Ami even needed just 55 Minutes before she rolled up at the base and took him home.
Eight hours later they were already back on the way to the base.
"Didn't I just see you a few moments ago?" He said when he entered the car.
"Not my fault you work overtime. But maybe your superior has an ear for your appeal. If she's not busy using you as the Galaxy's most sophisticated Taxi." She answered.
Touché!
"You got the word yet? Whole Command Chain is in for a meeting at 8." She told him while they were on the way to the palace.
"So it's official, we're off to Space." He stated bluntly.
"This time, we'll be really going on a mission. And from what I know, you, Michiru and Haruka gonna be quite busy. Looks like we're clearing the way to Coruscant." She told, waiting for his reaction.
"Well, at least that means just two Senshi that can work on my nerves out there." He replied.
"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure all of the girls have your radio frequencies." She said and giggled.
Leaving the car at one of the side entrance's parking lots they got out and went straight to the military headquarter on the east side of the palace.
Ami directed them to a big conference room and excused herself. A lot of people from the upper echelon of the Task Force where already there.
When he got inside, Admiral Artemis walked up to him, SunTzu saluted and stood straight.
"At ease. I heard the flight training was quite fruitful yesterday Lieutenant."
"Yes, Sir. All the intended Senshi including Princess and Neo-Queen were my passengers and got accustomed to flying with me in the last 48 hours."
"Good. Listen, i heard the Senshi, especially the Inner Ones were a bit of work for you. They're good girls but they're quite the bunch. I speak out of experience. Don't take it personal. Just know that we can count on them if we need them." Artemis explained and kinda apologized for the girls antics.
"It wasn't a problem. We could finish the training to success. Girls are Girls, Sir!"
"Girls are Girls, you can say that again." The white haired Officer laughed and nodded.
"You got quite the amount of flying coming up for you. Are you and your ship ready?"
"Affirmative Sir, we're good to go."
"Excellent, now if you would excuse me." Artemis said and went to a group of ship officers nearby.
"Sir!" He saluted again and then moved to the last row of tables in the room, where he sat down next to Taego, the Shistavanian Pilot of Terra Squadron. They both briefed each other on the info they already got.
Marvin and Odegana were sitting a few more rows to the front and the other two Pilots of Terra Squadron were sitting next to some Larty-Pilots, SunTzu heard, they trained escort Missions lately.
More and more people trickled in and while he was talking Taego somebody black haired sat down next to him. He turned around and saw Hotaru, dressed in black as usual, sit down next to him.
She nodded and he nodded back. Looks like his Shadow was back.
The grim looking Team Leaders of the Special Forces Team entered and seized a table for them. All of them were wearing Combat Clothes already and had their sidearms open on them. They were followed by the rest of the Outer Senshi, Michiru greeted him with a Wink, Haruka with a Nod and Setsuna's look got even more grim when she saw that Saturn was sitting next to him.
A few minutes later, the royal Family and the Inner Senshi entered.
The attendants stood up and bowed.
The queen told them to be at ease and thanked them for their coming although everything had been set up in a hurry.
She then proceeded with the news, that most of them already knew. They were going on a real, official Mission as Part of the Armed Forces of the Galactic Alliance, their first one to be precise.
To increase safety on the Coruscantian Trade Exchange they were to scout the Hyperlane from earth to Coruscant. They would drop out of Hyperspace every few lightyears plus on all the beacon points and scan for possible adversaries and dangers.
Artemis as official Commander of the Task Force took the word.
"Our two special Fighter Craft, commandeered by Lieutenants Tenou and SunTzu will fly ahead a few thousand kilometers and scan, with the rest of the Task Force following. Terra Squadron as well as the SpecFor Teams and the Gunships will be on standby." The admiral briefed the room.
Great, most of the work in the next few days was left to him and his two wingman. Well at least AICA would be happy, with the amount of flying they'd be doing.
And maybe he could at least enjoy space a bit.
He looked over to Haruka who looked back to him and rolled her eyes. She was thinking the same.
Mamoru came on next, telling them, that their last fight sparked some good attention for them and that a group of free working mercenaries wanted to join them. They recently lost their home world in the wild space against an massive enemy force equipped with CIS Ships, Droids and Fighters and were now looking for a place to stay. After they heard what TF Sol did with the Pirates on the CTE, they decided to give Sol a chance.
The meeting finished and people went off to get ready for the deployment.
Hotaru leaned onto him and asked.
"Need a Co-Pilot, Observer or just someone to keep you and AICA Company?"
"Honestly, no. We're good, you just would bore yourself to dead anyway. And I'm not interested in your Mom getting even more mad at me, as she obviously already is."
"Oh, I couldn't see or hear any indication that she's angry with you. She just said she needs to train regularly with you, you appear not ready for your duty." Hotaru told him, making his eyes go big.
Great, now she wanted to kick his ass on a daily. Maybe he could fake his own death on the Way to Coruscant and escape. He maybe could hide in the Maw or so.
Hotaru didn't give up so easily tho.
"Hey, someone told me you went to space with her yesterday" She took on a mischievous smile. "Looks like the reserved flight was taken. Does that person know that you've planned for this?"
Did a sixteen year old teenager just blackmail him into taking her along in space?
"Okay. I'll see which part of the route is the safest one and, if Setsuna is okay with it, you can come along for a bit. You're pretty corrupt for your age, Kiddo." He agreed finally.
"Oh, you got me all wrong, I just do it because someone has to take care of you."
"If you say so. By the way, do you know if they speak basic on Dathomir?" he answered with a sigh.
The blonde haired Senshi here were bonkers, but the dark haired ones were plainly a threat, even the underage one.
He linked up with his wingmen and they went for some morning PT before breakfast. Haruka was quite pissed with their task.
"I fucking discovered this bloody Hyperlane, why do I have to scan it all the way to Coruscant again? This is casting pearls before swine!"
"Oh Baby, after all we're the most fitting ship for this task. And SunTzu will be there too, to keep us company." Michiru tried to cheer up her other half.
"I bet he will sleep in the first chance he gets and let AICA do the flying." Haruka barked.
How did she found out about his plan?
They had breakfast with the rest of the pilots with Marvin briefing them with some more specific infos about the route and line of action. The trip to Coruscant which usually shouldn't take longer than four hours in hyperspace would take a couple of days at least now because the scanning to be done. Also the Mercenaries were to be met in the first Hyperspace Beacon on the way to Coruscant, after that the Voyager and AICA would take the lead and scout.
They got back to the Airbase and checked in with the Ground Crew, that just finished the inspections of the fighters. The Spacefighter Element of Taskforce Sol was ready.
All that was left was to wait. They killed the time with installing some modifications in their fighters, the Voyager got some speakers so AICA's Music could be heard into it too. SunTzu modified one of his in-cockpit-lockers, so that it fit his HK 416C safely and he could draw it with easy access from the Cockpit. No more getting out and running around the ship to be seriously packing heat. He also used the time to stock up on some more efficient ammo. Bob even gave him a special box of 9mm Ammo for his Glock. The bullets had great piercing power but also could cause a hydrostatic shock it was said. Sounded like the right thing to bring up against living Vonduun Armor.
A few hours later, the Far Side was ready to lift off, with the Taskforce's Ground Element neatly packed inside. Except for the two of them inside the Voyager, all the Senshi including Chibi-Moon and Serenity were also on board. King Endymion was on the bridge with Artemis beside him and gave to order to left off.
The huge Star Cruiser slowly rose off while the Ground Crew saluted it's departure.
A few dozen meters off it's landing spot, the two main thrusters ignited and began to speed it up towards the sky. It passed palace and the Crystal tower and began to gain speed. The seven Starfighters of the Taskforce got into formation around it, with Marvin's A-Wing in the middle.
Earth's first regularly military mission into the Galaxy was a go.
They passed the Earth Space Defense Forces with it's Cruiser Selene and the ESDF's Starfighter Squadron, including it's planet based Squadron Oceania, got into a guard of honor formation and sent the Task Force off with the best wishing.
At the height of the moon the TF's fighters landed on board and the Gladiator Cruiser jumped into Hyperspace.
33 Minutes later Terra Squadron and the Far Side welcomed the Companion, a CR-90 Corvette into the Taskforce and the Corvette took point on the starboard side of the Cruiser. After a thorough scan of the proximity of the first Hyperspace Beacon and the neighboring Customs Station and a Starfighter Patrol following after, the now bigger Taskforce went for it's next jump.
Another thirty minutes later, SunTzu sat inside AICA and calibrated his sensors finely. Now their mission began.
When the Far Side returned to real space AICA and the Voyager took off and glided out the hangar. They greeted the new arrived Companion with a Passover and left for the void of space, their scanners on max.
Everything was clear on this part of the Exchange and just six uneventful hours later they landed back in the Far Side.
The next days we're going to be fun, especially when it was decided that even more time was to spend in real time.
After the first three sorties they arrived the second beacon. A RASP Patrol was stationed there and greeted them with a Harrier Frigate and some old New Republic Defender Fighters.
Haruka, Michiru and SunTzu didn't care though. They just fell in their beds.
Two days later, it was already Wednesday now, they were halfway to their Destination. The two pilots and the gunner were beyond bored at that point. Neither music nor games did help anymore. Especially Haruka was annoyed as hell, so when Hotaru declared that she was allowed to take passenger with SunTzu it was a welcoming change.
Haruka even changed places with Michiru and let her fly a while to teach Hotaru about space faring and it's various dangers and characteristics on their own.
The teenage girl absorbed all the info eagerly.
"You're really interested in this stuff, aren't you?" SunTzu asked her over the intercom.
"I am, I always wanted to journey alongside Haruka and Michiru. Space is beautiful. And it's so quiet." The teenager answered with a big smile, making SunTzu smile too.
"Our little one always was thirsty for knowledge." Michiru told with a hint of melancholy. "I still remember how often she came with some books about topics way to advanced for her age and asked us to learn with her."
"Man, those were the times back then. We were all living together on the outskirts. Remember, it was back then when we awoke again. The fight against Queen Nehellenia. It feels so distant and far away now." Haruka chimed in, clearly melancholic too.
"I know, like a lifetime away." Michiru commented.
"Oh Hotaru, how I wished you'd always stayed that small." Haruka laughed.
They indulged a bit more in the past till an embarrassed Hotaru protested because SunTzu heard her childhood stories and they switched to the story how Haruka first discovered the Hyperlane they were traveling along now.
Another few hours later they landed back in their Flag Ship and the TF held it's position for the night. It was Wednesday Night Earth Time and that meant that Marvin did his Radio Show, although he was tired as hell SunTzu couldn't do other than listen to it for a few hours before falling asleep. The music wasn't bad if one was into seventies and eighties music actually.
The next morning, after less sleep than he should have had and a quick breakfast he checked in with Karlena about AICAs maintenance. Everything was okay but even the A-Wing was starting to complain about just flying forward towards a Coruscant light years away.
SunTzu felt that way too more than he would admit. Haruka was straight pissed only anymore and even Michiru seemed stressed. Life on the ship was going slow, people were training and taking care of their gear, interrupted by a lot of alarm drills instated by Artemis.
Another day of scouting followed. Because the proximity to Coruscant the shifts now either were longer or there were more than the days before.
On the evening of the Thursday, SunTzu took a small break in between flights, wolfing down some energy bars at the observation deck listening to music that could be played there. One could even link their phone there.
He was tired, bored, annoyed and needed a real meal.
"God, you really became an Animal." A voice came in from behind.
Rei. Of course, his outgrowing beard and animalistic eating had to be seen by her.
"At least I feel like a whipped dog." He huffed. "One more day of stupid flying forward and I probably take a detour through the next asteroid."
He finished the dry bar and swallowed it down with some isotonic drink he brought.
"Care if I join your picnic?" She asked.
"Contrary to my look and behavior while eating. I don't bite. Yet. But I wouldn't bet on it in 24 hours."
She giggled and sat down next to him. She was wearing comfortable clothes. How he wish he could just get out of his flight suit too and just relax a bit. They both lighted a cigarette each.
"At least you can enjoy the quietness of space out there." She said and pointed to the stars in front of them. "And you don't have to participate in all this alarm trainings Artemis fell so in love with."
"You tell me. If he does another one of these when I'm actually able to sleep I'll mutiny."
"Let me know if you need someone for pyrotechnics for it then."
They both laughed. He had to admit that he missed seeing her the last few days.
They stayed there in silence, smoking and looking out to the stars for a few more moments before their cigarettes were finished. He got up and walked to the door.
"Gotta get back, some more flying straight forwards is waiting. See you later Rei."
"Hey TopGun?" He turned around again. "Try to not make that detour through that asteroid. There's not so much smokers up here that are as entertaining as you are." She smiled at him.
"I'll try my best. But you know me, I'm totally down for stupid ideas." Saying this he turned around and waved.
Back in AICA, who to his surprise, also showed signs of boredom, he got ready to lift off again.
He was observing Haruka and Michiru who wearily looking rock-paper-scissored who had to fly this time. He was hoping that didn't lead to a heated discussion like it did the second last time ago. The three of them were done. Haruka won and Michiru had to fly. He didn't thought that the teal haired girl actually could curse so loud.
Another run without any events ended a few hours later and at least they were allowed to catch some sleep now. They were tired to death but decided to head for a quick bite first.
They sat down in the top cafeteria and had some sandwiches and juice.
They sat next to the wall and Haruka and SunTzu leaned against it, while Michiru cowered up in between her lover's legs. They were holding hands.
"You know what's nice?" SunTzu asked.
"Please tell me there is someone finally taking actions because it's irresponsible to let us fly so much?"
"No. But it's a point. Tomorrow evening we should be done with this shit." He said and bit into his sandwich.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. About bloody time. Hey Michiru you still gonna eat this?"
She couldn't hear her, because she already napped away leaning on Haruka.
The next, way too early, morning the got ready for the second last patrol.
Finally something happened as they brought up a CEC freighter that couldn't Identify itself. Pretty fast it became obvious that a broken Transmitter was responsible for the missing Identification. At least something happened.
Early afternoon, after a halfway decent lunch and a small nap they were back on the last patrol.
Nothing happened anymore but the prospect that they were done made them feel more happy than the last few days.
Three hours later they jumped for the last few light years to Coruscant into Hyperspace singing.
They entered the Coruscant System and why the other two hummed further, Haruka announced.
"Hiya lovely Coruscant! Can't believe we finally bloody made it!"
"Would you be so kind and tell our mothership that we're done here now?"
"Affirmative my dear wingman!"
Haruka called in the Far Side and a few minutes later the Cruiser and it's accompanying Corvette as well as an A-Wing and four Headhunter fell outta Hyperspace next to them.
"End of shift!" SunTzu announced as they made their way to land in the Far Side.
"I smuggled some Guinness into my cabine. Mission de-briefing in 15 Minutes at our place?"
Michiru audibly cleared her throat.
"Okay thirty minutes."
"Thirty Minutes, but then I'm there. No matter if you're still naked or not."
After landing he gave AICA into the caring hands of Karlena and the rest of the ground crew and headed up straight to his quarter. He took a long, hot shower and changed into something comfortable.
After he downed a bottle of water he went over to the room of his wingmen. Philanthropist he was he even gave them an extra five minutes.
He knocked and after a minute a smiling Michiru, dressed in a Yukata the color of her hair opened and motioned him to come in.
Haruka, smiling satisfied, was opening their fridge and pulled out a six pack of Guinness cans.
"Oh the cans so they stay fresh. Awesome. Hey Michiru if you don't marry her I'm considering it right now actually."
Haruka smiled and looked at him.
"You wish."
They filled up three glasses with beer and toasted to their first successful mission in duty of the Galactic Alliance.
"CHEERS!" They said unisono and took a big sip each.
"Yeah, let's never do that again." Haruka said and they all laughed.