Chapter 25: The Next Mission

Mission briefings were, as a simple matter of course, as common to the student body of St. Freya as their regular tests and other school activities were. Considering the school's purpose of fostering Valkyries and Knights, even as teenagers these kinds of occurrences, being told they might be walking into the thing that'll result in their death, was commonplace enough. As such it made more than a fair bit of rather disturbing sense most of St. Freya's students were themselves orphans from Honkai incidents, or simply those brave enough to take that risk knowing the odds. The rest were usually the ones raised under Schicksal as it were through family members.

And it wasn't any sooner than classes being concluded for the day than the members of Squad V found themselves seated in the classroom again. But not for an extra lesson, but rather for the details of the upcoming mission from Cecilia herself.

Others in the room of course included Himeko, as she was the squad leader after all, Hisashi, Siegfried, and Theresa.

"If everyone is ready, let's begin the briefing," Cecilia scanned the group, getting various affirmations from all present. With a quick tap to the projection board, a series of locale images were brought up. A city coast line, open waters, and an underwater view leading to what seemed like an ordinary cave system. But experience told everyone that likely wasn't the case. "As you all know, ever since the Impact incident several months ago, Schicksal has been monitoring global Honkai Energy activity to catch any and all spikes in known Sources that could likely grow larger because of the spread the Impact caused. The mission you're all being assigned is to investigate one such Source, following a lead Schicksal has been tracking for some time."

"Going by the images, this isn't just some cleanup op, is it?" Himeko hummed, Cecilia shaking her head.

"No. Rather… this is a scouting and retrieval mission," the five students certainly took interest in that. "The regions you're being shown are located in the Chinese coastline, in the region that was known as Shenzhou in older times. The monitoring here is because in the seas near the coastline, it's known that a Judgement Class Honkai Beast has been dormant for almost a thousand years."

"You're talking about the Chiyou, right?" Fu Hua said, raising a hand. "From the Jixuanyuan legends. Considering that's my homeland, I'm quite well educated on those stories. Chiyou was a beast the Empress Ji Xuanyuan fought to seal away during the early days of current civilization. Would that mean this mission is investigating the Nine Realms from those stories?"

"Well now you're just taking the fun out of it," Theresa chuckled.

"But it is correct," Cecilia remarked. "Yes. The mission plan is to investigate this location and see if it's the Nine Realms. If you can confirm that is true, then your mission from there is to locate and retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword located within it, along with the Stigmata that would be attached to it."

"A sword?" Kiana tilted her head. "Wait, I think I… ah! It's one of the Divine Keys! Like Papa's Judgment of Shamash or the Abyss Flower!"

"Well no wonder this is a priority mission," Siegfried whistled. "Let's see… the Xuanyuan Sword is one of the 10th Keys if I recall correctly. Getting out hands on that would be a major gain for us."

"One of?" Kiana questioned, tilting her head the other way.

"The 10th Divine Key was special in that was the only one the Previous Civilization was able to mass produce," Soleil remarked, his finger tapping on his pendant. "That's because as their records indicate, the 10th Herrscher wasn't a single entity. Herrscher of Legion is what they called it. Meaning that when they took it down, they had a pretty big haul of Cores to slap into Soulium constructs to make weapons out of. Schicksal has another instance of a 10th Key already, the Water's Edge."

"Soulium… oh yeah, that nano-metal the old civilization developed," Kiana hummed. "The Divine Keys are made out of that stuff… it was used to insulate Honkai Energy, right?"

"Correct," Cecilia nodded. A wave of her hand brought up a diagram of a shaped composite. "Soulium as a material is something that's incredibly valuable to the creation of anti-Honkai technology. However, we lack the means to replicate it despite years of study meaning we understand it's structure quite well. As such, any sources of it are incredibly valuable. Be them for processing into useable form, or the weapons left behind by the Old Civilization in the ruins spread across the world."

"Still not sure if this thing is made of the stuff…" Soleil lifted his pendant upwards, rolling the key's arm through his fingers. "Whatever it is, it's some kind of material that only interacts with the Empyrean Stigmata."

"So then, acquiring the Xuanyuan Sword would lead to furthered research on Soulium technology," Bronya said, getting an affirming nod as well. "And having its own Stigmata would mean that Schicksal's research into Artificial Stigmata could improve. The Bronya will add, it is likely Anti-Entropy is also aware of this activity."

"Wouldn't be a retrieval op is they weren't also prime to try and swipe it," Hisashi let out a bitter sigh. The man's eyes then came to Himeko, who's expression was far sterner than any of the other's in the room. "So, in summary, Hyperion will be deploying to the area near Shenzhou, and Squad V will investigate to confirm whether or not we've located the Nine Realms. On doing so, retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword and get to exfil, hopefully before Anti-Entropy comes poking around too."

"You'll get some added help," Theresa chuckled. "Siegfried and I are gonna be tagging along as backup, just in case something goes… wonky. Since we know there might be a Judgment Class beast sleeping in the waters, in case the stories about it not being dead are true, all the better to have two Divine Key wielders tagging along."

"Though Hyperion's main cannon could certainly do some damage," Siegfried chuckled. "Hopefully we can have it be easy on us and be little more than the retrieval operation."

"You all have a week to prepare," Cecilia said. "I suggest spending that time studying what you can on the Nine Realms… or just ask Fu Hua. I'm sure she'll be eager to share what she knows, yes?"

"Of course," Fu Hua nodded. "I suggest we actually discuss this at the dorm. I can tell you all what I know so we're as prepared as possible."

"That's the class rep for ya'," Soleil snickered. "Sounds good to me."

"Ahhh, another lecture?" Kiana whined, barely even responding when Mei pat her on the head.

"Now now, it's things we need to know. I'll cook some snacks while we talk so it's easier to listen."

"The Bronya will also do added research."

"Then dismissed," Cecilia clapped her hands to shut the projectors off, everyone beginning to file out of the classroom. And as they were, Hisashi made sure to follow Himeko as she was about storming down the halls.

"Himeko, slow down a bit!" Hisashi called out, the major slowing just enough for him to catch up. "Don't think I'm not seeing that look on your face. You're about to spend all your time digging into everything, aren't you?"

"Why would I not?!" Himeko sounded almost offended at the question. "Hisashi, this isn't just a Divine Key! It's a natural Stigmata like what Kiana and Soleil have! If we get that, then…"

"I know," Hisashi stopped Himeko by taking her hand, the red-headed woman pausing. "There's nobody who doesn't understand why you'd take this seriously better than I do. And you have every right to. But… don't burn yourself out trying to do this."

"I won't," Himeko said, giving a confident chuckle. "I know my body is a mess, but I've held out for this long. I've still got time, as little as it is. I need to make sure I don't waste any of it. If we can find a solution… then I need to take the chance by the horns."

"And there's that impatience… not that you can afford to be impatient."

"Hey…" Himeko sighed, then leaning up and pecking Hisashi on the cheek. "I'll be fine. I promised, didn't I? I'm not going to let myself die that easily. And you said you'd stick by me to the end, right?"

"That I did," Hisashi sighed himself, then gently taking Himeko by the chin and kissing her full on, the woman taking only a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck for the few moments it lasted. When Hisashi pulled away, Himeko gave him a sly chuckle. "But I also promised I'd make sure you didn't get yourself killed. Don't go burning the candle at both ends, alright?"

"You're such a worrywart. Where'd that loudmouth brat I met ten years ago end up?"

"He got older and realized how important the bratty girl he had to drag through the snow meant to him."

"Well, our wonderful kids are gonna be there to keep me in check too," Himeko chuckled. "So? You going to help me dig into whatever info we've got for the next week or not?"

"Never said I wasn't. Just don't go making me dive in after you, or make those kids have to drag you out. Got it?"

"Got it."

Above the coastal region of Shenzhou, the Hyperion drifted through the sky, the flying battleship lowering down above the sea as it neared its final destination before deployment.

And activity within the ship was far from steady as the crew prepared. And of course, so did the members of Squad V get to equipping themselves in the ship's equipment area. It was standard practice among Schicksal's frontline fighters to be outfitted in a variety of Battlesuit patterns, ranging from the standard-issue if customized to the more specialized for those who distinguished themselves and earned the notoriety to have such specialized equipment authorized for them.

To Soleil's own thankfulness, the locker room had divisions for men and women, making getting changed into the usual battlesuit undergarments less of a hassle. Though he was quite sure Kiana was being whacked around by Mei on the other end as the girls were preparing their own equipment.

"Oi, Soleil!" Soleil stopped his changing process as he heard Hisashi, leaning back to see the Captain approaching both with a stern expression but also carrying quite the sizable case with him. "Good, not suited up already."

"What's the occasion?" Soleil hummed, adjusting the fingerless forearm glove he'd been finishing donning.

"New suit for ya', issue from HQ itself," Hisashi set the case onto the bench, Soleil giving the man an understandably confused look. "The techies told me it came in from a… benefactor, let's say. Considering your Empyreans have some different abilities, it was really only a matter of time before they got you some equipment better suited for ya'. That normal suit tends to short out on ya, yeah?"

"I mean not like it's bad," Soleil put a hand to the armored jacket in the locker. "Buuut… yeah. Stuff made for normal Honkai inputs tends to get whack the second I start using my own abilities."

"Figured," Hisashi chuckled as he popped the release on the case, a hiss of air coming from it as he lifted it open. "Thankfully for you, the guys and gals at the Saint Labs do good work, be it weapons or battlesuits. So let's make sure it fits, yeah?"

"Yeah yeah," Soleil stepped to the case, his eyes falling to the contents. The first thing he withdrew from it was a heavy, white and gold accented half-sleeved jacket, the black interior and matching hood giving some contrast. Turning the coat around, Soleil couldn't help but show a wry smirk at spotting the Schicksal wing logo stitched into the back. His eyes going from the coat to the rest of the case's contents, Soleil got to work donning it all.

While it seemed heavy, the coat turned out to be rather light as Soleil donned it and an armored shirt to go beneath, small panels shifting about as the segment worked itself into form along his torso. After that was the thick fatigue pants, pure black to contrast the coat itself. Following it came the armor pieces. White gauntlets and sabatons that locked into place on Soleil's forearms and lower legs with quick cinches of mechanical panels, capped off by an equipment belt fitted with carriers for typical standard field items.

"So, how's it feel?" Hisashi hummed as Soleil set the remaining earpieces into place, a visor then flashing into form before vanishing as quickly once they were activated.

"Lighter than it looks," Soleil noted, tapping one of the boots into place. Or at least he would have, were it not all so well fitted. A hand then brushed to the hem of the jacket, which stopped just at the mid-thigh. "Clearly somebody figured I'd look good in a trench coat. What's the designation?"

"Multi-role Battlesuit type 'Empyrean Knight.' Pretty clear they knew who the thing was being made for. It's got some handy functions aside from the standard Time Fracture device."

"Probably a new version of an older pattern my family developed," Soleil noted. He then reached into the locker, pulling out the same sword and spear he'd taken from the ME Corp lab back in Nagazora, fitting the sheathed sword to his hip and finding the folded spear fit quite nicely into a slot on the belt. Turning back to the case, Soleil then pulled out a black handgun he took note as clearly being of the same construction as his other two weapons. "Well ain't that funny."

"Those things you lifted from that lab were similar designs produced in Helheim Lab," Hisashi noted, Soleil humming as he fit the pistol's holster next to his sword, slotting the firearm in with a quick spin. "And… can I ask you something? Between the two of us."

"Huh? Sure…"

"Keep an eye on Himeko when you guys are down there," Soleil raised a brow to that request. "I'm sure even that scatterbrain Kiana's noticed how intense Himeko's been about this mission since it was assigned to you all. And I'm also sure you can guess the reason why."

"… the state her body is in from all the artificial Stigmata operations," Soleil's words carried a grim weight to them, Hisashi nodding. "It's not really anything unusual. Me and the girls… we're kind of anomalies. Me and Kiana are from bloodlines with natural Stigmatas, two in Kiana's case. Mei is a Herrscher. And… Bronya got her powers through other methods. And Fu Hua just seems to be special."

"Whereas folks like me and Himeko have to get artificial ones etched onto us… and those usually come with drawbacks," Hisashi pulled up his right sleeve, revealing a red marking like a blade on his forearm. "I've only ever had the one, and according to the docs I took to it pretty well. So my body adjusted pretty easily. But Himeko… honestly, I don't think there's another Valkyrie who's gone as far as she has when it comes to these things. She's powerful but… that has a cost."

"We've all seen the medical reports," Soleil mumbled. "So lemme guess, you're thinking even with all the prep, something could go wrong?"

"It's the way it is when it comes to dealing with this kind of stuff. Divine Keys are powerful, but people who can't handle their power… well, I'm sure you have an idea of what happens in those cases."

"So… if Himeko can't handle the Xuanyuan Sword?"

"If the worst case happens… pull her out of there alive," Hisashi stepped forward, putting a hand to Soleil's shoulder. "And I'm asking you specifically because you're an Empyrean. The way your powers work, how they interact with Honkai Energy… I barely know a damn thing about them, but after what I saw in Nagazora and have seen you do on your missions these past few months…"

"You don't need to ask me, y'know?" Soleil chuckled, his slight smile giving a reassuring feeling to the man. "I know these missions always have a risk, and it's policy to put down teammates before they can turn if they succumb to corruption. But… I'm not accepting anything other than one hundred percent. And it's not just me who'd want to save Himeko if something happened. We're a pretty tightly wound group after all. Perks of four of us living in a Honkai infested city for a month."

"Huh, I guess that would make you all pretty tight," Hisashi mused.

"And besides, we've got some damn good backup if things go sideways. So… time for the full briefing, yeah?"

"Yeah… and, Soleil…" Hisashi tapped Soleil on the shoulder as he passed. "Thanks. Just gonna warn ya, Himeko's reckless as hell."

"Heh, I've been around the Major for three months. Think I got that one figured out."

"Then good luck."

Himeko looked around her team as they were all now gathered in Hyperion's deployment bay, right over the waters where their target supposedly was. For as much as Himeko placed herself in the role of both a teacher and commander, she had to admit, there was a certain pang in her chest at always having to see those teenagers in the same battle gear as she was. As hardened as she thought she was about it, as an adult, there was a certain regret to know those kids couldn't enjoy their youth like anyone else their age.

Huh, so they got Soleil some new equipment… about time really. As was routine, Himeko took a moment to look over her team in their full gear. As all of them but Fu Hua were ranked B from their recent tests, it meant that they were issued battlesuits and weapons that, while somewhat run of the mill, thanks to St. Freya's protocols were still fitted to their specs.

Kiana was in perhaps the most standard issue battlesuit for a Valkyrie, the White Comet. It was a simple piece, a form hugging suit with heavier portions around the torso for the added thruster pack. Himeko remembered quite fondly how Kiana had griped about having to fill out the entire requisition form, resulting in some addons that were more random than anything.

A primarily white, black and orange accented color scheme, with star markings since Kiana had simply put something random into her form. It's main selling point was the Burst Mode, a funneling of Honkai Energy from the back mounted reactor and activated by the v-shaped crystal mounted on the collar. Himeko could only wonder if Kiana made her voice command to activate the mode "Neko-Charm" as a joke.

Mei was fitted in a suit for close range fighters like herself. The Crimson Impulse line. A rather streamlined armor, original design drafts for it had called for flight abilities. But when those proved a bit too complex to leave the drawing board, it was left with short-burst hovering and glide functions. It certainly suited a katana user like Mei though. Mei's specifications had the suit designed in a dark pink coloration with part of the skirt armor marked in the rai character.

Like Kiana's White Comet, the Crimson Impulse also came with a burst function. But rather than a performance boosting mode, the Cirmson Impulse featured the Exceed Mode, a short burst of energy funneled through the linked weapon's system. The suit was a bit too fragile in comparison to have a sudden burst of energy funneled through it without breaking from the excess output.

Bronya was outfitted in a suit for ranged support, Yamabuki Armor. Unsurprisingly, Bronya had found a place to stick a Homu pin onto the armor despite the way it somewhat clashed with the battlesuit. The main design function of the Yamabuki suit was the Honkai shielding to protect the user from return fire. Under normal circumstances, the weakness was the fact the shield wasn't one-way and had to be lowered to fire.

However, it was particularly suited to Bronya since she did little of the fighting herself, leaving it to Project Bunny's remote operation while she could hunker down in the projected shield in safety and run support functions. Though perhaps there was something to be said about the overall design of the suit and how it meshed with Bronya's petite frame. Himeko could only hope the girl was due for a growth spurt or two in the next few years.

Fu Hua was expectedly the one in far more personalized equipment than the only slightly modified standard gear of the other girls, considering she was an A Rank like Himeko herself. The battlesuit she donned was light in form, clearly made with Fu Hua's preferred martial arts style in mind. Dark grey, white accented armor and flowing white cloth that covered well enough for protection over the body suit beneath, yet not so much that it would interfere with the flexibility of her limbs and body for striking.

And fittingly, rather than handheld weapons, the girl's forearms were covered in gauntlet pattern weapons, a Pantheon-series weapon called the Cygnus Gauntlets, primarily black weapons with pinion blade extensions at the shoulders. Himeko recalled the suit's name as being Silver Crane, though she wasn't familiar with whatever extra functions Fu Hua had installed into it.

As for Himeko herself, she was in a stripped-down version of the Nexus Armor she had donned back in Nagazora, leaving mostly the crimson bodysuit that went beneath it and the armor that fit on her right arm and around the shoulders. This particular version was better suited for general combat since the full variant required hooking right to the Hyperion yet retained the use of an admittedly weaker version of the full-power Nexus System. Himeko wasn't about to go countering a Herrscher's attack that could level buildings with it, but it was still plenty powerful in its own right.

And while normally Himeko was prone to some of the fancier claymores produced by Schicksal, for this mission Hisashi was having her reign it in and bring along a red and black sword that matched her Nexus Armor in function. It was simple sure, but Himeko wasn't complaining. Hisashi had griped at her enough for deciding to use the stripped down armor as it was, so she figured it best to at least not push it. "Don't get getting too reckless out there," he'd made sure to remind her.

"All geared up? Good. Let's go over details one more time," Himeko leaned on her sword as she finished her scan of the team. "Right we're right above the suspected location of the Nine Realms. Our job is to dive in and confirm the sources from intel and investigate. If it turns out to be true, then we're too head further in and retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword kept within there and bring it back to St. Freya. Short and simple, sound good, sweeties?"

"There's a chance of AE showing up too, right?" Kiana said, raising a hand. "What if their mechs end up showing up while we're checking the place out?"

"Just smash your way through them," Himeko chuckled. She then turned to Fu Hua. "Fu Hua, since you're the most familiar with Shenzhou, if we come across any relics, can I leave translating to you?"

"Of course," Fu Hua nodded. "I'll make sure we can progress smoothly, no matter what we find."

"Good. Bronya," Himeko turned as Bronya was browsing some windows. "The topological scans from the sonar done?"

"Da," nodded the small girl, spinning the opened holo-window around. It showed a rather detailed scan of the sea floor just below the ship. And what was taken most note of was the large, seemingly horned formation standing out among the normal seafloor makeup. "The Bronya will need to be in closer proximity to confirm the accuracy of the intelligence division's data."

"Well then I hope you're all ready for a swim," Himeko chuckled as she hefted her sword to her back. With a knock of her left arm to a panel nearby, a section opened up to reveal a row of face covering visors and small propulsion backs. "We'll dive in with these rebreather masks and underwater packs to get closer to that structure so Bronya can scan it. Once it's confirmed, we head in. Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Then let's hop to it kiddos!"

Everyone quickly dawned the underwater equipment as the bay door began to open up, exposing the team to the howling air and Hyperion's roaring engines, the sea below them glittering blue in the afternoon sunlight. At Himeko's wave of a hand, they all took turns diving into the water below, breaking the surface and into the deep blue beyond it.

As the team descended, a large shadow in the distance showed just how close they were to their intended destination. No words were had as they swam deeper and further, sea life of all kinds flitting around them as the underwater formation grew clearer and clearer the closer they got to it.

"Wow… it's gorgeous down here!" Somehow to none's surprise it was Kiana who found the time to be distracted, her hands brushing near a group of small jellyfish moving up around her.

"Kiana, what are you doing?" Himeko muttered. "Focus!"

"Ah, sorry!"

"Major, there's a strong Honkai reaction detected in the cave ahead," Mei noted, the group coming to a stop as now their destination was in clear sight.

"The location and shape of the readings match the information provided," Bronya noted, her eyes scanning the rock formation before them. "There's a 34.2% possibility this is, indeed, the Nine Realms."

"All right! Let's move out!" Himeko ordered.

Yet as the others continued ahead, Soleil couldn't help but stop, his eyes scanning along the formation. While what was no doubt countless years of sea currents bringing all kinds of vegetation and other sea life to grow around it, something about the shape just bothered him. Horns… a maw… this thing looks like the head of some kind of monster. Thought the boy, his eyes narrowed in a wary gaze as he continued looking along it. Is it just some kind of coincidence from erosion? Or… is there something more to this place than that? Something about this just… feels off. What the heck we getting into by heading into this?"

"Soleil?" Himeko spoke up over the comm line, turning as she continued swimming. "Did you get distracted too? Come on, don't lag behind!"

"Roger," Soleil shook his head and swam on. By now he was maybe a bit too used to these troubled feelings. Perhaps it would be best to just focus on the mission alone rather than let his mind wander on possible scenarios of things just getting out of hand. For now, at least.