So it's been a long time. Much longer than I'd like, but let's not even get into that noise, because it's the same old song. Thankfully we're at least picking up the pace plot wise, though it might mean just a little less of that dialogue we love so much. I gotta say of all of my stories I think the banter in this one may be the absolute best. Not that the others don't have their fair share, but the others don't have Cerberus now do they?

That said, we STILL don't have Tatenashi around. But we'll be getting back to the Academy fairly soon (maybe even in this chapter?) and then we'll get some teal action. Not sure how I'm going to fit her in romance wise though. Plot wise she would still be assigned to protect Ichika, so...?

When the time drew near for the unplanned vacation of the IS students to draw to a close, it was a noticeably dour few days. At least, it was for Church. Roughly five days before the regular routine of the IS Academy was to resume, Church was feeling distinctly unhappy about it. After all, he had little reason to look forward to it like everyone else did. The girls and Ichika were all IS pilots for one, meaning they actually had something to gain from being at an IS school. They also were actually eager to improve their abilities as pilots, considering the position many of them held for their respective nations. They wanted to improve, and the best way to do that was to learn, which meant classes.

As for Church, he was perfectly content to stay at Cecilia's mansion indefinitely and enjoy the beach and the bikinis and the tourism. He had nothing personal to gain from returning to the Academy: in fact, he would have a lot less time to spend with everyone because they would all be back to classes, studying, and training.

Of course realistically it was also a bad turn for the mission. There were a lot more things to worry about at the Academy itself, including one particular Chifuyu Orimura. Truth be told Church was eager to see her again, but having such an astute woman around meant it would be harder to act without arousing suspicion. And that wasn't even saying anything about Tabane.

All things considered, Church knew he needed to get on the ball as far as his objectives were concerned. He had only gotten bits and pieces of Akatsubaki's data so far, and he knew his leaders were getting impatient. It was only a matter of time before his lax approach to their objectives resulted in distinctly negative consequences.

But by now Church was conflicted over it to a more serious degree than before. His feelings regarding the girls notwithstanding, Umbra Stratum was up to something, and it sure as hell wasn't anything good.

And unfortunately, Church didn't really know anything about it. The data file he had attempted to copy from the African base had self-destructed, and now the only knowledge Church had of this so called 'Lightning Shiver' was his memory. That said, he knew that this operation was his mission. The description of the objectives had been identical to what he was doing here: gathering data from enemy arsenals. What he hadn't known before reading that file was that there was a second part to his mission, which apparently included destroying enemy hardware, and maybe even enemy pilots, including his friends. The Commander sure as fuck had't said anything about that to him the day he had deployed.

Church was no fool of course. He was well aware that his own unwillingness to engage in the second half of his mission had had likely been foreseen, and he had therefore not been informed of it from the beginning. The Director had likely intended to have it carried out by some other means, such as the Crucible missile. But there was an even bigger threat and mystery in the form of Phantom Task.

They were as much of a mystery as everything else about Lightning Shiver. No matter how thoroughly he searched, Cerberus could find no concrete information on them. So far he had only been able to theorize that Phantom Task and the independent organization that had been stealing IS over the years were one and the same. It was the most logical explanation considering the presence of Arachne in their arsenal.

And if they were supposedly working together with Umbra Stratum, it became a question of what they wanted. If they were hellbent on acquiring IS for themselves, why destroy them instead? And even if they were planning to destroy them, why? What purpose would it serve? Even if the IS Academy was obliterated there were still plenty of other units throughout the world, so it was hardly like they would be monopolizing the tech.

But while Church did not know what Phantom Task or Umbra Stratum wanted out of this operation, he did know one thing: they were getting impatient. So impatient that they would be willing to aggressively act on it to spur it forward. If he stalled for too much longer things were going to get bad, and more than likely, dangerous for his friends.

And that was a problem in and of itself. He practically had no choice but to actually provide them with the Gen 4 data for Houki's Akatsubaki. Anything less and they would likely lose their patience and do something drastic.

But that didn't mean he was entirely without options. There were numerous things he could do to still hinder them. He was certain Cerberus could falsify some data or even plant a virus in it without being detected. But figuring out what he could do along those lines would have to wait until after he actually had all of the data.

These were his thoughts as he lounged about in his room during the early morning hours. He had woken up a little earlier than usual, but hadn't figured that anyone else would be awake yet. That said, he was mildly surprised when someone knocked on his door. Of course, the surprise was quickly replaced with anticipation, since the only person he ever really spent the morning with was Rin, but when he cracked the door open it was Cecilia.

"Church! We need a fourth player and no one else is up to the task except for you."

Assuming she was referring to a game of some sort, Church cocked an eyebrow at her. "What are we playing?"

"Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime!"

Needless to say, there was a few moments of confusion on Church's part, though he eventually managed an answer. "Uh... what?"

Unusually excited about this particular game, Cecilia was a bit more buoyant than usual. "It's a four player couch co-op game, where we all get to man different stations on a ship. Laura stole the driver's seat and Rin took two of the cannons, so we need you on the shield!"

From an objective standpoint this all sounded extremely strange, but Church figured it was nothing more than a request from the girls to play a game, and he certainly didn't have anything against that. "Sounds good to me. Let's go."

Emboldened by Church's agreement to play, Cecilia lead him back down to the game room where all of the fun stuff in the mansion was gathered. Laura and Rin were already on the couch, waiting for their other two players.

"So, I heard someone stole the pilot's seat."

Laura glanced back at him with a serious look. "I'm the only one here who was trained under squad based circumstances. Clearly I am the only one fit to command."

"But I have squad based training too..."

Laura pouted at him, making her desire to be the driver quite clear. Needless to say Church succumbed immediately. "Of course, I think I'd rather use the shield anyway..."

Rin glanced over at the two of them from her spot on the couch. "Oh please. Shields are for cowards."

She said this jokingly, but it was still an obvious jab at Laura's AIC for the Schwarzer Regen. "Yes, well some machines are actually worth protecting."

"As if, Shen Long could trash your IS any day."

"Yes, you proved as much when we first met. Oh, but that was actually you and Cecilia together, wasn't it?"

Rin looked like she wanted to make a counter, but she couldn't deny that Laura had thrashed both her and Cecilia together back then. But they had been fighting an enemy with no intelligence on their IS. Knowing the capabilities of Schwarzer Regen now, Rin was positive she could beat Laura. Maybe they needed to have another sparring match as well.

"Just wait. Now that I know about your IS you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it."

Church was initially worried that the girls were getting out of hand just like Rin had with Cecilia that day on the beach, but he didn't detect that heated tension from that situation. The two of them just seemed eager to compete, though Church wished they'd tone it down since they were about to play a team based game.

Needless to say the psychedelic couch co-op game he jumped into was weird as hell. It also seemed incredibly ironic, because the whole game revolved around a universe united by love. Until it was ruined by hate or something. Honestly Church didn't know, but at one point the four of them had to work together to fight an animated hippie looking version of the Ursa Major constellation.

Short term conclusion: weird as all hell. Long term conclusion: super fun. He and the girls spent hours playing this strange game, and they likely would have played it all the way to the end in one sitting had they not been interrupted by a particularly onerous looking Houki. When she had arrived, no one had any idea.

"I'll admit I've come to appreciate a handful of things about video games, but is this all you four have been doing all morning? This is just lazy! Get up and do something!"

Rin cocked an eyebrow at her. "Like what? Training?"

That last part was said with obvious sarcasm, but it didn't stop Houki from interpreting it as a serious suggestion. "Of course! We're going back to the Academy in just a few days! You know Orimura Sensei will hit us all with a dozen drills and probably a few tests besides. What do you think will happen if she finds out that we've been slacking this whole time? We've only trained once on this entire vacation!"

While none of the girls wanted to admit that Houki had a point, they all knew she was right. Chifuyu was the kind of person that expected everyone to treat a vacation like the weekend, and she treated the weekend only as time to study for the week itself.

There was a chorus of grumbling among the trio Church sat with, but they nevertheless saved their game and got to their feet to supposedly put a few hours into training with their IS instead of doing anything fun. Not that they didn't enjoy being pilots, but if they were going to do it nearly every day at the Academy, the least they could do was refrain while on break.

It was Rin who questioned what exactly they would do. "So what, do we just spar again? Or should we practice something in particular?"

Before anyone could answer, Church recalled what Laura had said earlier, and made a suggestion himself. "Why not have a team battle? It's my understanding that you guys don't have too much experience with team combat. Minus a few practice sessions and the Gospel, of course."

To his delight, it seemed like no one wanted to disagree. And this made for an opening he could exploit. Provided he managed to land himself on whatever team was opposite of Houki, he could focus all of his efforts on grappling her in close quarters. As long as there was contact, Church could get data. Of course it would be difficult to hang onto another IS in open combat like that, especially during a team battle, but even so it was currently his only option. The only other thing he could do was actually get his hands on Akatsubaki in standby form, but he had never seen Houki without it, whether she was in her uniform or any level of casual clothing.

Still, a certain level of stealth could be employed if all else failed...

Considering the implications of sneaking around Houki at any point in time when she was vulnerable, Church felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought of it, but he nevertheless held the plan in the back of his mind in case it was necessary. But for now, he had the chance to achieve his goals through more direct means, especially since Houki seemed excited to engage in the team battle he had suggested.

"Alright, I'll go find Ichika and Charlotte. You guys head down to the beach so we can get started right away when I round them up!"

Church found it amusing that none of the girls thought Ichika and Charlotte being the only absent members was suspicious. Considering their dynamic, he figured they would jump on that particular coincidence in a heartbeat, concluding the worst possible scenario. Ironically it was quite possible that Ichika and Charlotte had run off for some alone time (it was more likely that Charlotte had dragged him into it). Considering how often the entire group was around each other as a whole, Church had no idea when Ichika made time for his girlfriend. He couldn't help but wonder whether he had agreed to the relationship for the right reasons.

One way or another, Church headed down to the beach with the trio of girls he had been playing with, where they spent a good fifteen minutes by themselves before Houki finally arrived on the scene with their two missing members. Houki didn't look furious and Ichika was still in one piece, so Church assumed the kendo practitioner had not caught them doing anything with one another she would dislike.

"Well, it took far too long, but now we're all here! So: how are we doing the teams?"

Naturally the girls were looking to pair off with the people they liked, something Church was fine with because it almost guaranteed that he would be pit against Houki that way. However, and much to his surprise, Laura put forth another suggestion.

"We should randomize it."

Needless to say, the assembled girls looked at her begrudgingly, wondering why on earth she would suggest such a thing. Honestly Church was kind of surprised too. He had expected her to want to be on his team.

"Don't give me those looks. You all know it's very unlikely that we'll get to choose our teams or partners in tournaments once we get back to the Academy. We have to learn to fight with and against teams that aren't of our own choosing."

While her words made the other girls scowl, they were nevertheless true, and they all agreed in the end. Thankfully, it was easy to generate randomized numbers with the machines they had. Being her idea, Laura numbered everyone present and used the computer on her IS to randomly select them. Ultimately, the field of battle became an interesting one, but one that was not in Church's favor. He ended up being on a team with Houki and Laura, while the other girls made up the opposing team.

Needless to say Houki and Rin were distinctly displeased with their teams, but Church was the most disgruntled because it meant his plan was now a bust. There was no way he could latch onto Akatsubaki while he and Houki were on the same team. At least not long enough to get the full data scan he needed. He would have to fall back on plan B when this was all over...

Of course, aside from that, it didn't take anyone more than half a second to acknowledge that the teams were uneven, though Cecilia voiced this first. "You are aware that our team is one member larger than your own?"

Being the one that had more or less done the team organization, Laura gave her answer. "No one said the odds would always be fair in combat. We can switch the numbers after awhile if we must."

Accepting this truth, everyone prepared their machines for mock combat. Despite the obstacle that had been presented with Houki as a teammate, Church was nevertheless excited. He'd fought IS before, but usually in controlled environments. Moreover, he had never fought against four simultaneously. He was kind of eager to test his abilities against superior odds, and the particular IS that were his opponents.

When everyone had mobilized their respective machines, the two teams took off into the sky, initially away from their opponents so they could have some distance to plan and act. Naturally Church had opened a comm channel for his respective teammates: without communication there was no team at all. Surprisingly, Laura addressed him first.

"Well? How do you think we should proceed?"

"You're asking me? Who made me team leader?"

Houki cut in as well. "Who indeed."

As usual, Laura was undeterred by anyone else. "We've fought side by side before Houki. We're already familiar acting under our own guidance. I'd like to see how Church commands the situation. And we'd best hurry; our foes won't wait for us to finish deliberating if they conclude their planning first."

While he was still surprised to have command of the team handed over to him so quickly, Church nevertheless accepted it for what it was. Besides, he liked being a strategist.

"Alright then. First order of business is to eliminate Cecilia. Since the enemy outnumbers us she can easily hang back and snipe us while we're engaged one to one with the others. That'll be your job Houki."

"What? Don't be ridiculous, I should fight Ichika-"

Church cut her off just because he knew time was of the essence. There was no official start to this match, but whoever finished planning their strategy first would probably act first as well. "Cecilia's greatest weakness is in close quarters. Akatsubaki excels in CQC. Not only that, but with your superior speed she'll never be able to escape your range. Realistically you should be able to finish her in a few minutes or less, and then we've evened the odds."

While Houki still grumbled a bit, she nevertheless accepted this plan, since it was entirely logical. "Fair enough..."

"Laura, normally I'd assign you to sniper duty, but since we're outnumbered you won't be able to hang back. You'll be our tank instead. Schwarzer Regen's equipment is perfect for defense and stalling. Try to take on two opponents if you can. I'll take on whoever is left, and provided Houki and I win quickly, we'll have them outnumbered."

The German girl nodded to herself. "A good plan. If we're ready, I believe I am most suited to begin the engagement."

"Then let's go."

With that, Laura fired her railgun at the opposing team, hoping to catch them off-guard. Unfortunately Charlotte was on the ball, dodging the round and returning fire of her own, thus beginning the engagement.

As expected, Cecilia retreated further back while her teammates rushed forward, but Akatsubaki's blinding speed made it easy to slip by Ichika's advance and close in on her. Rin and Charlotte went for Scwharzer Regen first, but their initial rain of projectiles and shock rounds were all blocked by Laura's AIC. Ichika made to pursue Houki and protect Cecilia, but seeing as he had no one to fight, Church cut him off before he could make much progress.

"Well, I guess this is our rematch. No super weapons this time, promise."

Ichika didn't look terribly keen on the idea of leaving Cecilia to fight Houki alone, but with Church completely unoccupied he didn't have much choice. Readying Yukihira, he went his his usual tactic: rushing the enemy head on and hoping their reflexes sucked. To be fair that was just Church's interpretation of the tactic more than anything else.

Either way, Sieglinde was ready to meet Yukihira as soon as Ichika came in range, and their combat quickly became little more than swordplay, albeit between two warriors of vastly different sizes. As much as Church liked to tell himself that he was a better pilot, it wasn't like he was massively outperforming Ichika. The younger Orimura sibling was good with a sword, though it was likely thanks to a lot of training with numerous more skilled individuals.

Church tried to keep tabs on his teammates as he essentially dueled with Ichika, though it was of course difficult to do so. Houki seemed to be bearing down on Cecilia considerably, having little trouble on her end of things. As for Laura, she was holding her own against Charlotte and Rin's combined assault, but not for much longer if things played out. Both Rin and Charlotte knew of the AIC's weakness, and they were smart enough to attack from different angles to get around it. Laura managed to mitigate the damage by defending against one opponent while attacking the other, but her offense was mostly automated since the AIC required her total focus. She was beginning to take some minor damage.

In short, she could only distract the enemy for so long and she needed help sooner than later. And even though Church was fairly certain Houki would wrap things up with Cecilia rather quickly, he decided against dawdling in his bout with Ichika.

"As much as I love out little light saber duel, kind of have places to be. Sorry."

With that, Church raised his free hand and blasted Byakushiki with an EM spread shot. Tendrils of electricity raced from his armored gauntlet and attacked Byakushiki's shields, draining them far too fast for Ichika's liking. Attempting to get away from the unorthodox weapon, Ichika rocketed away from his opponent, but Church wasted no time in pursuing him, all the while unleashing a hail of bullets from two rotary cannons he manifested on his back. This wasn't too different from their last engagement, but with one critical exception: these cannons were flak, and they were much harder to evade so long as Exeter stayed on target.

Though the battle had just started, Ichika's shields were already down to sixty-seven percent, and the flak cannons were dropping them even further with little delay. Obviously he had been better off at close range, but he couldn't close the distance while suppressed. Calling forth the beam cannon he had acquired thanks to Byakushiki's Second Shift, he tried to fire through the chaos of the exploding flak shells around him. Unfortunately his aim was God awful, especially with low visibility added to it, and every shot he fired missed Exeter by a margin of several meters. Heck, Church wasn't even moving.

Ichika was trying to pull all sorts of maneuvers to escape the hail of flak rounds wearing him down, but Byakushiki wasn't so blindingly fast as to evade Exeter's tracking capabilities. Unfortunately this state of affairs made Church relax a little too much, something he paid for when a large caliber projectile ricocheted off of his torso and sent him spiraling through the air, sixteen percent shield damage notwithstanding.

He saw Charlotte pointing a rifle at him, having apparently turned from Laura to help Ichika out of a tight spot, but thankfully Laura roped her back into the engagement in moments, quite literally considering those energy whip things Church has only seen her use in one of the arena recordings.

Unfortunately Ichika knew how to take advantage of a situation. With Church still recovering from Charlotte's shot, Church had no time at all to react to a swing from Yukihira, sending him careening even further through the air. While being smaller than IS did have many advantages, it also had one major drawback: less mass meant a inferior resistance to impact. Most IS wouldn't be sent flying like he was when a heavy blow connected.

Seeking to push his advantage, Ichika chased after Exeter as it twisted through the sky, but before Ichika could close in Church had already recovered enough to defend himself, this time unleashing a horde of missiles to intercept his opponent. These missiles were special though. They each split off into smaller explosives, which circled around their target before chasing them. This meant the enemy had to fend off missiles from a variety of unorthodox angles, and they were much harder to deflect or even evade.

But Church had severely underestimated Ichika's ability to dodge. Perhaps it was his Ignition Boost or just his insanely high compatibility with Byakushiki, but either way the boy managed to weave between the storm of missiles unscathed, albeit by a hair's breadth.

Of course, Church liked to be versatile, and who said the missiles had to hit their target to do damage? Readying the flak cannons he had used earlier, Church began tracking Ichika's maneuvers. As long as the missiles were close to Ichika they would still hurt, and what better way to detonate a fair amount of them than with flak?

Waiting until Ichika was essentially surrounded by a score of missiles, Church took hold of the opportunity and unleashed a hail of projectiles at his foe. Needless to say the flak detonated the missiles it hit, and though the explosions were far from direct hits, it blasted Byakushiki backwards, with the remainder of the surviving missiles pursuing him.

Had all of those connected, Byakushiki may have been out of the fight right then and there, but Ichika recovered fast enough to slice through the few remaining explosives with his sword, nullifying them before they could detonate. Even so, his shields had now dropped even further, and the situation was about to take a turn for the worse.

Before either he or Church could engage once again, Houki and her Akatsubaki came to hover beside the Exeter suit, having disabled Blue Tears.

"Cecilia?"

"At zero."

Church scanned the skies around him to see Cecilia and her IS some distance away from the fight. She didn't look very happy to be the first person defeated. "Well then, how about you finish Ichika for me? Laura needs some backup."

With a smirk directed at her childhood friend, Houki drew Akatsubaki's swords. "I'd be honored."

Leaving the two of them to their duel, Church charged towards the battle between Laura and her two opponents, looking to see which enemy he could catch off guard most effectively. In the end, both Charlotte and Rin were prime targets, but ultimately it was a better idea to target Shen Long. If it was just Laura versus the Rafale Revive, her AIC could easily negate the majority of Charlotte's ranged attacks. Rin was a bit more difficult because she possessed powerful close and long range options. While Charlotte was mostly harassing the Schwarzer Regen, Rin was doing most of the damage, taking advantage of openings to land consecutive shock cannon volleys or scoring hits with her blades.

Having come to this decision, Church loaded up another melee weapon of his own, though this one was quite a bit different from the typical swords used in aerial combat. It wasn't even a weapon in and of itself so much as a manipulator, but either way it caused damage. With a secondary gauntlet forming over the base one, Church compressed the air in front of his palm. The Concussion Fist was a weird weapon, but one he figured Rin could appreciate, considering the nature of her Dragon Cannons.

Charlotte, noticing Church's approach, tried to warn her teammate of the approaching danger, but even as Rin turned all she could do was take the explosive force of the Concussion Fist head on, launching her away from Laura with her assailant close behind. Even caught off guard as she was, Rin recovered quickly, righting her IS in mid-air as Church came to rest opposite of her position.

"Note to self: not making breakfast for Church for at least a week."

"Aw, what?! C'mon Rin, that's just not right!"

The Chinese girl smirked at him. "Well maybe you should have thought about that before you sucker punched me."

Church genuinely frowned behind his helmet, but his expression quickly came to match Rin's own. "Well, I guess if there's no reason for me to get up early in the morning I'll just get to sleep in..."

Now it was Rin's turn to scowl. The early morning was pretty much the only time she got to spend with Church by herself. Realizing she had completely lost this one, she simply grumbled to herself. "Fine, I won't nix breakfast, but I'm still gonna pummel you here!"

With that out of the way Rin unleashed a barrage from her Dragon Cannons, requiring some serious evasive action on Church's part to avoid. Thankfully Cerberus did a stellar job of predicting Rin's assault pattern, allowing the AI to manage evasion while Church focused on returning fire with a beam rifle similar to Cecilia's albeit smaller.

Naturally Rin dodged these as well, and soon enough the two of them were flying circles around each other, simultaneously dodging and shooting at each other. Church actually knew this was a particular type of IS maneuver, but he forgot what it was officially called."

Moreover, it was also the impetus for the two of them to take their battle less seriously. As Church cranked up the speed to try and outmatch his opponent, Rin did the same. The two of them kept boosting themselves further and further until they were simply a whirlwind of steel and energy blasts. It was exhilarating to move so fast, and Church was pretty sure he could hear Rin laughing over the open comm channel, just enjoying the adrenaline of their spirals.

Eventually Church reached a maximum output for his speed. He certainly wasn't being outrun by Shen Long, but the Chinese IS was still keeping pace with him. He couldn't beat her at their game like this.

Operator, would now be a good time to tell you that the Raiden module is ready to be used?

Wait, what?! Since when? How long have we had an IAMM module available?

This module has been available for use for over a week.

And you're only telling me just now because...?

The Exeter suit only recovered to one hundred percent earlier today. Seeing as how testing a new module under less than perfect condition is a foolhardy move, I waited until now to inform you.

Church was more shocked to learn that the suit had taken that long to get back to full functionality, but then again, it could have been repairing something minor for the past few days.

Fair enough. How do I use it?

Simply give the command and I will activate the module. It will manifest the same way your weapons do, but in order to convert your armor rather than create armaments.

Will it disrupt me in anyway?

It should not. Of course this is its first usage, but the suit should convert to Raiden form in mere moments.

Then do it.

With that quintessential command given, Cerberus initiated the Instant Armor Modification Module process. Exeter was surrounded by the same artificial light that usually signaled the manifestation of weapons, but only for a few seconds. When the light faded away, he noticed that he had gained significant speed immediately. For his convenience, Cerberus pulled up a visual schematic in the HUD.

While the suit still looked mostly like itself, there were numerous distinct differences. The most glaringly obvious was that the suit was no longer a steely silver, but a dark navy blue. The only parts that remained silver were a handful of heat vents and the aesthetic streamline throughout the body. He also noticed that the jet pack had taken on a far more intimidating appearance, the actual thrusters knifing out of his back like large blades. There were also four of them compared to the usual two. His visor, from the outside at least, had turned crimson as well, marking the only true point of contrast in this new form.

OK, so it looks cool, but what does it all do? What's changed?

The Raiden Module is designed primarily for speed and evasion. Armor has been reduced to make the suit lighter, while engine power has been doubled. Calibration data for this new module will allow you to make tighter turns and perform previously impossible maneuvers.

Just how much lighter armor are we talking here?

This module's armor can withstand .50 caliber rounds, but suffers in resilience to beam type weapons or pile-bunkers. Avoid contact with piercing weapons when shields are depleted.

The Ion Fusion Pack is still experimental and only in its beta stage. For now you will only be able to utilize maximum thrust for short periods of time before the suit must vent excess heat to avoid internal damage. Solutions to this problem pending.

Taking all of this into account, Church activated the engine that was now twice the power of the original, nearly making him sick as he accelerated far beyond any speed he had ever traveled before. He also noted that the engine sounded very similar to a Star Wars TIE fighter now, and he couldn't help but smile at the fact that Marcus had included that just because Church had once gushed about how cool the sound was.

Either way, his spiral dance with Rin became almost immediately one-sided as Church began to circle Shen Long faster than her IS could manage to turn. Naturally Church was far too unfamiliar with this velocity to shoot accurately, so Cerberus did it for him. In roughly twelve seconds Rin's shields were down to zero, at about the same time Raiden's thrusters reverted to standard power and the suit began a massive cooling flush.

As Church decelerated to something manageable, he felt like his stomach had tied itself into a knot. "Make a note: this beta design needs some work on the G-force nullification for the pilot..."

Noted, Operator.

By the time Church recovered from his uneasy stomach, Rin was floating in front of him. "Hey, what the hell you cheater!?"

"Who are you calling a cheater?"

"You! You didn't tell us you could do that! I thought you'd maxed out your speed and then you just jump by a few hundred miles an hour?!"

Church smirked at the fuming girl, not that she could see it. "C'mon Rin, the whole point of this exercise was to fight against unfamiliar odds, right? I had to surprise you somehow."

The Chinese girl simply crossed her arms. "Seriously reconsidering the breakfast you know..."

"Aw, c'mon, Rin. You have to admit this suit variant looks pretty cool."

"Yeah, I guess it does..."

Before the two of them could continue, Laura spoke over the open comm channel. "Match is over you two. We won Church, excellent strategy."

Naturally Rin was disgruntled about this. "What?! It was four to three, how could we lose?!"

Charlotte came over to hover beside them. "Sorry Rin. But in a one on one fight Schwarzer Regen is almost impossible to beat with standard tactics. Rafale Revive has a lot of weapons but they're all pretty straightforward... and Ichika didn't last long against Houki, especially after being at roughly half shield strength to start with..."

By the time she finished, the French blonde glanced over at the modded Exeter suit. "Church, what is that? A new variant?"

"Yep. Just earlier today. Like it? Does blue look good on me?"

Coming to rest beside them as well, Laura smirked. "But of course. You look good in every color."

Church would have smirked back if she had been able to see it. It was his understanding that Laura had been pretty inexperienced with flirting before, but she had certainly gotten fairly good at it. "Naturally. But are we done with training or going another round?"

"I'm certain Houki will demand more than this. But instead of actively participating, why don't you be the strategist?"

"The strategist?"

"You seem to have a decent aptitude for it. I'm interested in how you'd order different teams in different situations. Plus it'd still be good training."

By now the other girls had gathered around as well, letting Church question them all. "That alright with all of you?"

There was a chorus of agreement and a distinct lack of dissent, and to be honest Church kind of thought it was an interesting idea as well. "OK... how about a multi-team battle? Three teams of two?"

Laura shrugged. "Sounds interesting to me. Random or organized."

"Organized. Kind of interested in seeing how I can pit all of your skills against one another in different combinations."

"Then what are our teams?"

"Hm...Laura and Cecilia, Houki and Charlotte, and Ichika and Rin."

As usual, Houki wasn't happy to be on a different team than Ichika, but she didn't question it the way Cecilia did. "Why those match ups in particular?"

"Tank and Sniper, a speedy CQC and harasser, and two multi-role IS. Interesting combinations to pit against each other, especially in three-way combat."

"Well, that's true..."

"Then let's get started. I'll have a comm channel for all three teams. Kind of weird giving advice to opposing forces in hopes to make them all win, but... maybe that means I'm competing against myself? Everyone spread out."

Breaking into the teams Church had indicated, the five girls plus Ichika put considerable distance between all of their opponents. Still eager to test the capabilities of his new module, Church flew around the field of battle so he could both test himself and observe the field from multiple angles. From a tactical point of view, it was challenging to try and lead each team to victory against other teams he was also commanding, but he would try nevertheless.

"Laura and Cecilia, go with a shielded sniper technique. Protect Blue Tears with the AIC while it wears into individual targets."

It was Laura who answered him. "Will do Commander."

He then switched to a comm channel for Charlotte and Houki. "Charlotte, concentrate fire on Laura while Houki uses her superior speed to get around her and attack Cecilia. Make sure the Schwarzer Regen can't back up Cecilia without sustaining heavy damage from you."

"Acknowledged."

"Ichika, Rin."

"Yeah?"

"Tag team Houki. With her speed and melee capabilities one on one combat is suicide. Finish her quickly to eliminate the deadliest striker on the field."

"Roger."

Having issued orders to everyone the field, Church moved to the open comm channel and gave everyone the green light to engage. Needless to say everyone followed the orders he had issued without delay, which was interesting to say the least. It really was hard to try and command against yourself. But while he paid some decent attention to the evolving conflict, Church mostly noted Akatsubaki's speed, as blistering as always.

Cerberus, now that we have this Raiden module...

It is debatable whether or not we could match Akatsubaki. Technically, we may be able to match its speed and maneuverability, but with our current limitations we could only do so for a limited amount of time. Until we have a more refined Raiden module, the answer is more or less no.

Damn. Not surprising news I guess, but still...

"Church, the situation requires new strategy. Orders?"

Glancing over to Charlotte's team, which wasn't working with Rin and Ichika on Houki, Church issued new orders. "Charlotte, focus on keeping Laura and Cecilia occupied. Houki can take care of herself with the ability to regenerate her shields. Houki, stall long enough for Ichika to wear himself down..."

Hours after they had begun their unorthodox training session, everyone had finally returned to the mansion in the late afternoon, ready to rest and eat. They had undergone several different battlefield situations. They had returned to some three on three situations, mixed up different multi team setups, and even engaged in an all on one scenario where everyone fought against Akatsubaki. While they had managed to beat her on that last one, it had been a ridiculous effort. With the insane speed capabilities and the ability to regenerate her own shield, even five on one had been difficult. Still, Houki had not had much chance to retaliate so much as dodge and simply survive.

Either way, it had been strenuous exercise, and by now everyone was showering before dinner. That included Houki. And while Church felt extremely guilty about intruding on her personal space, he knew this was his one chance to get the complete data he needed. That was why he was cloaked outside of the room Houki was occupying right now, having used X-ray to determine that she was in the shower. Thanks to the master class quality of Cecilia's mansion there was still quite a large room and master bathroom for everyone to utilize.

Church slid the door open as quietly as possible, slinking into Houki's room. It looked exactly like his, with the exception of a few particular personal items lying around.

"She sure does have a thing for light blue underwear..."

They're also quite accommodating.

"Tell me about it."

OK. Aside from her sister Tabane and Yamada, she has the largest breasts our of all the girls you know.

What about Chifuyu?

That data is unknown.

We have a picture of her though.

That data is unknown.

Fine, just scan for Akatsubaki already.

Cerberus did as it was told without dissent, but it didn't take long for it to determine that Akatsubaki was not present in the immediate room.

Operator...

Resisting the urge to sigh, Church shook his head instead. I know. Probably in the bathroom right?

Most likely.

Shit.

While Church didn't have any carnal qualms about what he was about to do, he did have some moral issue with it. He would never complain about getting to see the female body under normal circumstances, but sneaking around while they were showering was uncouth and worse.

Still, he didn't really have a choice now, so he stealthily moved towards the slightly open bathroom door where he could see steam pouring out.

I feel like a stalker.

Just don't look at her Operator.

Yeah, like that's possible...

Using the X-ray to make sure Houki wasn't looking in the direction of the door, Church slipped into the bathroom as quietly as possible. And while he did see Akatsubaki's standby form resting on the bathroom counter, he also saw something a lot more enticing.

Son of a bitch, of course she doesn't actually use the shower curtain...

Despite Church's efforts to be an upstanding citizen he couldn't help but admire Houki's naked form. He hadn't really had a thing for Houki so far, though he had always admitted that she was attractive. But seeing her long hair frame the curvaceous and fit form of a kendo practitioner was difficult to ignore. And Cerberus was right: she was really putting the other girls to shame in bust size.

Damn... I still feel bad but I'm not honestly disappointed by this. If she weren't prickly all the time she'd be pretty hot.

Momentarily enraptured, Church only managed to regain his sense when Houki turned in his rough direction, scrubbing between her thighs and revealing the intimacy that Church wasn't comfortable with considering their relationship.

OK OK OK, stare at something else! Uh, uh, her eyes! Focus on her eyes!

While you're doing that Operator, could you kindly place your palm over Akatsubaki so I can actually get our data?

Doing his best to keep his gaze glued to a higher part of Houki's body, Church nevertheless did as Cerberus suggested.

She uh, she does have pretty eyes. Dark blue like that is rare in Oriental girls, but it looks really good with her dark hair. I guess that's why most of her underwear is blue- shit, don't think about that!

Despite his best efforts, Church still couldn't stop himself from lowering his gaze when she turned around again. Though her hair provided a pretty substantial barrier, she certainly wasn't lacking in a nice ass.

C-cerberus, could we perhaps do this a little faster? It's getting really hard to keep any decent thoughts in this situation...

Don't kid yourself Operator your thoughts were indecent the moment you came in here.

Just hurry up dammit! I don't know if I can take much more of this view!

Apparently taking his desires to heart, Cerberus focused on the task at hand so he could get it done as quickly as possible. This meant Church still go two or three minutes of a great show, but in the end he was able to keep his cool until they were ready to leave. The moment Cerberus informed him that the data was acquired, Church waited for the right opportunity to slip back out of the bathroom.

Well, that made me feel.. kind of like a stalker. Still enjoyed it, but now I feel like I should apologize.

Well if you want to die, feel free to let her know about this.

Yeah, noted.

Sneaking out of the room entirely, Church brought up the data they had acquired. It was everything they needed, but moreover, it was everything Umbra Stratum wanted.

...well, now what? What to do..."

We should send it of course.

Oh we will, but not before we make some alterations of our own.

Is that wise?

That depends. Can you make alterations to this data that won't be detected.

The AI scoffed. Operator, Please. Who do you think you're talking to?

Then do it. Until I know more about this business with Phantom Task... falsify the data. Make it believable of course, but make sure it won't be especially useful.

As you wish, Operator.

Church began to move down the hall to his own room, while questioning his AI. Gotta ask Cerb, why are you doing this? Your lack of loyalty to Umbra Stratum is kind of surprising.

My loyalty is to my creator, Operator. And his loyalty is to you more than our organization.

Fair enough. Good old Marcus, always there when you need him...

Indeed Operator. Indeed.

Marcus Dougley sat at his desk in the engineering lab, poring over the schematics for the new Raiden module that had been deployed for Exeter. Staying there far into the night, he was alone, the rest of the engineering team having turned in for the night already.

"Man, the capacitors are so powerful, we can't vent the heat fast enough to maintain constant acceleration... right now it's only useful in limited bursts... hm..."

While he was internally struggling to solve the problems with the current Raiden model, he was always aware of his surroundings. That was why he was alerted when the door to the lab slid open.

"That you Sam? I thought you guys had all turned in for the night?"

Marcus turned to face the newcomer, but the person he saw was not any member of the Engineering team. It was one of the base guards, a silenced SMG raised. In that brief moment of realization, Marcus experienced a plethora of emotions, chief among them fear. But also regret. Regret in knowing that he should have done something more, maybe something that would have turned this entire corrupt organization on its head. Now Church was going to be in the thick of it all with no one but himself to rely on.

It was the last thing to cross his mind before a muffled chorus of gunfire entered his ears.

The flight back to the Academy was an interesting contrast to their initial arrival. For one, Church spent the flight with Rin and Laura instead of Cecilia, since they essentially claimed him before tickets were ever bought. Aside from that, it was really awkward for Church in particular, because Houki was just a few seats away and he still had quite the vivid image of her in his mind.

Still, it was an enjoyable flight, because he got to spend it with his favorite girls, both of who were more than happy to hang off his arm and essentially flirt for the entire flight. It made it go by a lot quicker, which was unfortunate considering how much Church wanted to extend it. He wasn't eager to return to the Academy, save for one reason that he couldn't enjoy until they got back. It made the night they spent in the city outside of the Academy slightly more agonizing, but not as much as the day the Academy actually returned to normal function. On that day, as the majority of the students begrudgingly returned to class, Church had to spend the day alone for the first time in a long time, and he mostly spent it thinking about whether or not he would die within the next day or so.

He had seen Chifuyu nearly naked. The question was, did she know that he had? Because if she had there was a practical guarantee that he was dead. Totally dead. Of course, that being the case you think he may have wanted to avoid her, but he knew that if she was going to kill him hiding was futile. So he was pretty much waiting outside of her classroom in the morning. If he were going to die he may as well just get it over with...

When the first bell rang, the girls Church knew (and many he didn't) tried to talk to him, but they were all quickly thwarted by one single cough from the woman behind them, supported by the most downright murderous glare Church had ever seen when they all turned to look at her. Needless to say everyone scattered, even the the Representative Candidates (they knew better than anyone what Chifuyu was capable of), leaving Church alone to face what could have been an early demise.

In fact, his death seemed very likely since the glare on Chifuyu's face did no diminish at all even when they were alone. Still, Church didn't dare say the first word, lest it be his last. For awhile it seemed like Chifuyu wasn't going to say anything at all, but just when Church was about to perhaps say something she spoke.

"You saw it?"

"...yes."

"And?"

Church questioned whether or not he should lie. But, if he were going to die, he would at least do so with his honor intact. So, he took a deep breath, and he told the truth. "I saw it, and I'm not sorry. It was incredible and made me glad to be alive. If I meet my end now I will die a happy man, quite possibly being the only one to witness such beauty."

He had exaggerated that quite a bit in an effort to be dramatic, but maybe it really would pay off? Chifuyu was glaring at him, but there was just the teeniest, tiniest hint of red on her cheeks, though it was nearly imperceptible and Church could have very well been imagining it.

Either way, there was silence between the two of them for a good minute or so, until Chifuyu broke it once again, her voice as steely as ever. "Your honesty is the only reason I'm sparing you. We will never mention this again. Is that clear?"

"C-crystal..."

"I would order you to never think of it again but I know better than to ask for the impossible."

Seeing as how she wasn't going to kill him, Church wondered if he could push his luck just a bit. After all, flirting with the legendary Chifuyu Orimura and surviving would essentially make him a hero to all men everywhere.

"Asking me not to think about the most gorgeous dark-haired beauty in the world? Impossible is an understatement."

For a moment Church thought he saw that minuscule blush deepen, but any appreciation for it was cut short when the level of killer intent in the air rose beyond the norm. "Don't push your luck. I can change my mind at any time."

Unwilling to risk saying anything else, Church simply nodded as Chifuyu walked away from him, unfortunately making him miss the more prominent blush that covered her face once she allowed it. She was often praised for her looks by other girls, which didn't really mean much. Such blatant appreciation for her attractiveness from a man was a true rarity, and one she found herself appreciating more than she thought she would.

Of course Church did not know any of this. He was simply glad to have no broken bones or permanent scars after that particular encounter. In retrospect, he would have rather fought all five of the girls at the same time a hundred times over than face a potentially furious Chifuyu. Something about that was kind of sexy though, and that kind of worried him the most.

Yay for plot advancement! Extra yay for guaranteed Tatenashi and Kanzashi come next chapter! Hopefully a significantly longer chapter at that!