Original A/N: "Mm. No action here. But the next entry will have action I promise!"

Planet Tianxia, Capitol Building Balcony

Hongxi: "… I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our planet home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of Our Respective Imperial Majesty's Governments-every man of them. That is the will of The Council of the Three Elders and our Three Nations. The Tianchao Celestial Empire, Han Crowned Republic, and Wa Shogunate, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Galaxy and many old and famous Planets have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Alliance and all the odious apparatus of PACT rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in Alliance and PACT occupied space, we shall fight in the asteroids clouds and endless nebulae, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in our Spacy, we shall defend our system, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight in the atmosphere, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this planet or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the stars, armed and guarded by the Imperial Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in the Heaven's good time, the New Worlds, with all their power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

Hongxi stepped back from the podium upon hearing the roaring cheers of the crowd before him and bowed respectfully. Despite being in front of a crowd of almost a million people and having cameras broadcasting his speech to the 84 billion viewers spread across this planet and all her colonies, he did not seem at all one bit phased.

Upon leaving the balcony and returning into the capitol building, he was greeted by a round of applause from the various officials and generals of all three nations. Various people came up to him to exchange bows or handshakes of respect. After greeting them with smiles, he walked on to the main hall. There Yayoi and Sun-Sin came up beside him to keep the others away. Smiling and waving, Hongxi whispered to Yayoi.

Hongxi: "How is project Yami coming along?"

Sun-Sin: "It is progressing smoothly sir. Construction will be complete in a few months' time."

Hongxi: "Haa… We could build a battleship in a few months' time. And to think this has already taken us years."

Sun-Sin: "It is delicate work sir. Non-Baryonic matter is extremely difficult to detect. Just harvesting it alone is-"

Hongxi: "I understand commander… I understand. Hm. The new pilots should be arriving today yes?"

Sun-Sin: "Yes sir, we'll be meeting them as soon as we get back to the ship."

The door in front of them slid open to reveal the outside. A car was standing by to take them to the orbital elevator. News anchors and paparazzi were there, snapping photos and asking questions only to be held back by security. Meanwhile the three continued to smile and wave as they headed toward the car. Upon entering, Yayoi let out a huge sigh and slumped down in her seat.

Yayoi: "Ahhh, that was exhausting. Suun-kuuuun."

Yayoi leaned over onto her half-brother, stretching the seatbelt to its limit.

Yayoi: "Pat your sister's head. Gumu gumu…"

Sun-Sin: "What kind of sound was that? Geez, get off me. You're being disrespectful to the captain."

Yayoi: "The captain doesn't mind right?"

Hongxi: "I don't mind."

Yayoi: "Seee? These windows are tinted too, so it's toooootally fine."

Letting out a sigh in exasperation, Sun-Sin began patting Yayoi's head.

Yayoi: "Hee hee."

Sun-Sin: "Geez, you're such a..."

Yamato, Northern Hemisphere, Ceremonial Hall

The ceremonial hall on the Yamato was a model throne room containing elements from Tianchao, Han, and Wa. It was reserved for Emperors or the Royal Families of the Three Nations should they decide to visit or stay aboard the spacecraft. About half a dozen meters away was a long table reserved for official meetings and festivities. A smaller ceremonial hall with multiple thrones in a large circle was built in the Southern Hemisphere with the same intent and purpose but for foreign rulers.
Seated in six different chairs on one side of the table were six young ladies in the uniforms of their respective nations. Some were fidgeting nervously, others were calm and composed. They were selected for this task after a long and grueling selection process, each one had claimed the honor of representing their nation on board this ship and would for the run of the operation, live on board and protect her.

Meifeng: "Mmrmmm… AaaaAAHHHH!"

Minjung: "Oh quiet would you? You're irritating me and don't you know being angry ruins your makeup?"

Izumi: "I-is that how that saying goes?"

Meifeng: "I caaan't heeelp iiit. We'll be meeting the Admiral! The Admiral himself, the boss of bosses! The big boss I tell you!"

Xue: "Hmph, what's so amazing about a man? If he calls me into his room at night, I'm going to bite it off."

Meifeng: "H-i-hiii! I'm not a guy and I'm already wincing from that."

Kyungsoon: "How shameful, as a woman one should feel proud about attracting the attention of a man."

Xue: "Proud? Men are nothing but disgusting creatures. I'll follow orders, but I'm definitely not going to make him enjoy it. On the other hand, that commander Yayoi…"

Meifeng: "Aaahh, this waiting is driving me nuts!"

Izumi: "Awawa, please calm down Meifeng. Here, would you like some tea?"

Meifeng: "Hm? Oh, thank you."

Meanwhile the only one of the group who has not said anything is Tsukiko. She simply sat at her end of the table and sipped her tea. Meifeng, who was sprawled across the table, flipped her head to the other side and started at Tsukiko.

Meifeng: "Hey, Tsukiko. How do you stay so calm? I mean, Minjung's just a rich brat and Xue hates men."

Minjung: "What did you say?!"

Xue: "Hmph, and for good reason."

Tsukiko took another sip of her tea before placing the cup down with a light clink. She then pushed back her chair and stood up.

Tsukiko: "They're here."

One of the doors to the ceremonial hall slid open, revealing Hongxi, Yayoi, and Sun-Sin.

Meifeng: "Awawawa!"

Meifeng immediately stopped leaning on the table and snapped to attention. The others immediately following suit.

Everyone-in-unison: "Sir!"

The captain and his entourage stopped in front of the table. Hongxi stared at each of the girls in the face, observing them quietly before saying.

Hongxi: "I am Admiral Hongxi of the Imperial Fleet and Captain of the Yamato. As long as you are assigned to this ship, you will address me as Captain. Do you understand?"

Everyone-in-unison: "Yes sir!"

Hongxi: "Good. You are all proud representatives of your respective nations. I can see why they chose you, and I am sure you will make your Emperor and Nation proud. You have all been given a duty, a task. That is of the utmost importance. You will protect this ship, even if it should cost you the ultimate sacrifice. Do you understand?"

Everyone-in-unison: "Yes sir!"

Hongxi: "As long as you are assigned to this ship, you are to follow my commands to the very end, no matter how insane or inhumane they may be. Do you understand?"

Everyone-in-unison: "Yes sir!"

Hongxi: "Hm. This is a war, a war that cannot be won if we play by the rules. That is all, you are dismissed. Yayoi here will show you the ship."

Yayoi: "Hai, everyone please follow me. I will take you on a tour of the ship and then to your respective quarters."

The six saluted once more before following Yayoi single file down another door. As soon as the door slid shut behind them, Hongxi asked Sun-Sin.

Hongxi: "What did you think of them?"

Sun-Sin: "From the records… They all graduated at the top of their class and have shown exceptional ability in piloting their ryders."

Hongxi: "I don't mean that, I already read through all their bios. I mean did any fancy your eye?

Sun-Sin: "S-sir?!

Hongxi: "By the end of this campaign, I'm going to make sure you find yourself a lover. And it can't be just any woman, she has to be worthy enough."

Sun-Sin: "I, I think I can handle my love life…"

Hongxi: "Don't worry about it, as my little brother I'll make sure you get taken care of."

Sun-Sin: "H-haa…."

Hongxi: "Jokes aside, I think it's a good team. They got along just fine while we waited outside that door."

Sun-Sin: "But did we really have to wait that long?"

Hongxi: "It's always good to keep tabs on how your subordinates think of you Sun-Sin. That Tsukiko, very perceptive. Anyway, think of it as resource management Sun-Sin. If you understand yourself, you will win half your battles. If you do not understand yourself, you will lose them all. Prepare the ship for launch, we leave for Planet Willis."

Sun-Sin: "Planet Willis sir?"

Hongxi: "It's not that far from the front. There should be a good number of ships docked there to resupply around this time, though I imagine the next supply shipment would not come in for a few weeks. Ships are more important than supply. We leave at once, we don't want to leave this window of opportunity."

Sun-Sin: "If you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle…
If you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one…
But if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battle s huh..?"