Chapter 12 – True Identities

A/N: As before I have had little time to do a lot of things I have wanted including finishing up the fic. However, as a bonus for the lag time I am uploading two chapters this go around. Enjoy and continue the feedback.

Suzuki walked down the hall of the Nadesico with her normal mix of caution and curiosity. It seems the people of the Nadesico had gotten used to seeing her but still she had not yet allowed herself to drop her guard. Traitors or spies could be anywhere. "Traitors like me," she thought. She stopped at the door when she reached her destination and rang the doorbell. It was soon answered by a surprised Akito.

"Suzuki, I haven't seen much of you in the last day or so. What's up?" he asked. Though he still was slightly suspicious of her, the help she had so selflessly provided him had dulled his normal cautious instincts. Once he got to know you and felt you were trustworthy, Tenkawa Akito was pretty forgiving of past misunderstandings as Shiratori and Jun knew quite well.

"You called me when I was not in my room. I just happened to be in the area and thought I might stop by. Can I come in?" she asked. Akito betrayed a look of even greater surprise at that comment. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" she asked apologetically. The comment did the trick as Akito turned beet red.

"What?! What would you be interrupting?!"

"I mean if the Captain is around…" she continued.

"Hold on! Yurika is my girlfriend but that doesn't mean I…well, I mean we love each other but not just yet you see but…." Miaka pushed Akito aside as he stuttered a bunch of incoherent denials and entered the room and sat on the side of his bed.

"So what do you want to talk about?" she asked looking deep into his eyes. Akito sat down next to her more than a bit unnerved by her fixed and constant gaze.

"Well, I was just wondering what you felt your purpose was now you were on the Nadesico. I mean, Yurika and I were just wondering if we have been hospitable to you and if there is anything else you may have wanted," he started.

"I have been provided with most of what I need. The crew, with some exceptions, has been very respectful to me," she continued.

"Well, you must understand everyone has mixed feelings about you including me. You saved me but poor Hikaru nearly paid with her life for your earlier folly. You must be understanding of these facts," Akito replied.

"But Hikaru is doing much better now. The doctors say she should be out within a few days," Suzuki said.

"Yes, that's true. It was indeed a miraculous recovery. It took a lot off of Ryoko's shoulders. She had been through hell seeing her friend suffer like that."

"I don't believe in miracles," Suzuki said blankly staring at the wall.

"You remind me a bit about someone I once knew with that statement. Inez Fressange was the chief scientist on the Nadesico during our mission," Akito said almost surrendering to nostalgia.

"I was an employee of Nergal. I read all of her work. She is a very brilliant woman. I would have liked to have known her when she was alive."

"Suzuki, do you have any friends?"

"Did you have any before the Nadesico?" she asked.

Akito shook his head. "Not really, this place is the closest to home I've known since the destruction of Utopia Colony."

"Then you understand my situation. But perhaps I could make some friends here..." she said giving him that stare again.

"Well, yeah, I guess so Suzuki…" Akito said unconsciously inching away from her on the bed. Suddenly the door opened and they both jumped at the sudden visitor.

"AKITO!" Yurika said as she took her shoes off and walked into the room. Damn, some things about Yurika got on his nerves at times and the fact that she didn't think she had to knock was one of them.

"Akito, I'm ready to learn some more cook…" Yurika stopped when she saw Akito and Suzuki sitting together on the bed.

"Hello, Captain Misumaru. It is good to see you again," Suzuki said stating her comment in a slightly sardonic manner.

"Hello, Suzuki-san. I hope you are doing well here," Yurika replied back in a curious tone.

"Yes, I am doing fine. Akito assured me that you all would do your best to accommodate me. Thank you. I was actually just leaving. See you Akito," she said and got up and left. Akito waved to her though he never took his eyes of Yurika's inquisitive stare as the blood rushed to his face.

"Hey, Yurika want to go cook?" he asked her as if nothing had happened.

"So you trust her enough to let her in your room? I didn't know you knew her that well," Yurika asked him.

"Oh come on Yurika! Don't start this jealousy fit again," Akito replied defensively.

"Jealousy?! Are you saying I have something to be jealous about? I just asked a simple question on how much you trust her!" Yurika shouted back starting to lose her composure.

"OK, OK. She pushed herself in the room, I didn't know what to do. She has seemed helpful enough so I didn't think she would try anything, especially here. Can we drop this now?" Akito asked. "Anyway, it's your turn to cook the chicken today so you better not be distracted he said throwing an apron at her." Yurika caught it and began smiling again.

"Akito is going to teach me to be the world's best cook!" she declared. Akito shook his head and began to laugh.


"You have clearance to dock Admiral. Welcome to the Excalibur," the communications officer informed him. Admiral Misumaru acknowledged the communication and began to dock the Hinagiku into the side of the Excalibur. He waited a moment to allow the systems to power down to docking mode and then opened the airlock. On the other side, Aoi Jun waited for him alone as promised.

"Hello admiral. Welcome aboard the Excalibur. I have everything arranged that you asked for," Jun said with a salute. Admiral Misumaru returned the salute.

"Well, Jun finally has his own command. You deserve it son," he said patting him on the shoulder. "Where can we talk in private?"

"I've arranged for us to go to the ready room. We are not to be disturbed unless there is an emergency," Jun replied. "May I ask now what this is about?"

"Strangely enough, Jun, I'm still not completely sure myself. I want to look some things over with you and get your advice." Jun nodded. Soon they had made it to the ready room. Jun locked the door and offered the admiral a seat at his desk and a beverage.

"Tea please. It's just about the only thing healthy they serve on these ships," he chuckled. Jun smiled and served himself a cup as well. The admiral always thought a captain's room could tell a lot about him or her as a person. In contrast with Yurika's room full of frills, posters, decorations, Jun's was relatively more formal. The only decorations being his UEF academy diploma and several pictures from the academy and the Nadesico. He was obviously much more serious about his job. A man definitely closer to Admiral Misumaru's heart.

"OK, down to business. What's the big story admiral?" he asked.

"What do you know about this woman who defected from Erina's ship and rescued Akito?" he asked taking a sip.

"Suzuki Miaka? Nothing really besides what we've seen of her since this mission began. Very intelligent, an expert at computer systems and military tactics. Obviously a first rate Aestevalis pilot. Why?"

"There may be much more Jun. Much more. Please pull up her record from Nergal's files," the admiral asked staring intently at the console of the computer on Jun's desk.

After a moment of thinking Suzuki Miaka's employee dossier came up on the screen. Her serious looking picture was accompanied by various random facts including blood type, genetic makeup, education, etc. After perusing for a moment Jun saw nothing unusual. "Are we looking for something in particular?" he asked.

"When was she born?" the admiral asked.

"A few years before me, 2173. Went to Waseda University, graduated with honors in physics, started working for Nergal in 2195. Right before the war began," Jun read.

"Really, she graduated from Waseda? Access the University's database. Check all records for information about her," the admiral said. He didn't know what he was looking for but he knew he would eventually have to find an inconsistency somewhere.

"Her transcripts seem to all be in order. Attendance records, tuition payments, all seem to be in line here," Jun said.

"How about the yearbook? Is her picture in there?" Jun looked and replied that it was. Admiral Misumaru was getting frustrated. "Let's look at her employment in detail then," he asked.

"Hold on, Admiral, am I going on a wild goose chase? Please tell me what's prompting these suspicions," Jun said. Admiral Misumaru pulled out the picture and began to explain his theory to Jun. "I agree, they look shockingly alike but I don't see why this necessarily is a lead to some complicated conspiracy theory of her being a different person," Jun thought aloud. "Maybe we should call Ruri. She's good at this kind of stuff," Jun suggested.

"Jun, I came here because I don't trust anyone else with this information but you and the pilot Ryoko back on the Nadesico. We must remain discreet. OK, let's try this. Look up Heather Snowden," he asked. Jun accessed the database again. The file had been closed over ten years ago.

"Strange, she died in the lab explosion that destroyed Tenkawa's parents' laboratory. She was one of the technicians of course," Jun said.

"Check the forensics report, was her body ever recovered?" Jun queried again. The answer came back negative.

"That isn't a surprise though it the fire was hot enough there wouldn't be any remains," Jun said.

"Were the bodies of the other scientists and technicians recovered?" Admiral Misumaru asked. The computer replied that remains for all of the other scientists had been recovered. "So why would hers be an exception?" he asked.

"The fire team assumed she had been near the reactor that overloaded, or should I say was sabotaged. She wouldn't have survived that."

"But if the reactor was running out of control why stay near it? Most people tried to escape though they failed. I have another idea. Open up Dr. Snowden's DNA records," the admiral begged searching for a clue to prove his theory. Jun sighed and asked for Snowden's DNA. He got the following message back: DATA MISSING. RECORDS MAY HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN FIRST BATTLE OF MARS 2196.
"There goes that line of inquiry," Jun said finishing up his tea.

"Not really. I know Akatsuki and he probably keeps private files on all of his employees. Information he doesn't want anyone else to see. Look for those."

"OK, it might take a few minutes to get a result though," Jun replied initiating the search.

For a moment the two sat silent, Jun twiddling his thumbs and the admiral stroking his large mustache, as the computer mulled its countless volumes of information. Finally, Admiral Misumaru broke the conversational impasse with a comment that had been on his mind a long time.

"Jun, I have wanted to say this for a long time but I never thought it as appropriate. I guess if I don't tell you now then I won't ever tell you," he started. Jun looked up in interest. "Jun, I really wished you had ended up with Yurika. I have always respected you since you were at the Academy and all the times you came and visited us trying to court my daughter in vain. I know she's grown but she's ditzy and sometimes I wonder how she misses the obvious. The Misumaru family has been a fine family of servicemen even back into the days of a divided Earth. I believed you two would have been the perfect couple. But she ignores you for some halfwit cook who resisted her advances for over a year. I'm sorry son," Admiral Misumaru finished drinking the final bit of his own tea.

Jun sat for a moment speechless. He didn't know what to say. It didn't really matter anymore what they thought though did it? Yurika had chosen Akito and it seems like they were going to be a permanent package.

"Admiral, first of all I don't see why you're apologizing. It's not like you had any role in it. Second, Akito is a great person. Though he did still my heart's desire I do not find him deficient as a person. In fact, I think they could be quite happy together…" Jun's voice trailed off. What the hell was he saying?! He felt like he had become defeatist but something deep down told him that this was the right thing to do.

"Jun, I understand. I was just apologizing because I believe it may have been partially my fault. I had always tried to orchestrate my daughter's life. I taught her military strategy, made sure she only had eyes for the academy, got her the job as captain of the Nadesico. I guess though she never told me, deep down she resented my constant guidance. Perhaps, she decided to rebel when I tried to warm her up to the idea of dating you. Maybe if I had stayed out of it you would have had a better chance. That's what I mean when I apologized," the admiral finished.

"Well, if Akito and Yurika were childhood friends how could I have possibly competed? I guess some things just weren't mean to be. Anyway, how…" Jun's voice was cut off as the computer alerted them that the search had been finished. They both fixated on the console as it announced that it had found a file containing an old DNA profile of Heather Snowden.

"Great let's try to match her DNA with Suzuki's," the admiral suggested with anticipation. The computer processed for a moment and then returned: NO EXACT MATCH. The admiral slumped. "There is something missing here."

"I have an idea," Jun said. "What physical features are different between Suzuki and Snowden?"

"Well, red hair vs. black hair. Suzuki is a bit taller, that's about it," the admiral said. Again there was silence for a moment.

"OK, let's see what happens if we tell the computer to replace the DNA in Snowden's profile with the necessary snippets to match Suzuki's physical profile," Jun said as he typed in the correcting commands. The computer whirred for a moment and then returned: 99% IDENTICAL MATCH CONFIRMED. "Wait, but this is impossible," Jun said.

"Brilliant!" Admiral Misumaru said standing up with a jump. "This is exactly the evidence we need. I'm going to take this back to Yurika and the Nadesico. Make a printout of this immediately! I'll return to the Nadesico in a few hours." Jun complied.

"ARRGH!! Yurika watch what you're doing!" Akito yelled as the pot began to boil over. Yurika did what she naturally did in cooking situations she didn't understand. She panicked. She quickly yanked the pot off the stove and prepared to dump it in the sink. "No, Yurika just because noodles boil over don't mean they're overcooked!" As he grabbed her arm she turned towards him bringing the hot pot directly in contact with his exposed left arm. "YEEOOW!" he yelled which made her drop the pot for real.

"Akito! I'm so sorry!" she cried as he cradled his arm in pain. She ran to find a medpack and returned a moment later with burn salve and gauze. Akito reluctantly surrendered his arm to her care and luckily she was much better at First Aid than cooking.

After he had been all bandaged and Yurika had apologized a hundred times he put his arm around her. Seeing she was forgiven she became less agitated and leaned against him. After a moment of silence, Yurika spoke up.

"Akito, I'm sorry for accusing you earlier about Suzuki. You know I can be a bit ditzy sometimes and I don't mean to cause you trouble," Yurika said.

"If I hadn't learned to live with that part of you would we still be together?" he asked. She smiled at him and they met for a long kiss. After the bliss Akito suggested they go walk around a bit and maybe hit the VR room later. They walked together lost in each other's eyes and oblivious of the smiling faces and stares they got as they walked hand in hand.

After a few corridors they ran into Yukina and Minato at one of the observation decks. Yurika was the first to notice something wrong as Yukina had tears streaming down her face. "Minato, is anything wrong?" she asked. Minato looked up. "Hello, Yurika. Well, it's just Yukina and I were having a conversation about a lot of things. Homesickness, guilt…"

"Guilt?" Akito asked.

"Well, we're passing by Jupiter now and it made Yukina feel a bit homesick for her friends though she knew they all probably hate her since she has been branded as a defector. Also…," Minato was continuing but was cut off by Yukina's voice.

"Why am I here on a ship killing Jovians? I thought we were going to fight for peace but now here we are fighting again. My brother wanted peace, he would never have approved of this. How many people do you think died in the last battle? Just because I'm with you now do you think I don't care about my countrymen?" Yukina said emptying her heart out.

Akito and Yurika sat down. Akito spoke first. "Yukina, you know if we could have ended this eighteen months ago we would have. I cringe when I think about what has been happening."

"Also, you know we have avoided as many engagements as possible en route to our destination. If I didn't fear that Nergal or the Jovians would use this power in a most horrible fashion I would have refused to participate," Yurika added. Yukina nodded as Minato tried to dry the tears from her eyes.

"I just want you to remember they are human beings too. We all are. Even Akatsuki, Erina, and Kusakabe who had my brother killed," Yukina finished. Yurika smiled and hugged her. Their embrace was cut short, however, by the screaming alarms of the Nadesico early warning system.

"Captain Jun, a Jovian fleet is dead ahead of us emerging from a chulip. We will intercept in approximately three minutes," a hologram of the tactical officer told him. Jun and the Admiral rushed out of the ready room onto the bridge which was rapidly making preparations to engage the enemy. As if on cue, Yurika and Erina both came up on the screen.

"Jun-kun we have to get ready to try our plans out! Is my father still there?" Yurika asked him.

"Yeah he's right here. I'll take the first stab at them since we have better firepower. You better back me up though!" Jun said.

"Agreed," Erina responded and then closed her window.

"Ruri, how many ships are there?" Yurika asked. "About thirty captain. These are heavy duty battleships as well. These are not the moderate sized ones we have met in out last battles."

"Well, they finally show their true colors. After Jun's initial blast follow up with our own and then launch our Aestevalis units. AKITO!! I know you can do it!" Yurika yelled bringing Akito up on the main screen of the bridge form his cockpit.

"I hear it, I've got some good wingmen to support me," he said.

"I'm launching as well." Suzuki Miaka's face came up on the screen from her own cockpit.

"You better fend for yourself then and don't come crying to me for support!" Ryoko spat through her communicator.

"Ryoko! There aren't many of us and Hikaru is still not combat ready. Just cooperate for now and forget all this hostility for the sake of the battle!" Akito exhorted her. Ryoko grumbled but let her soft spot for him win over her senses.

As expected Jun fired the cannons of the Excalibur and sliced through four battleships from the start. He was backed up by the Cosmos and Nadesico and they reduced almost one-third of the attacking force in the opening volleys. The Jovian ships soon responded with a barrage of their own fire which rocked all three ships and strained the distortion fields.

"Aestevalis launch!" Megumi said as the units sped out of the hangar. The pilots braced themselves as they powered up their thrusters and carried themselves into the thick of battle. They each broke their separate ways and fired at the hordes of grasshoppers as well as any Jovian ship they could get close enough to attack.

Erina watched from her bridge as the three ships and their Aesti units slowly decimated the fleets. She noticed two blips taking on a lot of kills, Ryoko and Suzuki. "Geez, are they competing for the most ruthless pilot contest or something? She murmured to herself."


The battle dragged on for hours. The trio did not sustain heavy damage or losses but the Jovians were just slow to be dispatched.

Megumi, maintaining battle communications for the Nadesico suddenly noticed a mysterious message being sent from space behind their current position. Too busy handling communications to bother decoding she asked Ruri. "Ruri, I have strange signal here could you handle it for me?"

Ruri nodded and took on the data. In a few seconds she had cracked it and then allowed her mouth to open slightly in surprise as she saw the sender.

"Captain, we have just received a message from Inez Fressange," Ruri said turning around.

"What are you talking about Ruri, we're in the middle of a battle here. Inez died almost a year ago," Yurika replied not taking her mind off the conflict.

"I understand captain but this message seems to be from her and it is of alarming importance," Ruri replied.

The whole bridge went hush at this news and Ruri took this as her cue to start reading the message.

Dear Nadeisco:
I know you think I am dead but you are wrong. I was captured by Jovian forces and I have been conscripted into their research division ever since. I am contacting you for several reasons. First, to warn you that you are falling into a trap. I am on a large battleship that is approaching from behind and that will catch up in a few hours. Second, the commander of this ship is Kusakabe, the same who ordered the killing of Shiratori Tsukumo. Third, he has captured Akatsuki Nagare as he tried to flee. Frighteningly I believe the two have come to an agreement to crush you all. Fourth, I have a plan for myself and my colleagues to escape but it requires that you come within combat range of this vessel. I'm sorry I can't be more clear. This message must be short. Please trust me. Enclosed also is a log of what I did on the Nadesico so you can verify this is truly me. Please help.

Inez

Yurika furrowed her brow in thought. "Let's get this over with! Gravity blast cannon maximum power!"

"Wait, Captain! The main ships are attempting to flee should we still engage them?" Minato asked looking up from her display. Remembering Yukina's plea Yurika shook her head.

"Let them go as long as they don't fire back. We aren't trying to prolong this war but end it. Bring our pilots back in," Yurika commanded.

The first thing after the battle, Yurika had Megumi informed the other two ships of the message.

"So we need to act fast or they will catch us by surprise," Yurika said during a joint conference of the captains. "I recommend we strike the first blow. Given the origin point of Inez's message, the Jovian ship should be approximately here." Yurika pointed to a blip on a holographic space map not far behind the three ships.

"But we've just finished a battle! You suggest we enter another immediately!?" Erina complained.

"These ships were meant to take a lot of damage. They can hold their own on a moment's notice. You should know this since you were privy to their development," Yurika responded.

"Yurika, we can't expect to win though. Especially in Jovian space where they could rally reinforcements," Jun commented.

"I am aware of this Jun. We just need to buy enough time to allow Inez and her people to get here. Then we will make a hasty retreat," Yurika explained.

"As if they will let us run away so easily. That ship looks like a monster on the sensor readouts and it could still send Gekigangar types and grasshoppers to chase us if it can't. We cannot afford this hasty detour from our destination," Erina added clearly not liking the direction this mission was going towards.

"There is one factor you have forgotten though Erina." Yurika said intent on hammering home her logic. "Inez. Inez said she had a plan and if anyone has thought this through it has been her. I believe if she can escape she can also help us retreat. We don't have anymore time to argue. We need an immediate vote between us for a course of action. Erina?"

"No," Erina said nonchalantly knowing that her vote was probably futile anyway.

"I am very nervous, but I trust your decisions. Yes," Jun replied giving his vote.

"Well I guess I vote yes too!" Yurika said. "Very well let's set course immediately."