Chapter Six: Fleet of Littleships

                        Horizon Cave was bustling with an amount of activity it rarely saw other than during the annual Eight-Hour Endurance Race. Now, warships of every size and kind – from the titanic, blocky Anatoure Claihm-Solais battlecruisers to the elegantly curved Deusis frigates – were moored there and undergoing preparation for battle. It probably was the largest armada Prestale's face had ever seen, and it was one of the oddest, as well. Old enemies were fighting alongside each other, old grudges forgotten, ancient feuds put aside.

            Now, Deusis cruisers and Anatoure battleships would be fighting side-by-side against their common enemy. If they won, the world and their fate was theirs. If they lost...

            The planning room was a cacophony of voices. Commanders of their parts of the respective battlegroups were arguing about who should take point during the assault, and ships' captains were discussing assault tactics with their infantry commanders. In the middle of all this, three people formed an island of relative calm as they outlined the general order of battle.

            "We will send in our men exactly two days after you left for the Grand Stream. If you haven't found Exile by then, we will fight, but I doubt that we can win," Madosein said. His distinct blue and white uniform was still kept in an immaculate condition. Sophia nodded. "We will have to hurry before the Guild realizes we have pinpointed Exile's location this close. But the URBANUS and SILVANNA should be able to find it." The newly crowned empress had exchanged her royal garb for her more familiar black uniform of the SILVANNA. "With Alex's and Deusis's information on Exile's location, we should be able to find it more easily. Now we know where to look."

            "Which ships are you going to take with you?" Madosein glanced over at the Deusis's leader.

            "We will take the SILVANNA and the URBANUS. They are the only intact ships with unlicensed drives." It was true – the two formidable battleships were the only ones whose engines weren't built under Guild control, which removed them from the Guild's reach. "If any other ship tried to follow, the Guild would recall their Claudia Unit even before we entered the Grand Stream."

            "Is two ships enough? We are willing to risk sending more," the Deusis commander interjected. Sophia shook her head. "No. We can't risk it. We need all available ships here. Besides, only the URBANUS and the SILVANNA are properly outfitted to navigate the Grand Stream. Any other ship would be torn apart."

            "Not true," a voice said from behind them. The three spun around to see Tom walking towards them. "The CU CHULAINN and the BATTLEMASTER are perfectly capable of navigating the Grand Stream, as well." The former second-in-command of the SILVANNA arched an eyebrow. "Which are those ships? I never heard of them. They are certainly not Anatoure ships," she glanced quickly over a ship roster. "Nor are they registered as any ships that are here."

            "That's because they are not part of a military force." Tom jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Berths eighty-one and eighty-two." Sophia tried to recall which ships lay at the assigned docking spaces. She saw a quick smile flit over Madosein's face. "I don't remember. What ships are they?"

            "The CU CHULAINN is the Phantom Ship, your highness," Madosein informed her. Deusis's commander gaped, and Sophia looked at Tom closely, and a strange sense of dejá vú struck her. He looked very familiar. How can it be...?

            Tom noticed her hesitation. "They are my personal ships. I am willing to follow you into the Grand Stream with them – four eyes see more than two, after all." Sophia nodded. "All right. I'll put you down. We'll split into two groups with our assigned search quadrants. The SILVANNA and URBANUS will take one, while your ships take quadrant two." Tom nodded in acknowledgement.

            The conference room had quieted down somewhat, with the exception of Madosein, Sophia, and Tom, everyone had returned to their respective commands. Tom and Madosein were about to take their leave when Sophia called back on Tom. "Wait." He turned around. "What is it, your highness?"

            She saw Madosein chuckle as he left and closed the door behind him. "Actually, I am the second-in-command of the SILVANNA again. Since you are the captain of your own ship, you outrank me," she said with a small smile. He just nodded. "What is it, then?"

            "Is your ship really the legendary 'Phantom Ship'?"

            "Yes."

            "Are all the rumours about it true?"

            "Which rumours?"

            Sophia took a deep breath. She had to find out whether she could trust this man with Exile, if he found it. "All of them. That you fight your personal war with the Guild. That you directly attack Guild vessels. That your ship always wins. That you always vanish right after the battle. Every single one of them."

            She could see him sigh. "Yes. Every one of them is true. We fight our war with the Guild. Yes, we directly attack them. All of the rumours you might have heard about us are true," Tom could hear her sharp intake of breath. "Except for one. We never once attacked anyone else. We never destroyed cities. We never provoked Guild attacks on civilian targets."

            She nodded. "Why?" She finally broke the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over them. "Why what?" He asked.

            "Why attack the Guild? Hasn't there been enough bloodshed?"

            He gave a dry chuckle. "There has been more than enough. I'm trying to end it. What the Guild did was...unforgivable. And as long as we let them, they will keep doing whatever they please. We must draw a line. Right here." Tom paused. "I could ask you the same question. Why rise up against the Guild now? Why risk the death of so many people?"

            Sophia shook her head. "I don't know. They...started this. They fouled the peace treaty between Anatoure and Deusis. They do everything they can to keep us at war – and for what? We don't even know. I – I don't know." She averted her gaze, but he caught the glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes. "I feel lost," she told him. Somehow, she knew she could trust this man, instinctively. "I feel like...like my whole world has come crushing down around me."

            He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I know. I felt like that, too, once before."

            "When?"

            "It was a long time ago. And a very wise person told me that the only thing we can do is try to remember the good memories and cling to them." Tom smiled gently as he recalled the memory.

            Sophia gaped. Can it really be...No. The NEHELENIA is dead. "Who are you?" She whispered.

            "Just call me Tom. I'm the captain of the Phantom Ship. Isn't that enough?"

            "I mean, who are you really?"

            He sighed. "I can't tell you – it would make matters even worse for you. Trust me, it's better if you don't know."

            "I need to know," she pleaded. "Tell me."

            As he glanced into her brown eyes, he relented, finally. "All right. I am the former commander of the Imperial Navy of Anatoure battleship NEHELENIA during the first invasion of Deusis, almost ten years ago. Tomaas Riatavin." As soon as she heard that, she flung herself into him, holding on to him in a death grip. He just held her, while her tears started soaking the front of his dark green coat.

            "Why didn't you ever tell me you were alive?" She asked.

            "Tomaas Riatavin died with the NEHELENIA," he said simply. "Now, I'm just Tom."

            "How...?"

            "It's not important." He held on to her, as well. "And you never told me who you really were," he murmured.

            The next day came with the rise of the sun. Slowly rising over the horizon, its rays began to illuminate the glittering armada that was assembled there. Light danced across the harsh angles of Anatoure battlecruisers, and reflected off the elegantly curved hulls of Deusis vessels. With the rise of the sun came a formation of smaller vessels, soaring over the horizon in perfect formation. Silhouetted against the rising sun were the Vanships.

            Tom stood on the observation deck of the CU CHULAINN, watching as the tiny vessels went through their maneuvers with unerring accuracy, their bodies glittering in the crimson light of the new day. He let his gaze wander over the countless ships moored at the Horizon Cave dock, dormant dragons biding their time to strike. The almost beautifully crafted Deusis cruisers harshly contrasted by the precise, angular Anatoure vessels. Each one unique. Each one beautiful in its own way. Each one deadly. Each one determined to fight to the end.

            As he looked back outside, the Vanships had gotten closer. He could make out the details on them now, like the occassional markings their pilots attached to their vessels to add a touch of their own personality. His thoughts wandered back in time. He had loved flying once. He had enjoyed the feel of the air rushing past, the thrill of the aerial acrobatics, the speed of the Vanships. Yet, Vanships had started the entire mess. It was because of Vanships and their Claudia Units the Guild had started restricting larger units. Vanships and flying had caused him to meet Sophia – actually, he mused, that was a good thing. And now Vanships were being used to fight and kill. I can see what Caroline meant. Vanships are turning into weapons. The sad part is, they are doing better at this than anything else. When the time came, Vanships would be the spearhead of their thrust against the Guild. They would be the ones leading the fight. And the outcome of the battle could very well depend on the skills and courage of the men in those pilot seats. Tom wished he could be out there, as well. His eyes returned to watching the pilots prepare for their missions. The war with the Guild was starting in less than three days.

            "It's a scene of beauty, isn't it?" A voice asked from behind him. "And yet, it is somehow appalling to see so much capacity for destruction." Sophia stepped into the observation deck.

            Tom turned around. "Yes."

            She noticed his eyes were on the Vanships. "I know you want to be out there, but we need you here. I need you here. The faster we can find Exile, the faster the war will be over."

            He nodded. "I know. I used to like flying," he said. "I remember. I remember you skipping a simulation to work on your Vanship more than once, back at the Academy," she replied, smiling.

            Tom looked at her smile, and returned it. "Say, when this is over, want to go for a ride?"

            She grinned. "It's a deal." They stood there in comfortable silence, until she asked, "What happened?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "When the NEHELENIA was destroyed."

            Tom sighed. "It's a long story..."