BETWEEN THREE ROGUES
By Eric 'Erico' Lawson
Forty-Four: Living for Joyful Moments
Delphinus, Bridge
Upper Sky, Nasrad Province
317 Days After the (First) Grand Fortress Escape
It wasn't just a matter of building a single 'radio' as Fina insisted the new communications device be called. Even as her Princess scowled and worked side by side with Aika to build the first unit out of the refurbished wireless telegraph 'transceiver' (A new word that combined transmitter and receiver, or to send and listen), the redheaded Blue Rogue could feel a low humming susurrus in their work. What they were building meant something more, more than just their immediate goal. It was more than just getting an edge on Valua, who was already using wireless telegraph technology as a step up from mailships and flag signals and signal lamps.
"The world of Arcadia is enormous." Fina had explained once, when Aika had gotten frustrated at the wiring of the crystal radio receiver needed to make it tunable. "That's how Valua managed so much. When they subjugated Ixa'taka, they put a freeze on information getting out, and there was nobody in Mid-Ocean who knew what they were up to. Yafutoma lived in isolation, with the Dark Rift on one side and the Great Stone Reef on the other. And they didn't know what was out there. Nasr, Yafutoma, Ixa'taka, the Mid-Ocean provinces...it's a pattern, Aika. None of them could stand alone. None of them knew how to reach out to ask for help or support, because there was no way for them to do so. Valua wins by keeping the world spread apart and isolated. The Blue Rogues win by bringing everyone together."
Days after they'd struggled to refit one wireless telegraph transceiver into a crystal 'shortwave' radio transceiver, their efforts had led to the construction of three devices in total. There were also carefully made blueprints to detail how to do the same to any other Valuan telegraph machine that was captured...or even how to make one from scratch, with certain modifications if the designers wanted a 'listening-only' radio alone. The first was installed on the Delphinus, the second and third had been put into the Claudia and the Primrose respectively. Flying at a lower altitude above the small subcontinent of Nasr that the sacked city of Nasrad resided on, the two ships captained by Gilder and Clara waited. The Delphinus flew much higher, high enough that they had been able to pull up alongside the Iron Star that they had discovered and documented long ago.
High enough for Fina to bundle up in the thick winter coat she'd worn during the Glacia expedition, trundle out with an extra oxygen tank and a breathing mask, and do something to the Iron Star. Something about 'limited reprogramming' which Aika didn't quite understand, and which Fina just smiled her head sadly and shrugged. Leaving the safety of the ship at this height was a dangerous notion even with precautions, and Vyse had insisted on going with her in case an extra pair of hands was needed. Even if it wasn't, Vyse had been very insistent that nobody did anything alone.
Aika was left waiting on the bridge, on edge and nervous while her Pirate and her Princess tarried outside in the cold, thin air with nothing beneath them but empty sky and the barren sun-baked lands of the subcontinent. She lingered at her station, a jittery mess, and more than one member of the bridge crew looked over to her every so often out of concern. Enrique, who had been circling the bridge and tending to various small tasks, finally came over to her seat and sighed softly.
"They're all right." He told her quietly. "I have Tikatika in the lookout's tower keeping a very close eye on them, and he keeps sending us down reports on the intercom. They're doing fine, Aika."
"I know that." She huffed. "Damn it, I know that. But still, they're all the way out there in the cold with air so thin that they need oxygen tanks to breathe, and…" Her hands were everywhere, frantic as her racing thoughts were. Enrique took hold of one and squeezed it gently, forcing her to turn and look at him.
He was calm where she needed calm, a talent that reminded her of Vyse. "All will be well." He declared, and smiled expectantly until she nodded. "If anyone can take a piece of Old World machinery and convert it into something useful for us now, it is Fina. And Vyse would never let anything happen to her."
"He'd better not." Aika mumbled. Enrique chuckled a bit, and the squawk from the intercom by the captain's chair had them both looking over. Enrique excused himself and went over, and Aika started to breathe again when Tikatika's next report said that Fina had closed up the small hatch on the Iron Star she'd opened, and Vyse was bringing the small runabout back in.
Six minutes later, the bridge door swung open and a sweaty Fina came in with Vyse coming in behind her in case she needed support. Aika was out of her seat and across the room before Enrique could so much as squawk, and she reached out and grabbed Fina's hands.
"Hey, Aika." Fina said, offering a smile that cut through her weariness.
"You okay, Princess?" Aika asked her, and searched the other woman over for nicks or scratches. Fina rolled her eyes.
"We're fine, Aika." The Silvite said. "I'm tired and frustrated and I didn't have any of the diagnostic tools or programming gear and the satellite's internals were ancient, but I didn't need to do a really in-depth modification anyways."
"I'm taking her word for it." Vyse said, giving the two of them a soft hug before moving off to the captain's chair. "Enrique?"
"Captain has the conn." Enrique said, and Vyse sank into his seat with a low hum of gratitude.
"I have the conn." Vyse repeated. "And whatever Fina was doing inside of that satellite was something close to magic to my eyes. The language she used was...impressive." Which meant that Fina had broken out some really magnificent swear words.
"That satellite is a kludge!" Fina snapped, her irritation coming back quick and hot. "Honestly, how that thing is still flying is nothing short of a miracle! The Red Civilization took minimalist design and ran with it, there were no safeties, only one bypass circuit, no automatic software update interfaces…" Aika had to laugh, and Fina blushed, mollified into silence.
"So. It was a bit messy." Aika summarized, getting a nod from her best girl. "So what did you do that helped us, if you couldn't change anything?"
"I slotted in a smaller shortwave receiver from the Iron Star's emergency kit into an empty device port with some quick soldering work and set it to Re-Transmit." Fina sighed. "Any radio signal it picks up in the non-interstellar range, it will broadcast on the same frequency with about five magnitudes the strength. And since shortwave radio works with atmospheric bounce and the Iron Star is at an ideal altitude…" She paused, running some figures in her head. "...We should be able to send a signal powerful enough to reach all the way to Ixa'taka from here, though it'll pick up some interference the farther it goes."
"Interference?" Enrique inquired, leaning on the back of Vyse's chair.
"Crackling. Static. Fuzziness." Fina explained, and got only blank looks from the rest of the crew. The Silvite sighed and shook her head. "It's something you only figure out after hearing it for the first time."
"Well, if you've got the Iron Star fixed up so we can use it, let's use it." Aika said happily, moving over to the newly erected 'Radio station' that had taken the place of some of the ship's non-critical readouts. It drew power directly from the same circuitry that fed everything from the lighting to the intercoms and even the heating coils in the kitchen. She turned the device on and after warming up for a few seconds, the speaker began to blurt out the now-familiar sounds of the wireless telegraph used by the Valuan Armada. The sound made her scowl and she quickly flipped the new toggle that changed the 'frequency' to the one that their new radios were designed for. There, she stopped.
"Aika?" Vyse said, leaning out of his chair a little. "Is something wrong?"
"I just realized something." Aika told him, and she looked up at Fina when her Princess came over and touched her shoulder in concern. "This is going to be the first message like this that we'll be sending."
"Broadcasting." Fina corrected her with a smile. The Silvite nodded. "It is, yes. It's a big step for Arcadia, another step in reclaiming what was lost."
"That's just it!" Aika exploded. "We don't have a lot of history books, but people tell stories. They talk about where their great-great-grandfathers were when Daccat kicked in the teeth of the Nasultan's personal fleet and made off with his captured crew. They talk about the first time that we started using moonstones for more than just making airships float." She shook her head, and her thoughts went to another crewmember who even now, was likely down in the expansive dining room and galley of the Delphinus, fiddling with her crystal octahedron or scribbling down stories. "Maybe it's because of what Kalifa's been up to, talking to all the crew, but I feel like this is important. People are going to want to remember what happens here. What was said."
She scanned the bridge, saw the others looking at each other as they realized what she already had. That this was momentous, in the same kind of way that crossing the Dark Rift had been. That finding Yafutoma had been. That fighting Bluheim and Yeligar had been.
"It is important." Vyse agreed, after several seconds that seemed to go on for forever. "And I can think of nobody better to send the first message than you, Aika."
"But - No, Vyse, it should be you!" She argued. "You're the captain!"
He laughed at that, actually laughed. "So what? There's enough firsts tied to my name. If this is going to mean something, Aika, I want it to stand for more than just my name. I want to remind people that I didn't do anything alone. That we did it together. Let this achievement stand for you, Aika, for all the brilliant people who come up with the inventions and the ideas that go overlooked and that we take for granted." He smiled at her in that warm and steady way of his that hid none of his real feelings. "This one's yours. You deserve it. I want you to have it."
"So do I." Fina added, and through cloudy eyes, Aika saw the Silvite misting up as well, and her lip trembling a bit. "Don't worry about saying the wrong thing, Aika. You'll make it important."
Not for the first time, Aika cursed that they were still trying to keep their love a secret. She wanted to pull Fina into her arms and never let go. She wanted to kiss Vyse and feel the puff of his breath against her throat and the sound of his sighs drifting past her ears. How was it that they always knew what to say to cheer her up? As insufficient as it was, she sighed and grinned back, wiping the back of her thumb over her eyes before turning to the radio and to the microphone that they'd repurposed from the intercom replacement supplies.
She clicked the squawk, and spoke. "This is Chief Engineer Aika, on board the Blue Rogues flagship Delphinus. If there are any Blue Rogues out there listening, let us know." Aika let go of the button and waited, and long seconds ticked by. Everyone waited. Nobody spoke.
The radio finally crackled to life, and a familiar voice, a little altered from what she was used to hearing, responded. "Well, bless the Moons! It works!" Clara happily exclaimed. "I almost didn't believe it was possible, but…"
"What she's trying to say is that she forgot to push the button down before she started talking." Gilder cut in smugly, and she overheard Clara hissing his name before he yelped in pain. "Damn, woman! Take it easy on my poor shoulder, I need it to cuddle you properly!"
Everyone on the bridge laughed at that, and Aika found her heart buoyed by it. "Same old Gilder." She said, releasing her finger from the talk button afterwards.
"I'd say that these new radios are a success." Gilder went on. "So, we keep to the plan?"
Fina reached for Aika's free hand, and the redhead reveled in the feel of her lover's fingers entwining with her own before she answered. "Take it to Centime. He'll know what to do. And how to get it to Daigo." Because that was the next step beyond just passing the blueprints off to Centime so the man could build one for the Iron Clad and give the Ixa'takan resistance the same. Yafutoma needed the same. Prince Daigo and the combined force of the Tenkou and the rebuilding Imperial Navy needed to be able to communicate with their allies.
"And what about Admiral Komullah? And Captain Dyne?" Clara asked. "Are you sure you don't want us tracking them down too?"
Aika's finger was still on the squawk, so when Vyse spoke in a loud voice, it transmitted out. "You leave Komullah and my father to us. We'll get them set up. But you have the harder trip ahead of you, so get started."
"Fine, fine. We'll get going. Any other messages you want us to pass along?" Gilder offered.
Aika looked over to Vyse, who shook his head. Moegi sidled up beside Enrique and took his hand, and the two royal lovebirds beamed at one another and said nothing. Fina just squeezed her hand and winked, so Aika laughed for the benefit of Gilder and Clara.
"Nothing that we can't tell them ourselves, once they have radios of their own. Good luck, Blue Rogues. Fair winds and clear skies."
"Blue Rogues Fly Free." Clara intoned in reply.
"Moons keep you all safe until we meet again." Gilder added, and the radio went quiet again. When a minute passed without further communication, Aika changed the tuner back to the wireless telegraph receiver, shut the device down after a few beeps of dots and dashes, and wiped at her eyes.
"I'd say that was a pretty good first radio call." Fina said softly, though in the reverent silence of the bridge, her words carried.
"Good enough to be remembered." Vyse agreed, and adjusted his black captain's hat, with the blue and red and silver ribbons bound through the brim. "Fair winds and clear skies. More than good enough, Aika."
Vyse leapt up from his chair, turning his eyes out the window until he was looking southwest. "Helm, set course, bearing 240. West-southwest. We sail for Alpha Base."
Blue Rogues Alpha Base
Sky Rift Valley (Northeast of Pirate Isle)
320 Days After the (First) Grand Fortress Escape
It was strange to think just how long it had been since Vyse had last set eyes on his father and the crew of Blue Rogues that had trained and raised both Aika and himself. 200 days, six and a half months had gone by since they had departed Pirate Isle aboard the Delphinus, with only Marco and Enrique (And Pow) for additional crew. A lot had changed since then. The Delphinus had enough sailors and crew to run two shifts easily, and a replica of the Albatross had been constructed and built in the interim. Like its predecessor, the Albatross II was a wooden galleon with a gundeck and rolling cannons meant for broadside firing. Unlike its predecessor, Dyne's new ship carried two bow-mounted torpedo launchers whose firing arcs would clear the rigging and hurl warshots from above. As Dyne explained while giving them the tour, 'It was time for an upgrade.'
The first of the Blue Rogues whistled as Aika and her two lovers finished summarizing what they'd been up to. "Damn, son. You don't do things by halves, do you?"
Vyse chuckled. "Not like Valua gave us much of a choice, dad."
"Forget Valua, I was talking about the three of you!" Dyne said. Aika raised an eyebrow at that, and Vyse's easygoing nature slid off.
"Mom told you then. She said she was going to." The younger Blue Rogue folded his arms in challenge. "Are you going to try and fight us on our relationship?"
Dyne sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Honestly, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it. But you three are still together after everything that's happened, and you're a man now, it's not my business to go telling you how to live your life. But I would like to know a few things. Not," he said, raising a hand as Fina made to protest, "anything bedroom-related. I just want to know if my son is treating the both of you with respect. If you all make each other happy. If you've had any problems, and if you worked through them."
"Yes." Vyse said.
"He does." Fina smiled. "And we do. And yes, we've had a few bumps, but we talk things out. And we always take a little time every day to let the other two know that we love them."
Dyne hummed. "And on top of all of that, you've still found time to stymie Valua's ambitions, save an entirely new kingdom, and raise up a new crop of Blue Rogues. And now this." He looked over his shoulder towards the bridge of the Albatross II. "Briggs has our men looking over the schematics you gave us. We may have to do it in stages, but we'll build this 'radio' of yours. At least we'll be able to listen in on the Valuan messages they're sending with this 'telegraph.' I'll make sure that we all brush up on our signal lamp codes. It'll be shaky at first, but we'll get it."
"To be honest, dad, I didn't expect to find you here." Vyse changed the subject. "I figured once you had your new ship built you'd be out there tearing Valua a new one."
"If their patrols were the same as before, we would be." Dyne made a face. "But our usual routes through the Steadfast Mountain Underpass and the skies under the Silver Moon have been too heavily guarded as of late, too much for us to risk taking them head-on."
"So why not just fly through the sky rifts?" Aika asked him, and Dyne gave her an incredulous look.
"Aika, maybe your ship is powerful enough to manage that, but ours sure isn't." He told her. Aika felt confused at that admission.
"But Gilder and Clara's ships are…" A thought occurred to her, and she snapped her jaw shut. "Oh. They skipped right past you, didn't they?"
Vyse groaned as he caught on. "Oh, of course they would. They probably thought that we'd fly by and get you the engine upgrades ourselves, since they were flying in the direction of Ixa'taka after we broke out of the Grand Fortress that second time. I'm sorry, dad, you should've been able to clear the sky rifts around here for a while now if we'd thought about it."
"Considering you were busy crossing the Dark Rift, saving a lost kingdom, traveling to the bottom of the world and sneaking in and out of Valua's backyard, I think you're forgiven." Dyne smirked. "But as long as you're here…"
Fina hummed and put a finger to her chin. "It's not a bad idea, Vyse. We were going to stay long enough to make sure they got their radio system built, we could stay a few more days to give them some proper sky rift engines as well. I'm certain that between Hans and Lapen and Brabham leading the rest of the engineers, they'll be able to take care of it."
"Well, sure. I mean, we've got the parts down in storage to soup up Cap'n Dyne's engines, no problem." Aika said. "But why didn't you mention my name, Fina?"
The Silvite beamed. "Because we owe it to mom - Relena - to stop by and pay her a visit. And I'm certain that she would love to see Enrique again, and meet Princess Moegi as well."
Aika had to admit that was a particularly marvelous idea. "I have been missing Missus D's homecooked meals." She said with a small smile. "And hey, we can let Enrique and Moegi crash in Vyse's old room."
"While the three of us stay in your house?" Fina suggested slyly, sauntering up to her and wrapping her arms around Aika's waist.
"You think I'd let you two stay anywhere else?" Aika asked, grinning. Fina rewarded her with a peck on the lips that made Dyne cough and look away, trying not to blush. Vyse chuckled and punched his old man in the arm lightly.
"Not for a second." Fina said, her blue eyes glowing bright.
Windmill Island (Pirate Isle)
321 Days After the (First) Grand Fortress Escape
Evening
Relena was ecstatic to see them all again, and had hugged Aika half to death after squeezing Fina so tightly that the blond-haired Silvite had squeaked. For Vyse, there was a hug that was a lot quicker and a lot less bone-crushing, followed immediately by her complaining about not seeing them enough. Aika found herself glad that Enrique and Moegi had come along with them as well, because it meant that Relena had someone else to fawn over, and Moegi found herself enjoying the woman's attentions. It didn't take long for Relena to start sharing stories about Vyse's younger days that soon had everyone laughing. The stories about Aika's childhood were a little embarrassing, but expected, and the redhead managed it well enough. When the day began to wind down and the matter of sleeping arrangements were brought up, Relena didn't so much as bat an eye when Vyse offered the use of his room, as he stated plainly that he would be in Aika's house, along with Fina. His mother did blink a few times when Moegi shyly ducked her head and said that one bedroom would be perfectly fine 'for them as well', and Relena gave a meaningful side-eye at Enrique that prompted the exiled prince of Valua to promise that there would be no 'funny business' under her roof. After that, things returned to their prior level of calm, and they soon excused themselves for the evening. Fina went over to tidy up the home left to her by her parents, Vyse escorted Moegi and Enrique upstairs to his old bedroom to make sure they would have everything they needed, and Aika found herself roped into washing the dishes with Relena. In the peace of the night, drying off the plates and bowls and silverware as the brown and slightly silver-haired woman handed them over to her, Aika found that the domesticity of the moment evoked old memories and took her back to the girl she'd been a year ago, or two years ago.
Back then, even though she'd moved into her parent's house fully, it had been common for her to come over for dinner. There had been so many nights where Dyne and Vyse had gone off to tend to one task or another for the Albatross or the crew, or something else for the island afterwards while she and Relena washed the dishes and made small talk. Vyse's house had been her home for a very long time, and even though she called Relena by 'Missus D', a part of her had always acknowledged that the woman was a mother to her. Even more now.
Aika blinked and realized that Relena was looking over at her with a smile and the next dish held up, waiting patiently for her to take it. The redhead blushed and did so. "Sorry."
"Something on your mind, dear?"
"Usually is." Aika sighed.
"Are you worried about the fight against Valua? This next mission of yours?"
"No, not particularly." Aika shook her head. She wasn't. They had the five Moon Crystals gathered, they were sowing the seeds of rebellion and growing the ranks of the Blue Rogues and their allies. They had a lead on Valua's moves made in secret, which even Gilder's network of drunken sailors in dive bars throughout Mid-Ocean hadn't heard whispers of.
"Is everything all right with you and Fina and Vyse?" Relena went on, and when Aika blinked, the woman's expression turned pensive. "I know that the last time I saw you all you were fine, and I wished you the best, but I still worried that something might...happen. To unsettle things."
"What? No, we're fine!" Aika protested. Relena gave her a dry look, and she shook her head. "Honestly, we really are. I'm happy with the way things are between us, Missus D. We don't hide things from each other, we're honest, and those two never make me feel like I'm less important. If Fina and I only loved Vyse, maybe we would've been at each other's throats by now, but I love her too. She's just as sexy as Vyse is, and every time we…" Aika cut herself off and blushed a little. Relena let out a throaty laugh and pulled out the next dish from the washtub.
"So. No problems in the bedroom then? It's not something I'm eager to hear, but I'm glad that things are working out well there." Aika mutely nodded her head and kept drying, but Relena still didn't look away. "So what's bothering you then, if your love still burns as bright and as true as it did six months ago?" There was a pause before she added, "Are you pregnant?"
Aika snorted. "Um, no. Definitely not. Neither is Fina. We all agreed that it would be better to hold off on that until after...after we…" There, she trailed off again.
"Until after Valua was beaten." Relena realized, and Aika nodded. "What were your plans? If Valua surrendered tomorrow and withdrew their Armada, what would you do?"
"I'd marry them both." Aika confessed in a whisper, staring down at nothing. "I already think of Fina as my wife and Vyse as our husband. Especially after we found out the truth about Daccat, I…I know that whatever else happens, I need them in my life. Did you know that I can't sleep at night unless Fina's there?"
"I wondered." Relena murmured. "Are you afraid that you won't get the chance?"
She was, Aika realized. Underneath it all, there was a trace of fear that she'd never been able to dismiss. Because this war against Valua was older than she was. It had been going on before she was born, and she and Vyse and Fina were in the thick of it now.
For an instant, she saw a glimpse of a nebulous future where they were still fighting Valua, in spite of their successes. She saw futures where they never got married because of that promise and then death took them all. She saw futures where she stopped taking her birth control for the chance at having a baby with them and found herself fearful of dying and leaving it behind as an orphan, like she had been.
Aika didn't realize that she'd let out a sob until Relena pulled her into a much softer and warmer hug than the one she had greeted them with.
"You're old enough now that I can tell you this." Relena said to her, guiding them away from the sink to the dining table. The woman set her down in a chair, where Aika dabbed at her eyes and waited as Relena pulled up another chair beside her. "When Valua changed from a kingdom to an empire, and Dyne founded the Blue Rogues, I was terrified that one day, his luck and his daring would run out and he would be killed. I was terrified that there would come a day when he wouldn't fly home to me, and after Vyse was born that feeling only got worse. Those were hard years. Losing your parents...it changed him too. Dyne calmed down afterwards, his raids became less daring, his methods less extreme. Then we took you in, and for a while, there was stability. I could never bring myself to have another child."
Aika wiped some more of her tears away. "Did - did you want another one?"
Relena smiled and shrugged, and brought her eyes up to look at her. "For a while...no. I didn't think I was strong enough to raise more than one as a widow if the worst happened. And then we had you. Afterwards, I had a little boy and a little girl, and that was enough for me. Maybe if things had been different...if there hadn't been a war...but it's done." She shook her head again. "I know you, Aika. That head of yours has always buzzed with ideas and thoughts and worries. If there's one piece of advice I can give you above everything else, it's that life will always try and get in the way. If you live your life worrying about what might happen, or making plans because of what you're afraid to lose...you won't have a life you deserve at all. You have to grab for your happiness, your joys where you can. I don't know how much longer this war with Valua will still be going on. There were times I was so afraid that it would never stop. But what you and Vyse and Fina have done? All you have accomplished, all the lives you've changed...it feels like things are turning a corner. We have more hope now than we ever did." Relena grabbed at her hands. "Because of you three. So don't live full of doubts and fears. Live to be happy, to make them happy, and don't ever regret doing so."
Aika finally laughed, and fell into another hug again. "Okay. Okay, I won't."
"Good." Relena hummed and let go of her, and the two dabbed at their eyes as Vyse came back down the steps. "Are those two doing all right, Vyse dear?"
"They'll be just fine, mom." The Blue Rogue nodded. "Thanks for putting them up for the night."
"It seemed a shame to waste the room, given that you're no longer in it." She replied dryly, and got a sheepish expression from him. Relena waved him off after that. "You two ought to head over, I'm certain your dear Fina won't want to be kept waiting for long. Just promise me that you three will try and get some sleep in tonight, instead of wearing out the mattress until morning."
"Mom!" Vyse exclaimed, and Aika laughed at the woman's forwardness.
"Don't worry, mom." Aika told her warmly. "I'll make sure they get a full night's sleep."
"See that you do." Relena nodded, all proper smiles after the salacious exchange. "Be sure you stop by in the morning before you leave, won't you?"
"Promise." Aika agreed, standing up and taking Vyse by the hand. "Love you, mom." She dragged Vyse out of the house before he could get a word in edgewise. They were halfway across the island's main concourse before Vyse doffed his black captain's hat, and Aika spoke up. "Enrique and Moegi okay?"
"They'll be fine." He squeezed her hand. "Everything okay with you and mom there? Seemed like you were having a heavy conversation when I came down."
Aika thought about it and nodded with a settled smile. "Things are just fine." She answered. "And getting better. Now come on."
They made it into Aika's house where Fina greeted them with a warm smile and a few lit candles. She had already changed into one of her thin nightgowns she wore when there was a chance they might be intimate, and when Aika raised an eyebrow, the Silvite hummed and nodded.
Well. It seems that she wanted to have a little fun before bed after all. After Aika had let her hair down and dressed in one of her long nightshirts and freshened her breath by chewing on a sprig of mint, she sauntered over to the bed where Fina was already lying down and Vyse was making a show of removing his jacket and his boots. His cutlasses and swordbelt were already hanging on the side of a chair, but he was wearing his black tricorn hat still.
Aika reached up and grabbed it off of him, earning a cry of surprise as he turned around. "Aika!"
"You know, Vyse, it's okay to take your hat off every now and then." Aika drawled, slipping it on. With her long red hair hanging around her face and off her shoulders, it must have given a very different impression than the one Vyse usually had when he wore it. Fina seemed to appreciate it, if the way her pupils dilated meant anything. "A girl enjoys having a turn to wear it." Vyse stared at her and Aika thrilled at the dumbstruck look on his face, and she decided that it was a perfect time to shove him onto the bed. With the added strength that she felt the hat giving to her, it was easy to knock him off balance and send him tumbling into a rough sit on the edge of the bed.
"Aika?" He questioned in a husky voice. She sat in his lap and pushed his shoulders down towards the bed, forcing him back to lie down.
"I want to try something different tonight." Aika whispered, as Fina let out an indelicate moan and rolled over to kiss him while he was down. "Think you can let me be in charge?"
His hands came up to her hips and she shivered as he cupped her rear. She rolled her pelvis over his and dragged a groan out of him that Fina couldn't entirely muffle. When the Silvite pulled back to breathe, he gasped and tilted his head back.
"Yes." He got out. "Yes."
She leaned down over him, amazed at the power she had over Vyse as she kissed him briefly. Then moving his hands away from her and holding them up over his head, she leaned over to Fina to kiss her as well. Fina giggled against her lips and started pulling Vyse's shirt out of his waistband.
"No regrets." Aika said, taking that last piece of advice from Vyse's mother and running with it. She would take every moment of happiness she could take hold of.
All three of them would.
The Silver Sea, Mid-Ocean
Central Sky,
327 Days After the (First) Grand Fortress Escape
The Albatross II was dwarfed as it flew alongside the Delphinus, but the Blue Rogues had been glad to fly with one of their own. It was a rare pleasure given how spread out the Blue Rogue coalition was. The refit had gone smoothly to everyone's relief, and the smaller wooden vessel had gained a significant boost in its speed as well, which allowed them to fly at high speed directly out of the Sky Rift Valley, through the sky rift that separated it from the span of sky under the silver moon, and make a direct course for Dangral Island. They had quickly realized what Dyne had meant about the increased patrols, and the steady telegraph traffic from the base to the ships in the region gave them advance warning that more than a dozen vessels of significant strength were moving in search patterns to head off and capture anyone other than approved merchant vessels.
"You'll never get close to that base, son. Not with that many ships around able to close the net." Dyne argued over their radios. "You might be able to slip through if their numbers were a little thinner, though."
Vyse considered that, watching the mapping table as Domingo laid down markers for all the Valuan ships that Tikatika could spot with his impressive eyesight. With their locations and estimated courses tracked out, Aika could see that any effort to get close to Dangral would lead to them being spotted immediately. Vyse saw a solution first, and went over to the radio where Fina was managing it. He punched in the microphone's squawk. "Well, dad, now that we've proven your ship's got the chops to go plowing through sky rifts, how would you feel about running some interference for your fellow Blue Rogues?"
There was a pause for a while, and when Dyne spoke again, there was something eager and menacing in his voice. "Say, go after one of the outer pickets and bang them up enough that they're out of commission, and then make a break for it when the reinforcements come flying in? It should work, but even then the Delphinus is one hell of a large target. You fly that directly for the base, they'll still see you coming."
"We don't have to take the Delphinus itself to the base. We just have to get it in close enough that we can launch one of the runabouts. A smaller team stands a better chance of getting a close look at what they're up to than a large force, after all. Then when we're done, we make a break for it, link up with the Delphinus and fly like a Looper out of hell to get clear before the rest of the Armada figures out what we're up to."
"It's a simple enough plan, not too many moving parts. And you're going with refuge in audacity again?"
"Nobody in the Armada would ever think that there would be folks crazy enough to try and sneak into a military installation." Vyse pointed out. "It's worked out pretty well for us so far. And we know how to be careful."
The first of the Blue Rogues laughed at that. "Yes, I suppose you do. And you also know when to be crazy. Okay then, Vyse. Keep your ears open for their telegraph messages. We'll try and set them up to take the bait. Once their reinforcements signal that they're on their way, call us again and let us know."
"Will do, dad. Good luck, and be safe."
"We'll be safer than you will be, son." Dyne warned him. "Don't make me have to tell your mother you did something stupid."
Aika took his hand and set the other one on Fina's shoulder, and the three of them had a private moment in the looks they shared on the bridge. A few watched them, Aika knew, but they didn't know what it really meant.
"We'll be careful." Vyse promised him.
Just Outside Dangral Island Airspace, Lower Sky
The Delphinus Berthing Hold, Airlock
328 Days After the (First) Grand Fortress Escape
Considering the odds stacked against them, Aika was amazed that the plan worked as well as it did. The Valuan pickets must have been bored after days of patrolling empty skies, because fully half of them responded and started moving off after the first ship that Captain Dyne and his veteran crew attacked reported they were under heavy attack by Blue Rogues. The rest adjusted their patrol routes to compensate, but it left openings that they easily took advantage of.
Dangral Island sat in the Lower Sky, at altitudes that most ships wouldn't have been able to take on. That Valua had been able to set up a base here meant that they must have been doing some experimenting into the problem, though they had yet to see any of them linger at low altitudes for a prolonged time, and none took to the Upper Sky. None of the ships during their flight away from the Yeligar fight had been able to pursue them into the Upper Sky, either.
If Aika had to guess, they were managing it by straining the condensers past their operational limits. There was also the chance that they had gotten their hands on some blue moonstones, perhaps stolen from Yafutoma during the occupation and kept aboard the ships that hadn't been destroyed and had managed to flee after Bluheim's resurrection and attack. But if that were the case, then they were using them with an imperfect understanding of the science and operational mechanics behind the machinery that Yafutoma had spent centuries perfecting for use aboard their wooden skyships. Old Brabham agreed with her on that.
After radioing to the Albatross II to get well clear of the area and sail north past the sky rift into Mid-Ocean, they dropped the Delphinus into the Lower Sky, turned the helm over to Lawrence, put Don in temporary command of the ship until their return due to his former rank and experience, and headed for the holds just above the keel where the launches were stored and the airlock had been built for the Glacia expedition. Vyse, Aika, Fina and Enrique were the agreed-upon expedition team just as they had been in Mount Kazai and in Glacia. They geared up, strapped on their weapons, left the Moon Crystals locked in the captain's cabin in a small lockbox they'd slid under the bed, and stood ready for the next leg of the mission.
Aika had suspected that Moegi, who had been absent from the bridge that day, would be waiting to wish them luck and to give Enrique a kiss for good measure. She hadn't been expecting that Moegi would bring company to that meeting, but there were three Yafutoman women waiting by the airlock doors as the four of them approached. Neither of the add-ons were members of her ladies-in-waiting, though.
"Moegi." Enrique greeted his beloved, walking away from Aika and the other two to pull the princess into his arms for a tender kiss. "I knew you would want to see us off." He said, looking past her. "But why are Kirala and Urala here? And what are they wearing?"
That was the most surprising thing about the situation, Aika thought. She was used to seeing Kirala in that short-hemmed dress of hers that was more ideal for the sort of carpentry work she excelled at, and Urala in the more traditional dual-layered kimono that was both appealing to the eye and perfect for slightly cooler climes. Instead, the two sisters were dressed in thin, dark black fabric with soft-soled boots. A short sword was slung over both of their shoulders, dark belts with black leather pouches were cinched around their waists, and there was a hint of some kind of a fine mesh undershirt beneath the outer layer of cloth as well. Aside from what they wore and the presence of previously unseen weapons, the most startling thing about them were their faces. With their hair tightly bound back and hoods and masks hanging around their necks, neither of the two Yafutoman women were smiling. They were always so boisterous and lively, but there was none of that then in their mannerisms. Just hard eyes and grim resolve.
Moegi was equally stoic. "You are taking the sisters with you."
"I'm what?" Enrique said, chuckling as he stepped back and looked at the three of them. "Kirala, Urala, we're trying for a small group of infiltrators. What are you even dressed in?"
Urala narrowed her eyes. "We protect Moegi. Daigo is ordering this. We protect Tokugawas, uphold family tradition. You are prince consort to Moegi. We protect you by her wishes."
"Well, I've gotta say I'm impressed by your outfits." Aika said, breaking the tension. "And I'm not the only one." She added, looking past Urala to where Hans was gaping like a landed skyfish back further in the hold. When Urala looked back and saw him, she blushed a shade before turning back to them. "As I remember, you came recommended by Prince Daigo when you volunteered to join our crew." Aika went on. "Are you Tenkou?"
Moegi shook her head. "No. They are not Tenkou. They are kunoichi, Setsu, of the Old Clans. Their ancestors were allies to mine. Daigo earned the trust of their parents, and when I left Yafutoma to join you, they followed to protect me. To learn the western ways." Her face turned wholly severe. "You are my beloved, my promised. My intended. And you are walking into the stronghold of our enemy almost entirely alone. If I cannot convince you to turn away from this path, then I will make sure that you will come back to me." She folded her arms into the mufflers of her billowing sleeves, standing tall and defiant. "You are taking them." She fixed her gaze on Vyse. "You will not refuse, captain."
Even Fina shivered at the steel in Moegi's voice then. Vyse rolled his shoulders and gave a weak nod. "It seems we'll be a team of six, then." He agreed.
In an instant, Moegi's severe countenance disappeared for the calm and collected demeanor that they were used to. "Good." Kirala and Urala brought their facemasks and their hoods up, which made it so only their eyes and the skin around them was visible. As one, they stepped to the side next to Enrique, turned to Moegi, bowed, and uttered something in rapid Yafutoman that had the cadence of a practiced message. Or an oath. Fina drew in a sharp breath after, and Aika turned to her.
"What did they say, Princess?" She asked her lover.
A somewhat paler Fina looked to Moegi as if asking for permission, and when Moegi inclined her head, translated. "They said - Your enemies are ours. Your family and comrades will be protected. We will strike from the shadows, and fear will be the mark of our passing. For the safety of Clan Tokugawa, Clan Setsu renews its vow."
"I'm all for striking from the shadows." Vyse agreed, pulling his tricorn hat down a little tighter. "Well, everyone who's coming, get on board the skiff. We're only going to get one chance to sneak past the watchdogs."
Vyse walked through the airlock doors with Kirala and Urala at his heels, moving swiftly and quietly. Enrique followed after giving Moegi one last hug and a kiss to her forehead, but Moegi turned her worried black eyes on Aika and Fina and pinned them down.
"You bring him back to me." She told them. "You bring everyone home."
"We will." Fina promised the Yafutoman princess.
"Blue Rogues leave nobody behind." Aika added, repeating the part of the Code that applied. Moegi sniffed once, braced herself and bowed, and then turned and walked away. As she did so, Aika thought of what Vyse's mother Relena had told her, what she hadn't. About all her fears of becoming a widow, of all the times that she must have had to bite her tongue to keep from begging Dyne to not leave her, to just stay home. Moegi wished the same for Enrique, prayed the same prayers for his safe return.
Fina tugged on Aika's arm. "Come on. We need to hurry." The Silvite urged her, and Aika nodded and followed the others into the airlock and the waiting skiff. Enrique was already handing out carabiner hooks to Kirala and Urala to secure themselves to the smaller vessel, and Vyse looked up from his spot at the engine and the till at the back to smile at Aika and Fina.
There was one major difference in the situation between Moegi and Relena's, and Aika's. She realized it as soon as she was seated in the skiff and the lights changed in the box with a warning buzzer as the outer doors began to open. Relena and Moegi had to wait and pray for their lovers to return to them. Aika was bringing hers with her. She'd fight tooth and nail to keep them alive and breathing, because her joy was in all the memories they'd made and the ones they had yet to make.
Dangral Island beckoned. Six Blue Rogues flew towards it.
