09:30 GST March 14th 2125
Deck 6, SDCV 21 Wolfram, 31st Combined Fleet, Earl, Earl System
An officer with copper skin and shoulder length black hair stood in the Wolfram's hangar bay, gazing up at a damaged machine as it was slowly dismantled by technicians working mechanical equipment. Dustine frowned thoughtfully and sipped on a biodegradable cup as a arm was was removed from the battroid's torso. She watched on as the damaged piece was pulled away from from the main body, then noted the technicians standing nearby. The technicians moved in quickly and inspected battroids shoulder joint with their tools. They poked and prodded at thejoint with their probes then stepped back, shaking their heads.
Dustine frowned at their body language, already figuring out that the servo motors were probably fried. 'At this rate this machine will be..'
"It looks bad for this machine doesn't it," A voice called out to her. Dustine glanced over at a woman with long brown hair and was wearing a jump suit over her uniform. The brown haired woman glanced at her uniform then smiled politely. "Long time no see, Lt Colonel Ageni."
"Acting, Shari, Acting..." Dustine sighed then slurped her coffee quietly through the small hole at the top.
"We got a memo from Hayate telling us to call you Lt Colonel." Shari smiled contritely at her.
"I'm gonna kill her..." Dustine sighed, wondered how much of the staff knows then just shook her head. She gazed at the machine thoughtfully and asked the head mechanic of the Wolfram. "Can she be salvaged?"
"Possibly," Shari said, knowing how attached pilots could get to their machines. "Our biggest concern will be frame damage... if that's warped, we may have to scrap it."
"Yeah," Dustine frowned. While she wasn't a mechanic she understood the basics. Most modern mecha were modular, and segmets could be swapped out to repair damage. But if the frame itself was wrecked, you would either have to rebuild it from scratch or scrap it.
Dustine bit her lip as the armor from the battroid was slowly removed from the frame.
"Once we get enough of the exterior off we'll hook it up to the diagnostic scanners," Shari told her.
"Right..." Dustine nodded and finished off her cup of coffee. She stared up at the machine as she watched them work, causing Shari to tug on her uniform sleeve. She blinked down at Shari with a cutely innocent expression. "Yes...what is it?"
"Why don't you go get some more coffee. You're making me nervous hanging around here," Shari smiled contritely at Dustine.
"Ah," Dustine grunted, glanced into her cup, then smiled sheepishly at Shari. "Sorry. I think I will, thanks. Keep up the good work and I'll be checking up on the progress from time to time. Okay?"
"Will you be checking up on us personally or from the office?" Shari smiled nervously.
"From the office," Dustine smiles at her apologetically, then waved at the woman with glasses and long brown hair. "Sorry to bother you. Continue your work Major Fumemio."
"Thanks for stopping by," Shari smiled a bit wider, then flashed her a salute as the copper skinned officer turned around and strode towards the hangars main entrance. "Have a good day, ma'am."
"Thanks, you too," Dustine called out as she walked towards the thick and heavily armored blast proof bulkhead door.
Super Dimensional Fortress Kaguya: Homefront
Chapter Four:Adjustments
15:00 GST That same day
"Basically, stay outta the kitchen when mama's cooking," Dustine grumbled as she stood in Hayate's office
"Oh c'mon," Hayate smiled contritely. "She didn't SAY that!"
"It amounts to it," Dustine pouted
Hayate had to fight back a laugh. She then sat back into her seat and smiled fondly at her longtime friend. "Well, you WERE looming over them like a mother hen. You shouldn't be so protective of those machines
"It was Minna's machine I was worried about, really," Dustine crossed her arms sullenly, looking like a little kid denied her cookies.
Hayate laughed now, continuing to smile at the copper skinned officer, then laced her hands while keeping her elbows on her chair's armrests. "Well, thank you for stopping in. Did you get that report I asked for done?"
"That was my excuse for coming by," Dustine agreed, handing the data stick over.
Hayate plugged the device into er tablet and scanned the report. "They were able to spot the differences in command units that well?"
"Yeah..." Dustine frowned "Thay had a 95% accuracy in nailing us."
"That's... pretty scary," Hayate said then wondered "Any ideas how to fix it?"
"Command fighters have visual cues to help pilots spot them in battle," Dustine noted then shook her head. "We just never expected that to bite us in the ass."
"I see" Hayate nodded, frowning and gaved at Dustine thoughtfully. "Command is not gonna welcome a recommendation to redesign our fighters."
"I'm standing by it," Dustine said, "if the enemy continues this tactic we HAVE to."
"Your experience does suggest one alternative," Hayate noted.
"Huh?" Dustine blinked.
"Bodyguards." Hayate smiled.
"For the command units?" Dustine asked.
"Yes," Hayate nodded then added with a knowing smile. "That's why we added the ATX team and the Lotus team to your squadron. They stand out too but they have a lot of power to their units.
"I see," Dustine noted. "So thats why. Is that the only reason?"
"Partly yes, and don't pout about it," Hayate nodded then smiled. "However, we do want you to experiment with leading a mixed wing of variable fighters and personal troopers."
"Oooh," Dustine grinned
"Don't pout if you loose them to another squadron though," Hayate reminded her.
"Yes mom," Dustine sighed.
Hayate laughed fondly.
***** 1600GST *****
"What!?" The older man blurted after hearing the news. He then scoffed at her with a mocking tone in his voice. "You were thinking that just because Ageni lead them once during the battle we thought it would be a good idea to let her lead them again. That's rich." the old man scoffed.
"That's my call to make, sir," Hayate glared at him. "Besides, due to the high causality rate we might need to make a mixed unit of variable fighters and high powered personal troopers."
"Yagami. You're making a big mistake." The older officer grumbled, frowning at the younger woman. "That woman turned down several opportunities to become a commanding officer during the last decade."
"Most were due to obligations to her family, as I recall," Hayate noted then smiled knowingly as she turned to Helena. "Regardless of her past I think we should see how she does, do you agree, Vice Admiral?"
"Aye," Helena nodded then turned to the older man. "She's right, Hikaru. Ageni at least deserves a chance."
"Hmmph," Hikaru Ichijo grunted and folded his arms. "We'll see."
"In any case, I have new order for you Hayate," Helena spoke crisply as she held out a data stick. Hayate took the stick and put it into her datapadd and glanced over the contents as Helena spoke. "Once you're teams are ready...the Wolfram and its battlegroup will setting to patrol area 13B."
"That's between Ares and Cardair." Hayate noted thoughtfully, glanced through over the orders, then looked up at Helena. "Have we been asked to keep the peace, Vice Admiral?"
"Aye, you have," Helena nodded then laced her hands in front of her. "We'd also like you to see if theres any proof of Artai meddling in their affairs. It might get messy so I suggest you send your best men for the job. I'll leave that up to you."
'I know just the people to do that sort of mission too,' Hayate smiling confidently as she answered her. "Understood, Vice Admiral. Is that all?"
"That is all, Commodore Hayate" Helena nodded to the shorter brown haired woman. "Your dismissed."
"Yes ma'am," Hayate Yagami saluted the older woman and her collegue, dropped her salute, pivoted on her heal and strode towards the door. "I'll be going now. Excuse me."
"Good luck," Helena waved to her.
"Yes, Good luck," Hikaru Ichijo sighed reluctantly as he saluted her. He frowned and decided to make a few calls. 'You're both going to need it.'
***** 09:00GST March 17th 2125AD *****
"Good morning!" Dustine called out as she walked into the large briefing room with Hayate, only to find one more squadron sitting at the table. The group of eight woman smiled fondly at her. "Eh?"
"Attention!" Nanoha barked crisply, shooting up from her seat and saluting the copper skinned woman and her superior officer. Almost immediately, the other pilots shot out of their seats too and saluted Hayate and Dustine.
"At ease," Dustine nodded to group assembled in the large sized briefing room. She turned to Hayate and murmured quietly to her superior officer. "What's with the extra squadron."
"Sorry about this...its a logistic issue we're looking into now." Hayate whispered to her. When Dustine quirked up an eyebrow in question she smiled contritely to the copper skinned pilot. "I'll explain later. Bear with it okay."
"Got it," Dustine agreed. Dustine glanced over the group, glad to see familiar faces. Nanoha's squadron sat on the left, while her squadron sat in the middle. On the right were the members of a third squad, whom Dustine mostly knew by reputation only.
Meia was a old friend, and she had pulled together a team of former discipline problems into a crack unit. Rei Miyamoto waited impatiently, the blond fidgeting in her chair. Beside her Saeko Busujima was a icy cool presence, ready to act yet calm too. Rica was leaning forward, studying a data padd intently, while Saya looked annoyed about something. Sitting next to Meia was Barnette, who was looking faintly pained as Jura checked out the pilot opposite her.
"Down girl," Barnette hissed, kicking her ankle.
"Sorry, sorry," Jura chuckled.
Diita was beaming as she excitedly said, "This will be SO cool! I can't wait!"
"How so...?" Jura asked.
"We get to work with aliens, aliens and more aliens," Diita exclaimed, looking very excited.
"Er..." Dustine frowned, blinked when someone tugged on her sleeve then looked at Hayate.
"Don't try to correct her," Hayate warned the copper skinned woman, then looked back at the red haired girl with a fond smile. "you'll just spoil her fun."
"Um, allright," Dustine nodded, checked her data padd, then moved to take a seat next to Nanoha. She smiled at the red browned haired woman then turned to the squadrons who were sitting around the table. "Good morning. We have a lot to cover today. First and fore most..as of 08:00 GST yesterday, the 41st Lancer and the 32nd Septer squadron will be, at least temporarily, joining the 501st Joint Fighter Wing."
The reason for this merger is obvious," Hayate added. "Most of the other units were heavily damaged during last weeks battle at the sixth defensive line...and it'll take a while for them to recover. Until then, you're to remain in the 501st."
"What about the PT squadrons assigned to the 501st, what happened to them," Elia asked thoughtfully.
"They were a total loss, too," Dustine sighed then smiled gratefully at the shorter brown haired woman sitting next to her. "However, command has assigned two veteran personal trooper squadrons to our unit."
"We've been hearing rumors about that," Teana mused then frowned. "Who are they?"
"Actually theres four units being assigned to the 501st," Hayate explained, noting the suprised look on Dustine's face, then continued on with her explination "It'll be the ATX squadron, the Lotus squadron and the SRX squadrons."
"The heroes of the various L5 campaigns and the L3 defensive action around Gaia eh?" Meia Gisborn hummed thoughtfully then nodded. "They're good teams...but why so many."
"There is a reason for that," Hayate nodded frowning thoughtully. "As you may know, the Triolian Supervision Army Remnant fighters targeted our command units, destroyed them, thusly throwing our units in dissarray."
"Right," Jura nodded.
"We're experimenting with assigning one or two specialty pilots to each commander as body guards..." Hayate explained.
"But isn't what the wingman does?" Signum frowned.
"You do have a point," Hayate noted, frowning. "but in combat situations wingmen can be pulled away to deal ith other situations. These bodyguards will only stick tight to the commanders."
"How many body guards per unit?"
"Two per squad leader," Hayate noted.
"It sounds pretty unweildy," Meia noted
"It's a temporary measure," Hayate conceded, then nodded. "until we manage to make a new series of less detectable command fighter."
"Very well..." Meia noted.
"Yeah," Dustine agreed, "I can't say I'm looking forward to it."
"Could be worse, they could be following you off duty too." Hayate shrugged her shoulders..
"God, there's a scary thought..." Dustine sighed.
"So who's going to be protecting who," Teana asked.
"Lets see," Dustine looked over the list. She smiled contritely a bit then noted to her team. "Hugo's team will be guarding the Hammers, Yuuki's team will be guarding the Lancers and Irm's team will be guarding the Scepters."
"This is going to be interesting," Nanoha mused.
"Indeed," Signum nodded then looked curious. "What will the other squad be doing."
"Good question," Hayate nodded then added. "The other squad of each specialty team will act as point men for the squadron and head off any attacks. Fair?"
"Not bad," Nanoha nodded then looked at Dustine.
"I think it can work," Dustine nodded. "Though I'll be looking forward to when the bodyguarding ends."
"What's with the extra security." Rei asked seriously. "I mean we pushed the remnant fleet of out of the systmem right?"
"Most but not all," Hayate frowned as Dustine called up a map of the system. "We think the remnants are lingering near Earl's second moon. They'll be an annoyance at best for the rest of the combined fleet as we recover."
"Plus, we have to assume they have sent this tactic to other fleets," Dustine noted. Rather bitterly she added, "They DID have a great success with it, after all."
"Reconnaissance teams have also spotted the remnant flotilla going after civilian transports," Hayate informed them.
"So they've become pirates?" Saeko asked.
"Or just harrasing civilian shipping. It IS a legitimate military tactic." Dustine frowned. "Anyway we know that they're out there...so stay alert on patrol. If your bodyguard tells you to move...move. No matter the odds."
"These guys are pros..." Nanoha nodded then smiled. "Let them take care of the rabble."
"Some of us prefer taking care of rabble ourselves," Meia pouted.
"Hang in there, its only temporary," Dustine noted.
"Who knows maybe you'll even do a combo attack with them," Hayate winked at the group.
"Hayate!" Dustine blurted.
"Sh, its fine," Hayate whispered to her.
"We all knew Hayate would go there..." Rei sighed.
"Don't be mean," Hayate stuck her tongue out then called up a few images on the main screen. "Now for the patrol routes. Starting tommorrow You'll be patrolling an area in front of the fleet for a good while. Any comments?"
"Hey, it looks like a..." Diita spoke up.
"Shut up, Diita. Meia sighed then added "You think EVERYTHING looks like a alien,"
Diita giggled.
Hayate just ignored that.
Dustine rolled her eyes as she asked, "Do we need to escort the civilian ships too?"
"Helena's deployed several ships from the fleet to do that," Hayate nodded then glanced in Dustine's direction. "but we may have to respond to emergency calls, too. Understood?"
"Very well," Dustine nodded then looked out at her subbordinates. "Does anyone have any other questions?"
"Why do hotdog buns come in packs of eight and hotdogs in twelve?" Diita asked
"Any actual ON TOPIC questions?" Dustine sighed.
"Do we have tactical updates on our attackers?" Meia asked with frown then folded her arms in front of her. "I'm pretty damn sure there were new variations out there last time."
"We do," Hayate nodded then added. "We've loaded most of them to your datapadds. That includes the combiner that we saw a week ago..."
"I think saw a sniper model," Diita noted with a frown then asked curiously. "Do we have that on record?"
"This one, yes." Dustine nodded then called up an image of a zentradi battlesuit using what appeared to be like an alien sniper rifle. "Its a long range shooter and it can easily tear at your pinpoint barriers...so watch your back."
"That one was a pain," Rica noted.
"Did you take it out?" Barnette asked.
"I tried to get it but it was far to fast for me..." Rica sighed.
"I see," Jura sighed.
"We need to watch for those," Hayate agreed.
"Aye, we do," Dustine nodded in agreement then looked at the temporary pilots assigned to the 501st Joint Fighter Squadron. "Any more questions? Any at all?"
"No ma'am," The group harmonized.
"Good," Dustine nodded then smiled fondly at them. "You can re convene in your own ready rooms and discuss tactics if you like. In any case; I want you all to stay safe out there. Okay? You're dismissed."
"Yes ma'am," The group shot up out of their seats and saluted both Hayate and herself. With that, the large group left the table, briefly greeting their superior officers as they walked past the podium and made their way out of the briefing room.
Dustine smiled at them and watched them go, then blushed when Jura blew a kiss to her. Hayate laughed fondly as Barnette tugged her out of the briefing room, then smiled when Nanoha and Fate stopped by.
"Friends of yours?" Nanoha teased.
"We go way back," Dustine sighed
"Lt Basil is quite..." Fate began, paused to find the polite word and blushed a bit when she spoke up again. "...Flirty."
"We can gossip later," Hayate smiled contritely at the pair. "Right now Dustine and I have a meeting with the Steel Dragon Corps in briefing room 101b. We'll catch you later."
"101b?" Nanoha blinked then smiled. "That's not to far from our squad room. We'll walk with you, okay?"
"Fair enough," Hayate nodded.
"This way the three of us can tease The along the way," Nanoha grined at Dustine.
"Good Idea!" Hayate agreed.
"Will you two stop," Dustine sighed.
"But this is fun," Fate noted then asked her as they strode down the corridor. "Is it true what they say about her?"
"Which rumor..." Dustine rolled her eyes
"That she can tie a cherry stem with her tongue," Nanoha teased.
"Yeah." Dustine blushed a bit. "She does that as a party trick."
Hayate was tempted to ask about the OTHER rumor about Dustine and Jura, but in a rare moment of restraint held back. The quartet walked together until they came upon a marked door that read. "Steel Dragon Corps."
"Here we are," Hayate smiled at Dustine then turned to Nanoha and Fate. "I'll see you two later. I've got to introduce The Steel Dragon Corps to their new Commanding officer."
"Acting, Hayate, Acting," Dustine blushed.
"We'll see," Hayate grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, holding it open for Dustine.
"We'll see you later, Lt. Colonel," Nanoha smiled at her as she walked off with a wave.
"See you," Fate nodded to and walked off after her girlfriend.
Dustine took a steadying breath, then followed Hayate inside. This time it was Hayate who greated the the large group assembled around a bunch of tables. "Good morning!"
"Attention!" A woman wearing an odd looking vest over a light blue one piece outfit and dark blue boots barked crisply as she rose to salute their superior officers. Just like before the others followed suit. Dustine surveyed the room, taking in the new faces. A few of the pilots were wearing standard UNSPACY uniforms while most were wearing their own outfits and or jumpsuits. Quite a few didn't even look like military personnel at all.
"Hiya Dusty chan," Excellen waved happily.
"Hello Excellen," Dustine waved back as she approached the desk then awked when a pair of whirlwinds plowed into her. "Ack! Who!?"
"Big sister!" A pair of asian girls smiled tearfully up at her "I've been so worried about you!"
"Miki! Eri!?" Dustine boggled as the young asian girl hugged her. "What are you two doing here?"
"We've been wondering the same thing!" Miki Ageni pouted then hugged her tight. "You haven't been in contact with the family since you left a few years ago."
"Sorry, its been busy," Dustine sighed then murmured. "Now get back to your seats."
"Yes ma'am," Miki and Eri nodded trotting back to their respective tables. Miki sat sat next to a bunch of teens who were sitting around a woman with slighty wavy green hair while Eri sat next to the woman wearing an odd looking vest over a light blue one piece outfit and short dark blue hair.
"Sorry ma'am," The green haired woman gazed at her then jabbed a thumb at the table. "These two have been a nervous wreck since a week ago."
"That's alright, First Lieutenant Loveless, I'll speak with them later," Dustine sighed, noting the name on her uniform. The copper skinned officer made her way over to where Hayate was and sat with her at the smaller table. Hayate handed her a datapadd displaying the crew roster. She read over the rest of the names and faces eagerly, knowing quite a few, like Kyousuke, Excellen and Lamia of course but the copper skinned woman didn't recognize the other people sitting at the table next to Kyousuke. Especially the man who had short spiky fiery red hair.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice," Dustine sat back in her seat, making a mental note to thank Lamia and Kyousuke for saving her ass earlier. "As of today the Steel Dragon Corps will be temporarily assigned to the 501st joint fighter squadron. For now I will be your commanding officer."
"What's Colonel Wilkce's and Lt. Colonel Miyomoto's status?" Kyousuke Nanbu asked seriously as the others looked on.
"Unfortunately, both Minna and Mio have broken arms and legs," Dustine noted seriously as she gazed at the group. "So they won't be able to fly for at least a year. The rest of the Hammer squadron is fine, save for Barkorn and Yeager, who both have broken collar bones and arms. So they're grounded too."
"What about their equipment? Are their fighters okay?" A young man with short brown hair and enthusiatsic personality asked curiously. Dustine was amused to find out that Lt. Date was a bit of a mechafile and loved all types of robots.
"Ryusei right?" Dustine mused curiously.
"Yeah!" Ryusei Date nodded.
"We're not sure at the moment, but there's a high probability that they might be scrapped," Dustine noted seriously to young man.
"I see," Ryusei frowned at the news but didn't protest, knowing full well that the machines saved Minna's lives.
"Excuse me, Lieutenant Colonel," A blonde sitting at Calvina's table raised a hand. "But I have a question regarding the Scepters. May I ask it?"
"Go on First Lieutent Emil..." Dustine glanced at her, noting that she uncanilly looked like Nanoha. "Is Fate-Mama and Nanoha Mama also okay?" Sally Emil asked seriously, with a worried expression in her eyes.
"Yes!" Another girl with heteacrhomia eyes and blonde hair pulled into a side ponytail asked seriously. "Are Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama okay, Lieutenant Colonel?"
"W-what?" Dustine's mind nearly broke at the mere thought of Nanoha and Fate being mothers. Her voiced trembled abit as she regained her voice "D-Did the two of you just call them F-Fate mama and N-Nanoha mama?"
"Yes!" The two nodded seriously.
"N-Nanoha and Fate are..." Dustine stammered to herself as the others looked on with concern, fainting at the weight of the presumed knowledge and fell back in her seat. The momentary dead weight and the momentum caused the chair to slide from underneath her, propelling her backward until it reached the hard metallic floor below. She crashed to the floor with a clatter causing Excellen and the others to spring to their feet.
"Dusty chan!" Excellen blurted as she and a few other pilots and rushed to her side as unconciousness took her. "Hang in there, Dusty chan!"
**** 1400 GST *****
Dustine awoke sometime later in a room not unlike the briefing room that she was just in. But instead it was a spacious lounge with couches, tables and chairs. She tried to sit up quickly but a familiar blonde stopped her.
"Don't get up yet Dusty-chan!" Excellen stopped her as several other women sat nearby. Aya Kobiyashi, a good looking woman with short green hair, from the SRX squadron, Kusuha Mizuha from the ATX squadron and her own little sister Miki looked on with concern on their faces. "You hit your head after you fainted."
"I fainted?! Why!?" Dustine blinked, trying to remember what happened. She thought it over a bit then winced when she remembered the two girls announcing who their parents were. "Ugh...right. that was a shock."
"We're sorry we caused you so much trouble, Miss Ageni," Sally and the other girl noted contritely as they sat on another couch next to the one she was laying on. "We didn't know that you were so close to Nanoha and Fate mama."
"T...That's all right," Dustine stammered and took a glass of water from Kusuha's hand. She took a long sip from the straw and put it on the table next to her. "I don't think I have EVER heard them say they had kids...not to mention they never took pregnancy leave. It'd be in their files. So..."
"They're clones," Hayate answered simply as she sat with the pair of girls. "Well at least Sally is. Sally has both Nanoha's and Fate's genes. They haven't legally adopted her as their daughter but they have been keeping in touch with her."
"Mostly Nanoha," Sally added, "as you can probably tell."
"And I'm a hybrid clone," Vivio smiled shyly at Dustine. "but with both Nanoha and Fate in there. Both women help us...well, adjust to living outside of a lab, and we call them mama."
"I see..." Dustine nodded. Moments later a green haired woman peered curiously at her from behind Vivio. "Hmm. Who is this?"
"Einhart! There you are!" Vivio exclaimed, pulling her forward. "Why were you hiding?"
"I wasn't hiding," the girl protested blushing hotly.
"Lt Colonel, this is Einharet Stratos, she's..." Vivio began.
"...a big fan of hers." Einhart cut her off as she gazed at the copper skinned woman. "It's a honor to meet you, ma'am, and it'll be an honor to serve under you as a part of the ATX Team."
"Ah...nice to meet you," Dustine smiled, while wondering why this girl reminded her of her little sister, a little. Might be something in the shape of her face. She reached out to Einhart and smiled. "I hope we can work together."
"Of course," Einhart nodded.
***** 1600 GST *****
"Ein...when are you going to tell her?" Vivio asked as they sat on a bench inside a park. Both were still wearing their outfits that they had on earlier. Vivio had a white
and blue jacket over a dark blue and white blue one piece. she had a pair of black gloves and black boots which had odd jewels inset on them.
"L...Later." Einhart blushed heavily, as she wore a white and green jacket over a black and gold top and a green skirt.
"Ein..." Vivio spoke up then blinked when Einhart held up a hand.
"SHe just had one shock, she doesn't need another," Einhart noted.
"Mm..." Vivio nodded then glanced at her. "Should we tell her who the other mother is?"
"Oh goddess no," Einhart smiled sardonically. "She'd just DIE."
"Considering how she was teasing Dustine when they left the lounge, I'd imagine so," Vivio nodded.
"Yeah," Einhart nodded.
"Yeah," Vivio nodded then looked at Einhart with a smile on her face. "So...shall we start our training regimen, Einhart?"
"With pleasure," Einhart smiled and the pair slipped off of the bench.
**** 1730 GST ****
"When you said a logistic thing you were looking into, what did you mean by that," Dustine asked her as the sat on a couch in hayate's ready room. Both had hot cups of tea in hand.
"We're not sure, but our staff thinks Commodore Ichijo has something to do with it," Hayate noted with a frown to the copper skinned pilot. "He thinks you can't handle it."
"Oh he does does he," Dustine frowned then smirked "Well I'll show him what I can do."
Hayate sighed and reached up and pinched her cheek then wiggled it back and forth all the while speaking in a chiding tone. "Don't get to cocky Miss. Lieutenant. Colonel! Is. That. Clear?!"
"Ow ow ow," Dustine winced at the pinch. "Its clear. Very clear ma'am."
"Good, I'm glad you understand," Hayate patted her cheek then smiled contritely at her. "I'm sorry about earlier..."
"Earlier...?" Dustine blinked, thinking back, then made an odd face. "Wait you knew about those two the whole time?"
Hayate gave her a look.
"Oh, right..." Dustine admitted, "you had to have seen their paperwork."
"Well, I actually expected Nanoha and Fate to," Hayate admitted.
"Makes sense..." Hayate shrugged, "And it's not really any of your business, too."
"I guess..." Dustine nodded.
"So why were you so worked up about it..." Hayate asked her.
"I was just shocked thats all," Dustine admitted then frowned. "I mean, I've known them for years... it's kinda surprising they kept this a secret. You know?"
"Well, you have to admit it's kind of hard to bring up," Hayate noted.
Hayate imitated Nanoha, "Oh, by the way... Fate and I now have two clones! Isn't it wonderful?"
Dustine snickered just a bit, also looking kinda pained. "It must have been hard to take in at first."
Hayate nodded after taking a sip of her her tea. "Yeah. I mean, they're both grown women, pretty much, but Vivio especially bonded with Nanoha and Fate."
"...and Nanoha looked after her as one of her own." Dustine nodded thoughtfully. Moments later an odd thought occurd to her. "Has Nanoha or Fate had to give her... the talk?"
Hayate blinked, then burst into giggles. "Oh lord... can you imagine poor Fate trying to explain the birds and the bees?"
"She'd die of embarassment," Dustine agreed then blinked when the shift bell chimed then stretched her arms. "Well that's it for today I guess. Gotta head back to the office before Ryoko calls up another search party."
"...and you wouldn't want that would you," Hayate giggled at that, then smiled contritely when Dustine rolled her eyes. "Well then you best get going. I won't keep you. Do you have time afterwards?"
"Actually I've got some paper work to do as soon as I get back to the office," Dustine smiled apologetically at Hayate as she slipped away from the couch. "But I'll let you know if I'm free later. So long as Ryoko doesn't pile more assignments on me."
"Hang in there," Hayate waved to the copper skinned woman then sighed as she picked up a cup of tea and took a sip of it. "Hmm. Maybe I should invite her to that place next time."
***** 21:20 GST ****
"Eh?!" Nanoha and Fate blinked in shock at their friend as they sat in a corner booth of a the Little White Dragon. Dustine had just told them about her incident in the Steel Dragon brigade's briefing room and the pair looked surprised and a little concerned. "You fainted during the briefing?!
Dustine made a face. She was already tired from the staff meetings and make up briefings she had to partake in, let alone travelling from her office in the Wolfram to Kaguya City. So she had a right to be cranky.
"Yeah," Dustine sighed as she took a sip of her beverage then gave her friends a look. "You see, I got blindsided because certain close friends didn't tell me they had clones."
Nanoha winced while Fate looked sheepish.
Dustine relented a bit as she added, "I'm kind of hurt you didn't tell me..."
"Its not something one can openly talk about..." Nanoha noted.
Fate nodded and spoke softy to her friend. "Due to the fact that there was illegal cloning invovled the whole thing was officially classified. The only way we could have talked about it was in person, and..."
"This is the first time we've caught up in person," Dustone agreed
"I MEANT to bring it up when we first arrived," Nanoha added, "but I couldn't quite figure out how to bring it up."
"I see," Dustine sighed then took another sip of her beverage.
"Could you do us a favor?" Fate asked her after taking a sip of her own beverage.
"Hmm?" Dustine blinked. "What?"
"Don't call them clones in front of them. They have issues around that," Fate said seriously.
"Understandable," Dustine nodded. "Okay. Will do."
"Good," Nanoha smiled at her a little too cheerfully. "Or I'd have to punish you."
Dustine thought about making a joke, but let it pass for now.
"Any medical issues or anything else the kids had to deal with?" she asked curiously.
"They had weaker immune systems for a while," Nanoha remembered.
Fate chuckled dryly, "Poor Vivio HATED getting colds."
"That had to have sucked," Dustine admitted.
"Indeed," Nanoha nodded.
"THey built up immunities pretty fast, though," Fate reassured her, "they almost never get sick now."
"Well that's good," Dustine smiled and chatted with her long time friends for quite some time. After a while she checked her watch and grunted. "Oh god. Look at the time. I've got to get back to my quarters."
"We've got a early morning too," Fate agreed with a sigh as they both got up.
"So do I..." Dustine sighed.
"You can do it, Lt. Colonel," Nanoha smiled at Dustine.
***** March 18th 2125AD Suite 112A, SDCV Wolfram *****
"Wake up!" Ryoko Asakura blurted as she banged a metal spoon on a saucepan near the attractive dark haired woman's ears. Dustine awked and fell out of bed in nothing but her tanktop and her briefs.
The attractive black haired woman landed with a resounding thud on the floor. She sighed, sat up on the cool metal floor and rubbed her head. "Oww. Must you do that Lt Asakura?"
"Yes," Ryouko answered her cheerilly.
"Dumb question," Dustine grumbled and stood up. "Whats the schedule for today?"
"Meetings, meetings and more meetings," Ryouko nodded as she handed Dustine a cup of coffee. "You have a wolfram staff meeting at 07:00 GST, a brass meeting at 08:00GST and three Joint squadron meetings after that.
"Could you just kill me now?" Dustine sighed before taking a sip of her coffee.
"I'm not that merciful, Lt. Colonel," Ryoko Asakura noted, checked her watch then looked back at her "You have breakfast in thirty minutes. I suggest you get to the shower immediately."
"Yes ma'am," Dustine sighed as took a long sip of her coffee to wake herself up then handed it back to Ryoko. "Keep it warm for me."
"Will do ma'am," Ryoko nodded as Dustine strode off towards the medium sized bathroom to take a shower.
***** 07:00 GST Lynn and Yoshika's Apartment, Kaguya City *****
Lynette woke first, the brown haired woman blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She looked down and found Yoshika snuggling close, her head resting on Lynette's impressive busom.
She was wrapped tightly around her bedpartner, and after a few moments realized she had mushed Yoshika's face against her breasts. Again.
Yoshika, however, didn't seem to mind. Other than a slight nosbleed anyway. Yoshika got them so often it worried Lynn, but she told her it was a Fuso thing. Lynette grabbed a tissue and gently dabbed at Yoshika's nose.
This woke the smaller brown haired girl who then peered sleepily at Lynnette
"Good morning," Lynette smiled bashfully down at Yoshika.
"Good morning, Lynn," Yoshika smiled sleepily.
They bent into a kiss, bumping noses and giggling, then got up in search of breakfast in their apartment. Lynn sighed happily as they went into the little kitchen attached to their Kaguya City apartment. Their wing was still officially stood down after the battle, so they could sneak off here and relax a bit. Yoshika quickly put on an apron and the pair started to make breakfast.
Miyafuji thought about how lucky she was to have Lynn beside her. They had met in pilot training, where both of them were having problems. At the time Lynette wasn't confident, while Miyafuji tended to hesitate during mock battles. In part working together, saving each other, helped them get over their issues.
The pair grew under the firm yet understanding tutilage of then Major Ageni at Gardrobe academy. Miyafuji thought back to those times and looked at Lynn. "Say Lynn? Do you think Dustine ever realized that Perrine had a crush on her?"
Lynne laughed as she shook her head, admiring Miyafuji's near nude body in the apron. "No, she was pretty clueless about that kinda thing..."
"Thank god Perrine got over it." Yoshika sighed then shook her head as she warmed some miso soup on the stove, cooked some rice and got some vegetables ready. "Of course THEN she latched onto Mio. Fortunately Mio wasn't as oblivious."
"Well, Perrine WAS pretty obvious. If someone sneaks into your quarters starkers you kind of gets the point..." Lynn noted.
"...and Mio isn't the one to not honor a request." Yoshika nodded and taste tested the miso soup. Lynn blushed when some of the miso soup dribbled down her chin and onto her neck.
"Let me clean that off..." Lynnette murmured and leaned in to lick the dark liquid off of Yoshika's neck. Yoshika gasped, shivered and held the brown haired woman close for a while. When Lynnette was done she smiled up at Yoshika. "...there. All clean."
"Th...Thanks," Yoshika smiled then offered Lynnette a spoonful of soup. "Here try this. Its a new recipe."
"Hmm," Lynn sighed happily then nodded "That is good...say can I have another taste."
"Sure!" Yoshika nodded, spooned some soup in a small ladel and offered to Lynnette. "Here!"
Lynn caught some in her mouth then kissed Yoshika, the other girl savoring the soup flavored kiss. Yoshika wrapped an arm around Lynette and turned the electric burners down from high to low with a few taps with her free hand.
Then she got very, very distracted. A half an hour later, the pair parted from their lovemaking to check on the food. Yoshika taste tested the soup again then made a face. "Jeez. The soups gone cold."
"So has the rice," Lynn noted then promised then added with a smile on her face. "Did you want to take some over when we visit the hospital?"
"Sure! I'm sure Mio and the others will love it." Yoshika smiled happily began to prepare another batch of miso soup, rice and vegetables.
***** 14:00 GST Wolfram infirmary *****
Dustine blushed slightly as she walked into the dual bed recovery room with a medium sized gift bag danging in her left hand. She was dressed in an officers uniform complete with new ranks and an officers cap. Minna who was also being visited by Erica and Gertrud who was in a wheel chair.
Dustine frowned at the woman who had her hair pulled into a pair of tails. "Aren't you supposed to be resting, Barkhorn?"
"I've BEEN resting. If I rested much more I'd be in a coma." Gertrud frowned as she crossed her arms, wincing a bit.
"Point." Dustine conceded and handed one set of flowers to Mio and the other to Minna.
"Isn't she cute when she pouts?" Mio noted
"I am NOT pouting," Barkhorn growled.
"Yes you are," Erica poked her cheek teasingly.
"The nurses think so too," Mio added.
"Nurses?" Dustine asked
"Guess who gets all the cuties wanting to give her the sponge baths?" Erica smirked.
Barkhorn went beet red.
Dustine laughed, shaking her head. "Isn't Perrine keeping you busy, Mio?" she asked.
"She's in here often enough," Minna laughed.
Mio blushed this time.
Minna chuckled at the blush then noticed the rank badge on Dustine's chest. "Oh HO."
"Don't YOU start," Dustine sighed
"Lt Colonel, eh?" Mio grinned, then noted. "Bet that'll help you get the chicks."
Dustine blushed a bit.
"Congradulations," Lt Colonel," Minna smiled.
"Anyway, I come bearing gifts," Dustine blushed even more as she reached into her bag and handed some books and magazines out to her squadmates. The first recipient was Barkhorn who got a gun magazine.
"Thanks been looking forward to this one," Barkhorn smiled.
"I had my assistant send over the romance novels you were working on Minna." Dustine smiled as she handed the novels to her.
"Uhm, thank you," Minna nodded.
Mio looked amused, glancing Minna's way "Romance novels, eh, Wilcke?"
"I can indulge myself a little too, Mio," Minna blushed a bit cheerily.
"Lets see what they are," Erica grinned and lifted one out of her hands. "Aha...The Pilot and the officer: a fictional account two heroines during Space War One."
"That wasn't that about you was it, Ageni," Mio teased.
"Of course not," Dustine blushed.
"Wait a minute," Erica blinked just realizing something. She then took the rest of the novels in her friends hand glanced at the titles then glanced back at her. "Minna...
you like lesbian romance novels?"
"Well...what if I do," Minna blushed at that.
"Mmm," Erica smirked then grinned at the attractive copper skinned pilot. "You spent an extra long time with Dustine during the parties during our stay at Garderobe, as I recall."
"That's because Minna was kind enough to be my dance partner?" Dustine blushed.
"You've never danced in your life?" Erica blinked.
"I was...a shy girl when I was younger." Dustine blushed.
"I thought you were raised high class?" Gertrud arched an eyebrow.
"I knew how to handle side arms as well as buisness meetings," Dustine blushed, sighed then shook her head at the brown haired woman's question. "THe dance floor...not so much."
The others got a chuckle out of that causing the dark haired woman to blush.
"Anyway... do you need anything? We're taking the squads out for patrol tomorrow, so I may not be available for a few days." Dustine asked as she handed the last item to Mio, which was a book she got from the libary on heirloom swords.
"Bring everyone back if you can," Mio answered seriously.
"Damn right," Erica agreed.
"Will do," Dustine answered crisply.
EOF.