Sorry for taking so long on this. Classes have been rather stressful.
I don't think I've done an in-depth analysis of Inaho quite yet. I'll do a bit of that in this chapter.
Will be referencing logically, decisively, truthfully by Ice of the Kitsune's Fire. I personally think that it's a decent character study of Inaho and recommend it to anyone who wants a nice, short read.
"What do you plan to do?" Aleksander asked Lemrina, once they got back to the viewing area.
"I don't know yet." Lemrina said. "Slaine lied to us. To me."
Aleksander frowned. Lemrina was an interesting person. On one hand, she seemed to her emotions shut off from most of the world. On the other hand, she couldn't seem to keep them from affecting her judgement from time to time. After all, she was a human like everyone else. While Alek pretended that he didn't let his emotions affect his judgement, he knew it was quite the opposite. Had he ignored his emotions, he would have left Inko a long time ago. Emotions were what made him. Caring for others was at the very core of his being and for him to abandon the thing that embodied him so strongly was tantamount to suicide. As such, he wasn't quite sure what to do yet either.
A communication channel opened up. "Princess Lemrina, the invasion of Earth is proceeding without incident." Slaine's voice came through the channel.
"I see. I knew you could do it, Slaine."
Aleksander decided to stay quiet. No point adding to this conversation as far as he was concerned.
"Is Aleksander still there?" Slaine asked, surprised not to hear the prince speak.
"I'm here. No need to worry about your prisoner running off, Slaine." Aleksander said.
"Ah. I see. Regarding the invasion of Earth, could you perhaps say a few words to those Orbital Knights who distinguished themselves in battle?"
"You mean 'me', correct?" Lemrina asked.
"Yes. If Princess Asseylum were to honor their achievements, it would win over more Orbital Knights to our side."
"'Our' side?" Lemrina asked.
Slaine smiled. "Yes."
The princess remained quiet for a moment before answering Slaine. "Very well. Incidentally, Slaine, what is my sister's condition?"
"The reports say that she is still in critical condition."
"I see."
"For now, all we can do is have faith and entrust her to the medical staff."
"That's true. Let us pray for a quick recovery. You shouldn't dwell too much on it either, Slaine."
"Thank you for your kind words. Excuse me, but I must go." Slaine bowed before closing off the communication channel.
Lemrina sat there quietly before addressing Aleksander. "He didn't shift his gaze that time."
"He's staring at a screen. Not at you. It's much easier for people to lie when direct eye contact isn't necessary." Aleksander pointed out. "So what are you going to do now?"
It only took Lemrina a short moment to decide. "I'm going to the Landing Castle."
"To find Asseylum?" Aleksander asked.
"Yes."
Aleksander stood up. "I should go with you."
"Don't bother. There isn't any way that I could convince them to take you out of the Moon Base. Just stay here. I'll talk to you when I get back." Lemrina said.
As she left, Aleksander shook his head in slight amusement. "What is it with little sisters being obstinately stubborn?"
Inko braced herself as she continued to read through the manual for the Pegasus. While she had spent the last couple of days running through simulations, she couldn't help but be a bit nervous.
Unlike its aerial counterpart, the ground assault loadout of the Pegasus was retrofitted with much more weaponry. Asplund had gone all out in creating the ground assault loadout, installing chain guns along its arms, as well as two missile launchers on its back. Like its aerial counterpart, the ground assault loadout also had an energy bolt system in the form of two barrels on the shoulders of the Pegasus, which was superior in terms of firepower because it could be focused solely on firing, and not on flying. To finish off the ensemble of weapons, there were vibration blades on the backside of the chain guns so that the Pegasus wasn't vulnerable at close range.
It's almost ridiculous how much different this kataphrakt is from Alek's. Inko thought wryly. This thing is literally a little kid's dream come true.
"Inko. Conserve the missiles. If we don't manage to destroy the original Ortygia right away, we need them to clear out as many of the clones as we can at once." Inaho instructed.
Inko nodded. "Roger that." Please be alright, Alek.
It didn't occur to most people, but Inaho really wanted to rescue Alek. There were three reasons for this. One of them was that Inko had looked downright miserable during the time that Alek had been kidnapped, so he wanted her to feel better about the whole situation. The second one, though, was much more logical.
Alek was the lynchpin to ending the war. After all, he was the centerpiece upon which Count Mazuurek's faction's loyalties lay. Without him, they were lost.
The third reason was much more personal for Inaho. Alek had promised that he would look for Seylum.
Inaho owed the princess. After all, she was the one who helped him to find his identity as a person, regardless of whether or not she did it intentionally. Before the war, Inaho had just been going through the motions of life. When the war began, the only real thoughts he had were in regard to the war effort and how to get through each and every fight as efficiently as possible. Then he had multiple opportunities to interact with Seylum.
He would never admit it to anyone, but he was drawn to the princess from the beginning. She was straightforward. Had been even when she pinned him down to ask him for information she needed. She had been willing to put herself in the line of fire to save people. And not just people she cared for. People she had no real connection to either were not exempt from her conviction. He wanted to protect that.
Then there was the time they had spent together. She was inquisitive, and he was more than willing to sate her curiosity, as learning things for the sake of learning was practically at the core of his being.
The last time they interacted before Alek's announcement, she had asked him a question that had almost shaken him to the core.
"You're a kind person, aren't you? You are. After all this is over, we will remain friends, won't we?"
"Uh, sure."
"I'm glad."
That was a first for Inaho. No one had ever called him kind before. Intelligent, yes. Antisocial or emotionless were two other words that was tossed around as well. Kind was not a word applied to him.
And then there was the fact that the princess was willing to be friends with him. Sure, Inaho had friends in the form of Alek, Calm, Inko, Nina, and more recently, Rayet, but the majority of them had known him for years, with Rayet being the one exception to that. People didn't normally just come to Inaho and ask to be friends.
What really struck home though, was the final moments they spent together. While it had been cut short by the untimely shots fired by Count Saazbaum, Seylum's words had resonated with him.
"Sorry, I can't see very well… I have blood in my eyes."
"I'm right here, Inaho. I'm right here."
Inaho wasn't quite sure when the moment was, but if he had to guess, the moment that Seylum had imprinted herself in his heart was that moment. She had refused to let go of his hand. And only relinquished her grip when she was rendered unable to by a shot to the head.
No one was quite sure where exactly the bullet had hit, but clearly it hadn't been able to kill the princess. Inaho was absolutely certain of it. He didn't know how or why, but he had a connection with Seylum of some sort. And that was enough for him.
Seylum had taken up a place in his heart, next to his sister. Alek had immediately assumed that it was love, but for Inaho, it was something much deeper. She was a part of him. No matter how illogical it was, how untrue on the physical level it may have been, she was a part of him. And he would not let her die. Not while he could help it.
As the field began lighting up with gunfire, he refocused.
First things first, we need to get this operation done.
When Lemrina came in, Aleksander noticed a difference immediately. Mainly because she was walking on her own feet. Well, that's a thing.
He stood up right away, completely certain as to the identity of the person under the disguise. "Asseylum?"
He guessed right. Asseylum removed the disguise before embracing her brother. "Aleksander!"
Aleksander returned the gesture. "When did you get here?"
"Just now. Lemrina helped me out." Asseylum explained.
Aleksander let go of his sister. "Where is Lemrina now?"
"Calling Slaine to this room. She wants me to have the full picture of what's going on."
"Do you mind if I ask Slaine the questions? I'm still trying to figure out the full picture as well."
Asseylum nodded. "You probably have some other questions as well. How is everyone, by the way?"
Aleksander took a moment to answer. "Well, everyone on the Deucalion's still doing fine, though I think I might have Inko worried for the moment. I kind of did get captured, after all."
"What about Inaho?" Asseylum asked. "How is he? Is he alright?"
Asseylum was somewhat concerned with the silence. "Aleksander?"
"For the most part." The prince replied. "His left eye was shot out, so it got replaced with an analytical engine that utilizes his brain to make calculations on the fly."
"Oh… but he's fine, right?" Asseylum asked.
"I'm not sure. The big thing about the eye is that Inaho's been trying to increase its efficiency by expanding its reach on his brain. Problem is, it's bound to cause stress. No brain can handle that kind of information influx for an extended period of time."
When Asseylum's face took on a worried expression, Aleksander figured he went too far. "He should be alright once the war is over. I doubt someone as practical as him will keep something harmful to his health when he doesn't need it."
"But when will the war be over?" Asseylum asked.
"You already know the answer to that. Now come on, we need to ask Slaine some questions."
Inaho scanned the battlefield. The Electris and Scandia had been eliminated without too much trouble, though the casualty count had been higher than he expected. That was mainly due to the Scandia sharing its special abilities with the Electris. Now, it was just the Ortygias left. While he had told Inko at first to use the missiles to clear away the Ortygias, he had her hold off.
Strange. The moment that the cloning occurs, that physical state of the kataphrakt is perfectly preserved. I wonder…
Inaho activated his comm. "Inko. Damage one of the Ortygias but don't destroy it. I'm building a hypothesis and I want to know if it's correct."
The moment that the Ortygia Inko damaged cloned itself, Inaho knew he was right. The Ortygia in question cloned itself with the damage part remaining how it was.
"So that's it. The Ortygia doesn't just clone the kataphrakt itself. It clones everything about it using quantum teleportation. In other words, the pilot is also cloned as well. Given that assessment, we have to destroy them all at once. Inko!"
"Yes!" Inko understood right away. "Beginning targeting sequence. Locking on to all Ortygias. I need everyone to group them into a cone so I can get them with the subsequent explosions if I have to."
"Leave that to me." Inaho said. "Control, slave all kataphrakts to me except the Pegasus! Inko, show me the target area and I'll eliminate all kataphrakts outside of it."
"You wished to speak with me, Princess Lemrina?" Slaine entered the room.
Instead of Lemrina saying something though, Aleksander took the initiative. "Slaine, explain yourself."
"Aleksander? What are you talking about?"
"That's Prince Aleksander to you. I'm not asking you as a friend. I'm ordering you as your future emperor. Now tell me, why did you lie to the two of us about Asseylum's condition. She's already woken up, hasn't she?"
Slaine was at a loss of words for a moment before replying. How did he find out? "I thought I would have to tell you some day. It would be impossible to hide it from you forever."
"Not funny, Slaine. I want an explanation regarding your behavior which is unbecoming of an Orbital Knight."
Slaine frowned. He had never seen Aleksander act so official with him before. It had always been informal conversation between the two of them. "Princess Asseylum isn't quite herself yet. I need Princess Lemrina to portray her until she recovers her memories."
"Alright then, answer this question. What exactly are you trying to achieve by doing all this? You're not one for conquest simply because you want glory. So what is it?"
"I plan to create a new world."
"A new world?"
Slaine nodded before stepping forward. "Yes. A world free of worry. A world where conflict and suffering will not exist."
Aleksander snorted in disdain. "Surely you don't think it's possible to eliminate suffering and conflict, do you? And who would rule this world?"
"Your sister, Princess Asseylum. I thought that was rather clear." Slaine said.
"Do you really believe our sister wants such a thing?" Lemrina finally spoke up.
"I know she doesn't. That is why I will make it a reality and present it to her."
Aleksander glanced over at Lemrina, whose eyes seemed to have started watering up.
"Your Highnesses, do you know why wars break out?"
"They are… a means of negotiation between states."
Slaine thought he saw Aleksander crack a small smile, but chose to ignore it. "No. Wars break out because there is someone to fight against. To eliminate war, there are two options. Invade and assimilate, or utterly exterminate one's adversary so that only you remain. Mankind's history is a history of conflict. The very instant Mars split off from Earth, war was inevitable. Even if I had not, someone else eventually would have."
Both royals sat quietly as they processed what he said. Lemrina spoke first. "You are no longer the Slaine we once knew, are you?"
With that, she stood up. Slaine's mouth opened somewhat in surprise. She shouldn't be able to stand in here, where the gravity isn't lowered. How is this possible?
He had his answer a second later, as the disguise was removed, revealing the princess which he had started this entire war for. "Princess Asseylum…"
The door behind him opened. "I told her everything." Lemrina said, wheeling in with Eddelrittuo.
Slaine heard a gun suddenly cock behind him. "Slaine Troyard. I hereby order upon my authority as Crown Prince of Vers to cease all hostilities. Failure to comply will result in your stripping of all titles and deeds. Now, what say you?" Aleksander Vers Allusia asked.
For the first time in her life, Inko understood what it felt like to be Alek when he was in the Pegasus. That sense of power that could not be matched.
All the same, she still preferred piloting the Areion over the Pegasus. She couldn't really understand how Alek had managed to pilot the Pegasus so effectively for so long while she had only been able to put up a mediocre performance at best. Regardless of what Asplund had said about her piloting and how fast it improved, Inko thought she still had a long way to go.
Thankfully enough, targeting the enemies wasn't too difficult, as Inaho's assistance had been enough to cull the numbers of the enemy.
Inko began pressing buttons at a rapid pace. "All missiles locked onto targets, chain guns armed, energy cannons charged. Firing now!"
To everyone around her, it was the most amazing spectacle to watch. The Pegasus launched all its missiles at once, with chain bullets and energy bolts following not far behind. It was only five seconds later that the battlefield was completely clear of Ortygias and the Landing Castle lay available to invade in the distance.
Inko advanced up to the Landing Castle, leaving its captures to others as she took a moment to rest.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. I managed to clear them out. Alek's safe now.
Her comm channel buzzed to life as Yuki's voice spoke through it. "Inko… Alek's not here."
She bolted up. "What?! Where is he?"
"At the Moon base. They moved him there after the capture. We managed to find the remains of the old Pegasus, but that's all they left here."
Once again, Inko's heart sank. She didn't let herself get down though. Even if Alek wasn't here, he was still alive. All they had to do was rescue him the next time they went to space.
I'll just keep on fighting until we can get him back. Until I can get him back. I still need to give him my answer, after all.
"Slaine, please put an end to this conflict." Asseylum implored the Count.
Slaine simply stood there, looking at the gun. "You understand what will happen if you miss, do you not, Prince Aleksander? If you miss, you risk hitting Eddelrittuo or Princess Lemrina. Are you sure you are willing to take that risk?"
"Slaine, I could be aiming from triple the distance and I could still hit you right between the eyes if I wanted. You're not in a position to bargain."
Slaine closed his eyes. "I see. Unfortunately, your Highness, I cannot follow your orders. You see, I am no longer a citizen of the Vers Empire. I'm sorry, but I'm going to take you into custody."
As he said this, the door opened again and three armed soldiers walked in. Aleksander's eyes widened as he realized the position he was in. If I shoot Slaine right here and now, there is nothing guaranteeing the safety of any of us.
Aleksander grit his teeth in frustration before he emptied his gun of bullets and tossed it to Slaine. "Fine. Now what?"
Count Mazuurek looked at the counts assembled before him, feeling rather proud of himself. While it had been difficult to find people willing to listen, he had finally done it. Among the seven counts that he had managed to persuade, there were people of all ranges, with both men and women as well as older counts and younger. Much more than the original plan to recruit three.
He took a breath. "Thank you all for taking your time to listen to me. I am grateful for your help. Now, as you all know, Prince Aleksander Vers Allusia is alive. Our duty is to ensure that he reclaims his rightful place in Vers. That said, can I expect all of you to pledge your loyalties to him when the time comes?"
One of the older counts, Count Valerus nodded. "Certainly. With your proof of Prince Aleksander's survival, we cannot stand by."
"He is the rightful heir to the throne." Count Arlance agreed. "And what he has told you is not wrong. The Terrans are not all worthless people. Like you have said, they have a rich history. We cannot hope to conquer Earth and understand its history. There is much that they can show us, and us them."
Countess Femieanne nodded. "This war has gone on long enough. Count Mazuurek, we will stand with Prince Aleksander when the time comes. You can count on us to perform our duties."
Count Mazuurek bowed. "Thank you very much. I will take my leave now."
As the communication channels all winked out of existence, Count Mazuurek glanced over at the moon.
The time is nigh. Count Cruhteo should be arriving soon. Once he does, everything will be ready. All that will be left is the rescuing of Prince Aleksander and Princess Asseylum.
Man that took way longer than I thought.
For all those who were disappointed with how little action Inko got, you have to remember: The variation of the Pegasus she was piloting was meant for raw destruction. If everything is unleashed at once, very little will remain.
Plus as I've mentioned before, I'm god awful at writing action scenes.
Until next time,
WX