A/N: Ugh, this was supposed to have been released a month ago. I apologize for the delay.
Chapter 37
The next day saw Ichika slowly sliding over the muddy ground, gradually closing the distance to his target. The red flag leaned almost casually against a tree, ripe for the picking were it not for the three sentries patrolling around it. They were Rin's girls, undoubtedly well trained and disciplined, and they constantly scanned their surroundings for any sign of approaching attackers. The last two girls of their squadron, including their commander, were nowhere to be seen.
However, though they were vigilant, they clearly couldn't see him, covered from head to toe in mud, slowly inching towards them through the undergrowth. Through the brush, he peeked out in the direction where Sakura and Ayane were making their own approaches. Theresa and Rei had been left behind to defend their own flag.
The task at hand was simple. Two games of capture the flag, played in parallel, with everyone wearing belts that, if removed, would mean that they were out. The catch was that if they went out, instead being removed from play for a period of time, they would instead cross the barrier between arenas and enter play on the other side instead. That meant that if they were to eliminate the three sentries now, Lily would find herself at an eight to five disadvantage on her field.
Of course, they had planned for this. The objective was simple. Both he and Lily left two of their squadmates behind to guard the flag and moved to launch a coordinated attack against both bases simultaneously. Eliminating any enemy sentries, they would then take advantage of the temporary numerical advantage bought by the time it took for the eliminated people to cross from one side to the other to rush back to their base and secure the win.
He heard three clicks in his earpiece, one that was unfortunately muddy but still operational. Lily was in position. Two more triplets of clicks meant that the rest of her group was in position as well.
Ichika clicked twice in turn, and both Ayane and Sakura mirrored his signal. It was time.
"Go!" He whispered, and the two girls began to move. For a few moments there was nothing and then, when two of the sentries had their backs turned, they leaped from the underbush, covered in mud just as he was, and eliminated them.
"Attack! The flag is under attack!" Even as the last girl was shouting this out, Ichika was leaping up in turn, tearing off her belt and without breaking stride, snatched up the flag.
"Ichika has the flag!" The girl shouted as they beat a hasty retreat, stealth completely forgotten in the rush to take advantage of the brief window of opportunity.
"Hardhat here, three down! I have the flag!" Ichika shouted.
"Gourmet, two down here! Flag secure!" Lily replied.
"We're under attack! Cecilia just got me!" He heard Sarah shout a moment later.
"She has the flag! We're both down!" Caitlyn added.
"Both of you, hurry over to the other side! Move it!" Lily ordered as Ichika redoubled his pace, having just reached a muddy path free of undergrowth. With his focus now on the path ahead, he didn't notice Rin until he had already tripped over the kudzu vine that she and her partner had strung across the road and suddenly pulled taut.
"What the- They got me!" Sakura shouted a moment later as the ambush began. Ayane was quick on the draw, and as Ichika began to struggle back to his feet he saw her lash out with one arm to grab the belt of her assailant before Rin eliminated her. Then, before Ichika could stand back up, the Chinese girl dove on him, a predatory grin on her face. He twisted around, narrowly avoiding her landing on his back and they wrestled for a few moments, before Rin snaked a slender hand past his guard and tore his belt off.
"I'll take that!" She said with a grin as she stood back up, dropping the detached belt back down before grabbing the flag.
"Three down here, flag secure. I need reinforcements now!" At that moment, Theresa and Rei burst into view, and Rin sprinted away. The plan had most assuredly not survived contact with the enemy.
"We're all down! Only two of us left on this side! Rin has the flag!" Ichika shouted as he ran after Ayane, fastening the belt back on with one hand.
"Caitlyn and Sarah are almost there. We still have their flag, but they have ours."
"Our flag is unguarded!" He heard Theresa exclaim.
"Rei, Theresa, fall back! Hold them off our flag here while we secure the flag on the other side!" Ichika ordered as he approached the divider between the two matches.
"Roger!"
"Hardhat, I am tailing Cecilia's group. The other two girls are back guarding our flag. Tell me when you're all across, and I'll shout out and attack They'll probably counterattack when we do, and they have numbers, so be quick about it." Lily reported.
"Roger." Ichika replied, his response mirrored by Ayane and Sakura.
"Ready?" Lily asked. Ichika took a few moments to catch his breath before responding.
"Go."
Immediately, he heard shouting from his left, and the three of them immediately rushed towards its source.
"They got me, but I took one of them with me!" Lily reported.
"Rin's girls are attacking!" Cai reported a moment later.
"Evacuate the flag! Hold on!" Ichika shouted as he spotted Cecilia. The relatively clean blonde stood out like a sore thumb among the foliage, in stark contrast to the mud-covered Lily who was rushing away to the other battlefield. She turned at his shout, but had no time to react before Ichika barreled into her, leaving muddy stains across her clothing as they tumbled down.
"Ichika!" Cecilia shrieked as he removed her belt and grabbed the flag out of her hand.
"Sorry." He said, offering her a hand and pulling her to her feet while Ayane and Sakura made short work of her remaining squadmate.
"You'll pay for that!" Cecilia shouted as she took off running to the other side.
"We have the flag. They're both down." Ichika reported.
"Hurry up and get over here! We can't run in circles forever!" Cai exclaimed. Ichika wasted no more time, and the three of them rushed back.
It was Rin's four squadmates against the three of them, plus Cai and Shizune,, on one side while Lily now commanded Theresa and Rei, plus her two other squadmates against Cecilia's entire squadron plus Rin.
"Bolt here. They got me!" Sarah reported a moment later, out of breath.
"Flag is safe." Catelyn said. By now, Ichika could hear the loud footsteps and shouts in the distance, and the three of them arrived at the perfect moment. Rin's squadmates had split up into pairs to try and surround Catelyn, and one pair ended up blundering into the three of them. Both of the Chinese girls were taken down, but Sakura was eliminated as well.
Rin's remaining two squadmates realized they were now outnumbered and attempted to rush Catelyn down. Unfortunately for them, the American girl was fast enough to avoid them. One slipped as she attempted to grab the belt, just in time for Ichika and Ayane to arrive and eliminate her. The last girl now rounded on Ichika, but against the three of them she stood no chance. Both flags in hand, Ichika allowed Cai to lead him back to his group's base, where he placed the two flags side by side.
"We have both flags on this side!" Ichika reported.
"Well done. Zone one is secured by Squadrons 007 and 298. Everyone in field one may cross over safely. From here on out, elimination is now permanent! " Giorgi announced.
"Let's go!" Ichika ordered.
"They've laid an ambush on the other side of the nearest gate." Sakura reported.
"Alright... Ayane and I will make our way to trigger the ambush. The rest of you, go through the middle gate and loop around and prepare to hit them from behind. Tell me when you're ready and we'll move." Ichika ordered.
"Roger!" The three girls replied.
"All four of them are through now." Sakura reported.
"Alright, that means move it! Lily, what's your status?" Ichika asked.
"We've dug in around the flag. Cecilia's encircling us as we speak." Lily replied.
"Hold on, we're on our way." Ichika said as he and Ayane walked slowly to the near gate, while Sakura, Shizune and Cai ran out to the mid gate.
"We're on the other side. In position." Sakura reported after about a minute.
"Roger. Moving in." Ichika said. A moment later, Ayane crossed the gate and immediately leaped aside, allowing him to rush through and take the first girl running at him by surprise. To their right, their counter-ambush went off, eliminating two of Rin's girls in exchange for Shizune. Unfortunately, Rin's last remaining squadmate got lucky, and eliminated Ayane before Ichika could get her.
"Cecilia's attacking!" Lily reported.
"On our way!" Ichika replied, hurrying towards the shouting.
Fortunately it was a short run, and they arrived just in time. With the enemy's backs to them, it was a quick end to the battle, and soon the match was over.
Soon the twenty of them, all covered in mud, were lined up outside the field while the next two groups, one of which was Kanzashi and Honne's, went in.
"Well done, all of you." Giorgi said as another instructor directed the girls into position.
"Both of you coordinated your efforts quite well. Ichika, Lily, you had a good plan at the start. Had it gone off as intended, you'd have been able to secure both flags quickly and efficiently. Rin, Cecilia, you two in turn did an excellent job countering this once you realized what the plan was. From there on out, you all reacted to each others' moves quite well. That attempted ambush at the gate was a rather dirty one, and had it succeeded I might have ended up banning its use in future exercises. However, the successful counter of it has given me reason to reconsider." Giorgi said.
"Where most previous exercises were centered around training communication and coordination, this one was my attempt to create a scenario similar to the upcoming tournament. Consider it a sort of midterm exam, if you will. A way for me to see if you were actually getting better, or if all our teaching was going in one ear and out the other. To that end, there will be no re-doing of this task. However, you have nothing to worry about considering how well you all did. Now, I am sure you all want to wash that mud off, so I will not take any of your time." He finished.
"Thank you!" The girls chorused, before heading out to the showers. None of them forgot their towels this time around.
The campground would receive a rather rude awakening early the next morning as four jets screamed overhead, jolting Ichika awake and out of Lily's impromptu cuddle.
"What was that?" Lily exclaimed, sitting up beside him.
"Not civilian planes, that's for sure." Ichika responded, crawling out of the tent. He quickly threw his shoes on and ran outside, straining to spot the planes that had just flown overhead to no avail. Soon, he gave up and headed back inside.
"Did you see anything?" Lily asked.
"No." Ichika shook his head.
"Any idea what they were?" She asked.
"Those were jet engines, not impulse drives, and really loud ones at that. If I were to guess, I'd say either F-15s or F-2s." Ichika replied after a moment's thought.
"Not F-3s?" Lily asked.
"I wouldn't bet on it. Not that many F-3s were built to the original standard before the IS came around, and from what I remember, none of them are stationed up north." Ichika replied.
"Hmm..." Lily's thoughts were interrupted by the roar of more jets flying overhead. Ichika scrambled out once more, and this time he was just barely able to spot the four twin pinpricks of light heading south. Two engines... That meant a flight of F-15J-EXs. A derivative of the American F-15EX, these had been ordered as a replacement for Japan's aging F-15J fleet. The last of one hundred and twenty aircraft ordered had arrived in Japan mere days before the White Knight incident, which had resulted in a rather underwhelming projection for its service life.
"They're F-15s." Ichika reported as he headed back inside.
"I see... Any idea what they're doing up there?" Lily asked.
"Heading south for the winter? I have no idea." Ichika replied, already reaching for his phone.
Two more flights had passed overhead before Ichika found out.
"Hmm... Looks like there's a huge military exercise going on right now." He frowned as he read on.
"From what I'm seeing here, the US, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are all participating. This is..." He trailed off as he continued reading.
"The US, South Korea, and the Philippines are acting as aggressors against Taiwan and Japan... They've got four carrier battle groups in the East China Sea! Are they trying to provoke China?" Lily exclaimed.
"What was that about provoking China?" Cai asked, sticking her head out into the middle room.
"Take a look at this." Lily gave Cai her phone, and the Chinese girl's eyes widened as she read it.
"You're right about that. Just about the only thing the Americans could do to make things worse is stuff Taiwan full of nuclear cruise missiles." She muttered, handing the phone back just as another flight of jets roared overhead.
"They m." Ichika said as the sound faded.
"Well, so much for sleep. Should we get some more work done on the boat?" Lily changed the subject.
"Yeah, we might as well." Ichika replied as the rest of the girls began emerging from their sleeping areas fully dressed. Lily took the opportunity to get fully dressed herself, and Ichika followed suit. Soon, the entire group was assembled outside, just in time for yet another flight to pass by overhead.
Their boat sat at the base of a tree near a small picnic table. At the moment it was comprised of a single pontoon lying on its side with several structural supports sticking out into the air, while a second pontoon lay right side up, ready to complete the assembly.
Attaching the two pontoons together was a short but strenuous endeavor, requiring six girls to hold them steady while Ichika and Rei aligned the structural supports for them to be hammered into place. Four rowers' benches were then hammered into place on top of the now-securely assembled pontoons.
Planes of all shapes and sizes flew overhead as they worked, ranging from more F-15s and F-2s, to much larger C-2 transports and P-1 patrol planes. It seemed as though the entire JASDF was mobilizing.
Not to be outdone, the JGSDF joined in with a veritable armada of helicopters thundering overhead during morning roll call, flying low enough that the forms of waving pilots could be seen in some of the cockpits.
The display of military hardware was on everyone's mind that day, and the discussions among the students were equal parts excited and nervous.
Rin in particular seemed extremely concerned come lunchtime, when their two groups once again met up together to share the food they made. The Chinese girl was uncharacteristically somber, paying little mind to the food in front of her as she periodically glanced up at the sky.
"Are you alright?" Ichika asked. It was obvious that she wasn't. Rin shrugged in response.
"Yeah, just... Thinking." She said.
"About this morning?" Ichika prompted, causing Rin to sigh and nod.
"I... I knew tensions were rising between China and the US, but I didn't think it was this bad." She said.
"What do you mean? It's just a training exercise between nations." One of Cecilia's squadmates interjected.
"A training exercise simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and Okinawa." Lily replied.
"It's more than just that. There are four American carrier battle groups now positioned within easy striking distance of the Chinese mainland." Rin said.
"Soon to be five. The Enterprise just finished sea trials and is heading this way." One of her squadmates interjected.
"America is clearly trying to send a very aggressive message about its involvement in the region." Cai said.
"China's own fleet appears to be on alert as well. They've got two of their own carriers present in the East China Sea, and two others in the South China Sea. I read they're even bringing some older ships out of mothballs in response." Cecilia commented.
"You're right about that. From what I've heard, the Liaoning's training squadrons are being replaced with combat units again." One of her squadmates said.
"That's a lot of warships..." Ayane muttered.
"Yeah. If something goes wrong..." Cai said.
"Let's not think about that." Shizune said.
"Hopefully, this will all blow over soon. As far as I can tell, this is just diplomatic saber rattling. No side has anything to gain from a war." Tatenashi said, smoothly injecting herself into the conversation as her own group sat down. Ichika greeted her, before Cecilia responded.
"It's the perfect setup for one though. You've got a huge redeployment of military units in preparation to either receive or launch a strike at China, an unprecedented amount of naval assets moving into the region, and there is no guarantee that any of them will leave once the exercise is concluded. If anything, knowing the American president, he'll forget to give the order to withdraw them once the exercise is finished." She said.
"I'd argue against that, but it sounds like exactly what he'd do." Sarah sighed.
"And if that happens, things will only get worse." Cecilia replied.
The table was silent for a while, before Lily changed the subject.
"So, how is your boat coming along? Ours is pretty much done." She said.
"Of course yours is nearly done, you have an unfair advantage." Cecilia said, clearly grateful for the change in subject.
"Guilty as charged." Ichika said.
"Anyway, ours is coming along well enough. If we work hard at it, we might be able to have it ready today." Cecilia said.
"That's good to hear. What about you, Houki?" Ichika asked.
"Oh, our group is almost done. Thank you for making all the parts so easy to put together." Houki replied.
"I was told to make them easy to assemble without any tools more complex than a hammer or a wrench." Ichika replied.
"Yeah, anything more complex than hammering pegs into slots would probably have taken us more than a week." Cecilia said.
"You'd be surprised. I did include some bearings, gears and chains for some more ambitious work." Ichika said.
"Yeah, we're trying to figure out what to do with them. We're thinking of a rudder." Tatenashi said.
"We're probably not going to do anything with them. Not enough time or expertise. What about you?" Cecilia asked.
"I've been thinking of a paddle wheel design. Hopefully I can get it to work in time." Ichika replied.
"Well, good luck to you then!"
Of course, the paddle wheel proved a bit more difficult to put together in practice, and it remained only partially assembled by the time the sun set and the group retired for the night.
The next day, the group was eating lunch when Lily tapped Ichika on the shoulder.
"Hey Ichika, there's someone behind you that looks like she wants to ask you out." Her words caused Ichika to pause, fork halfway to his mouth. After a moment, he set it down and looked over his shoulder to see a girl he didn't recognize, surrounded by what looked to be the rest of her squadron. As soon as her squadmates saw him turn, they pushed her forward none too gently. Windmilling her arms, the girl barely managed to maintain her balance.
"Hi!" She finally said. After a few moments of somewhat awkward silence, she blinked and continued.
"Oh, sorry Orimura-san... Anyway, hello! I... I have a bit of a question for you." She continued.
"What is it?" Ichika asked, already trying to figure out how he could turn her down without doing too much damage.
"Well, I'm trying to get my class-3 ISDL, but in order to do that I need to complete a certification project." The girl replied. Ichika raised an eyebrow in response. That was not at all what he'd expected, but it was a welcome surprise.
"I see. I take it you want my advice?" He asked.
"Well... Yeah. I was wondering if equipping my squadron with gear I made myself would work for a certification project." She answered.
"I would imagine so." Ichika replied.
"Also, I was wondering if I could, I dunno, license-produce some of the equipment you're selling in your store. I... I'm not all that confident that I can make a good missile weapon, but I have so many ideas that would be so much better with missile launchers on them!" The girl exclaimed.
"Hmm... I don't see any reason why you couldn't, although if you just strap equipment I make to a Blank Slate I don't think it would qualify."
"Well yeah, I plan on getting everything else done myself. I just want the missiles... And maybe impulse drives, I'm not sure yet. Oh, and can you make quantum batteries? Having access to a few of those would make things a lot easier!" The girl chattered on. At the mention of quantum batteries, Ichika raised his hand.
"I'm afraid I can't provide you with quantum batteries, ah..." He paused.
"Oh! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! Midori Okuno, but you can call me Oku-chan if you like! So... What was that about quantum batteries?" She interjected.
"Right. Anyway, the issue is that quantum batteries are restricted items. You need a license to produce and distribute them, and while I'm able to produce them just fine, I legally cannot give them out to anyone..." He watched Okuno's face fall, before a thought occurred to him.
"But IS Academy might have a stockpile of them lying around, and I do know that the academy does have a right to distribute them. You will have to ask an instructor though." Just like that, the girl's face lit up again.
"Perfect! That makes things so much easier! Say, do you mind helping me with the design process? ISDL criteria don't forbid us being mentored during the production of the certification project, right?" She asked. Ichika thought for a moment before responding.
"Hmm... I would really like to, but unfortunately my schedule is pretty full. I probably won't be able to do much to help you... However, I do know someone who can. Do you know Sarashiki Kanzashi?" He asked.
"Well, I saw her fight in the last tournament, but I don't know her, no..." Okuno replied.
"Kanzashi has a class-three ISDL, and in my personal opinion is a shoe-in for a class four given what she's done to that Uchigane of hers. I'm sure she'd love to help. Tell her I sent you, and she'll probably agree." The girl's ecstatic grin at that statement was, for a brief moment, bright enough to substitute for a flashlight.
"Thank you! I'll do just that! Oh, I can't wait! Thanks again, and see you around!" She exclaimed, rushing back to her squadmates.
"Well, that was interesting." Lily commented once they had left.
"So... Why aren't you allowed to distribute quantum batteries?" Sarah asked.
"Do you want to answer that, or shall I?" Lily asked in response.
"Go ahead." Ichika replied, curious to see her take on the matter.
"Alright. Long story short, a quantum battery can contain an immense amount of energy. Furthermore, that energy can be liberated fairly easily and quickly. That means that a quantum battery can be easily jury-rigged into a powerful improvised explosive, easily stronger than any practical fertilizer bomb, whilst simultaneously being not much bigger than a car battery. That's not even getting into the fact that literally anyone can download a template file for a laser cannon nowadays and build one with access to the right facilities. Facilities that, I might add, are open to the public in quite a few nations, the US included. There are some other reasons as well, but I believe those two are the big ones." Lily explained.
"That's pretty much it." Ichika said.
"But then, why are you allowed to build them?" Sarah asked.
"The Infinite Arsenal is property of WSI, which is permitted to produce them. I'm simply the operator of the production equipment, and WSI has given me permission to produce as many as I wish. It's abusing a loophole, but it's a lot easier than having an inspector following me around." Ichika replied.
"Ah..."
"So, do you think she can do it?" Rei asked.
"Build her squadron a set of equipment? Probably. She has everything she needs, and enough knowledge to design something that works. As for her class-3 ISDL? That depends on how much of her own work goes into the project, as opposed to refitting someone else's designs to suit her. Retrofitting a Blank Slate with her own equipment would definitely qualify her though."
"I see. So, does that mean our store will have competition soon?" Theresa asked. Ichika laughed in response.
"Unless they can mass produce their gear? No. If anything, they'll be buying from us." He replied.
"Excellent..." Theresa cackled, eliciting giggles from the rest of the girls.
The rest of the day was spent mopping up the few remaining tasks assigned, before finishing the installation of the paddle wheel. Once it was firmly in place and turning properly, Ichika pronounced the boat lakeworthy. The S.S. Floatynator, named via a quick internet poll conducted by Theresa, was promptly commissioned with great difficulty by Lily, who repeatedly slammed a bottle of soda across its front before it finally ruptured. They then spent a bit of time practicing rowing in place, getting ready for the following day.
Finally, it came time for the boat race. The morning had been mostly spent hauling boats out onto the lakeside, with some groups having more success than others. One boat broke in half during transport, leaving its dejected crew to scramble to desperately put it back together. Another group hadn't even built their boat, electing to instead bring a beach ball and ignore the race entirely.
The boats that survived the trip to the beach fell into two categories, for the most part. The first was a configuration with the two pontoons being laid side by side and connected with benches, a configuration that Ichika, Tatenashi and Kanzashi's groups used. The second had the two pontoons laid end to end and attached together that way. This longboat configuration was chosen by Cecilia and Laura's groups. However, while this one was probably the faster choice, its weakness lay in how the two pontoons were connected together, and one boat of this design had already snapped in half. The round pontoons would also be subject to rolling, and not all groups had attempted to compensate for this.
"Hey Ichika!" He returned Charlotte's greeting before the blonde turned back to her own boat. Her choice of swimwear was a fairly simple light blue bikini, coupled with a floral sarong of a similar color.
From the other side of their boat, Laura noticed his gaze lingering on her friend, and quirked an eyebrow. She was wearing a dark purple one-piece that somehow managed to remain sleek and sporty-looking despite being comprised more of cutouts than fabric.
"Like what you see?" She called out. Ichika hesitated for only a moment before smirking.
"As a matter of fact, I do." He replied, watching as Laura suddenly flushed while the rest of her squadmates gasped.
"Pervert..." Charlotte said, an affectionate smile on her face as she sat down at the rear of her boat.
Beyond them, Cecilia and Rin had just gotten their boat into position. It was almost identical to Laura and Charlotte's, with the two pontoons being joined end to end with as many boards as they could get into place. Some extra stability was provided by several horizontal boards jutting out of the sides at regular intervals, the same small boards that Ichika had elected to use in his paddle wheel.
He watched as Rin scrambled onto the front of the boat, the Chinese girl wearing a sporty dark blue two-piece with white trim. She turned back a moment later, calling for Cecilia to get on. The British girl took a few more moments to adjust her own swimsuit, a light blue bikini with several golden frills that appeared to be a size or two too small, before getting onto the rearmost space on the boat.
"Enjoying yourself?" Lily's teasing voice caused him to turn. The blonde was wearing a simple black one-piece, and she wore it well. It was a choice mirrored by the rest of his squadron, who had elected to wear simple and practical swimwear, mostly old school swimsuits, to the race in the hopefully unlikely event of them having to swim back to shore.
"I have no idea what you mean." Ichika replied, maintaining eye contact.
"So you're saying you don't enjoy the sight of so many pretty girls on the beach in swimsuits?" Lily asked, leaning forward with a smirk on her face and placing a hand on his knee. Ichika couldn't help but blush at the sight, and Lily giggled.
"Of course you do, don't be so embarrassed by it! It's only natural!" She said, before standing back up.
"Welcome to our squadron!" Shizune laughed as Lily sauntered over to the front of the boat, where a makeshift drum for her to call time with had been attached. She made a show of stretching her arms and shoulders before getting on.
Soon, all the surviving boats were ready, and Giorgi gave the first whistle of three. Ichika promptly dismounted along with Ayane and Sakura, the three of them getting into position to push the boat into the water.
"Alright girls... And boy too! Listen up!" There was a bit of polite laughter at Giorgi's announcement.
"Excluding the girls over there," Giorgi gestured towards the group playing ball on the beach, which had now grown to include the group whose boat had broken during transport, "Your goal is simple! Get across the lake, pick up a flag, and bring it back here! This will be the last task of the exercise, so give it your all! On your marks... Get set... Go!"
When the whistle came, the three of them shoved with all their might and the boat quickly slid across the sand and into the water. The girls onboard shoved off with their oars, propelling the boat forward until it was floating. Now, Ichika grabbed hold and clambered on. Ayane clambered on next, followed by Sakura. They were quickly handed their oars, while Ichika grabbed the paddle wheel crank and began turning.
Almost immediately, he realized that he had underestimated just how much harder it would be to turn the wheel when it was partially submerged in water. Still, it wasn't too difficult, especially once the rowers began stroking.
His boat quickly pulled ahead, although there were several others that did so as well. Most of them were longboat designs, the long hulls having been easier to slip into the water. Not all of them had made it though, as another boat snapped in half within moments of touching the lake. One of the pieces spun away and gently bumped into another boat, slowing it down.
A shrieking sound behind him caused him to look towards the front of the boat. There, ahead and to his left, a longboat had just rolled over and unceremoniously deposited its crew into the water.
However, while the competition was thinning, those that survived continued to surge ahead, while behind them the rest of the more stable pontoon designs began gathering speed. He in turn redoubled his efforts, while up near the prow Lily began beating the drum faster.
However, it was not enough. Glancing ahead over his shoulder once again, Ichika saw that Cecilia and Charlotte's boats had maintained their early lead. Laura and Charlotte's boat in particular was at the head of the pack, with the four other surviving longboats hot on their heels.
That left Ichika at the head of the Pontoon group which, with the exception of Kanzashi's group which had also managed to rig up a paddle wheel, were falling behind. Their boats were simply too heavy to keep up. Houki and Tatenashi were at the head of this group, although even with ten oars and a slightly lighter boat, they were unlikely to catch up with the two paddle wheelers.
Up ahead, another longboat overturned. Where the crew of the first had given up after their boat had overturned twice in rapid succession, these girls quickly swam back to their boat and got back on. By the time Ichika and Kanzashi had passed them, they were moving once more, although they had been reduced to only six oars and didn't seem very likely to regain their former position.
Laura's group ended up being the first to make it to the other shore, extending their oars and braking as Laura dove into the water, swimming the remaining distance. Cecilia's group did the same moments later, with Rin jumping off to grab the flag. Another boat barreled past them moments later, running itself aground and promptly breaking in half as its crew jumped off.
As Laura and Rin were grabbing their respective flags and returning to their boats, their crews were now taking advantage of their boats' symmetrical nature. Rather than bothering to turn the boat around, they merely turned around until they were facing the other direction. Then, as their respective flag-bearers scrambled back aboard, they began rowing back to shore. As his own boat began braking at Lily's command, Laura shot him a smirk as hers accelerated back towards the starting line.
"I'll grab the flag, the rest of you, turn this boat around!" Ichika ordered, before jumping into the water. Swimming as fast as he could, he soon came ashore, found and grabbed his objective, and then ran back into the water. The girls had gotten the boat mostly turned around by the time he came back, and he helped nudge the boat into position before, with some help from Ayane, he clambered back aboard. A moment later, the boat began moving again, just a few moments before Kanzashi returned to her boat with her flag.
Hearing shouting up ahead, he turned just in time to see the recovered longboat collide with Cecilia's boat, its crew shoving several of her squadmates overboard as they began a boarding action, intending to secure the other group's oars, steal their flag, and potentially hijack their boat. The two groups were still fighting when Ichika's group passed them.
Several more collisions took place as the returning longboats passed through the pontoons still making their way to the opposite shore. One snapped in half, and the rest either got stuck or were subject to boarding actions of their own.
"Ramming speed!" He heard a familiar voice shout, and he twisted around to see Tatenashi and Houki's group boring in on them, clearly aiming for a head-on collision.
"Brace for impact!" He heard Lily shout just before their two boats collided. Fortunately, the collision was not perfectly head-on, and Tatenashi's boat spun out, spilling several of its rowers overboard as Ichika continued to crank the paddle wheel. His arms ached from exertion as slowly his boat began moving again as some of the rowers used their oars to shove Tatenashi's boat out of the way. With that challenge gone, there was nothing else standing between them and the finish line.
Unsurprisingly, Laura and Charlotte finished first, their group having threaded the needle and slid through the pontoon boats without any collisions. Kanzashi had somehow managed to do the same with her own boat, leading to her group taking an honorable second place.
That left Ichika's own group to finish third by a comfortable margin thanks in part to the situation on the lake rapidly growing to resemble the Battle of Ecnomus more than any kind of race. Eventually, once the remaining groups that had any intention of finishing the race did so, Giorgi called an end to the exercise.
"Alright! To the ones that did finish, well done. To the rest of you, I hope you had fun. With that said, there is a slight problem. Look behind you." Ichika did so, and saw a smattering of boat debris floating on the surface of the lake, comprised of a mix of broken boats and lost oars.
"Now, normally I'd give a zero to anyone who failed to finish what should have been a simple race, but just this once, I will make an exception." Giorgi explained.
"Our goal is to leave this place as we came to it. That means every mess we make must be cleaned up. With that in mind, all groups that did not finish the race now have an opportunity to earn bonus points for every piece of debris they recover. Before you try it, no, tossing your own oars overboard and then recovering them does not count. Now, chop-chop! Get to it!" He ordered, and about half of the groups on the beach returned to their boats. Giorgi waited for them to push off and move a decent distance away before continuing.
"As for the rest of you, you're free for the rest of the day. There'll be a barbecue down on the beach soon, but for now feel free to head back to your tents and grab anything you need. We will be leaving tomorrow morning, so perhaps some preparations may be prudent as well." He said.
As the crowd dispersed, Giorgi waved Ichika over. Telling Lily to go on ahead without him, he allowed his mentor to lead him into a pavilion where several other instructors, Chifuyu included, were relaxing. His sister glanced over as he approached, nodded, and then returned her attention to her phone.
"I take it you want my help with cleaning up?" Ichika asked once they were seated.
"Yes. I assume you can just stow the various bits away?" Giorgi asked, and Ichika nodded.
"I can take care of them, plus the containers they came in. I take it you want me to do it secretly?" He asked.
"Pretty much. Officially there are no IS suits here, so we'll do it after everyone else is already packed up and assembled in the parking lot." Giorgi replied.
"That should not be a problem. Is there anything else?"
"No, unless you want to help me with setting things up. An extra pair of hands certainly wouldn't help." Giorgi replied, and Ichika agreed.
The work turned out to mostly be hauling bags of coal and coolers full of food from where they were stored in the kitchens to the beach while several other instructors set up several volleyball nets and helped with moving the debris that the students cleaning up the lake were bringing in out of the way. Chifuyu soon joined them, and Ichika couldn't help but be a bit envious of how easily she was able to lift and carry the heavy coal bags that even Giorgi had a bit of difficulty with. Clearly, the Russian man shared his sentiment, and Chifuyu clearly noticed judging by the smug looks she sent them whenever she lifted a bag up onto her shoulder without any visible sign of exertion.
The work was finished relatively fast with their combined effort, and Ichika soon headed back to his group's tent.
"Lily, are you sure this will fit me?' He heard Ayane's voice as he approached the tent.
"I think it should. Besides, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?" Lily replied.
"Is it safe for me to come in?" Ichika asked, pausing outside the entrance.
"Well, you cou-"
"No!" Ayane's panicked shout cut Lily off.
"Alright, got it." Ichika laughed, stepping back away from the tent.
He spent the next few minutes listening with half an ear to the goings-on inside the tent while he pulled up the news on his watch.
The currently ongoing military exercises were, unsurprisingly, at the top of his feed. While very little information was publicly available, it did not stop the media from speculating. Article headlines ranged from 'CHINESE NAVY ANNIHILATED IN SIMULATED WAR!' to 'ARE WE HELPLESS? 'CHINESE' NAVY DOMINATES IN EXERCISE!', with each and every commentator with internet access having their own opinions to share regarding what the observed fleet movements meant.
Fortunately, no major diplomatic incidents had taken place so far outside of the usual exchange of condemnations between the involved superpowers.
"Hey Ichika, how do we look?" Lily's question drew him away from the article he was reading, and he turned to see her and Ayane emerge from the tent. Lily had changed out of her more practical swimsuit from earlier and put on a more elaborate black bikini, while her normally loose hair had been pulled back into a ponytail.
Ayane, on the other hand, had put on a black one-piece with a pair of mesh cutouts strategically positioned over the chest and navel areas. Her hair had been done up in an elaborate high ponytail, similar to how Houki normally wore it. An embarrassed blush colored her face.
"Look, he's speechless! What did I tell you?" Lily's exclamation a few seconds later caused Ichika to flush red as well.
"You two look great!" He said somewhat lamely. Then, "I didn't know you had something like that, Ayane."
"W-Well, Mallory-san decided to let me try it on just now..." Ayane replied.
"And it fits perfectly! Don't worry about returning it, by the way. Consider it yours to keep!" Lily added.
"Y-You don't have to-"
"Nonsense, I insist!" Lily patted Ayane on the back before returning her attention to Ichika.
"So, what about you? You going to stick with that?" She gestured at his own swim trunks.
"My choice is black or dark blue, and I think these blue ones look batter on me." He replied.
"Yeah... It's a shame, really. Us girls have all kinds of options for what to wear to the beach, while for you boys it's just that in your choice of color." Lily sighed dramatically.
"Well, there are some other styles of male swimwear..." Ayane said.
"And they all look awful." Lily replied.
Just then, the entry flap flipped open, and Sakura poked her head out.
"Are we showing off now?" She asked.
"Sure! Come join us!" Lily beamed, and Sakura emerged fully, Theresa following close behind her. They too had changed out of their more practical swimwear from earlier, with Sakura donning a simple, frilly, light blue two-piece that fit her slender form very well, while Theresa had put on an elaborate brown bikini held together with a gordian network of criss-crossing straps that seemed like it would be impossible to put on without at least two other people helping.
Lily's squadron followed close behind, wearing bikinis of various colors and patterns, and Rei was the last one out, having decided to stick with a sleek and practical one-piece, albeit one with a little more color than the dark blue one she'd worn previously. With everyone ready, they headed back to the beach where the smell of smoke was just starting to become noticeable as the barbecue fires were being lit.
"Hey Ichika!" Tatenashi greeted him as his group approached. She was wearing a blue striped bikini, the bottom of which was hidden beneath a transparent fabric skirt. Her group was sifting through the loose pile of collected boat debris.
"Hey Tatenashi! What are you doing?" Ichika waved back.
"Well, Houki had the idea of having lunch out on the lake, but cramming fifty people into three boats would make it a bit uncomfortable. So, we decided to put some more boats together from these." She gestured back at the pile. Two pontoons had already been removed from it, and were now laying side by side while several of Houki's squadmates were hammering in supports under their leader's direction. Houki was wearing light blue and red bikini decorated with flower ornaments of various colors.
"Sounds like a plan. You need any help?" Ichika asked.
"Sure! We're thinking three new boats, plus some boards to cover up the gaps in the ones we've already got." Tatenashi replied. Ichika nodded and got to work. His group followed suit. Laura and Kanzashi's groups arrived shortly afterwards and joined in as well, along with Cecilia's group a few minutes later. Fifty people working on the project resulted in it being finished surprisingly fast, with three new boats sitting on the beach next to the three older ones, which had been modified with additional planks to fill the gaps between the rowing benches. Finally, several improvised clamps had been constructed to prevent the boats from drifting apart once they were on the lake. However, as fast as they worked, they had't quite been fast enough to beat the line forming for food.
Eventually though, they had all ordered their meals from the instructors' pavilion. There was a surprisingly large variety available, ranging from hot dogs and hamburgers, to some rather unexpected foods, like sushi. Ichika's lunch selection ended up being a skewer of shashlik from Giorgi, as well as a roll of sushi. He set his food down on his group's boat, where Cecilia, Rin and Houki were already waiting. Rin had elected to keep the swimsuit she was wearing during the boat race, while Cecilia had changed into a front-tied blue and white bikini.
"Whoa..." At Rin's exclamation, he turned around to see Lily slowly walking over, carefully balancing two heavily loaded plates in her hands while holding onto a shashlik skewer with her teeth.
"Lily, are you sure you can eat all that?" Cecilia asked as her fellow blonde walked over and, miraculously, managed to set both plates down onto the boat without issue.
"Well, I do like a good food..." Lily laughed as she sat down between Cecilia and Rin.
"Tell me about it. If we weren't such good friends, I'd be advocating for strapping you down to a lab table and finding out exactly how it is you can eat so much!" He heard Cai exclaim from the boat beside theirs.
"I work out. That, and good genetics means what little I keep goes to all the right places." Lily shrugged.
"I... I don't think that's a healthy way of thinking in the long term." Cecilia said as the rest of the girls trickled in, finding an open spot on a boat and taking a seat. Kanzashi and Honne ended up joining Ichika on his boat, with Tatenashi following close behind. The two of them were both wearing white swimsuits, although Kanzashi's was a bit fancier in its design.
Lily shrugged in response.
"I've eaten like this all my life and had zero problems. Besides, ask my squadmates and they'd tell you that this is far from the most I've had in one sitting." At that, Cecilia and Rin looked towards the other boat, and saw Lily's squadmates nodding in unison.
"Well now I'm jealous." Rin huffed, although the smile stayed on her face.
"Can't help being me." Lily gave an exaggerated shrug before taking a bite of lamb meat.
Once everyone was aboard, Ichika gently pushed the boat into the water before getting back on and, slowly so as not to splash the passengers, cranked the paddle wheel to take the boat out into the middle of the lake. The rest of the boats followed suit. When they were a good distance from the shore, they slowed down and slowly came closer until they could be clamped together. Soon, all six boats were clamped together in a rough line abreast, and Ichika sat up from the paddle wheel and, squeezing into a spot between Lily and Tatenashi, began to eat his meal.
"So, how has everyone's week been?" Lily asked a few minutes later.
"It's been great!" Laura exclaimed from where she sat across from Ichika on the boat beside theirs.
"Yeah. I'm certainly looking forward to doing it again next year. This is happening again next year, right?" Charlotte asked.
"I think so, although he might not let us go in order to give some new people a chance." Ichika replied.
"Well, we could always volunteer to act as assistant instructors if that's the case." Tatenashi pointed out.
"Good point. He probably wouldn't say no to that." Ichika nodded.
"You know Giorgi really well, don't you?" Lily asked.
"Yeah. We knew each other for a while before IS Academy. He was in charge of physical conditioning when I was training to operate the IS." Ichika replied.
"Well, that makes sense... He certainly looks the part." Lily flexed her arm to illustrate her point.
"I can only hope I look like that when I'm his age!" Ichika laughed, and the rest of the girls in the raft nodded.
"So how was training under him like?" Lily asked.
"Pretty brutal, but he seemed to know exactly how hard he needed to push me. Everything from basic exercises to build stamina to martial arts... He taught me a style he learned in while in the Spetsnaz, although I'm not the best at it..." Ichika shrugged.
"Wait, he's ex-Spetsnaz?" Lily exclaimed.
"Does that mean you can do a backflip axe-throw?" One of Cecilia's squadmates exclaimed.
"Yes, and no. I... I'm not sure exactly where he's served while in the military, but after being discharged he went on to work as a private security contractor. Somehow from there, he ended up working at WSI, and now he's teaching here." Ichika explained, sticking to a vague cover story.
"Ah... You know, now that you mention it, he reminds me of John Hardy... He was an ex-Navy SEAL who got brought in to handle our physical conditioning and evaluations during RepCamp. We called him Hardass, for obvious reasons, and he wasn't exactly the nicest guy. He wasn't mean or anything, just strict, but I couldn't help shake the feeling that he didn't really see us as anything more than a bunch of spoiled brats playing with military hardware. I'm pretty sure that the fact that he was responsible for making about two thirds of the trainees wash out had something to do with that as well." Lily replied.
"Wow... How many was that?" Tatenashi asked.
"Around eight hundred, give or take." Lily replied.
"That's a lot!" Houki exclaimed.
"Sounds about right. My application group started at around five thousand girls total, although it was down to two thousand by the end of the second day. In the end though, they narrowed it down to me." Rin said.
"Whoa... I'm glad I never had to go through that kind of competitive training." Charlotte replied.
"Yeah. It... It gets hard once you're down to the last few candidates. At that point, you all know each other, and you know that no matter what, any one of you will be great for the role, but at the end of the day there is only one IS." Rin sighed.
"It does get pretty bad. It's even worse once you realize that even those top candidates that stay in until the end will likely never get another chance. Even if there was another IS next year, they've got to go through the whole competition process again, and most girls just don't have the ability to endure that kind of stress all over again. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and if they don't make it, it's usually gone forever." Laura sighed. Ichika felt Tatenashi shift slightly at those words, and he glanced over to see her frowning down at the water below. She brightened up when she saw his concerned look, but it was clear that there was something bothering her. Still, now was not the time nor the place to ask her.
"But we're here now, aren't we? That means we beat the odds. We're the best of the best, and we should take pride in that." Cecilia said.
"Yeah... But still, let's not forget the ones that could have been here instead." Laura replied.
The boats were silent for a while, before Cecilia spoke up.
"You know, we should make an organization of some sort."
"What do you mean?" Houki asked.
"Well, I was thinking that perhaps we could make some sort of official club for the elite pilots of IS Academy. A sort of... I'm not sure how to describe it... Fraternity? Sorority! Yes, that's it. Where we can invite the best students of each year, host events, and maybe even get a building of our own." Cecilia replied.
"That... That sounds really elitist. Besides, we're already pretty much a group like that." Rin pointed out.
"I think she just wants to make it official. Out of curiosity, Tatenashi, would that be allowed?" Laura asked.
"I mean, I don't think there's anything prohibiting it... And I suppose you could get a building of your own if you don't mind it being a disused arena. From what I've heard, they're deciding to cease maintaining all but one of the IS arenas, and I don't think they'd be particularly opposed to you buying one." Tatenashi shrugged.
"I say we table it for now. We can think of it for a while, and if we think it's a good idea in a few weeks' time, then we can start planning things out." Ichika said.
"Fair enough." Cecilia nodded.
The rest of the day was spent either out on the lake or on the beach. As the sun set, they ran their boats onto the shore for the last time, joined the rest of the students in roasting dinner over several bonfires, and then headed off to shower and sleep in their tents for the last time.
Madoka gave a small sigh of relief as she plopped down onto the couch in the hotel suite, her muscles still burning somewhat from a protracted exercise session in the resort's gymnasium. Squall had insisted on daily exercise sessions, saying that it was both to help deal with the lingering effects of malnutrition from her childhood and to keep her in acceptable physical condition during their stay. She'd even done all the exercise alongside her, although the gesture would have had more impact had Squall not been genetically enhanced and thus able to complete her workouts while barely even breaking a sweat.
Naturally, the exercises were followed by a protracted session in the gilded room, which had rapidly become Madoka's favorite room in the hotel, but even this failed to completely dispel her exhaustion.
"Is everything packed?" Squall asked, sitting down beside her with a laptop in hand.
"Ready to leave at a moment's notice." Madoka replied, gesturing at the pile of suitcases carrying the many, many gifts that Squall had lavished on her in the past month. Mostly clothes and jewelry, but there were a few more useful odds and ends in the mix, such as a pair of knives and a concealable cell phone jammer.
"Excellent. I'll have it moved down tomorrow morning before we leave." Squall replied, opening the laptop up.
"Now, I am sure you are eager to know exactly who our new cell members are." She continued as the laptop booted up.
"I take it you are about to tell me?" Madoka raised an eyebrow.
"You take the fun out of everything, you know that?" Squall replied without vitriol. Madoka simply shrugged in response.
"Anyway, we have six new members joining our operations team, plus another twenty five for the logistics and support division. Finally, our cell is having a Swordfish-class multipurpose submarine attached to it, along with the embarked crew and Golem compliment." Squall explained.
"I see you're leveraging your father's new position quite effectively." Madoka commented.
"Should I not?" Squall raised an eyebrow, and Madoka shook her head.
"Not at all." She gave her leader a smile, which Squall returned.
"Still, why the submarine? I was under the impression that those were under a separate command structure." Madoka asked.
"Normally yes. However, Coronation calls for an exception." Squall replied.
"Coronation... I keep hearing that word and yet you never tell me what it means." Madoka griped.
"I know it's frustrating, but you don't have to wait for long. Once the order goes out, you will be briefed in full." Squall replied as she opened a file.
"Now, it's time for introductions. As I said before, we'll have six more people joining us in the ops team. These are their profiles. Read through them, and tell me what you think." Squall handed her laptop over, and Madoka began to read.
The first new member was Emilie Celeste, an IS pilot fresh out of training. One of the best pilots in the IS training program, only to be placed at the back of the IS distribution queue due to a lack of connections. Squall's father had promptly gotten his tendrils into her, given her an IS, and assigned her to Squall's cell with a note to evaluate her viability for a future command role. Skilled on paper, no experience, and owed a debt to Squall's father. Nothing to personally tie her to Squall though.
Second was Nadiya Dajani. Another IS pilot, she had apparently caught the eye of a noble scion and been set to marry into his family before her lover's parents had a change of heart. She had subsequently been jilted, thrown into a personal prison, and likely threatened with death before Aaron's coup killed her captors. Her skill wasn't mentioned much, but she had a small amount of experience. Nothing to personally tie her to Squall, but once again she was indebted to her father.
Next up were Hasegawa Naoko and Ishigaki Michiru, both of whom had apparently been vassals in the service of the Orimura family before Aaron took control. They had subsequently been evaluated for IS compatibility and found to be unusually high. They were subsequently put through a crash training course before being shipped out to Squall. That meant they were even greener than Emilie, and their link to Aaron seemed a bit more tenuous. Of course, considering how Reikou often treated her vassals, there would probably be a fair bit of animosity between them and Madoka based on family name alone.
The final IS pilot of the group was Shirley Carlyle, who had apparently served under Aaron's wife for a short while before she was killed in action. Apparently she had grown to idolize the woman, and had been devastated when she had died. From that point on, she had served under Aaron and had participated in the pacification of rogue Orimura family members afterwards. Experienced, skilled, loyal and potentially bearing a slight grudge against the Orimura family. That meant she was a potential problem.
The last new member of the Sakura Cell Operations Team was Varga Marik. While he himself was not an IS pilot, he was a trained analyst and cyberwarfare director. Even better, he had no less than five AI coming along with him. Finally, the cell would have a dedicated interface between the support division and the operations team, and it would have proper AI-based cyberwarfare capability to boot. Naturally, he had also worked with Aaron in the past, including on a redacted project that probably had something to do with Coronation.
"I notice that none of them are from any of the big noble houses." Madoka finally said.
"My father decided to use more meritocratic methods when it came to choosing my subordinates." Squall replied.
"Carlyle is also the only one of them with a good amount of real experience as part of an ops team. Nadiya's had even less time than me and I haven't even been deployed for a full year, while the rest haven't done anything outside of training. That could be a problem." Madoka continued.
"True. However, you were green yourself not even a year ago, and look how well you turned out. They've all got natural talent, so we should have plenty to work with." Squall replied.
"Yes, but what about Coronation? I have no idea what it entails, but it's definitely going to be huge. As someone who actually knows what is going on, do you believe them to be up to the task?" Madoka pressed, hoping to gain a bit more information about the mysterious operation.
"Yes. I have complete faith in their ability on that front." Squall replied. When no more information was forthcoming, Madoka nodded.
"If you say so..." She replied.
"I take it you have no problems with any of them?" Squall asked.
"Naoko and Michiru could be problematic. I'm not particularly familiar with them, but they might object to having to serve under an Orimura again." Madoka replied.
"I see. I don't think it will be much of a problem. After all, you are serving under me, which means any slight against you is a slight against me. I'm confident that they are smart enough to know this. If it does become a problem though, tell me and I will have it sorted out." Squall said.
"I see. In that case, I don't believe there are any other issues." Madoka answered.
"Perfect. Now, if there is nothing else, dinner should be arriving soon. Shall we adjourn to the table?"
"That sounds nice." Madoka replied, standing and following her commander, her mind still working away at the puzzle that was Coronation.
Apparently, her cell's role was important enough to warrant the detachment of a submarine from normal patrols in order to place it on permanent standby. Judging by how the submarine had already been detached, zero hour was approaching rapidly.
Then there was the curious fact that Aaron had packed Squall's unit full of individuals loyal to him alone. Judging by how so many of the new members lacked experience, personal loyalty had been factored in as being higher than even competence. On one hand it made sense, as these were the same people who would be guarding his daughter's back in combat. On the other hand though, Madoka knew that there were plenty of veterans with no noble house affiliation that Aaron could have shuffled around instead.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Was Aaron planning another, even greater coup? Was the position of second in command not good enough for him? No, that was laughable. He had plenty of power already, and the Phantom Guard was almost certainly holding a rifle to his head to curtail any further ambitions. No, a second coup couldn't be the reason. If not that, then it was probably something to do with Coronation again. Madoka bit back a frustrated sigh at the lack of information available to her.
Hopefully, the secrecy was just operational security and not something specifically targeted at her. She wouldn't have put it past Squall to be stringing her along with kindness only to pull the rug out from under her at the last moment.
Fortunately, there would be six new members to probe for information soon. If they knew anything, then Madoka would get it out of them.
A/N: Here it is. Originally intended to be released last month, I ended up being hit hard by writer's block early on. The problem was that the teambuilding exercises arc was ultimately not as exciting as the arc I have planned immediately after it, so whenever I tried to plan this chapter out, my mind inevitably drifted to what is soon to come! Fortunately, I was able to get the chapter done in spite of this.
Anyway, this concludes the teambuilding exercises arc. Expect a transitional chapter or two to lead into the next arc, which incidentally is one that I've been planning for a long, LONG time.
Now, as for what occurred in this chapter, the first scene was originally intended to be the very first task the students would take part in. However, it quickly grew in scope from a simple, throwaway task that could be easily alluded to offscreen to a very big event that would easily warrant a scene of its own. Conversely, another event that I'd originally planned to feature, namely blindfolded rock climbing, ended up being too cumbersome and was discarded.
Following this, I was at a complete loss as to what to do with the rest of the days as I'd practically ran out of exciting tasks to write. This held me up for a while before I finally decided on a scene that would allude to goings-on in the wider world. In this case, a protracted military exercises raising tensions in the region significantly, which may or may not prove important down the line. This scene naturally led into a conversation with Rin, who is understandably disconcerted by these events.
The next scene was actually the last addition to this chapter, as I felt that timeskipping two days just seemed a bit awkward. Fun fact: Okuno is a bit of an expy of a friend of mine on discord, who has had many, MANY ideas for IS suits ranging from practical to completely ludicrous. Definitely an improvement over the original Okuno concept, which was your standard blushing, stammering schoolgirl.
Next we have the boat race and the accompanying beach scenes. I apologize for putting so many girls into bikinis, but the problem is that while more elaborate swimming attire can be better tailored to fit a character's personality/looks, it also requires a cumbersome amount of descriptors to portray. Most of the canon girls are wearing their alternative swimsuits from ISAB, if you want visual references.
As for the boat race itself, it was quite fun to write. Nice, simple fun with no assholes in IS suits or harem antics to interrupt it. The subsequent conversation between the members of the elite pilots' club, both new and old, was also fun to write as it gave me a small chance to let Lily talk with the other girls.
It also allowed me to comment on the Representative Candidate system. After all, it's easy to forget that while we only see a few RepCans, there were almost certainly many, MANY other girls that tried and failed to get the position. Then, there are those that never got a chance in the first place because very few nations would have the core reserves to constantly release new IS suits every year. So with that in mind, let's press F to pay respects to the many, many other IS girls that dared to dream big, but were shot down by cold, hard statistics.
Finally we have the Madoka scene at the end, which is mostly focused around introducing the new members of Sakura Cell. At last, reinforcements have arrived for Squall and Madoka, ready to assist in future operations.
As always, I hope you all enjoyed the story and are looking forward to the next chapter.