?"

Atsuko pried herself from Mayuyu's arms and stood up. "Not really. But if we panic, they'll take everything. For now, we need to save ourselves." She put a hand over the pendant that rested on her chest. "Then we'll find a way to save Chieri."

Takamina nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

DES were already racing to encircle the broadcast tower. It took all of Takamina's ingenuity to lead them through the maze to reach the others before the trap snapped shut. Atsuko sprinted into a lobby and slid into cover behind a reception desk as bullets skipped around them. She panted for breath and rubbed the back of her head. It all hurt.

"Mayuyu, you need medical treatment now," Takamina said. "Yukirin's in Room G5 down the corridor with the other wounded. Check up on Yuko for me while you're there."

"I can still fight," Mayuyu said.

"Look after yourself. We'll need you in good condition for our next live," Takamina said. She turned to Captain Yoshida. "Sorry, but we'll need you and your men to buy us a little more time."

"Just as long as we have an exit strategy," Yoshida said. He reloaded his rifle as he spoke. "Otherwise we can try and break through."

Takamina glanced at Atsuko. "We have a plan. Just give us the time we need." Gunfire rattled against the walls of the broadcast tower as she took Atsuko's hand and led her up the corridor. "Will we be okay without Chieri?" she asked.

"She's still with us. Our song will reach her, and her song will reach us," Atsuko said. "Even if we're apart, the world beyond the gate can connect our feelings."

"I'll have to take your word for that," Takamina said. "But it sounds reassuring."

Yuko was waiting for them by the door to the set they'd taken over. She'd changed into her stage uniform and bandages swathed her arms and legs. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Takamina hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Sure thing."

The studio was filled with light as three generations of understudies performed together. They were ragged and soaked with sweat. Their clothes had been torn and their faces stained with the hot dust that suffused Bazaarstar's scorching noon air. But they still sang with strong voices. Yuka and Orine performed with their backs to each other, their cheeks flushed with exertion, their voices the beating heart of the performance. "It's my generation, dreams are reincarnation, like deja vu, a distant memory."

Atsuko smiled at them from behind the line of cameras. If it wasn't her friends, they'd never have made it this far.


Chieri opened her eyes and reflexively touched her sore throat. Harsh strip lighting glowed high above her. She was in a small warehouse, surrounded by shelves stacked with colourful cardboard boxes. The air conditioning was so intense she could see her own breath, a fine mist that hovered over her and clung to her cold skin.

"Don't do anything reckless," Shin said. He sat on a box a few meters away from her and casually pointed his combat shotgun at her head. His segmented armour had been dented and damaged in a dozen places, but his grip on his weapon was unrelenting. "The admiral wants you alive, but we can take or leave your limbs."

Chieri sat up and folded her hands in her lap. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's the mission," Shin said.

"That's no answer," Chieri said.

"It's everything," Shin said. He towered over her, an armoured giant that could have picked her up with one hand, but his voice was calm. "I've lived as a soldier twice as long as you've even been alive. So your dedication to 00 is nothing compared to my loyalty to the admiral."

"Is Susumu Hashimoto really worthy of that dedication?" Chieri asked.

"She gave me my name. That's good enough for me," Shin said. He chuckled. "What about you? You had it pretty made before you ran away to join the circus."

"It's hardly life if you're trapped in a gilded cage." Chieri's eyes moved left and right. There were about a dozen other DES soldiers. They'd taken away her micsaber and bound her hands, but her mouth and legs were still free. She had the impression they'd been in quite the hurry.

"I guess the grass is always greener," Shin said.

Shin's attention was focused on her, but most of the other soldiers were in prepared positions covering the entrances to the warehouse. There was no sign of Susumu. "So you still haven't caught my friends," Chieri said.

"Don't worry. The boss is headed there now, with all the queen's horses and all the queen's men," Shin said. He leaned forwards and stared at her over the cold metal of his shotgun. "There's nowhere for 00 to run, so you're probably the lucky one. She doesn't need the others."

"00's made it this far despite everything DES threw at us," Chieri said. "My friends won't lose."

"If you think that, you're still taking us lightly," Shin said. "We're not like the DES lifers you fought up until now." He broke off when explosions rocked the side of the warehouse. The strip lighting overhead swung wildly on its long cables. Shin stood up. "What's the situation?" he roared, his voice soaring over the eruption of gunfire.

"We're being hit from the south side!" someone shouted. "It's Broadsword!"

"Hold your ground! I want the reserve at position three now, suppression fire on the doorway!" Shin said. He hit cover and gestured for Chieri to duck down. "You'd better not get killed here."

Chieri knelt on the cold concrete and rested her bound hands on the floor. "Aren't you going to help them? After the zoo, those men won't show mercy."

"I would if I could, but you're also a superhuman," Shin said. "I'm staying right here."

Heavy gunfire splintered the air as both sides exchanged fire. A booming explosion erupted on the south side of the warehouse and blew the steel doors wide open. Chieri hunched forwards. "I have nowhere to run. But if you stay right here, they'll kill your comrades then take us both out."

Shin breathed out. "I hate that you're right." He passed his shotgun back and unlocked one ring of her handcuffs. He cuffed her right hand to one of the painted metal shelves and pulled his assault rifle from his suit's mechanical arms. "Don't screw around."

"Don't kill them. You're the best, aren't you?" Chieri fired back.

"Sorry, girl, but I always play for keeps." Shin turned away and slid into cover behind a parked forklift truck just as the cloaked assassins launched their all-out assault. His rifle flashed as he snapped off disciplined bursts of fire.

Chieri pulled the handcuff tight. There was no give whatsoever. The noisy rattle of gunfire stabbed into her skull, punctuated by louder booms and frantic shouts as the two sides struggled. The warehouse stank of blood, sweat, and propellant. Blood raced through her body, just below her skin, her heart pounded insistently and her limbs turned cold. It was a storm that beat against her and overwhelmed her senses. But she closed her eyes and filtered out the noise. As precious seconds passed, her breathing steadied and her world fell still.

It was always there right by her side. A place that exceeded space and time. Their song guided her home.

Atsuko faced the camera and took a deep breath. She stood in her customary place with Yuko by her side and the understudies at her back. Position Zero was open in front of her, but she sang as if Chieri was right there. "A gentle spring breeze is blowing from somewhere. On the street we used to walk, the colour is changing."

Chieri smiled. "Happiness and sadness are passing away with the season. We're starting to walk on a new path." She began at a whisper that was barely audible, but her voice rose as the song went on and drowned out the thunder of battle that beat impotently against her chest. Her senses expanded moment by moment as her jade light rippled outwards.

Her friends sang together with her. "This cherry blossom is a book mark of the future, to make me remember the dream I've been longing for."

Susumu barked orders as she lead an all-out assault on the broadcast tower. Her stern rifle flashed as she drove WOTA into cover with blisteringly accurate fire. Chieri sang to defy her, to overturn a world of mechanical despair. "This cherry blossom petal is a bookmark of hope. Rather than the end, this page is the beginning."

Countless ordinary people watched their struggle from all over the galaxy. That fear that sprang from love crossed a sea of stars to reach them, cheer for them, pray for them, scream for them. It came from a tiny spark of formless light below the blood and bone, and it exceeded everything. She sang to answer that hope. "This cherry blossom petal is a bookmark of the heart, where the sunlight through the trees in our bright youth looked so dazzling."

Her kirara crowned her with rainbow light as she reached out with her free hand. The seed they'd planted with such care flowered as the sky above the broadcast tower split apart to reveal a vast door of light. Her will rose above her body, a narrow rainbow thread that leapt from place to place like lightning and embraced her friends one by one. She could feel the Katyusha, a bright star far above her and right by her side. Light bled from the lines of crystal that bound the hull as she made that place their ark. Two by two, she swallowed them in the rainbow spiral of the gate and pulled them to safety.

Susumu stared straight through the ribbon of light as Captain Yoshida vanished before her eyes and laughed. Her troops scattered as the rainbow lashed towards her but she took a step forwards and it fled beyond her reach. "I deny you."

Chieri slumped against the shelf she was tied to and pressed her free hand against her chest as she fought the pain that ripped through her body. This was like gouging out her own soul, but there was only one more thing to do. "This cherry blossom petal is a bookmark of that day," she said. Her strong voice faltered for a moment, then she felt Atsuko's voice reach her across the void between them. "So each and everyone will not forget-"

Shin charged her down and ripped a sea of cracks into her rainbow shield with two blasts of his shotgun. He followed up with a full-body punch that smashed through the radiance surrounding Chieri and tore a huge hole in the shelving behind her. His breath came fast as he towered over her. "Not today, kid," he grunted.

"-their dreams until they bloom fully," Chieri finished. Her legs folded under her and she hung limply from the arm cuffed to the shelf above. The light that surrounded her melted away like snow on a summer's day and left her barren and glassy-eyed.

Shin blasted the chain binding the handcuffs apart with his shotgun and slung her over his shoulder. "I'm so done with this," he muttered. Gunfire continued to boom around them as he wrapped his cloak over her limp body and sprinted towards the north entrance to the warehouse.


Atsuko was one of the only members to stay on her feet when they materialised in a half-light steel chamber. A giant sphere rested between two black pillars in the middle of the room. A score of arm-thick black cables gorged their way into the silver marble and the whole structure hummed with a quiet power, like magma flowing beneath the ground.

Kamiko rose on unsteady legs and rushed towards her. Yuko intercepted the power-armoured figure with gritted teeth and after a few frantic seconds, Yuko, Sayaka, and Mayuyu managed to wrestle her to the ground.

"Just where is this place?" Yuka asked. One of a thousand questions.

"This is the Katyusha's drive chamber," Tsubasa said. She brushed herself off and attempted to impose order on chaos. The girls spoke up one by one to identify themselves. The utter silence after Chieri's name was called echoed horribly before Tsubasa moved on. Once they'd confirmed everyone else was safe, Tsubasa folded her arms. "Captain Yoshida, do what you can to confirm the status of your men, and make sure the prisoners are stripped and placed in the brig."

Captain Yoshida nodded curtly. "Yes, ma'am."

"Mikako, Yuko, Takamina, follow me to the bridge. Everyone else head to the infirmary. Yukirin and the other medics will tend to your wounds," Tsubasa instructed. She raised a hand when Yuka opened her mouth. "Even if you think you're fine, go. We need to make sure."

Atsuko stepped forwards. "Take me to the bridge."

"You're injured," Tsubasa said.

Atsuko rubbed the back of her head. It ached like she'd smashed a rock on her neck, but her mind was still clear. "So's Yuko. I have something that can help us save Chieri."

Tsubasa glanced at her for a moment. "Understood. Then let's go."

They marched through the dark corridors of the ship's maintenance floors before coming out into the light of the central block. Tsubasa snapped off a stream of orders through her headset on the way. Her long-limbed walk was so fast Atsuko had to jog every now and then to catch up.

"They haven't had time to move Chieri over to their carrier," Takamina said. "If they use a shuttle, we'll have an opening."

"What if they dock their carrier with the spaceport?" Yuko said. "We need to get in there and hit them before they get close enough to stop us."

"It took a miracle to escape their soldiers the first time," Takamina said,

"This time we'll be prepared," Yuko said. "It's gotta be better than putting our LAS against their whole fleet."

Atsuko held her tongue as the two older girls bounced ideas off each other. Each was wilder than the last. If she said anything at all, she'd just break. The situation was so terrifying she couldn't frame it; at best she could glance sidelong at it, as if she was holding up a hand to protect herself from the light of the sun.

The bridge was already a hive of activity when they arrived. Mikako took the helm from an officer while Tsubasa took her place in the Captain's seat. The battle display had already been expanded to full size, a sphere of mottled light that hovered in the centre of the room. Tsubasa took everything in with a practiced eye. "The DES fleet is hovering just beyond the effective range of Bazaarstar's orbital defensive weapons. The Flying Get's already breaking away from the spaceport to rendezvous with us. ETA is two minutes."

"We can't take on that fleet. That force is big enough to capture a whole system," Mikako said.

"We need to consider the safety of the whole," Tsubasa said.

"We're not leaving Chieri behind!" Yuko shouted.

"Of course I know that!" Tsubasa said. "But we need to wait for the right moment to strike."

"We have things Susumu wants. Yuko, that cloaked soldier was one of Susumu's team, wasn't she?" Atsuko said.

Yuko blinked and nodded. "Colonel Murakami. She talked like a real big shot, if nothing else."

"Kamiko Murakami. She's from the admiral's homeworld, and they served in the same regiment," Takamina said. "There has to be something there."

"We have other prisoners as well. And we have this," Atsuko said. She held up Chieri's pendant. "This is from Chieri's dad. Apparently it's a key to Zodiac's computers, but only Chieri can use it. If Chieri's right, they need her and the key."

"Where does Zodiac come into this?" Takamina asked. "They're going after her because she's the Centre Nova, right?"

"If that was the case, they wouldn't struggle this hard to take her alive. They were killing the other soldiers to make sure she didn't die," Atsuko said. Her voice wavered for a moment, but she pushed through the fatigue. "And the admiral knew Chieri's dad. She was with Zodiac when they invaded Akibastar, too. The pieces fit."

"Maybe you're right. I was with them, and from everything I saw, they never even fired near her if they could help it," Yuko said. "I don't know if they want the key, but I'm sure they want her alive."

"What if they're just putting her on trial?" Takamina said.

"After what happened last time?" Mikako asked. "That didn't go so well for them."

"The Flying Get is docking," a staff member announced. "Thirty seconds."

"Bring the kirara drive to EL-1. Jump on my mark," Tsubasa said. She glanced at Atsuko. "Even if we're uncertain, we have to try. Just leave the talking to me."

Atsuko nodded and pulled the pendant over the top of her blouse.

"Energy levels among the enemy fleet are rising. They're preparing to jump," Mikako said.

"Incoming transmission from the enemy flagship," another staff member said.

"Right on time. Put it through," Tsubasa said.

The communications hologram flickered to life and revealed an aged man in an impeccable uniform. "This is Executive Officer Sone. We demand your immediate surrender," he said. "Failure to comply will result in the use of force."

"We've already made jump preparations. But we want to negotiate directly with the admiral," Tsubasa said. "Colonel Murakami is our prisoner, so there are grounds for discussion."

Sone leaned back in his high chair for a moment and frowned at the screen. "Very well. I'll make contact."

The transmission cut off for thirty seconds, then flickered on again. Susumu had stripped off her helmet to reveal her jagged face and wry smile. "This is Admiral Susumu Hashimoto. Normally, we don't negotiate with terrorists, but I'm willing to hear you out."

Tsubasa and Susumu exchanged a long stare before Tsubasa broke the silence again. "We have Colonel Murakami and fifteen other DES soldiers prisoner. You have Chieri Sono and a number of WOTA soldiers. I propose an exchange of prisoners on neutral ground."

"Surely you jest. Cheri Sono is a vital strategic objective to our side," Susumu said. Her eyes darted over the assembled members. Her face was a cipher.

"A DES Colonel is no small prize either," Tsubasa said.

"Kamiko knew the risks," Susumu said. She stared at Atsuko. "Just what are you kids doing here, anyway? Surely 00 has more useful officers than three teenage girls?"

"I wish I was still that young," Takamina said.

Atsuko gripped her skirt tightly and faced the communications console. "I saw your message to Chieri. I know you're a fan of her. We'll give your friend back, so please let her come back to us." She bowed her head. "I'm begging you. We don't have to be enemies."

Yuko and Takamina blinked in surprise, then bowed to Susumu. "Please. We just want our friend back," Takamina said.

Susumu laughed and waved them off. "A noble sentiment, but I'm trying to do business here." She glanced at Atsuko for a moment longer, then turned to Tsubasa. "The Colonel is important to DES. Let's at least talk this through."

Atsuko peered at her with her head still half-bowed and forced back a diminutive smile.

"Have you reported Chieri's capture to your superiors?" Tsubasa asked. "If this becomes known, external politics will limit our room to manoeuvre. But if not, we can handle this quietly between us. A simple prisoner swap using a limited number of people isolated from our respective assets."

"I haven't told anyone yet. We're still handling the clean-up," Susumu said. She put a hand on her hip. "What's your end game, here? Even if we cooperate on this, our fundamental relationship doesn't change."

"I'm aiming to defeat you," Tsubasa said.

Susumu threw back her head and laughed. "I like that. That's good." She straightened and stared through Tsubasa. "Picking off one member isn't enough. I'm trying to smash you all here. But even if I play along, there's no guarantee you won't turn tail and run the moment you have Chieri Sono."

"How about my word?" Tsubasa asked. She took off her glasses and returned Susumu's stare without blinking. "We came here to knock Zodiac out of the DGTO. If we have our ace, we'll push you all the way to Sagittarriustar and beyond."

"Well, it's not as if Chieri is your only member with Centre Nova potential." Susumu smirked as Tsubasa frowned at her. "I'm listening. We'll make the exchange tomorrow evening, 18:00 in New Cairo's local time."

"That's a longer timeframe than I consider safe," Tsubasa said. "If word of this deal gets out, you'll be in more trouble than me."

"I won't yield on this one," Susumu said. "Take it or leave it."

18:00 was the advertised start time of their concert on New Cairo. Tsubasa paused for a moment, then nodded. "Very well."

The negotiations dragged on as Susumu quibbled over a thousand tiny details. After an extensive back and forth, they chose an abandoned space station in neutral space as the location of the exchange. The station had broken down and was depressurised, sealing 00's singing and DES's conventional weaponry at the same time- or so the theory went. They set the minimum distance of their respective ships, the direction and time of their arrival, the vessels they'd use to reach the station and those they'd use to monitor the other side. Susumu also demanded the return of Kamiko's experimental armour and her sword, while Tsubasa wanted a similar guarantee for Chieri's possessions and WOTA's captured gear. In the midst of those interminable discussions, Susumu casually touched on the heart of the matter. "There's also the question of people. I want to oversee this in person with the Colonel's team. That's ten, myself included. Meet me face to face and bring 00's Successors."

"This is a WOTA responsibility. I can't justify putting the members in the line of fire," Tsubasa said.

"I'm putting myself and my special forces squad on the line here," Susumu said. "Considering my reputation and the stakes, no one else on my side can do it. This has to be symmetrical."

"I don't like that you're dictating who we should bring," Tsubasa said.

"Between Chieri Sono and the Colonel, the stakes are too high for delegation. If you can't face my top people with your own and make the exchange, we have a bigger problem," Susumu said.

"Let's do it," Takamina said. "If it's for Chieri's sake, we won't hesitate for a moment."

Yuko nodded her agreement. "We can look after ourselves, you know."

Tsubasa sighed. "I'm conscious of the optics on your side, admiral. I'll see what I can do."

"You'll have eleven. Bring Mikako Minamino as well, and I'll bring my warframe leader and flying ace. That evens out the numbers, and helps establish trust as well," Susumu said. "This will go more smoothly if we don't have our best pilots in warframes with their fingers twitching on the triggers."

"Fine by me," Mikako said.

"Understood. But if we're going this far for you, I expect you to make serious efforts in terms of weapons screening," Tsubasa said. "The Flying Get will scan your shuttle when you head in. Any sign of weaponry and we'll pull out."

"We'll hold you to the same standard. And yes, your light swords do count as weapons," Susumu said.

"Very well. Was there anything else?" Tsubasa asked.

"Not on my side." Susumu said. "Just remember this is a one-time deal, in deference to the Colonel's long service. There won't be a next time."

"I'm aware. We feel the same way," Tsubasa said.

"My fleet will stand down today as a demonstration of sincerity," Susumu said. "Don't contact me before the arranged time. This won't fly when I'm on the bridge."

Mikako slumped back in her seat and sighed when Susumu shut off the transmission. "What 'demonstration of sincerity'? They already know they can't reach us before we jump out."

"I'm not pushing that theory any further. Make the jump now," Tsubasa snapped. "We're getting out of here."

"Yes, ma'am. Kirara drive to EL-0, jump in three, two, one," Mikako said. She keyed in the final command on her console. The room lurched as the Katyusha plunged into the primeval void beyond the gate.

Tsubasa slumped down onto her chair at the centre of the bridge. "For now, she took the bait. Atsuko's analysis must be on the right lines, or there's no way she'd go for this."

"She's still looking down on us," Takamina said.

"Thanks in no small part to Atsuko's acting," Yuko said. She leapt on Atsuko from behind and tugged her cheeks. "You were so convincing, it creeped me out. She totally thought we were just there to make puppy dog eyes at her."

"I'm not so sure. She's not stupid," Atsuko said. She put a hand on Yuko's arm and sighed. "But she's bold. Even if she half suspects us, she trusts that she'll have the upper hand in the showdown. She may even be right."

"We still have to do it," Mikako said. "Complaining won't help."

"I know." Atsuko closed her eyes for a moment. Yuko's body was warm, but it wasn't the same. She placed a hand over the pendant. "I'm sure Chieri gave me this for a reason. I don't want to let her down."

Takamina slapped her on the back. "Stay strong. This is no one's idea of a good time, but this isn't the first time we've bailed her out, and it won't be the last."

"And today wasn't the first time she saved us," Yuko said. "00's always been this way."

Atsuko folded her hands together over her chest. "I know. We'll make it through together."


In the aftermath of the battle, DES retreated to the Drake Aquarius. Chieri was gently but firmly escorted from a hangar bay through the winding steel corridors of the ship. At the brig, she was stripped and searched by female soldiers while a slight woman with glasses and a data slate looked on. Chieri was given a shapeless white robe to wear and thrown in the largest cell in the brig. It was large enough for her to move around in, and she had a desk to sit at as well as the lumpen bed, but the steel cage with furniture bolted to the floor was anything but welcoming. Rats ate away at her stomach as she adjusted to being trapped. All she could do was lay on her bed and rest. There was no time, nothing to observe, no point to being awake or alive. Thinking just made her miserable. She fought that gloom with the songs she bounced off the uncaring walls, her memories of her friends, and the certain presence of her jade kirara. He was subdued, but he still bumped and nudged her, and circled her head as she sang. It reminded her of singing to her mirror in her father's house, with her kirara as her only audience.

The steel door to the cell hissed open and Susumu Hashimoto stepped through. She pulled up the cell's chair as the door clicked shut behind her and sat down. "I trust you're getting used to the amenities, such as they are."

Chieri sat up and folded her hands together in her lap. "I'm managing as well as can be expected."

Susumu smirked. "Even now, you're staying strong. That's vaguely annoying." She pulled her revolver from its holster and pulled five rounds from the chamber, one at a time. "Who's the railgun sniper?"

"I don't know," Chieri said.

Susumu placed the five bullets in a row on the desk. "I'm no fool. The only time today you cracked was when you saw his face."

"He wasn't the person I thought he was, so I don't know," Chieri said.

"That's a fair answer." Susumu clicked the cylinder back into place. "Tell me, Chieri, do you consider yourself a lucky person?"

Chieri looked around the cell. "Not right now."

"But you're still alive." Susumu crossed the distance between them within seconds and slammed Chieri against the wall of the cell. She pinned Chieri to the wall with her left arm and pressed the barrel of her revolver against Chieri's chin. "This is a game from the ancient world. You have a one-in-six chance to survive. But you won't die, Chieri."

Chieri tilted her head back and stared down at Susumu as the cold steel of the barrel pressed against her. "You're insane."

"People aren't born equal. That's a comforting lie. You and I are different from the others, however much you care to pretend otherwise," Susumu said.

A distinctive click echoed through the room as she pulled the trigger once. Chieri stared into Susumu's eyes without blinking. Another click, then another, then a third, a fourth, a fifth, each one an echo that made her heart shudder. But she wouldn't let Susumu see that. She was well-used to wearing her porcelain mask.

"I told you so," Susumu said. She let go of Chieri and stepped down from the bed. "That's what it means to be lucky."

Chieri slumped against the wall and caught her breath. "That wasn't luck. You won't kill me, so you controlled everything from the start."

"What's really impressive is how much you trust your own judgement," Susumu said. She swung out the cylinder and spun the barrel again. "Normally, people doubt themselves."

"You're just not as clever as you think you are," Chieri said.

"Perhaps. But we are different, Chieri, however much you try to explain yourself away," Susumu said. She clicked the cylinder back into place and reversed the revolver. "How about it? Even if you pull the trigger five times, I won't die."

The pistol's large grip loomed in front of Chieri, a few inches from her chest. After a moment's hesitation, Chieri took the revolver from Susumu's willing hands.

"Use both hands to hold it at arm's length," Susumu said. "Aim for my chest. At this distance, even an amateur will hit every time."

Chieri pointed the revolver at Susumu for a moment and stared into the woman's eyes. She'd wanted to feel this sensation at least once in her life. "This is power. Even I want it. But I won't lose to it, or to you." She lowered the pistol.

"Too bad. I want to break you, but you're really quite stubborn," Susumu said. She snapped forwards and disarmed Chieri with the same practised moment she'd have used to save her own life.

Chieri rubbed her sore wrists and sat down on her bed as Susumu stalked back to the chair on the other side of the room. "Enough games. Just what do you want from me?"

Susumu reloaded her revolver. "I'm studying you. I want to know all about you."

"If you want to know about me, just talk to me. That's how people communicate with each other," Chieri said.

"I'm not interested in your pious platitudes. People show their true nature when they're trading in life and death," Susumu said. She holstered her revolver. "Do you know Wellspring?"

"Of course," Chieri said. They were an enormous corporation who specialised in biotechnology, and one of the seven powers who controlled the DGTO.

"For decades now, they've funded research and development into biologically modified ideal soldiers," Susumu said. "That's the true nature of Wellspring's corporate black ops team, Broadsword. They are assassins outside the authority of the DGTO or DES, trained to kill from the day they were born and given numbers, not names. Your young friend is one of them, and they're almost certainly the team who killed your father."

Chieri's eyes widened. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You have the right to judge them," Susumu said. She leaned forwards and folded her hands between her legs. "No one can touch them. But I command this fleet, and I know Broadsword well. Just say the word, and I'll annihilate them."

"Even if they did kill my father, it's not right for you to kill them," Chieri said.

"Your father wasn't the only victim. If no one stops them, they'll continue to kill," Susumu said. "Take Atsuko's Maeda's father, for example. He's broken a taboo on our side, and they'll kill him for that. It's just a matter of time."

Chieri closed her eyes. "You don't have to kill them to stop them."

"This is what I mean. You say what you have to say," Susumu said. "But you're a bold person. Who knows what you could do for the sake of your friends, if you had no other way out?"

"Even if I made a mistake, right and wrong would still exist," Chieri said. She opened her eyes and extended a hand towards Susumu. "You can't redeem yourself by degrading me. But you can still repent for the lives you've taken before now."

Susumu laughed. "It's all the same, Chieri. Killing someone or not killing them. Once I realised that, I could live without hesitation."

"Then you weren't always this way. Tell me about yourself," Chieri said.

"Fine. Then I'll tell you how I met your father," Susumu said. "Do you remember when your brother was killed?"

Chieri blinked at the sudden change of direction. "Vaguely. I was very young."

She'd been young and gloomy. She'd gone to school for the first time, but she had no mother to take her there, and her father was never around. Even at her exclusive private school on Sagittarriusstar, young children and their parents had looked at her strangely as Yasunaga drove her directly to the school gates. She was so different even the kids her age could sense it, and she wasn't brave, so she'd spent her time in that classroom like a ghost. No one even acknowledged that she existed. In that foggy world, her older brother was a point of light. He was stubborn, clumsy, rebellious. He dragged her around as if it was his right and got them into trouble over and over again. It had always been that way.

Chieri was reading in the classroom when Yasunaga came for her. Tall men in suits she vaguely recognised hovered by the door as he barged in with muttered apologies and took her hands. "Miss Chieri, we need to go home now."

"Why?" Chieri asked. She looked down at his feet as her cheeks burned. Everyone was whispering, just below her hearing.

"It's your father's orders." Yasunaga carried her out without any further explanation. The suited men flanked them as he ran to the car and placed Chieri in her usual seat. Then he turned away and pulled out his phone. "I have her. We're coming back to the mansion now."

She was put in her room the moment she arrived. Strange men patrolled the corridors and stood outside the windows while she wandered aimlessly. There was no sign of her brother or her father.

It was only later she came to understand what had happened that day. Six masked men had snatched her brother from his school and taken him hostage. The asking price was ten billion sen, an absurd amount even for her father to raise in cash. As the police pursued the kidnappers, her father had coordinated their response from his office, the throne of Sagittarriusstar. More than once he'd negotiated directly with the kidnappers, but it was all in vain. When the police pinned the kidnappers down and staged their rescue mission, her brother was killed along with two police officers and five of the six criminals. The sixth fled using a prepared route and escaped the planet before he could be hunted down.

Chieri never went back to school after that. She was tutored at home, surrounded by high walls and armed guards, and taught martial arts. And more than ever before, her father avoided his house and his daughter.

While Chieri rotted in her airy cage, Susumu was enjoying a rare holiday on Sagittariusstar with her parents and daughter. That peace was abruptly severed when she was summoned to see Zodiac's CEO. Cold steel was illuminated by neon-blue lighting and the glass window behind his back looked out over the city he ruled. "I'm Group Captain Susumu Hashimoto," Susumu said. "How can I be of assistance?"

Kazuhiro Sono leaned back in his chair. "Sorry to interrupt while you're on leave. I take it you've aware of the kidnapping incident?"

"I've read the news. My condolences for your loss," Susumu said.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I brought you here to solve a practical problem," he said. He opened a file with a touch of a button. "This is the last surviving kidnapper, Hideki Nakano. Notwithstanding DES's tenacious pursuit, he's taken refuge on Maidenstar. Under the circumstances, there are doubts over DES's ability to bring him to justice, so I'm putting together a private solution. I want you to lead that effort."

"He's an off-worlder, isn't he? Even if you do nothing, he won't last long there," Susumu said.

"That may be the case. But I want to confirm his fate with my own eyes." Kazuhiro rested his chin on his hands. "Will you do this for me?"

"I can manage it, but I'll need a fast ship and a good team," Susumu said. "It won't be cheap."

"Money is no object," Kazuhiro said. "Just get it done."

Susumu smiled. "As you wish."

That mission was the first time she'd brought Shin and Kamiko together on the same team. Shin was happy enough just to find work under a leader he trusted, but to Susumu and Kamiko, the mission was more like a homecoming. They'd left Maidenstar nearly thirty years ago, so no one was better suited to a claustrophobic hunt through the planet's tangled jungle. Maidenstar was one of the oldest dualium mining worlds in the galaxy, but the local wildlife included a bewildering variety of ferocious predators, and dualium's blood money and the limited transport links had turned the planet into a patchwork of tribes controlled by warlords. Even they could only hope to negotiate that maze of conflicting loyalties and brutal violence with the assistance of local guides and the weight of Kamiko's name. Hideki Nanako never had a chance.

They found him just in time, a broken shell of a man enslaved by a local warlord. When negotiations fell through, they shot their way out and barely made it back to their ship. Susumu made contact with Zodiac's CEO the moment they reached orbit. "We have the target. He's just about alive, but he needs serious medical attention."

Kazuhiro Sono closed his eyes. "I see. Well done."

Susumu pulled out her combat knife. "So, what happens next, Mr Sono? You've paid the piper, you call our tunes."

He sighed. "He should have died with the others. No, he should have died a long time ago, before he raised a hand to my boy."

"And yet the universe drifts ever onwards. It won't kill him for you," Susumu said. "Nothing will change unless you give the order."

Kazuhiro turned his chair away and looked through the window of his office. His mansion glittered in the distance as the light of the setting sun reflected from the high windows. "Bring him back here. He'll be tried, found guilty, and jailed for life."

"Yes, sir." Susumu sheathed her knife with a smooth motion. "You really are a civilised man. On Maidenstar, people live more honestly. They answer blood with blood."

"Being human isn't a birthright. It's a way of life," Kazuhiro said. "As one of the DGTO's seven kings, I must remain above him. And indeed above you."

Susumu smiled. "Understood. Your will be done."

The day Hideki Nanako was imprisoned, her father took Chieri to see the graves of her mother and brother. He held an umbrella over her head as a fitful rain drizzled around them and said nothing at all.

Chieri was silent for a lingering moment once Susumu finished telling her story. "I never knew he arranged something like that. I assumed he was working the entire time,"she said eventually.

"Kazuhiro Sono was a very restrained man. His anger ran cold," Susumu said. "And he grieved in silence, as well. I worked with him for a long time after that and came to know him quite well, but he never opened his heart to me."

"Does that bother you?" Chieri asked.

"Perhaps it does. But I was using him, just as he was using me," Susumu said. She stood up and brushed herself off. "I'd better get back to work. But I'll bully you some more later. We have all the time in the world."

Chieri breathed out as the cell door slammed shut and she was left alone again.


Yukirin struggled for hours as she moved from soldier to soldier and member to member, doing everything she could to help WOTA's medics. She treated her friends and her enemies without discrimination, wiped the sweat from her brow, and fought through the exhaustion. At last, she shrugged off the white coat she'd borrowed and went to search for the one person she hadn't treated yet.

Mayuyu sat on their bed and rested her forehead on her knees. She shifted her head slightly when Yukirin entered. "Welcome back."

"Heya." Yukirin sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a first-aid kit on the bedside table. "Come here. I need to treat your wounds."

"You don't need to. I heal this kind of injury in less than twenty-four hours," Mayuyu said.

"I still want to do what I can to ease your pain," Yukirin said.

"Just stop," Mayuyu said. She looked away. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"I'm getting angry, you know," Yukirin said. She leaned over and pulled Mayuyu's bruised cheek. "I know you too well. I'll always accept you."

Mayuyu twisted her head away. But after a few seconds, she sat up and stripped without a word.

Yukirin worked briskly to clean and bandage Mayuyu's wounds. "What happened?"

"I fought one of DES's soldiers. He was a monster like me," Mayuyu said. She placed her hands on her knees and breathed out. "I wanted to protect everyone, but in the end, all I could do was escape."

"You still did your best. No one can win every time," Yukirin said.

"I know. But I'm too strong. I didn't need skill before now," Mayuyu said.

Yukirin smiled as she bandaged Mayuyu's back. "Sometimes you've worried alone, wondering what you lacked," she sang. "But nothing will change if you just stand there."

"I know. This isn't like me," Mayuyu said.

"If you think he's invincible, you really will never beat him," Yukirin said. "But if you take one small step forwards, then you'll definitely become stronger, however distant your goal feels. That's what brought us this far, and I'm sure that it'll be the same way in future."

Mayuyu nodded.


Takamina was undressing for bed when someone knocked. She hurriedly pulled a hoodie over her body. "Come in."

Yuko stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Her body was still swathed in lines of white bandages over her wounds. "Just dropping by to see our cute Captain." Her smile was paper-thin, a poor imitation of her usual easy grin.

"Thank you," Takamina said. She collapsed backwards onto her bed. "It's been a long day."

"No kidding. I'm dying on my feet here." Yuko threw herself onto the bed next to Takamina and rolled over to look up at the ceiling.

Takamina glanced sidelong at her and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"You know me. I'm fine, even at a time like this," Yuko said.

"If you were fine, you'd have sexually harassed me by now," Takamina said. She folded her hands behind her head. "If it's about Chieri, we're all to blame. But wallowing in guilt won't help anyone."

"I know that much," Yuko said. She paused for a moment. "Did you see the Colonel's sword? Hilarious, isn't it? Have you ever heard of DES using a sword?"

"Never. But it looks like she did a number on you," Takamina said.

"Yeah. She was really strong, you know. It was like fighting Sayaka. But I still beat her," Yuko said.

"I wish I could say I was surprised," Takamina said. "You've always been strongest when your back is against the wall."

"If I'd made a single mistake, she'd have split me in half. She was that good," Yuko said. "There's something wrong with her if she's willing to fight like that. And there's something wrong with me, since I enjoyed fighting her."

"That's nothing new. You love competing with other people, don't you?" Takamina said.

Yuko shook her head. "This was different. I've never felt so alive. And when I beat her, well, I can't put it into words."

Takamina tilted her head to face her. "Is that really so wrong?"

"Of course it is," Yuko said. She sat up and glared at Takamina. "We're idols, remember? Love and peace, sweetness and light, all that good stuff. Chieri taking the hands of a DES member and singing to him is everything we should aspire to be. But I can't do that."

Takamina didn't move as Yuko shifted. "I know. But even if we're idols, we're still just people. We're selfish, we lie, we cry, we get jealous, we sleep in and eat too much and we're frightened when we fight and when we dance. We fight for our friends and we enjoy winning, because that means we live to see another day." She looked up at Yuko. "We even fall in love."

Yuko turned away and sighed. "Your fans would cry if they heard you say that."

"I know. But I don't think any of that makes us bad people," Takamina said. "The important thing is we try as hard as we can, and we pick ourselves up again when we fall down."

"I guess the Captain has to be a pragmatist," Yuko said. "I'm just not satisfied with something like that."

"Did you kill anyone?" Takamina asked.

"No," Yuko said.

"Then you're fine. Don't sweat the small stuff," Takamina said.

"The only small stuff here is you," Yuko said. She rolled away when Takamina aimed a powerful kick at her waist. "Okay, I can take a hint! I'll let you sleep!"

"Good night, Yuko," Takamina said.

Yuko paused by the door, a moment of calm in the storm she lived. "Night." Then she swept away as quickly as she'd come.

She took the sword from her room and crossed into the Katyusha to visit Kamiko in the brig. WOTA let her in after a moment's argument.

Kamiko sat at the far side of her cell and watched Yuko approach. She was diminished without her jet black power armour, but her strongly-built body was still coiled tightly as she hunched over her bed, ready to explode. "What brings you here? You can kill me easily enough. But I doubt that would bring your missing princess back."

Yuko shouldered the sheathed blade and smiled at Kamiko. "You said this sword belonged to your family. Tell me about them."

Kamiko stared at Yuko for a long moment. "What good will come of knowing?" she asked.

"I want to know who you are," Yuko said.

"I don't need to tell you anything," Kamiko said. "But since you defeated me once, I'll play along."

Yuko listened to her story with uncharacteristic patience. Kamiko was gruff and blunt, but Yuko could see through the gaps in the words to the jungle she'd once called home, glittering with dualium and fetid with mud and blood. What rose above everything was pride she'd survived a world that ate so many people, and love for the blood sister she'd met there. The woman who had nearly cut her apart was just another person.

"Thanks, Kamiko. Can I call you Kamiko?" Yuko said.

"Certainly not," Kamiko said. "Try 'Colonel Murakami'."

"That's a real pain to say," Yuko said. She ran her thumb down the sheath of Kamiko's sword. "What do you people want from us? Why does the admiral want Chieri this badly?"

"I don't know," Kamiko said.

Yuko blinked. "You're kidding. Aren't you two friends?"

"There's no need for me to know," Kamiko said. "But even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you."

"I guess so," Yuko said. She sighed. "Either way, I'll let you sleep."

"Good night." Kamiko waited a heart-beat for Yuko to turn away, then erupted from the bed.

Yuko drew her working micsaber and turned to press the edge of the glowing blade against Kamiko's neck a moment before the older woman struck. "Not quite. Boys, could you give me a hand with this?"

The WOTA guards rushed in and pointed their rifles at Kamiko. Daiki breathed out as he stared the older woman down. "Take it easy, Colonel, or we'll have to put you asleep again."

Kamiko backed away with her hands raised. "You should become a soldier," she told Yuko. "You have the talent."

"I already have the best job in the universe," Yuko said. She sheathed her sword and walked away without looking back.

After a restless night, Yuko rose early and changed into her practice clothes. The Flying Get was eerily quiet as it drifted through the void. She slipped through the half-lit steel corridors and nearly walked into Mayuyu outside Sayaka's usual practice room. The two girls stared at each other for a moment before Yuko's laugh broke the silence. "I guess you were also kicked around pretty good yesterday, huh?"

Mayuyu scowled. "Unlike you, I didn't enjoy it."

"That's too bad. When it comes to sparring with Sayaka, only masochists need apply," Yuko said. She stepped through. Mayuyu followed her a moment later.

Sayaka was already stretching on the floor alongside Sae. She grinned at the two newcomers. "Now this is rare. I take it the mess yesterday lit a fire under you two?"

"Something like that," Yuko said.

Sayaka gestured for Yuko and Mayuyu to sit down and start stretching. "Even if you're injured, I won't hold back."

"Even though you're not injured, I will," Mayuyu said. She watched Sayaka as she stretched her legs. "Still, perhaps I can learn something from you."

The warm-up lasted just long enough to lull Yuko into a false sense of security before Sayaka threw them into a gauntlet of full-contact sparring. Despite her mature appearance, Sayaka took a child's pleasure in teaching her friends new ways to use their micsabers and their bare hands. She had the skill and grace to throw her considerable strength around without injuring the others while taking the occasional knock from their counter-attacks without a word of complaint. Her intensity made the time count three-fold until she finally let her friends off the hook. Yuko nursed her aching limbs in dogged silence.

Takamina had already informed the others of the situation, but it was only after breakfast that Tsubasa finally brought all of 00 together to brief them on their new mission. She went over her negotiations with Susumu and the plan to rescue Chieri while the members listened intently. "And there's one more important fact to note. Given the timeframe enforced by the admiral and our need to maintain the understudies as a reserve for the rescue mission, we will have the cancel the concert on Bazaarstar," Tsubasa said.

The members stood in uncomfortable silence and watched Tsubasa closely.

"That seems wrong." Orine had half-whispered those words, but in the silence they echoed between the mirrored walls of the practice room. She blushed and fidgeted under the sudden gaze of all her friends. "Um, I know Tsubasa knows best, but I was just thinking that if Chieri was here, she'd definitely want us to go ahead with the concert."

Atsuko nodded her agreement. "She's really greedy that way."

"We can lead off," Kanata said. "And once you all have Chieri, you can jump to our position."

"I understand your feelings, but it's too risky," Tsubasa said. "We need as many people as possible to pilot LAS when the time comes."

Megumi put her hands on her hips and scowled at Tsubasa. "If we're just buying time to retreat, the 76th Generation is plenty. We're better pilots than the 77th anyway."

"And just who was it who told the admiral 'I'm aiming to defeat you'?" Yuko asked. "Let's give it a shot."

"The situation is already bad enough. This is no time for reckless bravado," Tsubasa said.

"This isn't bravado. We just want to see them," Atsuko said.

Suzuko raised a hand. "I'm sure you're aware of the situation on Bazaarstar. They're waiting for us. If it's operationally possible, I believe we should answer those feelings."

Tsubasa pushed her glasses up her nose and sighed. "Takamina, what do you say?"

"I'm aware of the risks, but the crucial factor in this mission is the confrontation between we Successors and the admiral's special forces. Air support from the understudies is secondary," Takamina said. "I think Kanata's plan is sound, and I agree with Suzuko. If we can make it, we have an obligation to be there."

"Kanata and the 77th Generation will enter Bazaarstar's atmosphere using the Flying Get and begin the concert," Tsubasa said. "The Katyusha will move to the agreed location and deploy a shuttle with my group. The 76th Generation will stand-by on the Katyusha to cover our retreat if hostilities break out. Once we've retrieved Chieri, we will immediately jump to the concert on Bazaarstar. Of course, that plan relies entirely on the skill and radiance of Kanata's team."

"We won't let you down," Kanata said.

Yuka closed her eyes. "Yeah. Frankly, I don't intend to lose to Atsuko and Chieri."

Orine nodded. "This time, I want to do something for everyone who has protected me until now."

"That's all fine. Just remember the authorities on Bazaarstar have refused us permission to use either of our ships in the planet's atmosphere," Mikako said.

"In both cases, we'll jump straight through their defensive line. DES won't be able to imitate those atmospheric jumps," Tsubasa said. "Either way, Bazaarstar will just have to accept a fate accompli."

Mikako grinned. "You're as merciless as ever."

"Enough idle chatter. I'll send Kanata the song list within half an hour," Tsubasa said. "Spend the remaining time until the mission however you please, but stay fresh. Everyone needs to be at the top of their game tonight. Atsuko, Takamina, Yuko, a word."

Atsuko approached Tsubasa as the other members scattered. Originally, she'd only participated in these conversations because Chieri insisted. Even if it was just because Chieri was captured, she hoped Tsubasa had come to value her input.

"Takamina's right, the Successors have the hardest role," Tsubasa said. "If you can think of any way to tip the odds in our favour, I'm all ears."

"If they don't have guns, we'll have the advantage," Takamina said.

"As long as Kamiko can't fight, at least," Yuko said. "Just bind her arms, and leave the rest to us."

Tsubasa nodded. "That just leaves the giant."

"Leave that to Mayuyu. She's raring for another crack at him," Yuko said. "I haven't seen her this serious about something for a long time."

"There's also Susumu," Atsuko said. "I fought her on Summerstar. Even without a gun, she's dangerous."

"That's surprising, given her age. But the Colonel isn't young either, I suppose," Takamina said,

"I'm happy to take her on," Yuko said. "I won't lose to an old woman."

Tsubasa nodded. "Just buy time. That's all we need."

"We have another trump card," Atsuko said. She pulled Chieri's pendant out from under her blouse and gripped it tightly. "Her light is still with us."

A rare smile flitted over Tsubasa's lips and fled when the others saw it. "Then I won't say anything more. Bring her back to us." She turned on her heel and walked away.


They used the Katyusha's changing room far less, so the Successors tripped over each other. Tension sparked through the dry air and erupted in terse outbursts. All of them were used to pressure in their own way, but this situation was just different enough to worry at them. Normally they fought their own battles on their own terms, or fought off DES's attacks wherever they appeared. This time, both sides were prepared, and no one could anticipate the outcome.

Atsuko struggled to change into the skintight space-suit she'd been given. Though the latest models had been kept as a precautionary measure, she'd never thought she'd actually wear one. The rubbery material shrank to fit her and clung unpleasantly to her skin.

Takamina helped her put on the helmet and went through the final checks with her. "You're ready to go," she said.

Atsuko picked up Chieri's pendant. "I'll need this with me."

"Okay. Hold on a second." Takamina rummaged through her bag and pulled out a roll of wide black tape. She taped the back of the chain to Atsuko's suit. "Now you'll be fine, even in zero-gravity."

Atsuko tilted her head.

Takamina coughed. "You never know when this stuff will come in handy."

Once they'd changed, they moved into the cramped hangars of the Katyusha and piled onto the waiting WOTA dropship. Atsuko belted herself into her seat and breathed out.

The dropship shot out into space. Atsuko gripped her harness tightly as they drifted forwards. Without any resistance or frame of reference, she couldn't tell if they were moving at all. For all she knew, they were sitting in a windowless box. After a few minutes the dropship's ramp opened and the shroud fell away to reveal a derelict docking bay. Mayuyu and Sayaka moved out together and signalled the others forwards after a few seconds. The group bounced from wall to wall as they slipped through the corridors of the ruined space station. Once it had been a major refuelling station on a key trade route, but the emergence of the DGTO and the EPS had killed those old ties and separated worlds that had once traded goods and exchanged tourists. Now the fuel tanks stood empty and the vast dockyard decayed by decrees. 00 were so many ants tip-toeing through an elephant graveyard.

"How is it?" Takamina asked Mayuyu.

"The computer systems still barely work," Mayuyu said. "The gravity regulation, not so much."

Yukirin kicked off the ceiling and shot onwards with a grace learned from years lived in space. "You could say that."

After several minutes walking through badly-lit corridors, they reached the central bridge that connected the two sides of the facility. On the other side, one hundred meters away, DES's commandos stood waiting with Susumu at their head. "It's been pleasant chatting with Chieri Sono. Can't we keep her?" Susumu said.

Atsuko squinted. She could barely make out the giant's hands moving close to his waist, as his arms traced small but expressive gestures that covered the enormous distance between them. Given how far away they were, perhaps they'd only ever been intended for his own men. But she still glanced sidelong at the expressionless mask that was Kamiko's helmet.

"I'm not here to chat. Let's take care of this quickly," Tsubasa said. "Neither of us can afford to be caught here."

"I know, Miss. Just trying to lighten the mood," Susumu said. "First the sword and armour."

"Mikako, Mayuyu, take care of it," Tsubasa said.

They met with the giant in the middle of the bridge. After a moment's stillness, Shin mutely handed Mikako an unmarked sports bag. Mikako knelt to unzip it and went through Chieri's possessions one by one, but there was nothing suspicious. Her micsaber had been returned, and her spare clothes had even been washed and folded. "Okay. That's fine on our side," Mikako said. She shouldered the back and offered Shin the mirror steel longsword in its black leather sheath.

Shin pulled out the blade and inspected it for a moment, then sheathed the weapon again and passed it back to one of his mechanical arms. He took the bulging bags that held Kamiko's segmented power armour from Mayuyu without complaint and went through them for a few seconds, then nodded curtly. "I'm glad you look well," he said to Mayuyu. "As for the gear, that's all fine." He turned on his heel and marched back to Susumu's side.

Susumu took the longsword from Shin and rested it against the cracked black tiles beneath her feet. "Now the non-critical prisoners."

In an agonisingly slow process, they traded DES's commandos for WOTA guerillas two-by-two. At Susumu's suggestion, both sides sent their retrieved prisoners back to their respective dropships. After twenty minutes of mute shuffling across the bridge, only the core of the two groups remained. "We have the Colonel," Tsubasa said. "Bring Chieri forwards."

"Okay. Let's take it easy," Susumu said. She pulled a suited figure forwards and walked towards the middle of the bridge.

"Is that her?" Tsubasa asked Atsuko.

Atsuko narrowed her eyes. There was no mistaking the jade kirara that floated in their wake. "Mm. It's definitely her."

"Then I'll go," Tsubasa said. She took Chieri's micsaber from Mikako and gestured for Kamiko to follow her.

"You should send one of us," Takamina began.

Mikako waved her off. "She'll be fine. And besides, when she's like that, she doesn't listen to anyone." She folded her arms and watched Tsubasa from behind.

Kamiko's arms had been cuffed together behind her back. She kept pace with Tsubasa and held her head high.

Tsubasa stopped a few meters from Susumu and kept her thumb on the micsaber's trigger. "Now-"

Susumu kicked off the steel floor and fell forwards like an avalanche. She drew Kamiko's sword and slashed the blade upwards in a single motion. Tsubasa activated the micsaber and parried the silver blade an inch in front of her heart, but Susumu flicked both swords away and kicked Tsubasa in the midriff. As the woman sailed weightlessly backwards, Susumu controlled her motions with her suit's thrusters and turned to Kamiko. The other woman had already turned her back to Susumu and stayed dead still as Susumu cut through the handcuffs in a single slash.

Atsuko ran headlong towards Chieri as her friend raced towards them. Yuko was by her side, but Mayuyu put them both in the shade as she caught Tsubasa and half-carried the woman forwards.

Shin reached down and gripped empty space. He pulled two camouflage cloaks away to reveal two huge steel cases, then tore one open and threw two stolen WOTA rifles straight down the corridor. Kamiko turned her head back towards Shin and caught the rifle smoothly, while Susumu closed her free hand around her weapon's grip without looking back. The two women stood back to back and aimed straight up their sights at the 00 members trapped in the narrow corridor. "Checkmate," Susumu said.

Atsuko extended her hand towards Chieri across the distance between them. "Go now!" she shouted. Her kirara spiralled ahead.

Susumu and Kamiko both fired tight bursts that intersected by Chieri's upper shoulders. But a flash of pure light surged up the corridor and Atsuko's orange kirara formed a mirror shield that blocked the non-lethal projectiles. "That's impossible," Susumu said. After a moment's hesitation, she reversed her grip and offered the silver sword to Kamiko. "All men, open fire and break through! Hunt them down!"

"Yes, ma'am." Kamiko took the sword with her off-hand and charged down the corridor. Her sword bisected the white wall in a single stroke, but it took several more slashes before she broke through. A moment later, Shin caught up to her and smashed headlong into the barrier with his arms raised and thrusters blazing. He crashed through and raised his rifle to fire on 00 as they fled the way they'd come.

Susumu looked up her rifle's sights and caught sight of Chieri's pendant hanging around Atsuko's neck. It glowed white-hot for a second longer, then the radiance flickered out as Atsuko took her friend's hand and pulled her back towards the others. "You bastard, Kazuhiro." She fired.

Mayuyu anticipated the shot and stepped out in front of Atsuko and Chieri. She grunted in pain as a cluster of green bubbles flourished up her outstretched arm. By sheer force, she managed to pull her right arm down against her side, but the cracked bubbles still held her limb firmly. "I won't let you hurt them."

"Run, run, run! Back to the dropship!" Takamina snapped. "We can't hope to fight them without weapons!"

Atsuko laced her fingers around Chieri's hand. It fit perfectly. "Are you okay?" she mumbled.

Chieri nodded. "Thanks to you."

Atsuko put a hand over the pendant as she reached the others. "Thanks to your father."

Yuko tore Chieri's micsaber from Tsubasa's grip and turned back as Kamiko closed on them. She managed to anticipated the older woman's burst of fire and block three shots with her glowing blade in front of her heart. The blunted metal needles fell to the floor. "I'm lucky you're accurate." She snapped forwards and swung her sword in a crescent.

Kamiko parried the strike by reflex with her silver sword, then jumped back out of range as Yuko stepped in and raised her rifle. "Miracles are a one-shot deal," she said.

Yuko kicked off the ground and flipped backwards towards the others as more needles shot down around her.

In the same moment, Shin laid down a barrage of fire as he tried and failed to track Mayuyu's quicksilver advance. He swayed left and right as she snapped off two punches and a kick. Her right arm was hanging limply by her side. "Don't insult me, my girl." He pulled his knife from its sheath and stepped in.

Mayuyu slid past his explosive thrust and smashed his rifle's clip into fragments with a single chop of her left arm. She dodged his counter-attack with lithe movements and kicked off his chest. She sailed back towards the others as he spun back up the corridor.

Shin snapped off a final, futile shot, then dropped his useless rifle and fired the grapples built into his armour. Black wires embedded themselves in the doorway and pulled him straight back towards 00.

Susumu moved fearlessly into the space her subordinates had vacated and hit Yukirin with a single burst as the girl ran to help Mayuyu.

Mayuyu caught her friend as she fell. She pressed Yukirin against her chest with her good arm and limped back into cover.

Sayaka and Sae rushed towards as Susumu crashed through the doorway from the corridor, but Susumu fended off their blistering strikes with one arm and hit Sae in the temple with the butt of her rifle. She reversed the weapon again as Sae crashed backwards and dodged away from Sayaka's martial arts techniques. "How do you want to fall?" she asked Sayaka.

Sayaka abandoned all her art and charged headlong towards Susumu. The older woman blocked the brunt of the blow but sheer momentum still sent them both sailing back towards the rest of DES.

"A suicide attack. So there was that option too," Susumu said. She aimed her rifle in mid-air and picked out Chieri's fleeing back but Sayaka knocked her weapon upwards before she could fire.

Takamina and Mikako surged forwards and caught Sayaka by her ankles a moment before she sailed beyond reach. They gripped the steel doorway tightly with their other hands and hauled her back towards the others.

Shin caught Susumu a moment before she fired her own grapples and threw the older woman towards the doorway. Behind them, the remaining members of Kamiko's squad rushed up the corridor with their rifles raised.

Mayuyu closed her eyes and breathed out. "Now's fine, right?" The steel doors slammed shut and locked before anyone could reply.

Sayaka caught herself on a hand-hold on the wall and bounced down to pick up Sae. "Sorry. I owe you two."

"Don't do that again, you idiot," Takamina said.

"Run. Now," Mayuyu snapped. As if to underscore her point, a dull thump echoed as someone smashed a visible dent in the steel door.

"The battle's already started outside," Tsubasa said.

As they retraced their steps through the maze-like facility, Mayuyu used the broken facility's remaining fragments to slow down DES any way she could. But with Shin as a human battering-ram, DES smashed through a dozen security doors to keep up and threatened to annihilate them with long-range rifle fire. Tomochin and Takamina were caught out by precision fire and knocked out. The other members carried them as best they could. Whenever they thought they'd made it clean away, a ripple of fire would strafe a corridor or pierce through a fuel tank from outside the space station and forced them to scramble and find another route. Atsuko gripped Chieri's hand tightly as they ran for their lives. Her whole body ached and sweat scalded her cheeks as they finally surged into the broken hangar bay.

"I'll take the helm!" Mikako shouted. She ran on ahead of the others.

"Please do," Tsubasa said.

They frantically piled onto the dropship as DES rushed into the hangar. Chieri stopped by the doorway as the others moved inside and took her micsaber back from Yuko. As the dropship's boarding ramp began to close, two black darts embedded themselves in the ceiling. Chieri stepped forwards as Susumu flew towards them and cut through the wires with a single stroke of her sword. She watched for a moment longer before the ramp snapped shot and they shot out into space.

The 76th Generation fought a hopeless battle against overwhelming numbers of DES warframes. They pulled back into a close formation as the dropship slid nimbly through the storm of incoming fire. The Katyusha's heavy guns roared and spat dozens of glittering lances across the void. For a few moments, the dropship was nearly overwhelmed, then they managed to make it into range of the Katyusha's point defence turrets and DES was forced to back off. DES's battle fleet surged straight towards them but the Katyusha jumped the moment the dropship touched down in the hangar.

Chieri pulled off her helmet and breathed out as the other members crowded around her. "I'm okay, thanks to everyone."

Atsuko rested her head against Chieri's shoulder. "Thank goodness. I was worried sick, you know."

"Sorry. I just hope this doesn't happen again," Chieri said. She leaned back and looked up at the dropship's low ceiling. "I met Susumu. I know what she's like now. She'll chase me until the end of the galaxy if she has to."

"We won't let her have you," Atsuko said. "Never again."

Tsubasa coughed. "Chieri, the concert has already begun. Can you perform?"

Chieri squeezed Atsuko's hand for a moment, then sat up and nodded. "Of course. Let's go see them."

Tsubasa turned away and put a hand to her headset. "Set course for Bazaarstar."


Susumu Hashimoto pulled off her helmet and walked through the lofty, blue-lit corridor that threaded through the centre of the Drake Aquarius. Her subordinates flanked her on either side, exhausted but unbowed. "Group Captain, we'll be using that contingency you were practising earlier. Brief your men and prepare for launch."

"Yes, ma'am," Akihiko Akamine said. "We'll be ready to sortie by the time we arrive."

Susumu nodded. "Good. Have the engineers prepare the Void Gemini for launch as well."

Nakatomi grinned widely enough to show his jagged white teeth. "So it's finally our turn."

Izumi Fujimoto saluted from the doorway to the bridge. "The fleet's kirara drives are already charged. We can jump on your mark, ma'am."

Susumu passed her helmet to Shin and ran a hand through her short hair as she strode onto the bridge. "Set course for Bazaarstar."


Author's Notes

Sorry for the delay. This chapter was extremely complicated, and I was more distracted than I care to admit.