10—Rasterized Dreams
Her anticipation grew as they drew closer to the island.
Everything else in this world, however, didn't seem to share her optimism.
Menacing grey clouds had blanketed the sky.
The chilly breeze had begun to pick up, and the steadily growing waves rocked the ship.
Occasional streaks of lightning crawled through the gloom above them.
A storm?
It seemed that the fleet had lucked out yet again.
The forbidding atmosphere of their destination further dampened her already deflated mood.
But she had to push on regardless.
Her eyes squinted, gazing at the port.
Murky contours of small ships were docked or moored in the area.
Dreary. Lifeless. Surreal.
Twiddling her fingers, she watched her ship maneuver towards an unoccupied pier.
As the warship finally settled, she stepped out to the main deck together with the apparition.
She took a whiff of the sea and stretched her arms in the air.
This is it.
Whatever was in store for her on this island might finally give her the answers she seeks.
She walked down the platform and onto the dock where four faceless individuals were waiting.
Their translucent bodies constantly flickered, just like her ghostly companion.
They were wearing raincoats, but she easily recognized the uniforms of the two girls before her.
Her partner ran towards them and hugged the girl on the left.
Is… Is that me?
As her phantom copy noticed her, it broke free from the hug and approached her cautiously.
Her heart almost jumped as the figure reached out for her body and took her in a tight embrace.
Suddenly, a splitting headache overwhelmed her senses.
It felt like it was sapping her strength as the throbbing continued.
She collapsed on her knees, closing her eyes shut.
The excruciating pain peaked, and then it subsided just as quickly as it happened.
When she reopened her eyes, her body was enveloped in a warm subtle light.
Saffron orbs leaked out of her frame, dancing in the air like curious fireflies.
As she looked up, the only boy in the group leaned down and extended his hand.
She glanced left and right, but she couldn't find any trace of her copy.
Where did she go?
Before she could take his hand, the wailing of sirens broke out in the distance.
She turned her head to the sea and saw a swarm of aircraft heading towards the island.
Whistling shells rained from the sky, and everything around her descended into chaos.
"Can you believe it? I literally punched a hole in her chest and she still managed to sail away like that? I should've torn her heart out when I got the chance! Hey, are you even listening?"
"Y-Yes..."
Reizel slapped Inazuma's back. "But I gotta give it to you. Most of the girls I've come across would piss their pants when they see me sailin' around here." She rubbed her cheeks against the destroyer's. "But you're different—inside that bundle of cutesy mushy muffin that you are, no one would know that there's a trooper tucked in there until they take their first nibble."
"Ermm… you're not hungry, are you?"
"A bit. Happens after I work out a sweat and some."
"Y-You're not going to eat me, right?"
"Are you really that gullible?" Reizel snorted. "I'd rather eat kelp for the rest of my life."
"U-Um… what do you want from me then?"
"Your body." She licked her cheek and started sniffing her. "I need it."
Inazuma shivered.
She wanted to shake off the Re-class battleship clinging so tightly on her core structure, but she didn't want to cause any more trouble too. The commander was very specific about Reizel's temper and her ability to unleash it through disproportionate wanton destruction.
"Stop—uh, how should I put this—assaulting my secretary," the commander said.
To Inazuma's relief, Reizel hopped off her back. "Why do you care?" she asked, gliding along the destroyer. "They're expendable, right?"
"No."
"That's not what you told me before you joined the Peacekeepers."
"C-Commander? What does she mean by that?" Inazuma slowed down. "That we're expendable?"
Before he could answer, Reizel let out a chuckle. "What's with that face? As long as you serve them, you're expendable. If you sink today, they'll just create another to take your place."
Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared down. "Th-That's true."
"And yet, you're allowing yourself to become a mindless sheep." She slapped the destroyer's back again. "Come on—give yourself a bit of self-respect."
Almost stumbling from what she could only assume to be a friendly gesture, Inazuma frowned. "A-And how are you any different?"
Reizel placed a hand on her cheek, tapping it with her index finger. "I was thinking about dignity and stuff, but if we go to the most basic of things, this is just who we are. We could win this war in a day, but it's just not worth it."
It was Ryuujou's turn to laugh. "Ain't that a badass bluff?"
The destroyer shook her head. "All these conflicts in the world caused so much suffering to everybody... why are you treating it like a game?"
"Because to us, it is," the battleship replied, pointing at her. "Like I said, we could blitz through every continent if we wanted to win. But where's the fun in that?"
"You sayin' that us fleet girls are pushovers?" Ryuujou said. "You do have a habit of spoutin' bullcrap like Sugartooth over there."
Maricelle leered at her as she chewed on an energy bar. The abyssal battleship only shook her head as she grinned. "I never mentioned that, but you guys have been going all out for such a long time now and you've only scratched the surface of our defensive lines."
"Ain't that the same thing?!"
"Don't be so hard on yourself—the difference in raw power shows, and there's nothing we can do about that."
The carrier balled her hands and gritted her teeth, but she didn't bother making another retort. Chikuma sailed beside her and tried to calm her down. "A-Are you suggesting that you Abyssals aren't interested on winning?"
"Disappointment comes one after another now, huh?" Reizel groaned. "Use that gray matter in your skull for once: what's the use of a warship without wars and conflicts?"
Ryuujou, Chikuma, and Hatsuyuki suddenly stopped moving. The rest of them followed as well.
Hatsuyuki had a pained expression on her face. "Th-They won't need us anymore?"
"The opposite, in fact," Reizel replied, smirking once more. "You'd think your human superiors would let you retire if you were to win this war. You fleet girls are killing machines—designed to mow down whole armies with one hand tied behind your back. I'd say they would be dumb not to utilize such power for their own needs."
The heavy cruiser grimaced. "What are you trying to say?"
"Wouldn't it better that you have us around? Plus, you wouldn't have to worry about pointing your gun at a former comrade—much easier to pull the trigger on something that looks alien after all."
"But things are different this time," Inazuma said. "And they've already given us as much freedom as any human has."
"Can't deny that their treatment on you became better in the recent years, but that's just a honey-sweet ruse to keep you girls in line. After all, if you treat your soldiers like shit, expect them to perform shit out in the field. Still find it funny that it took them that long to catch something as simple as that."
"B-But that's not—"
"Oh, you're just embarrassing yourself now." She gestured at Ryuujou and Chikuma. "Those two had already figured it out. Guess it's true that you're pretty damn stubborn."
Speechless, she could only stare at the ripples beneath her feet.
She had always thought stopping the hostilities between humanity and Abyssals would bring peace to the world.
But deep down, she also knew all too well that the ever-present struggle between men was unavoidable.
It was an irrefutable truth; a simple fact proven by history time after time.
Was she making a fool of herself for hopes of such a convenient conclusion?
She was just being too stubborn to accept it. Or perhaps it was more appropriate to say that she allowed herself to be blinded by her own make-believes; that she didn't want to consider the possibility of it happening and be buried in shame after holding on so much faith towards humanity.
She wanted to believe in them.
And that was why she also hated herself and her shortcomings—that she couldn't speak and stand up for the good people who had given them something more than a life full of strife and suffering.
A future that only she could decide for herself.
The battleship wore a triumphant look on her face. "Am I right, Yuu?" When he didn't give any response, the battleship waved her hand and continued sailing. "Whatever—just keep in mind that you girls are nothing without us."
Her words hung in the air, constricting Inazuma in a brief stupor. Hatsuyuki grabbed her hand and gently pulled her forward. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah, sorry."
Upon reaching the island, they saw two hulking abyssal familiars on the shoreline. The ogre-like monstrosities fired alternating half salvos with their turrets, shaking the earth with each burst. The Navy fleet past the horizon responded with its own shelling, but the mag-ion field encompassing the island made the efforts ineffectual.
Reizel placed a fist on her waist. "Where's Lucy?" she asked, looking around.
"Already beat us to it," the commander replied, jutting a thumb at the VTOL aircraft parked on the shoreline. "Need to wake her up?"
"How the heck is she doin' that?" Ryuujou pointed at a few abyssal planes circling over the island. "I'm impressed that she could hold 'em off while takin' a snooze."
"Why did you come back though?" he asked Reizel.
The battleship had an elated look on her face as she dragged Inazuma with her. "She's exactly what I'm looking for. Took you long enough, but I can't complain if you already brought what I wanted all this time."
"You can't."
Reizel's lips turned upside down. "What?"
"Mica and I have been working on it. Give us more time."
"Four years isn't enough time?" A short bout of silence transpired between them. The battleship's eyes narrowed as her lips puckered. "I know that you're a man of your word or whatever, but you owe me too many favors already. I'm patient, but not that patient."
He kept a steady, calculating gaze on the battleship. "Why her?"
"Already with the questions, huh?" She embraced the destroyer from her waist. "Let's just say we're compatible—in more ways than you can imagine."
Inazuma shuddered. C-Compatible? Did she mean… modernization?!
He sighed, massaging his forehead with his fingertips. "No means no."
"So, you don't mind if I keep doing what I've been doing since forever?" She rested her chin on Inazuma's shoulder. "With this accursed body of mine, I don't really mind either—it works out in the end as I have to satisfy my bloodlust every now and then."
"W-What do you mean by that?" Inazuma asked.
"You really wanna know?" She chuckled, tapping her chest. "You see, my body's mag-ion composition and framework is unstable, constantly undergoing deterioration and decay. To compensate, I—"
"Stop," the commander said, tapping on his forearm terminal. "We'll find your cure, but we need you to do your part too—we might be able to gain more data if you just let her examine you."
"You haven't even showed me anything concrete past that malignant strain you discovered last year. Not exactly feeling that optimism right now."
"That's a no then." He hesitated for a second. "There's one person that could help, but you know that we can only work on what we currently have right now."
"Excuses like that won't get us anywhere, but what can I do about it?" She sighed. "Alright, you win. I'll wait."
He raised a clenched hand over his mouth. "But just to get this out of my head, I'm getting this strange sense of urgency coming from you in the past few months. Why's that?"
"Now that's a dumb question. Why wouldn't I want to remove my body's imperfection sooner than later?"
He didn't seem convinced. "If you really wanted her that much, you could have had your way with her and be done with it."
"Well, that's because I'm not an idiot to take the risk, especially after making me wait this long. Compatibility is one thing, but there's no guarantee that it will work without a hitch."
"Fair enough, but why are you still here?"
Another explosive shell slammed the island's field. "Damnit, Yuu... that's not how you should talk to someone who's about to bring you out of this deep shithole."
"You're gonna help us?"
"Can't you tell? I'm in a good mood." She started walking towards the sea. "We'll talk again after you sort this mess out."
"That's... concerning."
"I'd say you're the one who's messed up." The battleship stopped, looking over her shoulder. "You know that buttering up Serra won't do shit in the end, right?"
He smirked. "I'm chasing down ghosts for years—maybe you're not that far from the truth."
Inazuma looked at him. Ghosts?
"I feel quite refreshed after that warm-up earlier." Reizel turned around, resting both hands on her waist. "You two coming with me or not?"
The Chi-class cruiser, still busy inspecting the aircraft, simply waved her hand. "I'll pass."
"How about you, Selene?"
The destroyer demon didn't move a muscle as Chikuma braided a chunk of her side ponytail. "You didn't even help me brush my hair earlier," she said. "I wish they could kick that cheeky ass of yours for once."
"Sorry, what was that?"
"Nothing. I wish you good luck."
"Remind me why are we friends again." She shrugged and bolted towards the water. "Gotta do some pest cleaning now."
Inazuma ran after Reizel. "Please don't kill them!"
"I'll spare 'em if you surrender your body to me!" The battleship laughed at Inazuma's horrified face. "Just messing with ya!"
She flashed a two-finger salute before a vicious release of energy sent a deluge of seawater around her. Inazuma was caught by the mag-ion burst, sending her rolling back to the others.
She sat up and turned towards the commander. "Don't look at me like that," he said. "You were already lucky enough she didn't assimilate you on the spot."
"W-What?" Ryuujou said. "You tellin' me she can actually do that?"
One of his eyebrows rose. "Technically, you guys can do it too."
The carrier's eyes narrowed in response. "You really oughta choose your allies carefully."
As Chikuma did the finishing touches of her handiwork, Selene finally looked up and glanced around. "Does anyone have a mirror in their person?"
The commander motioned at Hatsuyuki, who still had her equipment out. He asked her to turn around so that he could open up a small panel on the modular pack's main unit. With a few button presses, the left turret drone hovered to the destroyer's side and projected a hologram displaying the video feed of the drone's camera.
He grabbed the hovering turret and faced it towards the abyssal destroyer. "Thank you." She admired her image for a moment. "You work fast—please teach me how to do it sometime."
Chikuma smiled. "With a silky, flowing hair like yours, it would be a waste not to try out different styles. I'm curious on how you keep your hair healthy like that as well."
Selene's face darkened for a moment. "Are you implying that we Abyssals are just taking our natural beauty for granted?"
"A-Ah, I didn't mean to offend." Chikuma paused as she secured a small crescent-shaped clip at the tip of the braid. "Your hair just reminds me of Marvie."
She blinked. "What's a marvie?"
"You haven't met her yet? She's—"
"Everyone," Aster's voice dominated the open channel, "we have to get going. The Navy has dispatched another fleet in their hunting party—it won't be long before they get here as well."
"About that…" Selene watched the abyssal battleship making a beeline towards the horizon. "I thought you guys are in a hurry."
"A-Ah, I'm sorry," Chikuma said, standing up. "We got carried away there!"
"I'm just waiting for you guys to finish," the commander said.
Selene looked at the hologram for the last time. "Am I that frightening to you, Liberator?"
"Like a rock sinking into a chasm."
"Hmm? That's a rather vague statement, coming from you."
"To be honest, my whole body's coming down with this horrible drowning sensation whenever you're next to me."
"D-Drowning?" Inazuma asked.
Selene smirked. "Not as terrifying as the night's darkness, don't you think?" She stood up and patted the sand off her legs. "We'll keep those girls busy for you. Please do what you must."
They boarded Mica's aircraft and set a new course to their destination.
Inazuma requested the fairies to monitor the engagement between the Navy fleet girls and Reizel's party. As expected, the Abyssals were able to hold their opponents off as long as they did. They were outnumbered, but they certainly weren't outmatched—even the reinforcements suffered some parting damages, which forced them to halt their pursuit efforts and send the injured back to Orion.
And it seemed that Reizel and the others were holding back as the Navy fleet had reported no fatalities in the encounter.
An undisputed display of ferocity and tactical know-how.
While Inazuma was relieved that the battleship heeded her words, she couldn't help but feel wary about it as well. In fact, it felt more of a striking message than them acting out of mercy—a message that only reaffirmed just how powerful the Abyssals were.
Well, what else would be the reason why they were branded as humanity's sworn enemy?
In the midst of her musing, Hatsuyuki suddenly spoke:
"Commander," she hesitated for a moment, looking down, "do we have a chance of winning against them?"
"Still thinkin' about that?" Ryuujou said. "A bit of confidence and pride won't hurt ya."
"There is some truth in Reizel's words," the commander said. "The earlier years of the war were certainly bloodier, pushing us back against the wall. They've only gone until that point—they never finished us off."
"Then I'd love to hear the crappy excuse they have about it."
He shook his head. "I'd want to know myself. I'm still missing a lot of things before I can even come up with a sound theory."
Hatsuyuki took a deep breath, eyeing her terminal. "I-If that's the case, then what's the point of fighting a hopeless battle?"
"Whaddya mean?" the carrier asked. "We got no choice—it's either them or us. And as much as I hate those Navy shills, I gotta admit that they've done plenty of stuff to even the scales for us."
"T-That's what I'm worried about. We're done for if all of the Abyssals in the world decided to work together."
Inazuma stared at Luceila's sleeping form for a moment. "But… there has to be a way to prevent more fighting, right?"
"Another way?"
Her friends looked at her expectantly. She closed her eyes for a moment, organizing her thoughts. "I mean… have we ever tried everything we can to reach out to our enemies?
"Back in the training camp, our superior officers would often tell us that the Abyssals are nothing more than a horrible blight in the world's oceans, and that it's pointless to settle everything out with words. The Navy has conditioned everyone's mindset that the only option we have left is complete and utter annihilation of the enemy. Of course, that isn't true at all.
"Thanks to the commander, I've learned that Abyssals were much more than that. They're no different from us—they can smile, cry, be hurt, and care for their friends.
"If he managed to accomplish something that what was believed by many to be impossible, I think we haven't exhausted all of our options just yet.
"T-That's why we should—" Her composure began to crumble as she was now conscious of everybody staring attentively at her face. She shrunk back in her seat, hugging her knees. "P-Please don't stare like that..."
"H-How inspiring!" Zuihou said, clasping her hands over her chest. "N-Now I see why you're the Liberator's secretary!"
"Don't ya just wish that she was a member of the Joint Committee?" Ryuujou said, grinning. "Heck, I'd vote for her as Peacekeeper delegate just to get her in there."
Inazuma waved both hands in front of her. "I couldn't possibly pull that off!"
"I think you're more than qualified after hearin' that speech of yours! You can even do us a favor and smack a few of those bastards for us!" She turned to Chikuma. "Whaddya think?"
The heavy cruiser looked a bit more solemn. "I wish it were that easy," she said. "Reizel said it herself—they don't care about winning. They just want this senseless bloodshed to continue."
Inazuma paused. "It's true that the Abyssals have taken away countless of lives that we could never hope to replace, but the choice to become the better person has always been there. I will continue to fight alongside everybody else to help accomplish that."
Chikuma made a small smile. "I've already given up a long time ago, so I won't be able to share your sentiments. I'm not saying that you should do the same though." She lowered her head. "This world is a cruel place, and we need more people like you to compensate for that."
"A-Ah," Inazuma uttered, bowing down, "I didn't mean to force my thoughts on everyone. I-I'm sorry."
Ryuujou chuckled. "Be glad that runt is in the cockpit or she call you out again on about bein' preachy."
The heavy cruiser just shook her head, still smiling. "If you truly believe there's a better path that we can take right now, you should stand tall and persevere to overcome everything fate has in store for you."
"Another way, huh?" Hatsuyuki's eyes widened. "I… I have to connect to the net!"
"What for?" the commander asked.
The destroyer stood up from her seat. "N-Nothing. Just… research and stuff."
His face suggested that he didn't buy it, but he let her go nonetheless. "Alright," Zuihou said, "I'm all fired up too! Time to show everyone what I'm capable of!"
"You know," he said, "you shouldn't really say things like that."
"U-um, why?"
"All that enthusiasm's fine, but don't act like I'm giving out incentives for your performance later."
"You shouldn't tell us discouraging things either," Inazuma told him.
"What I'm saying is, do your part and support one another just this once—we'll all die here otherwise."
"Like I said, that doesn't help at all! How about giving us an inspiring speech to raise the fleet's morale instead?"
"Commander," Aster said, "we have detected two underwater signatures moving in our present course, bearing one four zero."
"It must be them." He checked his terminal and activated its receiver. "Goya, you there?"
"Oh, loud and clear! You're gonna pick us up, right?"
"Yeah, I'll notify Mica to guide you two."
"Took you guys long though. I was wondering if the Navy caught up with you."
"We just took a slight detour. Anyway, have anything unusual to report?"
"We just finished scouting the route for the second time. Check your terminal—I'll send the waypoint data now."
"Appreciate it."
A few minutes later, two fleet girl submarines emerged out of the floor hatch. "Nice ride," I-168 said as she studied the vessel's interior with her eyes. "It's kinda weird that it looks larger on the inside."
"Hmm... what's the deal with these two?" Ryuujou asked the commander. "They ain't Irregulars."
"I borrowed them from Basilica," he replied.
"Deserters, huh?"
"I know that those guys owe me a few favors, but I still had to choose my options carefully."
I-58 nodded. "It's a bit nerve-wracking that we finally get to participate in something as large as this in a long while." She saluted as she faced the commander. "It's an honor to be able to work alongside you once more, Liberator."
The commander stood up. "Likewise," he said, walking towards the pantry. "Everyone should prep up now, just in case. We'll never know if we'll be able to sneak our way to the island perfectly."
"We're not going to wait for the others?" Chikuma said.
"That's the plan." He grabbed two rejuvenator bottles inside and handed them to the submarines. "I need to look into a few things first though."
"Like what?" Ryuujou asked.
The commander remained silent for a moment. "You'll have your answers later. I'm getting a bit impatient myself."
But to Inazuma, it only spawned more questions in her mind. Could it be related to the person he was looking for? In any case, she had to trust him for now.
With their aircraft submerged once again, they continued their cruise to the target island past nightfall. Mica launched a drone to the surface to scout the immediate area ahead of them. Its video feed was reflected on an overhead monitor beside the cockpit's access hatch, providing them an unforeseen tidbit:
"There are at least four islands in this sector," Chikuma said. "I thought we should only find one here."
"I only told you guys about the island on the north. That's their base of operations."
"Th-Then we have to deal with three more bases too?" Zuihou said.
"No, they haven't expanded to the other islands just yet." He paused. "Well, except the nearest island from us. We're going in there first."
"Your plan's all over the place," Ryuujou said. "Not that I'm complainin'."
"No one asked for this, mind you."
The pair of submarines left the vessel and guided them to the island that was devoid of any human structures. They maneuvered to its cliffside and went through a narrow cavity several feet from the waterline. Exiting the passageway, they found themselves inside an underground docking bay. Inazuma and the others prepared for the worst as they emerged to the surface, but they were met with silence even when they were completely exposed in the open.
Taking a peek through the windows, Inazuma realized that the staff working there wasn't even alarmed in the slightest. The security detail, comprising of armored personnel, took notice of their arrival, but they didn't seem aware of the fact that intruders had already infiltrated the premises.
She recalled that the overall security in the sector was centered on what seemed to be their main headquarters. Whoever the people behind the base were, they must knew that their location had already been compromised and it was only a matter of time before the Navy gets there.
Still, it baffled her that they had yet to fire a single shot at them.
"Guys," Mica called out, "they want us to dock for inspection."
"What's going on?" Maricelle said. "This is supposed to be the part where they sound the alarm and fire their peashooters at us!"
"Well," Ryuujou said, "was expectin' a rowdy welcome committee to greet us, but this works too."
"Commander, are you still hiding something from us?" Inazuma asked. "Tell us!"
His eyes narrowed. "It had to be her… but what is she planning?"
"Her? Who are you talking about?"
He shook his head. "We should focus on disabling this facility's integral systems. It should give us that needed grace period before their headquarters are alerted of our presence here."
"I… I don't like this."
"There's no time to chicken out now." He turned towards the cockpit. "Mica, tell them that you need to recharge your craft's mag-ion batteries."
The aircraft hovered over an empty holding platform in the dry dock. Heavy-duty locks secured it in place while a mechanical arm attached a mag-ion charging hose into the side of the vessel. The security units walked towards the platform with guns at their side.
"Uh, they want us to come out," Mica said. "What now?"
"Not yet."
"Err… they gave me ten seconds to—"
"Don't worry, we have Marvie."
The aircraft began to tremble as repeated thuds were heard above them. They could also hear someone shouting outside, rallying the other men to take their position around the dry dock. "T-Their maintenance equipment is—!" Mica cried. "Y-Yuu, they're gonna dismantle Stork!"
The commander's composure began to waver. "Marvie? You sure are taking your time with it."
"W-Wait a minute! Is she sleeping with her eyes open?! How's that even—" The armed men began to open fire, pelting the aircraft in all directions. "Marvie, wake up!"
Luceila had gotten up from her nap. "Whaa… what's happening?" she asked. "Is Selene throwing a hissy fit again? Or was it Reizel?"
"Screw this!" Maricelle's left hand morphed into a naval gun. "Out of the way!"
Ryuujou and Chikuma tackled the abyssal destroyer down before she could make things worse for them. "Mica, open the hatch!" the commander shouted. "We can't sit here all day!"
"What? You know I can't do that without deactivating Stork's mag-ion field!"
A sudden explosion shook the aircraft, blasting it away from the platform's holding locks. The vessel crashed on its side, which sent everyone tumbling inside the compartment. "W-What was that?" Hatsuyuki asked, cowering in between the seats.
Maricelle managed to break free from the two fleet girls and checked the control panel next to the rear hatch. Out of frustration, she clawed through the panel as if it was made out of paper. "Great, now we're stuck! Again!"
"Y-Ya idiot!" Ryuujou cried. "How do we get out now?!"
"Blame our dumb pilot! This plane's just as stupid as you too!"
"I dare ya to say that again!"
"I regret giving you too much credit—you fleet girls are all hopeless morons!"
Ryuujou lunged at Maricelle, and the two of them swung heavy fists at each other. "Good grief!" Chikuma tried to hold the carrier off. "We don't have time for any of this!"
"Stay outta this!" Ryuujou pushed the cruiser away, only to receive a vicious elbow from the destroyer afterwards. "I'll make it quick and tear the skin off that smug face of hers!"
Inazuma decided to intervene, but she was knocked away by a backhanded blow from the abyssal princess. The frenetic situation was getting the best of her, so she placed all her hopes on the commander to quell the heated tension between the unrelenting carrier and destroyer.
However, he just stood there, watching the girls slug it out while spouting insults at each other. Inazuma called out to him, but her words—along with the desperate cries of Mica and Chikuma—didn't seem to reach him. His inaction only made her more frightened as it could only grow worse from there.
The drumming of bullets against the mag-ion field gradually weakened as panicked screams surfaced through the erratic burst of fire. "That didn't end like it should, huh?" I-58 said. "We'll draw their fire—get out before they squish you in there!"
"Wish you jumped in a little sooner," the commander said.
"I-I thought you guys had it."
"Definitely not."
He shut his eyes for a moment and slammed the wall with the back of his fist. The lights within the vessel flickered as the hatch suddenly disengaged from its locks. He walked up to the hatch and followed up with a kick to restart its lowering mechanism. Without another word, he slipped through the widening gap and disappeared from sight. "C-Commander?!" Inazuma called out. "Wait!"
Hearing more gunfire, the rest of them quickly crawled out of the aircraft to chase after him. To their relief, the remaining occupants of the docking bay started to retreat back inside the base. The parting shots of the enemies only proved as a minor annoyance, especially to Maricelle who retaliated just as quick. Her cannon blast easily tore through the heavy-duty gate, leaving a sizeable hole for them to use later.
"You guys missed out on the fun," I-168 said, twirling a combat pole.
I-58 had her lips pursed as she gazed at the unconscious bodies scattered around them. "I wouldn't exactly call this fun."
"H-Hey, shouldn't you be more careful?" Ryuujou called out to the commander. "What if ya got shot again?!"
He glanced at her with an indifferent look on his face. "I had better chances out here with you girls trying to tear each other's limbs off, don't you think?"
She shot a glare at Maricelle. "S-Sorry, just couldn't hold myself there."
"Is there a problem?" I-58 asked, staring at the group.
Inazuma and the others exchanged embarrassed looks as they followed the commander inside an enclosure with various computers and monitoring instruments. "Marvie, can you free up the stasis in this area?" he asked. "I need to access a terminal."
"Stasis?" Hatsuyuki said.
"I had her infiltrate the island's network, including some electronic systems happened to be connected in it."
"S-She can do that?"
"She's still getting used to it," he raised his right hand, emanating flecks of silver light, "and it's my fault for misjudging her abilities. Perhaps it was too much load for her to maintain a stasis field like this."
"I see," Mica said. "If I heard that right, she'll make our data gathering easier since she's kinda like hardwired to their system."
"Not really. She doesn't know how to manipulate data other than sending them to the digital shredder. Like I said, she could use a lot of practice."
"I guess that would be too convenient. If there's anything that we know most about Abyssals, it's their ability to cause widespread destruction."
He looked down at his forearm terminal, giving its screen a few taps. "In any case, her usual gimmick will compromise us sooner than simply barring all communication links to their main base."
I-168 retracted her pole to a more compact size. "Won't be long before their leaders figure it out then," she said. "What's our next game plan?"
He paused for a while before shaking his head. "Data center and the laboratory… we'll split into two teams to cover more ground."
Upon receiving a notification from her fairy crew, Inazuma checked her terminal to see an interactive map. She quickly realized that she was looking at the layout of the docking bay they were currently at. A quick pinch on the screen and the map zoomed outwards, giving her a bird's eye view of the island.
The underground installation was surprisingly expansive, spanning multiple floors and facilities. Their target areas were conveniently marked as well: the data center was located further to the north, while the research building was a separate structure located to their east.
"You look worried," Maricelle said. "There are only humans in here, right? Those pests won't be a problem at all."
"That's what they want you to think." He looked at Zuihou. "Can you leave this one to us?"
"E-Eh?" The look of disbelief on the carrier's face was brief, but the damage was already apparent in her dim eyes. "I… I can't join you guys?"
"I was thinking that you should stay here and watch Mica for us."
Zuihou looked down for a second. "Y-Yes, being the rear guard is fine too," she said. "You can count on me!"
I-58 glanced at the gate. "Alright, we'll take the laboratory. Sounds good, Imuya?"
"I don't mind, but who's gonna go with us?" I-168 replied.
Chikuma pulled Ryuujou along with her as she approached the submarines. "H-Hey," the carrier said, "what's gotten into you?"
"Joining them is out of the question if you can't even control your temper."
"W-Why am I the only one gettin' chewed out here? That bitch's always startin' trouble for us!"
The heavy cruiser rubbed her forehead. "See? This arrangement should do, Admiral."
"All settled then?" I-168 asked, deploying her combat pole once more. When everyone gave her a collective nod, she returned the gesture with a grin. "Best of luck, everyone!"
They walked through the gate and went their separate ways upon reaching a storage hub for shipments and the like. Inazuma's group took the western stairwell to access the administrative wing and the staff quarters. The base's security had set up chokepoints along their way, but they only served as set pieces for Maricelle to destroy in a furious blaze.
"Wow," the abyssal destroyer said, "do these fools actually think they stand a chance against us?"
The commander held up his hand, and the rest of them stopped before a hallway intersection. "Those weapons they're using… I need to look into it later too."
"Are they… making their own versions of the Navy's prototype MAUs?" Hatsuyuki asked.
"The fact that they have them mass-produced certainly opens up a lot of implications."
"Why do you care though?" Maricelle said.
"It's just odd that most of their weapons can't even put a dent on your natural field. Not saying that I know everything about anti-abyssal weaponry, but I was expecting them to be more effective than that if they're so confident on using them against us."
"It's a waste to get so worked up about something so trivial. Save your energy for our goal."
"I know." He then signalled Inazuma to occupy the opposite corner. "And being cautious is never a bad thing."
Before she could move to her position, Inazuma heard a clang from her core's funnel. "Wh-What was that?" she asked, looking behind her.
He put an index finger over his lips. "Insurance."
She set that detail aside for now as she slipped through the door on her left. She quickly scanned the room with her eyes. Relieved that its interior was empty, she made her exit and rejoined the group.
Once they were convinced that their immediate surroundings were clear, they decided to push on and advance into an open hall. Silence pervaded the area as they moved through the hall's lounge area.
"There's... no one here," Hatsuyuki muttered. "Where did they go?"
Maricelle just shrugged with a conceited look on her face. "They're probably busy trying to barricade another room ahead. Idiots."
The commander stopped next to the circular bar next to the lounge and hopped onto the nearest stool. "Come out. I need to ask you guys a few questions."
"C-Commander?" Inazuma uttered.
He slouched a bit forward and clasped his hand. "Some guy at Orion already did a similar trick. Got a bit paranoid after that, to be honest."
Inazuma followed his gaze and noticed a blinking device under the bench just past them. A-An impaler mine?! No, what was—
She did a double take and let out a panicked gasp upon seeing another mine attached underneath the commander's stool. "C-Commander! D-Don't move!"
"What?" Flustered, she could only make wild gestures towards the stool. He made an exasperated face as he snatched the anti-personnel mine from the front. "This?"
"H-How did you—"
The overwhelming swirl of emotions in her chest turned for the worst as the armored soldiers quickly sealed off the hall's exits and flanked them on all sides. The commander, however, wasn't intimidated in the slightest. His piercing gaze swept the room, all the while twiddling the seemingly-defunct mine with his misty fingers.
One of the armored personnel stepped out of formation. "Hold it—we need him alive," he called out. "I'm sure the Navy would pay us a hefty sum for a high-profile fugitive like him."
His augmentation suit stood out from his peers as it was less bulky and more streamlined in most of its components. The pair of mag-ion cannon modules affixed on his back made him more threatening.
"So you were expecting us after all," the commander said, sticking a small disc on the mine. "But I'm not too sure about that quick buck scheme of yours. Last time I've been there, most of them seem to be so adamant on drilling a hole in my skull."
"Huh, quite a smartass, aren't we?" He made a sweeping gesture with his assault rifle. "We knew enough that you can talk big just because you have those girls with you."
"That much's obvious." The commander looked up and narrowed his eyes. "So, you guys are operating under the Dusk Arbiters, right? What's your game?"
"Know your place. That ego of yours isn't going to save you and your comrades."
His face twisted in disgust. "Tch, even here..."
"C-Commander, what should we do?" Inazuma asked.
A soldier from the back stepped behind the squad leader. "Adjutant Ferrer, the other team has located her in the upper storage deck. They're currently engaging her monstrous experiments as we speak."
"What they were thinking, accepting someone like her in our ranks?"
"Your orders?"
"To think that she's working with the Liberator all along… that woman's getting on my nerves."
"Why is everyone so quick on jumping the gun lately?" the commander said.
Ferrer gave him a stern look. "Tell them to keep her busy. We'll deal with her next soon."
Maricelle, growing impatient, aimed her cannon at the group of soldiers on her left. "I'm impressed—these humans have their backbones intact, but they sure talk a lot for their worth. Some kind of coping mechanism, maybe?"
"Put your weapon down, girl. Any more sudden movements or I'll blow his head off clean."
The commander left the stool and faced him. "Not exactly a menacing threat when the opposition is clearly packing more firepower than you."
"I told you to stay put."
"You're gonna shoot me now?" He took another step forward. "I thought you wanted me alive?"
Ferrer let loose a burst of bullets toward the bottles on a hanging rack. "Don't test me!"
He held up his hands. "Make up your mind already. Are you going to shoot me or not?"
As the rising tension was about to reach its tipping point, Inazuma happened to notice a spider-like creature creeping under the benches. Upon reaching the last row seats, it crawled up to the backrest and jumped into the face of the nearest unsuspecting soldier.
"W-What the—" The frantic screams just bought the commander enough time to launch an adhesive pin from his vambrace unit, hitting the security squad leader on the chest. The rest of them retaliated afterwards with hail of lead, forcing him to take cover behind the counters. "You had your chance—I suppose bringing in a corpse will be much less of a hassle for us!"
"Fine with me, but you guys forgot something! You can have it back!"
The mine that he had earlier was now floating above the enemy group, its front sensors facing downward. They had little time to react as it released a concentrated mag-ion burst at them, but they were still quick enough to deploy a protective field over their heads. The discharge caused a vicious outward force as it collided with the field, knocking the soldiers down to the floor.
As chaos unfolded around her, Inazuma slid under a counter so that she could enter the bar's interior. "C-Commander, are you—" She saw him clutching his bleeding leg. "C-Can you still move?"
"Y-Yeah," he replied as he continued to tap on his terminal, "just a nick anyway."
"B-But you look pale. We should call the others to—"
"I'm fine, alright? Worry about those guys shooting at us."
"A-About that," Inazuma winced as a devastating explosion shook the building's foundations, "w-what should we do?"
"Just lower the output of your shots and—" He grumbled as he stared down at his terminal's screen. "Mica, you have some explaining to do."
"Wh-What is it?"
"You're going to get me killed—the VOKS program modules in my terminal still need to be manually configured!"
She let out a nervous chuckle. "I-It just slipped through my mind! Honest!"
"Don't you go 'Oops, I forgot, tee-hee!' on me!"
A shrill, resonating noise suddenly erupted, drowning all the gunfire. Inazuma knew they had to pay the price for stalling for so long:
A fierce surge of mag-ions ripped through their cover and nearly struck them. As if it wasn't enough, Inazuma felt another discharge, and the explosion that followed sent them tumbling away. When the throbbing pain began to subside, she forced herself to open her eyes and search for the commander. She found some comfort that he had his personal field protecting him, but she still had to make sure.
Forcing herself to roll to her side, she found him lying just next to the bar's rubble, motionless and covered with wood splinters and other fragments. "C-Commander!"
Maricelle cleaved off the arm of the soldier restraining her and hurried to their aid, but Ferrer already had the barrel of his rifle shoved against the commander's head. "You think you can hide from me?"
"You know," the abyssal destroyer glanced at the commander, "I could kill all of you here in an instant, but he specifically told me to hold back. I don't want to disappoint him too much, so let me tell you something good: if you order your men to stand down and leave this base right now, I won't mind sparing everyone this one time."
The man grinned, waving his free hand. "Honestly, I do wonder how you made some of those monsters like her so docile and obedient to you. Is there some kind of brainwashing involved to trick them into thinking that you are their master? Loyal pets do serve their purpose blindly, and we can never have enough of—"
A loud bang pierced the air and a soldier on her left slumped to the floor. "I take it back—you fools are actually suicidal, huh?" She pointed her gun at their leader. "Fine with me, I'll just slaughter every last one of you maggots here and now."
"That's how it's going to be then? I'll dispose of your precious… master first." He made a hesitant look on his forearm terminal. "And that treacherous woman will be dealt with afterwards."
"Just do it already." Maricelle covered her mouth with her free hand as she yawned. "Do you actually think you're scaring anyone with those half-assed threats of yours?"
Letting out a muffled growl, the man shifted his stance as he put a finger on the rifle's trigger. "I had enough of your—" His face twisted into a mix of shock and disbelief. "Wh-What is this?! I… I can't move!"
She smiled. "Underestimating us will cost you your head."
"S-Shoot them! Shoot them now!"
The commander quickly propped his body up with an arm and slid a steel disc to the group behind the squad leader. Before the soldiers could respond in any way, the disc projected a circular mag-ion field that threw them upwards and pinned them to the ceiling. Those who weren't caught in it fired at him, but he deployed a pale blue mag-ion field with his hand forward. The projectiles instantly stopped upon contact with the field, losing all their energy.
"Huh, is this supposed to happen?" he asked.
Inazuma quickly stood up and activated her shield's field projector, protecting the commander's blindside. "I-I thought you were unconscious. I got too worried there."
He flushed all the suspended bullets in his field, only to catch more as they moved to a concrete post. "The update sure took its sweet time, but I'm ready now."
"So, how did I do?" Maricelle asked through the comm link.
"Perfect," he replied. "I've gotten rusty using this, so let me have a bit of practice."
"I'll give you some space then! Try to keep up!"
Maricelle's cover fire proved to be too effective—her high-explosive shots forced the enemies to scatter and flee without any chance of retaliating. Using her shoulder-mounted turret, she picked out her disoriented targets one by one, and those foolish enough to sneak up to her were met with a much harsher punishment. Usually dismembered limbs.
Not too far from Maricelle, Hatsuyuki was unleashing a flurry of shells with her MAU's autocannons. Unlike the ruthless destroyer though, she was merely pressuring the enemies to retreat out of the hall. Inazuma and the rest soon followed her approach, and they were able to demoralize and drive them off, save for those who were already incapacitated or disabled by the commander's field traps.
"C-Commander, nine o'clock!" Hatsuyuki shouted.
He was able to deploy his shield in time, but the blast sent him flying back.
"We're not finished yet, Liberator!"
Now wearing his helmet's visor, Ferrer shot at them in quick succession. "This guy's just begging to die, isn't he?" Maricelle said, crawling behind a broken display table.
"Wh-What are you going to do?" Inazuma asked as she followed her.
"I'll give him what he wants—I'll slit his throat since he's already getting annoying."
"No, you can't do that!"
"Say that to the pile of meat sitting beside you." Inazuma didn't want to look as she could already pick out the pungent smell of flesh nearby, so she snatched the abyssal princess' forearm before she could get away. "I'll rip your arm off! Unhand me this insta—"
A resounding crash rattled the hall, causing their struggle to stop for a moment. Inazuma didn't hear any more cannon fire as well. "Guys," Hatsuyuki called out through the comm link, "it's done."
Ferrer had his back against the wall, resisting the invisible force restraining him. He kicked the wall and he managed to break free, but he was immediately thrown back when the commander pointed his hand at him.
Maricelle grumbled as she yanked Inazuma's arm away and left without another word. "W-What just happened?" Inazuma asked.
"Do you only have cheap tricks in your repertoire?" Ferrer asked the commander. "Now I see that you've only earned your reputation out of cowardice."
"Well, you're not wrong. That's exactly why I'm still alive, you know?"
"W-What?"
"You should learn to fear cowards and weaklings. They tend to be meticulous on designing a course of action to get what they want, more so when pushed into a corner. Since they're afraid, they'll overcompensate—a footnote that most people often ignore or dismiss."
"Spare me the lecture. Finish me already."
He brought his hand to the face of the adjutant. "No can do. I'm only here for answers, and I'm sure you'll be able to provide a few for me."
Ferrer grunted. "What, are you telling me that you can read minds too?"
"Hmm, I wish I could." The commander grimaced, hesitating for a moment. "Hold still."
The receptors in his hand emitted a faint, silver light as the augmentation suit of the adjutant began to produce clicking sounds. The moment he touched his helmet, the suit's components instantly broke off and fell to the ground. Inazuma was left speechless as the clanging noises from the armor pieces reverberated throughout the hall.
Three cards suddenly materialized in front of the commander. "And here they are," he said, snatching the floating cards. "Looks like you guys have been busy to make this much progress."
Ferrer collapsed to his knees. "Wh-What did you just do?"
"Like I said before, I'm just looking for answers."
"Those are C2 modules," Hatsuyuki said. "H-How come he can use it?"
"Wow," Mica said, "did I hear that right? He must be using a pretty beefy battery to power it up! Check his suit!"
He looked down at the clutter of steel before him, shifting a few pieces with his foot. "It looks fancier, but it's still a Class 3 suit." He separated one card with his other hand. "The power source must be inside the auxiliary pack module."
"Hey," Maricelle said, "are you guys seriously more interested in those junk than those huge signature readings that came up just now?"
Inazuma recalled some energy spikes in the further areas of the base, but she was too occupied to analyze it in detail. "Signature readings?" she asked.
Her face froze for a moment before twisting it into a look of utter disbelief. "Seriously. Your incompetence is just too—"
"Miss Maricelle," Aster said, "we can confirm that as well. However, they seem to be masking their signatures for us to identify them properly. We're trying our best to get around it."
Inazuma closed her eyes and strained her senses, reaching out to the furthest areas of the installation. It took her several seconds to get a lock on the two unassuming signatures beyond them, but what stood out the most was a familiar feeling that resonated with her heart somehow.
Sorrow. Guilt. Regret.
Emotions that seemed to have surface on their own as she held onto her thoughts like an iron grip.
She concentrated hard in her second sweep of the base, but those were the only things she could pick out with her radar. "I-Is it Akatsuki and Murakumo?!"
"Stop being ridiculous and get your head sorted out," the abyssal princess replied. "Even a destroyer of my level can't produce enormous amounts of ambient mag-ions like that."
"They mentioned something about fighting some experiments," Hatsuyuki said. "C-Could it be… ?"
The commander's face darkened, looking at Ferrer. "What's going on in there?"
"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you know better since you're friends with that woman?"
"Hardly. She turned her back on us when we needed her the most."
The adjutant paused for a bit. "She already killed all of my men there. I have nothing else to say to you."
The commander snapped his fingers, and the soldiers stuck in the ceiling suddenly fell down. "We've already spilled a lot of blood in this hall alone. I suggest leaving this place fast before the cavalry gets here." One soldier levelled his rifle at him, but the commander pointed to his left, flinging the weapon out of the enemy's grasp. "But if you really wish to continue this, then go ahead. Mari already demonstrated that some of us here aren't as merciful as I am."
Taken aback, the other soldiers stood down and looked at the adjutant. "S-Sir, what now?" one of them asked.
Ferrer, now crouching against the wall, looked up and closed his eyes. "They already had us by the neck. What do you expect me to do?"
Inazuma sighed. They wouldn't have to worry about fighting any more soldiers in their search, but they couldn't afford to be complacent just yet. The commander announced that there would a slight change of plans as he wanted to investigate the sources of those mag-ion signatures. The lack of movement from the signatures only meant that the people behind it were expecting some company.
She already had a faint idea of the things that might transpire later, but all the brain-churning she did on their way there was making her more uneasy and exhausted.
They took a detour through the staff quarters to reach the gate leading to the cargo bay. The commander stepped in front of a computer panel on the wall and operated it. "Marvie, try opening this gate."
As they waited for the gate to open, they could suddenly hear a faint yet piercing noise in the distance. "Sirens?" Hatsuyuki said. "They're not from this island though."
"Looks like they're finally here," he said.
"Miss Minako and the others... ? But how did the Arbiters know about our plan?"
"They already knew I would tip the location of their bases when we set off to Orion more than a week ago."
"I see… so that's why we went ahead first. Still, they should've found out that we left Orion earlier. Did we get lucky?"
Maricelle faced Hatsuyuki "You knew those guys too, huh?" she said. "Never heard of them, to be honest."
Hatsuyuki put a hand on her chin. "The Freedom Arbiters... was an infamous NGO that exposed different anomalies and scandals in the Naval Domain following the events of Midsummer Exodus. The group was considered one of the most important driving forces in the Navy's reformation campaign in the past decade."
"Ho-Hold on," Inazuma said, "why are you bringing up the Freedom Arbiters? What do they have to do with this place?"
"Everything."
"H-Huh? Commander mentioned about a group called the Dusk Arbiters, but that can't be a coincidence, can it?"
Hatsuyuki blinked, looking a bit surprised. "The Dusk Arbiters is a shadow subsidiary of the Freedom Arbiters. It's kinda like an open secret... with all the evidences submitted in the Nexus Archive over the years."
"I-Is that really true?"
"The archive has conclusive evidence about its existence... but no one really knows the details beyond that. There's also this popular rumor where the Freedom Arbiters is simply a dummy organization to hide the real deal from public eyes."
Maricelle cocked her head to the side, tapping her foot. "You haven't explained why they can operate bases like this one and have their own private military fo—" Her eyes narrowed as she looked upwards. "Okay, you guys felt that, right?"
Inazuma nodded. Any strong signature reading was impossible to miss after all.
"We are detecting multiple mag-ion detonations from within the Arbiters' headquarters," Aster said. "Initial readings suggest that an abyssal ship is behind the ruckus there."
"Commander, is it one of our allies?" Inazuma asked.
"No, I have nothing to do with it."
"Works for us," Maricelle said. "It should keep them busy until we finish what we need to do here."
Inazuma bit her lip. The things that they had to unravel just keep piling up, and she imagined that it wouldn't slow down anytime soon.
He looked up from his terminal screen. "Marvie? Still there?"
"She's not responding," Mica said. "Try checking the panel again."
He narrowed his eyes and kicked the gate instead. The overhead lights suddenly changed from red to blue, and they heard a loud hissing sound from the gate as it began to part from the center.
"Uh, okay. That works too."
They stepped into the cargo bay bathed in moonlight and saw a woman sitting on a stack of freight containers. While clad in an oversized coat, her face's unnaturally pale skin seemed to reflect the light above as she moved her head at certain angles, which made an impression that she was an otherworldly spirit.
At the central loading platform beneath her were the unmoving bodies of the facility's security force; some of them were mutilated into piles of sloppy tissues and fluids.
She didn't seem to mind the horrid sight or smell of the corpses as she was completely absorbed typing on the holographic interface beside her. However, she wasn't completely defenseless with the presence of the suppressed signatures flanking her. As they approached the platform, two silhouettes appeared from the shadows and walked towards the platform railings.
Inazuma froze, recognizing the pair. "Th-Those are—"
The two Irregulars, wearing skin-tight suits beneath their coats, leaned on the railing. "Hello," Scylla said, "I was looking forward to meet all of you again."
"You're late, Yuu," the gray-haired woman said. "Don't tell me they actually gave you trouble even with three of those girls at your side."
"C-Commander, who is she?" Inazuma asked.
Her teal eyes darted to and fro at the group. "You didn't even tell them about me? Still careful as ever, I see." Her translucent interface disappeared as she finally stopped typing and faced them. "It can't be helped—I shall provide the answers for him. I'm Emery, former Navy researcher and Yuu's ex-girlfriend."
"E-Ex-girlfriend?!"
The woman had a satisfied look on her face as she garnered quite a reaction from everyone, save from the commander himself. "This sort of prank always ticked you off back then." She put on a more serious expression as her eyes settled back on him. "I'm a bit disappointed now."
"I'm taking you home," he replied.
"Taking me to where now? The last time we met, I thought you hated me so much that you wanted to kill me?"
"I had enough time to think about how pointless that idea was. I couldn't care less about you, but Mica certainly does. Don't make this any more complicated for her."
"Is she… listening to us right now?" Her face softened for a moment. "Mica, I've told you countless times that I have to finish what I… we have started. Be a good girl for your cousin dearest and wait for me just a little longer, okay?"
"She waited long enough." His voice wavered. "Would you rather be greeted by corpses the next time you see us?"
Emery grimaced. "My love for you isn't any less than Mica's. The two of you, along with Cicely and Perilla, are my only family left. What makes you think that I'm doing this just because I feel like it?"
"All you did was to constantly feed her with false hopes and selfish lies. Could you stop treating us like idiots?"
Her eyes widened and she started chuckling. "And it's about time that you stop using Mica for the sake of this argument. If you really cared about my cousin that much, then you shouldn't have left her side too back then."
He gave her a glare. "Unlike you, I never intended to—"
"Also, you're not exactly in the position to call me out when you're just as guilty as I am."
"What are you talking about?"
"I've been observing you ever since I left the task force. Like those people you detest the most, you've only wanted to maintain the world's status quo and relish on the power you have now. At the end of the day, you're no different from them."
Everyone looked at him. "C-Commander?" Inazuma uttered. "I-Is that true?"
"Didn't you join the Peacekeepers so that you could widen your influence and bolster your forces? Tell me how that is different from what I've been doing now.
"Furthermore, those girls, the Navy, the Peacekeepers… everyone's just a means to an end, right? All for your selfish needs, you lure them in with lies to get them to do your dirty work."
He gave her a pained glance and opened his mouth, but no words came out of it. He cast his gaze downwards as if to shut himself off from everyone around him.
"Y-You're wrong!"
Inazuma was taken aback. That was definitely her voice, and she didn't even realize it until Emery's piercing eyes stared into hers. She mustered up all her courage and stood her ground—there was no turning back now.
"I have only known him for a short time and we have a lot of conflicting opinions on different matters, but I know that he's not the person that you think he is!
"He treats us with respect, always thinking about our well-being. I can't believe that you're referring to the same person who always tells us to follow our heart's desire."
"Again with all these assumptions," he muttered.
"I-I'm just trying to—"
"I know. Thank you."
"That's quite touching," Emery said, "though I'm a bit envious that you found another girl to supply your daily dose of pampering."
"Stop pretending that you know everything about me."
"To be fair, you started it." She gestured her hand at him. "You have your reasons, and I have mine. The least you could do for me is to respect that."
"Leaving us is one thing, but selling off your talent and creations like this is a slap to the face to everyone who worked with us in the task force."
"Ah, so you figured out that I was helping them create their own MAUs?"
He took a deep breath. "Not exactly that, but yeah. I know that it's too good to be true that they managed to reverse-engineer the tech when it's still in its infancy."
She blinked. "You must be referring to my automatons then."
"W-Wait," Maricelle said. "You made those things?!"
"I had some help, of course. I was the head director of the project, by the way."
"Was?" Hatsuyuki said. "You don't mean…"
"They already booted me out of the project just a while ago. In fact, the Arbiters were already set on pinning the blame on me when their bases in this sector get compromised." She looked at the commander. "And us meeting here isn't just a coincidence too. I'm sure you're already aware of that, right?"
His eyes widened. "Then Zuihou was…"
"Yes, she's one of my subjects."
"And you tipped me off because… ?"
"I was aware that it was only a matter of time before they sell me out, so I made my move and beat them to the punch. They were right about not trusting me, but I didn't expect it to be so soon though. I could use a bit more time."
Inazuma made repeated glances at the Irregulars. "U-Um, were you the one ordering them to capture fleet girls?"
"Yes, what about it?" She put a hand under her chin. "I only suggested that idea because we were on a tight schedule. It was a matter of economics and nothing more."
She thought that Emery's nonchalance on her own test subjects was unsettling, but she just shook her head and moved on. "Where are Akatsuki and Murakumo?"
"I can only assume that they're already raising hell from within the headquarters." She gave her a wink. "No one stabs me in the back and gets away with it."
"What did you do to them?" the commander asked.
"Your tone suggests that I did something atrocious. You're only entitled to complain if I actually eviscerated those girls and preserved them in a jar, which I didn't."
"Knowing you, the uneasiness that I'm feeling right now is more than justified."
"Those girls have the potential I was seeking, so it's only appropriate to bestow them all the passion and wisdom I've accrued over the years!"
His face darkened. "Emery, you didn't—"
"Since when did you become a worrywart?" She crossed her arms. "You lot came here to rescue them, right? Why are you still here?"
"S-She's right," Inazuma said, turning towards the commander. "T-They might be in trouble if they ran into the abyssal ship we've detected earlier."
He didn't give any respond or acknowledgement as he was checking something in his terminal. She didn't know if she was just imagining it, but he seemed to be getting more agitated. A few more seconds passed and he suddenly put on an astonished face.
"C-Commander?"
He shook his head. "I-It's nothing."
It was obviously a lie, and yet she couldn't help but feel anxious all the same. "So, is that woman with or against us?" Maricelle asked. "That's all I want to know."
"Neither. She's a free spirit."
Unsurprisingly, Inazuma's alarm bells rang out in full intensity. She felt a bit guilty for being distrustful towards someone she barely knew, but it wouldn't hurt them to be extra careful either. Unwanted accidents would be the last thing she would ask for after all.
The abyssal princess scoffed. "As long as she doesn't get in our way, it's all good to me. If we're done here, we should head back to the docks."
"A verdict has been reached, it looks like. Take this, Yuu." Emery tossed a metallic case towards the commander. He caught it with both hands and examined its contents: two equipment cards and a small memory card. "Make sure Mica gets her hands on them."
He secured the case in a slot under his vest. "That's it?"
"I can't tell if you're being coy or not."
"There must be a good reason why you wanted to see me in person."
She smirked. "To assess how ready you are for the coming months ahead."
"Ready for what?"
"Explaining it in detail will take us until morning—you'll have your answers in that memory card I gave you." She stood up and patted her bottom. "I believe this is goodbye for now."
She turned away from the baffled commander and signalled the Irregulars towards the elevator platform. As she was about to hop off the container stack, he suddenly shot an adhesive disc at her. The second the projectile hit its mark, the gray-haired woman was immediately flung against the nearest crane beam.
Inazuma and the others readied their weapons as well, but the Irregulars didn't make a move. "Are you okay?" Scylla asked, looking up.
"I'm fine, Cicely." Emery was straight-faced as she looked at the commander. "Better explain what this is about. Perhaps you need something else from me?"
"I gave my word to Mica," he said. "I can't just let this chance slip away, can I?"
The woman grinned as she cocked her head to the side. A crackling surge of scarlet energy exploded out of her frame, rupturing the field holding her against the crane. A pinkish spherical field expanded from her body afterwards, causing the steel bar behind her to creak and give way. She hovered a few feet from the loading platform as volatile mag-ion streaks crawled throughout the storage bay, saturating the area with her energy.
Inazuma and the others were too mesmerized from the display of power that a pair of freight containers was already floating above them. She could only let out a shriek as she squeezed her eyes shut from the inevitable.
Instead of pain, she felt another surge of energy just before her. Opening her eyes, she saw the commander radiating a silvery hue. She hesitantly looked up and saw the containers, engulfed with his mag-ions, suspended just above their heads.
The erratic energy surrounding the commander swelled as he swung his right hand, launching one container towards Emery. The woman merely smiled as she crashed through the hurtling steel box. Her protective field tore through the container's entire length, spilling empty mag-ion cells and other laboratory materials across the platform.
"W-What the hell is she?" Maricelle said. "She's just human, right?"
"Yeah," the commander replied, "just with a few loose screws in her head."
Inazuma raised her eyebrow. "I-I could ask the same thing to you!"
Emery massaged her forehead with her fingertips. "I would like to avoid unnecessary confrontations whenever possible, but you're leaving me with no choice here."
Mica's voice rang out of his terminal. "S-Stop! Yuu, it's okay—let her go!"
"What?" He stretched out his hand to the hovering woman. "You've waited six years for this, and you're just going to give up now?"
"You won't be able to beat her! Her VOKS unit's parameters are drastically more powerful than the one you're using!"
"I'd like to see her try."
"J-Just listen! I don't know where she's drawing all those mag-ions, but she can easily crush you with little resistance!"
"But—"
"I… I'm really grateful, but we should focus on our mission first. I came here with you for that reason after all."
The commander paused as his shroud of white mag-ions began to dissipate. "Are you sure?"
"She isn't wrong," Emery said. "You can't beat me in my own game."
He scowled as he lowered his hand. "Count yourself lucky."
"Luck has nothing to do with it." She paused, shaking her head. "It's not that I'm actively trying to avoid you. You two already knew that the circumstances in our line of work can be exhaustively cruel, and sacrifices have to be made just for the sake of progress."
"O-Of course," Mica said, her voice breaking down. "I just... miss you so much. I always wish that we could be together for the remaining time I have left, but I also understand that you have something very important to do. That's why... that's why I'll be strong for you. I'll wait for the day you'll come back to us."
She closed her eyes. "Thank you."
Suddenly, the container rocketed forward, brushing the floating woman's mag-ion sphere and crashing into the forklifts and other trucks parked by the wall. "Get your ass out of here before I change my mind," the commander said.
"I miss that side of you too." When he gave her another dirty look, Emery only chuckled as she glanced at the night sky. "Well then, since you seem to be already committed with it, take care of cute little Mica for me."
"Don't push it."
As she began to float towards the elevator platform, Mica's voice was heard once more:
"Emy! Stay safe, okay?"
Emery looked over her shoulder, smiling. "I will."