If someone's voice was out there, somewhere… calling her… she didn't hear them. She couldn't hear anything past the beating of her own heart, the thrumming of her own veins… but wait! Didn't that mean… she was alive?
The black spots that had previously clouded Rena Lanford's vision slowly slipped away, lighter spots taking their place until a muddled image of the world in front of her took shape. Slowly her vision cleared, the blurriness and the headache receeded, and Rena found herself in a place like she'd never even imagined before…
Perfect World
Part 2: Memories
A Star Ocean 2: The Second Story Fanfiction
By Azurite
Email: anzu DOT kaiba AT gmail DOT com
Site: seventh-star DOT net
DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Star Ocean 2. Enix made it, Links did the CG, Tri-Ace created it… etc. etc. There's a list of Japanese people who own the character design, battle system, anime, and manga rights, too, but I don't know any of them, so just read and enjoy…
NOTES: Hello, and welcome to yet another one of my SO2 ideas. Well, now it's actually a fic, and I'm ecstatic that I'm finally getting it off the ground. Hopefully my inspiration will last long enough for me to finish this one! ; I thought I'd point out two simple things: 1) there are spoilers for up to the part of the game when the party arrives in El and goes to Eluria Tower; 2) this is an odd combination of Rena's scenario and Claude's scenario. I did this because I needed to see what REALLY happened while Claude was on the Calnus, but I also want some PAs that are only available in Rena's scenario to have their "results" here in the fic. Technically speaking, if SO2 were REAL (as in, they'd finished making Star Ocean EX for the TV and such) then both scenarios would be together… and aside from the confusing-ness of whether or not Dias is part of your group (he's not in this fic) then all would be the same, right? Also, I ignore the "eight-party-member limit" and the rule that says you "can't get so-and-so if you get so-and-so." So you might just see everyone.
RECAP: In the previous chapter, we saw a mysterious Captain of the Federation flagship Calnus return to the fourth planet of the Arctura system. Amazed that the planet she once called "Expel" still existed, she set a course for orbit… Two years previous, she'd been on a mission with her friends— to save the world, and maybe find out who she really was. Yet, in a single moment, all of that changed…
Sickbay, Starship Calnus
Rena sat up in what felt like a bed —yet wasn't. The beds she'd seen were always made of wood, and in some rare cases, of iron or steel. This… this material was different. Vaguely, the smooth texture of it felt familiar, but only for an instant— the sensation slipped her memory before she could conjure up where she'd experienced it before.
This "bed" was also a good two feet off the ground— held up by something Rena could not see. One glance behind her at the wall revealed a small support that barely looked like it could hold the weight of the bed, much less with Rena on top of it… yet it was. Add to that, an array of colorful, blinking panels that seemed to change every time she moved…
Rena curiously reached out to touch one of the panels when a shrill beeping sounded, and the noise, frightening the girl so, called the attention of someone in the room Rena had not noticed before. Rena was startled when someone strode into her little corner of the room, curtained off as it was, and pressed a few blinking buttons, and the sound disappeared.
When she removed her arms from her pointed ears, Rena stared up at the other person with her in this mysterious place. It certainly wasn't anyone she knew… and… well, it didn't look like anyone Rena would expect to be in the Afterlife. Not her mother, at any rate… right?
"Oh, so you're finally awake," the woman commented as she looked at Rena, whose expression was nothing short of bewildered. The woman's tongue was foriegn to her— she didn't understand it any more than she understood the growls of the monsters the Sorcery Globe had sent across Expel.
The woman approached Rena with an odd device that looked like a cross between a stick and blade, slender throughout, yet shining and metal at the end. This device she moved towards Rena, who suddenly scooted herself up against the wall, having no other place to go. Terrified of what this stranger would do to her —torture, maybe?— Rena curled up as tightly as she could, pulling the blankets that had been draped over her up to her knees.
The woman stopped just short of Rena, who had cringed in fear of a burning, stinging pain. She hated the battles she'd fought in, had always stayed in the rear, under Claude's wishes. It wasn't that she couldn't fight… it was just that she was better at healing. But now… now she wasn't even sure what was going on, much less whether or not she had the energy to heal herself of whatever injuries she had.
"You don't understand me, do you?" the woman murmured, pulling her arm away. When Rena dared to look up at her with one eye open, she noticed the other woman's expression was one of confusion. This unsure expression —saying almost 'What do I do now?'— gave Rena the temporary courage to uncurl herself somewhat and relax— not completely, but enough for the woman to notice. She smiled at Rena, a bright, sincere smile. This language Rena understood all too well, and she timidly smiled back. The woman looked pleased, and she tapped a button on a device in her pocket, and began talking in her foriegn tongue once more, but this time, not to Rena.
"Doctor Wellsley to the Bridge." There was a clicking noise as the frequencies changed, and then, out of nowhere, there was a reply. "This is the bridge, go ahead Doctor."
"Our guest has awakened, Sir… but I'm afraid she doesn't match any of the alien profiles in our database. She hasn't said anything yet, either, so I'm afraid the Universal Translator hasn't done much good yet…"
"I'll be right down there, Doctor— try to get her talking."
"Aye Sir, Wellsley out." There was another clicking sound, and then Wellsley pushed the off-button on her communicator.
She looked back to the bed where their mysterious passenger had been sitting— only to find her NOT THERE! Startled, Wellsley turned around in a full circle, wondering where the girl had slipped off, only to stumble INTO the girl, who was trying to fish the communicator out of her jacket pocket.
"Well… hello, there!" Wellsley laughed as Rena stared up at her curiously, then at the communicator. Then, with lightning-fast fingers, the communicator was out of Wellsley's pockets and in the girl's hands. She fumbled with it a moment, trying to get it upright, as she'd seen Claude holding it, and she fumbled with the buttons on the top— just as she'd seen the strange woman do.
# Claude! Claude! Answer me! # Rena called desperately into the communicator.
Please… please… let Claude answer… let him find me… please don't let anything have happened to him… without Claude… I don't know what I'd do…
It was amazing to realize just how much she'd grown to depend on the man— two years her senior, and ever-mysterious, he'd become everything she idolized and everything she hated, all in one body. Somehow, she liked that odd combination— of foolish boyishness, of sheer determinaton, just of everything that made Claude CLAUDE. He was so much more than that "older brother" feeling she got around Dias. And when she thought Claude'd died…
Oh, I never want to feel that way again!
Wellsley stared in amazement as the girl twisted and flicked the switches on the communicator until she heard a dim, staticky sound. Finding this as a sort of confirmation that her fiddlings had been successful, she began to shout into the communicator's speaker— Claude! Claude!
Wellsley nearly fell to the floor. This girl knew Ensign Kenni!
Eluria Tower, Continent of El
"Give it up, Claude, we've been waiting here for two hours!" Celine mumbled. She didn't want to accept Rena's disappearance any more than Claude, but… they'd been waiting for so long, and the sound of creatures was growing louder. If none had been on this particular floor of the tower two hours ago, there were now— and they were coming closer.
"Rena… Rena… Rena…" Claude murmured, over and over. He hadn't moved from the spot where she'd disappeared, and his head was craned up to the tower's ceiling, as if searching for some point of light that would direct him to where Rena was. If he'd had difficulty expressing exactly what he felt before, it was next to impossible —but just as obvious— now. It was apparent that Claude could not live without Rena— could not imagine going on without her. Ironic, considering most of the mission revolved around Claude as the strongest fighter.True, Rena was the glue that held all of them together as friends and as comrades, but still… her only function in combat was to heal. And as of late, it seemed that she'd rather spend her time with her 'childhood friend' Dias than the people she'd spent so much time traveling with. This was certainly a mysterious case, indeed.
"I don't know about this Celine," Precis was mumbling, holding her Thunder Punch tightly against her chest. She too, could hear the growing whispers and snarls of unseen monsters as they came closer. Though she was always enthusiastic when jumping into a fight, the ones in this tower hadn't come easily— on more than one occasion, Rena had had to cast her "Cure Light" spell on her, saving the young mechanic girl from certain death.
Now, without Rena here… did they even stand a chance? Certainly not if Claude didn't snap out of it, that was for sure. With only two Heraldic enchanters and one semi-good fighter? It wasn't like Precis to doubt herself— she was more the type to encourage those who were down, it was just her personality to be that way… but what could she say to Claude? She'd seen it before… seen it when they'd first arrived in Linga, seen it when Claude had been defeated by Dias at the Lacour Tournament of Arms… there was something there —something between those two— that couldn't be broken or shaken.
"I'm scared Big Sister Precis…" Leon whispered, moving closer to Precis' leg. She looked down at the scruffy-earred boy whom she'd dubbed earlier as "Expel's biggest brat." Somehow, he seemed much more vulnerable. In battle, he was timid, but he always found the strength to cast spells— and though when it came to defense spells, he was often quite selfish, he did serve his purpose. It was beyond his control, anyway: in battle one doesn't always know what they are doing until after the fact.
"It'll be all right…" Precis whispered back to the smaller boy, but then her expression changed, into one of annoyance. "…once Claude gets his act together." This was spoken under her breath, yet Leon still heard. The younger boy straightened suddenly, as if realizing or noticing something of importance.
He detached himself from Precis' leg, much to her amazement, and strode over to where Claude was still kneeling on the floor, face craned to the invisible sky. Celine and Precis barely had time to blink before a loud SMACK was heard, and Claude's face was no longer upturned, but downturned, and red from the smack that little LEON, of all people, had just delivered.
"Snap out of it. We can't believe that she's gone for good, but if we just stay here, we'll be sitting ducks for all those monsters crawling around this tower. And if we don't put up a good fight, and defeat whoever's behind the Sorcery Globe and those monsters, Big sister Rena will never forgive us. Now I don't know what you think of that idea, but I'd rather do my best and go down fighting… what do you say, Claude?"
Precis and Celine stared in complete shock— this was LEON, speaking? To CLAUDE? Yet somehow, it made sense. When Claude had shown up at Eluria Colony, Leon was practically hanging off him. Apparently, the two'd washed up on shore together. But it was apparent that Leon was upset about something— and when they'd all gathered in the Elder's house, they'd found out that Leon's parents were missing.
Upon closer inspection, it was plain to see that Leon had been crying. The very thought seemed out of character for the young professor-child, as he always seemed more focused on studies, on research, on finding out what was behind the Sorcery Globe. The few times the group had seen Leon anything BUT studious were those times when soldiers called him "Master Leon," or when his parents told him to "behave."
Though Precis tended to call Leon bratty, most of the time, the boy was simply afraid— afraid of things he'd never seen nor experienced before, yet unwilling to go back to the life he'd known — if it was even a possibility anymore. So perhaps what had happened was Claude had done to Leon what the boy was doing to the "Warrior" right now— telling him to get up, stop fretting, and go on— for the missing person's sake. If it had worked on Leon enough to give him the courage to slap his own "big brother," then it had to have worked.
"…" Claude remained silent for a moment, his hand raised to his stinging cheek. It took a moment to process what had just happened… but when that moment passed, and everything made sense, Claude looked up. There was nothing more he wanted to do at that moment than scream at the boy that YES, his parents probably WERE dead, there was nothing any of them could do about it, and that despite all of Claude's grandiose statements to the leader of the Eluria Colony, there was a slim to no chance that they could simply "destroy" the Sorcery Globe. They were doomed.
But how could he say this? How, when they'd gotten this far, when he'd convinced a boy so much younger than him to get up off his own feet and move on— if only hanging by a mere thread of hope? How could he give up, when Precis had left behind all she knew and loved in Linga… when Celine had left behind her own fiancee in Cross… when he still had yet to tell Rena how he really felt for her.
Slowly and somewhat unsteadily, Claude stood up, his eyes dark and averted away from his friends. When he finally spoke, his voice was somewhat husky, but strong nonetheless.
"Let's go."
Two years later, Starship Calnus
"Captain?" The cadet at the helm looked quizically up at her Captain. She dared not let her eyes rest on the older woman for too long, since this was almost entirely a ship of Cadets. They were the best of the best in the Federation Academy's graduating class, and they had been appointed to serve as members of the Captain's survey team. Only a select few —mostly those on the Bridge and those involved in Science, Security, and Engineering— would actually work with the Captain, but there were some who got to interact with the Captain on a more regular basis, since she'd been their teacher at the Academy for a specialized, new class known as Heraldic Arts.
"Shall we enter standard orbit of Arctura 4, Ma'am?" The cadet questioned, her eyes glancing down at the panel. All she had to do was input the grade and rate of an orbit and the Federation flagship would hover over the planet like a gleaming star. And for once in over ten years, they could actually make complete scans of the worlds in the Arctura system.
"Y-Yes, please do," the Captain responded. She spun on her heel quickly and strode to the lift doors that would take her back to the Transporter Room.
"M-Ma'am?" the helmsman spoke up for a moment, "Should we assemble a survey team?"
The Captain paused at the door. "Not just yet… I'll be doing the preliminary survey on this planet, Cadet."
And without another word, the Captain left the Bridge. The cadets all sighed— whether from relief at not being selected for what would undoubtedly be a difficult mission, or from disappointment at NOT being picked… well, that is for them to know.
One person on the Bridge, however, did not sigh with any sort of relief or disappointment. Upon seeing his commanding officer merely speak a few scant words and then vanish —not to mention announcing that SHE herself would be taking on the insurmountable task of doing a preliminary planetary survey —all by herself— well, he got just a bit annoyed, and followed his Captain's suit and rushed off the Bridge.
"…Well, I guess that means I have the Bridge," Ensign Levi commented, and the surrounding cadets laughed.
"Rena! Rena!"
Rena kept walking down the corridor to her quarters, preparing to gather a few last minute supplies for this "planetary survey." Somehow, she thought she'd be more excited. Truth be told, she hadn't expected —not even in the slightest— that Expel would… would still BE. Yet here it was, and their mission was to explore the planets in the Arctura system. Expel just happened to be the first one that was Class M.
"RENA!" Commander Ryuu shouted for the umpteenth time since he'd followed his Captain off the Bridge. Finally stopping in front of her own quarters to input her door key, she clicked her tongue at him, her face a mask of fake disappointment.
"Now, now, Commander," Rena said with careful emphasis, "We're on duty now. It's not right to be referring to me by my given name in front of the cadets." She tapped the Commander on his nose twice, giggling as his eyes crossed where her finger was. She kept giggling as the door to her suite slid open with a hiss and she stepped inside, the motion sensors activating the ambient lighting surrounding the room.
"What Cadets?" Ryuu demanded, exasperated, "Of the maybe 40 crewmembers we HAVE on this ship, only about 26 are actually 'cadets,' and besides that, there aren't any in the corridor— or in HERE!" Ryuu then proceeded to follow Rena around as she picked odds and ends off her tables and shelves— padds, data recorders, memory chips, communicator badges, a phase gun…
"A phase gun? What in the seven hells are you doing bringing THAT to an unexplored planet!"
"Ryuu," Rena turned around, sighing, "Did you read the initial report of Arctura 4 from 2 years ago? Do you REMEMBER what happened here? What was SUPPOSED to happen?"
Ryuu visibly gulped; "I… Well, I skimmed it…" Rena stared at him a moment before throwing her hands up in the air. She stalked over to her closet and stepped inside, shuffling through the hangers until she found her bright green Federation jacket. She held onto it… just for a moment, inhaling the soft scent, memorizing the texture… before she slid it on and buckled the bottom straps together.
"A commanding officer, Ryuu,
and you skimmed it? That's… oh, there's not even a word to describe
you!"
"Like you?" Ryuu supplied, and Rena affirmed this with a nod before
realizing just what he'd said. He chuckled a moment, and soon was on the
recieving end of a pillow launched from across the room.
"No, NOT like me!" Rena nearly shouted, then quieted. "No one's like me." Ryuu heard this simple, soft statement, and kept his mouth shut from making another smart-aleck remark. It was true— his Captain was unlike anyone else in the Federation.
She wasn't human— to be sure, a lot of people in the Federation weren't. That was the whole point: for Earthlings —or Terrans, as many species called them — to explore new worlds, make first contact, discover new things… within set parameters, of course. Too many times the Federation had gotten involved in galactic wars, space infractions, and other assorted "crimes of space fare" that ruined the whole point of exploration.
But unlike the other species in the Federation, most of them in the solar systems at least somewhat near Earth, and its people fairly commonplace wherever you went, Rena —Captain Lanford— was one of a kind. No one was entirely sure WHAT species she was. She was humanoid— she had two arms, two legs, two eyes… and two, very pointy ears. One could spot her across an entire room if her hair were pinned up.
Ryuu didn't know the entire story, but from what he remembered, Rena had some strange connection to the fourth planet in the Arctura system. The details were never publicized, it was all classified Federation officer-only information, but…
"…That planet isn't called 'Arctura 4,' it's called 'Expel.'" Rena began slowly, looking out her window. The view of the planet from above was beautiful, but compared to the memories… the memories of Shingo Forest, of Arlia, of Cross, of Lacour, of Claude…
"Expel? Where's that name from?"
"It's from Expellian, I don't know! It's just the name of the planet, okay? And… that's my home." Rena sighed again quietly, pressing her palm against the triplasticene that made up the thick, unbreakable windows of the ship.
"…THAT'S your homeworld? B—but how is it possible? I— I may have skimmed the report, but I know that Arctura 4 —er, Expel— is underdeveloped— they have no space vessels, no subspace communication! I… Rena…" Off her sharp look, Ryuu amended, "Ma'am, I don't understand."
"…I might as well tell you now…" Rena started, sitting down on her couch and patting the cushion beside her, a motion for Ryuu to join her, "In case… well, in case I don't come back." Ryuu said nothing in response to this. It was hard to believe the Calnus could operate without its Captain…
"All of this started a little over two years ago. I was living on that planet there… and if you look, you can just see the continent where I spent most of my life… it's that funny-shaped one there, and at the very southern tip, nestled between a range of mountains and a big forest… is Arlia."
Arlia Village
"Claude…Claude!" A young, pink-haired girl ran through the small streets of Arlia Village, looking for the tall blonde. She found him right where she expected she would— on the outskirts of the village, just between the Church and the entrance to Shingo Forest.
"Yuki." Claude turned around and smiled as the pink-haired girl ran up to him, and barrelled into him with a hug. She turned bright eyes up to him and smiled, "I made a new jam today, with the help of Uncle Hearn… we want you to be the first to try it!" Yuki exclaimed excitedly.
"Un." Claude nodded his assent and got up from where he'd been sitting, and proceeded to follow Yuki back to her store, a small place just next to Hearn's of Arlia, the Tool and Grocery store that the villagers depended on daily. Their hands remained linked, yet after all this time, the sensation didn't bother him so much. It had, after all, been two years…
Two years since the defeat of
the Ten Wise Men.
Two years since Energy Nede was destroyed, the the two last living Nedians
came to live here on a now-restored Expel.
Two years since Rena vanished without a trace.
Sometimes, just somtimes, Claude would sneak out at night at look up at the stars. He'd wonder which one was Earth, and wonder if maybe Rena was on Earth now… if she was happy. Or maybe she was on another star… on Calnus… or…
I can't think like that… I can't think of HER! Yuki… Yuki is the one for me now.
It had come about most unexpectedly, actually. After the prolonged incidents with the Ten Wise Men and their group's excursion to Nede, things in Arlia had… gotten a little strange. Your village would too, if it'd been destroyed and then suddenly brought back by the power of magic.
But there was more to it than that. Celine was now happily married to the former Prince, now King Clother —Chris— of Cross Kingdom, which had been rebuilt since the Great Earthquake struck it a little over two years ago. The Lacour Kingdom continued to prosper, with King Lacour on the throne even after all this time. However, his daughter Rosalia had died in an accident— totally unrelated to the Sorcery Globe at all. So now, this year's "Lacour Tournament of Arms" promised to be even more exciting than the last ones, as this year, the King would announce his heir to the throne— someone that wasn't really related to him, as rumor had it. Celine, of course, knew all the details, but wisely kept her lips sealed until everyone was to meet in Cross later on.
In any case, everyone had gone home, gone their separate ways— for the most part. Leon and Precis were often seen together in Lacour's labratories, concocting new machines and robots, while members of the group that had joined up later— namely Ashton, Opera, Ernest, Chisato, and Noel— found themselves either wandering from place to place, or simply stranded on Expel due to circumstances beyond their control. Fate had its hand.
Claude, however, longed for the calm that Arlia had offered when he'd first found himself on Expel. It wasn't the same without Rena —nothing from the point she disappeared ever was— but it was still peaceful. He'd tried staying with Chisato in Lacour for a while… but the excitement of a bustling, expanding city, always rebuilding and reconstructing got to him. He needed peace. With few regrets, he left the city life and aimed to return to Arlia— alone. On the way there, he'd run into Alen-Tax and Yuki in Salva, the same town where Claude and the others had met Ashton Anchors, the swordsman with dragons on his back. Ashton had chosen to stay with Noel in the expansive forest near Herlie, where they cared for animals and sometimes fought off the last strains of the demons left by the Sorcery Globe's magic.
Alan and Yuki were curious as to where Rena was, and upon mentioning her, the wall that Claude had spent so much time building came crumbling down. Alen was shocked and mourned for many days, while Claude spent most of his time in Salva regretting his actions. It had been Yuki who comforted him, stayed by his side, and gave him a place to stay.
As it turned out, the reconstruction of Cross and most of the Lacour and Elurian Kingdoms took many people away from the smaller places like Salva— and business was quite bad. Alen, acting as Mayor in his father's absence, was doing his best to change the town for the better, but many business people aside from Yuki believed that a move was best. It was to Claude's complete surprise when she showed up outside the gates of Salva the day he announced he was finally leaving to return "home" to Arlia.
"There's nothing left for me here in Salva," Yuki had said, "And the life of a city girl isn't the one for me. So you might not be some Legendary Warrior of Light," Yuki paused, smiling brightly up at Claude, who was startled by the gesture, "But I like you anyway. Even if you can't go to your real 'home'… Maybe— maybe you could make one in Arlia… with me." It was that moment that Yuki turned scarlet, and kept her lips sealed the rest of the journey to Arlia.
But Claude smiled. Someone still cared for him. It wasn't to say his friends didn't —they did!— but not the same way that Rena had… the way that Yuki did. Maybe it would take a while before his heart could open up again… but this was a step of the way there.
"Claude! Earth to Claude!" Yuki worriedly waved a hand in front of the boy's face, giggling when he finally shook his head and snapped out of his stupor.
"Hey, where'd you go? Space?" Yuki laughed as she pulled Claude into her small shop, then she stopped. Claude had frozen where he stood— it'd been a while since she'd mentioned… well, anything about his life outside Expel. Originally, when he'd gone through Salva to get to Arlia, he'd told them the entire story— start to finish. It'd taken a while, especially explaining things like the Calnus and the war with the Rezonians, and the odd device that had brought him from Milocinia all the way to Expel. Well, maybe not 'all the way.' Claude still had no idea just WHERE in the universe Expel was. Maybe it was millions of lightyears from Milocinia, from Earth— from everything and everyone Claude knew… but maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was part of an unexplored region in space that the Federation had yet to reach. One day, maybe…
"S-Sorry, Claude, I didn't mean to…" Yuki mumbled as she began to play with her fingers. Claude shook his head. Two years… a reunion at Lacour in a month… the upcoming crowning of Celine at the Cross Eluy Celebration… it was hard not to be reminded of what once had been.
"No, it's okay, Yuki. If I begin to forget all that has brought me here, that's when we're in trouble." Claude smiled, then strode up to Yuki's side, hugging her close and producing a surprised squeak from the girl. "Now, where's that delicious jam you were telling me about?"
"Wow." Ryuu sighed, leaning back. There was much more to the beautiful, mysterious Captain Rena Lanford than he ever could have imagined.
From her vivid descriptions of the village of Arlia and its people… scattering "Expellian" words here and there, her near-perfect Japanese slipping every now and then, all the way to the moment she consciously found herself here on the Calnus… it was quite the story.
"But you didn't go into details about what happened AFTER that," Ryuu pointed out, his brows furrowing, "What happened after you found yourself here on the Calnus and not… dead." Ryuu sported an embarassed look for his poor vocabulary, at which Rena shook her head resignedly.
"Well… I think Edith —Doctor Wellsley— was more than a bit surprised that I knew Claude's name— that I was practically screaming it into the communicator." Rena laughed, almost bitterly, "Of course, back then, I had no idea that I was pretty much on the loudspeaker to the entire ship…"
Two years previous. Bridge, Starship Calnus
Commodore Kenni looked up at the loudspeaker nestled in the darker shadows of the ship as an unfamiliar voice began shouting: # Claude! Claude! # and then a string of words that he didn't understand. Wellsley had just communiqued him and informed him that their mysterious visitor was awake… perhaps…?
It was pointless to even hope— they'd long since left the orbit of Arctura 4, and that high-energy body with such an intense gravity well was impossible to shift or destroy. Arctura 4, where his son was, was doomed to be destroyed. The vessel had barely enough time to chart what they'd observed about Arctura, the energy body, and how its mysterious energy nearly matched that of the device on Milocinia.
They could always go back to Milocinia… but whatever had taken Claude to Arctura 4 had destroyed itself with his transport… and if Arctura 4 itself had been destroyed, then…
"I'm on my way to Sickbay," Commodore Kenni told Kurtzman, who'd come back to the Bridge after he and the transport duty officer had taken the girl to Sickbay. "You have the Bridge."
"Yes Commodore," Kurtzman replied, stiffening into a more respectful position as the Commodore passed him and he left the Bridge. Only after the lift doors hissed shut once more did Kurtzman relax into the Commanding Officer's plush seat.
What have we done?
Sickbay
Doctor Wellsley had, at first, simply stared at the young girl fiddling with her communicator, shouting Ensign Kenni's name into it almost desperately. She at least had some idea of what the device was— though HOW was beyond her. Perhaps she'd seen Claude using it? But if that was so, then why was it that SHE had had the device, instead of Ensign Kenni? From the manner in which the girl had been calling his name, it couldn't be that anything had HAPPENED to him… right?
"What is going on here, Doctor?" Commodore Kenni demanded as he strode into the pristine whiteness that was the Calnus sickbay. Doctor Wellsley bolted upright and nearly saluted, remembering that she was technically not in the ranks of the other officers aboard the ships. Should she choose to, she could deem the Commodore —or any of the commanding officers— unfit for duty, and she could take over herself. It was a ridiculously power-trippy idea, but one that she always remembered whenever she slipped back into her own Federation Academy cadet-ways.
"It seems our visitor knows Ensign Kenni— she snatched my communicator and started shouting his name into it."
"I'm aware of that, Doctor," the Commodore snapped, and at Wellsley's raised eyebrow, he sighed, "Have we got any sort of information regarding what species she is— or the language she's speaking?" He cast a glance at the young girl, giving her a once-over with his eyes.
She was petite, yet her bare legs revealed shapely muscles —it was entirely probable that enemies underestimated this child-like girl, and ended up on the recieving end of some quite powerful kicks. Her dress didn't look too unusual— merely an overall-styled dress and a cape— though the girl had been sporting some rather intense-looking armor when she arrived on the transporter pad. He wasn't enturely sure what either Kurtzman or the Doctor had done with it, though.
"No… this is the first time I've heard her speak at all." The doctor moved towards the panel on the wall, intending to turn the Universal Translator on. Before she had the chance to touch the glowing pink button, the girl had moved across the room, an angry expression on her face as she nearly crushed the communicator with her vice-like grip.
She practically shouted an entire litany to the bewildered doctor and the astonished Commodore, slamming her hand over the doctor's and refusing to let her fingers touch the button that would allow them to understand one another.
If there was one thing Rena usually WASN'T, it was angry. But she didn't know where she was… how she had gotten here, or who these people were. She was terrified, and she wanted to be with Claude again. The battles were rough on her, physically and mentally… but for Claude, she'd toughed it out. Silently, she'd continued believing that Claude really was The One— the prophesized Warrior of Light. If not him, then who else?
But these people had just started talking —a new one had stepped into the room just a moment ago, not looking nearly as gentle as the woman whose hand she'd pinned to the glowing wall— and Claude wasn't answering, and she wasn't thinking straight, and she knew it…!
"Please!" The doctor cried, her fingers starting to protest against the harsh pressure the spritely girl was amazingly applying against them. It was odd, since Rena never thought herself a fighter. Amongst the group, she was the healer— always having to hide in the back and heal. When the monsters came after her, she ran. She depended on Claude and the others to save her. The monsters they'd faced in Eluria Tower were nothing like those she'd faced outside of Arlia or Salva— not nearly as weak. Her gymnastics skills did her no good. As much excercising as the battles did for her, she was no stronger than she had been when their journey had begun.
Rena's face softened somewhat, and as she looked at the tall, serious man who'd just recently entered, she saw Claude's face imposed over his— and then the tears began to fall. She released the doctor's hand from the wall, hardly noticing as the older woman pressed a pink button with a near sense of urgency.
Between sobs, she called for Claude, praying to all the Gods that he could hear her, that he could save her from this place somehow, that he was okay… that everyone was okay…
"Claude… please… Don't leave me here all alone… I don't know where I am… I don't know what to do… my Warrior…"
Commodore Kenni and Doctor Wellsley exchanged a glance— amazingly, the Universal Translator started working immediately and shortly after she'd spoken Claude's name, her words seem to form into perfect Japanese.
However, the girl didn't speak anymore, as she slumped over on the ground in a faint.
"Wha… Where…?" Rena mumbled, sheilding her eyes from a suddenly bright source of light that wasn't entirely in front of her eyes.
"So you're awake," a sourceless voice commented, and Rena bolted upright, only to find herself facing the same woman she'd seen earlier. Rena stared guiltily at the woman, whose right hand was bandaged.
"Ah…" Rena started, running the last moment in her head. Had that woman just spoken Expellian? How was it they'd understood each other…?
"Yes, we understand each other now," the woman continued, smiling despite her wound. "We have a device known as a Universal Translator that helps us understand the language of other species. Ensign Kenni had something much like it himself."
"En…sign?" Rena pronounced the strange word, yet found herself understanding its meaning— at least in conjunction with what sounded like Claude's name. It'd been so long since she'd heard anyone call Claude by his last name, but judging by the manner of this woman and that man that had been in here earlier, it was only appropriate for them.
"Yes, Ensign. You called him Claude, his first name?" The doctor prepared a medical scanner and brought it over to the girl, who eyed the device warily as it blipped and bleeped while passing over her body.
"Y…Yes. W-Where is Claude? I want… I want to speak to Claude!" Rena murmured, her eyes beginning to tear again. What had she been thinking, in snatching the device away from Claude like she had? If she ended up here, away from monsters, and Eluria and everything so horrible she'd faced —with her friends— in the past several months, then the device HADN'T been trying to take Claude away— or if it had, it wasn't by the enemy. Now… now she'd gone and abandoned them! What if… what if they couldn't make it?
"…young lady, do you have any idea where you are?" The doctor changed the subject, and Rena looked around, bewildered.
"N-No…"
"You're on the Starship Calnus. As of right now—" the doctor turned to the panel that had been blinking earlier, but now only hummed softly and glowed with a steady light, "—you're approximately 120 lightyears away from Arctura 4— the planet where we beamed you up from."
Rena didn't understand the 'Arctura 4' reference, but her pointed ears, with her sharp hearing, had caught on the '120 lightyears' bit. She wasn't that much of a study in physics, the sciences, and the like… but it sounded far. Farther than she could possibly imagine— or ever return to.
"Oh… god…"
"Arctura 4 was about to be hit by a large, high-energy body that had changed the planet's orbit and was forcing it into a collision path. The ship couldn't withstand the hull stress, and was forced to retreat to a safe distance. As far as our last scans know… the planet was about to be destroyed."
"D…destroyed…?" Rena whispered, her hand reaching up to her mouth as she paled.
Faces flashed before her eyes.
Celine…
Precis…
Leon…
Dias…
CLAUDE…!
Rena broke into tears, disconsolately sobbing into the arms of a woman she barely knew. The only word she said was "Claude!" over and over again. It was all her fault…
Her armor, Cestus, Buckler, and Greaves collected dust in the closet which the doctor had placed them in… and Rena's pendant, hanging from a hook not a yard away from where Rena sat crying, lost its iridescent glow.
Augh, well this was much longer than I originally intended! So perhaps my inspiration thus far will last me until Chapter 5 or 6! Eventually I will come full-circle and go back to 'Captain Rena Lanford' going BACK to Expel, and the adventures that then ensure… but for the next chapter or so, it will be her retelling of how she got involved with the Federation, her assignment to her current crew on the Calnus, etc. I make transitions every now and then to Claude to hint at future action— don't worry, I'm not making Yuki a definite character in this! So please don't yell at me for Rena not being "with" either Claude or Dias. You'll see what happens… if you keep reading!
Azurite
