Having Faith: The Saga of Hope & Light:  Chapter 4

The Art of War:

Escape

Author's Note:  Over one year since I updated . . . I'm really behind the times on this one.  However, I can no longer put forth everything needed to keep this fic regularly updated.  School takes priority, as I'm trying to get my CGPA up enough to look good enough for the NSA to give me an internship for the summer of 2005.  However, I will write when I feel so inclined like I do now.  So, I'm sorry if you like this story and want to see it updated on a regular basis, b/c I'd like to be able to oblige you, but I can't.  School and preparing a path for my career must come first.  Now, enough with that, and on with the story.

*****

            If one were able to clearly see objects two miles up in the sky, then one would possibly see what looked like a small distortion in the air two miles above the forest surrounding Gennai's lake.  However, this was no mirage.  The distortion was real, as was the thing it was hiding.  The thing had a name, and if the distortion- active camouflage as it was called-disappeared, then one could see the name Gloria written on the side.  Extending slightly over a quarter mile in length, the needle-like craft hovered, like an owl watching for its prey.  Long and sleek, the Gloria had no wings, but was hovering in the air thanks to the technology of the people who built her.  She was propelled by four main engines which were powered by two of the Gloria's three fusion reactors, with the third supplying power to the rest of the Gloria's systems.

            Naval Captain Yumeriia Rithyll stood before the observation window on the bridge of her ship, overlooking Gloria's fierce dorsal weapons array.  The top guns were some of the fiercest weapons that Gloria was armed with, with the exception of the belly guns which helped clear out all hostile ships that could destroy the transports as they dropped from the belly of the Gloria.  However, it wasn't the ability to land troops safely or not that worried the captain at the moment.  She knew this area was safe for the time being, it was the safety of three very important people on the ground which worried her.

            "Vrevsky, tell me what's going on down there dimensionally."  She said without blinking an eye.

            "Nothing yet, ma'am," the sensor officer named Vrevsky reported.

            "Good.  Let me know the split second something happens."

            "Aye, ma'am."

           Yumeriia didn't dare let her emotions show in front of her crew, or else they would never follow her into battle if needed.  And they would be overly cautious and jumpy if they saw how she felt now.  After all, it was her brother she was trying to protect, and her brother's head had always been sought after by the enemy.  Ever since he led the fleet's escape during the fall of their home world, the enemy had desired his head on a silver platter for having dared to outwit them so slyly.

            Now, her brother was about to outwit them once again.  However, unlike the last time, this time he had two people who were even more valuable to the enemy than himself, and those people were not so cunning as Yumeriia's brother in terms of evading enemy detection.  And that was the very reason the Gloria was here, risking detection, to protect those from enemy capture.  She remembered the conversation she'd had with fleet HQ shortly before the Gloria was dispatched.

            "Admiral, my brother can take care of himself as well as the two chosen!  He's done it before, and that was when the chosen were known  to be here.  If I take the Gloria out now, we could be risking detection that would alert the enemy that we're all here!"

           The admiral glowered at her through the view screen with a look that could have made the devil uneasy, and his voice betrayed his annoyance.  "Captain, apparently you haven't read the latest intelligence from our double agent in Dagomon's headquarters.  Increased activity in the digital world, and even worse, an order directly from Dagomon to find and capture the two chosen.  Now, last night, I received a message from Gennai saying that he was going to begin the journey to bring the two chosen here.  He'll have his own method of transportation, but at the first sign of trouble before he lifts off, then you are to bring him and the two chosen here under the Gloria's protection.  I don't have to explain these orders, Captain, but you have to follow them.  Am I making myself clear!?"

            "Yes, admiral, perfectly clear.  The Gloria will depart under active camouflage at once."

            "Captain, the admiral is on the comm.  He wants to know what the situation is."

            "Tell him that all's quiet here, but that we're ready if it doesn't remain that way."

            "Aye, ma'am."

            The admiral unclipped her comm device from her belt and opened a channel.

            "Flight deck here, Captain," the calm voice of the officer on duty said.  "What can we do for you?"

            "Ready a squad aerocraft and place  FoeHammer on full standby for the shuttle."

            "A possible hot pickup, ma'am?"

            "Yes.  And no heavy weapons.  Anti-personnel only unless I say otherwise.  And if Captain Tarris gives you any grief, then tell him that the real captain orders him to shove it."

            "Aye ma'am.  Flight deck out."

            I hope that for everyone's sake, you're not discovered, brother.  But if you do, then I'll be the one to rescue you for once.

*****

            Major Draksar looked at the small cadre of ten Deep Ones arrayed before him.  All of them were scouts, not warriors, and thus they wore very little armor, and appeared to be nearly naked like the peons and prisoner-servants of Lord Dagomon who had tried to lure the girl Hikari to the depths eight years before when disguised as Hangyomon.  The difference in the scouts was that they were armed, and wore the slick dark stealth suits of their specialization class.  Draksar had gathered the best scouts in the fortress to assist him, and now they prepared to set out.  Half would enter the human world and search for the girl and her protector, and he would go with the other five to the Digital World to see if they had somehow escaped there undetected.

            "You all have your orders.  Do not return until you have found them or the other group has found them, unless ordered by me or Lord Dagomon.  Do not attempt to capture or kill them either.  Lord Dagomon has specifically ordered us to do nothing except to find them.  He will deal with them himself once we have found them and reported their location.  Move out!"

            The five heading to the human world scurried off towards the wizards in the temple where they would then be transported to their locations through the wizards' dark magics.  As for his group, Draksar had to gather with them to discuss plans.  Not only did they need to find the two but they also had to remain undetected as well.  Where the group in the human world would be able to escape unharmed if found, Draksar's group wasn't so lucky.  The digimon knew of the Scubamon too well, and if his group was found out, then it would be even harder to find Hikari and the meddler who protected her tirelessly.

            "Captain," Draksar said, laying out a map of the Digital World that they knew of so far, "Where would be the best place for us to deploy to?  We have to avoid detection by every digimon there, so remember that."

           The captain of the group scanned the  map with his glowing red eyes, which faded in brightness as he squinted in thought.  After about a minute he pointed to a spot on the map.  "Here," he said, one of his flipper-fingers pointing to a spot of land.  "This spot is ideal.  There's a lake nearby, so we can hide there undetected if needed, because it's too small for any real group of digimon to live there, and also, these woods are relatively uninhabited.  I've been there before.  Just plants and brush, no digimon."

            Draksar nodded, seeing the wisdom in the Captain's ideas.  "We'll go there, then," he said.  "We leave in less than an hour.  Be at the temple in twenty minutes.  I will join you shortly."

            The five scouts of his group scurried off towards the temple where the wizards were, while Draksar himself headed back towards his office in the great North Tower.  There he collected his normal battle suit, intended for combat, not stealth, a personal stealth unit, and his weapon.  The scouts worked well and fought well in their stealth suits, but Draksar was a soldier.  He wouldn't do well in a scouting suit, but he could do well in a battle suit with a stealth unit attached.  He checked the clasps on the pitch black armor that gave him the appearance of having terrifyingly spiked elbows and heavily scaled skin.  "Success with this mission will surely get me a promotion, or at least a choice slot in the invasion force.  I've been waiting for an opportunity like this too long to fail now."

*****

            Takeru had only packed a small amount of things for himself.  This wasn't a vacation any longer.  This was war.  Gennai broke the news to them that today they were heading to where they would be spending the rest of the time before the attempted invasion, preparing and training to be effective leaders.  It didn't bother Takeru too much that he was leaving this place.  However, he could tell it was hard on Gennai.  The man had lived here for many years, and his wife was buried here, so this had to be hard on him.  But, Gennai had told Takeru with a glance that sympathy was not welcome.  Gennai needed and wanted to deal with parting from his home by himself.  And so Takeru had obliged, and he was now sitting with Hikari in her room, watching her pack her things.

            "Takeru, you don't have to be so modest," Hikari teased, looking at how Takeru sat facing away from her packing so as not to see her pack her underwear.  In a way, she appreciated his modesty; it showed that he respected her and her right to privacy and decency.  However, Hikari knew Takeru and knew he had seen women's underwear plenty of times.  Who hadn't?

            "I have my reasons, Hikari-chan," he said resolutely, keeping his face turned away.  And that was that, she saw.  Hikari finished packing her clothing, and moved onto the other things from her luggage that she'd need.

            "I'm done packing my 'unmentionables', Takeru," she said dramatically, making an dramatic flourish with her hands.  "You may allow yourself to turn around now."

            Takeru turned around, and Hikari saw that he was blushing a little.  She wasn't really surprised, since he had been the same way when she was packing back in her apartment for Kyoto.  However, she noticed he was fiddling with something in his rucksack.  She wanted to ask him what it was, but thought the better of it.  The look Takeru had on his face was one that he had on whenever he was lost in thought, and thus he himself  probably didn't know what he was toying with.  Still, right now she wanted to talk to him.  Even though she'd known him for a good ten years, much of him was still a mystery to her, a mystery she wanted to unravel.  But Takeru, it seemed, was also in a mood to talk.

            "Ne, Hikari-chan," he said almost absent mindedly, still fiddling with whatever was in his rucksack, "What do you think of all this?  I mean, I know I'm pretty nervous about all this myself.  Gennai has only told us that we'll be in training for a long while, and then we're going to have to command armies.  I'm just not sure I'm cut out to be a general.  What about you, Hikari-chan?"

            Hikari stopped packing and leaned against the bed in thought.  "To be honest, Takeru, I'm terrified.  I mean, first Dagomon tries to take me, then Gennai pulls us into the Digital World with no warning, saying that it's time for a prophecy to be fulfilled, and then you are attacked in your mind, and now we're heading to god-knows-where and whatever is there . . . . I'm scared, Takeru, scared beyond belief."

            Takeru looked down at her and gave her one of his trademark smiles, hoping to ease her mind.  "You sure don't seem too scared, Hikari-chan," he said, trying to show his empathy.  "And I know you'll get through this just fine.  Besides, you aren't going through this alone.  I promise you that."

            "You're part of the reason I'm even able to go through with this plan, Takeru," she said.  Then, realizing what she'd just said, her face flushed red.  "No!  I did NOT just say that!  Yagami Hikari, think before you speak!"

            She tried to think up some sort of escape for herself, but it was too late.  Takeru had heard her say it the moment she said it, and he probably also heard the deeper meaning behind it as well.  She looked back up at him and he was still smiling, but his face looked more . . . content, than before.  "What is going on in that head of yours, Takaishi Takeru?"

           "But you don't have to go through this by hiding all your emotions, Hikari-chan," Takeru said.  "I'm always here for you, you know."

            Hikari couldn't help but smile.  She knew he was absolutely right.  He was always there for her, and would be for as long as she wanted him there.  And that thought alone was comforting.  Despite being one of the biggest teddy bears she knew, Takeru was also fierce and passionate.  She knew that he'd only allow someone or something to hurt her only if he was stone dead.  That was a scary thought, but also a comforting one as well, because Takeru didn't easily give up, especially on life.  She was safe when around him.  She turned back to her packing and spent the next few minutes sorting out what she would and wouldn't need, and packing only those clothes she'd need.  Takeru and Hikari spent the next several minutes in a peaceful silence like the one they'd enjoyed that morning watching the sun rise.  Even after she put the last piece of clothing in her rucksack, she and Takeru sat there in her room, silent and deep in thought.

            But that quiet peace would not last.  Not five minutes had passed before they heard the sound of Gennai's footsteps pounding on the wooden floor.  "Let's go," Gennai said, as Takeru and Hikari stepped out into the hallway.  "We've got trouble on the way, and only one chance to avoid it.  Come on."

*****

            Sensor officer Vrevsky kept a keen eye on the sensor array display.  Being the sensor operator, he had to know what to look for, and thus, besides the Captain and the Executive Officer, more commonly called the XO, he was the only one to know in detail what this mission was about.  The rest of the crew had come up with their own theories which he pretended to pay attention to in the mess hall, and he neither encouraged nor discouraged the rumors.  After all, the truth would become clear if something had to be done, otherwise it was best that the details of the mission be known to as few people as possible.  Still, the temptation for him to send a communiqué back to Omega and warn his family of the impending danger was immense.  But it would be unwise.  Everyone knew that Dagomon would eventually try for the Digital World.  It was only a matter of time.  That was why Gennai had called the two chosen here now, and also why their digimon partners were now gathering reinforcements at the nearby Alpha base.  The invasion was coming and coming soon.  It was only a matter of time as to when . . . .

            There!  A blip on the screen!  A dimensional jump!  He quickly scanned the area in depth and analyzed the residual phase shift residue.  Sure enough, his fears were confirmed.  Residual pattern was that of the ocean depths in the deep Eastern sea back home.  However, that was not all.  As soon as his analysis scan was finished, five more dimensional shifts were registered on the screen.  All within five klicks of the lake.

            "Captain!  We've got trouble.  Big trouble!"

            "Crap!  What is it, Vrevsky?"

            "Six dimension jumps within a 5 klick radius of the lake!  Sender origins are from the deep Eastern Sea back home!"

            The captain swore again, and thumbed her comm device.  "Flight deck, report!"

            "We're here, Captain," the officer on duty said.  "Everything is ready to go.  Shall we launch now?"

            "Yes, launch now!  And tell the crew to get that aerocraft to the lake bank as fast as possible and as quietly as possible.  When they land, have the marines deploy under active cammo.  The captain has his orders directly from me."

            "Aye, ma'am.  Launching now.  Flight deck out."

            The Captain turned her attention to the forward view port as the flight deck doors opened, and the armored personnel shuttle shot away and around the Gloria and towards the  lake where Gennai lived.

*****

            Gennai knelt in front of Chihiro's grave, his rucksack of necessary possessions, including some pictures he had put away long ago beside him.  His katana lay beside his rucksack as well, as it was almost time to leave.  He only had to say goodbye . . . one last time.  Except that there wasn't anything to say.  Chihiro was long gone from the world and would not be returning.  And thus there was nothing to say now . . . oh, but if she was here, then they wouldn't be saying anything either.  If she were still here, they'd be sitting beneath a grove tree, content in each other's arms.  Him, the battle-experienced marine, and she the former secretary of the port commander.  It had been an odd combination from the start, but that hadn't really mattered to them.  But all that was in the distant past.  Now, it was time to put all the past behind him.  And that included Chihiro.  "But my love for you still remains.  I won't be leaving that behind, beloved."

            Gennai sighed and rose to his feet.  It was time to go.  Time to take Takeru and Hikari to Omega colony and have them begin their training.  After all, that was where the surviving military minds of his world had fled to, along with their families and whoever else the remnants of the western fleet had been able to carry and still manage to remain in the air during the dimension jump. Even then, three ships didn't make it, as they succumbed to anti-airship fire from the ground, losing altitude, and were torn apart in the gate rift.  Three full ships.  Over nine hundred people, both military and civilian, including his mother, father, and brother-in-law Petros.  All lost when the Jovian, Trepador, and Lubiira were destroyed.  But that was in the past as well.  This was now.  And the actions now were leading to a future where something so hideous as the conquest of an entire world would be rendered impossible.

            "Remember the past, do not forget it, but do not live in it either."  Petros had said to Gennai when coping with the news of his family's death. at the hands of Dagomon's troops.  It had been during the raiding of Westport, the Western fleet's home port.  The fleet had been out on maneuvers when the raiding party had jumped in less than a klick out of the port and launched a brutal assault.  The fleet had launched all marine aerocraft at the first distress call from port security, but it was too little too late.  By the time the marines got there, Westport had been ransacked.  All Gennai and his troops had been able to do was deliver justice upon the raiders, who were still trying to find any survivors.  It was one of the worst days of Gennai's life, when he discovered the body's of his wife's family in the wreckage and saw that they hadn't died from the collapse of the building, but from horrendous wounds inflicted by bolt guns and knives carried by Dagomon's troops.  When he got home and told Chihiro of the news, she cried for at least an hour, and he right along with her.  Chihiro . . . the love of his life.  Even she was gone now.  All those Gennai had held dear to him had been taken away by the actions of  Dagomon and his minions.

            "Chihiro, I must go.  I will not forget you, but our time together has long since ended."

            Gennai then turned and walked out of the grove, and he turned to look at Chihiro's grave stone once more.  The pain of her death would always remain with him, but he did not have to let it dominate his mind any longer.  It was time to let the wound heal and become a scar.  And he left, having seen her grave for the very last time, leaving his wounded self behind in the grove.

*****

            "Armed Personnel aerocraft were designed for speed, maneuverability, and firepower . . . definitely not for comfort."  Luftmarine captain Glenn Tarris thought to himself as the shuttle sped towards the landing point.  "That's what the transports are for."

            In his mind, Captain Glenn Tarris ran through the mission briefing detail by detail.  The situation was that six unknown and most likely hostile persons or things had been sent through the dimensional gates to points five klicks from the Colonel's home.  The mission was to extract the Colonel and the two people with him before the hostiles were able to see them and give positive identification.  He watched on his HUD as the six targets moved ever closer to the landing point.  Gloria was feeding data to the shuttle, called Intrepid, and the shuttle was sending him and his men the data through their back-mounted combat packs, fitted with all necessary communication gear, supplies, rations, and airwarrior combat software.  Their power suits were equally well equipped, with advanced ablative armor, and internal first aid systems, and body regulation systems and waste disposal.

            The countdown timer on his HUD began to blink, signaling Glenn that it was time to prepare to go.  "Lieutenant, we're almost there," he said to the pilot through his comm.

            "I copy, Captain.  Prepare to disembark.  Altitude 150, steady and level."

            "Understood."  He then switched to the squad channel and addressed his troops like he was a drill instructor at basic once again.  "Ok, ladies!  Hot drop and extraction.  Riial and I will go down to the Colonel's home and retrieve the VIPs.  Jemal, you have the squad.  Set up a perimeter, and if those hostiles get to a klick from the forest edge, then go in and take them out!  It's ok for us to be discovered just as long as the Colonel and his two guests are not.  Understand?"

            "HO!" they all roared in unison.

            "Ramp door extending.  Ready your jump thrusters, sir." The pilot reported.

            "Squad, ready jumpers!  By pairs on my mark!"

            "Lowering rear stealth screens.  Ramp is lowering."

            The back door to the aerocraft immediately began to lower and Captain Tarris saw a gorgeous blue sky and a lush forest underneath.  He silently counted to three, and inhaled deeply.

            "Squad set!" he roared.  "Let's do this, people!"

            His XO, Lieutenant Jemal, acting as the jump master gave him the thumbs up.  "JUMP!"

*****

            Draksar's group entered the Digital World as they had planned: dispersed 7 y'arrals from the lake at a distance of less than 1 y'arral from each other.  Though the scout captain said that there was little to no inhabitants in that area, he wanted to be careful anyway, and make absolutely sure.  At the lake, they'd set up camp and organize a search pattern across the Digital World.  He knew it would take time . . . lots of time, but Lord Dagomon hadn't set a time limit, only the condition that he was not to return until the two Chosen had been found.

            "Scouts, check in," he said over into his communication mic.

            "Scout lead, here."

            "Scout 2, here."

            "Scout 3, here."

            "Scout 4, here."

            "Scout 5, here."

            Good, all had made it, and by his eyepiece, which showed him the location of the scouts relative to him, all of them had deployed as planned.  "Imperium Guard here as well.  Let's get moving, scouts.  Check for sentient life, but advance towards the lake as quickly as possible to set up camp."

            "Understood, Imperium Guard.  Scout lead out."

            Draksar hefted his bolt rifle, switched his HUD display to show sentient life, and he set out towards the lake.

*****

            Gennai heard the almost undetectable sound of jumpers hitting the ground and his senses immediately went on alert.  The Luftmarines didn't train anywhere near here, he knew that for a fact.  He also knew that Dagomon had air troops as well, and during the war, he remembered that they had also sounded much like Luftmarines when they hit ground.

            "So Dagomon is becoming overly ambitious, sending troops for us this early.  This only complicates matters."

            He gripped his katana tightly and prepared to draw it as soon as he saw the first flicker of the active camouflage field.  He ducked behind one of the trees near the steps leading down from the lake and steadied his mind and began his combat meditations.  He focused his mind on the battle ahead, how the enemy would move and how he would counter his enemy's movements.  He plunged his mind fully into a combat state as his old master Rin-Jo had taught him.

            "In the fight, you exist only for that fight.  Let it consume you, oblivious to all that occurs around you that does not affect you.  During that fight, exist only for the defeat of your opponent.  Defeat, young Gennai, not death necessarily.  For a surrender is just as good as a death.  Either way, render your enemy incapable of fighting back, and continue on."

            He would do that, just as he had been taught and just as he had trained.  And the approaching enemies would taste his blade before they knew what had happened.

            He heard the heavy thud of the powersuits and then the sound of four feet, two people, quickly hurrying down the stone steps.

            "Almost there.  Wait till they have stepped fully onto the grass.  Then attack."

            The footsteps stopped at the last step, and Gennai imagined the blood thirsty troops of Dagomon looking around for someone to murder.  He wouldn't let them.  He saw the shimmer of the distortion field which was the only giveaway to the presence of a soldier under active camouflage.  Gennai swung his katana from the draw in one smooth and fluid motion, the blade going directly from the sheath to right where the neck of the soldier would be.  "Move, and die," he snarled.

            "Would you really slay one of your own men, Colonel?" the voice behind the distortion field asked calmly.

            "Turn off the cammo and we'll see," Gennai said, his katana unwavering.

            "Very well," the voice said.  The distortion screen shimmered briefly and there stood a fully armored Luftmarine with captain's bars and the unit insignia of the legendary FoeHammer squad, a squad Gennai had once commanded during his military days.  This man was no enemy.

            "I hope you'll excuse and understand my hesitation," Gennai said, putting away his katana, "But I have two very important people here who I've sworn to protect."

            The marine nodded, "I expected nothing less from you, sir," he said.  The marine then nodded and then Gennai saw the shimmer of another distortion field shimmer and die and beside the captain stood another marine with Lieutenant's bars.  "But as you are probably guessing, we're not here for a leisurely visit.  We're here to take you with us."

            Gennai nodded, understanding.  After all, it was one soldier talking to another.  Orders were orders and there was no use contradicting him.  "I take it that something has come up."

            "Some things," the captain said.  "Six of them, 5 klicks from here and moving towards this position.  We've got an aerocraft waiting."

            "Let's get moving then," Gennai said.  "As soon as Takeru and Hikari come out."

            "Then they'd better hurry," the lieutenant said.  "Because those six somethings are nearing the 1.5 klick mark.  We engage them when they reach one klick, and we'd rather not have to engage if we don't have to."

            "Let me hurry those two up, then," Gennai said, "And we'll be out of here."

*****

            FoeHammer XO, Lieutenant Urel Jemal waited patiently with his rifle raised and an eye on the HUD that showed him the movements of the six things that had come here from the Dark World, from the place that used to be home.  "Hurry up, Captain.  As much as I like killing Dagomon's troops, now is not a good time to get into a battle with them."  He watched as the distance counter ticked down another tenth of a klick.  It seemed that the things were slowing down, proceeding more carefully every tenth of a klick they go to the lake.  He prayed that some of them didn't have full combat suits and thus couldn't tell that there were ten live bodies with guns awaiting them.  Because though it might scare some beings off, it wouldn't scare off any troops of Dagomon's.  That knowledge would only incite a battle, a bloody one at that.

            "Lieutenant, put her on the ground and open up the ramp, we're coming up!" the captain's voice rang out through the comm system.  "Squad, prepare to load up and leave!"

            Urel allowed himself a small sigh of relief.  So there wouldn't be any combat today.  That was good.  He heard the comforting roar of the aerocraft putting itself onto the ground, and heard the ramp door open.  Time to leave.

            "Squad!  By pairs!  Break perimeter and board the shuttle once the Captain and the VIPs are on!" Urel said over the squad frequency.

            Urel stood up and stretched his body.  Even in a contained powersuit which helped support him, crouching in a single position for an extended amount of time had a stiffening effect on the joints, and he had to flex his knees fully to keep from being sluggish.  He then disabled his cammo screens in preparation to board, and had also flipped up his HUD eye piece as had most of the other soldiers in the squad.  After all, the mission was over.  The VIPs were boarding the shuttle which had just landed and deactivated its cammo screens.

            It was then that all hell broke loose.

            First it was the alert alarm playing throughout the squad comm system.  It was the same tone as the Gloria's call to General Quarters, the traditional navy term for battle stations, and thus as it sounded, the entire squad automatically flipped their HUDs down over their eyes, Urel was sure from what he saw that all, including himself, were ready to piss their pants.  All six hostiles were at the forest edge . . . within their visual range!  "Why didn't we see or hear them beforehand?!" Urel asked himself, "At this range, I could probably take a piss and hit one of them.  I should be able to see them even without the aid of the HUD."  The question remained unanswered as Urel snapped his laser rifle up and flipped the safety off.

            The next few moments were extremely tense, as the squad fell back behind the shuttle, ready for battle.  Riial was first up the ramp, making sure that there were no hostiles who had the boarding ramp sighted.  The HUDs showed enemy position, that was true, but seeing where the enemy was and seeing the enemy with one's own eyes were two different things, and one was much better able to shoot at something with one's own eyes.  Urel ordered the men to switch to thermal detection on their HUDs so they could see the enemy better, but it was useless.  The thermals showed nothing, and he realized that the Deep Ones had to be using stealth suits that not only masked their appearance visually, but hid them from thermal scanners as well.  Maybe they couldn't see them or detect them except through data being sent from the Gloria, but they knew there were out there, within spitting distance no less.

            The first shot came as Riial went up the ramp.  A blue energy bolt erupted from the forest and struck the junior officer right between the eyes.  Then the projectile exploded, spraying bone and brain matter all over.  Urel had to use all his self control to not throw up at the sight.  The captain, however, did not seem phased in the least.  His rifle came up as quick as lighting, and rattled off several bursts of laser fire into the general area of where the shot came from.  But they all soon had enough to deal with.  Particle shots erupted from all around, and at least three marines fell in the initial volley.

            "GET THOSE VIPS IN THE AEROCRAFT, NOW!" the Captain yelled to Urel over the loud cracks of their rifles discharging as they both finally picked up faint traces of heat from the enemy particle guns.  "WE'LL SAVE OUR OWN ASSES AFTER THEIRS ARE SAFE!"

            The Colonel had the two others on the ground in the prone position, and was covering them with his body so that they wouldn't be hit by enemy fire.  Jemal promptly picked him up and tossed him into the aerocraft.  He them helped the two other VIPs to their feet and unceremoniously shoved them into the aerocraft, and went in right after them acting as a shield.  "VIPs onboard, Captain!" Jemal said into his comm unit.

            "SQUAD, EVAC NOW!  AND PILOT, WHERE IS THAT COVERING FIRE?"

            "I'm sorry, sir, but our weapons took direct hits in the initial attack, and are inoperable.  Both the side cannons and the rear cannon are useless." The pilot said over the comm.

            Urel swore to himself when he heard this, but kept focused on the task at hand, which was securing the VIPs.  The Colonel knew how to act, and had already done so, but the other two VIPs did not.  Urel understood as they were young people probably only several years his junior, and had probably never even been in this kind of aerocraft before.  However, that inexperience was what annoyed him at the moment, as time wasted meant the possibility of more marines dying.  He swiftly stowed their rucksacks and the two katanas in the storage compartment, and wasted no time securing the boy and the girl into their harnesses himself.  He then went to the door and supplied cover fire for the squad to enter under.

            FoeHammer was the elite squad of the Gloria for good reason.  They were the most professional marines on the Gloria, and they showed that especially well now.  No man was left behind.  The dead were brought in as were the wounded.  Marines simply didn't abandon their own.  As soon as the last man was up the ramp, Urel hit the emergency close control on the ramp control panel array, and the ramp rocketed up and shut, automatically locking and securing itself.

            Knowing the drill by instinct and with no prompting from the Captain, the pilot took off, turning the other side of the aerocraft towards the enemies and showering the area in a deadly hailstorm of laser cannon fire.  He then pitched the nose of the craft forward and Urel heard the distinctive thud of two flettchette missiles launching.  Intended to soften a hostile LZ before a drop, flechette missiles were also used to disable remaining enemy troops from shooting at an escaping craft.  The pilot then pitched the craft upward, and did a spiral climb, firing the topside anti-aerocraft cannons into the extrapolated enemy positions on the ground.  Only when the aerocraft reached 1000 meters did the cannons stop firing and Urel turned his attention to securing himself in a seat instead of hanging on for dear life on one of the grab rails.  He hadn't taken the time to make a good casualty count when the squad boarded, as he was too busy trying to discourage the enemy from taking more marine lives.  But as he looked around the shuttle, he saw that the enemy had done more than enough.  And this time, he could not control his stomach, and he, the XO of FoeHammer, a man rumored to have the toughest stomach in the entire Luftmarine, grabbed a sick bag, and threw up.

*****

            Captain Tarris sat in a slight daze as he counted his dead and wounded.  A squad of marines was composed of twelve men, and all twelve were here in the shuttle now, but that did not mean all were alive.  He saw four with their heads blown apart, one being poor Riial, who took the point position even when he hadn't been ordered to, willing to put his life on the line to protect the VIPs. Tarris made a mental note to put Riial up for a posthumous promotion, as well as a citation for extreme bravery above and beyond the call of any marine.  But now was not the time to think over just one man.  He had others to look after.  Tarris counted at least four more seriously wounded; massive chunks take out of their armor and flesh, though all that could be heard was some painful groaning.  His men had extreme self-control even under these circumstances.  The rest hadn't escaped unharmed either.  Everyone, except the VIPs had at least a small gash or two from grazing shots or shrapnel from the exploding particle rounds.  The VIPs had escaped with only mud on their faces and clothing because they had hit the ground when the shooting started, a wise decision on the part of the Colonel.

            Tarris heard the cannons stop firing and knew that they had reached the mid point, and were almost to the Gloria.  Then his eyes fell on his XO, a man he deeply respected, and for the first time, Tarris pitied him.  Urel, for all his leadership ability, prowess with a rifle, and tactical sense, had hardly seen combat, while Tarris himself had seen more than his fair share.  And thus, he pitied his XO as he watched him become green in the face, grab a sick bag, and empty his breakfast into it. After Urel finished emptying his stomach, Tarris motioned him over.

           "We need to begin first aid on the wounded.  Grab the kits, give them to the other two who aren't incapacitated or dead, and let's all get to work."  He said gently.  Now was not the time to be gruff.  That was under combat conditions when timing mattered.  What mattered now was being a firm and compassionate leader.  He was a stabilizing force for his men, and right now, he had to be compassionate and caring like a father if he was going to be that force.  But first, he had to speak to the pilot.

            "Lieutenant, have you contacted Gloria about our situation?"

            "Yes sir, I just did.  They're wanting to know if medical aid is needed."

            "Absolutely.  Two thirds are either heavily wounded or dead!  And the rest of us are probably traumatized for life!"  The captain's anger at the whole situation erupted in that one long outburst.  Tarris could almost hear the pilot flinch at his words.

            "I'm sorry, sir.  I . . . I had no way of . . . knowing . . .I was busy with landing procedures and didn't notices the enemy's position till everyone else did."

            "It's ok, Lieutenant, you did what you could.  You wisely wasted the area during launch as well.  I've known many pilots who would have bared their backs to the enemy and scurried away under those circumstances.  Most of them are dead now, along with the squads they carried, but still . . . you deserve a medal for all that nerve you showed down there.  The captain will hear about you personally."

            " . . . I . . . I don't know what to say . . . sir . . . but I . . ."

            "For now, just shut up and keep flying this thing like you have been, and let me tend to my men.  Tarris out."

            Tarris sighed, and glanced over to the Colonel and the two young people with him.  The Colonel gave him a sideways nod as if to say "We're fine.  Tend to your men."  And Tarris did just that.

*****

            Draksar lay on the ground, torn bleeding from the vicious counter-attack unleashed first by the marines and then by the shuttle when it launched its flechette missiles.  His battle armor, designed to withstand brutal punishment had not been made to withstand anti-aerocraft weapons grade laser blasts, and the flechette shards had caused extensive damage to his armor's systems.  He figured the scouting team was dead.  The saturation blasts from the side cannons were powerful, and if he had been armored in anything less, he would have been incinerated instantly.  Draksar struggled to his feet.  He was dripping in his own blood, and he could barely concentrate.  One question, however, kept running through his mind . . . "Why?"  Why were the Luftmarines here?  What was an armored personnel aerocraft carrying a squad of elite marines in full powered gear doing here? . . . . Maybe it was for them!  Those three he barely caught a glimpse of as he reached the edge of the forest.  He hadn't gotten a good look at them because as soon as he was able to visually identify the clearing and lake, he'd detected the marines at only one y'arral, and even then, it had been a faint signal.  They had to have been here to retrieve someone, and they must have known that he and his scouts were nearby.  So . . . even the Digital World held its secret inhabitants.  At least he'd been able to kill several.  He wouldn't have if he hadn't shot the aerocraft's weapon systems first.  That was good.  But still . . . if they had come to pick up those three and it was in response to him and his scouts arriving, then they had to be . . . the man and the woman Dagomon was searching for!  At that moment he cursed his communication system for being damaged.  "Dammit!  I can't even call for help!"

            He struggled forward only a few paces before collapsing on the ground again.  The impact of his fall knocked what little breath he had out of him, and he gasped to regain it.  The effort was too much.  He was too mangled from the blasts to move.  His leg muscles were sliced and burned, and most of his body armor had melted and fused to his skin.  "Why bother.  I hurt more when I move."  And Draksar, a Major in the Dagon Imperium Guard closed his eyes and fell into darkness . . . .

*****

            Naval Lieutenant Dvid Ulrik steadied out the Intrepid as Gloria's flight control gave him his landing vector.  He raised the inertial field in the squad bay to full so that the soldiers wouldn't feel the immense force being applied to the craft as he did a tight radial turn to place the Intrepid on the designated vector.

            "We're on approach, Captain," he said, addressing Captain Tarris.  "Make sure all your men are secure.  We'll be coming in fast and stopping hard."

            Dvid dialed back the inertial field in the squad bay as he shunted power to the hover systems.  He kept a keen eye on his controls, watching for the moment to deploy landing gear.  The hundredths of kilometers flew by in a blur, but at the precise moment, he hit his gear controls.  He felt the familiar whirr of the gear as it began to deploy, then the usual soft thud-thonk as the skids locked into place.  He activated the catch bar which would catch them as the aerocraft slid into the bay.  The reason for the catch bar was that the thrusters, which were fine to use outside the hanger, were extremely dangerous in the hanger.

            The long singular thruster engine below the aerocraft used a combination of jet engine and bussard hyperram jet technology.  The charged field that surrounded the aerocraft and helped keep the wing-less craft in the air at high altitudes would cause a lightning storm if it touched a huge non-conductive surface such as the flight deck, which was plated with ceramic armor.  Thus, maneuvering thrusters, which were smaller jet engines linked to the rudder and the hover systems were used when landing, but the maneuvering thrusters produced too little thrust to slow down the aerocraft to a complete stop in the brief amount of time needed, and thus the catch bar was there to snag on the stop wires arrayed perpendicular to the aerocraft's flight path.

            The Intrepid was one klick out when he saw the VGB-visual guide beacon-off to the side of the landing ramp.  It was there in case of navigation failure, which would render the computer's more advanced precision landing ability's inoperable, and leave the landing totally up to the pilot, in which the pilot would have to use the VGB to make sure he was on proper glide slope.  Like most times, Dvid wouldn't have to use the VGB, and he eyed his holographic display showing guidance lines extending from the Intrepid to the Gloria.  Still, Gloria had to know he was fine, and that he had caught sight of the VGB, or snaggle ball as he and his fellow pilots liked to call it.

            "Intrepid, we have you in range.  Call snaggle at one half klick."

            "Intrepid calls the snaggle ball, control.  Coming in fast.  No time to piddle about coming in without a scratch."

            "Control copies, Intrepid.  We're ready for you."

            Dvid confirmed proper lineup on the approach path, and kicked in the Intrepid's afterburners.  The inertial effect hit him before the roar of the afterburners reached his ears.  His airspeed spiked to almost double what it had been, and his estimated time remaining with fuel dropped to ten seconds.  The computer began blaring in his ears about low fuel, and he immediately cut the afterburners and the thrusters as well.  Inertia carried the Intrepid onward like a bullet, as it was supposed to.  Dvid shunted power from the thruster to his hover systems, and used a separate control to toss the maneuvering thrusters into full power.  He was now less than a quarter klick out, and the approach ramp was in full view.  The boost the Intrepid had gotten from the full afterburner boost had given them enough thrust to carry the Intrepid forward like a high powered round from a sniper rifle, and carried them clean onto the ramp.  The maneuvering thrusters had kept them upright and added extra thrust to make sure the Intrepid didn't drop too much too quickly.

            As soon as he saw he was over the ramp, Dvid chopped power on the maneuvering thrusters to full reverse, and pulled hard back on his control stick, as the catch bar snagged a wire, and he hit the airbrakes hard.   The combination of forces acting in opposition to the Intrepid caused Dvid to be thrown full on into his harness, as the Intrepid went from a very high velocity to a near dead stop.  Dvid lowered the hover height to zero, killed power to the maneuvering thrusters and hit the release switch for the squad bad jump ramp.

            Dvid then breathed deeply as he slumped into his seat, with only his harness keeping him completely upright.  They had survived, well, most of them.  Four marines were already dead, and by morning there was likely to be several more who had died from injuries.  But he was alive and had gotten them back in record time.  The Gloria had been six klicks out and two full klicks above the landing site, and it had taken him ten minutes initially from launch to the time when the marines deployed.  He had gotten them back onto the Gloria in under six minutes, including the time he took to scourge the area where the enemy had attacked from.  That little time stunt was certainly going to be of note on his record.  He looked forward to, as well as dreaded being known as the man who had beaten his ship-to-ground time in his subsequent ground-to-ship combat launch.  Now he'd never get a moment's peace about it.  No more normal pilot life for him.  But at least he had done his duty, and that's what mattered to Dvid:  he did his job as best he could, and in doing so, he suspected that he had saved several lives in the process, and that knowledge meant more to him than any medal.

*****

            Takeru looked over at Hikari and all he could think was "What have we gotten ourselves into?"  Just yesterday they had been enjoying a pleasant train ride to Kyoto, and now they were passengers on a military craft, full of marines injured or dead in an effort to save them.  It all seemed so surreal to him.  Almost too surreal to truly believe.  But the smell of charred electronics mixed with blood, and the groans of the wounded and dying overrode his sense of disbelief, forcing him to accept the horrible truth that he had witnessed men killed in the most brutal fashion all for him and Hikari.

            He would have remained there thinking the same thing over and over in his shock, but he was suddenly thrown violently forward into his tight safety harness as the aerocraft's afterburners lit and nearly doubled their speed.  Suddenly, the afterburners were cut off, but so was the main thruster.  Takeru's eyes suddenly filled with panic, but Gennai's voice came through smoothly and calmly.  "Don't worry.  This is normal landing procedure.  Inertia and the maneuvering thrusters are keeping us flying forward."

            Takeru had no reason to doubt Gennai, but it made no sense.  Why would a pilot cut off his main engines if that was what was keeping him in the air?  This craft had no wings, and was shaped more like a sleek dagger than an aircraft in the traditional sense, something else had to be keeping this ship airborne, and Takeru suspected that it was the main engine.  However, he didn't know much about the technology he saw around him, so he couldn't be sure.  The logic seemed clear that the pilot knew what he was doing, but the strangeness of it all still kept the fear alive in Takeru . . . until he saw Hikari.

            Her eyes were wide with fear and her face was stricken in terror.  "She's completely terrified!" he realized almost instantly.  Unexpectedly, he remembered back ten years to when he and Hikari were trying to escape Piemon, and he'd done what he could to ease her fears even as they were climbing the rope as a last resort.   She was afraid, and suddenly Takeru forgot all about his own worries and became focused on one thing, which was easing Hikari's fears.  Almost unthinking, he took her hand into his and held on tightly.

            She went from fearful to shocked as she looked at him.  "Takeru . . ."

            "We're fine, Hikari-chan," he said, confidently, though he knew he wasn't really confident himself, still, he had to show her that for her sake.  "We're just about to land."

            The words had barely escaped his mouth, however, when both he and Hikari was tossed violently forward in their harnesses.  Hikari was tossed into her harness hard enough that she had the breath knocked out of her before she could even scream.  She immediately gripped Takeru's hand tightly and was determined to not let go.  It was as if she were falling and he was her only lifeline.  Then it was over.  The aerocraft had stopped and the jump ramp immediately dropped with a loud crash.

            Then it was chaos.

*****

            "The Intrepid is safe and secured in the hanger, Captain."  The flight deck officer said, reporting from his post.  "And the medical crews are attending to the marines right now."

              Yumeriia breathed a visible sigh of relief, which she did not mind letting her bridge officers see.  They knew she was as normal as the rest of them, emotions and all, and an emergency landing was always full of risk.  She knew that Lieutenant Ulrik wouldn't have pulled the stunt he did unless he absolutely needed to save lives by cutting the time it took to get there, and without any active camouflage fields either.  She'd have to review his flight log, and see if he should be given an award, or just a letter of commendation from her on his record.

            "Thank you, Ensign.  Tell Lieutenant Ulrik to see me tomorrow at his earliest convenience and that his orders for now are to make only the necessary entries into his log, and then to take the entire rest of the day off resting."

            "Yes, ma'am.  Also, what do we do with the VIPs?"

            "Assign them state rooms on the senior officer deck, then take them down to sickbay and have them checked over by whoever is not tending to the wounded marines."

            "Yes, ma'am."

            "Good.  Bridge out."

            Yumeriia turned around and sat down in the captain's chair and allowed herself to enjoy the feel of the upholstery on it.  Unlike most captains who did most of their commanding from their chairs, Yumeriia liked to command right in front of the large observation ports, ahead of all the bridge stations, instead of back in the center.  However, she only did her critical non-combat commanding that way.  Whenever the Gloria entered battle, or it was the regular activities of the Gloria, Yumeriia commanded from the captain's chair.  She had no clue why she did this, nor did her crew.  However, unlike most captains who had their ships for more than five years, she had yet to even come close to the overweight line.

            "Helm, turn us to 180.2 and bring us up to cruising speed and altitude." She said, looking at a holographic map of the region.

            "Yes, ma'am."

            "Comm, send a message to Admiral Chev.  Tell him we are on our way back with 'guests'."

            "As ordered, Captain."

            "Tactical.  Maintain the distortion fields.  However, don't keep them up if it's obvious that our location has been compromised."

            "Aye, Captain."

            "Vrevsky you have the bridge for the rest of my shift.  I've got work to do."

            "Paperwork, I take it, Captain?"

            "Indeed.  The admiral may chew me out for not having retrieved the VIPs without incident, but at least he'll take a verbal answer.  These desk jockeys however aren't satisfied even when I turn in a report that's more like a dissertation."

            "Red tape is a bugger, Captain."

            "It is.  Take this as a hint, Vrevsky.  XO is the best command position.  All the authority, but none of the bullshit of a Captain."

            "I'll remember that, ma'am."

            Yumeriia got up and headed off the bridge towards her cabin to do the dreaded paperwork.

*****

            It was already night by the time Captain Tarris was out of his powersuit, given a clean bill of health by the ship's doctor, and had had a time to shower and eat something substantial.  Truth be told, it was the eating which took the longest.  His stomach demanded to be fed, but his mind was too occupied with the deaths of his four men and the other four hanging onto life by mere threads.  Yet dinner had also been a good time this night.  Even though he had told Urel to go and leave him be, his XO refused to obey.  "I'm still hungry as well, sir," he'd said.

            So they sat there, alone in the marine's mess eating for four hours, and each only finishing one serving.  They sat there in silence, however the silence itself told Tarris many things.  The first was that he wasn't simply an old geezer who could still fire a weapon.  Young soldiers like Urel Jemal were willing to stick with him even though they were still in diapers when he was fighting Dagomon troops back home along the western front and in Capitel.  He was a legend to them.  He should've been looked upon as a glorified museum piece - antiquated and great, but not to be followed into battle -  but apparently that wasn't so.  "So, I've still got what it takes to lead a squad.  Just the fact that my XO is willing to disobey my order to leave just to sit with me.  Loyalty not to the orders, but to the commander.  You'll make a damn fine General someday soon, Urel.  I just hope I survive to see those stars placed on your uniform."

            Now he found himself walking the hallways when found himself on deck 8, flight deck and sickbay.  "Well, why not?  The OR has an observation area after all.  And I need to be with my men."

            As he drew near to sickbay, he heard footsteps following behind him.  He turned around to see who was following him, and when he saw who it was, he snapped to attention.  "Colonel, I didn't know you were walking the halls at night as well."

            "I usually don't, Captain, but then again, I remember a certain young Sergeant who didn't do that either." Gennai said, smiling.  "Anyway, thanks for the timely pickup.  I had no clue Dagomon would know where to send troops to find us."

            "I don't think he did, sir." Captain Tarris said, as he fell into step beside his old commander.  "There were only six and they started pretty far out.  If Dagomon knew where those two were, I doubt he'd send only six soldiers to do the job, and that far from the position anyway."

            "In that case, I agree with you.  But, enough talk.  I've seen enough bloodshed for one day.  Where are you headed?"

            "Sickbay, sir.  I was going to check up on my men."

            "That's something I always liked about how you handled your fire team, Glenn," Gennai said, reminiscing.  "You always looked out for the men and always followed orders at the same time."

            "You to, sir.  That's what made it easy to do.  Still, even during the war, I never saw such nasty ambushes.  I never saw a fight where we outnumbered the enemy and they still managed to take most of us out.  Then again, we mostly saw urban combat and most deaths were from grenades, Rocket Propelled Grenades, and other things.  But hardly exploding bullets."

            "Get used to it, Glenn," Gennai said, sourly, as if he hated having to say those words.  "Much of the war is going to be fought like that, I suspect.  One good thing is that we're not the only ones fighting.  The digimon of the digital world know how to handle themselves in this kind of environment.  We merely train them in using our technology to supplement their inborn abilities."

            "Looks like I'll have to brush up on my guerilla fighting skills then," Tarris said.  "By the way, sir, what are you doing walking the halls?"

            "Nothing really.  Just . . . thinking."

            They reached sickbay before Tarris could ask Gennai what he was thinking about.  Captain Tarris nodded farewell to Gennai and went in to spend time with his men.

*****

            Gennai hadn't finished talking to his old chief Sergeant for more than a minute when a naval NCO found him.

            "Sir, the Captain wants to see you in her state room," he said.  By "the Captain", Gennai knew he meant the captain of the Gloria.  The navy people always called the marine captains by their title then name, but the designation of "The Captain" was always given to the captain of the ship by all the naval crew.

            "Of course," Gennai said, and began to head back towards the lift that would take him to the senior officer's deck.

            "Uh, sir . . . if you'll allow me to escort you . . ."

            "I used to be Marine Commander on this boat.  I know where to find the Captain's state room," Gennai said, giving the NCO one of his old marine stares.  "I'm perfectly capable of escorting myself."

            "Uh, yes sir."

            Gennai entered the lift and set the lift to go to deck A, Captain's deck.  As the lift began to rise, he thought about if he knew who the captain of the Gloria was these days.  He had been somewhat of a hermit for the past ten years ever since he'd had to send for the first group of chosen , and thus hadn't kept up on naval affairs.  Except that he had heard that his younger sister, Yumeriia had become a captain.  She'd paid him a visit five years ago to tell him the good news.  She'd even told him what boat she was given command of.  He tried to go back to that conversation when the doors to the lift opened.  Deck A was a level between decks 1 and 2, and was very small.  It consisted of the Captain's stateroom, the senior officer's briefing room where the Captain gave personal briefings, and another private lift to the bridge.

            He walked the very short distance to the state room, and he had just knocked on the door when he remembered the name of the vessel his sister commanded . . . . The Gloria.

            "It's good to see you, brother." She said, when she opened the door.  "Please, come in."

*****

            Draksar felt himself awakening out of the blackness.  "What trick is this?  Why am I not dead?"

            "Well, well, well, it looks like Toadie is awakening.  Pay up, Terevar."

            "Damn, my sis keeps telling to never bet against you."

            "Better listen to then, mate."

            "Look who's talking about listening to my sis.  If you'd listened to her, you wouldn't have married her."

            "You're right, I should've listened to her!"

            The two voices laughed heartily, and Draksar felt their attention focus in on him once again, even though he still hurt too much to open his eyes.

            "So, what do we do with him now?"

            "We take him with us, that's what.  Rumor has it that the Zeemattan's engaged a small team of these uglies here and took heavy losses due to the surprise attack."

            "Must've been green units to have lost with almost a two-to-one advantage."

            "Nope, one of the elite marine jumper squads.  You know, the boys that make even us look like amateurs in hand-to-hand."

            The other one whistled long and low.  "Daaaaaaaaaaaamn.  They must've had one nasty surprise to catch those boys off guard."

            "You've seen them train?"

            "Yeah.  Scary bastards they are.  If a fire team of these Toadies hurt them pretty bad, they're either nastier or had one hell of a drop on them."

            "Well, looking at the armor on this one, maybe we can see why."

            "Guess so.  Say, how about I do the dirty work of drugging him and hauling his bloody carcass back to base instead of those two extra days of leave, eh?"

            "No way, sucker.  Should've listened to your sis.  Once I make a bet, you don't break away from the consequences."

            "Ah, but you're too cruel.  Guess that means you do the dirty work this time."

            "Good trade off for two days leave though, eh."

*****

            Takeru felt worn out and exhausted.  It had been a long grueling day after all.  First the near death fire fight at the lake, then the emergency landing, then spending the rest of the day being checked out by a nurse and then by the ship's psychologist to make sure that the combat he'd seen hadn't permanently hurt him mentally.  By then, somehow, it had become night, and he was hungry.  He called down and ordered whatever was on the menu.  The nice thing about the state rooms was the room service.  He was being treated as an honored guest.  Unlike living at Gennai's house where he was treated like a friend, he was treated like a man deserving of respect, where Gennai treated him like a son.  Not that either was bad, it was just that being so respected by people who were total strangers felt good, and raised his self confidence.

            However, something was missing. Here was this delicious platter of food, a comfortable room, and a quiet peace.  What was missing?  The answer came quickly.  Nothing was missing.  It was who was missing that mattered.

            Well, nothing was ever accomplished by sitting around and waiting, he thought.  Time to stop just sitting and get on to the part of doing.

*****

            Hikari sat on the edge of her bed, doing her level best to get the images out of her mind.  The scene kept replaying itself over and over in her head.  She kept seeing the young marine, not more than five years older than her, rush ahead of her in combat, and take a sniper's bullet that was meant for her.  Then, as he was dying, he looked to her, and it was no longer the face of the marine, but the face of Takeru.

            "GO AWAY!  THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!"

            "But it could."

            "Shut up!  You aren't me!  Get out of my head!"

            "No, I'm not you.  But I know you just as well, and I'll be back!"

            "GO AWAY!"

            But the presence was gone.  Hikari just lay down on the bed shivering.  The voice had been right in a way.  Takeru would give anything, including his life, to keep her safe.  But Takeru was still alive.  It was that poor Lieutenant Riial, his name she learned while she was in sickbay, who had taken the bullet and he had taken it for not just her, but for Gennai, Takeru, and the other marines as well.  Still, it might happen.  And she didn't want that to happen.  "Is that so selfish?  For me to want Takeru to not risk himself and live through this war?"

            "Yes it is selfish, Hikari.  And unfair to Takeru.  He is the one who is willing to sacrifice himself for what he believes in.  He'd never forgive you or himself if you held him back from that."

            She then remembered something Sora had told her a few years ago about love.  "If you love someone, then be willing to let them go, and if they love you, then they'll return to you."  But did she, Hikari, even love Takeru?  Yes, she decided.  Yes, she did love him.  He was her companion through thick and thin, the friend who would never give up on her.  Unlike some people, she'd never seen Takeru as a brother.  A brother was like Taichi, and Takeru was not at all like Taichi.  Therefore, Hikari could never see him as a brother. But she could see him as someone much more than a friend.  "But does he love me just as much?  I'm not sure."

            Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.  She forced herself to get up and plodded to the door.

            When she opened the door, she was certain fate was toying with her again, because there before her eyes was the man who currently was consuming all her thoughts.

            "Takeru . . . ."

To Be Continued . . .