For everyone in this one planet called home, things were thought to be getting better. After Ulysses and the countless wars that followed, humanity was on the verge of charting their next course to the future with full confidence. A light was shining brightly.
But one day, things went crashing down once again… a new threat was emerging.
Reports of countless rifts appearing in many parts of the world began to circulate. Unknown ships and aircraft appeared and attacked numerous city centers and military bases. The world's militaries were caught off-guard; they struggled to get their defenses fully operational. Those that responded faced more than a capable enemy, and some paid the price for trying.
The collective call for a miracle was aired. Something must be done to prevent the threat from extinguishing humanity's hard-fought chance for a better future…
(Oured, Osean Federation)
When the portal appeared, much of the once-bustling capital stopped moving. Those near enough to see it watched almost helplessly.
"I need a 10-4 on the situation." A police officer requested for a report.
"They just keep on coming. Fighters and ships - they just keep coming from the portal." Another replied worriedly as he continued to monitor the situation. "Hold on, one of them just fired something."
"Hold on, what did they fire?" Just as he was awaiting the response, an explosion was heard. "Shit!"
Fear gripped the local populace. Immediately the screams filled the air.
"This is Officer Graham to all units, this is not a drill! Repeat - this is not a…" As the police officer attempted to spring his fellow colleagues into action, the sounds above got his attention. Fighters were swarming the sky. "My God."
(San Loma, Republic of Emmeria)
"Ghost Eye to all units, weapons free!" The order from the AWACS was given. "Protect San Loma!"
"Copy, Ghost Eye." The leader of a squadron of F-35A Lightning II fighters complied. "Swordfish Squadron engaging!"
The Emmerian fighters broke off to engage the unknown enemy. Swordfish Squadron kept their focus on the aerial threats. Several moments later, an intense dogfight was underway.
"Swordfish 3, Fox 2!" He fired a quick maneuver air-to-air missile. Moments later, he downed an enemy. "I got him!"
"Swordfish 5, bandit on ya six!" A fellow pilot shouted. He attempted to aid his friend.
"Can't shake him!" He tried various maneuvers in an attempt to dissuade his pursuer. Then, a missle alarm was heard. "Shit, shit, shit!"
Before long, the enemy missile struck his plane.
"Gah!"
"PETE!" Swordfish 1 shouted in horror.
"I'm hit! Ejecting!" The eject handle was quickly pulled.
(OFS Hornet, Spring Sea - February 18, 2027)
Within the mess hall, everyone was in shock. On the cruiser's mess hall, they watched helplessly as the TV displayed numerous cities in an unprecedented state of war. None were more shocked than Yorktown and Hamman. Even if the places they saw were very different compared to their world's own, it felt like a repeat of the first time the Sirens appeared.
"Big Sister Yorktown…?" The destroyer had not much words to say to the carrier.
"...The skies of San Loma are littered with fighters from both sides. This is unlike anything since the Emmerian-Estovakian War eleven years ago. Oh... One fighter just took a hit from a missile! Looks like an Emmerian aircraft…"
Another round of shock by the crew were felt as a nearby explosion caught their attention. Static momentarily tore through the screen.
"Gah! Wh-what the hell?!" A cloud of debris and smoke covered the impact area. "My God...!"
The next scenes became graphic. People were bleeding as a result of shrapnel and the much of the explosive force. Some evey lost at least a limb. It was too much to bear for everyone to see. The camera switched to the news presenter, but the damage was done.
"No…" Yorktown uttered in quiet horror.
(153 miles southeast of Anchorhead)
Following reports of a battle well underway within the vicinity of Anchorhead, the Oseans responded to Erusea's request for help. Under the command of AWACS Metal Hawk, the Osean squadrons were flying at a high rate of speed hoping to rescue the surviving Erusean defenders.
"This is the Osean AWACS Metal Hawk to any Erusean forces, please respond." He sent out a transmission to anyone within the battlefield.
"Oseans? This is Commander Eliott Gagne of Anchorhead Command, we read you…" An explosion on the Erusean side then strained the transmission with static. "...Shit!"
The AWACS was getting worried after what happened. "Commander Gagne, are you alright? What's the situation on the Anchorhead rift?"
"HQ has taken a hit! We are engaging multiple unidentified ships and aircraft around the bay, but the enemy keeps on coming. Defenses around the city are starting to crumble, multiple casualties reported - civilian and military!" The news was not what everyone wanted to hear. "We might not hold on much longer!"
"Can you send us the data regarding the enemy's current composition?"
"Sending the data. You better hurry!"
"Hang on, we're almost there. ETA 10 minutes!" Almost immediately, Metal Hawk got a hold on what the Eruseans were facing. "Data received. Holy hell…"
"Metal Hawk, what's going on here?" A pilot requested.
"All aircraft, be advised: 48 confirmed bandits and 16 hostile vessels are currently at the bay."
The numbers surprised the pilots. It was almost too much for them and their limited amount of weapons.
"My God." Motier uttered. "Think we could get some reinforcements, Metal Hawk?"
"I'll try. We have to try to make do with what we have for now."
All the pilots could afford was hope that the situation would not worsen. "Reaper 1, understood."
"All aircraft, you are clear to engage!" Metal Hawk gave the order.
"Gryphon Squadron, copy." The lead Strike Eagle pilot responded.
"Reaper Squadron, roger that." Motier followed. "Moving to engage hostile naval vessels."
Moments later, the data for the enemy's composition was distributed among the Osean pilots. The Gryphons positioned themselves to attack formation for the launch of their multi-lock air-to-air missiles from beyond visual range.
"Gryphon 1 to all planes, release your missiles!" He gave out the order to launch. The trigger was then pulled. "Fox 3!"
The Strike Eagles fired a large salvo of their missiles. They sped up at a very rapid pace towards Mach 5. It would not take long before they reach the city area.
(Anchorhead, Kingdom of Erusea)
"All units, be advised: Osean fighters have launched multiple air-to-air missiles!" The Erusean headquarters updated their surviving forces within the area. "Repeat: Osean fighters have launched multiple air-to-air missiles!"
Once again, the important economic and trading hub of the nation was embroiled in a destructive battle. The Kingdom's air force and navy were fighting bravely for their already-beaten homeland; however, the enemy continued to send in more of their forces from the offshore dimensional rift. The Eruseans' stockpile of weapons were depleting at a fast rate. Their pilots were also taking a toll; they lost almost a fifth of their force.
"Jarl 3's hit!" One pilot shouted upon confirming the loss of a friendly aircraft. The burning plane was heading for the bay.
"Skadi 5, missile, missile!" Another shouted. Flares were deployed in response.
"Missile evaded!" Skadi 5 panted after confirming.
"HQ, until when will the missiles arrive?"
"ETA 140 seconds." The operator answered.
"Understood, we'll hold on a little longer." The pilot replied back and checked his remaining weapons of his Su-35S Flanker-E fighter. He was a bit distraught with the ammunition almost depleted, but he knew he had to buy time until reinforcements come. The plane turned back to engage three enemy planes. "Skadi 2, Fox 2!"
His last remaining infrared missile was launched. It darted towards the bandit until it got very close. It dumped flares in response, but the missile ignored it and made the charge to the rear. The explosion violently sent fragments towards the enemy, severely damaging the engines and rear control surfaces.
"Missile hit, he's smokin!'" The pilot confirmed. One brief glance at the bandit showed him a crippled prey unable to save itself. A few short moments later, the plane lost all control and began spiraling down to the bay.
Almost on cue, a missile alarm was raised. His fighter was the target.
"Skadi 2, missile incoming!" A fellow pilot shouted.
Flares and chaff were deployed in an attempt to fool it. He even made a hard left to try shaking it off. The missle became very persistent; even with these countermeasures, it was still following Skadi 2. Even worse, he was flying directly above the city.
"Shit! I can't shake it off!" His voice became desperate.
"Mayday, mayday! Going down!" One Erusean fighter was shot. Static engulfed the transmission almost immediately after.
"Jarl 1's hit! Dammit!" Shock took a hold on the one who witnessed the fellow pilot's demise.
"Friendly missiles incoming, ETA 20 seconds. Hold on!" Headquarters updated the survivors.
Although relief was almost there, the Eruseans began to crack. The enemy started to assert their dominance on the defenders. A few more planes were shot.
"Dammit, I can't-" The transmission was abruptly cut off.
"Skadi 3 here, I'm taking damage! Help me!" Skadi 2's wingman bawled helplessly. "Aah-"
"Skadi 3 lost!" The loss was confirmed.
After numerous intense maneuvers, he made a hard pull on the stick for a jink. The plane's nose quickly pointed up towards the sky before making its descent to the horizon. Another dump of the flares was deployed in conjunction. The missile took the flares, ending the pursuit of its target.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1… impact!" The headquarters counted down.
On cue, the Osean air-to-air missiles arrived at the city. They quickly charged at their targets without leaving the bandits enough time to react. Almost instantly, most of the enemy fighters were shot out of the sky. Their naval fleet was almost without air cover.
"Yeah, get some!" Jarl 2 confirmed. "Jarl 2 to all allied aircraft, we confirm. Enemy air cover took a hit. That's almost all of 'em!"
The news brought the Eruseans some much-needed breathing room to recover. Skadi 3 sighed and took out some sweat from his face.
"This is Gryphon 1 of the Osean Air Defense Force, can you hear us? We are moving in to assist you." The radio received the transmission.
"This is Skadi 5, we read you loud and clear, over." The pilot mustered some positivity in his voice.
XXXXXXX
Upon arrival, the Osean fighters were in attack formation. Aside from the smoke of the ensuing fires and flying missiles, the first thing that greeted them was the rift ahead of them. The pilots were taken aback by the sight.
"What in the holy hell?! It looks like we're in some sort of alien movie." One Gryphon member commented on the situation. His eyes could still not believe it.
"No doubt about it. That's, indeed, a freaking portal." Another reacted. "I was expecting something else."
"We can talk about it later. Right now, we have to deal with them." Gryphon 1 reminded his squad. "Gryphons, break formation!"
"Roger that." On cue, some anti-aircraft fire were directed towards the Osean planes. "Whoah!"
The squadron broke formation to evade. "This is the Gryphon Squadron, we arrived at the AO and engaging hostile forces. Reaper Squadron, the ships are yours."
The Reaper Squadron had armed their anti-ship missiles and quickly acquired their targets.
"Target acquired." Ben confirmed his target. After positioning his plane for launch, he pulled the trigger. "Reaper 2, anti-ship missile away!"
"Reaper 3, anti-ship missile away!" Elize followed.
The salvo of missiles were launched from their racks. They dipped down in a somewhat steep angle towards the sea before leveling themselves to the horizon. Their flight pattern was done in a way to reduce exposure to enemy close-in weapons systems.
"Confirming launch of bruisers." Metal Hawk reported. Another salvo of missiles were launched for the next set of targets.
After a short flight time, the missiles hit their targets. Much of the anti-air fire were quickly silenced. A cloud of smoke was rising from the burning ships of the enemy.
"Confirmed hit on enemy vessels. Repeat, confirmed hit on enemy vessels." Motier reported
The skies remained turbulent. To complicate matters, twenty new contacts were detected coming from the portal.
"Skadi 2 here, twenty new contacts detected. They're coming from the portal." The Erusean pilot reported.
"Shit!" Gryphon 5 felt demoralized. "Not good."
"Hang on, we got this." A response came from Motier. "Reapers, break formation and engage. Watch out for AA fire."
"Copy that, Boss." Ben responded.
The Lightnings quickly broke formation and quickly gained target lock on some of the enemies. Trigger pulls were done to fire their heat-seeking missiles.
"Fox 2!" The words were shouted. The missiles flew to their targets before exploding. Three of them were hit. Another salvo of missiles were fired to take down another two.
Motier's second missile missed. He went to the targeted fighter and aimed his gun reticle at it. "Guns, guns, guns!"
A short burst was fired. Some of the bullets hit at what appeared to be the enemy fighter's two-slit cockpit. The plane, however, survived the attempt.
"That guy's still flying. I'll finish him off." Jarl 2 reported. The Gripen E's 27 mm cannon burst to life. The rounds damaged the enemy beyond repair. "Got him!"
"Gryphon 2, your six!" Reaper 2 shouted.
"Can't shake him! Someone help me out here!" The pilot requested support.
Ben attempted to aim his gun reticule on the target. The manuvers performed by the enemy put his aim off. Sweat was building up. A moment then came when the reticule was ahead of the enemy's flight path. Without saying anything, he pulled the trigger. A burst hit the plane and shot the right engine.
A glance confirmed his hits. Some smoke was coming out of the target. "I got a hit, I got a hit!"
"Gryphon 4 here, I'll finish 'em off." The Strike Eagle pilot requested. "Go help the others."
"Understood." Ben gave his permission.
Another trigger pull was done, this time from the twin-engine fighter. The target erupted in flames.
"Gryphon 4 here, I bagged the bandit."
The next five minutes were a slight improvement. The Reaper Squadron''s experience allowed the defenders to hold on a little longer. By that point, only 10 enemy planes remained.
"Mayday, mayday - this is Gryphon 3! We're hit, bailing out!" One of the Strike Eagles took enemy fire and was beyond saving. The pilot brought it north away from the fighting before ejecting.
"This is Jarl 2, I can see Gryphon 3's chutes." The Erusean pilot confirmed.
Then, a transmission from the Erusean HQ was received. "This is HQ to all allied units. We're sending in available squadrons to assist in anti-ship operations. Repeat, we're sending in available squadrons to assist in anti-ship operations. ETA 10 minutes, over."
The confirmation of reinforcements lifted the spirits of the defenders.
"Metal Hawk here, you got that?" The Osean AWACS requested a response.
"Gryphon Squadron, we read you loud and clear." The lead pilot responded with some optimism.
"Reaper Squadron, understood. Tell the Eruseans thanks, over." Motier did a request of his own.
"Copy that, Reaper 1."
Elize was aggressive on her next target. She aimed her gun reticule on it and fired burst after burst. The enemy was jinking hard.
"Come on, come on there…" Moments later, three of her rounds hit the enemy on the left tailfin. It was close, but it was not enough. Sweat was building up on her hands.
The next burst was fired. This time, most of the rounds hit the fuselage. Smoke and, eventually a fire broke out.
"Vale here, fifth bandit shot down. That's five." She confirmed her kill.
"Sweet, got ourselves some aces here to help." A female Erusean pilot felt relieved. "Thanks for the help today."
"No problem." Elize responded. She turned her attention to the rift on the bay. "Now, how are we supposed to deal with that portal?"
By that point, all of the remaining enemy fighters were shot down. Five enemy vessels were the only ones still in the fight. Erusean reinforcements would not arrive for the next seven minutes.
Suddenly, Motier picked up something on his radar. "This is Reaper 1, I'm picking up five new contacts emerging from the portal."
At the entrance, two large vessels appeared followed by two smaller ones. The fifth contact could not be seen from the commander's position.
"This is Skadi 2 here. I confirm, I see the four ships entering the AO. Unable to see the fifth one from my current position, over." The Erusean pilot reported.
Amidst the confusion, anti-air fire from the surface contacts erupted again almost immediately. Missiles were also fired.
"Everyone, evade!" Gryphon 1 shouted.
All of the allied fighters began evasive maneuvers. However, it did not take long before the enemy anti-air fire to reach some of them.
"Mayday, mayday! This is Gryphon 2, we're hit, we're hit! Ejecting!" Another Gryphon member was shot down.
"Dammit, we lost Gryphon 2!" Ben reported. He tried to look for the chutes of the ejecting crew.
"Shit, I took some hits but I'm still mobile." Jarl 2 panicked for a moment after taking some damage.
An enemy missile was flying towards Motier head-on. The commander yanked towards the left and deployed flares. The missile then missed after falling for the latter. "Whoah, that was close!"
Elize made another pass towards the new contacts. She quickly noticed something small on the water with the cameras.
"Another shipgirl?"
Her cameras were not lying to her. At first glance, her hair was of the same color as Yorktown's. Upon further inspection, her appearance was vastly different: a black color and yellow accents decorated the revealing figure. A coat was worn.
The shipgirl noticed Elize, and anti-air fire was directed at the Osean fighter.
"Oh shit…" She quickly backed away from the target.
More new contacts were detected. This time, it was different.
"What the?! How did those fighters appear from thin air?" The female Erusean pilot was surprised.
"Thin air?" Ben wondered. A realization then hit him. "Hold on, don't tell me the enemy has a shipgirl in their ranks."
"'Shipgirl'?" Gryphon 1 was taken aback. "You've got to be shittin' me. Those anime stuff?"
"Reaper 3 here, I confirm. I saw her a moment ago, and she just opened fire on me." Elize reported.
"Reaper 3, can you send us her location?" Metal Hawk requested.
"Understood." Braving through the anti-air fire, Reaper 3 returned to the target and began sending live feed of the enemy shipgirl to the Osean AWACS for scrutiny. "Reaper 3 to Metal Hawk, I'm sending the feed and location now. Advise on our next course of action, over?"
"No way… is it a real shipgirl?" With the feed given to him, Metal Hawk was in disbelief.
"Affirmative. Some of the defenders also reported enemy bandits coming from her. If we take her out, she won't send out any more fighters. And I'm taking AA fire from her, again."
With her evidence presented, the AWACS had few options to choose from. It did not help that the remaining pilots were taking the brunt of the attacks, and some were shot down. Time was of the essence.
"Metal Hawk, what should we do?" Gryphon 1 shouted. "We're taking a beating here!"
"I'm hit, I'm hit!" Another Erusean fighter was shot down.
After a while, he made a decision.
"All units, I'm sending the data. You have permission to eliminate the enemy shipgirl along with the fleet."
The order gave the surviving pilots some much-needed mental strength.
"Affirmative, Metal Hawk. We're on it." Motier responded. "Reapers, let's do it."
"Copy." Elize replied.
"Wilco." Ben followed.
The squadron turn their focus on the enemy shipgirl. Reaper 2 turned his gun on her.
"Reaper 2, you're taking a huge risk!" Skadi 5 warned.
"I know!" He shouted. As soon as the reticule was aimed, a small burst of the gun was fired. The rounds landed some hits on her, but she remained standing. She returned fire on Ben. "Okay, she's pissed. Really. Pissed!"
Skadi 5 managed to get behind one of the enemy fighters. The last few rounds of his Flanker's cannon were fired onto it and managed to down it quickly. "Skadi 5, I got one more. But I'm out of ammo, Winchester."
"Three minutes! Three minutes till reinforcements arrive." An update on the Erusean reinforcements was given.
Another radio transmission was made. "This is Gunnar Squadron to all survivors, we are almost at Anchorhead. Hang on just a little longer."
Just as the transmission ended, a beam of bright blue light appeared. This caught the pilots off guard.
"Lasers?" Motier reacted. "Everyone, be careful!"
More of the beams were emitted, forcing the pilots to duck and weave through them. Gryphon 1 almost got vaporized when one of the beams appeared directly in front of him.
"Someone has to get down there and keep that shipgirl distracted until Gunnar Squadron can get a hit." Jarl 2 beseeched.
Again braving through the anti-air fire, Elize began to make her run on the shipgirl. Another burst was fired.
"Let's do it together. Pepper her with whatever you got left!"
"Roger!" Everyone who had some ammunition left agreed to the idea.
The survivors opened fire on the target. Round after round, the target tried to track many of her opponents as possible.
"Is it working?" Gryphon 1 asked.
Ben was almost out of ammunition. He only had one attack run left. Another burst of the target's laser weapons were fired on his allies.
"Gunnar Squadron, release your missiles!" The squadron leader made the call. " ASM away!"
"Confirming launch of friendly bruisers. Repeat, confirming launch of friendly bruisers." Metal Hawk reported.
The pilot steeled himself for the last attack run, hoping that this would keep the shipgirl distracted long enough. He raised his altitude and did one last survey of the area.
"Twenty seconds to missile impact." The clock was counting down.
Having faith in himself, Ben did a sigh. His aircraft began pointing almost directly below her. He slowly gained speed and aimed his gun reticule. The final burst was fired on her. He quickly pulled his plane up.
"5, 4, 3, 2… impact!"
Explosions rocked the enemy fleet as the anti-ship missiles hit all of the remaining ships. The shipgirl also took the attack. The enemy anti-air fire was quickly silenced, but not before one last laser beam was emitted.
"Did we get them? Did we get her?" Skadi 5 wondered.
Elize surveyed the area with her cameras. On screen, she could see the shipgirl struggling to even stand up.
"Looks like we got her… but she's still trying to stand." She relayed the report. "She's heading back to the portal."
The enemy shipgirl slowly made her way to the portal. Upon touching it, she was shrouded in both light and dark.
Then, the rift began receding.
"The portal! It's shrinking." Gryphon 1 followed.
After a few moments, it completely disappeared. All that was left was a city still standing.
"We won…" Jarl 2 figured. "We won!"
Cheers erupted within the survivors. After an exhausting and unexpected battle, the Oseans and Eruseans emerged as the victors.
"Reaper 1 to Metal Hawk… enemy shipgirl has reatread and the portal has disappeared. Repeat, enemy shipgirl has retreated and the portal has disappeared. Over." Motier relayed the news.
"Affirmative, Reaper 1. Whew..." The AWACS sighed before he received something from Osean command. "Hold on, I'm receiving an update from Command."
"Metal Hawk, what is it?" Gryphon 1 asked.
"All portals around the world have disappeared. Looks like we weathered the storm today."
Skadi 5 felt puzzled by the report. "Disappeared? Did they just give up right now?"
Elize felt the same thing. "Why would they stop all of a sudden?"
Motier thought a little more about the recent development. "Whatever happened today, I don't exactly like it."
"On behalf of the Erusean Royal Air Force, we thank you for helping us defend Anchorhead today. Couldn't have made it without your efforts." The Erusean pilots gave their thanks to their Osean counterparts.
"Roger that." Metal Hawk replied. "All Osean aircraft, mission is complete. Return to base."
And with that, the battle was over. The surviving Osean fighters turned east for Tyler Island. Those that bailed out would follow suit.
XXXXXXX
By the time the air force came to Oured, the city was damaged extensively by the unknown attackers. Priority was made to contain the violence before it could spread to nearby areas. The local authorities tried their best to keep the populace safe from further harm and save those affected.
Then, just as it began, the portal was slowly shrinking. After several moments, it disappeared.
"This is Echo 6, the portal has disappeared. Repeat - the portal has disappeared." Another officer at the scene reported eagerly.
"Are you sure about that?" Graham was awaiting the news as he was taking care of some terror-stricken people.
"10-4, Echo 2. It's finally gone, over." A sigh followed.
The officer could not fully believe it. As Osean fighters and rescue helicopters flew overhead, no smile could hide his emotions. He took a moment to reflect on what happened today.
XXXXXXX
After several minutes of intense fighting, the Emmerian Air Force were able to hold on against the odds. The enemy forces were decreasing in numbers.
"Look, the portal! It's shrinking!" One surviving pilot reported. It was slowly shrinking until it finally disappeared. "Avalanche Squadron to all units, the portal is closed."
It was a sigh of relief. Although there were still a few remaining hostiles around San Loma, the closing of the portal meant that enemy reinforcements had stopped.
"Copy, we're seeing it now." Ghost Eye responded. "All surviving units, let's finish this."
"Thank God." Swordfish 1 was positive of the outcome. He opened the throttle and began to finish the mission with his squadron.
XXXXXXX
"Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing the portal disappearing in front of you. As you can see right now, the Emmerian military is moving in to contain the violence…" The reporter in San Loma relayed the news.
After what seemed like the darkest moments, reports surfaced that the attacks are slowly coming to a halt with the disappearance of the rifts. To many, it was a relief.
"Yorktown?" The destroyer called out to the carrier.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just… I am just thinking of someone."
"Who?" Hammann was ready to hear the answer.
Yorktown took a short moment of pause. "Ben… and his squadron."
"So, a pilot."
The carrier shipgirl nodded. "I met him a week ago. When the Osean fleet was attacked, his squadron - the Reapers - came back to help the survivors. One of their planes saved me after the last Siren fighter tried to bomb me out of the water. I couldn't exactly identify who flew that fighter, but I could tell it was from that squadron after seeing their emblem."
Captain Steuben arrived at the mess hall. "Yorktown, Hammann, I need you to follow me."
"Yes, Captain." The two girls stood up and began to follow him to wherever he was going.
(Dragon Spirit)
The mood on board the cruise ship was changed. After the attacks on numerous cities worldwide, many people were worried about their loved ones back home. They even tried to contact them to check if they were okay.
Andrew was one of those people. Upon seeing the news, he rushed back to his cabin to contact his family back at his hometown of San Loma. He took out his tablet, connected it to the internet and opened the social messaging application to call them. The employee was anxious as it kept on ringing.
"Andrew?" A female voice opened the conversation.
"Mom, mom!" He was relieved to hear his mother's voice. "Thank goodness, thought I lost ya!"
"Yeah… we're all okay. Your father and your brother too."
"What happened back home?"
"Can't say it myself, really. One moment we were cooking dinner, then things turned south really quickly with that portal at the bay and all those dogfighting at the sky." She barely explained what happened. "Then, Pete got shot down before bailing out just above us. We managed to get as far away from the city as we could before we heard the news that the portal disappeared."
"Where is Pete right now?"
"Uh, he is still with some soldiers discussing about what happened. I'll tell him you said, 'hi'."
"Alright. Stay safe back there." Andrew offered well-wishes.
"You too, Andrew." The conversation ended in high spirits.
After the call, he tried to find Hiryuu. It took a while before he was told that she was in the sick bay for recovery. Once he finished with whatever duties he was given, he went to the room where she was being kept.
"Hiryuu?" He knocked on the door.
"A-Andrew?" Hiryuu shouted in reply.
The man burst through the door. Upon seeing the shipgirl on the bed, he was brought down slightly to both tears and relief.
"Thank God, you are okay. After I've heard about what happened, I was getting worried about you."
"I'm going to be fine, Andrew. Nothing much to worry about, so I'll be back to the cabin in no time at all." Hiryuu expressed her slight optimism on her condition.
After sighing the worker's mood slightly changed again, this time for a different topic.
"So… you heard about what happened today from the others?" He asked in a weary tone.
"Yeah. Your world just got attacked. Multiple rifts in numerous cities." The shipgirl answered quietly.
"Even my hometown was one of them. My family got caught up in the fighting; thankfully they managed to flee the city before the rift disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Overheard it from some passengers reading the news. Apparently all of them decided to just stop existing."
"Still I wouldn't keep our guard down just yet, especially since I just came close to losing you and many others on the ship. Maybe twice. Anyway, I'm glad that your family is okay. That's what I would like to hear." What Andrew said gave Hiryuu a bit of hope. A slight smile was exchanged.
Andrew followed with his own. "Thank you."
"By the way, remember you were about to talk about why Erusea declared war on ISAF?" The shipgirl brought up the topic.
"Yeah. But I think we have to save this for another time. It's gonna get busy till we reach the Erusean capital of Farbanti to evacuate the passengers. Don't worry." Afterwards, Andrew head for the door. "I better get going. Later."
The young man exited her room, awaiting any more duties.
XXXXXXX
A/N: I'm back, everyone! Sorry for the delay… again.