Chapter 27

The Will and the Desire

"Hey Fayt, what's with the long face?" spoke a young girl about Fayt's age. Fayt was too tired to notice that someone was speaking to him. But a shake on the shoulder was enough to bring him back to his senses.

"Oh, Sophia... sorry, I didn't notice you there." Fayt said as he got up from his small chair in the corner of his room. The state of his room looked as if he had recently just thrown a party in his apartment. A huge stack of video games were lying all over the floored carpet, and cabinets were left open on top of the sink which was filled with dirty dishes yet to be washed. The only thing that was left tidy in his rom was his desk in the corner which had many books stacked in a very organized fashion suggesting his obsession with reading in the past week or two. Sophia gave him a concerned look as if she was trying to study what was on Fayt's mind.

"Didn't notice...? Well, whatever. So what have you been doing? And why didn't you call me for the past few days!" an annoyed Sophia replied.

"Oh sorry about that. I've just been busy with a few games lately." Fayt said solemnly.

"Games? Not again... just when I thought that nerdy brain of yours couldn't take it anymore, here you are... back to playing video games again." Sophia hissed at Fayt as she turned his back towards him in an annoyed manner.

"Whoa, slow down! You're always jumping to conclusions." Fayt retorted quickly as he placed hand on Sophia's arm noticing that she was about to leave. "I'm not talking about video games. I meant I had to participate in the preliminary games at my college for my basketball team. The coach would have been really mad at me if I didn't show up. That's why i'm really exhausted!"

Sophia lightened her expression a little and looked more firm and serious than angry now. "Well, alright. I guess that's fine then. Anyway, I actually came here to tell you something important. It's really good news! I'm sure you'll like it too-oo!" Suddenly her face seemed a lot more delightful and happy now as she started to smile.

"Hm good news, huh? I could use one of those right now, i've had a really rough week!" Fayt chuckled.

"Okay, well you know mom, dad, and Aunt Ryoko had planned to go on a long vacation to Hyda IV a few weeks ago. Just yesterday, Aunt Ryoko told me that they had decided to cancel their trip and stay home but they had already bought the tickets for the transport ships. So guess who they gave their tickets to!" Sophia said as she whipped out three tickets from her jeans hip pocket.

"Wait... to Hyda IV?" Fayt and Sophia didn't have the best memories of that planet, and they had never thought of returning there ever since the Vendeeni attack four years ago which was the incident that led them all the way to fight the Creator. Fayt had mixed feelings of that place... he did hate the sight of it because of everything it got him into, but he also saw the whole scenario as a positive thing. It led him through all sorts of things and gave him a new experience in life. And for that, he had to thank Hyda IV. But Fayt hesitated on going for other particular reasons... "Uh... Sophia? Sorry, but can we call it off as well?"

Suddenly Sophia's arms, which were held towards Fayt's face showing him the three tickets, fell back down in their position as she sulked at his response, "What...? Call it off? But why? If you're worried about that time four years ago, you can stop getting so paranoid. They've repaired everything in that resort years ago and I heard it's as luxurious as ever."

"No, it's not that." Fayt shook his head politely, "I'm sure ever since that attack, the security on the planet must be a lot tighter than before."

"Yeah and thank goodness none of the people in Hyda figured out that the Vendeeni were only after us otherwise they would never let us back in there. So come on then! I already have got the third ticket reserved for Anna, she was so excited about going with the both of us!" Sophia pleaded.

However, Fayt refused once again, "You two go on ahead. You know that this is my last year in college, and I don't want to slack off now... otherwise, all my hard work in the past few years would go to waste if I fail this year. And there's only one more month left before fall arrives... i've got to be one step ahead of everyone else to make sure I don't screw up anywhere this year."

"Fayt, I don't get what you're so worried about. You've always been a straight 'A' student and if there's anyone who needs to be doing catching up on quantum mechanics or symbological genetics then it's me! You have to relax sometimes and spend time with your friends... or does that nerdy head of yours not allow you to do that either?" Sophia became a lot more furious at this point.

Not liking the Sophia's comments, Fayt shot back... "Well, sorry... geez! Don't I have a choice here? I'll tell you what. You two can go this time, but i'll make it up to you next year. I promise."

Still standing with her back towards Fayt, she crossed her arms and hesitated in her response, "Hmph. Well, fine I guess. But if something were to go wrong, i'll blame it all on you! Understand?"

"Hey, don't say things like that..." Fayt said as he walked in front of Sophia before resting both his hands on her shoulders. "So when will you be leaving then?"

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time... our transport ship will leave in a week from now." Sophia grumbled still unhappy about the situation, "Well I guess i'll see ya later then. And don't forget to call this time!" she spoke just before walking out of Fayt's apartment room.

"Uh... see ya."

'Whew... well I guess that's over with. Still... I feel a little bad at myself now.' Fayt thought to himself as he dropped back onto his comfortable cushioned chair just across the TV.

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Suddenly a stream of energy ran inside of Fayt as he sat back up abruptly as if he just suffered an electric shock. 'It must've been a dream...' Fayt thought. He was lying on a bed inside a white room. At first he figured, the whiteness was just a hallucination in his dizzy state of mind but then he noticed the dark green colored curtains beside his bed. It looked a lot like a living quarter of some battle-class ship.

"How are you feeling now, Fayt?" a woman entered in a nurse outfit. Fayt noticed the dark blue uniform she was wearing... it was the Federation's uniform.

"Ah... this must be the sick bay. Tell me what's happened? To moonbase, Albel, and the Alliance...? And how did you find us here?" Fayt began to fire the nurse with questions instantly.

"Moonbase is fine now thanks to you. And your friend I believe is waiting for you outside this room. I was given orders by the second-in command General Grims to send you a message that he wants to meet you at the bridge once you have regained consciousness." the nurse said summing up all his questions with a few sentences.

"Alright, thanks for your hospitality." Fayt got up from the bed, but winced in pain just the next second. "Ouch!"

"Be careful! Your ankle was badly hurt during the fight... try not to put too much strain on it." the nurse advised. Fayt nodded and slowly stepped out of the room. Albel, who stood just outside the sick bay leaning on the wall suddenly jumped up seeing Fayt come out of the room.

"Oh, hey Albel! I heard you were waiting for me, so what's going on? I'm glad to see that atleast you're alright..." Fayt answered delightfully as he looked towards Albel. He didn't seem to suffer from any harmful injuries unlike Fayt who had to be treated by the nurse.

Albel, however, answered in a very grim manner. "W-Waiting for you? How absurd! Don't be such a fool."

"Oh yeah? Then what were you doing here leaning on the wall outside of the sick bay?" Fayt cracked wisely.

"Hmph. Anyway, it looks like the scum got away again. Maybe if you hadn't stopped me earlier from pounding that three-eyed bitch, she wouldn't have gotten a chance to make her little smart move." Albel complained furiously as he narrowed his eyes towards Fayt.

Fayt, annoyed, replied before leaving the main hall towards the bridge, "When will you learn to stop whining for a change? Did you ever stop to think if people actually listen to your complaints all the time? If you don't like my company or the Federation for that matter, then why did you decide to tag along with me in the first place?"

"Perhaps if you're done with your pathetic drivel now, maybe you can mind your business so we can finally make our move to the bridge? Or would you prefer to keep this up and have me carve off your tongue in the process?" Albel snapped scornfully at Fayt as he shot him with a look of contempt. He knew of what his intentions were and he didn't feel the need to share it with his companion. If there was anyone in the Airyglyph army who loved challenges, it was Albel the Wicked. After years of training in the grounds of the Kirlsa Training Facility on Elicoor, Albel had grown powerful enough to take care of almost every matter within Airyglyph. Not long ago just a few months before leaving Elicoor, he was assigned to a cooperative task with the Shield Legion to deal with matters involving Peterny and Surferio. During the mission, many soldiers of Aquaria including the leader of the Shield Legion, Clair, admitted that Albel had grown almost twice as strong as they had last seen him.

When Albel heard of Fayt's arrival on Elicoor, he saw a no better chance other than that moment to equal his score with Fayt after suffering a humiliating defeat four years ago. At Fayt's refusal, Albel implied that he would help Fayt look for whatever he was after but only if Albel defeated him. If Albel suffered defeat, he promised to stay out of Fayt's way once and for all. Not allowing the latter to happen, Albel barely managed to scrape a victory while sparring with Fayt. He felt that going along with Fayt would give him something new and something challenging to do for a change. He could never know how strong he had really grown just by staying on Elicoor since most of the tasks were handled by ease, so he had no choice but to venture outside just like he did four years ago.

Fayt didn't bother to argue afterwards and they found their way to the bridge of the battleship where the ship's commander waited for their arrival. He was tall, brisk, and had dark brown goatee hanging below his chin. The bridge was unusually large even for a battleship compared to the other rooms, but it suited the Federation to have such grandeur appearances within their facilities.

"Ah. Fayt and Albel, i've been waiting for your arrival." the General spoke as he cleared his throat. "I'm Major General Grims, second in-command of the Conqueror... the battleship you stand on now."

"The Conqueror... it looks like one of the most elegant battleships i've ever placed foot on." Fayt spoke as he grabbed some time to take a good view of the interior of the ship. "So anyway, what happened to Moonbase? And... Sophia?"

Major General Grims smirked roughly at his question, "That was something I was hoping to ask you about. Anyway, Moonbase is now safe and reclaimed by the Pangalactic Federation once again. That is the good news. And it is all thanks to you." he said with gratitude.

"Well it's not like we did much..." Fayt shrugged slowly as he thought back to his time on the Moonbase. "The Inner Alliance Specialist known as Nahal simply drew back her army from the station, she said she got what she wanted from Moonbase... not sure what that meant."

"I don't see how you can be satisfied with the results, it was only moments ago when they trounced us." Albel exclaimed.

"Hmm... Nahal you say?" the general pondered as he stroked his goatee with his fingers. "I can't say I or anyone in the Federation has heard of that name before... but if she really is an Alliance Specialist, then it's no surprise you were the ones who fell in battle."

"Hmph. Speak for yourself!" Albel growled angrily.

Fayt gave Albel a look as if to tell him, 'That's enough!' and then turned towards the general. "She mentioned about the hostages as well. Apparently, we were tricked into thinking that the civilians were all held on Moonbase... but she informed us that due to a change of plans, they moved them to Vendeen."

"Ugh... Vendeen... that's bad news." the general replied furiously but not trying to show his expressions at the same time.

"Not so much. Nahal seemed to have different intentions... she said she herself would release all the civilians the Inner Alliance had taken over near Earth if and only if all the Federation fleets were to retreat not only from the Vendeen system, but the border of the gamma sector as well." explained Fayt in a very desperate fashion.

General Grim shook his head firmly in response, "That's something we cannot allow to happen. If we retreat from battle now, we may not get another chance for a long time."

"But General Grims..." Fayt urged to go along with Nahal's negotiation concerned only about Sophia's condition at the time. Then he thought about how the other civilians from different areas would begin to suffer if the Federation allowed the Alliance to continue their terrorizing just so he could save Sophia. Besides, submitting to the Alliance wasn't really the best method of saving your closest friend you've known since childhood. "sigh I understand. Then allow me to go to Vendeen!"

"Fear not, Fayt. I assure you Miss Esteed will remain safe and no harm will be inflicted upon the civilians. As for Vendeen, i've received other reports from Station #16 that they have already organized an infiltration on Vendeen already."

"Organized an infiltration on Vendeen?" asked Fayt filled with curiosity.

"Yes. According to Commander Paulin of Remote Station #7, the Klausian force widely known as Quark has been assigned to this task. Strangely, none of the Federation fleets nor soldiers of Quark are to be deployed on the planet. I haven't heard everything yet, but that's what I was given. General Reed could probably explain the situation better than myself."

Fayt became more interested in the situation when he heard the word 'Quark'. That was the same military organization that helped him four years ago in his journey. They were here as well? Fayt thought Quark was disbanded a long time ago, which means Maria must have somehow decided to return to Klaus and formed Quark once again to fight the Alliance.

"Quark? Weren't those the same outsiders who were with us four years ago?" Albel asked taking a little more interest in the conversation this time.

"Yeah... so Quark is working alongside the Federation on this? Doesn't surprise me, the Alliance is our main concern right now. General Grims... I happen to know Quark really well personally. Could you please lead me to the Vendeen system once you have successfully taken care of this shield barrier?" Fayt requested politely.

"I'll be going along as well. After coming this far, I won't simply turn back home without displaying to those Alliance scum what the true meaning of strength really is." a confident Albel added as he held the handle of his sword which was resting in his sheath.

"That won't be a problem, but... I should remind you... the Inner Alliance are nothing to cough at. I think you found that out the hard way on Moonbase." the general spoke in a concerned voice.

"Don't worry about us..." Fayt quickly cut the general knowing that he was worried about their safety. "We'll make sure not to get into any unnecessary involvements with the Alliance. Maybe if we gathered enough clues, I could find out more about where they've actually kept all the civilians."

"Hmm... well then if you've decided, I suppose I won't try to stop you. And since you will be one of the few members confronting the Vendeeni... allow me to brief you more on what we've investigated on the Inner Alliance so far."

"What about them?" asked Fayt.

The general began to stroke his goatee once again as he started to think about his answer while speaking, "The soldiers of the Inner Alliance carry weapons that far exceed the dangers caused by the disrupter class which the Outer Alliance members carry. From what we know, the Inner Alliance soldiers all consist of the Vendeeni race unlike the Outer Alliance which are dispersed in all different types of species."

"More dangerous than the disrupter class? It's no wonder none of the Federation units could get anywhere on Vendeen." Fayt theorized while closing his eyes as his mind started to wander off.

"Whatever the case may be, in the end worms are only worms! If you let some jesters strike fear into our minds, you're only going to weaken yourself both physically and mentally." Albel replied in a very serious yet slightly cocky fashion.

Fayt turned towards Albel as he gave him a shocked and commendable look at the same time, "That's the first positive comment i've heard from you today, Albel." Albel brushed off his comment without giving a reply. Even though Albel and Fayt would end up in some of the worst bitter arguments, they had a high degree of respect for each other. And although Albel wouldn't admit it, he always used to see Fayt as someone stronger than he was, and found it surprising that Fayt actually lost to him in a duel. Atleast their bitter moments didn't get nearly as bad as Albel and Cliff's.

"That's all we can really tell about them. There were only few Federation units who lived long enough to spread information about the Inner Alliance. None of them, of course, could give us any details about the planet Vendeen itself." said the general.

"Don't worry, we'll manage. So is this battleship planning to engage in combat?" Fayt questioned curiously to which General Grims nodded in returned.

"The Conqueror won't act as a front-line battleship, but it'll serve as a back-up warship for the other ships that are engaging in battle. This will give us enough time to get a shuttle prepared for you two once we've broken through to the Vendeen system. Only then will we launch the shuttle." the general gave his answer firmly.

"Sounds good." Fayt nodded.

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"Why didn't you kill them, Nahal?" asked a brittle old man who looked oddly short in size.

Nahal, who was sitting on one a small boulder in the corner of a cove, peeked at her group of friends from the corner of her eyes once the old man asked his question. "They didn't look like they were from that filthy Federation. Besides, why would you care? Would that have brought all your homes back?"

The cove they were currently located in was used as a hideout for Nahal and her companions in a small isolated planet located just outside the border of the gamma sector. Everyone in the cove was stumped at her question and simply hung their heads low before Nahal with a glum expression planted on their faces. A tough-looking, husky man about seven feet tall who looked like a large overgrown creature began to speak... "Well, what are you going to do then? We were awfully worried about you."

"Don't act like such a baby, Lehmann. I'm only going to do what's necessary, I won't do anything rash unless something comes in my way." Nahal answered boldly and proudly, "You're all important to me... that's why... i'm going to be extra careful about this." she said in a much lower tone. Ever since the event of Tetragenesis' downfall hit Nahal, she had trouble interacting with others and preferred to stay remote and detached from them like she has been her whole life ever since an army of Federation fleets wiped out her home completely. It was only later in her life, where she was able to find other nomads much like her who she was able to befriend with. Nahal felt that it was only these friends who could understand the pain she's endured her whole life because they've been through the same as well. That was probably why she considered these friends of her to be so important to her.

"We're sorry, Nahal..." a young and chubby girl named Elsa who was about 6 years of age spoke as she stepped up front beside Nahal. "We can't do anything to help you. All we can do is just sit around and wait for you to come back from time to time. I wish..." she started to speak further but the Tetragenoit cut her off instantly with her words.

"You guys have done more for me than you think, so don't mention it. Anyhow, something about what Wakou told me earlier is still fixed in my head... I want to look more in to this." Nahal spoke as suspicions started to rise in her mind. "If I can just get to the second base quickly..."

Fisc, a youthful boy with red hair and a lengthy tail jumped up from his position and faced Nahal, "Yeah! We'll need to keep things in order here in the meantime if only some of the lazy bums can get moving!" He said looking towards Elsa with the corner of his eye. He often complained about other people's laziness and lack of motivation, and that he had to do all the work for them.

Elsa whipped out her bunny doll and struck Fisc on his head with it, "Oooh you're always picking on me! You asked for it this time you freak!" she ran behind him and started to yank his tail while constantly screaming... "MONKEY BOY HAS MONKEY TAIL!"

"OW! Hey! Stop it!" Fisc screamed while running in circles all over the area having his tail pulled and chased by Elsa.

"But you're going to stay with us for a while, right!" the large man named Lehmann asked ignoring the wild act. There were about five others in the cove who sat silently and listened to their leader's words.

"No, it's only a few moments before..." the Tetragenoit gunner began to answer but an odd-looking old woman grabbed her hand and pulled her towards another area inside the cove.

"Oh, but you have to atleast stay this evening and try the special feast we have prepared tonight! I even used that new recipe you found for me last week." the old woman spoke in an elated manner.

With no other choice but to agree to all their insists, Nahal decided to spend the day in the hideout.