Chapter 7 – Two-Front War
Author's note: I am only putting this here to warn any reader's sensibilities. There is a bit of sub-lemon content. I call it sub-lemon because it is in no way graphic or descriptive sexuality (or merit an R-rating for this fic). It's just implied. Yes, it does fit into the wider plot. A bit of mild swearing too. Just to give you a heads up. Thanks for all of the great feedback. It was really needed to help me improve as a writer. I'll acknowledge a creative debt to Huhn and his great "Where I Belong" story. For those who are familiar with its plot they'll pick up on what I mean towards the end. If you aren't familiar, now's a great time to start reading it. Now on to the next episode of the saga (which should be wrapped up in about three to five more chapters or so).
In the distance, a pale yellow speck broke the otherwise mundane white and black signature of the cosmos. In space travel lore, it was said that if you made a wish on this star for love, it would endure forever. On one ship, a Misumaru Yurika stared out at the sign telling it her heart's deepest desire. On another ship, another woman, who was not being superstitious and not especially interested in love at the moment, cast a brief glance and then returned to her report. If they could already see Venus, they were obviously making good time Erina considered. Now that they had an idea of where they needed to go they could lock in the coordinates and go all out. However, getting there was the big problem.
As she poured over the unintelligible data and explanations Erina did what she had been an expert at as a secretary at Nergal: weeding out the BS. Her science staff had gotten as far as they could for the foreseeable future in decrypting the data from Dr. Tenkawa's message. Though the essence of the message was still not deciphered they were able to retrieve a set of numerical sequences which they determined to be navigation coordinates. These coordinates had been put into the computer and the location was clear but unpleasant.
The coordinates were for an orbital object around Saturn. The object's orbit almost matched the moon Titan's orbit but not quite. Saturn had been thoroughly explored by unmanned probes and human expeditions but there were no reports of this object ever being discovered. That was not the problem though. The problem was that from their current position Saturn was less than 1 degree away from Jupiter which meant the fastest way there was directly through the heart of the Jovian empire. "Things just had to get more complicated didn't they?" she mused aloud. She ordered her communications officer to once again hail Admiral Shatner at the UEF and ask for another favor.
It took two hours for him to reply. He made no effort to hide his perturbed expression when his face appeared on the screen. "Damnit Erina, this is getting farther out of control each minute. None of this was part of our bargain! With the disc the UEF is already having enough public relations problems. We're having the bust our behinds to keep your mission secret!" After huffing and puffing a bit he calmed down to deliver the next part of the message. "As for the fact you must head through Jovian space, we can't send additional units to back you though I may be able to tie them up at another part of the front to give you some breathing room. Once you pass the front line though you're on your own. If you are for any reason attacked or boarded destroy all of the records of your mission including the disc!"
"Hmph, fancy that. He's worried about saving his own behind first," Suzuki said.
Admiral Shatner finished, "As for your request to have backup to deal with the Nadesico and Excalibur, we do not have the resources nor the political leeway to authorize such a blatant endorsement of your actions. You know the crew of both, take care of it. Bribe them or whatever. You owe me big when you get back Earthside, Won. Shatner out." The UEF emblem appeared on the screen indicating the end of the transmission.
"Navigation, set in a course for the coordinates on the disc making sure you take us to an area where there is the least fighting. Make our movements as discreet as possible," Erina commanded
Suzuki Miaka stood up and saluted, "Captain, permission to be excused from the bridge."
Erina looked at her puzzled and then shrugged, "Be back in thirty." Suzuki saluted and left.
Though Erina hoped to slip out unnoticed, she had already been detected by those she hoped to avoid. A small asteroid that raised no alarms on the Cosmos radar digested her message, sent it out as a weak microwave signal to the moon where a hidden repeater boosted the signal and sent it off towards Jupiter.
"Captain, Jun. I believe I have intercepted a two-way message between the UEF and a nearby region of space. From the level of encryption it is a highly secret message. I would bet that its recipient was the Cosmos," Megumi said turning around in her chair.
Jun smiled and replied, "Lock on that area of space and pursue with full engines. Send the message to Akatsuki to do so as well. Once we get close enough their gravitational signature should shine out and we'll have them." Minato and Ruri nodded carrying out the orders.
Ruri then turned around to voice her concern. "Captain, I don't think we should trust Akatsuki. Though it may be disastrous to fight him we should reserve an 'ace in our hand' as they say in case, I mean, when he betrays us."
Jun nodded sharing her concern. "Ruri, I want to ask you a favor in that regard. I don't know if it's possible but you may have time to pull it off. Start using our regular data transfers to get Omoikane to hack into the Excalibur's systems. I know its computer is comparable but since it only just entered service, its AI may not be as mature." Ruri nodded, flexed her wrists and instantly got on the task.
About twenty minutes later Yurika came back on the bridge. Everyone turned around and looked at her with surprise and concern. However, when Yurika blushed in embarrassment they quickly turned back as if nothing had happened. Jun gave her a salute. "Why am I being so formal?" he thought. She was noticeably in better condition though the wear of the events was still very apparent on her visage.
"At ease, Jun. Don't worry, I didn't come here to relieve you of duty. First, I wanted to apologize to you and everyone else for my actions earlier. I was foolish." Everyone gave her a sympathetic look.
Minato chimed in, "Yurika, the hell you went through is more than few people ever do. I am not sure that even Shiratori's death was as terrible. You were forgiven before you even came up here." Others nodded in agreement.
"Thank you. For the time though I will just sit and observe and leave Jun in command," she finished sitting down in Jun's usual executive officer seat. "Carry on Jun. I was just so bored back in my room and I didn't want to lose myself in sadness." Jun patted her on the back with a smile and began to brief her on the latest turn of events.
Back on Earth the UEF headquarters' calm demeanor could barely hide the bedlam inside. Accusations and counter-accusations had flown for days regarding the disc and its implications. Those responsible were often the most accusing. In the end, in order to save face and prevent the breakdown of military command during wartime, it was decided that a superficial investigation was to be launched around the matter. Most fingers pointed at the deceased Chairman Akatsuki of Nergal, who could not defend himself and his son was absent, and Admiral Misumaru, who was also absent and lacked the ability to defend himself against the charges. He was also the only person mentioned by name in the disc. So many people let out a sigh of relief that their head wouldn't be on the chopping block.
One of these venal characters, an Admiral Shatner, decided to take a break from work to converse with one of his secretaries. He had many secretaries. One would wonder why in such an automated future so many secretaries were needed for office work? Admiral Shatner said he liked his affairs to be in the hands of people rather than computers. This was true, but it also was a good front for his frequent adulterous encounters. One of his secretaries, Mimi, had been acting particularly foxy today so he invited her in for a "scheduling session". After about fifteen minutes of "scheduling" the admiral was sprawled out naked snoring on his couch with Mimi in his arms.
Mimi smiled at him and thought, giggling "Hell, my one-year old nephew doesn't sleep as hard as you do after this." When she was sure he was sleep, Mimi carefully extricated herself from his embrace and went to her clothes. She kept her eye at him, frightened with each step that he would suddenly awaken.
She rummaged through the clothes and found her jacket. She removed a pair of sunglasses from the jacket. Her real-life boyfriend had given them to her a few nights ago. He assured her could be used to see directly into the desk, walls, and any other solid substance. They worked like a charm. Her normal field of vision was replaced with a pale blue glow and a transparency of all objects. She could even see the others outside gossiping and the officers working downstairs directly below them.
She remembered the description he gave to her of a disc. It would look like any other but would probably be kept alone or in a secret place. After a while she found it—in the Admiral's uniform. He apparently wanted to keep it on him at all times. She took out the disc and placed it on a black pad she had also brought. The pad instantly copied the data from the disc. She then replaced it and slid back into his arms not wanting to risk his wrath if he woke up alone.
After he finally woke up she was dismissed and she gathered her stuff for her lunch break. The others invited her to have lunch with them but se replied that she was going to meet Jim, her boyfriend, for lunch. She hummed a recent J-pop tune to herself and she walked out the building. After going through a side exit set up to allow employees to avoid the press, she went to the subway and rode it to her boyfriend's place.
She arrived at his apartment and knocked to the rhythm of the first verse of the song she had been humming. It was "their" song. It was also a signal to him that it was her and not a MP SWAT team waiting to bust in. He let her in and embraced her with a kiss worthy of any romance movie. He then led her to the table where he had set up candles and two bottles of wine.
"How was your work, dear?" Jim asked.
"Oh, you know the usual. Crazy calls from the press and everyone's nervous," she said looking down.
He noticed her downcast appearance. "Oh, another 'scheduling session'? You know I don't care about that," he said smiling.
She looked relieved and then smiled saying, "I have a present for you!" She pulled out the black pad and displayed it like it were a prize trophy. Jim's eyes lit with excitement.
"You got it!" he exclaimed. He reached out for it but she held it out of his reach, teasing him.
"Lunch first silly!" she said sticking her tongue out.
He artfully hid his rage at her antics and they ate. After lunch and after the obligatory kiss she gave him the pad. "She's such a pain. This job would completely suck if she wasn't hot," he thought. He took it and placed it on a machine that decoded its contents. Smiling, knowing he had what he wanted, he turned back to her. She had an excited look in her eyes.
"Is this what we need? Can we finally get them to salvage my brother's honor?" she said expectedly. Her brother was at the core of why Mimi had done this. She loved Jim dearly, but she wouldn't have stooped to this depth of treason for just love. She wanted justice. Her older brother had been a brigade leader in the UEF. During the fight to retake the moon the nuclear core of his ship and several others exploded killing all hands. They had not yet arrived at the fighting so the event was blamed on the incompetence of him and his staff. The reality Mimi had learned from an informant was that a resonant echo from the new distortion weapon the Nadesico had used had caused a runaway reaction in the engine cores causing their destruction. Not wanting to dull the rising tide of morale that victory gave, the UEF instead blamed her brother for the loss.
Jim had been the only one to ever believe the story. She wanted not only for her brother to be cleared. She wanted revenge. Against the UEF and against that happy-go-lucky bitch named Misumaru Yurika. Not finding it in her means to target them directly, she decided to bring them down. Jim had convinced her that finding incriminating evidence was the best route. Luckily, Yurika's father was about to fall because of the contents of the publicly released version of the disc. However, she hoped she could use this unedited version as material to blackmail the UEF into revising their assessment of her brother and giving him full battle honors posthumously.
Jim nodded replying, "This is all we need." A tear fell from her eye and she embraced him. Jim looked down at her. He pitied her. He felt her need for justice. The oath of Gekigangar demanded it. He couldn't kill her since she was a woman which he respected above all things. But he knew she would suffer after his sudden disappearance from her life. She was so fragile and needed someone to hold onto. However, a higher duty called. All the plans were in place and in 6 hours he would fake his own death through a car accident. He would then board a shuttle to the moon where he would take a mini-chulip to Europa. To make sure his message would arrive though he would send it as soon as she left. He knew his boss would be proud. After all, Kusakabe had promised him a promotion.
Akito went over his plan again and again. He would go to the bridge offering his assistance. He would go to Erina to give her advice. He would then pull out the knife from his meal and hold her hostage until she destroyed the message. Then he would…Akito groaned as he laid face down on his bed with his head in his pillow. Then he'd what? Get shot up? Jump out the airlock? Go back to…Yurika? Well that would be figured out when the time came. He took the knife and slid it into his sleeve. Suddenly his doorbell rang and he jumped in alarm. Who the hell? In order not to seem suspicious he said, "Come in." He tried his hardest not to appear agitated. The door opened to show Suzuki's smiling face. She stepped in.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important," she said never losing her smile.
Akito stared directly into her green eyes whose hypnotic presence both soothed and frightened at the same time. "Oh nothing, just finishing up a meal," he said in a casual fashion. "May I help you? Oh let me guess, you're expecting a thank you for saving my life out there. Hell, maybe you shouldn't have saved this wreck of a life."
Suzuki's smile turned into a frown of concern. She noticed that despite his airs Akito obviously lacked sleep and more importantly, hope. A review of his room showed that it mirrored his disheveled state. "I wanted to come see how you were actually. I don't expect any gratitude. Perhaps I don't deserve it. I wish we could give you some real food," she said pointing to his half-eaten meal. "I hear chefs sometimes are cheered up by good food." As she finished she noticed something about his plate and she suddenly filled with dread.
"Akito, where is your knife?" she asked him.
Akito's bowels nearly released. He could not hide his sudden shock but he still tried to play it off. "Well I think they forgot it. That's why I didn't eat much of my meat." Suzuki, incredulous, walked towards him. "Akito, please I know the last few days have been rough but don't start thinking fatalistically." Akito bent his head and began to cry. "God, I loved her more than anything, how could she!" he stammered through tears. Struck by this sudden show of emotion, Suzuki walked over to him and embraced him. As she did he stepped back and in one deft motion spun her around and put the knife to her throat.
"OK, now I'm in charge here. We are going to go to the bridge now and we're going to have a little talk with Captain Won," he said giving his voice a sinister edge.
"Tenkawa-san, this is a very foolish stunt. If you don't remove the knife now I'll call security and…"
"You'll choke on your own blood before they get here if you try something so foolish!" he threatened.
Seeing that he was in no mood to negotiate she sighed and said, "Fine! Have it your way." In one quick motion she flung her head back hitting him in the neck sending him back choking. Before he could even comprehend fighting back she had forced his arm away from her throat. The final coup d'grace was when she flung him over her shoulder using the arm that he held the knife in and slammed him to the floor. Akito momentarily blacked out due to the blow but was awakened by a great pain in his arm which she held, ready to break it if it was her whim.
"Tenkawa, this is not going to get you anywhere. Do you realize how foolish a plan that was? Did you ever think such an idiot scheme would work?" She took the knife from his hand and after a second of contemplation, released his arm unharmed.
Akito cradled his arm to his chest looking at her with an intense hatred. "Just do it now! Stab me and get it over with. You've already taken everything else. My pride, my life…" he was stopped in mid-sentence as she kneeled down and slapped him.
"How can you give up so easily? How could you call everything lost now? Is this the Akito who became one of the great unsung heroes of the war? Is this the man whose effort and can do attitude won the heart of the fairest captain in the fleet? Akito this is nonsense. Your father would be ashamed of you!"
Akito became even more enraged. "Who the hell do you think you are? What do you know of my father or my life?"
She paused. "I read the reviews and profiles of him. I think I know him well enough to make such a statement and you know it. You will better honor his memory by at least coming up with a better escape than that!" Akito turned despondent and disgusted. "Well, Akito. Even if you think no one or nothing is in your corner you still have Yurika."
Akito let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, her and her murderous father. What a great combination!"
"How do you know they are guilty?" Suzuki asked.
Akito rolled his eyes. "It's as clear as day. Didn't you see Admiral Shatner's congratulations of their 'retrieval' of me?"
"Akito, that message is a fake," Miaka said sitting down on his bed. If she had told Akito that the world was about to end he wouldn't have received a bigger shock. At first he remained incredulous.
"What? How and why would an admiral risk his career to lie about something like that?" he said unwilling to turn around and face her.
"Well do you think being partially at fault for your father's murder and having Captain Won save his behind are good reasons? Look at you. When you got that message you fell right into our grasp like putty. The only person you truly trusted you felt had betrayed you. It was a perfect strategy."
"Erina, in league with the UEF? How could that be possible?" Akito trailed off finally facing Suzuki with his eyes beginning to become moist realizing the possibility of Yurika's innocence.
"Remember when we left Earth? Remember how Nergal tried to stop us? Remember how the UEF defenses left us alone until we were spaceborne? Don't you see how much leverage this disc gives Captain Won over certain UEF persons?"
"So Yurika and her father are innoncent," he said with the first faint glimmers of hope rekindling in his chest like embers with fresh fuel.
"I cannot vouch for Admiral Misumaru but Yurika is clean to my knowledge. The broadcast was an arranged fake between ourselves and Admiral Shatner."
Akito pondered the possibility for a moment. It seemed completely plausible. Then, suddenly he became suspicious. Even if this was true why was she telling him this? Of course! This was the good cop-bad cop routine. Erina played super-bitch while Suzuki buttered him up and acted like his friend to get him to talk. The bile that had just dissipated quickly returned with a vengeance.
"First of all, how do I know I should believe a damn word you're saying? Second, if you think this is going to butter me up to make me cooperative to find my father's secret, you'd better go take better acting classes Suzuki Miaka!"
Suzuki closed her eyes. "I know you find it hard to trust me. I don't blame you. But I want to help you and right now I'm the only friend you have!"
"With friends like you've been to me I really don't need enemies. Besides this whole ship is under surveillance. If you were honest then this sort of revelation could get you killed," Akito grumbled.
Suzuki pondered her options. She wasn't getting through to him. She had to give him proof. "I disabled the security and eavesdropping devices before I came here. I understand your lack of trust so I will do this. In the next 24 hours I will provide you proof of my genuine intentions. Meanwhile value your own life a bit and don't do anything stupid." She threw the knife back to him and Akito caught it. Without another word, she walked out.
Kusakabe grinned with a smile of victory as he signed the promotion order for one of his lieutenants. He had delivered on his promise and in good fashion and timing. The disc itself still implicated Misumaru and the rest of the UEF in Dr. Tenkawa's murder. Kusakabe cared little for the plots of the evil UEF, however. What really interested him was the suggestion of an even greater secret left by the Ancients. Logically, the message had been near the sun and thus the firefight. A recently decoded message from the Cosmos to Earth though had revealed a larger bonus. The "secret" was in Jovian territory. Won had asked for UEF backup and had received a cool reply. The only problem was the message did not indicate where the secret was in Jovian territory.
Kusakabe sat back and pondered his options on how to best deal with this. He was awakened by a buzz. His electronic secretary (he did not trust the duplicitous behavior of people) alerted him that Dr. Fressange had arrived. He cleared his desk of any confidential material and then gave the OK for her to enter.
Inez walked in with her usual stoic face and stiff gait. She noticed that Kusakabe had not provided her a chair to sit in. "Just another example of his power mania," she thought. She wondered how long she would have to continue to work for him and his fascist agenda. However, the right situation to make escape possible had not yet arisen so she played along the best she could.
"Dr. Fressange, I have some interesting news for you. There is turmoil brewing in the UEF over a disc that was found from the father of Tenkawa Akito. I believe he was a former crew member of yours."
"Really?" Inez said not giving any indication of neither interest nor nonchalance.
Kusakabe continued, "It seems the disc contained a message about a lost artifact or piece of information about the Ancients. Ms. Erina Won of the Nergal Corporation has gone after this prize with the Nadesico under Captain Misumaru and the new Nergal ship Excalibur under Akatsuki Nagare in hot pursuit."
Inez feigned a look of slight interest. Unknown to Kusakabe she already knew most of this. A few months ago she had been able to insert a sniffing program on the Jovian intelligence feeds so she had read and reviewed many bits of information before they hit his desk.
"Finally, they appear to be headed towards Jovian territory. It seems whatever they are looking for may be right under our noses. It is interesting to see how this plays out since the father of Captain Misumaru was implicated in the death of Dr. Tenkawa on the disc."
Inez could barely hide her shock at these revelations. These were new to her and must have been obtained by Kusakabe through back channels. If Admiral Misumaru was indeed implicated, what would it do to Yurika and Akito's relationship? What exactly were they looking for? No matter what it was she knew that the Jovians, UEF, or even Nergal would only use it for more death and destruction. She must get there first. Her train of thought was broken by Kusakabe's continued monologue.
"We will be launching shortly to follow them in our newest and stealthiest battleship. When they arrive we will pounce and take it for ourselves!" he said finishing with his own satisfied and sinister grin.
"So you choose to continue on the path of war? Haven't you realized that no one is winning this and in fact now you are losing?" Inez replied.
Kusakabe smiled. "Dear Inez, you know more than I do that only in Jovian dominance can true peace be achieved. Don't you see what the UEF does when allowed supremacy? Anyway you wouldn't want me to use any more persuasive tactics on your colleagues would you?"
Inez flinched. She could not allow her friends to be tortured or humiliated by this monster. Then in a typical flash of Fressange brilliancy she saw a way out. She quickly hypothesized that Erina was trying to make a power play by grabbing the artifact first, Akatsuki was trying to stop her and the Nadesico was caught in between…probably trying to do the right thing. Therefore if they pursued them she could have a chance to allow her and her colleagues to escape. "Fine, I will help. But I want my staff with me. You will need all of their skills if you hope to understand what we find."
"Deal. I'll see you at the docking bay in 24 hours Fressange. You are dismissed," Kusakabe finished.
Inez got up to leave and then paused and asked, "Why are you giving me so much information? Usually you don't give anyone anything but orders on a need to know basis."
"These are your former crewmates. I expect you to help me ensnare them Inez," Kusakabe stated dryly.
"I see," Inez finished and walked out.
Jun stared intently at the view screen as they steadily stalked their prey. The gravitational scan had confirmed it. It was the Cosmos and now both he and the Excalibur were creeping up on it like a lion on a wildebeest. The very stream of high-energy ions the Cosmos had been hiding in to shield their own presence was now helping keep them ignorant of their pursuers. In ten minutes they would be within range for both the PT cannon and the Aestis. Ryoko, Hikaru, and Izumi were all ready in their Aestevalis's for immediate launch. Everything would fall into place.
"Captain," Ruri called. "They have begun to accelerate and their distortion field is going up." "Crap! We were almost there. Continue pursuit at full power to engines!" Minato acknowledged his command as the Nadesico and Excalibur charged ahead in formation at the Cosmos. Jun began describing the rules of engagement. "Remember everyone, we want to disable them with as little loss of life as possible. Therefore we're going to hold off the PT cannon unless we are in a no-win situation. Seiya! Are the Aestis ready for launch?"
Seiya's face popped up, "Ready on your mark captain!"
Jun hailed the Excalibur and requested that Akatsuki report the status of his Aesti units. His eternal smile of confidence appeared on the view screen. "We are waiting for you Captain Jun," he said then laughing.
Jun gritted his teeth. "Fine, LAUNCH!" The three pilots of the Nadesico and five from the Excalibur launched into space on a direct vector for the Cosmos.
"Captain Won, they have launched eight Aestis towards us. Arrival time is five minutes. Please advise," the tactical officer said alarmed.
Erina reviewed her options. It seems like all of her enemies had teamed up against her. Using the PT cannon against them would be a devastating show of force that could force them to reply in kind. She didn't think the Cosmos could hold too long against the combined force of the Excalibur and Nadesico. They would have to fight with suits it seemed. "Suzuki, how many Aestis and pilots are ready?"
Suzuki looked discouraged, "Including myself we have four total. It doesn't look like a fair fight."
"Then we will make it fair! I have prepared for this contingency. You will have one additional bit of help. One of the shuttles has been loaded with explosives. We will launch it with you on autopilot. On my signal break out of formation quickly and we will set it off. That may help level the playing field some."
Suzuki saluted. "We will scramble in three minutes!"
Wing leader Ryoko stared down the Cosmos with a cruel determination in her eyes. She knew her mission and they would take the Cosmos down. If Akito wasn't in there she would probably discard the rules of engagement and rip it to shreds. However, his presence tempered her rage (though she would firmly deny any feelings for him).
"We have five blips on the screen Ryoko! It seems to be four Aestis and a shuttle!" Hikaru yelled from her holographic image.
"A shuttle? They must be getting desperate and have outfitted it with guns to try to even the odds. Even so, such a slow moving target should be easy." Ryoko then called the wing leader of the Excalibur Aestis. "You all take the two on the right and the shuttle. We'll hand the two on the left."
The Excalibur Aesti wing leader came on the screen with his cocky pearl white grin. "Roger that sweet stuff. Just call papa if you need any help." Ryoko seethed. Even Akatsuki's pilots were cocky bastards.
"Come here little kittens!" Izumi said in her usual randomness.
"Jun, something's wrong," Yurika commented from the executive officer's seat.
Jun nodded. "Why are they sending a shuttle into battle? They have such poor maneuverability!" he said.
"Even with weapons it would be a sitting duck…Jun something is very, very wrong. Tell the pilots to proceed with extreme caution," Yurika said.. Megumi relayed the order to the squadron.
"We're ready captain. On your mark!" the tactical advisor told Erina.
Erina sat quietly and then suddenly said, "NOW! All pilots break formation!"
"JUN!" Yurika screamed. She didn't have to finish, Jun saw it. The opposing Aestis went in all directions while the shuttle stayed on course for the Nadesico's and Excalibur's suits.
"All pilots take immediate evasive action, I repeat take immediate evasive action," Jun yelled.
Ryoko didn't need to hear the repetition, she was already making a sharp 90 degree turn away from the shuttle's path. Suddenly her screen lit up with light as a massive explosion followed by white hot shrapnel filled the read out. "Everyone watch out!" she yelled. Ryoko felt a massive jolt as something hit her Aestivalis's leg. As she went spinning, trying to regain control, she could see explosions in the distance. Explosions where some of her allies had been. Fighting hard, she regained control. Luckily, the bottom of her unit's leg only had a gash with no permanent system damage.
"All units report!" she screamed into her communicator.
After a pause that seemed to last a thousand years Izumi's face popped up on the view screen. "I'm fine. I have a small injury to my left arm that decreases its mobility but nothing too serious."
Three of the other units from the Excalibur also called in, including their smart aleck wing leader who now looked more afraid than cocky. After repeated calls Ryoko realized that there were at least two losses from the Excalibur's group…and Hikaru. Ryoko, who usually lost her cool only to go into a rage was now pleading and crying into her communicator on all channels. "Amano Hikaru please report! Hikaru, please!" As if to answer her calls her computer indicated the activation of the distress beacon from Hikaru's Aestevalis unit.
"Come on, move damnit!" Izumi called over the communicator. The beacon continued but there was no movement. As if to jolt them back into reality a warning indicator went off alerting them to the immediate arrival of four hostile Aestevalis units. Ryoko's melancholy quickly transformed into a white hot rage of vengeance as she charged her opponent.
The data in the beacon gave reports on the vitals of both the Aestevalis and the pilot. Back on the Nadesico Ruri solemnly read the data. "Pilot Hikaru is still alive but in need of serious medical treatment. Her Aestevalis is for all purposes disabled and there is a constant danger of a hull breach at any moment."
Jun struck the console with his fist and yelled, "Damn! All pilots mobilize against the enemy Aestevalis units. Ruri charge the PT cannon!" Ruri hesitated and then complied.
Yurika turned and looked at Jun incredulously. "Jun wait! Akito is still on board!"
Jun turned and said. "Yurika if we let them push us around more people are going to die. Do you want that?" Yurika stared back at the screen trying to use every military tactic she had ever learned to resolve the situation. But her usually lucid and brilliant thoughts were clouded. It would be so easy if only Akito wasn't in danger. If the destruction of the Cosmos was enough.
"I'm going to give you bastards everything you deserve! I'll see you in hell!" Ryoko screamed as she came against the lead Aestevalis in the group. It quickly skipped away avoiding her fire with its expert gyrations and maneuvers. Suddenly it stopped and turned, spinning wildly as it headed straight for her. Ryoko flung away her gun and reached for the knife. She had not yet been able to completely retract it though when she was hit dead on by her adversary. She was shaken by the impact and as she looked up she noticed the units were eye to eye. The cockpit of her opponent cleared its tint showing a woman with long black hair and, though Ryoko wasn't sure, green eyes. However, the look on her face was not that of a merciless opponent but almost one of sympathy. The next thing Ryoko knew the other unit had wrestled the knife out of her unit's hand and kicked her backwards.
Ryoko felt a jerk as she flew away. The other unit had taken her gun too. Now she was unarmed. "If it's a bare hands fight to the death she wants, that's what she'll get!" Ryoko seethed. As Suzuki watched her fling away she noticed just in time out of the corner of eye a blast of gunfire in her direction from one of the Excalibur's Aestis. She put her units hands in front of the body to block the brunt of the first wave of bullets. Then she flew away expertly dodging the fire Gundam style until her opponent was forced to reload. She then turned around with her unit facing upside down compared with her rival and fired three expert shots into the vital systems of the unit. It exploded in a burst of light and fire. Meanwhile, the fierce battle between the other three pairs was bogging into a stalemate. Izumi had handled her opponent expertly but the cocky pilot's wingman had been taken out as well.
Ryoko managed to finally right herself as she prepared to fly back into the fray of battle. Suddenly the Nadesico sent her a radar alert. From behind the Cosmos, rapidly approaching were ten UEF unmanned fighters. Just when the odds were back in their favor this has to happen!
"Sir, we are registering ten unmanned fighters approaching. They seem to be locking on our Aestevalis units so we can probably assume they are fighting with Erina," Ruri said with a calculated but alarmed voice.
Jun was getting fed up with this. "We cannot let the Cosmos escape again. Ruri ready the gravity blast cannon for firing."
Yurika jumped up and objected. "Jun, we can't use that thing! Akito is still on the ship!"
Jun turned to Yurika. "I know that and I want him back as much as you do. We're going to fire a low-power warning shot off their bow to convince them to surrender. If we don't do something she's just going to waltz out of here. Ruri relay our strategy to Akatsuki."
Ruri nodded and complied. Yurika turned and looked at the view screen with a fear of what could happen to her dear Akito if everything went wrong. "Fire warning shot!" Jun said. Ruri fired a warning shot that skipped off the corner of the Cosmos's distortion field.
The Cosmos shook from the hit. "Damage report!" Erina yelled.
"No significant damage sir. It seems to be a warning shot off our bow," the tactical officer responded. This was getting out of hand if they were actually using their gravity blast cannons.
Ryoko realized that they would soon be very outnumbered and that a gravity blast option would kill them as well as the unmanned fighters. Ryoko called for the three remaining Aestevalis units to group together. She planned to fight down to the last man if necessary. Hikaru had been her friend…
Suddenly the communicator came alive with an audio only message on an open channel. A weak voice said, "This is Amano Hikaru….please help…injured…life support crit…." The voice trailed off.
She was still alive! Ryoko trying to fight and talk at the same time radioed to Hikaru. "Amano, hold tight! We're coming for you."
Hikaru replied with a small laugh, "Ryoko….you always keep fighting don't you…don't worry about me. Get Akito and go. Get Akito...."
Megumi, listening in on the Nadesico, joined the conversation as well. "Hikaru hold on please! Don't you dare give up out there!"
There was one other person listening as well. Since Hikaru had broadcast on an open channel the enemy Aestis had heard her distress call as well. Suzuki was particularly haunted by Hikaru's last request: to help Akito. Obviously she was from the Nadesico and one of Akito's former wingmen. Something stirred inside of her giving rise to an ambivalence of action. For a moment she just sat and watched as her wingmen continued the battle. Then she went on the communicator broadcasting to the enemy Aestivalis units.
"Opposing units. You realize soon ten unmanned fighters will be arriving and you will be very outnumbered. I know you will fight to the death for you are worthy opponents. However, I am offering you a choice. Disengage now and take your wounded comrade with you and we will allow you to retreat. Otherwise you will all perish. Decide now!"
Ryoko, usually one to be hot-headed in battle, flinched at the thought of possibly saving her friend. She realized the broadcast had been from the Aesti that had bested her earlier in the fight. She turned and communicated, "Listen you Cosmos bitch, we'll meet again and next time it's personal. Izumi come with me and get Hikaru."
Suzuki gave her units a cease fire command. They retrieved Hikaru's heavily damaged Aesti and began to fly back to the Nadesico. Just in time too as the unmanned fighters were just appearing on the horizon. Once they were away, Suzuki gave her units the command to return as well.
Jun stared at the view screen. If they let them go now who knows if they could get another chance? Especially if the UEF got involved. "Ruri aim a low level blast at their PT engines. Tell Akatsuki to follow with one of the same at low power."
Yurika was torn by the sudden command. On the one hand, it seemed the logical thing to do but…"Akito" she whispered. The Nadesico and Excalibur fired rocking the Cosmos and weakening the shield near the engines.
"Captain Won, they are trying to disable us," her tactical advisor said nearly panicking.
Erina grimaced. She knew she could not win this fight and the unmanned fighters would be chewed up if they attacked the Nadesico directly. "Lower our distortion field now. Disarm the shields over our PT-engine," Erina commanded. The whole bridge jumped up and looked at her as if she was insane.
"Captain, one blast will kill us if…" the tactical advisor cried.
"I know! Do it and open a channel to Akatsuki and Misumaru." The officer looked incredulous but followed orders. Soon the faces of Akatsuki and Jun appeared on the screen. Erina, confused for a second asked, "Where is Yurika? Doesn't she want to face me directly?" At this comment Yurika appeared on the view screen with Jun. "Ahh! I see, having a few problems staying captain, Miss Misumaru?" Erina said chuckling.
"So you offer surrender? You have obviously lowered your shields?" Yurika icily stated.
"Far from it. I actually am asking you to back down. You see. You do not have enough units left to take on my Aestis and the unmanned fighters and you also can now no longer use your gravity blast cannon since I have completely unshielded the engine core. One shot and your Akito and his father's precious message will be burnt to a crisp. However, if you're here for my death only then fire away." Jun and Akatsuki looked at each other. Jun and Yurika wanted Akito. Akatsuki wanted the message. There was no way they could fire.
Erina seeing their indecision ordered her navigator to speed away back on course. "They can follow us but they won't dare attack us now," she chuckled. "Send our thanks to Admiral Shatner for the last minute help."
Jun was enraged at her clever stalemate. He looked at Yurika whose face showed an equally blank look devoid of any of her typically brilliant answers. "Minato, go after her and follow her now!" Minato nodded. The Excalibur complied as well and so the cat and mouse chase continued once again with neither Jun, Yurika, or Akatsuki sure how to exactly resolve it.
Suzuki Miaka felt sick to her stomach. Here she was, having killed again. That made twice counting the one she had dispatched at the sun. But then those were Akatsuki's men and she had tried to rationalize it by saying they would have killed others if she didn't dispatch them. But this friend of Akito's, Hikaru she called herself, had not wanted the greed or murder that seemed to be Akatsuki's mission. She only wanted her friend back. Whether or not she was alive now was anyone's guess.
She did her best to hide her look of despondence while she took her post back on the bridge. Erina noticed her look and inquired, "I know this is hard on you. This is hard on all of us. But we must remember that any other hands this information could fall into would only use it for more harm."
Suzuki nodded. She then raised her head and said, "But why are innocent people now dying in this. The crew of the Nadesico ostensibly has the same goals we do."
Erina sighed. "We both want to stop the war. We talked on this earlier. However, this super idealistic love everyone approach that the Nadesico is pursuing is not going to be stable in the long term. Something decisive must happen and we must be the ones to do it. I don't like this death any more than you but there will be millions more dead if we lose our stomach now." Suzuki nodded and turned back to her console. Erina then inquired of her navigation officer, "How long until we reach our destination?
"About a week at maximum acceleration. This is assuming we do not get too tied up by the Jovians. The Nadesico and Excalibur are following us warily from behind. They are armed and ready but not attacking. The unmanned fighters are flying tandem as planned."
Erina acknowledged the report and returned to her thoughts. Suzuki meanwhile, pretending to be doing routine strategy simulations, began to lay the foundations for her fulfillment of her promise to Akito. He needed proof she wanted to help him and proof she would give. She hacked the computers and secretly set-up a hidden program. After about an hour of work she left her post for the day.
Jun sat in his room both depressed and enraged. How could he have been so stupid?! Sending the pilots out in retrospect was a suicide mission. He should have known Erina wouldn't have backed down so easily. He should have used the PT-cannon. Yes, it put Akito in danger but how did they even know Akito was still alive? Now another tragedy had hit them.
Jun had visited Hikaru earlier in sick bay. The doctor described her in seriously critical condition. A few seconds before she had gotten back to the Nadesico, her hull had opened a breach and the rapid decompression, though it hadn't killed her outright, sent her into a cardiac arrest they were lucky they had been able to revive her from. He remembered his own lack of words as he struggled to comfort crying Izumi, Yurika, and Minato and a Ryoko who wasn't doing well at holding her own emotions in. Ryoko finally exploded on him yelling a tirade of profanities and exclaiming that this wouldn't have happened with Yurika in command.
At first he was shocked but he realized that in her pain she had to spleen at somebody so he took it the best he possibly could. Then he had come back here to work through his options. To see what hope they had to end this in a winning manner. He was ready to even negotiate, but with what? Erina had everything she wanted. They were at nothing by a disadvantage in bargaining.
His train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door. Answering it he saw Yurika, no longer crying but still with a depressed look that would break anyone's heart to see. Without words he motioned for her to come in. She walked in and noticed the pile of used tissues on the floor. Relics from Jun's own emotional outpouring. He sat on his bed not yet muttering a word. Yurika sat beside him and put her arm around him.
Jun chuckled dryly, "Now I guess it's your turn to comfort me."
Yurika turned and looked at him. "Jun, it is not a sign of weakness to need advice, help, or encouragement. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Everyone is just stressed and in despair."
"Why are they despairing Yurika? Why? Because I made some stupid tactical decisions out there. They probably wonder how the hell I finished the academy! We gained nothing, Hikaru is holding on for dear life, and we are now being blackmailed into impotence."
"Jun, you aren't dealing with a textbook situation! No one can be sure what to do. We were taught to fight wars, beat the opponent down, and blow them up. We weren't taught maneuvers to spare the lives of our opponents and rescue hostages. The Jovians were considered inhuman."
"But you should have been in command! As soon as you returned to the bridge I should have given you command back. What we need is your creative genius not my clumsy and amateur style." Jun could feel the tears coming back as he reiterated his own faults.
"Jun, I was with you the whole time. If I had had a brilliant epiphany for an idea I would have told you. You did your best. To be honest, I'm not sure what I could have done then. If it had been anyone else on that ship we wanted to save I would have been more sure and determined in both thought and action. But with Akito on that ship…" she paused as her own tears began to return. "I kept thinking with every plan I formulated in my head how it could go wrong and he could get killed and I doubted myself. At least you were decisive enough to rapidly make a decision and issue a command."
Jun, comforted as he was by these words then turned and asked her, "Yurika, I understand. If you want your command back now just say the word and you can have it."
Yurika pondered hard on the decision. She could have the reigns back. Call the shots and get back her Akito. But was this wise? In light of the way she had been performing and now Erina seemed even more desperate using Akito as a hostage she wondered whether she could reign in her emotional personality. While Akito was still hostage she would hesitate. If he was killed she may go beserk and nuke the Cosmos. She just wanted to help Akito so much. But what was the best way to help him? Risk her emotions influencing the decisions in combat? Leaving herself out of it? She finally decided by remembering what her father did back on Mars during the plague.
During the great plague everything was falling into chaos. The colonists had been sure for years that all native Martian microbes were either harmless or contained easily by medicine. Then the plague had come. It originated from a site where they were digging were methane. The hither unknown bug wreaked havoc on the human central nervous system and caused death within a week. Looting, mass hysteria, and violent fights over medicine were erupting everywhere. From the UEF came the order for the military to quarantine the survivors and declare martial law. The highest ranking officer at the time on Mars was Admiral Misumaru.
Usually he would have played the part of the good soldier and followed orders but these times were different. His wife and six month year old son Hoichi were sick with the plague as well as some of his best friends. Everyone was ordered into quarantine. No exceptions. He wanted to remain at their side but he could not do both and govern the colony. In the end he made the decision to allow his subordinate to organize the situation. Choking with tears he was held back as his wife and son were put into quarantine with the others. They both died twelve hours later. In the end, the quarantine action had saved lives, a vaccine was developed, and the plague ended.
The UEF could have disciplined Admiral Misumaru. But they didn't. Instead they awarded him the same honors as his subordinate for saving the colony. She remembered him tell her that he saved the colony not by his own actions, but allowing someone else more objective to act.
"Jun, I have the fullest confidence in you. I would like my command back, however, I believe your relatively greater objectivity is needed in command. I would like to remain on as a tactical advisor with your permission though."
Jun slowly nodded his head. "I understand Yurika. Let's get some sleep. We might have some long days ahead of us." Yurika hugged him tight and left. Jun blushed at feeling her so close. Jun laid down and closed his eyes. He hoped that perfect solution would soon present itself to get them out of this mess.
He was nearly asleep when Ruri's holographic transmission broke the silence. "Captain Jun. You have a priority transmission from Akatsuki on the Excalibur. Should I patch him through?"
Jun quietly cursed and then gave his approval. Akatuski's face, filled with seriousness and a hint of fatigue instead of his usual pomposity, came up.
"Hello, Jun. Are you alone?" Akatsuki asked.
"Yes, what is it you want. I thought we discussed our situation at length earlier?"
"We did. However, I have more things to discuss with you now that we both have privacy." Jun arched his eyebrows in interest. Akatsuki continued, "Jun, seeing how intractable our current situation is and seeing the involvement of the UEF I do not think we can come out of this winning with our current tactics."
"So what would you suggest?" Jun asked. He felt a subconscious chill creep up his spine? What is Akatsuki thinking?
"Jun, first let's look at what's important. That data she has is corrupting the UEF and Nergal and may turn the tide of this war. It must be seized at all costs. I valued Erina as an advisor and I value the Cosmos as a ship. I know you also value Akito. However, let's be honest with ourselves. The chance we're getting them back now is slim to none."
"Just what are you intimating? We negotiate? We give up? No, that's not your style is it?" Jun paused. He then blanched at the implications. "You want to kill them?!"
Akatsuki first was silent and then continued. "Jun, why did you risk your lives on Mars eighteen months ago?"
"To end the war," Jun replied.
"This thing, whatever it is, could end the war. It could also help us clear out the corrupt turkeys of the UEF," Akatsuki said forcefully.
"What about the corrupt turkeys at Nergal?" Jun asked.
Akatsuki didn't bother to hide his impatience. "Damnit Jun! We are running out of time. Hikaru nearly got killed. Do you want to see a repeat of that? Or what if the UEF gangs up on us and kills us all? Have you thought of that? Whatever is in the message, once they get to it they may dominate the solar system with it! How about that for a dystopia? I know you are skeptical but hear me out. I say we open fire on her, whether she has her shields up or not. Then we demand the contents of the message in exchange for a cease-fire…"
"How about the contents of the message AND Akito? Why is he so disposable here?" Jun shouted.
"Jun she would never give us both the message and Akito. She would lose all of her cards and it would be over. We can at least get the message. She will think she is safe because she still has Akito, but we will then shoot her down. Listen, do you want to risk this game becoming more complicated? Do you know how many friends she has at the UEF and Nergal? If you think we can beat her like this is a chess game I'll tell you right now we have very few pieces and most of them are pawns!"
"So you just give up! OK, it's fine let's just kill Erina and Akito. It's all for the greater good, right? You and your greater good can go to hell Akatsuki! I want nothing of this plan!" Jun threw his pillow at Akatsuki's hologram.
"You want nothing of my plan? On the contrary, I think this plan has everything you want. Think. We dispose of the Cosmos. We get the message. We end the war. We become heroes. I assure you a nice sum of money will be waiting back on Earth. To cover their behinds the UEF will probably promote you to admiral…"
"I don't care about any of that…except for ending the war and this isn't the way!"
"Well, you care about Yurika don't you Jun?" Akatsuki smiled. "She would be so devastated and despondent by the loss of Akito. As a friend you could comfort her. Then, as you are her only buffer against the troubles of the world, you could become much more…"
"You son of a bitch," Jun muttered. He couldn't believe he was hearing this.
"Jun, you are not killing Akito. Don't think like that. Akito is being killed by the selfish and foolish actions of his captor. The situation would end the same anyway. We are just being proactive."
"That's it! Our agreement is broken! I won't be party to any of this!" Jun stood up and yelled.
"So you want to fight me Jun? Do you think you could win AND stop Erina? I know you're feeling hot headed. Don't answer now. Think about it. Look into your heart. When you get back to your command in six hours I expect an answer." Akatsuki's hologram disappeared.
Jun stood for a moment shocked and horrified. Not only at Akatsuki but at that small evil voice within him that made his heart leap when he thought about Yurika being his. Jun grasped his head with his hands and screamed, unnoticed by the rest of the crew through the Nadesico's soundproof walls.
Author's note: I am only putting this here to warn any reader's sensibilities. There is a bit of sub-lemon content. I call it sub-lemon because it is in no way graphic or descriptive sexuality (or merit an R-rating for this fic). It's just implied. Yes, it does fit into the wider plot. A bit of mild swearing too. Just to give you a heads up. Thanks for all of the great feedback. It was really needed to help me improve as a writer. I'll acknowledge a creative debt to Huhn and his great "Where I Belong" story. For those who are familiar with its plot they'll pick up on what I mean towards the end. If you aren't familiar, now's a great time to start reading it. Now on to the next episode of the saga (which should be wrapped up in about three to five more chapters or so).
In the distance, a pale yellow speck broke the otherwise mundane white and black signature of the cosmos. In space travel lore, it was said that if you made a wish on this star for love, it would endure forever. On one ship, a Misumaru Yurika stared out at the sign telling it her heart's deepest desire. On another ship, another woman, who was not being superstitious and not especially interested in love at the moment, cast a brief glance and then returned to her report. If they could already see Venus, they were obviously making good time Erina considered. Now that they had an idea of where they needed to go they could lock in the coordinates and go all out. However, getting there was the big problem.
As she poured over the unintelligible data and explanations Erina did what she had been an expert at as a secretary at Nergal: weeding out the BS. Her science staff had gotten as far as they could for the foreseeable future in decrypting the data from Dr. Tenkawa's message. Though the essence of the message was still not deciphered they were able to retrieve a set of numerical sequences which they determined to be navigation coordinates. These coordinates had been put into the computer and the location was clear but unpleasant.
The coordinates were for an orbital object around Saturn. The object's orbit almost matched the moon Titan's orbit but not quite. Saturn had been thoroughly explored by unmanned probes and human expeditions but there were no reports of this object ever being discovered. That was not the problem though. The problem was that from their current position Saturn was less than 1 degree away from Jupiter which meant the fastest way there was directly through the heart of the Jovian empire. "Things just had to get more complicated didn't they?" she mused aloud. She ordered her communications officer to once again hail Admiral Shatner at the UEF and ask for another favor.
It took two hours for him to reply. He made no effort to hide his perturbed expression when his face appeared on the screen. "Damnit Erina, this is getting farther out of control each minute. None of this was part of our bargain! With the disc the UEF is already having enough public relations problems. We're having the bust our behinds to keep your mission secret!" After huffing and puffing a bit he calmed down to deliver the next part of the message. "As for the fact you must head through Jovian space, we can't send additional units to back you though I may be able to tie them up at another part of the front to give you some breathing room. Once you pass the front line though you're on your own. If you are for any reason attacked or boarded destroy all of the records of your mission including the disc!"
"Hmph, fancy that. He's worried about saving his own behind first," Suzuki said.
Admiral Shatner finished, "As for your request to have backup to deal with the Nadesico and Excalibur, we do not have the resources nor the political leeway to authorize such a blatant endorsement of your actions. You know the crew of both, take care of it. Bribe them or whatever. You owe me big when you get back Earthside, Won. Shatner out." The UEF emblem appeared on the screen indicating the end of the transmission.
"Navigation, set in a course for the coordinates on the disc making sure you take us to an area where there is the least fighting. Make our movements as discreet as possible," Erina commanded
Suzuki Miaka stood up and saluted, "Captain, permission to be excused from the bridge."
Erina looked at her puzzled and then shrugged, "Be back in thirty." Suzuki saluted and left.
Though Erina hoped to slip out unnoticed, she had already been detected by those she hoped to avoid. A small asteroid that raised no alarms on the Cosmos radar digested her message, sent it out as a weak microwave signal to the moon where a hidden repeater boosted the signal and sent it off towards Jupiter.
"Captain, Jun. I believe I have intercepted a two-way message between the UEF and a nearby region of space. From the level of encryption it is a highly secret message. I would bet that its recipient was the Cosmos," Megumi said turning around in her chair.
Jun smiled and replied, "Lock on that area of space and pursue with full engines. Send the message to Akatsuki to do so as well. Once we get close enough their gravitational signature should shine out and we'll have them." Minato and Ruri nodded carrying out the orders.
Ruri then turned around to voice her concern. "Captain, I don't think we should trust Akatsuki. Though it may be disastrous to fight him we should reserve an 'ace in our hand' as they say in case, I mean, when he betrays us."
Jun nodded sharing her concern. "Ruri, I want to ask you a favor in that regard. I don't know if it's possible but you may have time to pull it off. Start using our regular data transfers to get Omoikane to hack into the Excalibur's systems. I know its computer is comparable but since it only just entered service, its AI may not be as mature." Ruri nodded, flexed her wrists and instantly got on the task.
About twenty minutes later Yurika came back on the bridge. Everyone turned around and looked at her with surprise and concern. However, when Yurika blushed in embarrassment they quickly turned back as if nothing had happened. Jun gave her a salute. "Why am I being so formal?" he thought. She was noticeably in better condition though the wear of the events was still very apparent on her visage.
"At ease, Jun. Don't worry, I didn't come here to relieve you of duty. First, I wanted to apologize to you and everyone else for my actions earlier. I was foolish." Everyone gave her a sympathetic look.
Minato chimed in, "Yurika, the hell you went through is more than few people ever do. I am not sure that even Shiratori's death was as terrible. You were forgiven before you even came up here." Others nodded in agreement.
"Thank you. For the time though I will just sit and observe and leave Jun in command," she finished sitting down in Jun's usual executive officer seat. "Carry on Jun. I was just so bored back in my room and I didn't want to lose myself in sadness." Jun patted her on the back with a smile and began to brief her on the latest turn of events.
Back on Earth the UEF headquarters' calm demeanor could barely hide the bedlam inside. Accusations and counter-accusations had flown for days regarding the disc and its implications. Those responsible were often the most accusing. In the end, in order to save face and prevent the breakdown of military command during wartime, it was decided that a superficial investigation was to be launched around the matter. Most fingers pointed at the deceased Chairman Akatsuki of Nergal, who could not defend himself and his son was absent, and Admiral Misumaru, who was also absent and lacked the ability to defend himself against the charges. He was also the only person mentioned by name in the disc. So many people let out a sigh of relief that their head wouldn't be on the chopping block.
One of these venal characters, an Admiral Shatner, decided to take a break from work to converse with one of his secretaries. He had many secretaries. One would wonder why in such an automated future so many secretaries were needed for office work? Admiral Shatner said he liked his affairs to be in the hands of people rather than computers. This was true, but it also was a good front for his frequent adulterous encounters. One of his secretaries, Mimi, had been acting particularly foxy today so he invited her in for a "scheduling session". After about fifteen minutes of "scheduling" the admiral was sprawled out naked snoring on his couch with Mimi in his arms.
Mimi smiled at him and thought, giggling "Hell, my one-year old nephew doesn't sleep as hard as you do after this." When she was sure he was sleep, Mimi carefully extricated herself from his embrace and went to her clothes. She kept her eye at him, frightened with each step that he would suddenly awaken.
She rummaged through the clothes and found her jacket. She removed a pair of sunglasses from the jacket. Her real-life boyfriend had given them to her a few nights ago. He assured her could be used to see directly into the desk, walls, and any other solid substance. They worked like a charm. Her normal field of vision was replaced with a pale blue glow and a transparency of all objects. She could even see the others outside gossiping and the officers working downstairs directly below them.
She remembered the description he gave to her of a disc. It would look like any other but would probably be kept alone or in a secret place. After a while she found it—in the Admiral's uniform. He apparently wanted to keep it on him at all times. She took out the disc and placed it on a black pad she had also brought. The pad instantly copied the data from the disc. She then replaced it and slid back into his arms not wanting to risk his wrath if he woke up alone.
After he finally woke up she was dismissed and she gathered her stuff for her lunch break. The others invited her to have lunch with them but se replied that she was going to meet Jim, her boyfriend, for lunch. She hummed a recent J-pop tune to herself and she walked out the building. After going through a side exit set up to allow employees to avoid the press, she went to the subway and rode it to her boyfriend's place.
She arrived at his apartment and knocked to the rhythm of the first verse of the song she had been humming. It was "their" song. It was also a signal to him that it was her and not a MP SWAT team waiting to bust in. He let her in and embraced her with a kiss worthy of any romance movie. He then led her to the table where he had set up candles and two bottles of wine.
"How was your work, dear?" Jim asked.
"Oh, you know the usual. Crazy calls from the press and everyone's nervous," she said looking down.
He noticed her downcast appearance. "Oh, another 'scheduling session'? You know I don't care about that," he said smiling.
She looked relieved and then smiled saying, "I have a present for you!" She pulled out the black pad and displayed it like it were a prize trophy. Jim's eyes lit with excitement.
"You got it!" he exclaimed. He reached out for it but she held it out of his reach, teasing him.
"Lunch first silly!" she said sticking her tongue out.
He artfully hid his rage at her antics and they ate. After lunch and after the obligatory kiss she gave him the pad. "She's such a pain. This job would completely suck if she wasn't hot," he thought. He took it and placed it on a machine that decoded its contents. Smiling, knowing he had what he wanted, he turned back to her. She had an excited look in her eyes.
"Is this what we need? Can we finally get them to salvage my brother's honor?" she said expectedly. Her brother was at the core of why Mimi had done this. She loved Jim dearly, but she wouldn't have stooped to this depth of treason for just love. She wanted justice. Her older brother had been a brigade leader in the UEF. During the fight to retake the moon the nuclear core of his ship and several others exploded killing all hands. They had not yet arrived at the fighting so the event was blamed on the incompetence of him and his staff. The reality Mimi had learned from an informant was that a resonant echo from the new distortion weapon the Nadesico had used had caused a runaway reaction in the engine cores causing their destruction. Not wanting to dull the rising tide of morale that victory gave, the UEF instead blamed her brother for the loss.
Jim had been the only one to ever believe the story. She wanted not only for her brother to be cleared. She wanted revenge. Against the UEF and against that happy-go-lucky bitch named Misumaru Yurika. Not finding it in her means to target them directly, she decided to bring them down. Jim had convinced her that finding incriminating evidence was the best route. Luckily, Yurika's father was about to fall because of the contents of the publicly released version of the disc. However, she hoped she could use this unedited version as material to blackmail the UEF into revising their assessment of her brother and giving him full battle honors posthumously.
Jim nodded replying, "This is all we need." A tear fell from her eye and she embraced him. Jim looked down at her. He pitied her. He felt her need for justice. The oath of Gekigangar demanded it. He couldn't kill her since she was a woman which he respected above all things. But he knew she would suffer after his sudden disappearance from her life. She was so fragile and needed someone to hold onto. However, a higher duty called. All the plans were in place and in 6 hours he would fake his own death through a car accident. He would then board a shuttle to the moon where he would take a mini-chulip to Europa. To make sure his message would arrive though he would send it as soon as she left. He knew his boss would be proud. After all, Kusakabe had promised him a promotion.
Akito went over his plan again and again. He would go to the bridge offering his assistance. He would go to Erina to give her advice. He would then pull out the knife from his meal and hold her hostage until she destroyed the message. Then he would…Akito groaned as he laid face down on his bed with his head in his pillow. Then he'd what? Get shot up? Jump out the airlock? Go back to…Yurika? Well that would be figured out when the time came. He took the knife and slid it into his sleeve. Suddenly his doorbell rang and he jumped in alarm. Who the hell? In order not to seem suspicious he said, "Come in." He tried his hardest not to appear agitated. The door opened to show Suzuki's smiling face. She stepped in.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important," she said never losing her smile.
Akito stared directly into her green eyes whose hypnotic presence both soothed and frightened at the same time. "Oh nothing, just finishing up a meal," he said in a casual fashion. "May I help you? Oh let me guess, you're expecting a thank you for saving my life out there. Hell, maybe you shouldn't have saved this wreck of a life."
Suzuki's smile turned into a frown of concern. She noticed that despite his airs Akito obviously lacked sleep and more importantly, hope. A review of his room showed that it mirrored his disheveled state. "I wanted to come see how you were actually. I don't expect any gratitude. Perhaps I don't deserve it. I wish we could give you some real food," she said pointing to his half-eaten meal. "I hear chefs sometimes are cheered up by good food." As she finished she noticed something about his plate and she suddenly filled with dread.
"Akito, where is your knife?" she asked him.
Akito's bowels nearly released. He could not hide his sudden shock but he still tried to play it off. "Well I think they forgot it. That's why I didn't eat much of my meat." Suzuki, incredulous, walked towards him. "Akito, please I know the last few days have been rough but don't start thinking fatalistically." Akito bent his head and began to cry. "God, I loved her more than anything, how could she!" he stammered through tears. Struck by this sudden show of emotion, Suzuki walked over to him and embraced him. As she did he stepped back and in one deft motion spun her around and put the knife to her throat.
"OK, now I'm in charge here. We are going to go to the bridge now and we're going to have a little talk with Captain Won," he said giving his voice a sinister edge.
"Tenkawa-san, this is a very foolish stunt. If you don't remove the knife now I'll call security and…"
"You'll choke on your own blood before they get here if you try something so foolish!" he threatened.
Seeing that he was in no mood to negotiate she sighed and said, "Fine! Have it your way." In one quick motion she flung her head back hitting him in the neck sending him back choking. Before he could even comprehend fighting back she had forced his arm away from her throat. The final coup d'grace was when she flung him over her shoulder using the arm that he held the knife in and slammed him to the floor. Akito momentarily blacked out due to the blow but was awakened by a great pain in his arm which she held, ready to break it if it was her whim.
"Tenkawa, this is not going to get you anywhere. Do you realize how foolish a plan that was? Did you ever think such an idiot scheme would work?" She took the knife from his hand and after a second of contemplation, released his arm unharmed.
Akito cradled his arm to his chest looking at her with an intense hatred. "Just do it now! Stab me and get it over with. You've already taken everything else. My pride, my life…" he was stopped in mid-sentence as she kneeled down and slapped him.
"How can you give up so easily? How could you call everything lost now? Is this the Akito who became one of the great unsung heroes of the war? Is this the man whose effort and can do attitude won the heart of the fairest captain in the fleet? Akito this is nonsense. Your father would be ashamed of you!"
Akito became even more enraged. "Who the hell do you think you are? What do you know of my father or my life?"
She paused. "I read the reviews and profiles of him. I think I know him well enough to make such a statement and you know it. You will better honor his memory by at least coming up with a better escape than that!" Akito turned despondent and disgusted. "Well, Akito. Even if you think no one or nothing is in your corner you still have Yurika."
Akito let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, her and her murderous father. What a great combination!"
"How do you know they are guilty?" Suzuki asked.
Akito rolled his eyes. "It's as clear as day. Didn't you see Admiral Shatner's congratulations of their 'retrieval' of me?"
"Akito, that message is a fake," Miaka said sitting down on his bed. If she had told Akito that the world was about to end he wouldn't have received a bigger shock. At first he remained incredulous.
"What? How and why would an admiral risk his career to lie about something like that?" he said unwilling to turn around and face her.
"Well do you think being partially at fault for your father's murder and having Captain Won save his behind are good reasons? Look at you. When you got that message you fell right into our grasp like putty. The only person you truly trusted you felt had betrayed you. It was a perfect strategy."
"Erina, in league with the UEF? How could that be possible?" Akito trailed off finally facing Suzuki with his eyes beginning to become moist realizing the possibility of Yurika's innocence.
"Remember when we left Earth? Remember how Nergal tried to stop us? Remember how the UEF defenses left us alone until we were spaceborne? Don't you see how much leverage this disc gives Captain Won over certain UEF persons?"
"So Yurika and her father are innoncent," he said with the first faint glimmers of hope rekindling in his chest like embers with fresh fuel.
"I cannot vouch for Admiral Misumaru but Yurika is clean to my knowledge. The broadcast was an arranged fake between ourselves and Admiral Shatner."
Akito pondered the possibility for a moment. It seemed completely plausible. Then, suddenly he became suspicious. Even if this was true why was she telling him this? Of course! This was the good cop-bad cop routine. Erina played super-bitch while Suzuki buttered him up and acted like his friend to get him to talk. The bile that had just dissipated quickly returned with a vengeance.
"First of all, how do I know I should believe a damn word you're saying? Second, if you think this is going to butter me up to make me cooperative to find my father's secret, you'd better go take better acting classes Suzuki Miaka!"
Suzuki closed her eyes. "I know you find it hard to trust me. I don't blame you. But I want to help you and right now I'm the only friend you have!"
"With friends like you've been to me I really don't need enemies. Besides this whole ship is under surveillance. If you were honest then this sort of revelation could get you killed," Akito grumbled.
Suzuki pondered her options. She wasn't getting through to him. She had to give him proof. "I disabled the security and eavesdropping devices before I came here. I understand your lack of trust so I will do this. In the next 24 hours I will provide you proof of my genuine intentions. Meanwhile value your own life a bit and don't do anything stupid." She threw the knife back to him and Akito caught it. Without another word, she walked out.
Kusakabe grinned with a smile of victory as he signed the promotion order for one of his lieutenants. He had delivered on his promise and in good fashion and timing. The disc itself still implicated Misumaru and the rest of the UEF in Dr. Tenkawa's murder. Kusakabe cared little for the plots of the evil UEF, however. What really interested him was the suggestion of an even greater secret left by the Ancients. Logically, the message had been near the sun and thus the firefight. A recently decoded message from the Cosmos to Earth though had revealed a larger bonus. The "secret" was in Jovian territory. Won had asked for UEF backup and had received a cool reply. The only problem was the message did not indicate where the secret was in Jovian territory.
Kusakabe sat back and pondered his options on how to best deal with this. He was awakened by a buzz. His electronic secretary (he did not trust the duplicitous behavior of people) alerted him that Dr. Fressange had arrived. He cleared his desk of any confidential material and then gave the OK for her to enter.
Inez walked in with her usual stoic face and stiff gait. She noticed that Kusakabe had not provided her a chair to sit in. "Just another example of his power mania," she thought. She wondered how long she would have to continue to work for him and his fascist agenda. However, the right situation to make escape possible had not yet arisen so she played along the best she could.
"Dr. Fressange, I have some interesting news for you. There is turmoil brewing in the UEF over a disc that was found from the father of Tenkawa Akito. I believe he was a former crew member of yours."
"Really?" Inez said not giving any indication of neither interest nor nonchalance.
Kusakabe continued, "It seems the disc contained a message about a lost artifact or piece of information about the Ancients. Ms. Erina Won of the Nergal Corporation has gone after this prize with the Nadesico under Captain Misumaru and the new Nergal ship Excalibur under Akatsuki Nagare in hot pursuit."
Inez feigned a look of slight interest. Unknown to Kusakabe she already knew most of this. A few months ago she had been able to insert a sniffing program on the Jovian intelligence feeds so she had read and reviewed many bits of information before they hit his desk.
"Finally, they appear to be headed towards Jovian territory. It seems whatever they are looking for may be right under our noses. It is interesting to see how this plays out since the father of Captain Misumaru was implicated in the death of Dr. Tenkawa on the disc."
Inez could barely hide her shock at these revelations. These were new to her and must have been obtained by Kusakabe through back channels. If Admiral Misumaru was indeed implicated, what would it do to Yurika and Akito's relationship? What exactly were they looking for? No matter what it was she knew that the Jovians, UEF, or even Nergal would only use it for more death and destruction. She must get there first. Her train of thought was broken by Kusakabe's continued monologue.
"We will be launching shortly to follow them in our newest and stealthiest battleship. When they arrive we will pounce and take it for ourselves!" he said finishing with his own satisfied and sinister grin.
"So you choose to continue on the path of war? Haven't you realized that no one is winning this and in fact now you are losing?" Inez replied.
Kusakabe smiled. "Dear Inez, you know more than I do that only in Jovian dominance can true peace be achieved. Don't you see what the UEF does when allowed supremacy? Anyway you wouldn't want me to use any more persuasive tactics on your colleagues would you?"
Inez flinched. She could not allow her friends to be tortured or humiliated by this monster. Then in a typical flash of Fressange brilliancy she saw a way out. She quickly hypothesized that Erina was trying to make a power play by grabbing the artifact first, Akatsuki was trying to stop her and the Nadesico was caught in between…probably trying to do the right thing. Therefore if they pursued them she could have a chance to allow her and her colleagues to escape. "Fine, I will help. But I want my staff with me. You will need all of their skills if you hope to understand what we find."
"Deal. I'll see you at the docking bay in 24 hours Fressange. You are dismissed," Kusakabe finished.
Inez got up to leave and then paused and asked, "Why are you giving me so much information? Usually you don't give anyone anything but orders on a need to know basis."
"These are your former crewmates. I expect you to help me ensnare them Inez," Kusakabe stated dryly.
"I see," Inez finished and walked out.
Jun stared intently at the view screen as they steadily stalked their prey. The gravitational scan had confirmed it. It was the Cosmos and now both he and the Excalibur were creeping up on it like a lion on a wildebeest. The very stream of high-energy ions the Cosmos had been hiding in to shield their own presence was now helping keep them ignorant of their pursuers. In ten minutes they would be within range for both the PT cannon and the Aestis. Ryoko, Hikaru, and Izumi were all ready in their Aestevalis's for immediate launch. Everything would fall into place.
"Captain," Ruri called. "They have begun to accelerate and their distortion field is going up." "Crap! We were almost there. Continue pursuit at full power to engines!" Minato acknowledged his command as the Nadesico and Excalibur charged ahead in formation at the Cosmos. Jun began describing the rules of engagement. "Remember everyone, we want to disable them with as little loss of life as possible. Therefore we're going to hold off the PT cannon unless we are in a no-win situation. Seiya! Are the Aestis ready for launch?"
Seiya's face popped up, "Ready on your mark captain!"
Jun hailed the Excalibur and requested that Akatsuki report the status of his Aesti units. His eternal smile of confidence appeared on the view screen. "We are waiting for you Captain Jun," he said then laughing.
Jun gritted his teeth. "Fine, LAUNCH!" The three pilots of the Nadesico and five from the Excalibur launched into space on a direct vector for the Cosmos.
"Captain Won, they have launched eight Aestis towards us. Arrival time is five minutes. Please advise," the tactical officer said alarmed.
Erina reviewed her options. It seems like all of her enemies had teamed up against her. Using the PT cannon against them would be a devastating show of force that could force them to reply in kind. She didn't think the Cosmos could hold too long against the combined force of the Excalibur and Nadesico. They would have to fight with suits it seemed. "Suzuki, how many Aestis and pilots are ready?"
Suzuki looked discouraged, "Including myself we have four total. It doesn't look like a fair fight."
"Then we will make it fair! I have prepared for this contingency. You will have one additional bit of help. One of the shuttles has been loaded with explosives. We will launch it with you on autopilot. On my signal break out of formation quickly and we will set it off. That may help level the playing field some."
Suzuki saluted. "We will scramble in three minutes!"
Wing leader Ryoko stared down the Cosmos with a cruel determination in her eyes. She knew her mission and they would take the Cosmos down. If Akito wasn't in there she would probably discard the rules of engagement and rip it to shreds. However, his presence tempered her rage (though she would firmly deny any feelings for him).
"We have five blips on the screen Ryoko! It seems to be four Aestis and a shuttle!" Hikaru yelled from her holographic image.
"A shuttle? They must be getting desperate and have outfitted it with guns to try to even the odds. Even so, such a slow moving target should be easy." Ryoko then called the wing leader of the Excalibur Aestis. "You all take the two on the right and the shuttle. We'll hand the two on the left."
The Excalibur Aesti wing leader came on the screen with his cocky pearl white grin. "Roger that sweet stuff. Just call papa if you need any help." Ryoko seethed. Even Akatsuki's pilots were cocky bastards.
"Come here little kittens!" Izumi said in her usual randomness.
"Jun, something's wrong," Yurika commented from the executive officer's seat.
Jun nodded. "Why are they sending a shuttle into battle? They have such poor maneuverability!" he said.
"Even with weapons it would be a sitting duck…Jun something is very, very wrong. Tell the pilots to proceed with extreme caution," Yurika said.. Megumi relayed the order to the squadron.
"We're ready captain. On your mark!" the tactical advisor told Erina.
Erina sat quietly and then suddenly said, "NOW! All pilots break formation!"
"JUN!" Yurika screamed. She didn't have to finish, Jun saw it. The opposing Aestis went in all directions while the shuttle stayed on course for the Nadesico's and Excalibur's suits.
"All pilots take immediate evasive action, I repeat take immediate evasive action," Jun yelled.
Ryoko didn't need to hear the repetition, she was already making a sharp 90 degree turn away from the shuttle's path. Suddenly her screen lit up with light as a massive explosion followed by white hot shrapnel filled the read out. "Everyone watch out!" she yelled. Ryoko felt a massive jolt as something hit her Aestivalis's leg. As she went spinning, trying to regain control, she could see explosions in the distance. Explosions where some of her allies had been. Fighting hard, she regained control. Luckily, the bottom of her unit's leg only had a gash with no permanent system damage.
"All units report!" she screamed into her communicator.
After a pause that seemed to last a thousand years Izumi's face popped up on the view screen. "I'm fine. I have a small injury to my left arm that decreases its mobility but nothing too serious."
Three of the other units from the Excalibur also called in, including their smart aleck wing leader who now looked more afraid than cocky. After repeated calls Ryoko realized that there were at least two losses from the Excalibur's group…and Hikaru. Ryoko, who usually lost her cool only to go into a rage was now pleading and crying into her communicator on all channels. "Amano Hikaru please report! Hikaru, please!" As if to answer her calls her computer indicated the activation of the distress beacon from Hikaru's Aestevalis unit.
"Come on, move damnit!" Izumi called over the communicator. The beacon continued but there was no movement. As if to jolt them back into reality a warning indicator went off alerting them to the immediate arrival of four hostile Aestevalis units. Ryoko's melancholy quickly transformed into a white hot rage of vengeance as she charged her opponent.
The data in the beacon gave reports on the vitals of both the Aestevalis and the pilot. Back on the Nadesico Ruri solemnly read the data. "Pilot Hikaru is still alive but in need of serious medical treatment. Her Aestevalis is for all purposes disabled and there is a constant danger of a hull breach at any moment."
Jun struck the console with his fist and yelled, "Damn! All pilots mobilize against the enemy Aestevalis units. Ruri charge the PT cannon!" Ruri hesitated and then complied.
Yurika turned and looked at Jun incredulously. "Jun wait! Akito is still on board!"
Jun turned and said. "Yurika if we let them push us around more people are going to die. Do you want that?" Yurika stared back at the screen trying to use every military tactic she had ever learned to resolve the situation. But her usually lucid and brilliant thoughts were clouded. It would be so easy if only Akito wasn't in danger. If the destruction of the Cosmos was enough.
"I'm going to give you bastards everything you deserve! I'll see you in hell!" Ryoko screamed as she came against the lead Aestevalis in the group. It quickly skipped away avoiding her fire with its expert gyrations and maneuvers. Suddenly it stopped and turned, spinning wildly as it headed straight for her. Ryoko flung away her gun and reached for the knife. She had not yet been able to completely retract it though when she was hit dead on by her adversary. She was shaken by the impact and as she looked up she noticed the units were eye to eye. The cockpit of her opponent cleared its tint showing a woman with long black hair and, though Ryoko wasn't sure, green eyes. However, the look on her face was not that of a merciless opponent but almost one of sympathy. The next thing Ryoko knew the other unit had wrestled the knife out of her unit's hand and kicked her backwards.
Ryoko felt a jerk as she flew away. The other unit had taken her gun too. Now she was unarmed. "If it's a bare hands fight to the death she wants, that's what she'll get!" Ryoko seethed. As Suzuki watched her fling away she noticed just in time out of the corner of eye a blast of gunfire in her direction from one of the Excalibur's Aestis. She put her units hands in front of the body to block the brunt of the first wave of bullets. Then she flew away expertly dodging the fire Gundam style until her opponent was forced to reload. She then turned around with her unit facing upside down compared with her rival and fired three expert shots into the vital systems of the unit. It exploded in a burst of light and fire. Meanwhile, the fierce battle between the other three pairs was bogging into a stalemate. Izumi had handled her opponent expertly but the cocky pilot's wingman had been taken out as well.
Ryoko managed to finally right herself as she prepared to fly back into the fray of battle. Suddenly the Nadesico sent her a radar alert. From behind the Cosmos, rapidly approaching were ten UEF unmanned fighters. Just when the odds were back in their favor this has to happen!
"Sir, we are registering ten unmanned fighters approaching. They seem to be locking on our Aestevalis units so we can probably assume they are fighting with Erina," Ruri said with a calculated but alarmed voice.
Jun was getting fed up with this. "We cannot let the Cosmos escape again. Ruri ready the gravity blast cannon for firing."
Yurika jumped up and objected. "Jun, we can't use that thing! Akito is still on the ship!"
Jun turned to Yurika. "I know that and I want him back as much as you do. We're going to fire a low-power warning shot off their bow to convince them to surrender. If we don't do something she's just going to waltz out of here. Ruri relay our strategy to Akatsuki."
Ruri nodded and complied. Yurika turned and looked at the view screen with a fear of what could happen to her dear Akito if everything went wrong. "Fire warning shot!" Jun said. Ruri fired a warning shot that skipped off the corner of the Cosmos's distortion field.
The Cosmos shook from the hit. "Damage report!" Erina yelled.
"No significant damage sir. It seems to be a warning shot off our bow," the tactical officer responded. This was getting out of hand if they were actually using their gravity blast cannons.
Ryoko realized that they would soon be very outnumbered and that a gravity blast option would kill them as well as the unmanned fighters. Ryoko called for the three remaining Aestevalis units to group together. She planned to fight down to the last man if necessary. Hikaru had been her friend…
Suddenly the communicator came alive with an audio only message on an open channel. A weak voice said, "This is Amano Hikaru….please help…injured…life support crit…." The voice trailed off.
She was still alive! Ryoko trying to fight and talk at the same time radioed to Hikaru. "Amano, hold tight! We're coming for you."
Hikaru replied with a small laugh, "Ryoko….you always keep fighting don't you…don't worry about me. Get Akito and go. Get Akito...."
Megumi, listening in on the Nadesico, joined the conversation as well. "Hikaru hold on please! Don't you dare give up out there!"
There was one other person listening as well. Since Hikaru had broadcast on an open channel the enemy Aestis had heard her distress call as well. Suzuki was particularly haunted by Hikaru's last request: to help Akito. Obviously she was from the Nadesico and one of Akito's former wingmen. Something stirred inside of her giving rise to an ambivalence of action. For a moment she just sat and watched as her wingmen continued the battle. Then she went on the communicator broadcasting to the enemy Aestivalis units.
"Opposing units. You realize soon ten unmanned fighters will be arriving and you will be very outnumbered. I know you will fight to the death for you are worthy opponents. However, I am offering you a choice. Disengage now and take your wounded comrade with you and we will allow you to retreat. Otherwise you will all perish. Decide now!"
Ryoko, usually one to be hot-headed in battle, flinched at the thought of possibly saving her friend. She realized the broadcast had been from the Aesti that had bested her earlier in the fight. She turned and communicated, "Listen you Cosmos bitch, we'll meet again and next time it's personal. Izumi come with me and get Hikaru."
Suzuki gave her units a cease fire command. They retrieved Hikaru's heavily damaged Aesti and began to fly back to the Nadesico. Just in time too as the unmanned fighters were just appearing on the horizon. Once they were away, Suzuki gave her units the command to return as well.
Jun stared at the view screen. If they let them go now who knows if they could get another chance? Especially if the UEF got involved. "Ruri aim a low level blast at their PT engines. Tell Akatsuki to follow with one of the same at low power."
Yurika was torn by the sudden command. On the one hand, it seemed the logical thing to do but…"Akito" she whispered. The Nadesico and Excalibur fired rocking the Cosmos and weakening the shield near the engines.
"Captain Won, they are trying to disable us," her tactical advisor said nearly panicking.
Erina grimaced. She knew she could not win this fight and the unmanned fighters would be chewed up if they attacked the Nadesico directly. "Lower our distortion field now. Disarm the shields over our PT-engine," Erina commanded. The whole bridge jumped up and looked at her as if she was insane.
"Captain, one blast will kill us if…" the tactical advisor cried.
"I know! Do it and open a channel to Akatsuki and Misumaru." The officer looked incredulous but followed orders. Soon the faces of Akatsuki and Jun appeared on the screen. Erina, confused for a second asked, "Where is Yurika? Doesn't she want to face me directly?" At this comment Yurika appeared on the view screen with Jun. "Ahh! I see, having a few problems staying captain, Miss Misumaru?" Erina said chuckling.
"So you offer surrender? You have obviously lowered your shields?" Yurika icily stated.
"Far from it. I actually am asking you to back down. You see. You do not have enough units left to take on my Aestis and the unmanned fighters and you also can now no longer use your gravity blast cannon since I have completely unshielded the engine core. One shot and your Akito and his father's precious message will be burnt to a crisp. However, if you're here for my death only then fire away." Jun and Akatsuki looked at each other. Jun and Yurika wanted Akito. Akatsuki wanted the message. There was no way they could fire.
Erina seeing their indecision ordered her navigator to speed away back on course. "They can follow us but they won't dare attack us now," she chuckled. "Send our thanks to Admiral Shatner for the last minute help."
Jun was enraged at her clever stalemate. He looked at Yurika whose face showed an equally blank look devoid of any of her typically brilliant answers. "Minato, go after her and follow her now!" Minato nodded. The Excalibur complied as well and so the cat and mouse chase continued once again with neither Jun, Yurika, or Akatsuki sure how to exactly resolve it.
Suzuki Miaka felt sick to her stomach. Here she was, having killed again. That made twice counting the one she had dispatched at the sun. But then those were Akatsuki's men and she had tried to rationalize it by saying they would have killed others if she didn't dispatch them. But this friend of Akito's, Hikaru she called herself, had not wanted the greed or murder that seemed to be Akatsuki's mission. She only wanted her friend back. Whether or not she was alive now was anyone's guess.
She did her best to hide her look of despondence while she took her post back on the bridge. Erina noticed her look and inquired, "I know this is hard on you. This is hard on all of us. But we must remember that any other hands this information could fall into would only use it for more harm."
Suzuki nodded. She then raised her head and said, "But why are innocent people now dying in this. The crew of the Nadesico ostensibly has the same goals we do."
Erina sighed. "We both want to stop the war. We talked on this earlier. However, this super idealistic love everyone approach that the Nadesico is pursuing is not going to be stable in the long term. Something decisive must happen and we must be the ones to do it. I don't like this death any more than you but there will be millions more dead if we lose our stomach now." Suzuki nodded and turned back to her console. Erina then inquired of her navigation officer, "How long until we reach our destination?
"About a week at maximum acceleration. This is assuming we do not get too tied up by the Jovians. The Nadesico and Excalibur are following us warily from behind. They are armed and ready but not attacking. The unmanned fighters are flying tandem as planned."
Erina acknowledged the report and returned to her thoughts. Suzuki meanwhile, pretending to be doing routine strategy simulations, began to lay the foundations for her fulfillment of her promise to Akito. He needed proof she wanted to help him and proof she would give. She hacked the computers and secretly set-up a hidden program. After about an hour of work she left her post for the day.
Jun sat in his room both depressed and enraged. How could he have been so stupid?! Sending the pilots out in retrospect was a suicide mission. He should have known Erina wouldn't have backed down so easily. He should have used the PT-cannon. Yes, it put Akito in danger but how did they even know Akito was still alive? Now another tragedy had hit them.
Jun had visited Hikaru earlier in sick bay. The doctor described her in seriously critical condition. A few seconds before she had gotten back to the Nadesico, her hull had opened a breach and the rapid decompression, though it hadn't killed her outright, sent her into a cardiac arrest they were lucky they had been able to revive her from. He remembered his own lack of words as he struggled to comfort crying Izumi, Yurika, and Minato and a Ryoko who wasn't doing well at holding her own emotions in. Ryoko finally exploded on him yelling a tirade of profanities and exclaiming that this wouldn't have happened with Yurika in command.
At first he was shocked but he realized that in her pain she had to spleen at somebody so he took it the best he possibly could. Then he had come back here to work through his options. To see what hope they had to end this in a winning manner. He was ready to even negotiate, but with what? Erina had everything she wanted. They were at nothing by a disadvantage in bargaining.
His train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door. Answering it he saw Yurika, no longer crying but still with a depressed look that would break anyone's heart to see. Without words he motioned for her to come in. She walked in and noticed the pile of used tissues on the floor. Relics from Jun's own emotional outpouring. He sat on his bed not yet muttering a word. Yurika sat beside him and put her arm around him.
Jun chuckled dryly, "Now I guess it's your turn to comfort me."
Yurika turned and looked at him. "Jun, it is not a sign of weakness to need advice, help, or encouragement. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Everyone is just stressed and in despair."
"Why are they despairing Yurika? Why? Because I made some stupid tactical decisions out there. They probably wonder how the hell I finished the academy! We gained nothing, Hikaru is holding on for dear life, and we are now being blackmailed into impotence."
"Jun, you aren't dealing with a textbook situation! No one can be sure what to do. We were taught to fight wars, beat the opponent down, and blow them up. We weren't taught maneuvers to spare the lives of our opponents and rescue hostages. The Jovians were considered inhuman."
"But you should have been in command! As soon as you returned to the bridge I should have given you command back. What we need is your creative genius not my clumsy and amateur style." Jun could feel the tears coming back as he reiterated his own faults.
"Jun, I was with you the whole time. If I had had a brilliant epiphany for an idea I would have told you. You did your best. To be honest, I'm not sure what I could have done then. If it had been anyone else on that ship we wanted to save I would have been more sure and determined in both thought and action. But with Akito on that ship…" she paused as her own tears began to return. "I kept thinking with every plan I formulated in my head how it could go wrong and he could get killed and I doubted myself. At least you were decisive enough to rapidly make a decision and issue a command."
Jun, comforted as he was by these words then turned and asked her, "Yurika, I understand. If you want your command back now just say the word and you can have it."
Yurika pondered hard on the decision. She could have the reigns back. Call the shots and get back her Akito. But was this wise? In light of the way she had been performing and now Erina seemed even more desperate using Akito as a hostage she wondered whether she could reign in her emotional personality. While Akito was still hostage she would hesitate. If he was killed she may go beserk and nuke the Cosmos. She just wanted to help Akito so much. But what was the best way to help him? Risk her emotions influencing the decisions in combat? Leaving herself out of it? She finally decided by remembering what her father did back on Mars during the plague.
During the great plague everything was falling into chaos. The colonists had been sure for years that all native Martian microbes were either harmless or contained easily by medicine. Then the plague had come. It originated from a site where they were digging were methane. The hither unknown bug wreaked havoc on the human central nervous system and caused death within a week. Looting, mass hysteria, and violent fights over medicine were erupting everywhere. From the UEF came the order for the military to quarantine the survivors and declare martial law. The highest ranking officer at the time on Mars was Admiral Misumaru.
Usually he would have played the part of the good soldier and followed orders but these times were different. His wife and six month year old son Hoichi were sick with the plague as well as some of his best friends. Everyone was ordered into quarantine. No exceptions. He wanted to remain at their side but he could not do both and govern the colony. In the end he made the decision to allow his subordinate to organize the situation. Choking with tears he was held back as his wife and son were put into quarantine with the others. They both died twelve hours later. In the end, the quarantine action had saved lives, a vaccine was developed, and the plague ended.
The UEF could have disciplined Admiral Misumaru. But they didn't. Instead they awarded him the same honors as his subordinate for saving the colony. She remembered him tell her that he saved the colony not by his own actions, but allowing someone else more objective to act.
"Jun, I have the fullest confidence in you. I would like my command back, however, I believe your relatively greater objectivity is needed in command. I would like to remain on as a tactical advisor with your permission though."
Jun slowly nodded his head. "I understand Yurika. Let's get some sleep. We might have some long days ahead of us." Yurika hugged him tight and left. Jun blushed at feeling her so close. Jun laid down and closed his eyes. He hoped that perfect solution would soon present itself to get them out of this mess.
He was nearly asleep when Ruri's holographic transmission broke the silence. "Captain Jun. You have a priority transmission from Akatsuki on the Excalibur. Should I patch him through?"
Jun quietly cursed and then gave his approval. Akatuski's face, filled with seriousness and a hint of fatigue instead of his usual pomposity, came up.
"Hello, Jun. Are you alone?" Akatsuki asked.
"Yes, what is it you want. I thought we discussed our situation at length earlier?"
"We did. However, I have more things to discuss with you now that we both have privacy." Jun arched his eyebrows in interest. Akatsuki continued, "Jun, seeing how intractable our current situation is and seeing the involvement of the UEF I do not think we can come out of this winning with our current tactics."
"So what would you suggest?" Jun asked. He felt a subconscious chill creep up his spine? What is Akatsuki thinking?
"Jun, first let's look at what's important. That data she has is corrupting the UEF and Nergal and may turn the tide of this war. It must be seized at all costs. I valued Erina as an advisor and I value the Cosmos as a ship. I know you also value Akito. However, let's be honest with ourselves. The chance we're getting them back now is slim to none."
"Just what are you intimating? We negotiate? We give up? No, that's not your style is it?" Jun paused. He then blanched at the implications. "You want to kill them?!"
Akatsuki first was silent and then continued. "Jun, why did you risk your lives on Mars eighteen months ago?"
"To end the war," Jun replied.
"This thing, whatever it is, could end the war. It could also help us clear out the corrupt turkeys of the UEF," Akatsuki said forcefully.
"What about the corrupt turkeys at Nergal?" Jun asked.
Akatsuki didn't bother to hide his impatience. "Damnit Jun! We are running out of time. Hikaru nearly got killed. Do you want to see a repeat of that? Or what if the UEF gangs up on us and kills us all? Have you thought of that? Whatever is in the message, once they get to it they may dominate the solar system with it! How about that for a dystopia? I know you are skeptical but hear me out. I say we open fire on her, whether she has her shields up or not. Then we demand the contents of the message in exchange for a cease-fire…"
"How about the contents of the message AND Akito? Why is he so disposable here?" Jun shouted.
"Jun she would never give us both the message and Akito. She would lose all of her cards and it would be over. We can at least get the message. She will think she is safe because she still has Akito, but we will then shoot her down. Listen, do you want to risk this game becoming more complicated? Do you know how many friends she has at the UEF and Nergal? If you think we can beat her like this is a chess game I'll tell you right now we have very few pieces and most of them are pawns!"
"So you just give up! OK, it's fine let's just kill Erina and Akito. It's all for the greater good, right? You and your greater good can go to hell Akatsuki! I want nothing of this plan!" Jun threw his pillow at Akatsuki's hologram.
"You want nothing of my plan? On the contrary, I think this plan has everything you want. Think. We dispose of the Cosmos. We get the message. We end the war. We become heroes. I assure you a nice sum of money will be waiting back on Earth. To cover their behinds the UEF will probably promote you to admiral…"
"I don't care about any of that…except for ending the war and this isn't the way!"
"Well, you care about Yurika don't you Jun?" Akatsuki smiled. "She would be so devastated and despondent by the loss of Akito. As a friend you could comfort her. Then, as you are her only buffer against the troubles of the world, you could become much more…"
"You son of a bitch," Jun muttered. He couldn't believe he was hearing this.
"Jun, you are not killing Akito. Don't think like that. Akito is being killed by the selfish and foolish actions of his captor. The situation would end the same anyway. We are just being proactive."
"That's it! Our agreement is broken! I won't be party to any of this!" Jun stood up and yelled.
"So you want to fight me Jun? Do you think you could win AND stop Erina? I know you're feeling hot headed. Don't answer now. Think about it. Look into your heart. When you get back to your command in six hours I expect an answer." Akatsuki's hologram disappeared.
Jun stood for a moment shocked and horrified. Not only at Akatsuki but at that small evil voice within him that made his heart leap when he thought about Yurika being his. Jun grasped his head with his hands and screamed, unnoticed by the rest of the crew through the Nadesico's soundproof walls.
