A Journey of Self

by Schiaparelli

The UEC and the Unknowns lock into pitched battle once more, as the Nadesico begins its biggest, craziest mission to date...

6. Chapter Five

UEC 3rd Fleet Command and Control Center, orbiting above Mars

"None of them managed to get any data at all?" Admiral Harada inquired, disbelief visible in his shocked eyes. Harada, Admiral Hong, and Representative Harujyon were inside a debriefing room in the 3rd Fleet's control center, meticulously going over ever detail of the recent battle.

Admiral Hong shook his head. "None at all, sir. All of my research ships were either at the wrong place, were destroyed, or had their sensor equipment jammed. In all due likelihood," he said, gesturing towards the Jovian representative, "our Unknown friends probably learned to seek out and destroy research vessels during their fight with the Jovians."

"Representative Harujyon?" Harada asked pointedly.

The Jovian stiffened and saluted in response. "Admiral Hong is correct in that assessment, sir. Nearly all our research vessels have been attacked, with casualties onboard reaching in excess of eighty-five percent."

"So none of us have any new data whatsoever about these tactics the Unknowns are using now?" Harada said, referring to the mysteriously devastating boson particle emissions from the "mother ships."

"On the contrary," Harujyon replied, "One of our research ships, the Cowboy Johnny, registered such activity on its scanners before being attacked and presumably destroyed.  This was before the Unknowns began actively searching out research vessels and jamming analytical sensors."

"Wonderful. Perhaps the wreck is still floating around somewhere, with its data disks intact, for us to find and pick up in order to learn all the secrets to win this damn war," Harada replied sarcastically.

"Actually," Harujyon said, completely unfazed with Harada's hostility, "you may find this vid-clip rather interesting. It was a transmission from the Cowboy Johnny just a half hour before we lost contact with it." Harujyon's fingers deftly adjusted the controls on the holographic panel, and in a few seconds a vid-screen flashed above their heads.

Five minutes into, Harada cursed.  Ten seconds later, he cursed again.  After the vid-clip was done playing, he swore violently. Another vid-clip flashed in front of him, displaying a communications officer.

"Sir, we've just established radio contact with the Nadesico and her escorts. They're within two hours of the FEBA," he said, referring to the Forward Edge of the Battle Area, or the place where all the fighting was taking place.

Harada nodded. "Good timing. Open up a communications link with them on the bridge. I'll be there in five."

"Hai." The vid-screen disappeared, and Harada stood up.  The two other men stood up with him.

"Representative Harujyon, I guess it's time we retrieved those data disks of yours," Harada said with a shark-like grin. It was about time something good happened for the UEC.

"Saburouta-san, are you almost done yet?" Haley-kun complained bitterly from his computer console.

The older Jovian officer merely ignored him.

"Saburouta-san! Are you even listening to me?"

No reply.

Haley threw his hands up in exasperation. "Saburouta-san! You've been reading the kanchou's manga for two and a half hours! In two more, we'll be at Mars! It's been my turn to read for at least forty-five minutes! Saburouta-san!"

Saburouta merely shook his head, took out a pair of earplugs, and stuck them on, before returning to his (actually Ruri's) copy of Ururun.

By this time, Haley-kun was close to tears, and he turned to his captain with a pleading look in his eyes. "Kanchou, are you just going to let Saburouta-san keep your book like that?"

Ruri had been sitting in her captain's chair the whole two and a half hours Saburouta-san had been reading, with nothing to do.  Bored beyond imagination, she had spent the last hour staring off into space with her head cupped in her hands. Glancing at Haley, and seeing his pleading puppy-dog eyes, she closed her own and sighed tiredly.

"Baka," she murmured dreamily as she lay her head on her arms and slouched unto her computer console.

A second later, communications officer Akira ripped off his headset and shouted up to Ruri, "O illustrious and most beloved Captain of ours! A message from God himself!"

"Who is it?" Ruri asked, her eyes still closed.

"Admiral Harada, commander of the UEC 3rd Fleet, and the Supreme Commander of the Mars Defensive Command, wishes to have a nice chit-chat with you," the tan officer drawled. "Shall I tell him you're having tea?" he asked in a fake British accent.

"I just don't understand that guy," Saburouta murmured, while flipping through the pages in Ururun.

Ruri reflected for a moment before replying, "Yes, open up the communications channel, please."

"Your wish is my grudgingly accepted command," Akira returned, making a fake bow before turning back to the communications equipment. Kotone quietly giggled at her post.

The doors to the command center's bridge slid open silently and quickly hissed shut as Harada strode purposefully through them. The communications officer lifted up his head and saluted before saying, "Sir, communications link with the Nadesico has been established."

"Very good." The admiral walked up to his command chair and sat down. "Let's get this over with."

Onboard the Nadesico, a vid-screen flashed in front of Ruri, and she quickly straightened herself into a perfect salute. The image of Admiral Harada, Commander in Chief of the Martian Defensive Fleet, materialized in front of her.

"Greetings, Captain Hoshino Ruri," he said in a tough gravelly voice that hinted at years of combat experience, "and welcome to the wastelands of Mars."

"It is an honor to meet you, Admiral," the petit fairy replied impeccably.

"Status report, please," Harada ordered crisply.

"Hai. The Nadesico is currently enroute to Mars with escort ships Amaryllis, Crusader, Triton, and Cricket. Estimated time of arrival is one hour and forty-five minutes. All systems are functioning at optimum levels, and the escort fleet reports no mechanical malfunction whatsoever. Crew strength is at full one hundred percent, and we are ready to report for duty."

The admiral nodded in approval. "Excellent, Captain. We already have a task for you and your ship to complete."

Ruri cocked her head questioningly.

Harada's screen split into two, with the admiral localized on the left half of the vid-screen, while a computer space map took up the right half. Vector lines appeared, along with coordinates and estimated positions of Unknown ships.

"About thirty thousand kilometers beyond the FEBA is the wreckage of a Jovian research vessel, the Cowboy Johnny," Harada explained. A single blue blip appeared on the map to designate the location of the vessel. "During the Jovian withdrawal to UEC lines, the Cowboy Johnny was attacked and presumably destroyed by the Unknowns while recording and analyzing data. We think they were recording a new weapon that the Unknowns have, one that unleashed unheard-of havoc on the fleet."

"If I may ask, what sort of havoc, Admiral?"

Harada shook his head. "Imagine thirty battleships exploding simultaneously in the blink of an eye. It's a weapon on a greater scale of destruction than the gravity blast cannon. Anyways," he continued, "before the Cowboy Johnny was destroyed, the captain managed to send off a message that we received. You might find this interesting."

The admiral disappeared from the vid-screen, and the map took up the whole display before shifting to a recording transmission module. After a brief second of static, a fuzzy video feed of a Jovian officer with blond hair and a grizzly yellow beard materialized in front of Ruri.  The video and audio feed from the recording were awful, but Ruri could make out words between the hisses from the static.

"…current…out of course…sensors detected…aly…radioactive…of some kind…unsure…tigate further…back when we have more information…" the Jovian captain said between hisses of static. He looked down, apparently at a status board, and his eyebrows raised as he realized he missed something. He glanced up again and said, "Also…weird thing…drifting off…to be mecha…sort…Aestivalis, we stipulate…" then the video feed cut off and Harada appeared once more.

"That wasn't the entire clip," he said, "but you get the general gist. Whatever the Cowboy Johnny detected, it was the same thing that started exploding battleships all over the defensive fleet. We hypothesize it has something to do with radioactive boson particles, but we don't know if that's even possible, and so we need the data disks on that ship." The admiral leaned forward into the vid-screen. "Captain, your mission is to retrieve those disks at any cost. Command and control will be transmitting you the pertinent missions data within the hour. Harada, out." And with that, the vid-screen disappeared.

Saburouta whistled softly as he looked up from his reading. "The Admiral's heaped a huge one on us," he observed. "Looks like we'll be pretty busy for the next day or so."

Ruri nodded in agreement. "I'll have to talk to Seiya…Shinta-san about arming the Aestivalis for this particular mission. We may have to use batteries for extensive out-of-range tactics."

Saburouta nodded, as he lay the Ururun manga on top of his computer console. Immediately, Haley-kun's eyes lit up. "I agree, we might want to use the Aestivalis as a decoy to draw away forces…though that'll leave this ship vulnerable to those mass mecha attacks the Unknowns are so found of," Saburouta conjectured out loud. "Perhaps if the Admiral could schedule a diversionary attack while we infiltrate?"

"That would be most helpful; I will discuss that with Admiral Harada as soon as possible…" Ruri trailed off, her eyes shifting to a point beyond Saburouta.

Curious, the Jovian lieutenant looked back and saw Haley next to him, hands almost on the Ururun manga. Immediately, the Jovian lunged to save his precious book, but Haley was too quick and snatched it away victoriously from the greedy lieutenant. Saburouta wailed in agony and total defeat, while the young boy raised the Ururun over his head and smiled in glee. Turning back to Ruri, Haley-kun handed her Ururun copy to her with a flourish.

Ruri was surprised. "What are you doing, Haley-kun? I thought you wanted to read this."

Haley shrugged. "Well, you were looking really bored the last few hours while Saburouta was reading this," he fidgeted uncomfortably, "so I thought it'd be best if you got it back so you can…you know, finish. Besides, you have to complete your notes anyway, don't you?"

Ruri nodded.

"Well, I can wait until you're done with it then; just tell me when you've finished," Haley-kun concluded gallantly, with a look of determination mixed with noble suffering.

His captain took the pro-offered manga with a small smile. "That was very kind and noble of you, Haley-kun," she said with an approving tone.

Haley blushed and looked down at his shoes. "Well, it was nothing, kanchou…"

Saburouta sighed in misery as he contemplated the next two hours without the Ururun copy. "I wonder what an Aestivalis was doing in a Jovian ship," he wondered out loud as his thoughts drifted towards the upcoming mission.

Ruri started at these words. Saburouta was right, Admiral Harada had mentioned an Aestivalis onboard the Cowboy Johnny. But what on earth was an Aestivalis doing onboard a Jovian vessel? Could it be…his Aestivalis?

I wonder what color it is, Ruri thought with some slight apprehension. And if it is his, I hope he's okay…

"Enemy activity detected in Omega Sector! Large amounts of Unknown capital ships descending upon defense line Echo! Sensors detect a huge spike in boson particles around the area!"

Harada reacted immediately, shouting, "Fall back! Concentrate the 3rd and 11th fleets into a doubled defensive pattern at Omega Sector! Control, arm and input data coordinates for the CC missiles!" A chorus of "hais" created his command, and Harada silently thanked the heavens for the decision to make the CC missiles.  After the first disastrous battle, Harada had brain-stormed for an hour before reaching a feasible solution for the Unknowns' new boson-particle weapon. The CC crystals that were so abundant on Mars, and one of the top strategic commodities available, were right below where Harada was orbiting! CC crystals are known for absorbing boson particles and instigating a reaction that altered the atomic arrangement of substances, allowing them to move, quite literally, through space and time. If the new Unknown weapon used boson particles, hopefully, the CC crystals would absorb them and react, and with nothing within the vicinity to teleport with the crystals, the UEC would have an effective temporary defensive weapon against the new Unknown weapon.

That was assuming, of course, Harada thought pessimistically, that the whole damn idea worked in the first place. He also hoped that if it did, there were enough CC crystals on Mars to sustain them until a new strategy could be forged.

Seating himself at his command chair, the Admiral opened up a vid-screen of his own and began typing a FLASH-priority telex message. Destination: Nadesico.

"Incoming telex message from 3rd UEC Fleet headquarters," Haley-kun reported as Omoikane displayed the warning on his screen.

"Let's hear it, Haley," Saburouta said.

"It reads, 'currently under heavy attack by Unknowns. Expected window of infiltration of six hours, as currently all known enemy units on the battle line are concentrated in Sector Omega. We will pin them down for you. Good luck.'" Haley-kun swiveled in his chair to face Saburouta. "Well, Saburouta-san, looks like you've got your diversion."

"Yes, well, let's hope they survive through that diversion, Haley."

Uribatake Shinta had been working for eight hours straight, alone, in one of the maintenance workshops of the Nadesico. His fellow members of the maintenance crew had watched him for a few minutes in studied interest, but, as the hours grew long, they had grown bored and left to do better things like drool over Amano Hikaru, and put her yet higher in a classified position on the List of the Hottest Females aboard the Nadesico. Unfortunately, rebellion threatened to split apart the maintenance crew, as a strong minority believed that Hikaru even surpassed the beauty of their captain herself, while the dominant majority fiercely defended the honor and title of their electronic fairy as the number one lady on the List of the Hottest Females aboard the Nadesico.

Shinta smiled as he put the last finishing touches on his latest and greatest invention. Lifting off his welding helmet and stowing it under the work table, he adjusted his glasses and peered closely at his creation, to make sure there were no flaws or imperfections. His trained eyes scanned the cold metal surfaces of his ingenius contraption for the slightest flaw in the reinforced titanium alloy. Dirty, greasy, and achingly sore fingers caressed the artificial diamond he had painstakingly embedded into the titanium, searching for cracks, holes, spaces, anything that might give him the excuse to spend even more time on his beloved new toy.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It was perfect.

Shinta stood stock still for a second, reveling in the glory of the moment, before grinning like a madman. Picking up his arc welding tools, he hurled them out the door before prancing about like a madman, whooping in glee. Seeing this, the maintenance boys groaned and collectively shook their heads in annoyance. They looked at each other, shrugged, and thought to themselves, not again!

"Massive boson particle readings emanating from the enemy fleet!" a technician yelled. "Enemy attack is imminent!"

Harada nodded, turning towards the communications officer. "Send a dispatch to the missile silos. Launch the CC missiles in a box pattern over Omega sector!" Unbeknownst to anybody, the Admiral quietly crossed his fingers behind his back. "Let's hope this damned contraption works," he muttered to himself.

"What is it, Shinta-san?" Saburouta tiredly asked the maintenance chief, who was winking at him like a madman over the vid-screen.

"I have something here you have to see! My newest and greatest invention! With this baby, we'll sweep the Unknowns off the map!" Shinta exulted, spinning in circles across the screen. Suddenly, the vid-screen zipped across the bridge, and a surprised Ryoko found herself staring at Shinta's leering face. "You should go too," he ordered, "I've got enough for both of you."

Ryoko looked up at Saburouta, who merely shrugged. Sighing in defeat, she replied, "Fine, Shinta-san. We're coming."

The maintenance chief gave a whoop of joy before signing off, and the two pilots rose out of their chairs to leave. "Be back in a few," Saburouta called back over his shoulder, hands in his pockets, before the bridge door slid shut behind him.

"Missiles launched! Estimated time of impact…ten seconds!"

"Damn it, that might be too long!" Harada snapped back. "Give me an ETA on the enemy alpha strike!"

The technician looked up apologetically, worry etched across his face. "Impossible to measure, sir. The boson particles are too unstable to definitely judge their exact release time. Computations suggest," he paused for a brief second as he input a few numbers into his computer, "that enemy fire may begin anywhere between five seconds to a whole minute!"

Harada banged his fist on his computer console in anger as he listened to the countdown to missile impact. The entire bridge room was silent, the tension practically palpable in the cool air-conditioned room.

"Ten…nine…eight…." Still no sign of enemy activity. Beads of sweat started to trickle down Harada's face, and he impatiently wiped them away with his hand.

"Seven…six…five…." Come on, come on!

"Four…three…two…"

Suddenly, alarm klaxons rang all over the bridge and the emergency warning lights blinked a rapid and disorientating red.

The technician swiveled in his chair, pure fear in his face. "Incoming enemy volley! Incoming enemy volley! All hands prepare for impact!"

"This better be good," Saburouta groused as he and Ryoko entered the Aestivalis hangar bay. Ryoko nodded in agreement, arms crossed menacingly in front of her.

Shinta stood in the bay at a distance from the two, facing away from them with his hands at his hips and legs splayed far apart. He seemed to purposefully striking an overtly dramatic pose that only served to make him look like a fool. Turning his head, he grinned and waved them closer, gesturing at a nearby Aestivalis that was hidden behind a maintenance shaft.

"The hell is he doing?" Saburouta wondered out loud.

"I have no idea. Maybe he reworked one of the Aestis?" Ryoko suggested, as the two observed Shinta impatiently waving his arms at them.

"If so, it better be a good upgrade. Like a katana or something. That'd be really cool, wouldn't it" the Jovian lieutenant grinned as he thought about flying through space with the Katana of Everlasting Doom in his grasp.

Ryoko stuck out her tongue at him. "Yeah, whatever, hotshot."

"Hurry it up, you spineless evildoers!" Shinta yelled at them from far away. "You're killing me with the suspense!"

At this, the two pilots shared a look before continuing to walk towards the maintenance chief and his mysterious new toy.

"One!" The tactical officer's voice could still be heard clearly over the din of the alarm klaxons. As Harada watched, Omega sector blossomed into a cloud of glittering dust as the CC missiles disgorged their load of precious crystals.

At the same time, the Unknown fleet released a murderous wave of boson particle energy designed to annihilate the UEC fleet in one blow.

Time seemed to come to an end as the boson particles smashed into the field of CC crystals and began to react. Space itself distorted as massive amounts of energy were concentrated into the crystals, and minute boson reactions began, quickly accelerating into a eye-dazzling symphony of colored lights and flashes.

"Get me a damage report!" Harada ordered as the crystals finally reacted, warping anything around them through time and space…if there had been anything. The crystals had done their job, absorbing the enemy blast and converting it into a harmless reaction.

"Vessels report no damage whatsoever! Preparations for a counterstrike are underway!"

Almost as quickly as it had started, the boson reactions ended, and all that was left was a completely intact UEC fleet, and a seemingly defenseless Unknown armada.

The bridge room erupted into cheers as UEC vessels began to strike back, and gravity blasts began ripping through the Unknown formations, ravaging entire squadrons of the mysterious enemy vessels.

After Saburouta had left, Ruri continued her reading with a small sigh of relief. Now she could read in peace. Five minutes into her book however, she noticed someone breathing faintly down the back of her neck, and she turned her head slightly to see who it was, a faint suspicion already in her mind.

Sure enough, Haley-kun was right behind her, reading over her shoulders and studying the illustrations with a look of fierce intensity.

"What is it now, Haley-kun?" Ruri asked tiredly.

"Well…kanchou…," he stuttered, fidgeting with his fingers. "I just thought I'd read along with you…maybe help you with your notes or something?" he suggested in a hopeful voice.

Ruri considered this for a second and nodded, shifting the manga to a position that would make reading comfortable for them both. In companionable silence, the two devoured the book, pointing every now and then an interesting tidbit or a helpful hint, and meticulously writing them down on Ruri's notepad.

Kotone giggled as she watched them, and Akira gave her a rather odd look.

"What's so funny?" he asked, gesturing at the two young teenagers.

Kotone giggled again. "Seeing the two of them like that," she explained, waving her hand in their general direction, "they would make such a cute couple together, don't you think?" She laughed at the thought, clapping her hands at the thought. "They really should hook up! It would be so wonderful! It's like they were made for each other!" she gushed with glee.

Akira gave her another odd look before returning to his console. "What a weird person," he muttered to himself while turning on his music and donning a pair of headphones. Leaning back in his chair, he checked the chronograph: five hours to reach the Cowboy Johnny. Plenty of time for a nap.

Suddenly, the silence of the bridge was interrupted by wild noises of excitement and exultation, as a vid-screen popped up with Saburouta's and Ryoko's faces pressed up close against it.

"Kanchou!" they shouted in unison. Ruri and Haley-kun jumped in surprise at that, as they looked up to see who it was.

"Guess what, Ruri! You wouldn't believe what Shinta-san has made for us!" Ryoko said excitedly. "It's the greatest—"

Saburouta-san in his joy pushed Ryoko out of the way as he tried to explain himself. "It's the greatest weapon in the history of the world, Captain! With this baby, we'll turn the tide of the war in no time!"

In the distance, Ruri could hear Ryoko snarling, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What exactly is this wonder weapon, if I may ask?" Ruri asked quietly.

Shinta-san pushed Saburouta-san's face down under the vid-screen and pressed his own face up close. "It's a wonder of engineering!" he declared in a manic voice. "It took me the entire trip to Mars to hammer my babies to perfection! Take a look at them!" Over the protests of both Saburouta and Ryoko, the maintenance technician panned the vid-screen towards the Aestivalis. Ruri and Haley-kun gasped in surprise at what they saw.

The Aestivalis had been stripped down and practically rebuilt all the way up. A newer, more compact generator was installed in the back to reduce bulk, and high-tensile service motors had been installed in the arms to ensure greater mobility and reaction time. The zero-g space frame had been wrapped around the Aestivalis, but was altered to reduce the armor around the arms and to add more around the torso and chest, with more thruster jets added to the back and inertial compensators liberally sprinkled everywhere.

As if by afterthought, a head decoration had been added to the Aestivalis, and the overall effect was that of a samurai of ancient days.

"I've changed the appearance of the Aestivalis to better coincide with the new weapons I've made for it!" Shinta-san announced proudly. "Maneuverability was increased with extra inertial compensators and thruster jets, and the strength and speed of the arms were enhanced by a factor of three! And better yet," he declared, panning the vid-screen once more, "I have these for them!"

"Shinta-san, are those katanas?" Haley-kun blurted out.

And indeed, they were. Two polished katanas, gigantic in size, were displayed on the wall next to the Aestvalis, and Ryoko and Saburouta were caressing them lovingly.

"I constructed them out of titanium alloy, and embedded diamond into the blade," the maintenance chief explained. "The result is a sword that is difficult to destroy and that can cut through almost anything! It is the ultimate weapon!"

"I see," Ruri said. "It is a most impressive weapon that you have created, Shinta-san. However," she murmured, cutting off Shinta's shout of joy, "where did you get the funds to build these and to upgrade the Aestivalis like that?"

At this, the maintenance chief puffed out his chest, put his hands on his hips, and laughed once in defiance. "Where do you think I got the funds, captain?" he declared in a deep and heroic voice, before signing off.

Ruri shook her head. "He's just like Seiya-san," she murmured quietly.

"Damn it!" Akira observed crossly. "Can't a guy get any sleep around here?"

One hour, thirty minutes later

The Nadesico was at full battle stations.

The Nadesico was in enemy territory.

Ruri watched as Omoikane's graphical representation of the Nadesico crossed the imaginary line that indicated the border between UEC territory and Unknown territory. Nothing but silence and emptiness surrounded the ship as it slipped quietly through enemy lines.  Thousands of kilometers away, Harada's UEC fleets were pinning the Unknown armada down in an attempt to clear a pathway for the small reconnaissance fleet to complete its mission.

So far, it had been a smashing success.

Far off in the distance, a light show of grandiose proportions was taking place, as UEC battleships and Unknown "mother ships" faced off against each other. Small explosions and beams of light lit the horizon as the crew silently watched the battle rage from afar. From the battlefield, it would take the Nadesico a little over three hours to reach the Cowboy Johnny and download the data disks. It would be a long three hours.

Ruri turned away from the flashing lights of the battle and returned to her computer screens. If the data disks in the Cowboy Johnny were really that valuable, there was a good chance that there'd be an enemy presence around it to prevent the UEC from getting those disks. Ruri would have to come up with a plan that could not fail; there would be no reinforcements thousands of kilometers behind enemy lines.

She studied her display panel carefully. She had at her disposal the Nadesico, which in itself was a very powerful asset, along with the heavy battleship Crusader and its freakish captain. The mobile cruiser Amaryllis was ideal against mech swarms, and Ruri made a mental note to keep that in mind when she deployed her fleet.  The frigate Triton and Cricket were practically useless in a situation like this, though. They didn't have the armor or firepower to take on an Unknown ship, and their weapons weren't specialized enough to prove effective against a nimble mecha. Six Aestivalis pilots were available, with two of them completely retrofitted by Shinta to serve as samurai Aestis. How odd, Ruri thought, I didn't realize there were six pilots. I know only four of them…I wonder who the other two are? She hoped they were good; if the Nadesico got caught in a bind, she'd be depending on them for help.

"Saburouta-san, Haley-kun, I think it is time we started planning tactics for the recovery of the data disks," the beautiful fairy quietly announced.

The two men swiveled in their seats and nodded their affirmative.

"So, how will we start?" Haley asked. "Do we know if there's a guard force around the ship?"

"No, we don't," Ruri answered. "So we will have to assume there is one." Her white fingers pressed some buttons on her console, and a screen popped up in front of the three of them, depicting the Cowboy Johnny, and the area around it. "All we know about the environment surrounding the ship is that there were several cruisers with it when it was destroyed, and currently the wreckage of all the ships are floating in this area." Graphical representations of four wrecks appeared. "The Cowboy Johnny is identified via its extremely long sensory antennae, which every other ship in that area lacks. There are no asteroids, no comets, nothing in the area to hide enemy ships other than those wrecks," Ruri concluded.

Saburouta leaned forward and studied the display intently. "I recognize the cruiser class. None of the Unknown ships can hide behind one of those without us seeing it. On the other hand, you could hide a good amount of their mechs behind one of those.  If they were to have a guard force, mechs would be it."

"But we've never seen their mechs alone, without a support ship," Haley pointed out. "They're always coming out of a carrier ship of some type. Kind of like the Aestis."

"Yes, so if they were to have an effective guard force, they would have to have capital ships of some type," Ruri finished for them. "And they would be out in the open."

"And easy for us to destroy," Saburouta stated confidently. "We just use the gravity blast cannon and our job is done, yes?"
            "No," Ruri answered back. The two men blinked in surprise.

"Why not?" Haley-kun asked.

"Because it would make detection too easy; the Unknowns would probably detect our energy profile and we would never make it back to UEC lines in one piece," Ruri answered. "We need another way to destroy those ships."

"If we can't use energy weapons, we're back to brute physical force," Saburouta mused. "And none of the ships has a missile system of any kind. That just leaves…"

"The Aestivalis?" Haley piped up.

Ruri nodded, swiveling her chair back to the vid-screen and inputting some more keys. More symbols showed up, depicting two Unknown ships in the area. "To effectively cover the area, only two ships are needed to garrison the wrecks. So far, the Unknowns have been very efficient at what they've done, so I think we need not fear for a larger force. Two ships will be all that they have. If the Nadesico stays out of their detection range, then we can deploy Aestivalis' to destroy them at close range." A dotted line appeared to visualize the estimated detection range of the ships.

"The only problem with that is that the detection range is too far for the Aestivalis," Saburouta said after studying the diagram. "We'll be out of the Nadesico's range, and our battery power won't last long in combat. Plus, what'll we do with all those mechs hiding in the wreckage?"

"If we destroy the capital ships though, the mechs will stop working, we've seen that before," Haley-kun pointed out. "And with those new generators Shinta installed, Omoikane says you'll have at least ten minutes to destroy those ships. There'll be six Aestivalis', so three to each one…it can't take more than two minutes for you to cut through them," the young boy reasoned.

"Very good, Haley-kun," Ruri observed. The young boy grinned sheepishly.

"I guess that settles it then," Saburouta said. "We take the Aestis in on the solar sails, activate at point blank range, and take them by surprise. They can't detect us if our systems aren't active. Then, the Nadesico moves in and we board the ship via shuttle. Who'll be in the boarding party?"

"Unfortunately, we can only have one person," Ruri said. "The Nadesico no longer has the Hinagiku like we used to. All we have is a one person shuttle." Like the one the kanchou and Megumi-san took to "save" Tenkawa-san, she thought.

Saburouta and Haley sighed. "Well, we have to choose one person then," Haley-kun said. "How about I go…"

"No."

"Why not, kanchou?"
            "I'll need you to command the fleet while I'm gone."

"Huh? What are you talking about, kanchou?" Haley asked.

"I'll be going down to the ship, Haley-kun," Ruri answered. "Of all of us here, I have the most expertise in extracting electronic data. Besides, I am genetically engineered," she said in a flat monotone. "I know how to fly and defend myself."

Instantly, visions of ace-pilot Ruri weaving intricate dances of death and Rambo-Ruri with bandana, ammo belts, twin assault rifles and a cigarette in her mouth popped up in Haley's and Saburouta's head.

"Saburouta, I'll be leaving you in tactical command of the Aestivalis squadron, and you'll also be responsible for securing the perimeter and providing shuttle escort when I get to the ship and when I return," Ruri continued. "Haley-kun," she said, turning to the young boy, "I'm leaving you in command of the fleet; if enemy vessels appear, it's up to you to defend me and the Cowboy Johnny from them."

It took a second for the two men to realize that Ruri was dead serious.

"Wait a second, kanchou!" Haley said urgently. "Are you serious about going down there alone?"
            "It's dangerous," Saburouta warned. "There's no telling what's still in the wreckage; the Unknowns could be there in person, waiting for you!"

"I am proficient with light weaponry, and I am fairly adequate at flying a shuttle," Ruri replied, somewhat annoyed.

"Kanchou, you know how to use a gun?" Haley-kun asked, in awe.

"Not a gun, exactly. I modified the standard issue pistol to shoot rubber bullets," Ruri explained, "and for the Unknowns, I have these." With that, she held up a single blue bullet.

"What is that?"
            "EMP bullet," she replied matter-of-factly.

"What makes you think they'll be electronic?" Haley demanded. Ruri didn't answer, but memories of the Great War wafted through her head. The young captain got up and walked out of the bridge.

"I'll begin prepping the shuttle for launch," she said over her shoulder. "Haley-kun, Saburouta-san, you should begin preparations also."

The two men shared a look before sighing in defeat.

Omega Sector

The battle had been raging on for nearly three and a half hours, Harada realized. Nevertheless, the UEC fleets were doing far better than they had the last time.

With the protection of the CC missiles, the UEC fleets ravaged the Unknowns with near impunity, immune from their boson particle projections. The Unknowns still had their plasma weaponry, but they lost their tactical advantage over Harada. Alpha strikes from the remaining heavy battleships ripped through their lines like a hot knife through butter.

Losses had still been heavy for the fleets, but the toll on the Unknowns was greater. The armada had thrown everything into Omega Sector, but the doubled defensive formation Harada had set up managed to throw back every single attack the Unknowns had hurled against it.

"Sir, Stardust is reporting that the Unknown forces are retreating!" the communications officer shouted.

Harada grinned as he watched the vid-screen. The shattered remnants of the Unknown assault force were pulling back now, behind a protective screen of mecha. "Send a dispatch to the 3rd fleet!" he ordered. "I want them to chase the Unknowns back the way they came from!" With luck, he realized, the UEC fleets just might recover all the ground they had lost the previous day. And with reinforcements within three days' journey from Earth, the UEC might be able to retake Jupiter if there were enough CC crystals left.

If the First Battle for Mars had been a bloody stalemate, then the Second Battle was a smashing victory for Earth.

Harada turned back to his bridge crew, who shared the same look of relief and satisfaction that he had. "Now everything's up to the Nadesico," he announced. "Let's hope those guys don't find them when they come back," he muttered to himself, glancing back at the retreating enemy fleet.

Three hundred kilometers from the Cowboy Johnny

"We're at the estimated range of detection for the Unknown ships," Haley-kun murmured at the vid-screen, which displayed Saburouta-san in his pilots' suit. "The captain was right, there are only two vessels; I'm downloading the situational data to you right now." The Jovian pilot gave a thumbs-up as soon as he received it, and Haley-kun returned it. "Good luck," the young boy simply said.

Saburouta checked his Aestivalis systems once more, and activated the vid-screen to the rest of his squadron. Instantly, small images of Ryoko, Izumi, Hikaru, and two other pilots (whose faces were hidden behind reflective helmets) appeared in front of him. "We just got the okay from Haley," the XO officer said simply. "Launch the Aestivalis manually, and as soon as you're out power down and activate the solar sail. We don't want to give them any more help in detecting us."

"Hai!" all five answered at once. As each pilot activated his mech, the Aestivalis' eyes started glowing, and within five minutes, all the mechs were spaceborn, floating through the deep black void towards their destination.

"Haley-kun, can you get me a situational report?" Ruri asked from within the cramped confines of the cockpit.

Another vid-screen instantly appeared, and Haley-kun said, "Of course, kanchou. Saburouta just launched, and they're on the solar sail right now. Estimated time of contact is approximately fifteen minutes; they'll be within fifty kilometers, and they'll close in the rest of the way on thruster jets."

"Good job, Haley-kun," Ruri replied approvingly. "Notify me once they've started attacking."

"Why?"
            "Because that's when I'll take off myself."

"But kanchou, don't you think that's a bit dangerous? They might not be finished by the time you get close to the wrecks; the hidden mechas might get you!"

"It's a chance I'll have to take," the young girl replied simply. "The less time we spend here, the safer the Nadesico will be."

"True," Haley conceded with a frown. "But you shouldn't put yourself in unnecessary danger." He chewed his lip worriedly. "Be careful out there, captain."

Ruri smirked a little. "Of course, Haley-kun."

Haley swiveled away from the vid-screen, shutting it off. "Omoikane, get me a low-key scan of the sector," he ordered. "Make it as stealthy as possible." Instantly, the computer complied, and a series of windows popped up around Haley-kun, forming a semi-transparent bubble.  Looking the windows over, Haley-kun picked one out from the selection, and closed the rest before studying it closely.

Three hundred kilometers from the wreckage and the Unknown vessels. Fifteen minutes for the Aestvalis' to get there. Haley-kun realized he'd have to watch the vessels and the wreckage very closely for any sign that they had been detected. He sighed as he queued up some more sensory data. It would be a tense fifteen minutes.

Saburouta noticed that it was awfully quiet as he drifted through space. No one was making a sound, not even talking or cracking a joke. Even Izumi wasn't rambling on about some strange topic, or laughing maniacally at one of her cryptic jokes.

As the Aestivalis pilots floated through space, slowly getting closer to the wreckage, each of the pilots began to fidget as the nervousness built up. Hikaru tried to grab a few minutes of sleep; Ryoko cracked her knuckles in both anticipation and anxiety; Izumi stared blankly out into the blackness of space; and the two mystery pilots calmly and professionally checked their system status, militant to the extreme. Saburouta just watched the clock. Ten minutes left.

Ruri checked the chronograph on her shuttle. Seven minutes left before the Aestivalis' would probably reach the capital ships. She went over her own control board, checking to make sure all systems were green. In another two minutes, she would start warming up the engines, and when the fighting started, she would blast out of the Nadesico's hull, and race straight toward the Cowboy Johnny, betting on the shuttle's lightning fast speed to get her past any dangers or obstacles.

"Oh, crap." Haley-kun checked the screen again to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Immediately, upon verification, he opened up a vid-screen to Saburouta. "Saburouta-san, are you there?" he whispered quietly.

"Hai, what is it?" The Jovian officer appeared tense.

"Trouble."

Ruri jumped in surprise as the Nadesico suddenly started rumbling. It sounded like the engines were suddenly being turned to full power. What was going on? She opened up a vid-screen. "Haley-kun, what's going on?" she asked quizzically.

There was no reply.

"Haley-kun?"

"Where are they now?" Saburouta asked pensively.

"I'm not sure," Haley-kun confessed. "We're on the very edge of the Nadesico's active scanning systems, too. Before, we can barely detect them. Now, they've moved somewhere, and Omoikane has lost them. Only thing I have is a 'probable' zone where those ships would most likely be."

Saburouta swore under his breath. "Okay, upload the file for me."

"Hai." Haley-kun's fingers flew across the keyboard. "Should be coming any second now."

"Got it." The lieutenant scanned the screen before he swore again. "Damn it, Haley! This 'probable' zone of yours is way too big! If we guess wrong, we'll be so far away from those Unknown ships they'll have enough time to call the clans in on us!"

"I know, I know," Haley replied worriedly. "But it's the best we got."

The Jovian shook his head. "This is bad, Haley. Really bad."

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kotone asked Akira in a quiet voice, gesturing at Haley-kun, who was animatedly waving his arms at a particular vid-screen.

"I don't know. He looks stressed out, though, huh?" Akira asked, leaning back on his chair with his legs propped up against his console. With the ship on restricted communications, he didn't have much of a job to do.

"Yeah. He needs a little stress relief," Kotone suggested with a small giggle.

At this, Akira's eyebrows went up and a mischievous look crossed his face. "Well, I've got something that'll relieve his stress," he said, flipping through his CD carrying case. "Ah! Here it is!" he announced proudly, as he held up a single CD with his two fingers.

"What is it?"

"Just listen," Akira said as he popped it into his console. "You'll like it. It's loud."

Ruri was starting to get a little worried herself. Haley-kun had yet to reply to her increasingly insistent demands on the vid-screen for information. Was he busy with something? Was something going on outside? Maybe the plan was upset from unforeseen obstacles? The electronic fairy checked her chronograph again. Another three minutes had passed; now she was running a bit behind. Immediately, she began warming up the engine.

"I'm moving the Nadesico in closer, to see if we can acquire the targets again," Haley-kun told Saburouta.

"That means we'll be moving into its probable detection radius," the Jovian warned.

"I know that," the boy sighed. "But it's either that or the 'probable' zone. Which do you prefer, Saburouta-san?"

Saburouta whistled softly. "Fine, let's do it. Tell me if you find anything."

"Hai," Haley-kun said, killing the video feed. He swiveled around and opened up a sensory screen again, not noticing the urgent beeping sound of a blocked vid-screen.

"Hey, why isn't it working?" Kotone asked Akira, once she had finished accelerating the ship, per Haley's orders.

"CDs are pretty old nowadays," Akira replied, fiddling with his console. "I have to fight with this damn piece of crap to make it accept the format." Suddenly, the console began smoking and Akira smiled in satisfaction. "There we go. Now it's working." He slipped the CD in and hit a couple of keys. "Listen up," he said, pushing the volume dial to the "spontaneously combust your eardrums" setting.

Two minutes to go, Ruri thought, and still no reply from Haley-kun. I hope nothing bad has happened. Ruri revved up the engines, and ran through the preflight checklist once more. All sensor systems were active, engines were at full power, distortion field was green. Everything was good to go. The young girl flipped a few more switches, and the hangar bay opened. One minute left.

Haley-kun looked up as another beeping screen slid in front of his face. The shuttle hangar bay doors were opening! Oh, crap! he thought, panicking. I forgot to tell the kanchou about this! At the same time, another screen beeped and flew in front of his face. Haley-kun glanced at it and stopped cold. It was another sensory screen.

It was the two Unknown ships, but they were closer than before. Nadesico was in their detection radius, and now swarms of mecha were hurtling out of them.

The kanchou's about to take off! She'll die if she runs into that! Haley swiveled in his chair and saw Ruri's ignored vid-screen three feet away from him. He sprang up to his feet and was about to run over when a veritable wave of sound hit him from behind.

A single chord made up of brass instruments crashed through the bridge, creating an effect much like that of a very large and very loud organ with lots of microphones attached to it. As the piece continued, the chords progressed higher and higher with more instruments joining in, and the bridge quaked with the power behind Brahm's fourth symphony, last movement.

The shock of the sudden music, combined with the earsplitting chords, disoriented Haley-kun enough to the point that he tripped and hit the metal floor hard. Scrabbling to his feet, he managed to look up in time to see the chronograph hit zero.

It was time. Ruri activated the engines, and opened the throttle. The roar of the compact fusion engines filled up the hangar bay, and Ruri was pressed into her seat as the shuttle roared out into the blackness of space. Orientating herself, Ruri put the shuttle into a sharp turn towards the wreckage…and gasped in shock.

The two Unknown ships were only two hundred or so kilometers away, and closing in fast. Swarms of mecha flew in front of them, and the energy signature from her shuttle engines was great enough that forty or so of them changed course and acquired her ship as their target.

Ruri's hands gripped the joystick tightly, and her eyes screwed tight in concentration. This would be a lot harder than she had planned.

"Saburouta-san!" Haley-kun screamed into the vid-screen, trying to be heard above the blasts of music. "Are you there?"
            "What is it, Haley?" he answered, alarmed at the fear in the boy's voice and the music in the background. "What happened?"

"The Unknown ships reappeared on the scope! They're two hundred and twenty seven kilometers away, and closing in fast! You should be within thirty clicks of them! Activate and destroy them now! The kanchou's out there!"
            "The kanchou's what?!"

"The kanchou's out there right now! And the Unknowns have already launched their mecha!"

Saburouta swore as he cut the video feed abruptly, and activated the comm system with his Aestivalis squadron. "Pilots, we're in thirty clicks of the target!" he announced tersely. "Search and destroy! Split up and take out the capital ships! Ignore the mecha if you can; the Unknown carriers take priority! Hikaru and Izumi, you'll have to take one of the carriers on yourself," he ordered grimly. "The captain's out there and there's mechas out for her. I'm going to try to shake them off her tail!"

A chorus of "hais!" greeted his command, and Saburouta shed his solar sail, activating his Aestivalis and pulling out his katana. "Okay bastards, here I come!" he shouted as he activated his thruster jets. The Aestivalis accelerated to blazing speeds in a fraction of a second, and Saburouta left a wake of destruction as he hacked through the mecha swarm in a desperate attempt to reach Ruri's shuttle before it was too late.

Ruri gritted her teeth as the inertial compensators pushed her deep into her seat. Her shuttle was roaring by at breakneck speed, but the mechas were hot on her tail. She had already bypassed the capital ships, but a look at her scanner indicated that even more mechs were swarming out of the wreckage in front of her. I probably won't make it, she thought with cold logic. A swarm of missiles flew past her as her pursuers opened fire, and Ruri winced as one missile exploded right next to her ship, weakening the distortion field and causing the ship to shudder and the screens to flicker.

Ruri grasped the controls and banked hard to the right in an attempt to evade the missiles; looking behind her left shoulder, she noted with satisfaction that her tight turn and high speed had thrown her off the missiles' path. She twisted down hard and banked left, turning back on course, zigzagging every so often to throw off any new missiles.

Only one hundred kilometers to go, she thought. I have to make it.

A new swarm of missiles shot out past her, and two more made a direct hit on her fantail. The entire shuttle shuddered again, and Ruri almost lost control, but managed to claw her ship back into position again. Red warning lights blinked everywhere and klaxons started to ring, but Ruri ignored them. She jammed the afterburners on, and the shuttle rocketed away even faster, but the mechas continued to give chase.

Saburouta was almost at the shuttle. Ripping through another Unknown mecha with his katana, Saburouta took his other hand to grasp what was left of the machine and hurled it at the swarm chasing his captain's ship. The wreck collided with two other mechas, and the trio exploded, taking another five with them.

Saburouta slammed straight into the midst of the swarm, hacking and slashing indiscriminately with his katana. Mecha dissolved before his flashing, dancing sword, and in no time the Jovian pilot had ripped through the swarm like a forest fire through dry wood.

The lieutenant opened up a comm channel with the shuttle. "I took care of your pursuers," he shouted over the communications net, "but watch for the ones in front of you! The others should be taking out the capital ships any second now!"

At first, there was nothing but static, but then he could hear the faint voice of his captain.

"Arigato, Saburouta-san. I'll be careful." With that, the transmission ended, and the shuttle receded into the distance.

Ruri narrowed her eyes as she rapidly approached the next swarm. She'd have to barrel right through if she hoped to survive; there wasn't enough room for any fancy maneuvering. Just as she was about to put on the afterburner though, the swarm went limp, and the mechas went silent.

Ruri gave a small sigh of relief. The capital ships were gone.

Haley-kun gave a small sigh of relief as he watched the sensory screen. The Aestivalis pilots had taken out the capital ships in record time, motivated by the danger their captain was in, and Saburouta had defended Ruri with admirable competence. The threat was over…for now.

"It's all up to you now, kanchou," he said quietly.

Inside the Cowboy Johnny

The boarding took place with no incident whatsoever, and Ruri was mildly surprised to discover that the life-support system and air integrity of the ship was largely intact. There was no need for her oxygen helmet whatsoever, and the white fairy took hers off gratefully. The helmet was awfully cramped with all her hair stuffed in it. Taking out her pistol and a flashlight, Ruri slowly and carefully made her way down the empty corridors towards the bridge.

The ship was dark, and with the air circulation vents off, damp. The air was stagnant and humid at the same time, and coupled with the dancing shadows from her flashlight, the effect was creepy one. Ruri found herself investigating every little sound that emanated from the empty corridors, and chided herself for her foolishness. In ten minutes, she was at the bridge room.

The computers were dusty and many of them broken, so it took Ruri fifteen minutes to find a console she could activate with her small battery pack.  The screen lit up with an eerie blue color, and data started rolling down the screen. Ruri pulled out the keyboard and began typing rapidly, sticking two data disks into the console to record the information. The transfer was quick; in half a minute, Ruri had all the data she needed, and she flipped the console off. Her work here was done.

Then, she heard it.

It wasn't the random creaking one would normally hear within an empty hallway. This was measured pacing. Slow. Deliberate. To her ear, it almost sounded…

Murderous.

Immediately, Ruri's pistol was out and cocked next to her ear, held in the classic Weaver position, two hands on the grip. She crouched down low next to the console and flipped the flashlight off. Her genetically enhanced eyes got accustomed to the darkness in seconds, and she strained her ears to hear the noise again.

There! She could hear it again. It sounded like metallic footsteps…and from the pattern the steps were making, Ruri could tell it was other a quadruped, or at least a humanoid on all fours. But what would either possibility be doing in a place like this? Everyone should be dead! Unless…

The mystery creature rounded the corridor and entered the bridge. Ruri took one glimpse at it and gasped in horror.

It was a monster straight out of a horror movie, with glistening metal skin and two red, glowing eyes. It resembled a giant praying mantis, with long, thing arms that ended in razor sharp claws and pincers, and four legs attached to its lower abdomen, with a separate upper abdomen made of thick metal plates. Tentacle slithered out of its lower abdomen, four on each side, with each tentacle sporting nasty spines or claws. Its head was shaped almost like a seed, with its evil thin eyes and two horrific pincers around its jaw. A liquid of unknown color or property, but most likely poison, dripped from its mouth.

Ruri immediately lifted up her pistol, aiming between the creature's eyes, and fired a single shot. A blue EMP bullet shot out and hit the creature square in the face. Blue arcs of electricity arced over the monster, and it shuddered once before falling to the ground, twitching.

Immediately, Ruri raced past it, out the bridge and towards the docking bay. She heard more metallic scrabbling sounds behind her, approaching rapidly. She turned, loading another EMP bullet into her clip. Two more monsters appeared behind her, turning the corner, and gave chase. Ruri dropped to one knee, took aim again, and hit one monster in the chest; it fell to the floor twitching just like the first one, and blocked the pathway for its partner. Ignoring the last creature, Ruri turned and ran again, racing past dark corridors and empty chambers.

She was almost at the docking bay when she heard more scrabbling sounds, but this time in front of her. She loaded her last EMP bullet before rounding the corner, and found herself face to face with another one of the monsters. It gave a hair-raising shriek before swinging at her with a claw, but Ruri managed to jump back just in time. Hitting the floor hard, she scrambled to her feet and ran back the way she came, trying to get some distance between them. Ten feet away, she dropped to her knee again, aimed, and fired, but this time the EMP bullet missed, striking the wall next to the monster, which continued to advance.

Ruri stumbled backwards, and reloaded her pistol with her rubber bullets. Taking aim, she fired them one after another, but they had no effect on the monster. She turned to run back the way she came, but another creature had appeared and now blocked her path! The girl stopped in her tracks, rapidly thinking of a way to get out of the situation. Suddenly, the creature in front of her lunged forward, its head suddenly shooting out in front of a rapidly elongating neck. Ruri cried out in surprise and lunged sideways to dodge, but it was too late.

The monster's pincers dug deep into Ruri's left shoulder, and she cried out in pain as they tore into her flesh. Blood coursed down her shoulder, and Ruri felt cold liquid that seemed to burn like fiery ice into her veins. It must be poison, she thought groggily, as the world around began to dim and grow blurry.

As her knees gave away and she began to slip to the floor, she noticed movement in front of her that wasn't from the monster…what was she looking at?

Without warning, her attacking monster split in half, and a shape raced past her, twin katanas held in two hands. Ruri managed to only catch a humanoid body, human hair, and human hands, as she slipped further into unconsciousness. Her ears dimly registered the screeching sounds of metal being sundered; her mysterious savior had just sliced the other monster in half.

Strong arms moved under her, and she felt herself being lifted up by sure, strong hands. Turning her head, she weakly looked up at whoever had saved her. It was a human…a man dressed in black, with something on his face. What does he have there? she wondered weakly.

It was…a covering of some sort. A black covering that covered his eyes and nose.

He had brown hair that was spiky and untidy, and had that covering not been there, black eyes that radiated kindness, burned with fierceness, and trembled in anxiety or fear.

Ruri's eyes widened in surprise as recognition dawned upon her.

It was him!

Akito! her mind screamed. It's Akito!

Her hand reached up to touch him…to see if he was real, or if this was just a hallucination of her mind because of the poison….

And then everything went black.

Author's Notes: Yet another really long chapter done! Really late, I might add too. I seem to have trouble keeping with my planned update dates. Hmmm. Next time, I'll make a more realistic one, and I swear by everything that's holy that I'll make it the next time! I mean it! It'll be my New Year's Resolution. Resolution Numero Uno: stay on time with your updates!

Well, since I just posted this, I guess you guys can tell I'm back from my vacation! The cruise was awesome, the food was great, but I must've gained four pounds and I got seasick once from all those waves. Whoah…still a bit dizzy.

Anyway, I finally got this chapter done, and boy, it was a doozy! This chapter and the next I think are pivotal moments, so I'm gonna try and write them very carefully. Please tell me how well you think I did; I appreciate any and all feedback. You want to tell me I'm a crappy writer? Heck, go right ahead (of course, you can always tell me I did a great job too, but I'm not suggesting anything, y'know, hint hint ^_^)

So, anyway, I tried something new here too. I kept the switching scenes thing that I tried out last time; people said it really made the story better, so I kept it. But this time I tried adding some tension and suspense into the storyplot by rapidly switching between characters and scenes, incorporating cliffhangers in each paragraph, and stuff like that. I tried to create situations between Haley, Ruri, and Saburouta where the audience knows something that the other characters don't now; for example, Ruri didn't know about all those Unknowns out there, but you guys did. Sorta. I'm not sure how well I did with the whole suspense thingy, so again, tell me how I did.

Well, that about wraps it! Oh, and by the way, if you're wondering what Akira was playing, like I said in the story, it was Brahm's Symphony No. 4, fourth movement. If you guys can, you should listen to it. You'll see what I mean by brass chords that sound like an organ. It's very cool; when I hear it, I see Dante's gates of Hell and the inscription "abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Muahahahaha! ^_^

Anyway, please read and review! Thanks for reading!