Nadesico – Truth and Consequences by StarFire
rsman_404@yahoo.com

Author's Note: Legal stuff: Nadesico, its plot, and its characters are property of Xebec and I am in no way affiliated with them. This is my first attempt at fanfic so any feedback, even on mechanical and writing issues is appreciated. Please ask permission before distributing.

Chapter 5: Trial By Fire


The bridge crew on the Excalibur kept at their duties in a frenzied pace in order to not lose the Cosmos. In the center, at the captain's position, Akatsuki Nagare maintained an inscrutable face as he watched the pursuit on the view screen. It was more like a children's game than a serious mission he thought. The Cosmos was running, he was chasing, and he in turn was being chased by the Nadesico. But always what were games and roughhousing to children became serious and potentially lethal affairs among adults.
At first they seemed to be heading to Venus, an interesting destination due to the fact there was no human habitation besides several research stations. Much like Antarctica was on Earth before the dome cities arose. But the Cosmos passed by Venus like it was not even there. It did not even use its gravity to slingshot itself to a higher velocity, it just plunged further inwards toward the sun. They had soon figured out that the sun had to be their destination. Mercury's orbit was too far removed from the flight path and there was no other reason for them to take this direct path unless they were going for a straight shot to Uranus, again unlikely because the Cosmos was hardly conserving fuel or resources for such a trip at this breakneck speed.
Akatsuki swore that if he got through this he would consolidate power. No more right-hand men or women. Just people who would answer his orders with a bow and rapid action. This fool game had taught him that his arrogance had turned from a strength to a weakness. A weakness that Erina Won had been all too eager to exploit. But before he could worry about revenge or restructuring he had to win this battle. If not he was not sure of his fate or the fate of the vast company the Akatsuki family had founded over 50 years ago.
So towards the sun. Its warm light and glow had an almost loving and paternal feel to it on Earth and Mars. However, as you moved closer another side of the sun showed itself. A side where instability and violence were the norm and where the warm, loving heat became a hellish inferno. "What the hell could Erina want in there?" he though grimly as he stared at the Cosmos's radar signature on the screen.
What was at the sun? That was the question on everyone's mind. Not only on the Excalibur, but on the Nadesico as well. Ruri interfaced with Omoikane collecting all data known on the ancient solar system civilization as well as Nergal and the UEF. Absolutely none of her data mining though revealed an importance of the sun in any of the plans. Sure it was of scientific curiosity, but no ruins had been found in the inner solar system. The sun was one of the most monitored objects for the obvious reasons of its impact on everything from agriculture to solar storms so if there was a huge ruin there it would have been found long ago. For some unknown reason though, the Cosmos was speeding there with a vengeance with Akatsuki and company in hot pursuit.
Ruri sighed as she took a break from her search. Looking around the bridge she observed her crewmates. Megumi filing her nails, Minato still contemplating their situation in a worried look, Yurika, whose earlier determination was now being worn thin by fatigue, and Jun who sat silently at his post after several failed attempts to raise the Captain's spirits. She sighed again. Baka, can't they at least be planning what to do when we catch up the Cosmos and Excalibur? Has anybody thought of that yet? She resigned herself to the fact that this was the Nadesico's style. Find a fight and then worry about how to win it.
Whatever Erina wanted at the sun, they would be there in twenty-four hours. She decided to take control in her own unassuming way seeing how everyone else seemed to be lacking. "Captain, I think you need some rest. We will not catch them for another day and you cannot effectively command in this condition." Yurika, nodded her head at the truth of Ruri's words. She had barely slept since this whole ordeal began as they returned from shopping. She wanted to be here, she wanted to do everything in her power to get her Akito back no matter what it took. But she realized that what she feared most was going to sleep. What would things be like when she woke up? Would she return to the bridge to hear that Akito had been killed? What kind of nightmares would she have? As she pondered this she began nodding off until she was nudged by Jun. "Get some sleep like Ruri says Yurika. I'll take command. Minato and Megumi can go too and call up their replacements."

"Thank you Jun. You're such a great friend," Yurika replied as she got up to leave. Jun smiled and restrained himself from breaking something as he heard that "friend" word from Yurika for the umpteenth time. Yeah, he was always the good friend. Not the hero, not the lover, just the friend. He steadied himself though and focused on his task. Megumi and Minato said goodnight as well as they left the bridge. He still found this mission the most ironic of all he had ever undertaken. Here he was trying to save the man who had stolen Yurika from him. A small voice in his mind hoped that Akito would disappear and Yurika would rush into his arms to be consoled, but his higher conscience banished the desire for such an outcome. He resented Akito a bit but he didn't want him dead and he knew Akito's death would destroy Yurika like nothing else. So his sense of chivalry and honor propelled him onwards. "You can be her white knight," Jun remembered Akito telling him when they first met. He smiled again at the irony of it all.

Akito stared up at the ceiling in his room wondering what his next move would be. He had been deliberately vague in directing Erina when he had been summoned to the bridge. He had told her head for the sun and keep the Cosmos in the outer edge of the solar corona. At first she had looked at him like he was mad and then demanded an explanation. Telling her he would divulge details once they arrived she became suspicious and again warned him of the possible consequences if he was lying. He assured her that he would be a fool to lie to her now that he was under her control. She sat contemplating for a moment and then gave orders to follow Akito's directions. He had then been escorted back to his quarters by Suzuki-san and told to wait there for further orders.
Finally, after deciding on a risky course of action, his thoughts turned to more personal matters. First, his parents. After finally getting over them after all these years, they have returned to his life and in the most complicated way imaginable. He wished that his father would have had more foresight and destroyed whatever this precious information was that he had. Not left it to his then young son to sort out among other things in his life. He wondered what his father would think if he was alive now? He dropped the thought remembering where this kind of thinking led. The last time he had gotten this philosophically attached to a dead person was with Gai and he did not want to go through all that again. Even if the person was his father. He wasn't going to be fighting this time for someone who was elsewhere. Whatever his father's intentions were then, this was a different world now and he would have to do what is best for the future. For himself, for the UEF, heck even for the Jovians, and especially for his darling Yurika.
His thoughts returned to Yurika. He had done a good job of hiding it from Won and Suzuki but he missed her now more than he had missed almost anyone in his life. His whole future had been planned around revolving around two things: cooking and Yurika. Now both of those were on hold as he pursued a questionable course. He wondered what she was doing now. Probably alarmed and disturbed back on Earth with the message he had left for her. She was probably using every resource she could to find him. As he closed his eyes and fell into sleep he hoped that she was thinking of him as well this very moment wherever she was.

"We are arriving at our destination Captain Won, please advise," the navigation officer told Erina. "Put us at a stable orbit within the outer corona please. How long until our first visitors?"

"The Excalibur will arrive in 3 hours and the Nadescio will arrive in 6 hours sir," the navigation officer replied.

"That may not be enough time. What can we do?" Erina replied. This is getting a bit riskier than she had hoped.

"If we move our position towards a magnetically active region above one of the sunspots, it could provide enough signal jamming to hide us from them for a while. However, it puts us at direct risk of being hit by a solar flare. We will probably be able to sustain one hit with full distortion fields but all other crafts will be at risk."

"I understand. Move us to that position," Erina commanded. "First Officer Suzuki, please bring Mr. Tenkawa to the bridge immediately." Suzuki saluted and left to fetch Akito. Erina pondered her situation. Akito, would undoubtedly ask to retrieve the information personally. She had the engineers outfit the Aestevalis units in heat resistant coating in anticipation of this request. However, she was still unsure what stunt he would try to pull. She knew he would try one. Therefore she had arranged for him to have an escort. Also, it was imperative this was done quickly. She and her crew had done an artful job of concealing from Akito the fact that his sweetheart and the crew of the Nadesico were in hot pursuit. If he knew, she would undoubtedly lose much of her leverage over him and he would become even more recalcitrant. She was so close. She could not afford to lose now. No matter the measures she would have to take.

Yurika had her nightmare alright, but not quite the one she was expecting. They were back in the restaurant. She ran into kitchen and saw Akito there cooking. Her eyes welled up with tears and she embraced him bringing his lips to hers. "Akito, I'm so happy to see you!" she cried. He looked at her quizzically and asked, "Why the feverish embrace? Did I go anywhere?" Then Yurika thought to herself, "Of course! This was all a bad dream. Akito was never kidnapped. Mr. Prospector never came by. There is no video disc accusing my father! Things are right back to the way they were before." She sighed in relief and went back out front to help the customers. "Excuse me, can we get some service over here?" a customer wailed. She turned around and nearly fainted when at one of the tables she saw Erina Won and another girl with long hair and green eyes. They seemed like they were dressed for a night out and not a ramen lunch with their seductive and revealing clothing. Against her better judgment she went to serve them. "Can I get you any drinks to start out?" she asked trying to be cheerful. "Yeah get me a whiskey sour and get my friend a martini." Yurika replied, "I'm sorry we don't serve these here as you see we don't have a bar. However, can we get you any beers or wines from our menu?"

"Nah, forget the drinks. Just bring us some water and send Akito out will you?" Erina said smiling. Yurika froze. Why did they want to see Akito? Half-dazed she went into the kitchen and got two cokes for them. "You idiot! We said water," Erina yelled. Yurika jumped. She had never messed up an order. Akito came out and said, "What's wrong here?"

Erina smiled and waved at him. "Just who we came to see. Akito, come on over here," she beckoned him curling her finger. An embarrassed Yurika told him she had gotten them the wrong drinks. Akito apologized and said they would rectify the mistake immediately. Erina laughed and said, "No Akito, you're all I want just you stay here." She grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him close to her. "You're staying with us from now on Tenkawa," she said. Yurika was shocked and then became enraged. "How dare you touch him like that!" As she prepared to lunge at her someone held her back. She turned around and saw it was her father. "Yurika, please believe me. I didn't do it. I would never do such a thing," he said to her. Yurika struggled to break free of his grip as he continued to assert his innocence. Meanwhile, Akito was now on Erina's lap where she was rubbing his chest while other girl caressed his hair. Akito stared at her helplessly. "Yurika, help me….please!"

"NO!" Yurika shouted as she struggled against her father's grip. "Let's go home Yurika. You can play with the Tenkawa boy another day," he said. Yurika yelled no again and then woke up in a cold sweat. She looked at the clock. Four hours until they would catch up with the Cosmos. She had overslept. She rapidly washed up and put her clothes on as she went to the bridge. Everyone was back and seemed to show no annoyance at her tardiness. She guessed correctly that they realized the stress this mission put on her.
"Ruri, report please," she said resuming her command role. "The Cosmos took a position in the sun's corona area and soon after disappeared. The Excalibur is heading to their last known position and will arrive there in about an hour." "Very well, we need a plan of action for our arrival. There will be an officer's conference in twenty minutes in the conference room. All are required to attend." Yurika said as she prepared to mentally mull over their options. "There is one more thing Yurika," Megumi said turning around. "What about your father?" Ouch. She had nearly forgotten about this messy detail in the hectic last few hours. "Tell him I'll meet him in two hours," she said. "Should we keep him confined to quarters?" Megumi replied. Yurika was about to say yes but then thought, "What could he do? After all this is my battleship." "Give him permission to leave his quarters as he pleases." Megumi nodded and sent the signal to the guard at his room.
Twenty minutes later the main crew of the Nadesico met in the conference room. After they had all assembled Yurika stood up in addressed them. "As you all know we will be arriving at the last known location of the Cosmos and Excalibur soon. We will probably meet them both near there and possibly engage in battle. Our main objective is to retrieve Akito from the Cosmos and obtain whatever message his father has left. Obviously it is nearby since the Cosmos came straight to this location. Do we have any suggestions?" Everyone was quiet. Finally, Uribitake raised his hand. "I can outfit the Aestevalis units for maneuvering in such a hostile region but there will be several problems I can see. First, we will have very limited communications and sensors this close to the sun. Second, the Aestevalis units will have a more limited range from the Nadesico because of the huge amounts of electromagnetic energy. Third, I have done some calculations and I expect that the massive gravity of the sun will make our gravity blast cannon harder to aim and less accurate so we should use it circumspectly. Finally, if there weren't enough problems, the sun is approaching the solar maximum this year so flare activity will be high. This close we could possibly sustain one hit by a large flare if all of our power is put into the distortion field, however, the Aestevalis units cannot withstand it outside of the field and must be withdrawn if it gets too dangerous."
"So in other words we will be on a literal suicide mission," Ryoko said nonchalantly. "Big flare, don't burn my hair," Izumi said then chuckling. Everyone gagged at the bad humor. Megumi volunteered her advice as well, "If we can get into contact with Akito somehow we can get him to try to escape or put himself in a position that is advantageous to us picking him up." Yurika nodded. "Could you work on giving us the widest communication range possible under the conditions Megumi?" Megumi nodded. They traded around a few more tidbits of advice and Yurika dismissed them. As she walked back to the bridge she hoped and prayed that their plans would work and soon Akito could be in her arms.

Erina Won stared out at the blazing inferno thousands of kilometers below her. Even at this distance the sun filled the entire screen. She watched the currents of its surface and the mini-flares that occurred periodically. Most prominent in the screen was the large sunspot that they has positioned themselves over. The strong magnetic activity in this region should help shield them from the sensors of the Excalibur and the Cosmos but not for long. Enough contemplation though, it was time to act. "First Commander Suzuki, what is the answer from Tenkawa on the location of this information?"

"He refuses to divulge details Captain. He insists on going out alone in his Aestevalis unit to retrieve it per your agreement with him," Suzuki replied.

"It figures he would be stubborn. We must not let him out of our control though, Suzuki. You must go with him. If necessary keep your distance. The engineers have told you about our little strategy to keep a leash on him?"

Suzuki smiled. "Yes, it is most ingenious. However, if you want to persuade or control him, it will be difficult unless we have at least some of his trust. Threats can only go so far and once he figures out the Nadesico is in pursuit—and I'm sure he will—one of our main bargaining chips is taken out of the equation."

"I seriously doubt at this point Tenkawa would trust any of us, especially me. He's so stubborn about that bimbo Yurika that I don't think my wiles could persuade him either," Erina coldly stated.

"Well, if we can't get his trust perhaps we can persuade him that we are his best hope?" Suzuki offered. Erina thought about it. She did realize that Admiral Misumaru was possibly not guilty of all that Tenkawa's father suspected him of, but Akito was definitely not sure on that point. After all, she remembers how he blanched when she suggested the possibility of Admiral Misumaru's and Yurika's knowledge of the circumstances of his father's death. If only we could get him to believe that she was so untrustworthy that no matter how much he hated staying on the Cosmos, he could see no better option. Suddenly an idea flashed to her mind. She instructed her communications officer, "Send a message to our friend Admiral Shatner at the UEF command, I have a favor to ask of him."

Akito quietly walked with Suzuki to the Aestevalis hangar in the deck of the Cosmos. He once again went over the plan in his head. As much as it hurt him, he had decided to destroy whatever message his father left. The world had gone on without it up until now and could keep going without knowing its contents. He would never let it fall into the hands of someone unscrupulous like Erina Won. "There it is," Suzuki told him pointing to his Aestevalis unit ready and waiting for launch. Akito sighed as he realized he was finally going in to battle yet again. He then noticed another Aestevalis was also prepped for launch. "I requested to go alone, who is the other Aestevalis unit for?!" he said enraged. "Why, me of course," Suzuki said giving him a smile. "I won't go attended. If you are going to try to accompany me we will just sit here," Akito said as he sat on the floor.
"Akito, if you like I will keep my distance. I'm just going to be there to help you if help is needed and assist in case of any trouble. This is a rough area of space," she replied. "Rough? Who is out here? The front line is at the asteroid belt! Or is there something I don't know?" he eyed her suspiciously. Suzuki just kept smiling. "Well, we must hurry, we can't hang around this area too long, solar flares are dangerous you know." Akito seeing he would not win this argument got up grumbling and walked towards his pink Aestevalis. "If you get within 50 km of me, I'll fire on you ok?" he said and then went to board. "50 km? 200km is all I need Tenkawa Akito," Suzuki thought smiling.
The two launched their Aestevalis units without any trouble. On exiting the Cosmos, Akito was instantly disoriented by the omnipresent yellow-orange glare of the nearby sun. He struggled to correct his unit and then proceeded to carry out his plan. There were several shielded probes orbiting the sun in this region. He had to find out which one was the one his father launched. Luckily, though the sensors were messed up, the probes had homing beacons which transmitted both their location and origin. After searching through the signals of many of the probes he found what he was looking for. A space probe launched by Nergal from Utopia colony about fifteen years ago. It was in a decaying orbit so it would have been gone if they had arrived a year or two later. He had hoped it had crashed or disappeared to save him from this ordeal but fate was being very cruel to him lately. Luckily, it was a close at about 1000 km. Since the power feed from the Cosmos was shortened to about 300 km in this region the ship would have to follow him there. Akito cursed hoping he could have lost them. There is no way he could survive her on backup power though. He began to move towards his goal making sure on his radar that Suzuki kept her 50km distance. True to her word she did.
After a few minutes of travel he finally docked with the probe. "I'm warning you Erina and Suzuki, stay back!" "Whatever you say Tenkawa-kun," Erina said heartily to him over the static-filled communications. "Now, where would he put the message?" Akito thought. He needed to find it and then fling it into the sun. Before he could complete the train of thought though, everything went crazy. His radar was reduced to 500km but suddenly a massive blip appeared on it. "What the heck is that?" he yelled into his communicator. "It is likely our friend Akatsuki Nagare and the ND-005 Excalibur," Suzuki replied to him. "I will defend you if you get in trouble. Finish retrieving the message." Oh great, now Akatsuki is in this mess too. He should have known that it seemed like Erina had things a little too under control. Cursing, he began to open the access panel on the probe.
"Captain Won, we are being hailed by the Excalibur," the communications officer reported to Erina. Erina swore and then replied, "Put him on the screen." The grinning face of Akatsuki filled the screen. "It took us a couple of hours but we have finally sniffed out our rat," Akatsuki said. "Really, Akatsuki? So what do you intend to do? Fight? You will find I am more than prepared for that contingency. If you have come for the prize though I fear you may be too late."
"Erina, you are right, I prefer not to fight. But I will do what I must. Hand over Tenkawa Akito and whatever he finds immediately and I will only take control of your ship. Resist and I will take your life." "Very well then, Chairman Akatsuki. May the best snake win. Close communications." The communications officer complied. "All hands to battle stations, launch all of our Aestevalis units now. Prepare the gravity blast cannon." The weapons officer looked alarmed, "Captain Won, we cannot accurately fire that weapon this close to the sun." "I understand, I just want them to feel threatened for now." The weapons officer nodded and began charging the cannon.
"Akito, hurry up! We're about to have company!" Suzuki urged him. Akito opened the access panel and looked inside. Attached to the side was a heat-resistant container that definitely seemed out of place. "Here it is," Akito thought. He retrieved it with his Aestevalis unit and studied it for a second. He felt sadness and curiosity now that he knew he was about to destroy the last message of his father, but he found the resolve and screamed into his communicator. "Go to hell Erina and Akatsuki because that's the only place you'll find my father's message!" He bent the Aestevalis's arm preparing to hurl the container into the sun. Suddenly, he felt a violent jerk interrupting his movements. Before he knew what was happening he was being reeled back at a fast speed like a fish caught on a line.
Suzuki chuckled. Unknown to the naïve Akito, they had planned for the contingency he would try to do something daring. Therefore they planned to give him an illusion of freedom. In reality, before launch his Aestevalis had been connected to Suzuki's by a thin and transparent wire of super-strong carbon composites. It could stretch up to 200km to let him move as he willed, but on Suzuki's command, it would contract and reel him back in. Akito tried to fight by using his jets to maneuver away from Suzuki but she followed him and matched his movements. After he was through panicking he remembered his plan. He hurled the container towards the sun the best he could. It went flying. "Now hopefully I can have peace," Akito thought. But suddenly another Aestevalis appeared from nowhere catching up with and grabbing the container. Suzuki recognized that it was not one of the suits from the Cosmos. "Akito you fool! You've given the data to Akatsuki's men!" Akito wailed. Why can't his plans ever work out right? "We've got to retrieve it! Do you want him of all people who you know knew of your father's murder to get it?" Akito contemplated the situation and realized that with the container in the hand of Akatsuki and himself connected to Miaka his only hope of survival was to fight. Again. It always ended in fighting didn't it?
Akito righted his Aestevalis unit and looked at the competition. The firefight was already in progress. There were six Aestevalis's from the Excalibur and he and Miaka had been reinforced by three suits from the Cosmos. One of Akatsuki's Aestevalis units rapidly was flying back to the Excalibur to deliver the prize. "I'm going after the message! Cover me!" Akito yelled. The other four Aestevalis suits immediately engaged an opponent while Akito sped after the fleeing Aestevalis. He had to act quick or the target would get inside the Excalibur's distortion field and escape. He used his targeting computer to aim a sure shot and then fired, hitting is target right at the shoulder and severing the arm holding the message. The arm went flying into the distance. Akito's victory was short lived as he felt a huge blow from behind. He had forgotten that they were outnumbered by one and the remaining Aestevalis had hit him hard from behind. Akito's Aestevalis reeled from the impact and he soon realized that his adversary was holding him from behind.
Akito cried for support as he struggled to get loose. The enemy Aestevalis began to try to disable his battery and drag him towards the Excalibur which was close by. In a moment of inspiration, Akito detached one of his fuel pods from his chassis and as he had hoped, the fuel pod was not made to withstand these high temperatures outside of the Aestevalis body and lit up in an explosion that knocked him off at an angle but allowed him to escape. However, the force was stronger than he expected and suddenly he realized that he was flying outside of Cosmos's power range. Akito's battery, damaged by the earlier attack, had only thirty seconds of juice left. Worse yet, two of the Cosmos's Aestevalis's had been destroyed but only one of the Excalibur's had. That meant Miaka and another pilot were each handling one in combat while the other three, including the one-armed unit, directed their attention towards Akito. They were far out but closing fast. They would arrive in more than thirty seconds which meant Akito would be powerless to stop them once they arrived. In a futile effort he aimed his gun to get a shot off before his power went down. The shot was straight but the other units had ample time to dodge and rejoin in their attack formation.
Akito had been in bad situations but he had always had support. Where were Gai, Ryoko, Hikaru, or even Izumi to back him up? As he feared the worst he closed his eyes and thought one last time of the smiling face of Yurika which he would forever miss. Suddenly, his radio came alive. "Tenkawa, you fool! What are you just sitting here for!?" Akito thought that his life support must be failing and he was hallucinating. It can't be Ryoko. No that's impossible. She's back on Earth…Suddenly his Aestevalis's power levels rose up and became operative. How was this possible? The Cosmos had not budged. As if to answer his silent inquiry, out of a cloud of translucent gas appeared the hull of the Nadesico. Akito knew now he must be mad. The Nadesico out here? But it was here and rapidly approaching were the Aestevalis suits of Ryoko, Hikaru, and Izumi. "Get up, get up or you'll miss the bus!" Izumi said in her normal deranged fashion. Akito took the hint. Now we had a fair fight. Akito, since he was more damaged anyway, chose to finish out the fight with the one-armed unit. He deftly flew his unit in a confusing pattern to avoid the shots it fired from its gun. He then flew in, grabbed his knife, and took of its other arm like it was a scarecrow. Now helpless he pushed the Aestevalis with enough force to hurtle it back towards the Excalibur. He may be fighting for his life, but he was not yet ready to kill again. Meanwhile the other three were handling their share like old pros. Ryoko and Izumi deftly finished their opponent and Hikaru sent hers hurtling on a one way trip to the surface of the sun.
As if to answer his next question, his communicator came alive with the hologram of Yurika. "Akito!! I'm so happy you're safe! We've come for you get in quick!" Akito was overwhelmed with joy. Not only could he escape, but he no longer had to be worried about her safety. "I'm coming my love!" he said as he approached the Nadesico and then he stopped. The message. Right now it was back there and about to fall into the clutches of either Erina or Akatsuki. He had to get it back or destroy it. "Yurika, the message my father left, it's still out there and I have to get it back. Cover me please!" Without waiting for a reply Akito sped back to the direction of the Cosmos and Excalibur.
"Is he mad!" Ryoko yelled as she went after him. "Follow him, please. We must keep power to his unit and protect him from the other ships," Yurika ordered. Minato nodded and kept them on course to follow Akito.

Erina watched the whole scene from the bridge with extreme displeasure. If she could use the gravity blast cannon safely she could have ended this sooner but this was getting out of hand. Luckily, anticipating the Nadesico's arrival she had sent her request for a favor to Admiral Shatner. The signal would take 8 minutes to get to Earth, five minutes for him to process, and 8 minutes to return. So her answer should arrive in about a minute. Seeing that Miaka and her wingman had triumphed over the last of Akatsuki's Aestevalis units, she brought them up on the screen. "Miaka, your job is to get Akito back whatever the cost! What happened? Weren't you connected by a cord?" she asked.

"Yes, but I believe it was severed by the explosion from his fuel pod. In any case I will retrieve him and send my wingman to retrieve the contents from the probe. Is the message ready?"

"It should arrive any moment, I will relay it so both Akito and the Nadesico should be able to see it. Let's see how he handles this. Won out." Next she called up Akatsuki on the screen. "I will accept your surrender and be merciful if you concede now," she said. Akatsuki laughed his usual pompous laugh. "Fool, this is our latest battleship. Don't you know I have ten more Aestevalis's where those came from? This may be a time for you to reconsider MY offer," he finished grinning like always. His gloating was interrupted by alarms that were heard both on the Cosmos and the Excalibur. "Captain Won, we are detecting increased magnetic field line crossing in area!" her science officer said alarmed. "What the hell does that mean?" Erina said no trying to hide her impatience with techno babble. "There is about to be a solar flare right below us. Recall all the Aestevalis units now! We must put distortion fields at maximum strength!" Akatsuki grimaced on the screen, "Until next time Erina." On the view screen the Excalibur began rapidly pulling out to get as much distance from the sun as possible. Erina yelled over the comm link. "All units hurry up and retrieve your cargo and return ASAP a large flare is forming. I repeat a large flare is forming below us!"
Suzuki carefully weighed her options. She could go straight for Akito but now he had three others supporting him. Her wingman just informed her that he had retrieved the message from the floating arm of the other Aestevalis unit and was returning back. Akito, still on their frequency heard the message as well and went to intercept him. This solar flare could happen any second and kill them all. In frustrated resignation Suzuki began to head back towards the Cosmos. She would recommend that they overtake the Nadesico later.
The alarms were going off on the Nadesico as well. "Captain, there is a strong likelihood of a solar flare very soon. We need to recall our pilots immediately," Ruri stated. Yurika ordered Megumi to get on communications and tell them to get back pronto. "Akito, no message is worth your life come back now!"

"He has retrieved the message?" a voice behind her asked. She turned to see her father. "We're in the middle of an engagement right now, please return to your quarters father," Yurika tersely said. "You forget dear I've been doing this longer than you have. I will just observe. Don't mind me." Meanwhile, Akito and the other three had caught up with the Aestevalis carrying the message and with odds of four-to-one he didn't hesitate to surrender the goods. As Akito turned around and flew back he looked at this EM field indicator. They had to hurry since this place could blow any second. As they sped towards the Nadesico he contacted the ship. "We have the message, I'll be home soon Yurika," he said. Yurika came back on the screen with her trademark smile and "V" sign with her fingers. "I knew you could do it Akito!" she said elated. "I knew you had it in you as well son," Admiral Misumaru said.
At the sound of his voice Akito hit the brakes. Why was Yurika's father on the ship with her? His father's admonition suddenly came back ringing into his ears: "…you should be very wary of the Misumaru family and the UEF…". Akito was confused. Stammering he answered, "Yurika, why is your father with you? What does he have to do with this mission?"

"He's here because I'm giving him asylum," she replied.

Asylum! The words seemed to echo throughout his skull. He had remembered Erina's suggestion that Yurika would remain loyal to her father. Now it began to gnaw at him. Seeing his face change, Yurika instantly regretted her choice of words and replied. "Listen, Akito. I saw the disc. We all did. Mr. Prospector showed it to us. But don't worry I can assure you that neither myself nor my father harbor any ill will against you. Please just come back." The other three Aestevalis's had been so quick to get behind the Nadesico's distortion fields that they had just realized they had left Akito behind. "What is his problem?!" Hikaru wailed.
Trust her. Could he trust Yurika and her father? How did he not know this was all a setup? He couldn't go back to Erina though. That was definitely a dead end. He had so many questions. But he was running out of time. If anything, he was going to spend the rest of his life with Yurika. That took trust. So now he had to cede her at least that. Suddenly, however, his communications signal flashed. A priority incoming message was arriving from UEF headquarters on Earth. The Nadesico and Cosmos received the same signal. "Who could this be?" Yurika openly wondered. On the screen appeared on of the top brass of the UEF forces, Admiral Shatner. The old yet vibrant man had a commanding presence and his eyes showed he meant business.
"Admiral and Captain Misumaru, I must congratulate you on completing your assignment. After you capture Akito and his message it is essential that you confine him to the brig as we previously planned. Come straight back to Earth and deliver his message to me personally. The payment and terms we agreed to will be forthcoming. Thank you and I salute you Yurika for knowing where your true loyalties should lie. Shatner out."
The bridge of the Nadesico was floored. They turned and looked at Yurika with horrified eyes. Yurika was confused. "What, I never received any orders from Admiral Shatner. Payment? I don't know what the heck he is talking about." Then she turned and looked at her father. "Father, did you.." He quickly cut her off. "I have known about his corruption for years. I would never rub elbows with him. But why would he send us a message referring to orders we never received or agreed to?"
Back on the Cosmos, Erina Won smiled. "Digest this my dear Akito and come flying right back into my welcoming arms. How long until the flare?"

Her science officer replied, "Two minutes max."

"Send Miaka out, tell her to get Akito now while he is hesitating!"

Akito felt like the world was crashing around him. He had loved Yurika. He had believed Yurika. And now, straight from UEF command comes the revelation that she had accepted orders to hunt him down and return both him and his message. Erina had been right. In the end her duty to her father had outweighed her feelings for him. His heart felt ripped in two. Yurika instantly came back on the screen swearing her innocence. Before she could finish though he let himself rip. "Yurika, I loved you. I thought that nothing would come between us. Now you try not only to betray my father's memory but me as well!"

"Akito, please I don't know what he's…" she stammered.

"He's top UEF brass damnit Yurika! They don't just broadcast messages like that for their health. How could I have stayed with you all this time, planned my future around you and all this time you had been holding something back from me." Akito was livid. "I never want to see you again. I never want to see this damn message and I don't want to see Erina either!" Tears formed in Yurika's eyes but before she could start Akito closed his communication. Akito felt he was out of options. He now saw either Erina or Yurika as equally bad options. He only had a few seconds to think though. Death did not see appealing as a third choice.
Just then he felt a jolt and noticed his power levels drop to minimum. Behind him Suzuki had cut his power couplings and grabbed on to him. She began rapidly drawing him back to the Cosmos. "We've got to help him!" Ryoko yelled getting ready to head out of the distortion field.

"Absolutely not!" Uribitake yelled. "This place is going to blow any second, you'd never get back in time!"

"How can we just stand here though?" Hikaru complained though she saw the wisdom of Uribitake's words. Yurika was not about to wait though. "Minato, head after Akito and the other Aestevalis now! We must catch them before they are in the Cosmos's distortion field." Ruri turned around at this statement. "Captain, I must object to that course of action. This flare is about to explode and we need all energy, including propulsion, to go to the shields. "I DON'T CARE!" Yurika yelled. "We must get Akito! Full speed ahead!"
"Captain Won, we must prepare for impact. The magnetic flux crossings have reached critical," the science officer reported. "Come on Miaka! You're almost home!" Erina yelled.
"Captain Misumaru, I must again reiterate that we cannot risk this course of action!" Ruri said raising her voice. Yurika was impervious to her cautions though even as the warning levels reached critical. She pushed forward with a mad determination in her eyes. That baka! Ruri, seeing that there was no rational way they could possibly retrieve Akito at this point, was torn by the desire to help her friend but to save the ship as well. In typical Ruri style, she chose the calculated option. "Yurika we must stop this now!" No answer. Ruri played her last card. "First Officer Jun. Please relieve Captain Misumaru of command." Everyone held their breath as she uttered those words. Yurika was stunned. "Yurika either you halt the engines and throw power to the shields now or I will have to ask Jun to relieve you for unnecessarily endangering the crew."

"Ruri please! Don't you love Akito? We must save him," Yurika pleaded. They were out of time. Ruri turned to Admiral Misumaru. "Admiral, please restrain Captain Yurika Misumaru." Minato's jaw dropped at that statement. The admiral walked up to her, "Yurika please!" he pleaded. "NO!" she cried pushing him away and stubbornly maintaining course. She suddenly felt him grab her from behind and drag her from the controls. "Jun, you now have command," he said. Jun sat with a lost look on his face. Ruri upped the ante again. "Jun, we will be dead in several seconds if you do not act now," she stated raising her voice as loud as she could. Jun snapped out of his stupor. "Full stop, all power to the distortion field. Prepare for impact." Several seconds after this was done the sun below them surged with energy as a bright light filled the view screen and a massive shockwave shook the ship. Everyone tumbled around as they reeled from the impact of the flare. A few moments later the shaking stopped as the flare subsided. Slowly the crew crawled back to their stations to check for damage. The damage was moderate mostly but the phase transition engines had a power overload and would not be back on line for at least 3 hours. Thankfully, there were also no casualties. As she returned to her post Yurika shook with heavy sobbing. Her father put his arm around her shoulder and led her off the bridge. Turning his head he said, "Jun, you keep command for now." He then quietly left.

"Damage report!" Erina yelled. "Our damage is medium but it can be fixed while en route to our next destination," the systems officer replied. "Did Suzuki and Tenkawa make it back in time?" she asked filled with foreboding. "The hangar reports they made it in several seconds before the flare hit. They are both shook up but ok. In addition, we have retrieved the item and will start analyzing its contents shortly." Erina sighed in relief. Then she began laughing. Her victory was not yet complete though. She requested her communications officer to open a channel to the Nadesico, "Captain Misumaru, I am sorry for your sour turn of fortune. Don't worry though, the contents of Dr. Tenkawa's message will be safe with me…and so will your Akito." At the end of the message she gave a wink. She then gave orders for the Cosmos to head out of the inferno.