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Chapter 19: Picking up Speed

This wasn't exactly what I imagined when it came to handle a diplomatic approach with the Water Crest.

But I wasn't complaining how things turned out to be, far from it. Waking up in a humid cave after falling unconscious during a pseudo-kidnapping definitely put me in the expectation of the worst possible, so I was surprised in a pleasant way when the 'kidnapper' proved to be quite… simple to understand and approach. The pink-haired Dolphin Prime was almost purring at my touch as I carefully kept rubbing her belly, the girl clearly intrigued by the intimate approach as much as she was over my nature. And my focus was on her belly as to not take notice of how revealing her armor was right now. Not my fault on the matter, but definitely a change of pace to what I was more familiar with even after training so much with Carmie and the 'sneak attack' from Gracie.

If someone asked me what I thought about marine life after having lived for a few years in a peninsula bathed by multiple seas, the response might surprise many as it wouldn't. I never had the chance to genuinely build that much of an interest over the sea. I just felt that it never had much of an importance since it was available with ease. It wasn't a concern for me to study it despite how interesting of a topic this was. Still, I knew that mere belly-rubbing wasn't going to do well for the sake of diplomacy as it prevented any hint of conversation to be made beyond the introduction we shared before this entire situation unraveled. Xeanica was a curious entity if one was to entail the pure child-like wonder that matched so heavily with a sense of logical caution and a fair amount of cleverness.

I would be lying if I said she was one of the smartest, but she was definitely someone that adapted fairly easily to her environment, so much so that she definitely switched attitude towards me as soon as I started rubbing her belly. From holding her weapon, a chakram, close to her in a guarded stance, to having it dropped on the ground beside her hand but no longer within her grasp. Her tail also confirmed her genuine delight at the treatment, with the lengthy appendage going in a wide arch between her legs and waving like a dog's tail would- she was wagging her tail and purring like a cat, at this point my capacity to discern whenever or not she was a Dolphin, or the other two animals started to falter before the cuteness displayed by the girl.

Maybe it was animal nature offering me the window of opportunity to grow a friendly connection with the young woman, or maybe it was just something unique to Xeanica due to her more nature-centered approach to her role as a Crest. Until now, the Crests that I have met were people that had a definite connection with nature tied to their Crest. Sure, personality-wise the four I had the chance to know had some strong 'connotations' when it came to attitudes, but Xeanica felt like she was… a step deeper into it. She was careful, considerate, but nonetheless a peaceful individual first before becoming a dangerous opponent to any of her enemies.

As I prepared to break from that status quo that was raised through this interaction, our combined attention was stolen by the approaching footsteps that were tied to-

"Grace?"

My voice ruptured the quiet, gaining the sight of the Gazelle Prime as she walked closer. She was still wearing the suit, but she reached to remove her headgear as soon as she got close enough to us.

"T-Theo," She replied with a semi-surprised tone, a light scowl on her face as she regarded the fellow Crest. And how she was enjoying a belly-rub session from me. To be fair, I felt a hint of embarrassment in getting caught in this circumstance as I knew how Grace had been the only one that for a long while now would get this kind of treatment from me, but I could at least notice something else while I was stuck like that. I felt Xeanica's tension rising as a reaction to this unexpected intrusion, but a quick glance aimed at her seemed to be enough to draw her to a pause. Orange gems were staring straight at my soul as a single question was uttered by the girl herself in that regard.

"Is she a… friend?"

I would have been surprised if I didn't get the chance to glance first-hand how sharp her mind was into determining threats from possible allies. Still, I doubted Grace knew about this and I didn't hesitate providing a response to that.

I nodded quietly. "Yes."

That seemed to get the pinkette to a calmer mood, but she still gazed at Grace with some suspicions even though her approach wasn't showing any hint of trouble to it. Soon the Love Crest was sitting down, while the Dolphin Prime sat up so she could stare better at the new arrival. The two girls spent a while getting to grasp each other's appearance, but they didn't utter a single word while doing that. I waited just for a couple of seconds before giving my own input. At this point, there was no way we were going to get some talk going if everyone was silent.

"Xea, this is Grace, the Love Crest," I started to say, deciding to take the 'introduction' route instead of going for something more awkward and less effective than this safe bet. "Gracie, this is Xeanica, the Water Crest."

While Grace merely nodded, Xea's eyes wide open in surprise as she was caught off-guard by this development. Nothing unusual since there hadn't been any known sign of 'non-related' Crests recognizing each other, so I was quite sure that this news had to be the first ever hint that she was speaking with someone that could understand her a little more than anyone else. I could see it in her face that she was stunned by this situation, but even so I wasn't exactly prepared to see what the girl eventually took as a reaction to this matter. Xeanica suddenly pulled the Gazelle Prime into a sudden tight hug.

"Sister!"

My jaw dropped somewhere at that loud exclamation, and I saw that the Love Crest herself was having a little issue digesting this unexpected predicament. It was perhaps the first time I saw Grace having to face someone as cute as her pulling this very same move on her. I could almost see into her thoughts with how clear her emotions were in that precise moment, but she seemed to recover well enough to reach an arm around the younger woman's waist and pat her upper back.

"I-I suppose."

I smiled at the sight, pleased with what I was seeing and… soon I noticed that beside the guard that had escorted the Love Crest into this religious chamber, an old Shark Prime stood and watched the scene with a mixture of relief and curiosity. The woman, from the prestigious clothes she was wearing, I could tell was important within the marine colony and I was proven correct about this assumption just as soon the hug was over and we were approached by her.

"Lady Xeanica, I see that you have made two interesting friends today," The elder greeted with a tired but still lively voice. "Lord Theo and Lady Grace, I presume."

Slowly nodding at that interaction, the next few minutes saw the entire group making its way through the underwater settlement, with the woman, which introduced herself as Chieftainess Viera, showing her knowledge of her domain by explaining in detail how this entire colony managed to sustain itself and how the culture was mostly based around the traditional rules of the old Submarine cities of Prism.

I listened attentively as this wasn't something mentioned in the codex I had about the old civilizations of Prism, and it added more to the idea that, while unified in a single monarchy, the clans still remained autonomous enough to form their specific cultures and create their own unique settlements in regard of which kind of territories they decided to settle on. I was mesmerized by the information, but even more when the 'religious' aspect of the colony came up. They still celebrated the Dragon Gods as Old Prism, but they gave a major emphasis on those deities that were tied to those needs tied to the colony itself. Water-based ones to be more specific.

The idea was that since the Water Crests were the ones that had for long sustained the economy and the needs of the settlements, a major focus to the deities that were best tied to the element was granted as a tribute of sorts. There was a brief history lesson regarding how the first chieftains were the Water Crests, and how eventually the practice was interrupted as it interfered with the training of younger successors. The main purpose of the Water Crest was still to provide food in the form of fishes recovered from daily patrols around the perimeter of the settlement. There were instances where the hunt had to be extended beyond the proximity of the colony, but those were rare and tied to a need to deal with issues with the procurement of the needed food due to a sudden increase in population.

Viera also added that their pantheon had hints of Chaos to it, mostly correlated to the pacifist take introduced by the few Narakhans that had actually joined the Water Crest in the past. This news opened a completely different predicament when it came to the relationship between Primes and Narakhans as nowhere in the history texts was ever mentioned any alliance before, during and beyond the war with 'pacifists'. Yet I could 'sense' some from afar. While I couldn't exactly make use of Chaos (yet, from what I theorized), I could still recognize magically when one was gifted in those arts and there were a few of those standing out among the natives we were looking at during the trip through the colony.

Xeanica was one of the rare exceptions that was trained by apprentices of the previous Water Crest instead of receiving the proper education from the 'main source'. Her father died of sickness he had kept quiet about, while her mother had died due to this very sickness latching onto her. It prevented the woman from providing the young girl a normal childhood, but at least granted her the capacity to train on her own and acquire an adequate set of fighting skills.

The explanation concluded once we arrived at Viera's office, with the Shark Prime taking this chance to turn a couple of questions at us regarding the situation we were in and we were more than willing to return the favor after she was keen in letting out so much precious info regarding their culture and history.

"You have already faced the Empire. We've but just a few recollections of our ancestors' claims, but those go in great detail of the cruelty of the Emperor," The woman muttered with a neutral tone. "I suppose they weren't lying."

"No," I replied curtly. "The Empire is indeed ruled by an iron fist. Corrupted Narakhans are those that have been ruled for some time now, with just a handful of Primes that are collaborating to… not be killed."

"That's truly a saddening effect of Prism's fall. Still, there is no doubt that your mission has to be going well if the Queen has managed to find a Crest already," Vierra replied with a calm sigh, but she swiftly noticed my frown at her comment. "Did I say something wrong just now, Lord Theo?"

My lips twitched, my brain having yet to grasp the title I was bestowed with ease. "There isn't just a Crest. We have found three actually."

…

"B-Beg your pardon, but did you just say… three?"

"Well, with Xea that would be four and… then there are the six Crests that we are certain lives on Earth."

A blink came from the chieftainess. "The element or a new planet?"

"My homeplanet," I replied quietly. "Earth is the first planet with an advanced culture that stands close to Old Prism. I guess the Gods saw fit to lead the large majority of the Primes there since it was the best place where to nurture the new generations."

The Shark looked baffled at this development and took a moment to think about what she just listened to.

"S-So there are currently… ten Crests that you're aware about?"

"We know that the other two are tied to the Empire," Grace pointed out with a thoughtful tone. "But… I think Theo mentioned the Death Crest isn't loyal to the Emperor."

"Sem might not be loyal to the big jerk, but he still mentioned he would join us if the situation was 'proper' enough to make a smooth betrayal effort," I elaborated with a serious voice. "And Minos… I don't know what could be done. He is too deep into that indoctrination."

"B-By the gods all Crests… are known?"

I nodded, surprise filling the old woman's face as she tried to wrap up this endless avalanche of positive developments. Still, she managed a relieved smile through this kind of news.

"Then, this means that… the gathering. It's really happening."

The term was not new to me, but I was surprised that it stretched that far back if the elder knew about it.

"Queen Adela has taken steps to ensure it unfolded during her reign. We're ending the war they started."

"Yes- I… these are the most glorious news this humble settlement has heard in centuries. This means that we can finally make use of the Colony Ship."

And with that response, my frown returned stronger than before. "Colony Ship? I thought the one used for this settlement was destroyed due to a crash landing."

"Ours was destroyed, yes. But not the one that was once owned by the followers of the Ice Crest," The Chieftainess elaborated. "Due to a close alliance, it was decided to leave the ship for us to make use of in case we needed to leave the colony. They moved to multiple planets through small treks across planets and… we never heard of them before."

More shock filled my mind as I… remembered that Pulsar and the former chief of the settlement he lived in had both explained how the first generation of settlers had been known to move around a lot through planets to solve the chances of the Empire tracking them down. I wasn't unaware this was all tied up somehow, but it would explain why they didn't have a Colony Ship nor they had stored any data of that matter actually happening. Perhaps it wasn't preserved as proper information to prevent an ensuing capture of the Water Colony had the Ice one been found out first.

"That would actually boost our current plans to reach Earth," I admitted without hesitation. "Our ships might be fast, but an old model Colony Ship is meant to go through large space trips and maintain an impressive speed despite the impressive cargo and personnel capacities."

"Which means that we could set up a relocation and take the ship to better organize the current fleet," Grace added. "Going through the efforts of evacuating could be done but-"

"The people will accept the operation if I provide good reasoning," Viera confessed with a tired sigh. "Some will lament that this move might sound too extreme, but it would be a lie to say that these conditions are better than what a Colony Ship would allow. I believe it's high time we take steps to reclaim our lives and… grant the next generations a better future."

With that conviction bound by the old Shark Prime, the only remaining issue was contacting Archie and getting the entire setup planned and employed to commit a full evacuation and a swift capture of the Colony Ship that was reportedly hidden away by one of the nearby planets.

Despite this sounding fairly easy, I would still have to leave the colony with my suit and… hopefully not get too light-minded while trying to contact the others. Much to my relief, Xea offered to help me reach a lesser depth by using her powers to propel us both into a safer spot to make that call.

Adela was rightfully nervous despite most of her worst worries being assuaged by the latest message coming from her Theo. They were safe, the news had gained a sigh of relief out of her, but they needed to set up a plan to evacuate a non-negligible amount of Primes.

That development didn't catch her much by surprise, but the imperative tone taken by the young man almost felt uncharacteristic due to its suddenness. That concern was scrapped when he explained how there was a Colony Ship that had been left behind by the first generation of Pulsar's colony. The Ice Crest had been shocked by this development, but admitted that it was never mentioned to them about the existence of a Colony Ship having brought them to their original spot. Knowing how all Primes all around, in most part, were sent away through the Colony Ships, it was clear that the info had been redacted and removed to avoid any unwanted betrayal, no matter how indirect that could have been.

Addie felt surprised by this discovery herself, but she quickly found a more logical basis the more Theo spoke to her of what he found there. A proper marine colony that had been set up by the last Water Crest from Old Prism. The entire place had been filled with mostly Primes generally affiliated with this kind of environment, making their survival doable despite the limited conditions. Narakhans were there too, but they were given other tasks instead of tying themselves to the fishing sessions with the other Primes. They were good medics as far as her Theo managed to learn, but he mentioned that they could do much more with their unbound chaos magic, just like the other Narakhans they had in their fleet.

Still, it took roughly two hours to have plans of a proper evacuation made and some special ships prepared for the modest operation. Four more hours went by as the Queen decided to oversee how the entire operation was going, relief further washing her as the first ships confirmed the acquisition of four dozens Primes. Then another batch took five dozens, then three and finally the last ship with her Theo, Gracie and the Water Crest on board.

When the last ship was finally 'fished' back onto the main one, Adela glanced carefully at Carmesi as the Fox Prime was standing beside her, seething at the closed door, clearly perceiving the Crest on the other side and her direct opposite from what she knew about magic. But just as the tension seemed to peak as both heard footsteps approaching… Addie could only gaze in pure silence as the door opened to reveal Grace and Theo, with the Water Crest hiding most of herself behind the Grand Knight.

The scene was almost comical as the Coyote Prime had imagined for a reaction as strong and fierce as Carmie but… that proved to not be the case. The Fire Crest herself looked smacked by the sight of this Dolphin Prime with pink hair, clearly shorter than Theo, leaning a tiny bit on the side so she could see who was in front of them. A hint of fright, and a lot of confusion and anxiety. If that was the fearsome rival Carmesi had hoped to get, then all her hopes and dreams had crumbled in the matter of a few seconds.

"I see you three are fine," The young queen decided to greet with a small smile on her face. She knew how this tense situation could be handled only through some well-placed good will and genuine kindness. "Xeanica, right?"

As she heard her name, the girl tilted a little more and glanced at Adela with surprised but curious orange eyes. A nod followed and the smile widened.

"I'm Queen Adela. Theo told me that you wanted to ask me something in particular."

It had been a strange proposal at first, but the human had been rather positive that it was 'worthwhile the hassle'. She wasn't exactly sure what the 'hassle' was and why it was going to be worth it, but she still decided to go for it just from the amused tone he used to explain this very circumstance to her. Hearing this, the Dolphin Prime took a few steps forward, revealing how simple her golden armor was but also showing how young she was compared to the others. She looked to be roughly 17 by the frame, yet she knew that a few months in and she would be a full adult.

"Your Majesty… is it correct if I call the other Crests… my siblings?"

The question, delivered in such a childish but so genuine voice felt more like a punch in the gut. Not because it was unpleasant or anything, but it was actually something that tickled at her amusement so much so suddenly. Her smile twitched even more as the Coyote Prime noticed the Fire Crest tensing at these words as her mind broadened at the dreadful reach any answer could have through it. There was so much hope within the pinkette's eyes and… the queen nodded.

"I believe you may, Xeanica."

A squeal of delight was the only warning Carmesi got as she suddenly got pulled in a tight embrace by the one being that she should have been against since the very beginning. The Fox Prime was stunned, but she didn't get the chance to recover and counter such a move that she was released by the Water Crest herself as her next target proved to be more open and accepting of such a hugging spree. With mirthful giggles exploding out of her lips, the Dolphin Prime was lifted up and given a cuddly hug by Pulsar. Differently from other cases of hugging girls, the young man was keeping himself from being too touchy in a weird manner, but he sure was being snuggly with a girl that he thought genuinely being a proper little sister to spoil.

While this scene unfolded, Addie's gaze went back to both the Love Crest and her knight. Both spared confused looks as her smile vanished and she got closer to the two of them… before pulling them close for a warm embrace. A quiet hum came out of her mouth at the closeness, but she felt more at ease and devoid of worry when the two returned the hug as pleasantly as possible.

"We are back, worrywart."

A pout appeared on her face, but she didn't reply as she merely enjoyed the pleasant embrace she had been pulled in. Grace giggled, nuzzling on the fellow girl's shoulder and returning the triple hugging before they had to release each other from their respective holds. With that out of the way, Archie was called to meet Xeanica, with the spirit task being to help the girl find her current room as they made plans to finally approach the planet with the unused Colony Ship and retrieve it.

The rest of the day flew away in complete peace as they decided to spend roughly three hours to force the ship open, take notice of any damage in need of fixing and then turned the entire thing on. The process itself wasn't really that easy due to how many failsafe were active when they had boarded the larger ship. The Colony Ships were repurposed research ships that had been meant to be used to colonize planets near Prism. Before the Space Program could have gone smoothly over it, the war happened and the ships were swiftly reorganized as outright space-mobile communities.

This Colony Ship had just three years worth of energy that had remained after a couple of centuries of keeping at low functionality, which was still incredibly low due to the fact it should normally have fifty years at full charge. It was definitely going to require activating the solar energy generators so that it could recharge the 'batteries' during their resumed flight. The first day inside the extremely big ship with multiple rooms was one of relative peace and 'inactivity'. They were going to check more on all major rooms the next day, once they were through breakfast.

Then things were going to go even smoother for them all and the Empire was going to only dream about to catch up with them ever again...

? POV

The Ennugi Interceptor Ship was one of the greatest flagships ever created by the Empire. One of ten unique constructs of the Homeland's spaceyards to be used solely with the intention of tracking down a target and keep pursuit of it at high speed and precision. The idea behind this construct was to keep harassing the attempts of the Royal Cause to try and be truly torn to the Emperor's side. Its construction lasted several decades due to the features requested to make this ship an effective tool of persecution of external threats, and when it was released once fully optional, its role had been turned inactive due to the lack of major need of fast ships to pursuit the rebels as those had been struck heavily and quickly since the threat became known to the Imperial military.

Its inactivity was confirmed to be ceased just two days earlier, when the Emperor proclaimed an elevation in the rank of threat presented by the resurgent Monarchist Cause, ordering the preparation of the Ennugi for its main purpose for the first time in centuries. The ship was still advanced, even more than the corvettes that had been developed in the last three years, but was severely outdated when it came to the engines used. Too expensive to keep the high speed for too long due to the demanding quantity of fuel needed for such a move, the ship was still viable as the best option to intercept and destroy what was left of Prism and close that chapter of old History for good.

After she was done fixing her uniform, the young Eagle Prime that had mused over her most recent relocation as part of the ship's staff took a moment to imagine what kind of atmosphere was within the room she prepared to enter. Newly-promoted 'Major' Deth was a strange addition to the current pursuit, but not one the young woman was disappointed by. Of all people she trusted within the army, Sem was perhaps the one that understood her better. Sem had been there from the beginning- one would be mistaken to assume they had known each other since they were children, but she knew him well enough to know what he tended to think nowadays. The real issue was the man that was within the room together with the new Major.

General Minos was the face of 'model Primes' as those soldiers that willingly and faithfully entrusted the Emperor's first and foremost, espousing his malicious ideology and submitting their will to him and only him. All for the sake of survival. Sadly for the Bull Prime, his image had recently suffered a decline due to his failures in the last months. Losing the Love Crest, failing to regain the loyalty of the Fire Crest and… failing to end the monarchist group back in Sem's turf when the Grand Knight had been imprisoned, offering the Earth Crest the chance to redeem himself. Another failure. And that last one stung a lot due to the state he was found in. The fact that Sem gloated a lot about his inability to do his job finely really made them both even more at odds than usual.

They were reportedly in that room, waiting for her to enter and… yes, she was sweating at the chance of getting turned into the newest topic for a heated conversation. Still, the girl drew a lengthy sigh and went forth, praying for Chaos to cover her path protectively. Her prayers were answered, but in a way she didn't expect. The Death Crest was inside that luxurious office, but he was the only one inside the room. He was sitting by the main desk, gaze aimed at the ceiling as he huffed and waited for something to happen.

The Eagle Prime advanced and took a proper pose. "Lieutenant Feather here as requested, Major Deth!"

She rightfully yelled at her appearance, causing for the higher officer to jump in his chair and turn at her with a panicked look… before scoffing.

"Feather, for Chaos' sake, can't you even see I was deep in my thoughts?"

"Is it pranking or serious, sir," Feather inquired carefully, noticing a hint of importance behind the Lion Prime's response.

"50-50. Thinking about Minos, how to put him down again and… not get executed because of it," He elaborated, drawing a tired snort from the woman.

"Once again, back into alienating your superiors."

"That is indeed the case," The man admitted dryly. "Sadly, I doubt I will be demoted this time around, not when the Emperor wants all Crests loyal to the Empire revered and aided in hunting down the Queen and her Grand Knight."

A curious glint appeared on the girl's face and Feather didn't hesitate to press on this very issue.

"So, you have met the Grand Knight?"

"I had a nice chat with him. I believe he would make for a new friend for you," The Death Crest cheekily added and the woman huffed. "Of course, I'm referring to his knowledge of war- humans, the race that has seen more war than Narakhans and Primes combined."

That last comment got a frown out of Feather, the idea of a war-centered culture feeling so abject considering how well-planned some of the failures for Minos had been. She thought it had been the queen's own mind behind this change of pace, but the reports of the 'human' being the one behind this sure heightened a 'troublesome' rumor within the Empire. Chaos had indeed shifted some of her favors away from the Emperor, and the religious sects have already suffered some 'subsidies' from the Empire to make sure none of that come to reality as a genuine threat to the Imperial internal stability.

A being that wasn't a Prime and yet capable of wielding Order and have a sway in Chaos itself for some mysterious reason. Sem knew something about it, she had talked to him about it but he was quiet about it. Which made the entire predicament fairly strange. But now that she heard War was in this Grand Knight's veins? That made her curiosity more intense at these news, with Feather being quite attached to the chance of studying cultures tied to war more than the Lion Prime. Still, one point had to be made clear.

"Only friend. I think we're both aware that I'm not swaying away from the only man I want to be with."

The Death crest regaled her with a heavy look. "I told you it wouldn't work-"

"And I told you that it will. You're just trying to excuse yourself through your own pain when I know better than anyone else that you are afraid of messing up."

"It's more complicated than that," Sem argued but he wasn't allowed to say more as he felt air around him press onto all over his body's surface, squeezing his frame a little bit.

"Major Deth, I have staked my claim and, once this rebellion is over, I shall see to implement those to reality. You either fight and beat me, or I will just claim you against your fright."

"I believe it's 'will'," He rebuked and she smiled with her beak.

"Is that so? Then tell me you don't want me beyond the fact you are just fearful of repercussion through your powers, sir."

…

Her smile widened. "As expected. Have a nice day and… we shall speak soon, Major Deth."

Once Feather was out of the office, she paused for a moment to recover from that taxing scene. It sure was difficult to keep up with how intense Sem normally was but, ever since she made it clear to him that she wanted him things had been quite troublesome. He made excuses to skip a couple of planned calls, mentioning duty as a reason, and then keeping things from her regarding their relationship. It wasn't even like he was trying to deter her from going further, but rather his own incapacity to handle a proper relationship.

Because yes, the Death Crest was scared of falling in love with someone. Even though said someone was a fellow Crest that shared so much of his ideology, mindset and cared for him through the flaws and the silliness tied to his personality. It was sure going to be frustrating for a while but...

The Air Crest was sure going to enjoy her stay in this ship. With Sem around, Minos keeping away from her and a Grand Knight to study on her own, this sure was one of the best shifts in her career than she could have imagined.

AN

Another cutie joins the group, this one more interested into family and siblings than romance. How many belly-rubbers shall she get in her conquest? Only time will tell!