Chapter 5
A Reunion for Many
"Where did Xeim run off to?" Steeg looked around the area of the bridge where Xeim was nowhere to be seen.
"Leiber decided to show him around the Diplo," Mirage answered. "Atleast this gives them a chance to spend some time together and learn how to get along with each other."
It was yet another smooth trip and just as they neared the region of Elicoor II. Back at the bridge, Marietta felt compelled to bring up her concern to Mirage. It was about the data she had looked up on Steeg's request.
"Captain, we are about to enter Elicoor II's orbit. And... I think you might be interested on the data I have collected while we were on Vanguard." said Marietta.
Mirage gave Marietta a confused look. "Data? I don't remember giving any orders about that. ...What were you up to?"
"Well... uhm... sorry... I know you didn't give any orders but-..." Marietta spoke nervously while looking down trying not to see Mirage's disappointed expressions on her face. "I've gathered some information on Maria."
Suddenly Mirage forgot about Marietta's actions and her interest raised towards her words. "Maria? Do you mean Maria Traydor?"
"Yup. Maria Traydor." Steeg butted in, "I asked Marietta to look into it so it's my fault really, but i'm sure you must be just as curious as I am. We haven't heard of her in the past few years. I was wondering what she's up to, and more importantly, whether she's safe."
"No, she's safe. I'm sure of it." Mirage replied looking a lot more concerned. "She wouldn't go down that easily. I trained her after all, and she was by far the best student I've had."
Marietta was delighted at Mirage's words, "Yes, and what's more amazing is that she's not even a Klausian. Yet she's able to show such immense power."
"Anyway, thanks for letting me know about it. I didn't expect to see her out here really, she did say she wanted start a fresh, new, and normal life. I don't blame her for doing so, considering what she had been put through So what is it that you found about her?" Mirage asked.
"Well, I have it all right here," Marietta spoke as she loaded up the data. "During the beginning of the new era, she was off to the planet Edifice. I even remember her telling me that before disbanding Quark. I don't think she has moved from there ever since, there is not much else I could find on her, I suppose that is where she resided. Apparently, Edifice was one of the planets that was attacked by the Alliance, but there were no reasons given for their action. She must have known about the attack, I wonder if she's still in Edifice. Knowing Maria, she wouldn't just sit back and twiddle her thumbs while a war was going on... i'm sure she's looking into this matter just like us."
"It would have helped if we worked together again, don't you think?" asked Steeg.
"Yes," was Mirage's short answer. "but it can't be helped as of now. We don't know where she is, let's just keep going. If she really is after the Alliance just like we are, i'm sure we'll cross paths eventually. All we can do now is head for Elicoor, and make sure it doesn't get the same treatment Expel and Edifice suffered from. Also, don't mention this to Lieber yet. It took a while for him to get over her, we don't want to bring all that back again. It won't do good to his mind."
"Roger, captain." replied Marietta.
"Oh and Marietta?"
"Yes?"
"Sorry about earlier."
"Oh, about me looking up the data? No, it's my fault actually... I'll learn to stick to the orders you give out from now on before taking such a step. Besides, your reaction showed just how fit you are for a captain."
"Thanks." Mirage smiled.
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It was the same group: Mirage, Lieber, and Xeim who decided to explore the regions of Elicoor II. The tough Klausian didn't bring along any other armed personnel members of Quark to avoid an attraction to the large number of groups. The transporter led them out into the Kirlsa Hills. Mirage took a few steps forwards as she stared out at the vast regions of the area, she even recognized the smell... Kirlsa's famous dishes were known for their delicious aroma which spread throughout the whole mining town and even parts of the hills surrounding the town. Suddenly, her heart felt a rush of excitement knowing that this journey will be no less than the one she had been through four years ago.
"I heard you're familiar with this area." Xeim spoke as he looked towards Mirage who seemed lost in her memories.
"Yes, I suppose you can say that I know this place quite well," Mirage spoke as she kneeled down to touch the ground with her fingers. "We're in Airyglyph territory, the other sides leads to Aquaria. We're going to have to split up if we want to be more efficient in this investigation."
"I suppose i'll head towards Kirlsa then." Xeim spoke looking straight ahead.
"Right! And i'm gonna go the other way with the captain." Lieber shot back quickly after hearing Xeim.
Mirage was a little concerned about Xeim, "I suppose that works fine then. Xeim, just don't head too far off. Me and Lieber will only go as far as Peterny, we'll meet up there. It's a large trading town, you won't miss it. We'll be waiting at the inn. And keep in touch with me, if any suspicions rise in your area then contact me immediately. We'll do the same."
"Roger." Xeim nodded.
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Meanwhile in the 2nd Outer Alliance Station, a soldier takes the transporter to reach the commander's room where the commander impatiently awaited for his report. There were atleast 10 Outer Alliance Stations scattered around the Eternal Sphere, which were concealed so well that none were ever exposed to the federation's sight.
"Commander Shin, we have received orders just now from the Inner Alliance team." the soldier saluted before his commander who seemed to be very laid back with his position as the commander of the Outer Alliance.
"Hmph. What does Wakou want this time?" Commander Shin spoke as he turned towards his inferior. "Is it about the Elicoorian route?"
"Yes." the soldier nodded.
"Ah, we're almost done. Once we get all the materials we'll need for this nice little field trip, we'll be on our way to carry out the plan soon. I know Wakou doesn't like to waste any time, but tell him to hold onto his pants for once. Things are running smoothly," Shin grinned wickedly.
Despite his laid back and rude attitude, Shin was one of the most responsible and strict members of the Alliance team.
The soldier became worried at how lightly this matter was being taken by his commander, "Very well, we should carry out this order successfully and as quickly as possible."
"Ain't nothing gonna go wrong at this point," Shin replied as he slumped back onto his seat and turned towards the right corner of his room, "Besides, we have our trump card right here."
Another being hidden by the shadows from the dark area stood in the corner of the room. He was tall, vigorous, and wore dark black teenage clothes. "Yeah, but we're gonna have to be a little more hasty on this one. It's not going to be as simple as our other tasks."
Commander Shin narrowed his eyes towards his mysterious subordinate, "Why do you say that?"
"..." the tough individual shot a look straight up above his head. "Call it a hunch."
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It was almost nighttime just when the village of Arias caught their eye. Mirage and Lieber decided to spend the night in town, and continue the next morning. However, just before they could get anywhere near the entrance to the town, they noticed the area around them was becoming enveloped by shadows. Before they could turn the other way, a gang of thieves and scumbags along with a wolfpack came in charging towards the two and surrounded them.
"Well, how about that? We got us a cute girl and a purple-shirted wimp today." one of the thieves stepped forward pointing his dagger towards the two, "Don't worry, I won't do anythin' dirty... i'm in a good mood today so just hand over everything ya got and we'll let you move on! An' don't try to act smart, or else..."
"Well geez," Lieber shook his head looking down. "I thought we'd be in for some real butt-kicking risky situations with the Alliance, and we get a bunch of scumbags to deal with instead. Some mission! Oh well, atleast this will be a nice warm-up."
"Don't underestimate them Lieber," Mirage spoke while still keeping her eyes on her enemies, "We might need all the strength we have, just keep your guard up. You'll have to fight conservatively when you're up against a large group like this one."
"So you wanna fight, huh?" the thief spoke nervously, "I'm gonna rip you to shreds! Whirlwind Slashes!"
The thief charged straight towards both of them slashing his dagger mindlessly in mid-air as the rest of the creatures followed his lead. Lieber followed Mirage's advice and did his best to keep a good distance from his foes while Mirage took care of herself up front.
"Sphere of Might!" screamed out Mirage as she was able to hold two or three within the radius of the spherical energy, but it wasn't enough to distract all of them in total. She flipped over her enemies to evade their dagger thrusts and siderolled to keep away from their slashes and the wolves' charging fangs, she threw a few punches and kicks here and there but none were strong enough to take them down. Meanwhile Lieber jumped atop a small hill about 2 metres high and was able to get enough time to charge a ball of energy from his phase gun which was surrounded by lightning.
"Spark Orb!" the ball of lightning energy shot towards the group of enemies which were all in one area trying to tackle Mirage, but the orb surrounded all the enemies and shocked them with lightning sparks as Mirage got away in the nick of time. She jumped towards a large boulder and used it as a ledge to jump into a higher elevation as she clutched her fists together and swung them overhead smacking them onto the ground as she came down.
"Hammer of Might!" the impact created a small crack on the ground that led towards the enemies and exploded just beneath the lightning orb dispatching every foe in sight.
"Not bad," said Mirage as she stood back up. "You held yourself pretty well. What's with the phase gun by the way?"
Lieber whipped out his phase gun again and showed it to Mirage who was observing it carefully, "It's an elemental phase gun, it's one of a kind... straight from the Klaus headquarters, although they were originally constructed by the Federation."
"From the Federation?" Mirage asked looking surprised. "I didn't know Klaus had gotten that friendly with them. Seems like a lot has changed in the past four years..."
"Let's just hope the coming days don't change too much." Lieber said. Mirage understood that he was referring to the Alliance and she nodded in agreement as they headed towards Arias.
Arias was a prosperous village compared to what it had been like four years ago. Buildings and monuments were in shambles due to the war, and the village was suffering financially, but all that had changed. The village had expanded and was overflowing with many Aquarian citizens, it was almost like the mining town of Kirlsa. One aspect that hadn't changed, however, was the one mansion that sat right in the middle of the village. It was the mansion of the Aquarian maidens working on behalf of the Queen's royalty. Mirage figured it'd be the best place to gather information around Elicoor for now.
Upon entering the mansion, Mirage and Lieber were greeted by many Aquarian soldiers and runologists of whom some recognized Mirage immediately. Two other Aquarian maidens came into sight from the conference room at the end of the hall.
Mirage was able to recognize them immediately, "Farleen? Tynave? Is that you?"
"Oh! It's Miraaage!" Farleen squealed out. "It's so good to seeee you again!"
"It is indeed good to see you again. It must have been a long journey to come all the way here." Tynave spoke in a very formal voice.
"Yes, you can definitely say that again. And you two seem fine as well, that's a relief." Mirage replied.
Tynave looked a little confused, "Fine? Well, yes. There hasn't been anything wrong... for a while atleast. Come on, let's head for the conference room and we'll discuss further."
More runologists and soldiers of Aquaria were present in the conference room, but the one Mirage was especially glad to see was the leader of the Crimson Blade, Clair Lasbard. She looked delighted although Mirage could tell there was something bothering her deep inside which she really didn't feel like expressing.
"I'm really glad you stopped by," Clair spoke. "Same with your friend."
Lieber brushed his hair back while keeping his chest up high looking stout, "Heh, thanks. Call me Lieber by the way. Hehehe Man... Cliff was so right!"
"About what?" Mirage raised an eyebrow as she turned towards Lieber.
Lieber grinned while staring at Clair, "The Aquarian maidens have a nice...you know... uh, rear!"
Mirage didn't hesitate to give the back of Lieber's head a good slap!
"Ow!" Lieber shouted as he quickly put his hand on his head.
"Hmph! Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring you in place of Xeim after all." Mirage spoke furiously before turning towards Clair. "I'm sorry, forgive our rudeness."
Tynave crossed her arms and batted her eye, "How rude."
"And a PERVERT!" Farleen chimed in.
Although Farleen and Tynave were inexpressibly angry at Lieber's comment, Clair simply chuckled. "It's all right. Let's just have a seat for now... make yourselves at home. And i'm sure we all have a lot to discuss."
After dinner was served, Mirage gave a brief summary on their situation, and told them about the Alliance. To her surprise, Clair didn't look as shocked as expected, the one who was in for a shock was Mirage. Clair told her that similar situations had been confronted here before.
Mirage looked around and although she had noticed that Nel was not around, she figured that Nel was busy in her tasks. She did, however, bring up her concern in words, "Where is Nel? I haven't seen her around."
Nel was another one of Clair's subordinates and her closest friend who is also a member of the Crimson Blades and takes orders directly from the Queen.
Clair looked extremely disappointed and spoke a lot less enthusiastically, "That's something i've been wanting to get to you. You do remember Fayt Leingod, don't you?"
That was a name Mirage, Lieber, and the rest of the crew wouldn't forget in a lifetime. Fayt Leingod, was a victim of symbological genetics, like Maria... who led his companions to free themselves from the clutches of the Creator and most of all, give everyone a reason to exist. Once a regular 19 year old teenager, and then just a few weeks after... he is labelled as a "hero" in the official database. Along with his friend Sophia, he headed back to his home planet Earth during the start of the new era. If there was one person who brought the coming of the new era, it was Fayt Leingod.
"Hey, is that supposed to be a joke?" Lieber muttered. "He did piss me off sometimes, but that's not just some guy you're gonna forget, know what I mean?."
Clair went on as every word she spoke intrigued Mirage and Leiber. Weeks ago, Fayt returned to Elicoor with a warm welcome just like Mirage. He had some troops along with him who looked to be part of the Federation, and he said the reason for their appearance was to make sure the OPA was secure, and warn the Queen about the Alliance. As expected, confusion surrounded the citizens around Elicoor about the Alliance, but the Queen knew Fayt wouldn't speak nonsense so she immediately called for full security to protect the shrine. Prior to his leave, it was Albel Nox of the Airyglyph army, who wanted to aid Fayt in his journey. Fayt refused at first but Albel convinced him to a deal. They had a duel, and if Albel was victorious, Fayt would have no choice but to accept him. Albel, who was training all these years and looking to even the score with his former rival held nothing back before defeating Fayt.
Nel Zelpher meanwhile, was given the task of aiding Fayt in his journey seeing as things in Elicoor were running as smooth as ever. Nel was thrilled from this mission she had been assigned, and she told Fayt that she had to stick with her orders so she had no choice but to go along with Fayt and Albel.
"...And that isn't all," Clair went on. "A few days later Fayt and Albel returned to bring some horrible news. Nel was abudcted by the Alliance in the process of infiltrating the main lab on Vendeen. None of the Federation members could withstand the power of the Alliance team on that planet."
"Wow!" Lieber replied impressed with Clair's knowledge. "Man, there goes the UP3..."
"...And that's what you're concerned about, Lieber? So much has happened in our absence," Mirage spoke looking extremely dismal. "So Fayt and Albel are with the Federation right now. It's no surprise Fayt would be given a high rank immediately despite his age."
"Lady Clair has been down in the dumps ever since she heard about Nel," said Tynave.
"She hardly rests and eaaats tooo!" Farleen squealed.
"Well, it's not going to help Nel if you worry so much about her," Lieber said trying to console Clair. "So no point in hurting yourself too."
"Thanks, um... Lieber. I'll take care of myself, don't worry. You two have a big day ahead of yourselves tomorrow... and it's already dark. Why don't I show you the guest rooms upstairs? You all must be tired." replied Clair.
Farleen and Tynave, however were willing to take on the task of showing them to their rooms instead. Mirage also advised Clair to not stress herself out and get some rest.
The night looked like it was going to last forever. Mirage felt uneasy about her situation, she could not help but feel that there were much more terrible things happening in the Eternal Sphere than what she thinks. It wasn't like her to let her mind get the better of her, and that bothered her even more. She popped out of bed and left the mansion in the middle of the night walking around the small field across the mansion. There was another person kneeling before one of the graves out in the field. It was Clair.
"You know, you could have atleast tried to rest," Mirage said while crossing her arms.
"Oh, Mirage." Clair stood abruptly in response. "I usually spend some time here every night. It's mother's grave, since father has been away as usual busy with his own tasks... just visiting this place makes me feel much closer to my mother than father."
"I can understand the pain," Mirage put her hand on Clair's shoulder. "My mother passed away at an early age too. Even though my father is always there with me to comfort me and to make feel less lonely at times, I always feel like i'm missing out on some things... no, many things in life."
Clair turned towards Mirage, "Yes, it must be hard. I couldn't imagine not having Nel, Farleen, and Tynave with me. Nel and I are different in that way, I want us all to be together at all times, I feel much more secure when I have some kind of support. That's why father is always so desperate to get me married, but that's not what i'm looking for... and it annoys me. Nel is able to hold herself quite well though, there is nothing more serious to her than her mission... she tries hard to follow the footsetps of her father. I commend her for that... and you as well."
"I have to admit," replied Mirage. "It is a lot tougher when you're alone."
"I've decided."
"About what?"
"I'm going to come with you."
"With us? But why?"
"Don't you think you'd need the help? Unless you think i'm going to slow you down."
"It's not that. But think about the conditions here. Nel left you the task of working on her behalf, taking direct orders from the Queen, leaving this task would just be counterproductive. And if Elicoor ever falls in danger from the Alliance, you should be here where people like Farleen and Tynave will need you."
"Yes. sigh You're... right."
"And about Nel... don't worry about it. I'll take care of that, i'm sure we'll find her. I promise."
Clair looked surprised and delighted, "Thank you. Then... I shall keep my hopes up for you. Be careful out there."
"Don't worry," Mirage smiled. "We should get some rest now. Look... the sun has begun to rise already."
Clair nodded and promised Mirage she'd take better care of herself from now on.
The next day, after Mirage and Lieber bid farewell to Clair and her subordinates, they left the riverfront village of Arias using the east exit and headed towards the Palmira Plains.