The Fight Has Just Begun
"Ah, careful! Careful please!"
Akima sucked in her breath between her teeth while Gune did his best to be a doctor. A few moments ago, she was on the surface of Sogowa, trying to hold of wave after wave of armor, fighting for her friend's people. Now she was staring at the ceiling of the Valkyrie's med bay, with blood running down her face in small trickles. She was mad. Mad at herself for the most part, for letting her enemy force her into a corner like they did. And for letting that Faulkner be the one to help her out. At least he hadn't laughed at her but she was still mad. It all happened so damn fast.
"Is she gonna be all right Gune?"
That was the voice of Cale. She had seen the expression on his face. He was both angry and worried at the same time. "Girl will be fine. Gune will repair the damage. He will fix Akima right up, don't worry."
She still managed to chuckle.
"Gune, you make it sound like I'm a machine." Peeking through a tiny slit, she saw the alien's big turtle-like face hovering above her while he performed his work, the tip of his tongue out of his mouth. She had hit her head pretty hard and a concussion was inevitable. Gune told her she had a micro fracture in her skull, not very serious but he had to fix it. "I'll be fine Cale. This won't take long."
"Damn it!" She heard Cale venting his anger on the bulkhead. "I never should've agreed to let you go through with this! I never should!"
He cursed and stamped his foot on the deck.
"Cale, I heard that" she warned him.
"I'm sorry. I just… I just can't look at you, being hurt like that. I've got the feeling that it's all my fault."
Korso was with them in the room too. She heard him sigh.
"Cale, it might be best if-"
"And you need to shut up!"
"Cale!" The tone of Korso's voice had changed. No matter what happened, he was still the Captain and his friend and Lieutenant was about to step over the line. "Cale, I know you're worried about her and I know you're blaming me but you're outta line."
"Cale please" she tried to calm him down. "This is war. Things like this could happen. And they will happen again."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me" he grumbled. The sound of his footsteps moved closer to her and she felt him taking her hand in his. She carefully opened her eyes and directly stared into his. They were full of worries and she instantly wished she could make them go away. "What happened down there?"
She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut, while Gune finished up on the wound on her head.
"I dunno. One moment I was holding them off. There were many but my defenses were up. And then suddenly they dropped a load of bombs, shells started raining down and then they were all over me, trying to surround me like a pack of wolves." She swallowed and bit her teeth. "Sometimes it is almost as if these things can think for themselves, but… that's not really possible right? They're just machines, are they?"
It was Korso who replied.
"Well they are controlled by a sentient being, just like your machines. And this tech has some limited artificial intelligence."
Akima breathed a sigh and groaned once more. She wished she could just forget about what happened and return to the battlefield. But according to Gune, it was better for her to rest for a day or two before even thinking about fighting again.
"Kendra's gonna kill me. I screwed up! I let them surround me!"
"And you fought back" the voice of Kendra Natal bellowed through the bay.
She stepped in without her long garments covering her slim figure and with her battle suit still on. Her intense blue eyes pierced right into hers, making her instinctively look the other way. She didn't want to face Kendra like this, with a layer of defeat covering her confidence.
"C'mon, let her rest, she's been through enough for one day" Cale objected. "And for the rest of her life as far as I'm concerned."
"It's okay Cale."
Her husband did a few steps back, partially because Kendra's eyes flashed into his direction for a moment.
"Akima! Keep it still" Gune squawked. "Gune needs to finish."
"Sorry Gune." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I messed up."
"Technically speaking, you did."There was some amusement in Kendra voice when she spoke but it wasn't reflected in her face, which was nearly expressionless. She stepped toward her best recruit, the corners of her mouth curving into a faint smile. "At least I know what kinda Commander you are. You're a fighter, not a runner. We've got no need for runners right now. I've been keeping an eye on you all the time. I've seen your fight."
She smirked when she saw the look on her recruit's face.
"You don't trust me."
"Trust has nothing to do with it." She crossed her arms and tapped with her foot on the deck. "What you've demonstrated so far usually requires months of training, but unfortunately we don't have that much time."
"Gune's finished but Akima needs rest."
The alien put away the things he had used to heal her wounds and left. Kendra turned toward Korso.
"Can I expect her to be back on her feet by tomorrow?"
"You can't be serious!" Cale exclaimed.
"I'm sorry I have to ask this from you, but I need your help."
Akima groaned softly, trying to ignore the disappearing pain in her head when she nodded. At least that painkiller Gune gave her seemed to do its job.
"I'll try."
"No battlefield for you tomorrow. We've got a couple of guys from down below who're ready to show off their skills. If they really are the warriors they claim to be, we're gonna find out tomorrow. I want your help with training them. In the mean time you can resume your own training as well."
"You sure about that Akima?" Korso asked.
He was her Captain. She knew he could order her to stay aboard, but she was glad he left the choice with her.
"If that headache's gone, I'll report to you at 0800 hours."
Kendra gave her a quick nod.
"Rest Tucker, try to get your spirit back. You did well for your first time."
She left swiftly but gracefully and Cale was unable to restrain himself.
"Who does she think she is? She can't expect this from you."
"Cale, I said it was okay."
He approached her, placing a tender hand on her head.
"I don't wanna see you get hurt."
She grabbed his hand and placed a soft kiss on his fingers. She knew he cared deeply for her. But she had to do this. For a friend in need and for an entire race. Cale turned his eyes down and she instantly knew something was bothering him, something she was going to find out.
"Cale what's wrong?"
"You think we should tell her?"
Korso responded with a shrug.
"Your call."
Cale sighed, the expression on his face turning serious. He remained silent for a moment and she knew he was deciding whether to tell her about what was bothering him or not. But he was not going to keep this from her. It was important and now she knew he was hiding something.
"Cale."
"All right, I eh… I didn't want to upset you by telling you this right now but…"
"But what?"
Something wasn't right, she could feel it. She could read his face like an open book. She had already prepared herself for what he was about to tell.
"The Seraphim, they eh, they've attacked Earth."
She stared back at him, without actually looking. Her eyes were simply locked in this position and refused to obey her. She went completely silent but deep inside her she cursed. She cursed this race, these beings that killed others just because they felt so superior. In some way they were no better than the Drej. Asking her grandmother for forgiveness she didn't even feel the tear that rolled down her cheek, until Cale caught it with his finger.
"Why us?" she asked, while Cale's arms enclosed her in a hug. She was angry, sad, tired and sick of all this stuff happening lately. Why can't they leave us alone for a moment? When she asked the question aloud, no one had an answer. Going back wouldn't do any good. She could make a difference here and that she was going to do. Back on Earth was the Coalition; doing everything they could to protect Earth. Here on Sogowa she was one of few who could try to do the same for this world. She had made a promise to herself and she was going to keep it no matter what.
The next day she got up early, glad that her headache was gone. After a last quick checkup with Gune, who still had his concerns, she left the Valkyrie and headed for the training hall aboard the Spirit of the Way. Kendra was expecting her as they would do the evaluation together. Making choices would be difficult as all Mantrins were natural born warriors and she was convinced that neither one of them came here just to be rejected. But Kendra only had a few spots available. Only a few would receive the honor of fighting alongside their human allies for the survival of their race.
When she arrived in the training hall, several of the simulators were active. The hall was best described as a warrior temple, a place where the warriors of Kendra's people embraced The Way before entering a battle. It was substantially different from the training hall aboard the Strength of the Coalition apart from the fact that it was smaller. The simulators where placed in four groups of six in the middle of the room that was round in shape. She had made several training hours here already and she felt ready as ever to do it again. Kendra was sitting behind a desk right before the entrance with one Crusader at her side. The other chair was reserved for her.
"Good morning Akima. I hope you slept well cause today is gonna be a long one."
She took her place on the Commander's left.
"Any news from the surface?"
Kendra didn't look up but scrolled through a holographic list of names on a virtual panel in front of her.
"Nothing good, nothing bad" she replied curtly. "A few hours ago one of my Commanders launched a successful attack on a small base near one of their larger cities. But they've hit back hard. Been trying to rebuild it ever since. But we're wasting time. I wanna get these rookies up to speed as soon as possible." After finding what she was looking for, she gave the man next to her a quick nod. "All right, let the first one in." He tapped a button on a holographic panel on his right. When the doors slit open, a Mantrin of considerable size stepped in and assumed a threatening position in front of them, his tail lashing back and forth. Akima recognized him as a member of the same race as her friend though he was larger and more muscular. The battlefield had been his home for some time, judging by the scars on his face. That and the EAF uniform he wore made him a good first candidate. "Good… morning" Kendra said slowly, unable to hide her astonishment. The warrior grumbled and tapped with his massive clawed foot on the deck. "Okay, let me see your record. Hmm, seven years in the Elite Assault Force. Fought in the battle of Eshtara Prime, the Kellari conflict and several others. Earned several distinctions for acts of bravery." She looked up at him and smirked. "I take it you're not afraid to risk your life?"
Glaring down his muzzle, he snorted and put a huge clawed hand on the table with a bang.
"My people are not afraid of anything, human."
There was a hint of indignancy in his heavy voice. Akima figured that she should have warned Kendra never to question a Mantrin's courage or insult their honor. Kendra however stared back at him without flinching and marked his name on the list with a swift tap.
"You're the first on my list" she said in an exaggeratedly gentle way.
The Mantrin turned his back on them and left with an aggressive whip of his tail.
"He wasn't a bad first candidate" Akima remarked.
"Piloting an ACU is something different than fighting with your bare hands" Kendra simply replied. It didn't really matter how much experience these guys had. They were experienced in fighting the wrong kind of battles. Those with vehicle piloting experience had her preference but yet again, the Armored Command Unit was so much more than a simple battle vehicle. It was the vital instrument to fighting this war and those who mastered it, had unrivaled power. "Okay, next!" The next Mantrin that entered was even bigger than the previous one. He was a mixture of two races, one of them being Goureg which explained his enormous height. Greeting them, he seemed less pugnacious than the other guy. Kendra gave her recruit a nudge. "If they're all this size, we're gonna have a serious problem" she whispered, gesturing at the simulators with a tug of her head. "How are they ever gonna fit inside these things, let alone a real ACU?" That was a problem they still had to solve. Their legs were the main issue here. It seemed that making a couple of modifications to the cockpit was inevitable if they wanted to train a couple of Mantrin recruits. "All right, we'll let you know if you're in. Send in the next one."
The list was quite long. Almost as long as the list of signups of the Republic but Akima knew that practically every Mantrin old enough to hold a weapon would love to fight. But unfortunately they only had six definite places for new recruits. That was the absolutely maximum if they counted in the other group. Her friend Lynn was in training with the two other humans Gardner and McNeill and the two aliens in the simulators behind her. Some of them, including Lynn had fought their first real battle on the surface too. It went well so far though Akima had seen the most action. Today she would help Kendra train the Mantrin rookies as soon as they were picked, tomorrow she was scheduled to join Coalition forces on the surface for eight hours straight and help them build a strong naval base near one of the cities. It was going to be tough as the Seraphim had already established a naval presence of themselves. Imperial forces would join the effort as well and function as a bridge between their people and the humans. They would be protecting a very special race of Mantrin that lived in the oceans as well. Stith told her about it when she came back from her mission yesterday. The meeting was a little rough but it was a success. It would be the first joint effort between the Aquatics and the land dwelling Mantrins since ages.
"How many more?"
After a while she'd lost count of how many faces she'd seen entering.
"Just a few. Next."
Looking at the panel, projected in front of Kendra she noticed she'd already began to narrow down their list of recruits with help of the computer. It was a tough job and difficult but Kendra wanted to get this thing started as soon as possible. Because she was looking at the panel, she hadn't been paying attention to the next candidate until she was standing in front of the table.
"Hi" she said nonchalantly, crossing her arms.
"Stith, what are you doing here?" she brought out, after several seconds of total astonishment.
"Well, that shouldn't be hard to guess."
Akima looked at Kendra for a second, as if she could help her with this dilemma. Her friend was a warrior and she could understand her will to fight for her world. But she was a mother of two children now. What if something happened to her? It would condemn her children to a life without their mother.
"C-Can I talk to you for a second?"
Stith flattened an ear.
"I know you're gonna try and talk this outta my head Akima. But I'm gonna do this."
"Kendra?"
Her superior shrugged, without looking up from the panel, already looking at the file of the next candidate.
"Fine with me. Next."
Akima stood up, shaking her head. Stith began walking to the other side of the room but Akima quickly caught up with her. The Mantrin didn't fail to notice the agitation in her human friend's voice when she spoke.
"What're you doing? I thought you were happy with your life. I thought you were going to quit fighting."
"Hey, I never said that."
Her friend halted near one of the inactive simulators and leaned with her back against the machine. Staring in her eyes she could read her thoughts. She was against this, strongly, but the blazing fire of the warrior inside of her couldn't be put out so easily. Her world was in danger and that meant her children were in danger too. She could help to put a stop to it. Akima shook her head and sighed.
"Things are different now. You've become a mother of two children and being a mother means you have to make some sacrifices. You don't want your children to grow up without their mother, do you?"
"A little confidence in me please" she grumbled. "I agree with you. I'm a mother now but I'm also a warrior. Who says I can't be both? I've got no desire to die."
"It think you being here says otherwise. There's always a risk involved Stith. I've found that out for myself yesterday."
"I know, but I wanna fight, for my children's future. They have the right to grow up in a peaceful environment."
She turned her back toward her and began walking back to Kendra, but Akima wasn't done yet and caught up with her.
"As your friend I urge you to reconsider. Please, don't do this to your children. Don't make the same mistake your mother made when she left you!"
It didn't take her long to realize that she made a mistake. Her last words had nailed her friend to her spot on the floor. She was a little shocked by her own outburst. Stith turned around with a tug, her claws scratching over the deck. Stith had never been angry with her but it seemed that this was going to be the first time.
"What did you say?"
Both her ears lowered, one slightly lower than the other. Her voice had changed tone and it was clear that she was angry.
"I-I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that."
She turned her eyes down but her friend's were shooting fire. One hand was balled to a fist and the other furiously pointed a clawed finger at her.
"My mother did what she had to do! You have no right to talk about her like that!" She breathed heavily through her nose and pointed in the other direction. "Now, I'm gonna get over there and do this shit! And I'm gonna fight for the things I hold dear! That includes my children, my mate, my father and everyone on this planet!"
Akima was now staring at the floor, her lips sealed, fearing that she might have damaged their friendship. Why did she had to screw it all up? She knew Stith didn't want to talk about her past or her mother and she did both in an insulting way. Her voice trembled when she asked for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry. It was never my intention to insult you or your mother. Forgive me. I'm just concerned about your children's well being."
She didn't look up but heard her friend heave a sigh. The sound of her heavy footsteps closed in on her and eventually she felt the comforting weight of her hand on her shoulder. Her voice had a much softer tone. Feeling Stith hand under her chin she looked up into her eyes, glad that the anger was gone.
"I'm sorry. I guess I overreacted a little. Please, don't say such things about my mom. She did what she had to do and she did it all for me."
"I understand."
After roughly getting her shoulder rubbed they walked back together to the evaluation table.
"Whadda ya think? Do I still have a chance of getting through?"
Akima laughed.
"Oh, I'm sure you do."
"All right you mugs, you think you have the guts to pilot one of these machines?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"That remains to be seen!"
Kendra was walking along the line of Mantrin warriors in battle gear who made it into her elite group. Stith was among them too, standing at attention just like the rest. They were wearing the same suits as all the other pilots only they were adapted to their different physiology. Akima was standing behind her, ready to assist where necessary. The decision had been difficult. They were all good. Her friend had made it to the group as well, thanks to her independent fighting experience and well-developed skills. Still, there were more warriors then available spots so this training was about to become a competitive elimination race. Those who were better would eventually come out on top.
"You think being big and strong means everything? Well let me tell you, no matter how big and strong you are, the Seraphim will always find a way to crush you, unless you know what you're doing. I'm here to teach what to do, to fight back and kill them before they can kill you."
"Ma'am, are we supposed to take orders from you now?"
Kendra froze to her exact spot when the mocking comment reached her ears. Are they gonna start being annoying already? She walked toward the Mantrin who had spoken and stood in front of him, her hands on her hips, boldly meeting the big alien's gaze. He glared down his muzzle upon her until she signaled him to get closer. Bringing his beak down to her height she looked him directly in the eyes.
"Listen to me kangaroo boy" Kendra mocked, not caring if she was being insultive or not. "I don't have time for this crap. We don't have time for this crap."
"Are you calling me names now?"
"When you're aboard this ship and in my training hall you follow my orders! And my orders are your Emperor's orders! Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am!" all but the one in front of her shouted.
"Is that clear?" she repeated herself in front of the one who challenged her authority with his insubordinate behavior.
"Yes ma'am" he grumbled in annoyance, his eyes flickering with restrained anger.
Akima, who watched from a small distance knew the warrior would've beaten the crap out of the Commander if it wasn't for the fact that Imperial Command had made Kendra their superior for the time being.
"Now listen! Your Emperor has asked me personally to train you. And I'm not going to break my promise to him. I've got one rule. Learn fast or die quick. The enemy is on your doorstep and they're unlike anything you've ever fought before. They've got a sizable force planet bound and I need more Commanders in the defense of several major population centers which are under constant attack." She smiled and looked at all of them. "I don't care who you are. You all have the same bright green color to me. But I'm gonna train you and help you drive the Seraphim back to whatever hole they've crawled out of this time. Now I just need one more question answered. Are you ready to do whatever it takes? Are you ready to give up your life for the sake of your people?"
"Yes ma'am."
"I can't hear you."
"Yes ma'am!"
"Good. Now get yourself into a simulator. Let's get this party started. I've got six free spots so it's gonna be survival of the fittest. Remember the only rule. It took some time to get everything prepared. We've had to make a few modifications to the simulators because of those funny legs of yours."
"Funny? Shall I show you what's funny?" one of larger Mantrins, a large and grouchy Goureg, growled.
"I don't even wanna hear it! Get yourself into a simulator soldier!" Eventually they all did what she said and crawled into the available simulators. Fifteen warriors had made it through the evaluation and Kendra was gonna have her hands full on these guys, Akima was convinced of that. She had to admit, she handled the first drill pretty well, considering each one of them was at least a head taller than she was and three times as muscular. Kendra walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder. "Before I forget, Akima here will assist me during these first sessions. You'll be following her orders as well as mine."
That was a lot of confidence Kendra had in her abilities. A few days ago she didn't even know what an ACU was. She didn't want to complain but this time Kendra might be putting a little too much faith in her.
"Kendra, I'm not sure about that. It's an awful lot of responsibility."
"Tucker, you've already shown that you're capable so stop whining." She looked into Kendra intense blue eyes which flickered for a moment. "C'mon, the longer we wait the bigger the problems down on the surface are gonna get."
In the mean time Stith was standing next to her simulator, one leg inside, wondering how they'd made the necessary modifications for her species' physiology so fast. She suddenly heard a voice next to her and when she looked at the owner he had sunken on one knee. The Sogowan was a tough one, the scars of battle mutilating part of his face.
"Princess, I wanted to tell you that I find it an honor to fight alongside you. May your presence make Kirliya look our way and give us the strength we need."
Stith shook her head.
"She's with us no matter what. Me fighting by your side has nothing to do with it."
"Still it's an honor."
Stith smiled.
"Get into your pod. The Commander's a tough one. Never expected that from a human."
"I still have my doubts about taking orders from humans."
"I don't wanna hear that" Stith said curtly.
"Forgive me for saying so Princess."
She didn't reply and waited for Kendra to give the signal to close the pods. Fortunately the modifications were sufficient so she had enough room for her legs. Akima had warned her. If she made it through this, a cockpit similar to this one would be her temporary home on the battlefield. It was made as comfortable as possible for the pilot but it was still the cockpit of a war machine. Those things could never be too comfortable.
"Let's do this thing" she muttered under her breath when she closed the pod, the displays in front of her lighting up.
"All right, let's cover the basics first" Kendra said over the com. After she made sure she had all her Mantrin rookies listening, she started her training with basic things like movement, controlling the interface and viewer and several extra controls that could mean the difference between victory or defeat. As expected, no one seemed to have trouble with it and Akima couldn't help but laugh at the grin on her friend's face. From the moment she tried this the first time, she knew Stith would love it. And judging by the look on her face, she was enjoying every second of it. All fifteen of them were placed on quite a distance from each other so that they had enough room to build their bases. They probably wouldn't like the complexity of the whole thing. Mantrins were warriors, not builders. They lived for the fight. She had just begun to build up a base of her own, this time using Illuminate units as she wasn't familiar with those yet, when the sound of an antimatter cannon over the com alerted her. It was followed by Kendra's voice and she was not too happy with it. "What was that?"
"I'm trying out the weapon systems" one of the Mantrins said.
"Did I tell you to fire your weapon?"
"I thought the whole point of this training was fighting the enemy that's trying to occupy our world" another soldier growled.
"Are you gonna fight off five-hundred enemy units on your own?"
"If I have to" he replied without hesitation.
Kendra smiled and put up a voice that sounded exaggeratedly gentle.
"Listen pal, if you wanna get yourself killed, that's fine with me but then you're gonna do it alone. Fight with an army or not at all. I take it that you know how to move your butts around? Then it's time to build one."
Without Kendra knowing about it, or so she hoped, Akima had set up a private connection with Stith. At least she had someone to talk to this way. The grin was still present on the Mantrin's face and so far she was doing fine just like the rest.
"This is great."
Akima laughed.
"Can you imagine my surprise when I tried this for the first time."
Now it was time to actually do something. Base building was the next lesson and while Kendra explained the core, Akima gave every warrior tips while she kept track of their progress. The key components were in place pretty quickly but not every Mantrin got used that quickly to following orders from humans. Economy first, than the factories and defenses. That was the right order though not all of them kept to that order. It made Kendra agitated and Akima was a bit disappointed that Stith was among the group that liked to do things their way. She wasn't exactly the type of person who let others tell her what to do.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Getting my defenses up" Stith said nonchalantly. "I'm trying to build an army. I thought that was the idea."
"Without resources? You have negative income, just like pretty much every single one of you."
Kendra sighed and rolled with her eyes.
"Tucker, I thought you told them to build enough generators first."
"I did Commander. But-"
"But they're all being pigheaded. All right that's it! I'm gonna reset the simulation. This is your first screw up! Better learn from it and do better next time."
Though Kendra and Akima stayed inside, all warriors were recalled and transferred back into the simulation, with all of their work being erased. Now they had to start all over again.
"What kind of stupid game is this?" one of them grumbled agitatedly. "I thought we were gonna fight and instead you're learning us how to build power generators."
"Don't question me. If you'd put those big ears of yours to work you would've had your first fight already. Now start over." Akima didn't know what to think of it. This could become a very long and tiresome day for the new recruits. At least it wouldn't be boring for her. She was already fighting off her first wave of enemies. This was a realistic battle simulation and the only thing that kept the enemy from attacking the rookies as well was Kendra's finger on a button. "Maybe we have to teach them the hard way" Kendra said to her over their private channel.
"Aren't we being a bit hard on them? They're not used to this."
"You weren't used to this either, yet you listened and got used to it. They better get used to it as well or I'll send them home one by one with red glowing butts." However as the simulation progressed the urge became greater and greater. They just weren't listening. Some were doing okay but there was still a small group that stuck to their own plan. "No, no, no, you're off to an even worse start than before!"
"Stop telling me what to do! I'm doing fine!" Stith growled.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that missy!"
The next step was the same as with the other rookies. A first attack to see if they got the hang of the whole concept and to see how well they handled themselves in battle. Akima was a little worried about Stith though. Just like some others she'd done things her way.
"I'll be fine Akima. I think I've got the hang of it now."
The attacks had started. Three warriors simultaneously and as Kendra had expected already, the ones that followed the correct build order did marginally better.
"You're out!" Kendra yelled when one of the ACU's exploded in a blinding flash of light.
The other two did better though one of them was barely standing after the fight was over. The other one growled in annoyance and had to restrain himself from smashing up the screens.
"That's unfair" he grumbled. "I fought a different set of units. They were much tougher."
"No they were not" Kendra replied, knowing she got him where she wanted.
"The enemy will always try to exploit your weaknesses. In your case your right flank and your lack of sufficient anti-air."
"I'm outta here!" the warrior shouted. "We don't need your fancy stuff! We'll fight them with our bare hands if we have to. We are warriors!"
"That was number one" Akima thought, as he disconnected from the system by opening his pod. It was surprisingly fast too.
"Next group!"
The fights continued, sometimes with a spectacular explosion at the end. Those who didn't make it were frustrated but were given a second chance, if they were willing to take it and follow orders to the letter. The last group was the one with Stith in it. If she could just use her confidence as a weapon she would win for sure but unfortunately she needed more than just that.
"C'mon Stith you can do it" Akima encouraged her.
Of course I can. I'm the best. There they were, closing in fast from the mountain pass on her left. She could feel the excitement, the adrenaline surging through her body. She was ready to respond to any situation in the blink of an eye.
"Here I am, come and get me" she muttered under her breath. Her clawed hands tightly gripped the two joysticks and with her finger on the trigger she watched them enter firing range of her defenses. Her plasma turrets and gauss cannons opened fire, spitting an almost continuous stream of bolts and projectiles at the group of tanks and bots. "Whoohoo! That's what you get from messing around with Stith!" she cheered, firing precision shots with her ACU's antimatter cannon. In all the excitement however she wasn't paying attention to her radar. Enemy bombers were inbound and she realized her mistake too late. Both her land factories exploded, taking the adjacent power generators with them. Her anti-air wasn't enough to hold them off on her own and because her economy hadn't been strong enough in the beginning she hadn't been able to build enough units. She cursed, frantically trying to hold them off with her own weapon. "What the hell is this?" she shouted at Kendra, angered by the smile she displayed.
"That is your own stubbornness firing back at you."
"Commander under attack. Alert, critical damage to left arm."
Her simulator was shaken up by all the explosions. Those bombs were killing her and the small group of gunships were now focusing their attention on the only target still standing.
"You've lost."
"Shut up, you stupid-"
Her words were lost in the explosion that marked the end of the first training for her. Stith was furious. Without thinking she opened up the simulator and climbed out, letting out a frustrated growl. To her surprise, Kendra climbed out of the simulator as well. The expression on her face was an exact copy of hers. The human's eyes flickered with anger as she firmly marched up to her. If she had to pick one word to describe her, it would probably be 'dangerous'.
"What the hell are you thinking?"
"You wanted me to lose!"
"You crossed the line 'Princess'."
"Oh, I know what this is about. You don't like me standing up to you. Is that it?"
Kendra blurted out a mirthless laugh, boldly meeting her gaze with all pretense at friendliness abandoned.
"I know you're the Emperor's daughter-in-law but honestly, I don't give a shit about that. I don't like your attitude and if you don't follow my orders you better remove yourself from this ship." Baring her teeth she bowed through her knees, her eyes piercing directly into Kendra's. Kendra however refused to be impressed, not bothering to hide her distaste. "I guess I hit a nerve."
"Give me one good reason not to kill you where you stand" the Mantrin growled.
"Oh, break a leg" Kendra replied though clenched teeth. "You're forgetting one thing. I've made a promise to your father-in-law and therefore your entire race. I'm putting my ass on the line to save yours! How's that?" Stith thought about it for a second, cursing the fact that she was right. "That's what I thought. Now I'm prepared to offer you one more chance. Take it or leave it." They exchanged angry looks for a few more seconds, neither of them planning to admit their mistake. "I bet you wish you could just kill me and be done with it, right?"
"It's tempting."
"C'mon, do you have what it takes to fight for your kind or not?"
Suddenly she laughed. Shaking her head, she turned away from Kendra and walked toward the door.
"You know what, without your fancy technology, I bet you can't even throw a stick at someone's head."
"Is that so?" Kendra yelled back, putting her hands in her hips. "I'm giving you one more chance. What do you do? You walk away, from a fight. I dare you to take it. Now are you gonna fight like a Mantrin or hide like a coward? Or are those two actually the same thing?"
Resisting the urge to turn back and slaughter this woman, who dared to call every member of her race a coward, she walked out of the room, grinding her teeth, her fists shaking with anger. She was done with it. The only thing she regretted however is letting her best friend down. But she just couldn't stand that woman. Thinking about it, she actually would have made a fine warrior if she were born Mantrin. The only thing that kept her from ramming her claws into her flesh was the fact that she was fighting for the survival of her race.
"Don't ask!"
"I-I didn't." It was in the late afternoon when she arrived back at the palace. Kero was waiting for her all day. He followed her on her way, not knowing where she went exactly. By the look on her face, he knew asking too much questions was lethal. "To be honest, I… wanted to ask you how you're doing."
"Not so good, really."
She went to the infirmary, Kero still on her tail. She actually rather wanted to be alone but since she wanted to see the eggs of her children, she couldn't. She didn't want to push Kero away from her son and daughter that were also his. The eggs were still sitting in the incubator, safe and warm. Touching her hand against the glass, she whispered a few soothing words, knowing they couldn't hear her but it was comforting for her as well. Letting out a sigh, she sat down on a stool in front of the eggs. She grumbled when she felt Kero nuzzling in her neck, his tongue slipping out of his beak, softly licking her.
"You're grouchy today" he said in an amused way.
Though she didn't really enjoyed it at this moment, she still purred softly when he bit playfully in the scruff of her neck. Eventually she became bugged by it and turned around on the stool to face her mate.
"Kero? D'you think I'm irresponsible?"
"I never said that" he said after a while.
"But you're not denying it either." She took a deep breath and slowly let the air out of her mouth. "I had an argument with Akima" she eventually admitted.
"Wow, that must the first time" he replied slowly.
"I know" she bit back, startling him. "Sorry" she added. "It's been bugging me all day. She gave me the impression that she thinks I'm not a good mother. Because of this fighting stuff. And I think… she may be right." Her face twisted into a angry scowl. "Look at me. They aren't even hatched yet and I'm screwing up already."
Leaning forward she rested her head on his muscular belly.
"But you're fighting for them right? You wanna make sure that they can grow up safely."
"Now I'm not so sure. Be honest Kero. What do you think?"
He gently rubbed between her ears, flinging his arms around her in a fond way.
"I have to admit, I was concerned about you for a moment. I've asked Kirliya to keep you safe. We're about to have two children. I wanna share the fun of raising them with you."
"Thanks."
"If you think fighting is the right thing then you should do it. But be careful."
"Hey how are you?"
They hadn't even heard him enter.
"Hey dad."
Ganyu's ears lowered when he feared he had disturbed their intimacy.
" I'm sorry, I always bash in at the wrong moment."
"No, no it's okay."
She stood up from the stool and walked up to her father. Without saying a word she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him. Ganyu was overwhelmed by his daughter's sudden need for a hug. He slowly brought his arms, he tossed in the air in astonishment down to her back and rubbed softly.
"Is it something I said?" he said into her ear.
He could feel her shake no. When she broke off she looked into his eyes and touched her beak to his.
"Dad? D'you think I can be a good mother?"
Ganyu heaved a sigh and flicked an ear, gently bringing up a hand to caress her cheek.
"Stith, no one can prepare you for being a parent. Your mother and I had a long thought before getting you." He laughed. "Raising you was difficult at some moments but we had a lotta fun too. You were one naughty little girl sometimes."
She turned her eyes down at his chest.
"Yeah, I've heard that before."
"Don't feel sorry for it. You were our little girl and at that age all children look at the world like it's a big playground." He paused, trying to think of the right words that would comfort her at this moment. "The point is, I think, if you really wanna be a good parent, then the decisions you make can't be right or wrong. But never rush. Give things a good thought and it will be all right."
Stith took a deep breath and smiled.
"Thanks dad."
"That's okay."
He gave her a rub between her ears.
"Hey you haven't even told us how you did at the training" Kero said, getting curious.
"Tell us, did you kick some butt?" her father asked with a big toothy grin.
She snickered.
"Actually I got my butt kicked, by the Commander."
Both her dad's and Kero's beak dropped open. Especially since she appeared to take it so lightly.
"O-Okay, what happened?"
"This should be interesting."
"Well, as you said I was being a naughty girl I guess. I didn't follow orders and screwed up because of it but that's not why I'm mad." She grumbled something indistinct. She was lucky her father didn't catch her words. "It's that woman. She makes me so angry. She obviously had zero experience with other races. The way she talked about us, insulted us because of the way we look. I wanted to shut her up!"
"What did you do to her?" Ganyu asked, a little bit of shock in his voice.
He knew his daughter had a little temper, which was perfectly normal for their species but she wouldn't seriously hurt people because of it, right?
"Nothing dad. We had an argument and, I walked away before she could make me angry enough to kill her."
She thought she actually heard her father heave a sigh of relief.
"And what're you gonna do now?"
Biting her lip, she thought about it for a moment.
"I think I did what you just told me not to do. I didn't think. She offered me a second chance and I walked away, because I was too angry to listen." She shook her head. "Tomorrow I'm gonna go back and take that chance."
Ganyu smiled and pulled her against his chest, rubbing between her ears.
"That's my daughter. You won't give up, right?"
"Nope, and I won't let Akima down either."
Determination had sparked the fiery spirit of the warrior inside her once again. She knew she could do this. It was time to put the attitude aside. Well, a little maybe. She allowed herself a smile. You're gonna be in for a big surprise tomorrow.
"You're going back to Earth?" Akima brought out in astonishment.
It was late in the evening when she finally came back from training that day. Great, just what she needed. She had an argument with her best friend, Stith screwed up in training and then she had to hear from Kendra that she quit. The Mantrin rookies were still not living up to Kendra's expectations and because of that her superior had been in a very bad mood the rest of the day. It was contagious too and just the thought about her mission tomorrow made her want to pound something, real hard and real bad. And she was just back on the Valkyrie when Korso asked her to come to the bridge. They were going back to Earth, immediately.
"It's been arranged." The look on her Captain's face was serious. He didn't like leaving behind his crewmember and elite pilot either but unfortunately the decision wasn't his to make. "Command thinks we can make a bigger difference back home. You've been ordered to stay here and assist Commander Natal and defend Sogowa."
"What difference? Can't you just tell them to stick it up their-"
"Akima, I can't."
Cale slit down the stairs to the lower deck and hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry. I wish I could stay with you" he whispered in her ear.
"But why now?"
She pushed Cale away, furious at their superiors back home. How could they do this? They would be light years apart from each other for God knew how long.
"I think, it has something to do with morale. They think I might be able to give people hope. I was humanity's last hope once, remember?"
She turned her back on them, preparing to walk off the command deck.
"Y-You know what, screw this. Screw this!"
"Akima, please don't. It's tough enough for me already."
"Well, what do you think about me?"
She spun around in a flash, her features clouded by an angry scowl.
"I know. But it's all been arranged. You can stay aboard Kendra's ship, in your own quarters, in private. We might even be able to communicate with each other. If the Seraphim don't start jamming all long range communications." Her eyes flickered for a second and she grumbled something indistinct. "I shouldn't have said that. C'mon, Iji's been on her own for long enough now. I'll take care of her." He hugged her again. She resisted but eventually surrendered, knowing this would be their last moment together for a while. Fighting back the tears, she tried to swallow away the lump that began to form in her throat. "I'll be with you with my thoughts all the time. I'll try to call you as often as possible. Let me know when you have time."
"I… will." Grabbing his head, she kissed him long, savoring the moment. Then she broke off and did it again and again. Licking her lips, after she finally broke off, she felt the touch of his hand on her cheek as he wiped the tears away that had left the corners of her eyes unnoticed. His own cheeks were wet too and she knew it were not just her tears. "I'm gonna go pack my stuff."
She was standing on the hangar deck as the Valkyrie took off, the deck plating trembling under her feet by the force of the ship's vertical thrusters. They would fly back home on their own power since the Spirit of the Way was constantly needed here in orbit of Sogowa. Since the plans for a primary base of operations on the surface were still underway, the Illuminate warship was the only safe haven for Commanders that had to recall from a battle. If there was an emergency, they could retreat directly to the ship. Heaving a sigh, as the ship passed through the force field that sealed off the hangar deck from outer space, she began to walk with what little stuff she needed back to the corridor leading to the ship's internals. It was time to finally get some well-earned rest.