Chapter 5 – Discidium (Disruption)
The crew of Blue continue their attacks on smaller settlements throughout all of Japan, focusing on lightly guarded coastal areas, in order to avoid getting caught by multiple ships by striking inland first. Their plan of keeping the Arume forces off balance works, as they ensure to avoid any kind of pattern in choosing their targets. After a few weeks of successfully taking back smaller regions, the senior staff hold a meeting about selecting a different kind of target.
"We've done well over the past few weeks to liberate several small towns along the coast. Bit by bit, we're taking our homeland back. But now, I think the time it right to go after a bigger target. Something that can allow us to truly disrupt this invasion. And I think I know what our target should be. Blue, map of Japan, please," said Seigai.
Once again a three dimensional holographic map of Japan appears before the group. Seigai gestures towards one of the smaller islands in the middle of Japan.
"Our target is here, on Innoshima. The scout fighters we've sent out have found an Arume base of operations for this region. It's guarded by a battle cruisers and a pair of heavy cruisers, with frigates and light cruisers along its defense perimeter. Obviously, if we were to shift here, we'd be torn to shreds instantly, but I have an idea," spoke Seigai, as he gestured to the left of where he was pointing before.
"We know that they have been reinforcing defenses around the major cities of Japan since we've started engaging in our hit and run tactics, expecting us to mount a major offensive on one of these cities at some point. Here in Hiroshima, they have a battle cruiser, along with a pair of heavy cruisers always in the area. These vessels alone would be nearly impossible for us to take out. There are also several frigates around the defense perimeter. My plan is for us to engage the frigates, with the goal of drawing out one of the heavy cruisers. If we can corner them, we should be able to take them out. As this is a valuable area for them to hold, I am expecting them to send ships from the base to support it, as they would not be expecting us to hit a military target. Then we'll send in a bomber with a fighter escort. The base will have some fighter cover and point defenses, but otherwise is lightly protected on its own. If we can draw those battle cruisers away, it should be easy enough to do a bombing run to take out the base," explained Seigai.
"And what if they don't take the bait?" asked Kensuke.
"We get the Hell out of there, and continue hit and run tactics, until a time where we can try something like this again. At some point, they will have to take us seriously, after all. I believe that time is now," replied Seigai.
"It's a sound strategy, but Blue will be under heavy fire, regardless of how well this goes. I know she's sturdy, but we may be asking more of her than we can reasonably expect," spoke Ekaril.
"I have been giving some thought to that. The most important thing is that we keep the Emil Force Drive online. As long as we can get out of there, it won't be a problem. We'll get a bloody nose, but that won't compare to what losing that base will mean for them. This isn't a suicide mission, though. If at any point we're severely outnumbered, we've leaving, mission accomplished or not," answered Seigai.
"I can reconfigure the shields to increase defense around our critical systems. We'll lose shielding in some other areas, though. We'll need to evacuate the crew quarters long the length of the ship during this battle," spoke Tsubael.
"I can help you with that. I've been looking at ways we could boost shield output. There's something I would like to try, with your help, of course," spoke Hisoka.
"A Forime with an idea on how to improve our technology? Interesting. I can at least tell you if it will work or not," replied Tsubael.
"Very good. Now, as for the bombing run, I'm going to need my best fighter pilot on this one. Azanael, I'll need you to fly cover for the bomber. It'll be very vulnerable on its approach, but I know you're more than capable of keeping it safe," spoke Seigai.
"Of course," replied Azanael.
"Kensuke, I'll need you to fly the bomber. While you may not be able to move a bird as elegantly as Azanael, you're one of the best shots I know. Being able to use the bombers turrets to keep fighters off of your own ass is just as important as anything else, after all," spoke Seigai.
"Don't worry, little boy, I'll keep you safe and sound," said Azanael.
"Feh, whatever you say, devil," replied Kensuke.
"Alright. Any more questions/concerns? If you have an objection to this mission, speak up now," asked Seigai. He was greeted with no questions.
"Alright then, we'll commence the operation tonight, at 21:00. We can use the cover of night to give the bomber the best chance to get in undetected. That being said, Kensuke, if you find yourself dealing with overwhelming odds, use the bombers escape pod to get out of there. I can build another bomber, I can't build another you," spoke Seigai.
"Relax, I'm not trying to die. Not before I've gotten my revenge," replied Kensuke.
"Very well then, dismissed," spoke Seigai.
Kensuke and Azanael are the first to leave the room. The pair walk together, discussing their plan for the attack on the base.
"So, I have to have you protect me this time, huh?" asked Kensuke.
"You make it seem like that's different from any other mission we've been on together," replied Azanael.
"Hey, I saved your ass out over Iwaki the other day. You had two of them on your tail, no way you could have gotten away from both of them."
"I could have, but I thought it might be nice to give you a couple of kills, so I was nice enough to draw them into your flight path."
"Feh, don't want to admit a 'Forime' saved you, huh?"
"I don't have a problem with it, honestly. But you? Admitting that an Arume saved you must cut you deep as much as you refuse to admit it."
"Hey, tell you what, how about we lead an invasion force to your planet, and drop some exploding girls on you that kill your whole family, then capture all the people your close with on this ship, and brutally murder them in a pointless experiment. Then we'll see how you feel about us!"
"Tck, really? Is that what it is that you hate about us? You think you're the only one who has lost someone close to you? Sorry, but you're not. If there's one thing I've learned from being among you, it's that everyone has lost someone over the course of this war. From your Commander, to Commander Ekaril, and to me. And yet I can keep my anger focused on my enemy, not my allies. So why can't you?"
"I don't care how much you help us out, all of you are my enemy. Nothing is going to change that. Once this war is over, I want to challenge you to a duel. And it's then I'll blow you out of the sky. Then I'll put a bullet in the head of your commander and her gunner. That's when I'll be satisfied."
"So, genocide, then? Is that what you're after?"
"Genocide? You can't commit genocide against someone killing you and your people. Your people shot first! It's not genocide, it's self defense and preservation!"
"Alright, let's say you kill all of us here. Are you going to take this ship to Arume, and kill every woman and child you see until none of us are left? Are you going to go house to house, and slaughter babies in their sleep? Is that what you want on your conscience?"
"You're all devils, so it really doesn't matter. Only reason I haven't killed you and Ekaril is because the commander ordered us to work together. The second we don't need your help is the second you die."
"You truly are stubborn and insufferable. All you care about is yourself. If revenge is all your after, then you should know this. It will consume you, inside and out. It'll fill every part of your mind, until it consumes you. It will become all you know. And soon, you won't know who your enemy is from your ally. And then you'll make a mistake, and potentially take the lives of everyone who was truly your ally from start."
"Feh, you say that like it's happened to you before."
Azanael stopped walking, and turned around to look Kensuke directly in the eyes.
"It has happened to me before. When I had blamed Ekaril for the accident that killed my lover. Tsubael showed me Onomil's last moments. There was nothing that happened before me that showed Ekaril was responsible for anything. And yet, even though Onomil chose to sacrifice herself, I still continued to blame Ekaril. I almost killed her and Tsubael in my anger. And then I found out the truth. That it was Master Commander Shivariel who had engineered the accident in order to test a weapon she was developing. Pointless deaths for an even more pointless cause. When I found that out, I changed my ways. I pointed my fangs at my enemy, and ultimately, we triumphed," spoke Azanael.
"You, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. You're so blinded by the thoughts of your own revenge that the only thing keeping you from acting on it is your sense of duty and loyalty to your commander. The day that something happens to him, I fear what will happen to you then," said Azanael.
"Say what you want, but I know who my enemy is. So you lost your lover? I'm so sorry for you. But I lost my whole family! My parents, my wife, my children. All of them are gone. And I'm reminded of their killers every time I look into a pair of those blue eyes all of you have. You lost one person, I lost everyone! So don't lecture me on revenge and emotions. I know what I need to do. And tonight, I need to take a bomber and blow a base full of you blue-eyed bastards straight to Hell. And in order to do that, I need you to fly cover for me. To kill more of you? I can tolerate having you cover my ass. This time," replied Kensuke.
"You'll learn one day. I don't know when, but you'll learn. And when you do, I hope you haven't killed someone close to you to learn that lesson. Now then, we need to focus on a plan of our attack," spoke Azanael.
Kensuke and Azanael made their way to the hanger deck, to discuss how to ensure the success of their mission. Kensuke kept the rest of the conversation professional, tired of going on his anti-Arume rant, and wanting to make sure he would live for another day.
Ekaril and Tsubael were the next to leave the briefing room. There had been something Tsubael had on her mind for the past few weeks, and she needed to get if off of her chest.
"Commander, can I ask you something?" asked Tsubael.
"Anything, what's on your mind?" asked Ekaril.
"The battles over the past few weeks. The number of ships we've been responsible for destroying. The deaths of our people by our own hands. How are you able to deal with it? For me, I look at this all as protecting you and your vision. It's the easiest way for me to cope with it. But you... you took the death of our crew so hard, so surely..."
"Tsubael. It hasn't been easy for me. There are some nights where it's hard to hold back the tears. After all, several years ago, they were our friends and family. And yet we have ended up on different sides in this war. Thankfully, I have Mari here to help keep me together."
"Mari is your anchor, huh?"
"Yes. She is how I've been able to put up with everything that has come our way since the start of this war. If it were not for her, I don't think I'd be able to deal with it all."
"It must be nice to have your love waiting for you every night."
"Not every night. She wants to join Azanael in the fighting. Azanael thinks she has the potential to do well, but she's not there. Not yet. She's been using the simulators, since we came aboard. She's been getting better and better. She's at the point now where she can beat the sims without taking a hit, but her maneuvers are still mechanical and stiff. Against a flesh and blood pilot, she wouldn't stand a chance. I've been using my time off duty to get her there, and she is, but still, she complains I won't let her fly."
"She's a very spirited girl. We all learned a lot about each other over the six months we were all living together. She can learn anything she wishes to. She's even gotten better at cooking, after that first disaster you told me about."
"If you can learn to cook, you can do anything, right?" asked Ekaril, while giving a little chuckle.
"It's not just that. She had thrown herself at her studies. And at her flight training with Azanael. I could tell at first it was her way of coping with your loss, but it became more than that. After a couple of months, she went from dealing with your death to wishing to honor your legacy. She believes in the cause we are fighting for, and wants to have a world where Forime and Arume are allies. After all, if you two could form a relationship, then surely all of our peoples can."
"If only it were that easy, Tsubael. There will be a lot of loss of life in the coming battle. We both know that base will be heavily staffed. It takes a lot of manpower to direct and coordinate so many ships. I'm quite certain it's the regional admiral's headquarters we're going after."
"Their lives for the millions of Forime lives they won't be able to take."
"They are sacrificing themselves for the dream of peace. That's ultimately how I rationalize it. After all, this is no more beautiful a thing than self sacrifice, right?"
"There isn't, but... after Onomil, and you... I'm not so sure I can believe that as easily as I once did."
"Perhaps the Forime are starting to rub off on us. In general, they hold all life as sacred. Yes, they honor sacrifice, but for them, it's not the same. I suppose to your original point, though, it is sacrifice. That's how I deal with it. Sacrifice for the greater goal of unity between our peoples. One day, the bloodshed will end. The sooner we end it, the better for both sides."
"I agree with you, Commander. It's better we end this sooner rather than later."
Ekaril nods.
"You should go to the engineering section with Hisoka. Put those shield modifications in place. We're going to need every advantage we can get.
"Of course, and thank you, Commander," Tsubael said, as she made her way to the engineering section.
Seigai and Hisoka were the last to leave the briefing room. The pair walked out of the room, both with serious looks upon their faces.
"So, Seigai, this is it, huh? Our first major offensive since getting this ship back together."
"Yeah. That was one of our goals, after all, getting to this point. If we can take this base out, we'll create chaos among the fleet operating in this region. It'll give us the grounds to take on a larger target in the coming weeks. We might even finally be able to start kicking them out of our major cities."
"It's not going to be easy. This is going to be the first time we're directly assaulting ships of this class and greater. Until now, we've been running away from fights like that."
"They couldn't all be easy targets forever. We knew we were going to have to take on the heavier ships of their fleet at some point, whether we want to or not. After all we have put into getting her ready for this battle, though, I truly believe we stand a chance here. After all, our most valuable asset is that they are not expecting an attack from one of their own. Our hit and run tactics are far different from what they are used to. I just hope we have enough power to do that many shifts. Those battle cruisers are going to be tough to deal with. Especially if one of them decides to switch to genocide mode."
"Do you think they would try to destroy the city in order to keep us from taking it back?"
"I don't think they would this time. After all, we're not aiming to take out the battle cruisers, just survive their assault. We may run into that problem at some point, though. I can't say if they would or wouldn't. Even Ekaril isn't sure. She said it's bad tactics on their part to do so, but even when a person in full control is backed into a corner they may resort to something of of their character. She believes that's what Shivariel was doing when she switched Novaal to genocide mode."
"Let's try not to back them into that corner, then."
"We won't. Not this time. Even those ships have weaknesses. We just have to him them first in the coming battles, and hope a smaller ship won't roast us in the attempt."
"Very well, Seigai. I suppose I should make my way down to engineering. I don't want to keep Tsubael waiting around for too long."
Seigai nods as Hisoka makes her way to the nearest lift.
"We'll succeed this time. And next time. After that... we'll see, I suppose," Seigai muttered to himself as he made his way to his quarters.
Hisoka made her way down to the engineering section, just as Tsubael had entered after her conversation with Ekaril.
"Same time, huh?" muttered Hisoka.
"What did you say?" asked Tsubael.
"Nothing... just surprised you weren't down here waiting for me. So, let me tell you about my idea."
"Go ahead."
"Since we need to keep the Emil Force Drive constantly active in order for our plan to work, I thought we could potentially us the extra power to our advantage by dumping it into the shield grid. From the looks of it, the shield generators should be able to run at 120% of their operational level without overloading."
"123.75%, to be more precise. And yes, that could work. We won't be able to shift without pulling that power back into the drive, though. And we could lose a shift or two. Still... it is a good idea. I've had to make adjustments like this before, so I know it's possible. We should keep it to 115% or less, though. I know what the generators can handle, we still need them to be able to take some power surges. They tend to happen as the shields absorb damage. That's why the generators were designed that way in the first place."
"I see. That's good to know for the future."
"I'm surprised you seem to know so much about this ship."
"Well, once we got the computer up and running again, I made sure to pour over all the detailed specs of this ship. I wanted to get to know her inside and out. To learn what every bolt, every weld held together, and what it did. I also wanted to make sure we didn't break anything. It's not like we would get another ship if I made a mistake. Among the staff we have here, no one is more well versed in the field of engineering than I am."
"Is that so? Is that something you have a passion for."
"Kind of. When I was younger, while the other girls my age liked to play with doll, dress pretty, and host imaginary tea parties, I was always taking things apart and putting them back together again. I just wanted to know how things worked, and use that knowledge to make new things. And when my father told me they could use someone like that in the Maritime Defense Force, I took the opportunity. There's just something about making little add-ons to a ship that improve one thing or another. Getting to see your work in action helps give you a sense of purpose in life."
"That is one way of looking at it. I didn't have anything like that when I was child. I knew I always wanted to be in the military, but I didn't really have a drive to do anything specific. It wasn't until I completed my training and got assigned to Blue that I found something to drive myself towards. At first, I thought the commander was a fool for putting faith in your people. I believed the propaganda from Arume. That all Forime were lower beings than us. That there was no point in approaching them as equals, as they were simply too far below us. The commander allowed me to see your potential. From the girl struggling to write a play, to you learning our technology, without anyone to teach you one thing versus another thing."
Hisoka blushed a little at the compliment.
"Thanks, Tsubael. Still, though, I have a lot to learn. I still got a flow regulator wrong. Almost blew the whole engine out."
"It's not your fault, Hisoka. There was an error deliberately put into the specs stored on Blue. The auto repair is designed to put the ship back at those specifications, not evaluate if it should or not. It is fortunate that the fail safe we put into place kept the engines from starting. Anyone could have made that mistake. What you learn from your mistakes is more important than simply avoiding repeating them."
"You're right, of course. One of these days, I know all there is to know about your technology. Like those communication visors you use. They're likely way better than these radios I made, based off of Blue's communication systems."
"You made those?" asked Tsubael, while pointing at the walkie-talking clipped to her pants.
"These? Yeah. All our normal radio channels were jammed by the invasion fleet, but clearly they didn't have the same problems in communicating with each other, so I figured if I could adapt our radios to be like yours, we'd be able to communicate through the jamming. Sure enough, it worked. Although, it's not as elegant as your solution."
"I can make more of these for everyone. It's not too hard. I imagine you would want to make your own, though."
"You'd show me how? I would like that. For now, though, let's focus on getting these shield modifications up and running. Don't want to get into battle, and then find the shield grid won't activate anymore."
Tsubael, Hisoka, and the engineering staff went to work on making changes to the shields, in order to better protect Blue in the coming battle.
All the staff worked diligently in their preparations. Ekaril and Seigai discussed the tactics they would use in the coming battle. Azanael and Kensuke discussed and agreed upon a flight plan that would take them through the mountainous region of Innoshima. Tsubael and Hisoka and Tsubael finished their modifications to the shields, and made the switching of power as seamless as possible. Everyone was ready, and in position for the start of the battle.
"Alright, it's time," Seigai said, as he took his position on the bridge.
"This is the commander to all hands, battle stations! Prepare for the commencement of the operation! Azanael, Kensuke, are you ready?" asked Seigai
"We're ready down here, commander. Ready to launch upon our shit into the target area," replied Kensuke.
"Hisoka, Tsubael, are the shield modifications ready?" asked Seigai.
"Ready to go, Seigai," answered Hisoka.
"We can redirect power to shift as soon as we need to," added Tsubael.
"Very good. Spin up the Emil Force Drive, prepare to shift on my mark. Ready... Mark!" shouted Seigai.
Blue's position shifted from one of the organic layers they had been hiding in, right at the outside of the defense perimeter of Hiroshima. Two frigates were in the immediate area. Blue immediately motioned towards them.
"Ekaril, take out those frigates! Kensuke, Azanael, as soon as they go down, you launch," spoke Seigai.
"Understoond," replied the trio of Ekaril, Kensuke, and Azanael.
Blue's main turrets glowed a bright green before firing upon the two frigates. They were taken out before they had a chance to take a defensive posture. Upon their destruction, Kensuke and Azanael launched from the hanger bay, on their way to the main base.
"Full power to shields and weapons. It's only a matter of time before they send one of the heavier ships after us," spoke Seigai.
A few minutes later, the bridge crew noted a ship was heading in their direction.
"Seigai, we've picked up a heavy cruiser entering our area. They'll be in firing range shortly," spoke Ekaril.
"Just a single heavy cruiser, eh? Luck must be on our side. That, or they are expecting us to shift to the center of the city. Either, way, we best take advantage of it. Can you tell if they've made any kind of modifications to their ship?" asked Seigai.
"Nothing. They're the same as us, without the shield modifications," replied Hisoka.
"Well then, I suppose we may have a slight upper hand, then, in this mirror match," spoke Seigai.
"Ship approaching," came the voice of Blue.
"Put on the main viewer," replied Seigai.
The bridge crew was greeted by the view of another heavy cruiser, of the same design as Blue herself. Since they started their fight against the Arume, this was the first time they had run into one of their more powerful ships.
"They're charging weapons, trying to target our Emil Force Drive," spoke Ekaril.
"Well then, let's show them that where we don't have the technical advantage, we do have the tactical advantage. Target their weapons batteries. If you notice any weaknesses in their reactor, hit it. They're likely expecting us the shift, but they'll take us seriously once we start firing back. Hisoka, bring the shield modifications online, Ekaril, fire at will!" shouted Seigai.
Blue's batteries lit up again, targeting the cruiser in front of them. The cruiser responded in kind by attempting to target their Emil Force Drive. The changes in the shields kept Blue from damage.
"Seigai, they're launching fighters," spoke Hisoka.
"Launch our own. Ekaril, activate point defenses," spoke Seigai.
"Point defenses active," replied Ekaril.
"Drone fighters have been launched," spoke Hisoka.
Blue rocked a little at taking a blast from the ship before.
"Shields still holding around protected sections. Enemy shields down to 80%," spoke Ekaril.
"Very good, keep firing..." Seigai was interrupted by the ship shaking violently momentarily.
"Seigai, the fighters are targeting the unprotected sections of the ship!" shouted Hisoka.
"That's fine, hopefully the defense turrets will pick them off before they hit anything important..." Seigai was interrupted by another tumble.
"Seigai, if they keep targeting those parts of the ship, it will only be a matter of time before they get through to Blue's main structural frame. With our shields as they are, we won't be able to protect those areas of the ship without leaving ourselves vulnerable to their main batteries.
"Damn. Blue, show me the fighter's flight patterns!" shouted Seigai.
Blue projected a map showing the positions of herself, their opponent, and all of the friendly and non-friendly fighters. As Seigai guessed, the fighters going in for the unprotected areas of the ship weren't flying in a manner consistent with unmanned fighters.
"Shit, I was hoping they wouldn't have bothered with trained pilots if they thought we were shifting out of here. May as well try to take advantage of it. Ekaril, I need you to take a fighter out their. You've told me that Mari is at least as capable as Kensuke. I know I promised not to put her in danger, but right now, we may not have much of a choice. Do you think she can handle it..." the ship shook again as Seigai was talking, "or do you think it would be too much for her?"
"She's still a teenager. She may have the skills, but not the emotions of a soldier. I'm not sure it would be wise to send her out," answered Ekaril.
"Can you keep her safe, at least? What I want to do is send out two manned fighters. If they've gathered any intelligence from us, than they know we have a well trained Arume pilot and a less well trained human pilot. We might be able to further give Azanael and Kensuke a chance if we make them believe our best pilots are still here. If not, there's a chance a lack of pilots might tip them off to their being elsewhere," Seigai explained.
"I can keep her safe," replied Ekaril.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but go with her, and get these fighters off of us. Tsubael, take over for her," spoke Seigai.
Ekaril nodded, and made her way to the hanger bay. Mari was already there, as it was not safe to keep her in their quarters in the unprotected section of the ship.
"Hagino, you're going out?" asked Mari.
"We're going out," replied Ekaril.
"W-w-w-we? Hagino, I don't know, I mean... I want to, but..." stuttered Mari.
"I'll keep you safe, my love. Don't worry. Just treat it like another of our flights together in the simulator," replied Ekaril, echoing the advice she had heard before going on her first flights.
Mari nodded, and both of them took off to engage the fighters attacking Blue.
"Ekaril, this is Seigai. They're trying to punch a hole through the living areas to our engineering section. If they can get drones in there, it's over for us," spoke Seigai.
"Understood Seigai. Mari, just like we practiced, ok?" spoke Ekaril.
The pair circled around, taking out a few drones, before engaging the lead fighters targeting Blue. Parts of the hull were clearly damaged from their attacks. The exposed area was half the size needed for a drone to fly a suicide mission inside, and growing larger at each pass of the fighters. As soon as they noticed the pair of Ekaril and Mari approaching, they broke off their attack to engage the pair. Ekaril easily matched maneuvers with her opponent, while Mari missed her approach, allowing her opponent to lock onto her from behind. Mari's opponent immediately opened fire. Mari did her best to avoid getting hit, but her nerves were getting more frayed by the second.
"Hagino, I can't do this!" Mari shouted, tears running down her face.
"Mari, don't be afraid. They're deliberately trying to draw us apart. Just do as we practiced, and make yourself as hard to hit as you can. As soon as I take this one out, I'll head back to cover you, ok?" Ekaril replied.
Mari continued to try her best, but her opponent was able to get a couple shots in, damaging Mari's fighter, though not impacting its ability to operate. It did, however, further scare Mari.
"I can't... I can't... Hagino, save me!" cried Mari.
"Damn you, Seigai, I should have never agreed to this," Ekaril muttered to herself as she attempted to turn about. She was met with weapons fire from her opponent, and quickly found herself cut off.
"No... Mari!" shouted Ekaril, as she pursued her opponent.
Mari's fighter took more damage, taking out one of its engines, and severely reducing her speed. At that point, Mari's emotions overflowed.
"This is it... I'm going to die... I'm... after everything... after trying so hard to get as good as Azanael... after swearing along with her and Tsubael we would continue the fight to bring peace..."
Mari momentarily blanked. Reflecting on one of her previous training outings with Ekaril in the flight simulator. Ekaril had asked Mari to take her on in a dual, in order to test the skills she had learned. Just as what was happening now, Ekaril had gotten behind her. She instructed Mari to take evasive actions, but eventually she took damage to one of her engines, and started to lose speed. Ekaril had easily caught up to her, and took out her fighter, ending the simulation. Mari remembered the advice Ekaril gave to her afterwards.
"Hagino, you're so much more better than I. I still have so much more to learn," spoke Mari.
"You do, but you're not as bad as you think you are. Even I've ended up in situations like yours before. I had a better opponent get behind me. And she had taken out one of my engines. I could no longer keep ahead of her. And then I realized something. My opponent was so certain of her victory that she started to make a straight line for me, believing her fully working engines would speed her up to me and allow her to get the kill, similar to what I just did to you. Upon realizing this, I deliberately slowed down. She overshot me, and put herself right in my sights, giving me the chance to take her down. After that, the drones flying with her were still no chance for me, and I ended up coming out on top after our duel," explained Ekaril.
"Were you scared?" asked Mari.
"I was a little nervous, but it was still a simulation. I may not have been able to come up with the same solution in an actual battle, but that is the point of all these simulations we've been doing. To come up with ideas now, when our lives aren't in danger, so we can use what we've learned when the time comes to fight," explained Ekaril.
"Is that how you've gotten as good as you are?" asked Mari.
"A little. I may not be the best pilot on Arume, but I was able to defeat Azanael once. Even a superior skilled opponent can be beaten if you're able to take advantage of the slightest mistake they make," spoke Ekaril.
Mari's eyes snapped open at the memory, her tears ceasing, and her eyes lighting up. She knew what to do, and immediately cut her engines, right before her opponent opened fire on her. Her target hit nothing but open air, while flying directly into Mari's line of fire.
"Yaaahhhh!" shouted Mari as she opened fire on the fighter before her, taking it out in an instant. After the initial rush of adrenaline died down, Mari moved off to take out the drones still targeting Blue, just as Ekaril had taken our her opponent, surprised Mari had saved herself.
"Mari! You did it!" spoke Ekaril.
"I did it learning from you, Hagino. Let's get these robots off of your ship, ok?" replied a much more calm Mari.
During Mari and Ekaril's fight outside, the scene was a bit more chaotic aboard Blue. The bridge was shaking at the continued assault from the fighters and the cruiser before them.
"Warning, damage to engineering section," came the voice of Blue.
"Damn! A couple of those drones were able to get through!" shouted Seigai.
"We have some minor fluctuations in the shield grid. That last hit damaged one of the power transfer relays Tsubael and I installed," spoke Hisoka.
"Bridge to engineering... engineering? Engineering!" shouted Seigai, while receiving nothing but silence in response.
"Blue, are internal communications down in engineering?" asked Seigai.
"Negative, internal communication fully operational," replied Blue.
"Hisoka, get down to engineering, I'll take over," Seigai said, jumping out of his seat, and landing behind Hisoka's station. Hisoka immediately departed.
"The cruiser is starting to adapt their shield configuration to ours," spoke Tsubael.
"Shit, can we redirect our fighters to hit their vulnerable spots?" asked Seigai.
"Not without leaving our engineering section exposed to suicide attacks from their drones. They would be able to take us out before we could cause serious enough damage," replied Tsubael.
"Damn... wait... maybe..." Seigai muttered to himself, while looking over the readouts on his console, "Tsubael, I have an idea."
Hisoka entered the engineering section, arriving to find fires had broken out from the damage Blue had taken. Some of the people down there were attempting to control the fires.
"Satoshi!" shouted Hisoka.
"Uhh... Hisoka...," replied a gentleman with short black hair and brown eyes. He had soot covering his face as a result of the explosion that had damaged the area earlier. He had blood running down his arm.
"Hisoka... Torako and Motarou... their down their..." Satoshi attempted to say, while pointing to another section of the engineering compartment. There were fires and debris blocking the path to the shield controllers Hisoka and Tsubael had installed.
"This is gonna hurt a little..." Hisoka muttered to herself, as she grabbed a fire extinguisher, and made her way through the compartment. She was burned on her shoulder from getting to close to a fallen beam, still heated from damage, but was able to make it to the shield controller. She had looked down to see the burnt, dead bodies of Torako and Motarou. She could only recognize them by their still wide open eyes, Torako's being blue and Motarou's being green. They were too badly burnt otherwise. Hisoka knew she would have time to mourn later, and quickly made her way to the power transfer relays behind the shield controller, and fixed it was quickly as she would without frying herself or having to deactivate anything.
On the bridge, things were a little more calm when Seigai noticed on the ops panel that the shield fluctuations had ceased.
"Seigai, it's Hisoka. Shields back to normal operation. Most of my staff down here were knocked about by the damage we took, but they'll live after a trip to the medical bay. We lost Torako and Motarou.
"A shame, but we'll mourn later. Try to divert at least enough power to shield yourself down there. I can't afford to lose you to a suicidal drone as well," replied Seigai.
"Will do," replied Hisoka.
"Seigai, can you explain to me why you've brought this up on our targeting scanners? Hitting this isn't going to do anything. The computer will compensate immediately," asked Tsubael.
"I would assume so. Under normal conditions. But there's a chance that it won't be able to do so fast enough while their shields are modified. While we purpose made our modifications, they're copying ours in order to try to outlast us on the fly. Targeting the power junction between running along this section where the command tower meets the engineering section might just be our best bet. I know the shields won't drop around their reactor low enough for us to damage it, but if we immediately target the shield generator right next to it, we might be able to collapse their shield grid," explained Seigai.
"It could work, but we would have to hit them right away. Even with modifications, the computer will still be able to respond and implement a solution. We'll have fractions of a second," spoke Tsubael.
"Can you do it?" asked Seigai.
"I've been able to beat the odds before. I'm putting in the targeting sequence... either this will work, of this fight will continue to drag on," spoke Tsubael.
"I'd rather not stick around long enough for them to decide to send reinforcements. It's all yours, Tsubael. Fire when ready," replied Seigai.
"Sequence locked in... firing!" shouted Tsubael.
Blue's turrets hit the rear power junction, and immediately hit the adjacent shield generator. The enemy cruiser's computer is not able to redirect energy in the modified shield layout fast enough, and its shields fail.
On Blue's bridge, Seigai and Tsubael notice the drop in shield readings for the opposing ship on the console in front of them.
"Lock onto their reactor, and fire!" shouted Seigai.
Blue opened up one last barrage of fire upon the cruiser before them. Their reactor erupted in a fireball, slamming their commander tower into their main batteries as the remains of the ship fell to the ground below.
"Target down," replied Tsubael.
"Good, now finish them," spoke Seigai.
"Finish them? Seigai, they're ship has been destroyed. There's no way their survivors pose any kind of threat to is."
"I said fire!"
"I refuse to fire on helpless people."
"Damn it, move!" Seigai shouted as he pushed Tsubael aside. He targeted the remains of the bow section of the cruiser, and fired. The resulting explosion left nothing but piles of flaming, twisted metal and debris behind.
"That was uncalled for," replied Tsubael, as she got herself back up.
"You may think so, but if any of them were able to communicate the information they gained from their loss to the rest of their forces, we would quickly find ourselves in an unwinnable position. Condemn me if you must, but I did what I had to do. You all put emphasis on sacrifice. Consider theirs being what could make the difference between victory and defeat here tonight. Now, retake your station, and keep an eye out for other ships. It's not like we can keep taking the beating we had been. We'll need to stay sharp for as long as we can to give our fighters a chance," spoke Seigai, as he retook the ops station.
Above the skies of Innoshima, aboard the battle cruiser over the island, an Arume woman with shoulder length blond hair sat in front of a console in her office. She was wearing the cape and uniform of a Master Commander, with silver trim around the collar of her long, white cape, and standard skin-tight uniform underneath. On her screen was another Arume woman, wearing an Admiral's uniform. She had light blue hair styled as a bowl cut. Her cape's collar had gold trim.
"Admiral Tomil. I take it you have been monitoring the situation over the region of Hiroshima?" asked the master commander.
"Yes, I have been Yarael. It seems as though the Forime have managed to take out the Coraal. While I doubt they would be a match for the rest of our forces, I want to ensure their destruction. Send our forces over there. A couple frigates will be enough to keep up safe from any Forime fools who wish to try something here," replied the admiral.
"Understood Admiral. Yarael out," the woman replied, as she left her office and made her way to the bridge of her ship. Upon entering the bridge, she walked to her position, and remained standing.
"Commander on the bridge," came the voice of the ship's computer.
"Voraal, open a channel to the rest of our fleet," spoke Yarael.
"Channel open," replied the computer.
"Attention all ships, this is Master Commander Yarael. We are temporarily leaving this position to engage the stolen Forime ship currently assaulting our forces over Hiroshima. Violet, Ember, you will be heading out first, we will be right behind you. All frigates, remain in position over the base. Yarael out."
"Master Commander, we have a communication request from Violet," spoke Voraal's silver haired primary operator.
"Put it through," replied Yarael, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"This is Commander Mariel. Master Commander Yarael, I believe we should leave at least one of our heavier ships behind here, to protect our position. These Forime have been known to engage in hit and run tactics; this could be a diversion," replied an Arume woman with short, black hair.
"Mariel, their tactics to date have shown they have zero inclination to target our military headquarters directly. It's clear to the Admiral and I that Hiroshima is their target. We cannot allow them to take back one of their major cities. They could use our resources their to fortify their position, or even build more of our ships. We cannot allow this to happen. This is our priority, you will obey my command, or I'll relieve you of yours," replied Yarael.
"Understood, Master Commander. We're spinning up our Emil Force Drive now. We will enter the combat area upon your signal. Violet out," replied Mariel.
"As it should be. Signal Ember and Violet to shift. Spin up our Emil Force Drive, so we may join them," instructed Yarael to her crew.
Just past the main defense perimeter of the base, Azanael and Kensuke remained in position, watching the movements of the fleet to see if they were taking the bait. Upon seeing the heavy cruisers shift, and reading an energy increase in the main battle cruiser, the pair knew they would soon have their chance.
"Well, looks like your commander pulled it off," spoke Azanael.
"Heh, I knew our plan would work. The commander, at his best, has never lost a battle. He knows his enemy. Feels his enemy. Predicts his enemy. I knew we would get our chance here tonight. Keep an eye on me, devil girl. I'm gonna blow that little doll house down there straight to Hell," replied Kensuke, with a great degree of delight in his voice.
"Try not to let the joy of leaving a pile of our corpses cloud your judgment. The frigates are still here, and they have plenty of fighters with them. Even drones will give you trouble while moving around in that slug you're flying."
"Feh, I ain't worried. As long as I have you here, devil girl, I'll be just fine. Just give these here bombs a chance to adjust to the shield frequencies of the base, and I'll take care of the rest."
"Just try not to get shot down by one of their defense towers. I'm not turning back to pick you up if you have to eject," spoke Azanael as the Voraal shifted out of the area.
"Let's get this over with. I'm setting engines to maximum. May as well get this tub moving as fast as it can go. Shields are up, just keep the little girlies and their toys off of me long enough," spoke Kensuke, as his heavy fighter sped up. Two large large bombs hung below the main frame of the ship. Azanael followed suit, flying cover.
At the Admiral's headquarters, Tomil was sitting at her desk, watching the reports of the battle from Hiroshima.
"I swear, that Mariel would do best to just sit back, shut up, and follow orders. I grow tired of her insistence we treat the Forime better. They're nothing more than apes to us, meant to be controlled. They would never be our equals," Tomil muttered to herself. She looked over the readout sent to her from the Voraal, when she noticed she hand a priority transmission awaiting her attention. She sighed, and put it on her screen.
"Admiral Tomil, we've detected a pair of fighters coming from just outside our defense perimeter. One them appears to be carrying enough armaments to level the base," spoke the Arume captain on her screen.
"So take care of them, then. A couple Forime pilots are nothing to worry about. I doubt the fools can even outfight our drones," replied Tomil.
"We've already sent out our fighters. They are repelling them," replied the captain.
"What?"
"The pilot they have in that fighter. They're good. As good as any of our pilots."
"That's impossible. The whole time they've been fighting us, they've only ever had two good pilots. One clearly flies like one of ours. One of the traitors from the expedition force, I'm sure. The other clearly flies like a cadet just out of the academy. About as good as any Forime could hope to be, and they had deployed two such pilots against the Coraal," spoke Tomil, as the transmission from the Arume captain blinked momentarily.
"That fighter is targeting us directly! Our point defenses can't handle it. We don't have any pilots here who can match this one. We need to signal for the Voraal or one of the other ships to..." the captain's transmission was cut off. A few seconds later, Tomil felt the impact from a ship crashing into the ground. The Admiral was now starting to show signs of stress, sweat starting to form on her forehead.
"This is Tomil, activate our defenses, and get me through to the Voraal!" shouted Tomil.
"We can't Admiral, that fighter just took out our communication station!" shouted a frantic Arume operator through the intercom.
Outside the base, Azanael was flying target to target, hitting the frigates when she could, and picking fighters off of Kensuke when she couldn't.
"Damn woman, you can fly!" shouted Kensuke, as a suicidal drone burst into flame right in front of his path.
"Keep a better eye on your screen, you could have shot that one out of the sky if you were better paying attention!" shouted Azanael.
"Feh, don't tell me what to do, devil girl. These little defense turrets aren't exactly the most powerful. Just keep them off my ass like you're supposed to!" shouted Kensuke, while trying to his best to hide his appreciation for the save.
Azanael let out a small chuckle before taking out the engines of the last frigate above the base.
"I'm about to enter range of those defense towers. Care to do something about them?" asked Kensuke.
"You still have plenty of time, but if it'll make you feel better..." Azanael cut off, as she destroyed the outermost of the defense towers, "I can take care of the now."
"Show off..." grumbled Kensuke, as he watched his guidance system lock onto the shield frequency protecting the base.
Back at the base, Tomil looked frantically at her screen as the commander of the last frigate faded from her screen at the destruction of her ship, leaving Tomil with nothing but the alarms sounding. She stopped looking at her screen, and left her seat to look out of her window. She saw the explosions of the last of the fighters, and watched as the last of the defense towers fell.
"So, Mariel was right, after all. She always is when it comes to these Forime, isn't it?" muttered Tomil to herself. At that moment, one of her aids burst into the room.
"Admiral, we need to evacuate!" she shouted.
"Evacuate? To where? They'll shoot us out of the sky without any cover, and you know it. Nevermind that we don't have enough time. The base will be a crater before we can get our escape shuttle off the ground. No, I won't make a futile attempt at running," replied Tomil. Her aid, knowing the truth as well as Tomil did, stopped in her footsteps, and approached. Her long blond hair shining brightly in the light of the room.
"Admiral..." the aid started.
"Torael. There's a lesson to be learned here. A valuable lesson. I underestimated the Forime. Up until the last frigate fell, I could not believe what was happening. And now that we sit here, a couple minutes left until our demise, I can't help be think of how foolish I was. Mariel has been right since the start. She told us she felt the Forime were much stronger than we gave them credit far. It's an unpopular opinion on Arume, though. Perhaps this mentality we've adopted... this mentality of superiority will become our fatal flaw in this conflict. Even Admiral Tobael, while assuring me that we would never have anything to truly fear from the Forime, warned me not to let my guard down, and she's as anti-Forime as anyone is on Arume. And yet my own arrogance got the best of me," spoke Tomil, with Kensuke's bomber coming into view.
"Admiral, if we hid in the basement, we might..." Torael started, before she was interrupted.
"I won't die in fear, Torael," Tomil said, as she briefly hugged Torael, and planted a gentle kiss on her lips, knowing it would be the last time she would get the chance.
"I will die on my feet, with you at my side," Tomil finished, as she turned to face Kensuke's bomber. She did a salute, as one of the warheads dropped from the bottom of it.
"Very good, Forime pilot. You're a hero to your cause, and my superior in this conflict. From me, to you, as my last act, I salute you, and yours, for your ingenuity and superior tactics. May you one day find something, or someone worth dying for, in both honor, and dignity..." Tomil spoke, as the bomb hit the base, knocking both her and Torael off their feet. The pair were draped in darkness as the power to the base was taken out by the blast. The two lovers, now lying on the floor, locked hands together one last time.
"I love you, Tomil."
"As do I to you, Torael."
The second bomb hit, wiping out the entire installation. Kensuke and Azanael are the only living beings left in the area.
"Can you believe that bitch? Waving at me? Was she delusional, or something? Did she think I would change my mind last minute? Feh, you think she could do something better for her last moments, eh, devil girl?" asked Kensuke.
Azanael was silent. She had seen the admiral's salute as well. Unlike Kensuke, she had realized the meaning of it, and what it had symbolized. She had thought of a quip to send back, but decided to honor the admiral's sacrifice, and held her tongue.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue, or something? Come on, be happy! We just accomplished out mission. We scored a major victory for the cause. You mad because I smashed up one of your doll houses, or something? Forget it, they would have killed you the same as me if the tables were turned. Now lets go back to Blue, and celebrate!" Kensuke shouted in glee at the destruction that lay before him.
"Let's just go," Azanael replied. She kept to her moment of silence on her way back.
Back at the Battle of Hiroshima, Blue was ready for her last part in the battle.
"Seigai, I have two heavy cruisers heading this way. There's a battle cruiser right behind them," spoke Tsubael.
"Well... I guess we're about to find out just how much of a pounding this ship can take..." muttered Seigai.
"The lead cruisers are matching our shield configuration. We won't be able to handle all of them for long," replied Tsubael.
"Probably not, but we might be able to do something. Do the same thing as we did before. Target their aft power junctions and shield generators. If we can disable them, we can at least buy a little more time. Hopefully that last crew didn't get out a warning to what copying us would do for them," spoke Seigai.
Tsubael cast a scowl at Seigai, still not approving of him firing on a defenseless group of survivors, but dutifully entered in the firing sequence, and prepared to fire upon the two heavy cruisers.
"Weapons locked," spoke Tsubael.
"Fire!" shouted Seigai.
Blue's batteries came to life once again as the pair of heavy cruisers entered range. The first ship, the Ember, was disabled the same as the Coraal. The Violet was not, and moved into a position to protect the Ember from further fire. They immediately opened fire on Blue. The ship rocked from the renewed assault upon her.
"Damn! We only got one of them. Still, one less firing at us is far more ideal," replied Seigai.
"We need to get out of here. Our shields are dropping to 30%. We risk overload if we don't switch the modifications off, and give full power to the Emil Force Drive," explained Tsubael.
"You don't have to tell me that twice. I think we've bought as much time as we could have hoped to. Hopefully Kensuke and Azanael were able to succeed in their mission," Seigai said, as he focused on the console in front of him.
"Hisoka! I'm taking the shield modifications off line. Restoring power to the Emil Force Drive. I'm spinning her up right after," spoke Seigai.
"Understood!" shouted Hisoka.
"Ekaril, Mari! It's time to head in. We're no match for this many ships. It's time to leave," spoke Seigai.
"We're coming in now," replied Ekaril.
A few moments later, Ekaril and Mari's fighters returned to the hanger.
"We're in," spoke Ekaril.
"Alright... power transfer is complete, preparing to..." Seigai was cut off by an explosion to his right. A few pieces of debris scratched his arm, but not enough to draw blood. He quickly moved to hide it.
"Shields down to 15%, starboard sensor grid inoperable," spoke Tsubael.
"That's fine, we don't need it anymore, anyway. We're shifting... now!" shouted Seigai.
Blue immediately shifted out of the area. The Violet immediately ceased fire. On her bridge, Commander Mariel looked at the sight before her.
"Enemy ship has left the area, Commander," Mariel's operator spoke.
"Good job. Send to Voraal, enemy ship has retreated. Recommend return to base," Mariel spoke.
"Roger, sending communication," the operator paued, "Voraal has acknowledged receipt of transmission. She will stay behind to assist Ember. We are to shift back to base."
"Acknowledge receipt of message, and spin up Emil Force Drive. Shift when ready," spoke Mariel.
"Commander, is everything ok?" asked her operator.
"There's something off. They left like they were prepared to. Did we copy their shield configuration identically?" asked Mariel.
"As best as we could. Our layout was identical," replied the operator.
"No, no it wasn't. You saw what happened to the Ember. They must have done something else. Something we couldn't detect. If I wasn't prepared to redirect power after the aft junction was hit, we'd be in the same situation. Their junction already appeared to be damaged. Surely they must have known about that flaw, and accounted for it. They probably had some dedicated hardware. That's the only way the computer would have been able to switch power fast enough. Let this be a lesson to all of you: do not underestimate the Forime. Or you'll end up like that," Mariel explained, while pointing at the remains of the Coraal. Her command staff nodded at her word as the ship shifted back to Innoshima. While her crew was surprised at the devastation that greeted them, Mariel was not. She sighed, knowing exactly what had happened.
"Commander... how..." muttered Mariel's gunner.
"As I said, do not underestimate the Forime. We did here. And Admiral Tomil and her command staff paid the price," replied Mariel.
"We're having a hard time raising anyone else. Looks like they took out the communications center, as well as the base," spoke Mariel's operator.
"I'm not at all surprised. This is going to heavily disrupt our operation in this region. Take us into orbit of the planet, so we may make contact with the Gigaal. We need to advise Admiral Tobael of the situation. Until we make contact, I'll be in my quarters," replied Mariel, as she made her way away from the bridge.
"We shouldn't have done this. This invasion. Our dominating the Forime. This was all so unnecessary. We could have found a peaceful solution. But Arume... they wanted to go straight to dropping Gosta, without so much as a word to the Forime. One day... one day, we need to find a better way," Mariel said to herself.
Over the oceans far off the coast of Innoshima, Blue arrived. She was clearly worn from the battle. The had a hole on her port side near her engine room. She also had a hole on the starboard side of the bridge tower. She kept her shield grid active, in case another ship entered the area. Fortunately, no one showed up for Kensuke and Azanael arrived. As soon as they were aboard, Blue shifted away again.
"Shift complete. All hands, stand down from battle stations. Excellent work everyone," Seigai said, while still holding his injured arm. He carefully looked at it again before finally moving it around normally.
"Is your arm okay, Seigai?" asked Tsubael.
"Yeah, it's fine. Just a small scratch, nothing to write home about. Still hurts pretty good, but hey, chicks did scars, right?" asked Seigai.
Tsubael gave Seigai another dirty look, and continued monitoring her station.
"Right, lesbians... never mind, then. Hisoka," spoke Seigai.
"Yes, Seigai?" replied Hisoka.
"Now that we're away from earth, I think we can try to do an inspection of our damage. I know we took a good hit up here, and they took a good hit down there. From the info on my panel, I imagine a lot of us are going to have to find new quarters until repairs are complete. Let's run our survey now, and get people to work. I want to get us back to the battlefield as soon as we can," spoke Seigai.
"Of course, I'll gather a survey crew immediately," replied Hisoka.
After a couple of weeks, Blue was back to 100%. All of her battle damage had been fully repaired, and all crew had been accounted for. After everything else had been taken care of, Seigai knew he had one more duty to fulfill. It was always his least favorite duty, but for the sacrifice of the two engineers they lost, Seigai knew this was the least he could do for them. The crew assembled on the bow of the ship. It was one of the few times where everyone was in their uniforms since the invasion had begun.
"Attention!" shouted Seigai.
Everyone of the senior human crew saluted. The Arume crew gave their own salute, while Mari tried to copy Ekaril. She was already uncomfortable, as the only uniform she had access to was one of Ekaril's spares, but she didn't want to appear wearing normal clothes either during this occasion.
"Today, we are here to honor our fallen, Torako Matsuwara, and Motarou Aramatsu. Both were champions of our cause. Torako, whose unyielding devotion was part of what helped put this ship in the air. Were it not for the tireless hours she spent along say Lieutenant Commander Kaeko, we would have never gotten off the ground. And Motarou, whose enthusiasm for engineering was second to none. He dreamed of one day being a ship designer for our navy, turning out designs that would allow our navy to further step up to being one of the best in the world. These two soldiers, who died with honor in battle, we will forever remember," spoke Seigai.
"As we were born from the stars, shall these souls return to them. May they forever rest in peace," spoke Hisoka.
There were a pair of caskets in the middle of the group. The group was arranged to as to leave the path to the front of the ship clear. The jets on the caskets activated, sending the caskets out of the shield protecting the crew, and out into the space beyond.
"Burial detail, dismissed," spoke Seigai.
Everyone went their separate ways. Mari stayed close with Ekaril as the pair returned. Fortunately, their quarters were not damaged during the previous battle. Mari appeared to have a lot on her mind. Ekaril hadn't had a chance to talk to Mari in detail since the battle, due to needing to help with repairs. She knew what Mari wanted to talk about.
"So... these are the uniforms you wear, huh?" Mari asked, as the pair made it back inside the ship.
"Honestly, the swimsuits some of you choose to wear are far more revealing, but that's not what you wanted to ask me about," replied Ekaril.
"No, it's not. Hagino. During that battle. I was so scared when that fighter got behind me. I thought for sure I was going to die. That could have been me in one of those caskets, and... I just haven't been able to shake that feeling."
"I could tell. Whenever we touch, I can feel the thought coming from the back of your mind. Your inability to shake away the fear of death. I can tell you from experience it's not an easy thing to deal with."
"But you can deal with it?"
"You can. It just takes time. I have the experience of a military career to help me to deal with it. While I can only do so much to help you have the same experience, I can at least share my feelings with you," Ekaril answered, while holding both of Mari's hands.
The pair felt a movement of emotions between them. From Mari flowed fear and anxiety. From Ekaril, experience and calm. From both, love. The pair stood in one of Blue's corridors in complete silence, both their eyes closed. After a few minutes, both opened their eyes again. Tears graced Mari's face, while a gentle smile appeared on Ekaril's. Mari quickly embraced Ekaril in a hug, crying loudly onto her shoulder.
"It's okay, you're safe now. And you will be again. My experience to yours will keep you safe. With both, there is nothing to fear," gently spoke Ekaril.
Mari continued to cry for a bit, before finally letting go.
"I'm sorry Hagino. I know this must seem silly to you. You've been in many more near death experiences than I, haven't you?" asked Mari.
"A few over the years. The first one is always the worst, but you learn to deal with it. In time, you learn to control your fear. It's not easy, but I know you'll one day find your own way. And you'll be a stronger person for it. You've survived so much already. And you've done so well. You've improved yourself a lot in the time I've known you. When I first met you again at Kaihou, you had an air of a spoiled rich girl about you. But you grew into a better person with your experiences there. And I grew into a better person for having met you," replied Ekaril.
"You really mean it?" asked Mari.
"Of course, Mari. That's part of what draws me to you. That, and your steadfast personality. The drive to accomplish your goals... it's a sought after trait in our society. A society I hope to teach you more about," replied Ekaril, as she gave Mari another quick hug, and a kiss on the forehead.
"Hagino..." spoke Mari.
Ekaril smiled, "You know, you really do wear the uniform well."
Mari blushed at Ekaril's words, not knowing how to respond.
"I-I... thank you," replied Mari, too embarrassed to say anything else.
"Let's go back to our quarters, and get some rest. It's been a busy couple of weeks for us. It would be nice to get some rest together, instead of me just falling asleep as soon as I come in," spoke Ekaril, as she gestured towards the nearest lift. The pair made their way in, the sadness in Mari's eyes and anxiety of the past two weeks finally wiped away.
In Kensuke's quarters, Kensuke punched the wall in front of him. His own wall of dealing with the grief.
"Damn you, you fucking blue-eyed devils. You took away two more members of my family. You just won't be happy until you've taken them all away, will you? Well, that's fine. I'll just blow away another one of your pretty little doll houses, full of pampered staff, getting fat off of our deaths. And the first chance I get, I'm gonna take this ship to your home planet, and turn the whole thing into a pile of ashes," Kensuke spoke to himself, his tone shifting from one of anger to one of dark joy at the thoughts of death.
In Seigai's quarters, Seigai continued to look at his arm that was injured previously. He noted even the light scratches he sustained were healed.
"That was a little too close for comfort. Last thing I need is to lose an arm, or something else severe. Not like I can just go out and buy a new one, or something," Seigai said to himself, as he started to take off his uniform.
"I swear, I never liked wearing this thing. I can handle all the discipline in the world, but please, spare me the silly uniform. White is just not my color. At all," Seigai muttered, as he got the last of his uniform off.
"Now that we're back up and running, it's time to move towards our next target. Now that we've taken out a military target, it's finally time to work our way up to an assault on one of the cities," Seigai said to himself, as me got into his bed, his mind already turning out the plan for the next battle.