Blair's Therion claw lunged at Aiden, but it would never reach its target. That's because Rebecca stood between them, and Blair's hand briefly grabbed onto Rebecca's shoulder. "…!" Blair's eyes widen and she quickly drew her hand back, recalling how she practically bit Rebecca once before earlier. "What's your problem, Rebecca?"
"Ow…" Rebecca hissed. That was the second time she experienced Blair's Therion touch. Not a pleasant feeling. "L-Look, I know you're upset, but we just have to calm down and talk this over."
"Talk this over? This guy is related to that woman who ruined my entire life!" Blair exclaimed.
This was news to the people of the Resistance. They knew about Vanessa, since she was from this planet. But the words that came out of Blair's mouth confused everyone. "What did Vanessa do…?" Stella looked to Aiden.
"See?" Rebecca gave Blair a reassuring smile. "We can talk this over. There's no need to be violent as a first reaction."
"How do we know she didn't kill our scouts?" Tristan asked. It was a valid question. Blair was off on her own for a while. He wasn't asking to be an ass, he just wanted to ensure that Blair wasn't as hostile as she appeared to be. The safety of everyone in the Resistance was important.
"We trust her." Rebecca said with a firm nod. "We made Blair agree not to eat people and she's followed through so far."
"Yeah. She's one of us, so if she says she didn't do it, we trust her." Shiki added. "And if any of you doubt or have a problem with her about this, you're welcome to take it up with the rest of us." Shiki wouldn't allow anyone to doubt Blair without a good reason. She was one of the crew, and as such, he'd stick his neck out for her.
"…" Blair glanced away. She wasn't really sure what to say to their belief in her, especially since she had only been a member of the crew for a few weeks at this point.
"I know things are tense right now, but let's just calm down for a moment." Medi waved her hands and tried to defuse the tension in the air. It was mostly coming from Blair and Aiden. While the Resistance wasn't shaken by the fact they just lost two people…it was the fact it happened so close to home is what was so alarming. "Bring the bodies to Sister and I. We'll figure out what happened."
"Unfortunately we don't have any security cameras." Sarisse pinched the bridge of her nose. "And we have to prepare for the next phase of our attack as well…everyone just stay calm. We'll sort through this.
"…Um. Blair, right?" Stella looked over at Blair. "I think it might be best you stick around a bit. You know…to avoid suspicion and all."
"Whatever." Blair scoffed. She planned on just staying out of things, but somehow she was dragged into it. Blair could feel the stares. It was nothing new, but it aggravated her all the same. She literally spent this time minding her business! She could see Aiden walking off and glared at him.
"…You really didn't do it, right? We believe you if you say you didn't." Rebecca said.
"Of course not!" Blair huffed. "I didn't even know there were scouts. There's a pretty clear trail of what I've been doing outside. Lots of blood and animal corpses. But not one human. Like I promised."
"Then that's that." Homura nodded. "If you say you didn't do it, then that is it."
"…Seriously? Just like that…?" Blair was a little surprised. "I could be lying and abusing your trust."
"You're one of us, so we're making the leap of faith to trust you." Rebecca said with a gentle smile. "If it turns out we're wrong…it's no one's fault but our own."
"You're our friend." Shiki nodded.
"But you could stand to be a little less hostile. It really gives the wrong impression." Hermit suggested.
"No kidding. I know you're mad, but at least try to keep it internalized a little?" Weisz added.
"I think she's just hungry." Couchpo suggested.
"Stop saying that." Blair replied, annoyed. Couchpo wasn't wrong….
"…." Asuka stared at Blair for a bit. She and the other members of the Resistance were a bit on edge with the idea she killed two of their own. But they weren't just going to leap to conclusions immediately. They were going to wait until they had concrete results from the doctors. Still, Blair never gave off the friendliest aura in the first place, so they were naturally adverse to her presence.
"Trust is a very important thing." Sarisse told Asuka. She could sense the doubt written all over her face. "It is a fragile, yet powerful thing. Once broken, it may never be able to be fixed again. Yet when it is ironclad, it can accomplish incredible things. That is why I refuse to doubt the people here. I am the one everyone looks to. They trust me, and in turn, I trust them. I cannot break that trust no matter what. I do not intend to either."
"Boss..." Asuka was in awe. Sarisse always carried the burden of trust that heavily on her shoulders? It must've been hard. "You can count on me to get things done. I promise."
Sarisse let out a faint laugh. "I know."
Casey was watching the Eden's Zero crew side with and interact with Blair. "…Ano, who is that?"
"…I don't know." Ano said with a slight sweat drop. "I thought I snuck all of the crew files onto our database before that android girl spotted me. I guess they got a new crewmate between then and now."
"…I see." Casey furrowed his brows. "Something about her is off. I suggest we keep an eye on her. Her crew might trust her, but that doesn't mean we have to."
"Understood." Ano nodded. They thought they had the crew of the Eden's Zero figured out, but there were still more than a few surprises waiting for them. The crew of the Eclipse Ark didn't forget what they were here for. This was just a long game to the Black Moon Star…
.
.
Sister and Medi were examining the two bodies that were brought into the infirmary. They were dead, claw marks on their backs. "These are indeed claw marks, but…why did you suspect Blair, Aiden?"
"She has a claw. I was told by the crew of the Eden's Zero." Aiden said.
"Yeah, that's true. But have you actually seen her claw?" Sister shot Aiden a disgusted look. "I can tell at first glance this wasn't Blair. These are medium claw marks. Her claw would leave much larger marks."
"Oh, is that so?" Aiden stroked his chin.
"Furthermore…" Sarisse was here as well. "Knowing Ross and Drayden…they wouldn't be ambushed so easily. They always covered each other's backs to prevent this kind of thing from happening. So…if they were attacked from behind…."
"…It means their guards were down at the same time." Stella frowned. "…It means they must have been with someone they trusted…"
"Stella…!" Sarisse urged Stella to hush. She knew that had to be the case, but to say it aloud.
"…It looks like they died instantly." Medi sighed heavily. "…I'll figure this out. We have to keep our offensive going."
"…Before you go apologize to Blair…" Stella looked towards Aiden. "What has Vanessa been doing?"
"Far be it from me if I know." Aiden shrugged his shoulders. "Ever since she left, I haven't been able to contact her. That's why Cynthia and I went looking for her, but I gave up. If she wanted to be found, she would've found us. Cynthia is still out there looking for her, though."
"All by herself?!" Stella gasped.
"She's a grown woman now. She's about the age of the Eden's Zero crew. Plus her Ether Gear is unique, she'll be fine." Aiden seemed a bit dismissive about the whereabouts of his daughter.
"Vanessa is responsible for what happened to Blair." Sister said. "It's no surprise she wants your head if you're related to her. Plus you accused her for nothing, and if you do it again I'll make sure you pay for it."
"Scary…" Aiden let out a faint laugh. "Well…I'm sure she has a number of questions for me. I will answer them when she calms down. To the best of my ability, that is. But don't we have a battle plan to continue on with?"
"Agh, you're right." Stella sighed. There was so much happening…but they couldn't stop now.
.
.
"…What's going on…" Geno was wondering to himself. "Two people dead while we were gone…?"
"That doesn't sound like a coincidence." Mega was actually out and about. Sometimes he hated staying cramped. "They're not doing bad so far, but somethin' about all this isn't adding up."
"Yeah…" Geno replied. "I have a sinking feeling..." Things for the Resistance were progressing at a good rate. They were finally able to start making a serious push against the enemy forces. But it was always when things felt like they were going well that things started to go wrong. He knew that feeling and it was something he wanted nothing more than to avoid.
.
.
A few hours passed and everyone got some rest. It was bright and early in the morning for the next strategy meeting. "Okay, everyone. We're having Medi and Sister dig into the true cause of death from our scouts." Sarisse began. "But we can conclude that it was not Blair that attacked them. Sister confirmed this herself.
"Told you." Blair glared at Aiden.
"My apologies for suspecting you." Aiden said with a small bow. "Once the dust settles, I'll tell you what you want to know about Vanessa. As much as I can offer, anyway." Blair just scoffed in response. But at least most of the tension between them died down a little. It was still in the air, but they could both move past it for the sake of the mission.
"So…what's the next plan of attack…?" Weisz asked. "The generators are shut down, so…"
"Now, we move onto the gate." Stella said as the map appeared, showing the heavily armored gate as their target. "This gate is what leads to the city. Once we open this gate, we can rush the city and capture it! The communications tower is in the center of the city. That's the enemy's base."
"That sounds simple…" Jinn said. "But it won't be that easy, will it?"
"I doubt it." Sarisse shook her head. "We know that the Goldstones are trying for my life as well. I formerly worked at the security gate and it needs my biometrics to activate. So this will be a tricky mission…"
"I can just go again." Rebecca offered, but Sarisse shook her head.
"No, it's too dangerous." Sarisse replied. "The Goldstones will target you first if they catch wind of you being there. You did save my life and for that, I'm grateful. But the Goldstones are smart. If they deploy Max again, you would be their first target before me. If last night is anything to go by, the Goldstones are going to deploy two of them at least. Athena may still be wounded from the night before, they have no reason to not send Max out…so I can only assume that we'll be dealing with Kamara. The most dangerous one of all as well…"
"…" Rebecca desperately wanted to object. But Sarisse made a point. The last time Max was involved, he shot her before she even knew what was happening…
"The security gate is likely to be heavily armed." Aiden said. "They're going to want to stop us by any means necessary. Based on the events last night, with that Yeti Blizzard android, I can suspect they'll deploy another empowered android. As such, Sarisse, Stella, and I will all be going. We require a strong team as well."
"Allow me to fight!" Homura said.
"A place like that looks like I can fight well there." Weisz said. It was time he did his part. He had to give the Goldstones some payback
"I'll go." Jinn said. There was a chance he could find Kleene or Laguna there. Hopefully both. They had to be somewhere on this planet.
"I'm going too!" Asuka exclaimed. She was raring to go even after the fighting last night.
"Lowell, Percival. You two are up." Casey said. Lowell nodded and Percival just gave a thumbs up.
"You guys be careful." Shiki told his crew.
"We'll explain more about the mission on the way." Sarisse said. "But we strike now. If we give the enemy any chance to recover, we may never get this chance again!"
"Don't worry, we won't fail!" Homura exclaimed.
Homura, Weisz, Jinn, Lowell, Percival, Asuka, Sarisse, Stella, and Aiden. This was the team tasked with opening the way to the city. "Alright then." Stella said with a wide smile, hoping to keep spirits high.
.
.
Kamara Goldstone stood atop the City Gate. The gate that barred access to the city. The wind blew her brown locks and she stared out into the distance. She knew the Resistance was coming. "…They're right on schedule. I'll make sure they pay for embarrassing my sister like that." Kamara told herself, a faint black mist emanating from her being. Any birds that flew past her immediately felt fear and were unable to control themselves, crashing into anything nearby.
"Believe me when I say this. Today will be the end of the Resistance. Starting with the death of their leader."