The Resistance regained their morale with Aiden taking the lead after Sarisse's death. They couldn't afford to stop their fight now. They had an opening and needed to use it. After taking two days to rest, Aiden gathered those willing to fight in the meeting room once again; the crews of the Eden's Zero, Eclipse Ark, and the Resistance were all together. "I understand things are moving very quickly, but if we stop now, we'll never get this momentum again. Two days was the most I could afford, I'm sure you understand. Mental and physical fatigue are closely related after all."
"It was a good call." Sister gave Aiden a nod. "Now that some time has settled after the shock of Sarisse's death and the attack, everyone is looking as best as they can in this scenario."
"We can fight." Asuka said with a nod. "I'm not going to slow anyone down again. I have to get revenge for Boss…"
"Revenge…" Rebecca muttered that word. Blair crossed her mind when she thought about it, and she noticed that Blair wasn't present. "Hey, where did Blair go…?"
"I don't think she intends to help, still." Homura answered. "I suppose that aid we received from her the other day was as much as she was willing to give. She also said it was not a wise idea for her to exert that amount of energy so quickly."
"Looks like she was serious about not sticking her nose in this too much. It's probably for the best though…"" Weisz muttered. Still, they were thankful for what she did do, because they wouldn't be standing here otherwise.
"Her efforts did help quite a bit." Aiden admitted. "I did some counting in the last two days; that was a majority of androids from Delta Ridge they sent at us. That trick they used to try and twist your arms will not happen a second time. As for their own forces, I surmised that was a large chunk of them as well, meaning their numbers took a large hit a well."
"So what does this mean for us, exactly?" Jinn asked.
"It's our chance to rush the city and take out the rest of their forces." Aiden explained. "I wonder if we'll be able to enlist help from the Blue Bomber as well…"
"Don't bother." Geno said while glancing elsewhere. "…..The Goldstones got him. He…managed to save me, but he wasn't able to stop them this time…"
"Oh…" Stella frowned. "We lost him too…?"
"…" Hermit remained silent. She knew the truth, granted Geno's words weren't entirely far off.
"Him too…?" Asuka clenched her hand into a fist. Things were just snowballing against them, but they couldn't let that stop them.
"I suppose it was better than to try relying on him as an option. He always was unreliable." Aiden shook his head. "We lost some firepower, but we can make do without him."
"That's a little cruel…he was an ally, wasn't he?" Hermit asked.
"He was more of a lone wolf than an ally. Just because we have the same enemy did not make us friends." Aiden's voice was cold. But the Blue Bomber's behavior made it easy for a few others to agree. The Blue Bomber was a nice asset, but…
"Moving on." Casey was pushing the conversation along. "What exactly is your plan here, Aiden?"
"Simple." Aiden pointed to the map of the world. It highlighted their current location, and their destination: Echo City. "Thanks to Blair's efforts, the forces of Prometheus and Pandora have dwindled considerably. I suspect that the rest of their forces are protecting the city and the communications tower as a result."
"So you're suggesting we rush them?" Tristan asked. "Considering how hard we can hit…"
"No, rushing is a bad idea." Weisz crossed his arms. "We might have an advantage of some kind, but we still have plenty of enemies to contend with. The Goldstones and that Golden Knight Gear for example. I completely forgot about that thing in all the chaos over the last few days, and that's the reason we had such a rough landing to begin with."
"Yeah…how are we gonna fight that big thing? We don't have a Knight Gear of our own…" Percival said.
"Actually, we do." Sister said. "Homura's the one who mans it. I think she could take it down."
"Our battle is unfinished at the moment…" Homura said. "I must repay whomever lurks behind that cockpit for damaging Jinn, Kleene, and Laguna…"
"Then I think you'll enjoy the information I have." Aiden said while rubbing his hands together. "We will not be able to get close to the city as long as the Golden Knight Gear is present. I've learned a few things about it…I believe the one behind the cockpit is an android."
"An android?" Shiki asked.
"Mhm. This is all speculation based on the memory banks of the skeleton army I've peered into, but…there is a planet that Ziggy is on, I don't know which one. But he appears to be capturing skilled humans and replicating their skills to use across his android army. The data was fuzzy, but I assume the original piolet must be dead and their machine controlled by a random android."
"And you're just assuming this?" G asked while folding his arms.
"I have some data to back me up." He put up a display of the Golden Knight Gear. "I recognize this model of Knight Gear from my travels with my daughter. This is a special Life Link Knight Gear."
"Life Link…?" Stella questioned. "I've never heard of that before…"
"Life Link establishes a direct connection with the Gear and the piolet." Aiden explained. "Because of this, this method allows swifter response time and greater power. It also makes hacking its systems from the outside is impossible. However…there are obvious drawbacks to this. Because this is a direct link, any damage the Knight Gear takes will be sustained by its user as well."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Rebecca's eyes widened.
"Indeed. But it's something we can use." Aiden said.
"I see…so there is a weakness after all." Ano nodded in understanding. "I recall hearing something about that model as well. There aren't many in existence, but it wouldn't be a problem for someone like Ziggy to mass produce them if possible. I'd like to know who the original piolet is, but I doubt that matters at this point. I should be able to establish a direct link and shut it down if I get close enough, actually…that's what my Ether Gear is good for."
"But there's no way they'd let that happen." Asuka huffed.
"That's where my plan comes in. We will split into two teams: A and B. The A team's goal will be to rush the city and take care of the remaining forces. This is to clear a path and leave path clear to the Communications Tower. That's when we will begin our assault! Now, the Golden Knight Gear will obviously attempt to stop us. That's where the B team comes in. This team will intentionally guide the Golden Knight Gear to a different location, where we can put it out of commission.
"I see. We divide their attention and strike." Laguna nodded. "A sound plan. But what of the Goldstones?"
"I have no doubts they'll be the last line of defense in the tower." Aiden said with a strange amount of confidence. "Based on their actions so far, they're always waiting for us to move. This will be no different."
"I suppose that makes sense." Medi placed a hand on her cheek. "Risking it all on offense. It might just be our only option…"
"It's turning the enemy's strategy back at them. I doubt they'll expect us to come at them with that same vigor. This will be the start of our reprisal! Once both sides are finished with their assaults, we will regroup the following day and put an end to this war once and for all!" Aiden was good at rallying people, because the Resistance quickly found some lost vigor with a plan in motion.
"I'm glad everyone's in high spirits again." Rebecca said while placing her hands in her lap. "I was getting really worried about them."
"High spirits alone won't save this planet…but they have the spirit to save it." Jinn said with a nod.
"Alright!" Shiki was ready to get started.
"I have an idea." Hermit suggested. "The tractor beam that kept the Eden's Zero pinned down is off now. So…I think we can get the Golden Knight Gear's attention if we act as if we're trying to use the ship. We do need to get Homura to the Warrior Maid 95 to keep it distracted anyway."
"Put me on the A team! I have a lot of steam I gotta work through…" Asuka grumbled.
Their team was going to be split into two groups from this point on. They had very important missions. These operations were pretty big and the bases of the final attack hinged solely on the success of these two missions.
A Team, the team tasked with clearing out Echo City to make a path: Shiki, Casey, Asuka, Rebecca, Lowell, Tristan, and Jinn.
B Team, the team tasked with distracting and rending the Golden Knight Gear immobile for their main assault: Weisz, Homura, Sister, Hermit, Ano, Percival, Lluvi, G, and Aiden.
"…I wish I could be more useful in this moment…" Stella said with a heavy sigh. But with how she felt right now, even holding a gun felt too heavy. She was supposed to be one of the leaders, but she just let Aiden do it all from this point on.
"…Me too, Mom…" Geno said with a sigh of his own. Stella just brought her son in for a hug.
"…I'm glad you're still here, Geno. I don't know what I would do if I lost you too…" Stella held Geno close. At least she still had something of her family left…
.
.
The teams were getting ready to depart on their separate missions. They weren't going to see each other for a majority of the day, only to regroup as hastily as possible for the final assault tomorrow provided all went well. Hermit quickly pulled Sister and Homura aside before the rest of their Team departed. "Hey…there's something I want to run by the two of you."
"What is it?" Homura asked.
"It's about Aiden." Hermit said. "Something about him just seems a bit different lately."
"We haven't known the guy for very long." Sister shrugged her shoulders, but she was taking Hermit's concerns seriously. "What's bothering you, though?"
"It could just be nothing, but…" Hermit trailed off for a moment, unsure how she wanted to phrase this. "I guess I just feel more confidence than usual coming from him. I understand if that's to ensure morale is high, but this plan of his…it feels like an absolute."
"Is that a bad thing?" Homura tilted her head. "We would hope our plans are absolutes. Or…are you suggesting the idea that this is unnatural?"
"It just…feels strange." Hermit shook her head. This is why she pulled the other Shining Stars aside. She didn't want to dampen the newly renewed mood with her doubts. "Maybe I'm just worried."
"Nah, I get it." Sister looked at the various Resistance members. They were going to standby until the final assault. Aiden's orders. "Everyone's putting on as brave a face as they can muster after Sarisse's death. It hit them hard…Aiden's done well to pick up the pieces, but I doubt they could handle the mental strain of another disaster."
"So we must do what we can to ensure that doesn't happen. I don't want Sarisse's efforts to go in vain." Homura clenched her hands into fists. "I will not fail a second time." It was time to begin. From this point on, failure and loss were no longer options. They had to win, no matter what.
"This time…" Shiki said while staring at his fist. "We'll win." The war on Delta Ridge was only the tip of the iceberg of what Ziggy's mad goal could do to the cosmos. Shiki was determined to stop this at all costs.
The Liberation War on Delta Ridge was going to be decided soon. The final act of this long battle was finally going to open…