Mars was burning around her.
Disoriented and confused, she staggered around the burning city blocks, ruined buildings towering above her, belching thick black smoke into the fiery red sky. All around her, she could hear the sickening screech of metal girders twisting under the weight of their charges, followed by the deafening crash as another steel monolith succumbed to the oldest of dangers…fire.
Dragging herself around the fiery ruins of a once-busy street corner, she saw the remnants of the clothing store where she…but it was only a burned-out husk. Not worthy of the memory. She took a few more halting steps, where her weary, blood-shot eyes and shell-shocked ears took note of the collapse of another building, this one a restaurant where she had…but that wasn't worth the recollection either.
Or perhaps she just didn't remember?
Endless, agonizing hours seemed to pass by as she staggered painfully down each city avenue, watching each individual building burn and crash to the ground. A distant part of her mind wondered at why there were no people around; no one to scream and thrash as fire ate them alive; no one to cry out in fear as their home tumbled down and buried them alive.
Turning another corner, she felt her fire-scorched lungs seize painfully in surprise, and even though she fell to the ground gasping and coughing in sudden pain, the image was burned into her mind's eye: the broken remains of a hospital, a place of healing and rest that had been transformed into a bastion of destruction and agonizing death. The right wing of the hospital was totally demolished, razed to the ground; the center wing had large portions of it missing, as if it had been a meal for some horrendous monster. The left wing, though structurally intact her mind thought rather coldly, was gutted by fire, and even now in the aftermath of the city's destruction, she could see the flames licking hungrily in the air, searching for any organic matter it could pounce on and consume in its quest to stay alive.
Why was this place so important to her? she wondered. What significance does this place have?
It slammed into her with hurricane force, her mind's eye punishing her for forgetting something of such vast importance. Him, it's all about him, it screamed at her as it pushed her to the ground, robbing her of all of her energy with hacking, dry coughs as her abused lungs searched for oxygen. She could see him as the hospital burned, comatose in his bed, but waking up right at the moment of death, a cruel gift from whatever sadistic deity lay out there…she saw him screaming, writhing in pain, his handsome face framed by an agonizing crown of pure, red fire, and his hand, the skin sloughing off, reaching to grab her in its bony, iron grip…
Ruri bolted from her bed, her sweat-soaked covers flying away from her, and she would of screamed in pure terror if she had not clamped her hand over her mouth in time, biting into it so hard that she drew blood. Drawing her damp nightgown closer around herself, she shivered and hugged her knees, fighting off the last remaining wisps of her nightmare.
Shaking her head violently to and fro to free herself of the last vestiges of tonight's demons, the young captain gingerly shook herself out of bed, her knees trembling and her arms weak.
The vid-screen appeared so suddenly in front of her that she almost yelped in surprise, but Ruri managed to regain her composure before Haley-kun materialized in front of her.
"Captain, you should report to the bridge in five minutes," Haley informed her in a business-like tone, though his eyes were anything but. Looking around apprehensively for a second, Ruri watched as Haley keyed something on his control panel, and the word "private" appeared in the lower-right hand corner of the vid-screen.
"Captain, you look—"
"Haley-kun, if this is a private channel, you may refer to me as Ruri," she interrupted politely, in an attempt to lock herself solidly into reality. She could still distantly see the burning city…
Haley looked slightly peeved. "Okay, cap…er, Ruri. But seriously!" he waved his hands around to convey his distress, "You look terrible! What happened?" he demanded.
Ruri shifted her gaze away from him, chewing on her lower lip, showing an unusually larger amount of emotion than she usually did. Haley caught the warning signs quickly. "C'mon, Ruri," he urged. "You can tell me."
"Just…had trouble sleeping. That is all," Ruri half-lied, turning away from the vid-screen and collecting her captain's uniform.
Haley-kun wasn't buying it. "Captain, you know, I –"
"Ruri," she corrected coolly as she arranged her uniform on her bed.
"Ruri, whatever!" She could hear the exasperation in his voice now. "I can tell when you're hiding something from me. This is serious stuff. You can't keep it inside you forever, you know!"
The young teenage girl began to undress herself, peeling off her nightgown in exchange for her captain's uniform, not saying a word. She could almost hear Haley-kun turn red and turn away from the screen, though he was unwilling to turn it off. He's persistent, today, she thought, both gratified and annoyed.
"You know, Ruri, it's not good for you to bottle up whatever you're feeling inside. It's going to hurt," he said crossly, eyes dutifully kept away from the screen. "I'm your friend, aren't I, Ruri? I'm like a little brother. You can share it with me, can't you? You trust me, don't you?" His accusatory tone cut into Ruri deeply, though she refused to show it.
"Of course I trust you," Ruri replied, acting as unruffled as ever. "You really are like a little brother to me. I am fine, however. I really am," she promised unconvincingly, as she turned back to the vid-screen, fully clothed for the day. "And you can turn your head back now, Haley-kun."
Haley swiveled his head back into view, but this time his demeanor was as stone-cold as Ruri's had ever been. "Captain, report to the bridge in two minutes," was all he said, and then the vid-screen vanished.
Seconds later, Ruri emerged from her captain's chambers, setting off for the bridge at a brisk pace, hands balled at her sides.
"He's acting very strange today," she noted sourly, not realizing the irony of her statement.
"Everyone's acting so strange today," Saburouta observed sourly, flinging away his captain's Ururun manga (which he had reread for the tenth time) and resting his head on his control panel. Instead of the usual responses his remarks elicited from the bridge crew, only dead silence greeted the Jovian lieutenant, providing solid evidence to his statement.
Saburouta glanced to his left and watched as Haley-kun studiously studied his display, his face flashing between successive phases of pouting and worry. To his right was the planet Mars, and though the fires raging below were interesting to look at for a while, Saburouta had been staring at them recently for three hours.
Leaning over his console, the pilot looked downward and watched Yoshizumi Kotone as she sat quietly in her helmswoman's chair, hands in lap, staring down at the floor and, if Saburouta knew her well enough, biting her lip in worry. Every now and then, she would glance over to the starboard window, and watch the fires of Mars burn.
Right next to her, Kawabata Akira was equally silent, his drawling and obnoxious voice painfully absent in the still air of the bridge. He was twirling his earphones on one finger, while flipping through a stack of music CDs with the other, his face screwed up in a feigned look of deep concentration.
Sighing deeply out of boredom, Saburouta slumped in his seat, and twirled around until he faced Haley. "So, Haley…anything on the comm systems?" he asked desperately.
The young lieutenant made a quick check of his systems. "Omoikane says there's an incoming message from the surface, from the newly established UEC base."
The Jovian snorted in contempt. "Yeah. New command base, since their old one got blown up."
"I'm having Omoikane bring up the message right now," the boy replied, unfazed by his retort.
A vid-screen instantly appeared, revealing the form of Admiral Hong, newly appointed commander of the Mars defense fleet. "As you know," the Admiral began in his gravelly voice, "with the death of Admiral Harada, I have been appointed to oversee all defense operations on Mars. With this recent setback, I'm afraid that the remaining UEC fleets will have no ability whatsoever to fend off another Unknown assault."
"What?" Saburouta demanded heatedly. "So we just let the bastards take the planet?"
The recording continued, oblivious to the Jovian lieutenant's angry words. "Fortunately, with your recent discovery of this ancient Martian defense system, our presence may not be needed. We're reasonably sure that the defense system is active, and will remain active, to protect against future Unknown attacks. As a result, the Nadesico's presence has now changed from a defensive role to an offensive one."
"What does he mean by that?" Haley-kun asked quietly, as the doors behind him opened and Ruri stepped unto the deck.
The image of Admiral Hong faded away to that of a map of Mars and the surrounding area. "A delaying force will pull back to form a defense line closer to Mars, where we can rely on support from the new defense system. The rest of the fleet will move to Earth for repair and replenishment. As for the Nadesico, you will be released from my command, along with Amaryllis as escort. A new boson jump gate has been constructed on the earthward side of Mars to facilitate the retreat. However, with you, it will serve a different function. Being the only two undamaged ships at Mars, you are the only ones capable of this mission.
"If all goes well, an inserted team of Jovian engineers will have constructed a similar jump gate halfway between Mars and Jupiter, far past Unknown lines. Nadesico and Amaryllis will jump to this gateway, and proceed to Jupiter. When you reach the new jump gate, codenamed Point Harada, contact the command post for more information. Good luck." And with that, the vid-screen disappeared.
"What the hell was that?" a sour voice observed from behind Saburouta. Leaning backward, Saburouta saw Ryoko, hands on hips, with an angry look on her face.
"What is it, my love?" Saburouta asked innocently.
"The Admiral's sending us off on a suicide mission, stupid!" Ryoko barked back, elbowing him in the head. "Doesn't that worry you?"
"Wherever the Admiral sends us, we must go," Ruri replied quietly, taking her seat. "Besides at this point…it doesn't really matter."
"What's that mean, Ruri?" Ryoko asked brusquely, still digging her elbow into Saburouta's forehead.
"If we don't go, the Unknowns will kill us at Earth. If we do go, in all probability we will die somewhere between Jupiter and Mars. No matter which course of action we decide, we will die," Ruri replied, with an almost devastated look in her eyes.
With that, the entire bridge fell silent. Kotone started to sniffle, Akira gripped a CD with bone-white fingers, Ryoko and Saburouta exchanged worried looks, and Haley gazed at Ruri with pain in his eyes.
"How long until Point Harada is ready for us?" Ruri asked softly.
"The mission notes say two days," Haley replied in a pained voice.
"Very well." Ruri stood up abruptly. "If that is all, I will be in my quarters."
The bridge was dead silent as the doors hissed shut behind her.
"Damn it all!" Grand Admiral Misumaru Kouichiro yelled at the top of his lungs, his face beet-red and tears streaming in waterfalls down his cheeks. "Where is she?"
"Grand Admiral, I really can't answer that question…." Admiral Hong replied uneasily, taking a step back from the vid-screen.
"Where is my Yurika? Where did my darling daughter go? Answer me!" the Grand Admiral cried, pressing his face against his screen.
"Our sensors reported a boson jump within the hospital ship Harbinger…" the newly appointed UEC commander of Mars said, backing away further from the vid-screen.
The Grand-Admiral's vid-screen doggedly chased after Admiral Hong, pursuing him up and down the command center. "And? Where is my precious daughter? Is she okay? Is she hurt?"
"…Grand Admiral, I am unable to answer that question."
"Answer me, or I'll strip you of every rank you have!" Kouichiro screamed.
Admiral Hong whitened considerably. "Now, now, calm down Grand Admiral…to be perfectly honest, the only thing we know is that there was a boson jump in the Harbinger…and then the ship vanished."
There was a shocked silence. "It…vanished?" Kouichiro whispered hoarsely.
"Yes, sir. The ship vanished…presumably as a result of the boson jump. There were no first-class jumpers aboard—"
"Except for my daughter…"
Admiral Hong nodded somberly. "That is correct, sir. We have no idea why she boson jumped, or where she boson jumped to. Considering the context of the situation the Harbinger was in, only one location makes any sense whatsoever."
"And what location is this?" the Grand Admiral asked, intense worry etched unto his face.
"Jupiter, sir." Admiral Hong winced as he heard a thud through the vid-screen. "Grand Admiral? Are you okay, sir?" The Admiral studied the screen for a second before sighing.
"I think he fainted," he murmured to himself.
"Today has been a terrible day, y'know?" Saburouta groused, as he set his feet on top of one of the cafeteria tables.
Ryoko sat down next to him, sliding over one of two Mars bowls that she had picked up from the line. "Oh, how so?" she asked somewhat sarcastically as she liberally poured soy sauce over her meal.
"Well, first of all, our captain's so depressed she thinks we're all going to die…" Saburouta began.
"Idiot, I was there for that. Tell me something I don't know," Ryoko snapped back.
"And then, everyone's acting all weird too," Saburouta went on, oblivious to Ryoko's comment.
"Hey, are you ignoring me?" Ryoko asked testily, cracking her knuckles.
"Hmmm? Did you say something?"
Crack!
"Grand Admiral? Sir, are you still there?"
Admiral Hong heard a groan as Kouichiro picked himself wearily off the floor. The Grand Admiral suddenly looked extremely old. "Yes, I'm still here, Admiral."
Hong nodded slowly. "If it is of any reassurance to you, sir, if your daughter is near Jupiter, we'll find her."
"Oh? How so?" the Grand Admiral asked dejectedly.
"We're sending a task force into Jovian territory in a few days, as a matter of fact. If anyone can find your daughter and the Harbinger, and bring them back to safety, I'm sure they can," Admiral Hong replied back confidently.
"And who are we sending?" the Grand Admiral asked, curious.
Admiral Hong grinned. "The Nadesico."
"You know what? I'm just as worried as you are about Ruri," Ryoko thought aloud, as Saburouta nursed a fractured skull.
"I'm glad you care," he grumbled. "What do you think we should do?"
"Well, we've got to cheer her up first," she explained. "Won't do if the ship's captain is all depressed. It's bad for morale, y'know?"
"I thought that was obvious from the beginning."
Ryoko whacked him lightly on the shoulder. "I'm just making sure we're on the same wavelength here!"
"Fine, fine," Saburouta chuckled. "How do you propose we go about getting the captain's mood up?"
"Well, who's the closest to the captain?"
"Why, Haley, of course. They're practically lovers."
Ryoko punched him in the shoulder again. "Don't be perverted, Saburouta, or I'll belt you one."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the lieutenant cried out, shielding his head with his arms. "They are really close though, you have to admit," he said cautiously from behind his arms.
"Which is why we should get Haley to talk to Ruri."
"You think that'll work?" the Jovian asked, a worried look on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"Well…Haley's been acting really strange, too. Like he doesn't even want to look at the captain, even though he's worried sick over her."
"Unusual behavior, indeed," Ryoko mused.
Saburouta gave her a strange look. "You're acting weird too."
"Huh?"
"You sound like the captain right now. Talking all smart and stuff."
"What, am I supposed to be dumb or something!"
Saburouta grinned mischievously. "I won't comment on that."
Crack!
Out in the vast wastelands of space, somewhere between the asteroid belt and Jupiter, a small team of Jovian engineers were busily erecting a boson jump gate for the planned arrival of the Nadesico and her escort.
Group Captain Nanasawa checked over his time charts one last time before beckoning to the chief engineer. "Comrade, we are nearly an hour behind on the construction," he complained worriedly. "Is there anything you can do to fix the situation?"
The engineer shook his head. "Sorry, but if you want us to go faster, either get us more men or conjure a Gekigangar out of your pocket. This is as fast as we can go."
Nanasawa bit his lip. "We're well within the margin of error as far as time is concerned…but I don't want to stay in enemy territory any longer than necessary. Every second we spend here increases the chances that our activities will be noticed."
The engineer nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. We'll try to hurry things up. By the way," he added in a whisper, "have you heard the rumors?"
"What rumors?"
"The things the Unknowns do to the captured."
Nanasawa shivered. "What?"
The chief engineer glanced around to make sure everyone else was fully occupied before he began to speak. "They say that the Unknowns operate with a kind of hive mentality; several minds linked into one…overmind, let's say."
"Okay…what does that have to do with the captured?"
"What better way to understand the enemy than to have the mind of the enemy?"
"You mean…?"
The engineer nodded grimly. "Yep."
Group Captain Nanasawa shuddered in revulsion and fear. "Redouble your efforts, chief engineer. I want this done as soon as possible, so we can get out of here!"
"So, how about it, Haley?" Ryoko asked brightly.
The young boy slumped in his seat, his eyes shifting between her and Omoikane's status read-outs. "I don't know…" he muttered. "I don't feel like seeing her."
"What do you mean, 'don't want to see her?'" Saburouta retorted. "The last time she was in trouble, you practically tackle-hugged her."
"Oh, shut up, you," Ryoko snapped, observing Haley's face turn bright red. "C'mon, Haley, this is for Ruri's own sake. You saw how she was."
Haley's face wilted for a second, before he swiveled his chair away from them. "I just don't feel like talking to her, okay? Leave me alone!"
Saburouta sighed, plopping down into a nearby chair and resting his feet on top of the console. "Haley, I may act like an idiot sometimes, but I can tell when something is up. There's something wrong, Haley. What is it?"
"Yeah, Haley, you can tell us," Ryoko said, friendliness infused in her voice.
The boy hesitated for a second. "I…well…" he shook his head, frustrated. "It's just that all she does is mope around because that Tenkawa guy disappeared!" he shouted, anger surging through his voice.
"We don't even know if he's dead, and yet she goes and gets depressed on me! She never reacted to anything before with that much emotion before! What's wrong with her?" he cried, smashing his fist against the console. "Why can't she show she's human around me too, huh? It's always about him! Him, him, him!
"And you know what?" he screamed, tears starting to trickle down, "She won't let me do anything at all about it! I've tried, you know that? I've tried talking to her!" He angrily wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. "But all she does is close herself off! It kills me! So, I don't want to talk to her right now, okay? Leave me alone!" And with that, the young teenager ran off the deck, the doors hissing shut behind him.
Saburouta and Ryoko exchanged stunned looks.
"Oh my," the Jovian whispered.
"Yeah, this is pretty serious," Ryoko murmured back.
"I think…someone's pretty jealous!" Saburouta snickered. "He really does have a crush on our captain now, doesn't he?"
Instead of landing a solid blow to his head as usual, Ryoko merely sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand. "Geez, Saburouta, can you act any more idiotic? Is that all you think about? Romantic relationships? What has that Ururun manga done to you?" she asked pointedly.
Saburouta merely shrugged. "In any case, we can't count on Haley anymore, he's too angry," he said, suddenly turning serious. "Guess it's up to you."
Gone again, she thought dejectedly. For the third time now.
Slowly, she got off the floor, where she had sat curled up in a ball of sadness, and picked up the single picture frame that stood on her desk. It was a picture of her in that cute dress she wore for the Nadesico idol contest, and standing right next to her…was him. With that goofy grin on his face, one hand resting on her head, the other giving the "v" sign for victory.
Whatever happened to those times, when you were always with me? She thought dejectedly. Always there with a nice word, with something kind and thoughtful to say. Now all you do…is leave me behind.
Why can't we be together like we used to be?
Ruri wiped at her eyes, and glanced at herself in a mirror. She looked like a mess, her eyes puffy and red with dark bags below them, her face pale and her hair disheveled from the horrors of the previous night's sleep.
She looked away and sighed. "Maybe I should take a bath," she murmured.
"Huh? Why me?" Ryoko demanded.
"Well, after Haley, the person that knows her best on this ship right now is you," Saburouta replied, winking. "Now, get a move on!"
"Now wait a second here, buddy!" Ryoko retorted angrily, digging her elbow deep into Saburouta's head again. "You expect me to just waltz up to her and ask her what the hell is going on?"
"Well, you could say it more tactfully than that, but yeah, that was the gist of it," the Jovian wheezed out.
"Look, I may know Ruri, but I don't think I know her well enough to be comfortable talking to her about such a sensitive subject! Why don't you talk to her? You've been her XO for a few years now, you should know her pretty well!"
"Well I suppose so," Saburouta said slowly, rubbing his head. "But you probably don't want me to do that, Ryoko."
"Oh, and why not?" she asked testily, hands on hips.
"Knowing me, I'll probably say something highly inappropriate and make things worse."
Ryoko paused, startled. "Huh, I guess you're right."
Saburouta grinned. "Well, it's settled then!"
"What's settled?"
"Since I can't do it, that leaves only you!"
Ryoko glared at his menacingly. "You know that this probably won't end good."
The Jovian merely shrugged. "I trust you'll come up with something."
Ryoko snorted. "Fine, I'll go talk to Ruri. You go do something useful while I'm gone, fly-boy."
"Hmm…I think I'll check up on Shinta-san while you're away," Saburouta mused.
"Why?"
"I hear he's installing some funky new stuff on the Aestivalis and on the hull of the Nadesico."
Ryoko groaned. "Okay, that sounds bad. You better go check that out."
"But of course…my love," Saburouta called out as he glided out of the dining hall, winking.
Startled, Ryoko blushed red…and then noticed the cafeteria had gone dead quiet, the various crewmembers pretending to eat with barely hidden grins and mischievous eyes that glanced her way every now and then.
"What the hell are you looking at!" she snapped before huffing and puffing her way out of the room.
"How goes progress on the jump gates?" Admiral Hong asked, deep inside the new UEC command facility built on Mars.
"They're a bit behind schedule."
The Admiral frowned. "They know that every minute counts. How far behind are they?"
The operations officer furrowed his brow for a second. "The communications link said they were an hour to an hour and a half behind schedule. Still within the time limits we embedded into the operations planning."
Hong snorted. "Yeah, they're within the limit by about ten minutes. That's cutting it a bit close, officer."
The operations officer flushed a bit at the rebuke. "Of course, sir."
"I guess we'll just have to make do; the insertion team was a bit under-manned," the Admiral sighed.
"The assignment wasn't exactly a choice one, sir," the operations officer agreed.
Admiral Hong laughed softly. "War is never a choice assignment. With luck, the Nadesico will be able to save the Grand Admiral's daughter and find out something about the Unknowns that we can exploit."
"What happens if they fail?"
"Oh, that's easy, officer," the Admiral said amiably, turning to face him. "Have you ever wondered what it was like, dying? I heard it's a wonderful thing." Hong turned to check the status boards, then faced the ashen officer again. "Make sure the insertion team gets the job done on time."
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Intelligence! Anything unusual along the front line?" Hong called out, striding away from the operations officer.
"Actually, sir, you might want to know about this."
"What are those Unknown bastards planning this time?" Hong asked, reaching the Intelligence desk.
"Well, it doesn't look like they're planning an attack."
"Then what's so dangerous about this?" the Admiral asked crossly.
"It's strange that they're pulling ships off the frontline, and for no apparent reason whatsoever. We've never seen an Unknown ship need or undergo extensive repairs, yet they've moved at least fifty ships off the FEBA and back towards Jupiter, sir."
"Hmm…I wonder what trick they have up their sleeve now?"
"No idea; it just doesn't make sense. Why go back to Jupiter when the enemy's right in front of them?"
"Excellent point, officer. Track the movements of that group; give them a new operational group code, and keep me informed of their whereabouts. I don't want anymore funny business from these guys," Hong ordered before exiting the command room. What are those devils planning now? he thought as he made his way to his personal quarters.
The bathhouse aboard the Nadesico was completely abandoned when Ruri arrived. She didn't really mind; it just meant that she had the solitude she had hoped for, in order to silently contemplate whatever ruinous events lay ahead in her life.
Quickly undressing, Ruri shivered in the cold air as she made her way to the ship's hot spring; for some reason, the ambient air temperature in the changing room was always a few degrees colder than the rest of the ship, and she could feel goose bumps spreading across her arms.
Settling down into the almost burning-hot water, she let herself relax a bit and felt the tension slowly leave her body. Leaning her head against the wall, she sighed heavily and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander…
Ryoko paced around her room, rubbing her hands together nervously. "How am I supposed to approach her?" she asked out loud, distressed. "I'm no good at this whole talking thing. What should I say?"
The hot-tempered pilot stopped, tapping her foot as she scratched her head, puzzled. "Ruri normally doesn't say a whole lot. Maybe I should just be really blunt and ask what her problem is?" she mused.
Adopting a stern posture, Ryoko pointed an accusatory finger at the wall. "Hey, you!" she barked. "What's the matter with you…okay, that was stupid," she sighed, shaking her head. "It'd be better to be more discreet. How about…." After a moment's contemplation, Ryoko adopted a more casual stance, leaning against the wall.
"Hey Ruri," she began a bit more softly, "wanna talk about something? I'm always here to listen." Ryoko gauged the effectiveness of that before shaking her head again. "That was stupid, too." She glanced at the mirror and scowled.
"Damnit!" she yelled angrily, punching the wall. "How'd he sucker me into doing this?"
Whistling amiably, Saburouta walked past the hissing sliding doors and entered the cavernous Aestivalis hangar bay. Waving a hand in greeting to the passing maintenance staff, the Jovian pilot shambled over to where his Aestivalis sat, looking for the Nadesico's notoriously psychotic maintenance chief.
What he saw made his jaw drop.
"Shinta, what the hell is that?" he asked pointedly, walking a bit more quickly to his beloved Aestivalis.
"No!" Shinta screamed in a manic panic, jumping down six meters from the mech's shoulder, landing miraculously without any physical damage, and rushing to Saburouta's side in a matter of nanoseconds. "You are not allowed to see this! This is classified Top Secret! You get that?" he demanded, poking a finger into Saburouta's chest while trying to cover his eyes. "This is my newest masterpiece! It must be preserved!"
"Aw, get off of me, you crazy fool," Saburouta snapped back. "I want to know what you did to my poor Aesti!"
"Yeah!" a female voice spoke up, and the two men turned around to see Hikaru and Izumi close by, hands on hips, with displeased expressions on your face.
"You too?" Shinta asked, exasperated. "Why must this happen?" he screamed as if in despair, holding his head in his hands. "I was so close to completion! So close to actualization! So close to achieving instrumentality!"
"Instrumentality?" Hikaru asked, eyebrow raised.
"Instrumentality…working on an instrumentality project…" Izumi murmured before rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically.
"I don't know, it sounded cool. Like, from a movie or something," Shinta shrugged, rubbing his neck. "What, you don't like it?"
"That's besides the point," Saburouta replied, annoyed. "I want to know what you did to our Aestivalis'."
Shinta grinned mischievously, pushing his glasses up his nose. "What you see before you know, kind sir," he began grandiosely, sweeping his arms across the hangar, "is the dawn of a new era in mech combat! An ability so astounding, so terrifying, that it will strike fear and terror in to the hearts of our Unknown enemy!"
"Yeah…" Hikaru said slowly. "So…how come our Aestivalis' look like a bunch of old fogeys?"
"Where I come from, old men collect bundles of sticks for firewood," Izumi whispered, before collapsing again into fits of uncontrollable laughter.
"Y'know Ruri, we all noticed that you were looking pretty down lately, and Haley was all worried, but he was all like, 'I don't want to talk to her,' so that leaves just me. Uh…you wanna talk?" Ryoko paused, her face a mask of extreme pain. "Okay, that was definitely not me talking there. That was way too…blah."
Ryoko sighed, rubbing her temples as she leaned against her chair. "Okay, Ryoko, think. There's gotta be something you can say."
"Hey, Ruri, you need to cheer up. Let's arm-wrestle!" she suddenly blurted out before slapping herself. "Seriously!" she screamed. "Where the heck did that come from? Who says that!"
"Old fogeys?" Shinta asked, confused, turning around to survey his modded-up Aestivalis' one more time.
Modifications had been made to three of the four Aestivalis', with heavy packs added to the back of each Aestivalis. Missiles could be seen being loaded into the pack, which, with its weight and subsequent stress on the humanoid machine's back support frame, caused the mech to sag and take on a "hunched-over" appearance. The wrists, ankles, feet, and hands of each mech had been heavily reinforced with bracers, on which similar-looking packs were installed. This had the effect of making the arms and legs seem thinner than they actually were, and had the overall contribution of making the Aestivalis look weaker and more fragile that it actually was.
In fact, it resembled an old man.
"What have I done?" Shinta screamed in pure agony as he writhed on the floor. "I have desecrated my creations! My poor babies! What have I done to you?" he cried in despair, reaching for a flame torch. "Fear not, my lovelies!" he declared, crawling to Saburouta's Aestivalis on his hands and knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I will free you from your chains!"
"Hold on just a second!" Saburouta shouted, pulling Shinta back and knocking the flame torch out of his hand. "Tell me what those packs are first."
"They're Gekigangar Missile packs!" Shinta declared, vainly trying to reach out to the flame torch.
"Seriously, what are they?" Hikaru asked.
"…boson missiles." Shinta replied glumly, looking slightly guilty.
"Boson missiles?" Saburouta asked sharply. "How'd you get your hands on so many? Access to them is strictly limited!"
"They were just sitting there!" Shinta protested. "I'm innocent! They were begging to be taken and tinkered with!" He began doing a victory dance around the hangar bay. "Behold my Gekigangar Missile packs!" he declared jubilantly. "Fear them! Fear them greatly!"
Saburouta swore violently. "This isn't good," he muttered to himself.
Ryoko gritted her teeth and slammed her fist into the wall. "This is no good," she growled to herself. "I can't do this!" Sighing heavily, she grabbed a towel out of one of her closets and ambled down the hallway. "Maybe a bath will clear my mind," she mumbled to herself.
Ruri quietly gazed into the still waters of the hot spring, as if trying to coax some kind of hidden revelation from the steamy, murky water. Her gaze shifted to her reflection, wavy, vague, and ambiguous, much like her mind, as she wrestled with the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.
"Why did he have to leave?" she asked, before suddenly whipping at the water with a violent slicing motion of her hand, as a brief spell of anger surged through her.
"What is it about that idiot that every girl falls for?" she cried, before she gasped in shock, sinking even lower into the hot spring waters. What's happening to me? she thought, as shame flooded her. I've never acted like this before. I've always been in control.
She gazed at her reflection longingly. "What do I really feel about him?" she asked the watery image. "I know it's love…but what kind?" Memories returned to her conscious mind, as she recalled those bittersweet memories of her time on the Nadesico and with Akito and Yurika after the war. The feelings of warmth and of a heart beating slightly faster every time she saw him on the bridge or in the cockpit of his Aestivalis…the feelings of happiness and embarrassment when he clapped for her, and her alone, after her performance in the idol contest…the joy and sheer bliss when she lived with him, and Yurika, and managed the ramen cart with them, together, like a family….Is it the love for a father that I feel, or is it the love for a man? Can they be one and the same? Or irreconcilably different? Which one do I feel?
After five minutes of hard thinking, Ruri reluctantly decided that she honestly didn't know, making a mental note to check her Ururun manga in case the answer was conveniently hidden among its illustrations.
I do know one thing, she thought, determination beginning to replace despair. I need to see him one more time. Just to tell him. He's still alive. I know it.
"Okay, you," Saburouta said, glaring at Shinta and poking him in the chest. "I want those gone. Now."
"Fine, fine! I'll take them off!" Shinta grumbled, picking up his flame torch. "They looked terrible on them anyway." The maniacal engineer chuckled, his glasses flashing, as he moved off to tear down his new toys.
"Wait a sec, you," Saburouta said, placing a hand on Shinta's shoulder. "There's something else I need to ask you about, as well."
"Eh? What might that be, captain, my captain?" Shinta replied, looking suddenly nervous.
"It's about the Nadesico's hull…" Saburouta trailed off, peering closely into the engineer's eyes.
"Er, the hull? Ah, yes, the hull! Beautiful thing, isn't it?" Shinta laughed nervously. "Keeps the whole ship together, that it does! Can't have a ship without a hull! No, siree! No way at all!"
"Yes, indeed. Shinta-san…what's on the hull?"
"Um…the UE Spacey logo."
"Anything else?"
"The name of the ship?"
"Anything else?"
"Armor plating?"
"Cut the crap, Shinta," Saburouta said crossly. "You've got boson missiles installed on the hull too, don't you?"
Shinta leaped back, holding the flame torch like it was a weapon. "You can't make me tell you!" he declared defiantly. "You'll never take me alive!" And with that, he went running off, moving with near-inhuman speed.
"Make sure you take those damn missiles off the hull too, you crazy freak!" Saburouta yelled after him.
Ryoko walked into the bathing area, and almost ran right into her captain, who was changing into her captain's uniform.
"Oh! Ruri! Uh, fancy meeting you here!" Ryoko said, surprised.
"I felt a bath would do me some good," Ruri replied, with a ghost of a smile.
Feeling slightly encouraged, Ryoko swallowed nervously and forced a weak grin. "Well then, that's good to hear. Um…speaking of 'doing some good,' can we talk?"
The capain looked at the pilot with some surprise. "Talk about what, Ryoko-san?"
"Um…just…about, you know, current events. You've been, uh, acting…er…kind of…um, strange lately. We were just, you know…um…worried…." Ryoko stammered out.
"Ah, I see," Ruri said, a shadow crossing over her face. Ryoko winced. "However, there is nothing wrong anymore. I have dealt with the issue myself," Ruri said, the shadow lifting and disappearing as quickly as it had come.
"Really?" Ryoko asked, startled.
This time, Ruri smiled for real. "Yes. Thank you for your concern, Ryoko."
Ryoko blushed as she sighed in relief. "Hey, no problem, Ruri. But, um, what're you going to do now?" she asked out of curiosity.
"I must see him. One more time."
"Huh?"
"I should probably go and apologize to Haley-kun for my behavior," Ruri replied simply as she exited the bathing area.
Smiling, Ryoko queued up a vid-screen and rang up Saburouta on the hangar deck.
"Hey, what's up?" Saburouta's image asked.
"Ruri's fine now," Ryoko said, grinning. "She's going to the bridge to see Haley-kun. Sounds like a heartfelt reunion, if you ask me. You coming?"
"Wouldn't miss it. Once I'm done with dear Shinta-san, here," Saburouta grumbled, as the vid-screen panned over to Shinta wielding his flame torch, chasing a screaming Hikaru and giggling Izumi. "I will avenge myself!" the engineer faintly screamed, as he chased the two luckless pilots.
Saburouta rolled his eyes. "Be over there in five."
"What idiots," Ryoko huffed, laughing softly, as she closed the screen.
Five minutes later, a sobbing Haley-kun tackle-hugged his captain, sending the two of them crashing to the floor of the bridge.
"It's about time the bridge returned to normal," Saburouta said as he leaned against a computer console. A warning vid-screen from Omoikane appeared, but the Jovian merely pushed it away.
"Yeah. It looks like crew morale has gone up now that the captain's back to normal," Ryoko happily observed, as she watched Akira share crass wise-cracks with Kotone, who was back to her happy, bubbly self.
"Just in time too, for our new orders," Saburouta said quietly.
Ryoko exchanged a worried look with him. "Yeah. We're setting off for Point Harada in three hours."
"Sir, did you see that?" the chief engineer asked, pointing out into the wastelands of space.
"No, what're you talking about?" Group Captain Nanasawa asked, queuing up a vid-screen of the nearby sectors.
"Over there, a flash of light. A reflection, maybe?"
Nanasawa peered at the scanning charts. "I don't see anything. Where are the high-power manual scopes?"
"Right here," the engineer replied, handing over a heavy set of binoculars.
"Okay let's see…" the Group Captain was quiet for a second as he scanned the area. Suddenly, his face turned white and the scopes clattered to the floor as he lunged for the comm unit.
"Incoming transmission from the infiltration team!" the UAE headquarters comm officer reported.
"Queue up the screen," Admiral Hong ordered. "What's going on, Group Captain?" he asked as Nanasawa flashed on-screen.
"We've been detected!" the Group Captain nearly screamed in a panicky voice, his face ashen and his eyes wild-looking. "A whole fleet of Unknown ships are bearing down on us!"
"Give us an ETA," Hong barked.
"Estimate four hours before they arrive, if they don't boson jump on top of us."
"Can you finish your work before then?"
"I don't know, sir!"
"Well, you better finish, otherwise it means the death of us all!" Hong snapped back angrily. "Get yourself together, Group Captain! Your objective is to finish the gate, and then you may run and hide. Do everything in your power to fulfill your objective. Out."
"Sir, don't you think that was a bit…" the comm officer trailed off.
"Harsh? Inhumane? Not at all," Hong replied. "The fate of humanity rests in his hands. Let's hope that his hands are the right hands."
A/N: Hey guys! Been a while, eh? I've got to tell you, I've been really busy these past months! College applications have been killing me! It's total hell, I tell you. NEVER, under any circumstances, apply to more than five colleges, much less ten! Ten just ain't worth it. Not unless I get into all ten, lol!
In any case, with college apps, and duel enrollment as a high school senior and a college freshman at one of the local universities for my math and English courses, life has been a bit hectic. Make that very hectic. But, with the new semester starting, I've been able to finish this chapter. If you notice a big difference in writing quality in the middle somewhere, sorry. That's me being rusty. Might take a while to get my writing mojo back.
In any case, sorry for the REALLY uber long wait. I bet no one reads this anymore but what the hey, writing it is fun! Hopefully, I'll have enough time to write the next part in less than half a year!
Oh, and don't you love the cliffhanger at the end? I love it! You love it! We all love it! Sorry about the lack of fighting, but there'll be plenty of that next time. Had to…bring some closure to the previous chapter's events, and flesh out some relationships. Hope y'all like the new chapter! Ja ne!