Chapter 23 - An Officer's Pride
November 13th 2204 - Makira System - Neu Lambea
Konno opened her eyes slowly as she sat with her head leaned back onto her chair, blankly staring into the ceiling. Sitting up, she glanced over and saw Josiah sitting across her with his arms crossed. While avoiding eye contact with him, the young pilot quietly looked around the room for Otto. To her right, the Garmillan officer who had escorted them to this room was quietly standing guard next to the door. The small greenly lit room they were in was a simple conference room that was surprisingly mostly undamaged from the battle. The only thing that was out of place were the few paintings that had fallen off the walls and a few chairs that had fallen over. Konno let out a sigh when she realized the bespectacled Garmillan officer was nowhere to be seen and rested her hands on the long conference table in front of her.
Suddenly, she heard the sounds of the doors sliding open.
"Attention on deck!" said the Garmillan officer as two Garmillan commanders entered the room. Josiah quickly got on his feet and gave a salute, prompting Konno to quickly do the same.
"Lieutenants Josiah Anton and Konno Yashiro of the Earth battleship UNCF Audacious reporting as ordered sir!" stated Josiah firmly.
"As you were," said the first commander in a low voice as he held his hand up and glanced at the both of them. The tall Garmillan sported a neatly trimmed short boxed beard and had a stiff frown on his face which caused Konno to feel uneasy.
"Where is the third member of your crew?" he asked briskly as he turned to Josiah. "I was told that there was a Garmillan analyst present with you."
"Apologies sir, our passenger fell ill after we landed due to motion sickness and is currently in the toilet," explained Josiah.
Konno felt her head lower slightly as the Garmillan commander narrowed his eyes.
"I see," he muttered.
"Another question," he said suddenly. "Who among your fleet had knowledge of our rendezvous?"
In response, both Earth officers flinched.
"What do you mean sir?" asked Konno instinctively.
"It was a simple question," stated the commander as he folded his arms. "Who knew that you were coming here?"
"Sir, we were picked last minute for this mission and only received details about it just before we launched." said Josiah quickly. "Other than ourselves, all we can confirm is that our immediate superiors and presumably whoever was contacted knew about our mission."
The Garmillan commander closed his eyes in response causing Josiah to narrow his eyes.
"Permission to ask a question sir?" asked Josiah.
"Granted," nodded the bearded commander.
"Is this related to the Gatlantean attack from earlier?" he asked.
"As a matter of fact yes," replied the second Garmillon commander as he stepped forward. "Our task force was ambushed on the way here by those damned Gatlantean stealth vessels at the edge of the Makira system. We lost eight of our escort ships and two Guipellon-class multi-deck carriers before we were able to make a Geschtam jump. But-"
"Another task force was waiting for you at the planned rendezvous coordinates," finished Josiah as he gritted his teeth.
The second Garmillan commander nodded.
"It was too well timed to be a coincidence," he added.
"Sir with all due respect," Konno said suddenly. "Our superiors aren't the kind of people who would let this kind of thing slip."
Josiah winced and immediately threw a glare at Konno.
"I see," said the tall Garmillan sternly as he eyed the young pilot who gulped under his gaze. Glancing at the door briefly, he then nodded to the second commander who responded similarly and brought out a small tablet.
"This contains a copy of the sensor data we got from the research station," said the second commander as he handed the tablet to Josiah. "While they were under attack, the crew aboard the station were attempting to use their enhanced scanners to try and find the stealth ships that were attacking them."
Josiah opened up the tablet briefly and was met with a wall of Garmillan numbers and text.
"They tried to relay as much of their progress to us through their distress calls, but thanks to the communication dead zones we weren't able to make much out of them." said the second commander. "All we know is that they found something before sending their last message to us. Unfortunately we couldn't get there in time and all that was left was the raw data we found in a drive that had thankfully escaped the carnage."
Suddenly, a person's garbled voice started to play from the tablet, startling Konno.
"Sensors- … We hit! … incoming- … Gas-"
"We will also be handing you copies of the messages the station crew sent us." said the second commander grimly as Josiah shut off the recording he had accidentally triggered. "As you can see there's not much there, but perhaps you could extract something from them."
Konno lowered her head as she took a glance at the tablet in Josiah's hands.
"Convey this information to the rest of the fleet as soon as possible," muttered the bearded Garmillan suddenly causing Konno to flinch. "We cannot let these Gatlanteans continue to roam through our territory with impunity. I was hoping we could have your analyst give us some possible early answers but it seems he's woefully-"
Just then, the sounds of the conference doors opening was heard prompting everyone to look in their direction.
"S-Sorry for being late!" gasped Otto as he held his knees bent over gasping for breath. "Space sickness and all! Flying in those agile spacecraft bombers is definitely not good for my-"
The bespectacled officer's face fell when he looked up to see the two Garmillan commanders looking down at him. His face went white as a sheet when he recognized them as the Neu Lambea's commanding officer and his XO.
"C-Colonel Vale and Major Friebel sir!" squeaked Otto as his whole body flashed into a salute.
Konno felt herself wince.
A hint of disdain flashed across both Garmillan commanders' faces as their eyes landed on the young bespectacled officer.
"You." muttered Major Friebel as his eyes narrowed.
The major took a step forward towards Otto but was stopped by a glare from the bearded commander. He then looked at Otto and gestured to him to join the earth officers prompting the bespectacled officer to scamper over next to Konno.
"As Colonel Vale has said, time is of the essence." said Major Friebel while avoiding eye contact with Otto. "Once your spacecraft gets patched up we'd like you to launch immediately."
"About that sir," said Konno as her hands clenched slightly. "The warp booster which we used to get here was destroyed in the previous battle. We can't return to our ship without it, at least not on our own."
Major Friebel widened his eyes in response and turned to Colonel Vale, who lowered his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Where were you supposed to rendezvous with your ship?" asked Colonel Vale as he let out a sigh.
"The Voss system sir." replied Konno.
"Voss?" repeated Friebel as his eyes narrowed. "Isn't that within restricted space?"
"Prior to this mission we were originally assigned to escort a decommissioned Zoellugut to that system," explained Josiah. "Though we weren't given any details as to why."
"I see…" Colonel Vale muttered to himself before looking back at the three officers. "In that case, we will head there for repairs and drop you off at the same time. Major, inform the fleet of our new course."
"Sir?" asked Friebel in surprise as the Colonel turned to leave the room. "We don't have the clearance to enter that system, let alone have repairs done for our whole fleet at their port."
"That doesn't matter," replied Vale. "Right now our main priority is to get that data to the rest of our allies as soon as possible. With the losses and damage from the previous battle, our fleet can not afford to send off any ships as messengers."
"I understand that sir," said Friebel as he followed Vale out of the doors. "But wouldn't it be safer to head to another port where we can guarantee repairs and then contact the rest of the fleet from there?"
"Voss is still light years closer than any other system that can handle the size of our fleet." said Colonel Vale curtly. "Even if we are not able to get repairs done there we will at least have the fleets stationed there to provide backup till we find our next move. I do not want to give the Gatlanteans any more opportunities to pick us off."
"Very well sir," sighed Friebel reluctantly as he followed Vale out through the doors.
"Good." replied Colonel Vale as he paused outside the conference room. "Sergeant, see that these three have quarters prepared for them. It will be a while till we reach Voss with our damaged wave motion engines."
"Will do sir," saluted the guard.
Colonel Vale nodded in response and turned to the three young officers.
"That will be all." he said before turning to walk away. "Until then, try to keep yourselves out of the way."
As Colonel Vale left the doorway, Major Friebel paused for a moment and glanced over at Otto.
"Take a good long look at those recordings Mr Giezler." said Friebel in a low voice. "It would be good if you could pick up a thing or two about what it means to be a soldier of the Garmillan Empire."
The doors quickly slid close just as Major Friebel finished his sentence leaving Konno, Josiah and Otto silently in the room with the Garmillan Seargent.
"It will take some time to prepare your temporary quarters," said the Garmillan officer as turned to the three of them. "Would you like to head to the mess hall first?"
Otto opened his mouth to say something but closed it without a word, catching the eye of Josiah. But before the tactical officer could respond, Konno suddenly answered the officer's question in his place.
"Y-Yes that would be good," chirped up Konno as she put up a smile. "We did have quite a long journey."
The Garmillan officer nodded before gesturing to the door.
"Right this way then."
The three young officers followed the Garmillan officer in a single file as they walked briskly through the Neu Lambea's corridors as a blur of activity happened around them. The hallways were filled with the sounds of heavy footsteps and echoed with Garmillan voices who were barking out orders as they scrambled towards different locations. As a group of Garmillan fire fighters brushed past them, Konno glanced behind to check on Otto.
The young gamillan was holding his head unusually low and seemed to be doing his best to avoid the attention of the others around him. Suddenly, a hand firmly tapped on Otto's shoulder causing the bespectacled officer to spin around in panic. However, it was only Josiah who simply handed him the data tablet.
"You should hold onto this." he said quietly.
The bespectacled officer nodded meekly in response and took the tablet from Josiah.
Konno let out a worried sigh and slowed down to walk alongside him.
"An old commanding officer?" asked Konno half jokingly.
"Y-Yes I don't really want to talk about it." said Otto quickly catching Konno off guard.
As he said this, the bespectacled officer began to pick up his pace and walk ahead of Konno.
"Just leave him be," said Josiah as he caught up to Konno. "There's no point wasting your breath."
The young pilot gave a sharp glare in response.
"Maybe not to you, but usually decent human beings try to cheer up their friends when they're feeling down." muttered Konno.
"He probably did something to deserve that kind of treatment." Josiah replied in a low voice. "Considering his behavior I'm not surprised he pissed off a few people."
Konno gritted her teeth but held herself back from shouting in his face and turned away.
"Why are you always like this?" asked Konno monotonously as she looked straight ahead.
"Like what?" asked Josiah as he narrowed his eyes.
"Angry," said Konno.
Josiah blinked twice and glanced at her in surprise. However, his usual scowl quickly returned and the tactical officer gave his answer.
"Because there's too many people around who don't know what they're doing." said Josiah as he turned away. "Isn't it natural to be pissed off at them when there's so much at stake?"
Konno let out a long sigh under her breath.
"Right." she muttered.
Josiah's eyebrow twitched in response, but the tactical officer kept his mouth shut as another Garmillan officer brushed past them. For a while, the two simply walked alongside each other without saying a word. As their footsteps tapped along, Konno's eyes couldn't help but slowly lock to the ground. She caught a glance at Josiah's boots and noticed that they were very well polished. The glare in the young pilot's eyes slowly faded as she thought quietly to herself.
"How much did you hear on the moon?" she asked softly.
Konno didn't receive an answer, but she didn't feel like checking for a reaction.
"Enough," came Josiah's voice after a pause.
"I see," replied Konno quietly as she continued to stare blankly at the ground.
"Could you two keep up the pace?" came the Garmillan sergeant's voice. "We're here."
The two officers quickly walked over to where Otto and the Garmillan sergeant was. As they turned the corner, they were met with a large open canteen which was brightly lit with a slight yellow tint and filled with the noise of Garmillan chatter.
Josiah watched as both Otto and Konno visibly recoiled when they saw how many Garmillans were packed into the space, the latter of which was trying to discreetly block her nose from the smell.
"Make yourselves comfortable till I come back to bring you to your quarters." said the Garmillan sergeant. "It might take an hour or so. Until then, if you need any food or drinks you can get it from over there."
He pointed towards the other side of the room but all Konno could see was a crowd of officers waiting in line.
"T-Thank you." said Konno as she tried to keep a cheerful tone.
The Garmillan sergeant nodded in response, and as he walked away, Konno turned to the monumental task at hand.
"I guess we should search for a seat then…" she sighed before turning to Josiah. "Do you want to queue for food first?"
"Geh!" came a voice from behind them. "I think we were too late..."
Konno glanced behind to see two newly arrived Garmillans behind them.
"What did I tell you?" sighed the first Garmillan. "There wasn't going to be a change in rush hour even if the whole ship was broken in half."
The first Garmillan had a rough voice and was taller than both Josiah and Konno. His head was shaved though it seemed like most of his hair had begun to grow back.
"I know… but I was hoping we could run into the young lady." said the second Garmillan. "We did promise her a meal."
The second Garmillan had sharp eyes and was just shorter than the other Garmillan, but had really messy brown hair. If Konno had to describe him, she'd use the word broccoli. Smiling quietly to herself, she started to turn back around when she suddenly realized the second Garmillan was looking straight at her.
The young pilot's eyes went wide as she quickly hid her smile and spun back around.
"Hmm?" said the second Garmillan as he looked at Konno with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think I've seen you around before."
"Y-Yeah," murmured Konno.
"That voice…" whispered the Garmillan as he put a finger on his chin and leaned forward. "Osprey Two?"
"Eh?"
Konno froze the moment she heard Garmillan's words. She slowly turned around and looked at the officer who was talking to her.
"Yes that's me." she said slowly.
"Finally!" cried the messy haired Gamillan as he beamed from ear to ear. "We've been looking all over for you! See, what did I tell you Bolz? I told you we'd find her eventually!"
"B-Bolz?" stuttered Konno as she turned and with a finger pointing towards the first Gamillon who waved with an awkward smile on his face. "That means…"
She turned slowly to the other Gamillan. "Lieutenant... Hübner?"
"In the flesh!" he announced proudly as he gave a hearty laugh before circling around the three officers and quickly herding them out of the canteen. "Now then, don't worry about getting your food. Bolz will handle it."
"W-What?" stuttered Konno as she tried to get to grips with what was happening. "Wait but we were instructed to-"
"Don't worry about it!" said Hübner as he pushed them out of the canteen. "Now while I settle our guests, Bolz! I'll leave the extra drinks and food to you."
"H-Hey! You can't just- Hübner! Get back here you-"
However, by the time Bolz looked down the corridor, Hübner had already dragged the three officers around the corner.
"Cheers!"
Konno blinked in confusion as she found herself sitting at a table full of Garmillan pilots talking merrily among each other. To her left, she could see Josiah glancing around in equal confusion. However, she couldn't see Otto anywhere.
"Gentlemen!" came Lieutenant Hübner's loud voice from across them. "May I present to you the valiant warriors from earth, who against all odds, made a fool out of the Gatlantean fleet and single handedly took out one of their carriers!"
The room filled with applause as the Gamillans in front of the two Earth officers moved out of the way to give them a full view of the rest of the room. Konno felt her ears burn up as she felt everyone's attention placed on her and instinctively began bowing in thanks. As she tried to calm herself, she glanced over at Josiah and noticed he was calmly standing next to her, nodding ever so slightly in response.
"Do you have any words for us Young Miss?" asked Hübner as he gestured gently to her with his hand.
"E-Eh?"
"Oi Hübner! No need to put her on the spot like that!" laughed one of the other pilots. "We know you spend ages figuring out your own speeches!"
"Shut up Ein!" grumbled Hübner jokingly before glancing at Konno as the crowd around them laughed.
"Um- Thank you everyone!" stuttered Konno as she held her thumbs tightly.
"But we wouldn't have been able to take the carrier on our own. If it weren't for Lieutenant Hübner and his wingmen we wouldn't have made it halfway to the carriers!"
Konno glanced downwards as she tried to think of words to say.
"And it was the bomber squadron that actually chased off the enemy fleet so please thank them as well!"
For a moment, the room remained silent and Konno cringed internally as she realized how cheesy she sounded.
Suddenly, the pilots all erupted into noise as they both clapped and laughed at the same time.
"Hübner how much did you pay her to say that?" laughed one of the pilots.
"Well what she said is true you know?" said Hübner smugly. "Anyway, let's eat up guys! The next few days are going to be rough so let's build up some energy reserves before it comes to that!"
Konno let out a sigh of relief as the pilots let out another cheer before sitting back at their tables and starting up their own conversations. Sitting down, she stayed silent for a moment as the chatter built up around her, staring blankly at the water canteen and ration bar that sat in front of her.
"Sorry about the food!" came Hübner's voice.
Konno glanced up as the messy haired Gamillon pilot slid into the seat across her.
"I know I promised a good meal but unfortunately the food converter in the mess hall got knocked out in the previous battle." he laughed before sighing. "It might have been fixed by now but…"
"N-No it's okay." said Konno as she grabbed the water canteen. "Thank you for the hospitality."
Hübner smiled in response and opened up his own ration bar to reveal a brownish black colored cake looking thing.
"So, how should I address you guys?" said Hübner as he bit into the ration bar, making a hard cracking noise in the process.
"Oh- Yes excuse me!" stuttered Konno. "I'm Lieutenant Konno Yashiro of Osprey Squadron from the Earth battleship Audacious. This is Lieutenant Josiah Anton, he's a tactical officer but is currently filling in as a gunner."
"Oh?" asked Hübner in response as he turned to Josiah. "You're a pretty good shot for someone who's just filling in! Especially considering the maneuvers that she was pulling!"
"Thank you." said Josiah as he nodded. "I had some training prior to this battle."
"Um, Lieutenant Hübner? asked Konno. "Do you know where the bespectacled Garmillan that was with us went?"
"Oh I think he said something about wanting to get something from your spacecraft." said Hübner as he took another hard bite out of his ration bar. "I think someone went with him to help him do that."
"Oh ok," said Konno as she glanced at the doorway.
"But more importantly," said Hübner as he leaned forward. "How or what made you come up with such a crazy plan to get past the Gatlantean fleet?"
"Huh? Oh uh… it's a long story." said Konno quietly.
"We were on the receiving end of it once." explained Josiah as he momentarily glanced away. "Some insane Gatlantean in a new spacecraft made a fool of us in a previous battle."
"What? Seriously?" asked Hübner in surprise. "The Gatlanteans are really stepping up their game."
"It probably won't work again," said Josiah. "We could have adapted better in that battle, and the Gatlantean fleet from earlier almost caught us quite quickly."
"Hey but it worked didn't it?" laughed Hübner.
Konno narrowed her eyes in response.
"But a new model might be trouble wouldn't it?" came another voice from their right. This pilot seemed younger than Hübner and had long blue hair tied up in a ponytail. "Should we be worried?"
"If there was only one it might've only been a prototype right?" said Hübner. "It should take some time before they can spread it across their fleet since we've only fought Deathvavators so far. Like our newer Czvarkes for example."
As he said this, the messy haired Lieutenant put his hand in his chin in thought.
"The pilot does sound quite interesting though," he said to himself before turning back to Konno. "Were you able to see his fighting up close?"
However, the young pilot didn't respond immediately and seemed to be fidgeting with the water canteen in her hand.
"Y-Yeah." said Konno as she glanced at Hübner. "He plays sneaky. From the way I saw him fly he likes to escape your field of vision to catch you off guard."
"Hmm, thanks for the heads up." said Hübner before turning to the other pilots. "Well, if we ever see that guy, rest assured we'll help you give him some much needed payback."
The other pilots chuckled in response as Konno nodded quietly.
"Hope you don't mind me asking," said Hübner as the other pilots went back to their own business. "Is everything good Young Miss? I hope we aren't overwhelming you or anything."
"No no." said Konno as she shook her head gently and smiled. "It's uh…"
She took a glance at Hübner but looked away almost immediately. The messy haired Gamillan eyed her quietly as she did this with no reaction, but Konno could feel him seeing through her attempts at a facade.
Konno felt the smile on her face slowly fade as words began to slowly flow out of her mouth.
"It just feels really weird to see you guys partying like this." she said quietly.
In response, Josiah frowned and opened his mouth. However, Lieutenant Hübner spoke up first.
"Oh? Then what do you expect us to be doing?" asked Hübner as he maintained his expression.
The young pilot's eyes darted away.
"Sorry it was a dumb thing to say," said Konno dismissively as she lowered her head. "I didn't mean to ruin the mood."
Hübner let out a quick sigh and leaned in towards Konno.
"Come here for a moment." whispered Hübner as he gestured to her to come closer. "Take a look around Ms Yashiro, what do you see?"
Konno took a quick glance around.
"People distracting themselves," she said in a low voice.
"Is that how it looks like to you?" asked Hübner.
Konno clenched her teeth momentarily and glanced at the table next to them.
She watched as the group of Gamillans spoke with one another in turn. While they were cracking jokes, there seemed to be a respectful atmosphere around them. Konno recognized one of them as one of the pilots who called out Hübner during the earlier speech. He had short spiky hair, and spoke earnestly to the rest of the group. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell the group was very close with one another.
"I don't know." said Konno quietly. "All I can tell is that everyone seems to be having a good time."
"Why does that seem so strange to you?" asked Hübner.
"I-" Konno opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She lowered her head and glanced away.
Hübner smirked and let out a laugh causing Konno to flinch.
"Relax Young Miss! I'm just messing with you!" He laughed before glancing at the group. The pilot remained uncharacteristically silent for a moment, and watched the other pilots enjoying themselves.
"You might be right in a way," he said gently. "You could say that this party is kind of a way to distract ourselves from the loss of our comrades. But I'd say the reason we do this is to simply enjoy the company we still have."
"We sortie all the time, there's no telling how many of us will make it back the next round," added Hübner as he shrugged, causing Konno to grimace. "We might as well make the most of the time we have."
Hübner took a glance at Konno and took another bite from his ration bar.
"If you're feeling guilty about Klein please don't." said Hübner as he closed his eyes. "We were fully prepared to lose our lives when we chose to help you."
"How can you fight without hesitation like that?" asked Konno softly. "Knowing anyone around you could disappear the next day?"
"Or yourself for that matter." She added almost inaudibly.
"Isn't it obvious?" said Josiah suddenly. "If any battle could be your last then you'll make sure you fight with no regrets. Of course you'd be able to fight properly."
Hübner blinked in surprise before tilting his head in thought.
"I guess that's one way to put it." He laughed.
"It's not that I don't fear death." he said gently. "I think it's just that for me, I've simply accepted that whatever's going to happen is going to happen. If I die I die."
"If a friend has to go, he goes," said Hübner as his voice softened briefly before letting out a sarcastic tired sigh. "But I guess that's to be expected isn't it? It comes with the job after all."
Konno lowered her head in response.
"I… see." said Konno quietly.
"If I had to forfeit my life for dozens of others to sleep peacefully at night I'd gladly do it." declared Josiah suddenly.
Konno flinched and glanced towards Josiah. The tactical officer had his arms crossed and a defiant look on his face.
"That's what we're supposed to do right? Protect the people behind us?" asked Josiah as he turned to Konno.
The young pilot gulped as she recognized the same fire in Josiah's eyes he had on the moon. However this time, something about him felt different to her. The tactical officer eyed her for a moment before turning to Hübner.
"If some of us have to die then so be it!" said Josiah as he put his hand on the table. "If it means a strategic victory we should not bat an eye when some allies have to be sacrificed. As long as they did their job we should be grateful for that!"
The messy haired pilot narrowed his eyes as he looked down upon the hotheaded human officer. Around them, a few of the other pilots had also overheard Josiah's words and were beginning to eye the two Earth officers.
The messy haired Garmillan closed his eyes and began clapping slowly.
"Wow, that was a cracker of a speech Mr Tactical Officer." said Hübner as he smiled coyly. "I should have asked you to speak earlier instead of the young miss here."
He slowly stopped his clapping and eyed Josiah carefully.
"Although maybe you should word that a little differently next time," the messy haired officer said quietly.
"There's no point dressing up the truth," countered Josiah. "The sooner we can come to terms with this the sooner we can start making better decisions on the battlefield! Otherwise we'll keep wasting time moping and missing strategic opportunities!"
"Look Terron, maybe if we were robots we might be able to do that," came a voice from their right. Josiah grit his teeth and turned to see the same ponytailed pilot standing from his seat.
"But we're not!" he said sarcastically before pointing straight at Josiah. "I don't know who you think you are but I don't think you get how things work around here!"
Josiah opened his mouth to retaliate but was cut off immediately again.
"This is a squadron. We trust each other with our backs and fight as one! If someone's in trouble you bet we're going to do everything we can to help them! Saying a comrade's life is expendable is simply unacceptable!"
A few pilots around murmured in agreement.
"Even if it means losing more in the process?" asked Josiah. "What if-"
"If we spent as much time thinking about what ifs as you do we'd be dead Mr Tactical Officer." said the ponytailed pilot. "People like you spend too much time talking. If you actually understood what it's like for us you'd-"
"And it's people like you who are too self righteous to think of the big picture that causes us to lose unnecessary lives." said Josiah coldly.
Konno felt herself shrink in her seat as the whole room around them went silent.
"You may have been invited here as a guest but that can change real quick." The pilot said quietly.
"Now now," said Hübner as he supported his head with his arm on the table. "Let's not-"
"Try to understand!" exclaimed Josiah as he stood up in frustration. "All I'm trying to do is explain what you need to do to be better soldiers! It's because of this unreliable nature that you're perpetuating that we are getting replaced! If we keep this up we're all going to end up handing our lives to some-"
"I'd love to be replaced! That would be fantastic!" replied the ponytailed pilot. "In fact, if you could throw a Gamaroid into the cockpit and get the same results as me then go right ahead! I'd love to spend the time with my family instead!"
Josiah grimaced and slammed his fist into the table.
"What are you even saying?" yelled Josiah. "Don't you have any honor as a soldier?"
"Anton! Quit it!" said Konno in a hushed voice.
"Honor? That's rich coming from you!" laughed the Garmillon pilot as he stuck his chin up. "All you've talked about is how much you'd love to murder your own comrades!"
"Yeah! Get the Imperial Guard wannabe out of here!" came a few voices from around them as some of the pilots began to get rowdy causing Josiah to glare at them.
"Anton just calm down for one second!" exclaimed Konno as she tugged on his uniform.
"That's not what I'm saying!" exclaimed Josiah as he removed Konno's hand. "I'm trying to say that we shouldn't let emotional attachment cloud our judgement because it's just going to lead to-"
The tactical officer was suddenly interrupted by a splash of water onto his head. Josiah widened his eyes in shock as he started to feel cold water flow down his back and face. Behind him, a short haired Garmillan stood with his water canteen held upside down above Josiah's head.
"Your noise is getting tiresome Terron." said the Garmillan. The short haired Garmillan didn't look much older than Josiah, but his blue eyes glowed with confidence and anger. The tactical officer clenched his teeth and glanced around. However, all he saw were icy looks of disgust on every pilot's face.
Josiah winced and slowly lowered his head as the last of the contents in the water canteen was emptied onto his head. Konno watched in dismay as she watched his wet fringe fall over his face and glanced at Hübner. However, the messy haired pilot simply closed his eyes and didn't say anything.
"That's enough Ein," came a deep voice from the door.
The short haired pilot flinched as he glanced towards the new arrival.
"C-Captain Houth," he stuttered quietly as he lowered the water canteen.
Konno turned towards the voice to see a tall broad shouldered Gamillan walking slowly towards them. Around him, the pilots all froze and quickly stood up in salute. He slowly approached their table, with each of his heavy footsteps reverberating throughout the silent room.
Unsure of what to do, Konno quickly glanced downwards to avoid eye contact with the large Garmillan captain. His grey hair was swept back and he had a sharp grey beard. However his face sported a scar on his cheek, and he seemed much older than many of the other pilots.
Josiah stood silently with water dripping from his forehead as the captain walked up next to him.
"This is not how we treat visitors." he said in a low voice that reverberated in Konno's chest.
The young Garmillan lowered his head in response.
"Yes sir," he said quietly, causing Josiah to grit his teeth.
"Lieutenant Hübner, I'll leave you to deal with this." said Captain Houth before placing his hand on Josiah's shoulder.
"Young man, come with me." he whispered.
Josiah nodded quietly and followed Captain Houth.
"Yes sir! I read you loud and clear!" said Hübner nonchalantly as he stood up with his eyes closed and stretched. "See Ein? Look what you got yourself into! Well, there's two ways we can do this. Either you're on toilet duty for the next two weeks, or you can drop down and give me a hundred five push-ups right now."
"Y- okay I'll choose the pushups…" sighed the young Garmillon.
As Ein proceeded with his punishment, the rest of the pilots went back to their seats and acted as if nothing had happened.
As the atmosphere in the room slowly reset, Konno couldn't help but watch Josiah follow Captain Houth out the door.
"Idiot," she muttered quietly under her breath. However, her eyes reflected only concern as the hotheaded tactical officer left the room.
In the corridors further up, Josiah followed Captain Houth quietly through the different passages. His hair was still slowly dripping with water, but the tactical officer continued to walk silently without brushing it away. Eventually, the two ended up at an observational deck overlooking the Neu Lambea's main upper hangar.
"Here," said Captain Houth as he offered Josiah a neatly folded handkerchief.
The tactical officer slowly took the handkerchief in hand and unfolded it before drying himself off. As he did this, the Garmillan squadron commander turned away from Josiah and leaned on the guardrail that overlooked the busy hangar.
"Sir, with all due respect, if you're intending to give me a lecture about how I should keep my opinions to myself there's no need to waste your breath." said Josiah softly as he handed the handkerchief back to Captain Houth. "I've gotten the message."
The Garmillan commander shifted his eyes to look at Josiah. He noticed that the young officer had folded his handkerchief back exactly as it was before.
"I wasn't intending to." said the commander in his deep voice as he got up and took back the handkerchief from Josiah.
Josiah narrowed his eyes as the Garmillan commander slowly pocketed the handkerchief and began to fidget slightly in response.
"Are you intending to take up a command position?" he asked.
The tactical officer hesitated for a moment before giving his answer.
"Yes," replied Josiah clearly as he eyed the commander carefully. "I aim to become the captain of a ship within the next five years."
The tactical officer's eyes burned with a bright flame, one that Captain Houth could clearly see.
He closed his eyes and smiled gently in response.
"I see," he replied before turning back to look at the hangar.
"Sorry, I was curious since you brought up those topics earlier," Captain Houth continued as he watched a pair of Debake fighters get lowered down on an elevator. "Feel free to speak freely, I only intend to make small talk with you."
Josiah continued to watch the Gamillan commander as he spoke, still unsure what to make of him.
"Unless you prefer that sort of debate," Captain Houth added as he noticed Josiah's hesitation.
"No," Josiah whispered before glancing at the multitude of spacecraft below them.
The hangar echoed with the sounds of machinery and the voices of mechanics. Many of them were working on the Gamillan fighters and dive bombers, but Josiah noticed their Tiger IIB was also parked at the side surrounded by a number of Gamillans.
He narrowed his eyes and glanced back at Captain Houth.
"Why did you bring me here?" he asked.
The commander briefly took a glance at him before giving an answer.
"This is one of the least claustrophobic places on the ship," he explained. "I was hoping the view would help calm you down.
Josiah let out a sigh and walked over to lean on the handrail.
"Oh," he replied quietly.
As he observed Josiah, Captain Houth let out a small sigh and turned back to the view in front of them.
"So how did a tactical officer such as yourself find his way into the gunner seat of a spacecraft?" he asked.
Josiah cringed and scratched his head in annoyance.
"A series of poor decisions that fed into each other," he muttered. "Both on my part and others alike."
"But you seemed well prepared for it," said Captain Houth. "I heard from Lieutenant Hübner that your gunnery skills were above average."
"Well," said Josiah as his eyes shifted away, "It was a skill I picked up along the way. A detour that ended up working out I guess."
"Oh?" asked Captain Houth.
Josiah lowered his head as he thought to himself for a moment.
"Sir, if I may," he began. "Would you have gone through with our plan to attack the carriers if Lieutenant Hübner hadn't intervened?"
"Hm…" Captain Houth pondered aloud, "I'm not certain. Why do you ask?"
"You seemed completely opposed to it at first." said Josiah. "Which is understandable. But with a few quick words from the Lieutenant you let him go almost immediately. His words were not that much of an argument so why?"
The squadron commander smiled to himself.
"Are you looking for a specific answer to that?" he asked as he glanced at Josiah.
Josiah bit his tongue, but continued to wait for an answer.
Captain Houth let out a sigh and looked up at the lights that lined the ceiling of the hangar.
"Truth be told, I have no idea." he said slowly. "Sure we were losing the battle and we needed to do something to make a comeback, but to send off any of my pilots on a potentially suicidal mission helmed by a young girl was not something I was willing to do."
The grey haired Garmillan turned to Josiah.
"Would you have gone through with it?" he asked Josiah.
The tactical officer's eyes shifted away.
"In your position I would have done anything for a miracle." he said quietly.
"I see," said Captain Houth as he closed his eyes. "You've met Lieutenant Hübner haven't you?"
"Yes," replied Josiah. "He is rather charismatic."
"You could call him the heart of the 22nd Astro Fighter Squadron." said Captain Houth as he left the handrail. "Without him, the squadron would fall to pieces before the next battle. And even if we somehow survived that ambush we'd most likely perish in the next. And I would have lost one of the last people I could call a friend."
"Isn't it your job to make sure that doesn't happen?" asked Josiah.
"Indeed," replied Captain Houth as he let out a laugh. "But I know my shortcomings. He knows them well too. It's why I struggle to join parties such as the one you were part of earlier."
"So he volunteered to lift that responsibility out of your hands," said Josiah as he began to frown.
The Gamillan commander lowered his head as he stopped in place. A long pause formed and he slowly opened his mouth.
"I'm sure… you're wondering," said Captain Houth slowly. "Why couldn't I have simply sent a less important group of pilots? Why was I so protective of the lives of each and every one of my pilots that Hübner ended up having to bail me out?"
He turned to Josiah with a gentle look in his eyes.
"It's because if I had that sort of mentality, then it would be the same as giving up on the battle." he said softly.
Josiah widened his eyes, caught off guard by Captain Houth's statement.
"You made the assumption that the battle was lost, and hence you felt that your only choice was to send a few pilots off on the slight chance they could turn the tide of battle since you believed you were all dead anyway," he continued. "I could never believe that as the commander of their squadron. If I ever did, I would be giving up on the possibility of bringing them all home."
The commander's eyes shifted away for a moment, drawing Josiah's attention to the scar on his face, before coming back with a determined glare in his eyes.
"It happened once before, I refuse to make that mistake again," The Gamillan commander said in his deep voice.
"T-Then why did you let him go?" exclaimed Josiah in frustration. "If you weren't willing to risk any of your pilots then why did you let him escort us? If you didn't think a desperate mission like ours was necessary then why send your friend to his potential death?"
Captain Houth let out a sigh as he thought to himself before looking back at Josiah.
"I told you earlier, I have no clue." he said with a slight smile on his face.
Josiah grit his teeth in response.
"What kind of commander-"
"Call it a gut reaction." said Captain Houth. "He was asking for my trust in him, so that's what I gave him."
The tactical officer continued to clench his fist, but he couldn't bring himself to move.
"I don't expect you to understand, nor do I expect you to agree with me." said Captain Houth. "But there have been times where my subordinates were able to see things that I had accidentally blindsided myself to. It was a momentary decision, but I felt that he knew what he was doing and so I let him go. If I were in his position, that's what I would want from my commander."
Josiah lowered his head and gulped as he processed the commander's words. As the Garmillan commander watched him, he couldn't help but smile. However, just as he was about to say something else, Josiah suddenly opened his mouth.
"Alright alright! I get what you're trying to say!" he declared. The tactical officer bit his tongue as he lowered his head again.
"But I just hope you're not suggesting I pretend to agree with everyone just to earn their trust." he muttered under his breath. "That sounds like a scumbag move."
Captain Houth blinked in surprise to Josiah's statement before breaking into a loud hearty laugh, much to Josiah's embarrassment and whose ears turned deeply red in response.
"Sorry! S-Sorry!" exclaimed Captain Houth as he tried to calm himself down in between laughs. "I wasn't expecting such a youthful response from you!"
As he said this, the commander suddenly dropped his hand onto Josiah's shoulder.
"You'll figure it out as you go young man!" he said with a great big smile as he looked straight into Josiah's eyes. "I don't need to tell you how you should proceed. You have a great head on your shoulders! Just don't limit your thinking and you'll do fine!"
Josiah widened his eyes as the commander patted his shoulder. His mouth wriggled as he struggled to find something to say, but he couldn't find anything to answer the Garmillan commander's words.
Captain Houth let out another laugh in response, and took a glance at his watch.
"I think we've stayed here long enough," he said with a smile. "Sergeant Brighers gave me the brief. Follow me, I'll bring you to the quarters you were given."
The two officers slowly made their way through the maze of corridors towards their destination, careful to avoid the various pockets of damaged areas that still plagued the ship. As they began to see doors with different numbers, Captain Houth took out a keycard from his pocket and passed it to Josiah.
"You'll need this," he explained.
"Oh t-thank you," stuttered Josiah as he was handed the small card. However, he immediately frowned at himself for his inability to stay calm.
"Are you heading to meet with the other pilots?" he asked.
The commander gave him a nod in response.
"It's about time I joined them in their celebration after all." replied Captain Houth as he smiled slightly.
Eventually, the two stopped in front of a door labelled with the same number as the one on the key card.
"Oh yeah," said Captain Houth as he turned to Josiah. "We talked for quite a while, but I actually didn't get to catch your name."
Josiah widened his eyes and glanced at the door for a moment as he took a breath.
"Lieutenant Josiah Anton of the Earth Battleship UNCF Audacious." he said with a smile and bowed to Captain Houth. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me sir, I'll show you that your words are not misplaced."
The Garmillan commander simply smiled in response.
"Good to hear that, but I don't think I'm the one you need to prove yourself to." he said quietly before turning to leave. "That being said, I look forward to seeing what you'll accomplish young man."
Josiah watched as the grey haired Garmillan commander quietly waved goodbye and left him alone in the corridor. Slowly, he lifted his hand to insert his keycard into the door, but found himself hesitating. The tactical officer clenched his fist, and lowered his head as he thought to himself.
"Are… you alright?" came a familiar whisper from behind him.
Josiah widened his eyes, and turned around to see Konno standing behind him. Glancing behind her, he noticed the Garmillan Sergeant walking away. His eyes darted between Konno and the door and he found his body moving of its own accord.
"Yeah," he said quietly as his hand slid the keycard into place causing the door to open with a beep.
A/N: ITS BACK! This story isn't dead! A thousand apologies for taking so long for this chapter to be finally uploaded. As I said in my previous author's notes, my proofreader and I are really busy in RL so we were very constrained for time to work on this one.
I had actually considered of releasing it earlier in late December but after some discussion with my proofreader, we agreed to refine the chapter first before releasing it in it's previous draft state as having a poorly written chapter just wasn't going to be worth the risk.
Henceforth, please expect that the next chapter releases in the future will probably take at least two months as the next ones will be quite character driven ones which takes time to perfect.
One thing to note in this chapter is that it's probably the first scene in the story or series to take place inside an Apollo Norm carrier's upper sombrero hangar. Man do I wish Yamato 2202 could have made an interior design art for the infamous 'hat' the Andromeda carrier types have because it would have been so cool and interesting to see it from the inside. Because honestly, despite it's many critics and haters, I think it could work.
If you're wondering where are the torpedo bombers. Well they're inside the lower main hull hangar (aka the one that Audacious/Andromeda battleships and Yamato uses for their space fighters) instead of the upper hangars as they are basically too big to operate in the low ceiling hangars of the upper superstructure. The Garmillan Dolica torpedo bombers are nearly twice the size of a Cosmo Tiger II for the record and they carry MASSIVE torpedoes.
I don't think it's a massive problem for carrier operations for the Garmillans because typically carrier doctrine (from WWII) usually requires the fighters and dive bombers to be dispatched first for either scouting or air defense and the 24 catapults in the upper flight decks can rapidly launch a full fighter or dive bomber squadron in two minutes or less (hence why said fighters and bombers are all stationed on the upper hangars).
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and was worth the very long wait. So stay healthy and we'll see you in the next upload! Oh and I almost forgot! Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and good bye troublesome 2020! XD
Also hype train for the Yamato 2202 documentary movie coming up this January 15th as we got some pre-Yamato 2199 (aka Inner Planet Wars) content being teased! Hopefully the world building in the film would be good! Some of the early UN space warship designs (pre-Kongo, Mususame and Isokaze) that are being teased in the art is fascinating and I would love to get closer and better glimpses of them!