20:30 GST July 18th 2125
Avalonia City, SDF 23 Avalon, 146th UN SPACY expiditonary Fleet.
"I see..." Princess Fuji smiled contritely at Dustine after she briefly recounted the events of the past three weeks, including the previous week. The woman gently pushed some of her blonde hair over her shoulder. "It seems you've been quite busy lately, Dustine. First UN SPACY makes contact with the Juraians and now a new race has come forth."
"Yeah," Dustine nodded then sighed as they sat in bed. The pair had retired to one of Whispered Words private rooms after relaxing with their friends. "That happend a few days ago."
"Can you tell me anything about them?" Fuji asked.
"Its classified for now." Dustine sighed." But I suspect command and the Unity Government will release a statement soon."
"I see," Fuji nodded then asked. "Harmless then?"
"Pretty much," Dustine nodded, trying to contain her blush. Fuji looked at her thoughtfully, KNOWING Ageni knew more than she was telling. Well, that was fine. She had secrets too after all.
"You seem awfully... tense," Fuji noted as she smiled up at Dustine,
Dustine smiled back, guessing where this was going.
"A bit," she agreed.
"Well, let's see what we can do about that..." Fuji smiled then slips under the covers.
Superdimensional Fortress Kaguya: Homefront
Sortie Ten
SDCV 21 Wolfram deck 10
Dustine frowned thoughtfully as she walked with her wingmates and friends down wide corridor towards the hangar bay. Pilots were whispering to each other and smiling as glanced at Dustine. Dustine rolled her eyes, knowing they were talking about her.
"That's a nice scent, Dusty," Excellen noted then smiled. "So who is she?"
"Just a friend," Dustine noted crisply.
"Must be skillful woman then," Excellen grinned at her, teasing the woman a bit. "You seem to be more relaxed, boss."
"That's none of your business," Dustine sighed.
"Knock it off Excellen," Kyousuke sighed.
"But Kyou!" Excellen pouted.
"Leave her be," Kyousuke sighed then shook his head. "If she doesn't want to talk about it. She doesn't want to talk about it."
Nanoha and Fate smiled contritely at Dustine as they walked next to her.
"You okay?" Nanoha asked quietly.
"Yeah, just peeved that our night got interrupted," Dustine made a face as they walked into an intersection. "...and all for a diplomatic escort mission. Seems kinda lame."
"Still, its our mission after all," Nanoha noted.
"Yeah, yeah," Dustine rolled her eyes.
Fate nodded seriously, "Diplomacy is important, after all."
"Its just...why now of all things..." Dustine murmured.
"Life has a sense of humor?" Nanoha suggested
"A bad one, I'd bet," Dustine murmured.
Fate chuckled a bit, nodding too.
"What are we talking about now?" Excellen asked, now very curious to know why Dustine was blushing.
"I'll talk about it later...maybe..." Dustine noted then shook her head. "Right now I need to focus."
"Fair enough. Should we cover for you?" Nanoha offered
"Nah, I can just lock myself in the cockpit for a bit..."
Dustine shook her head.
"Deep breathing exercises?" Fate asked.
Dustine nodded wordlessly and the pair wordlessly patted Dustine on the shoulder. They moved off and started to bark orders to their own crew when they entered the hangar. At the same time Dustine strode through the hangar toward her fighter. She climbed into the white and turquouise VF-19 Advance and cycled the cockpit down.
She folded her hands into her lap and breathed slowly in and out of her nose, mindful of what little air was in the enclosed cockpit. As she centered herself, Dustine was also aware of what was happening around them. Pilots trotted to their fighters, technicians and mechanics loaded up ordinance and checked the fighters land gear and control surfaces.
Minutes later, Dustine opened her eyes, feeling calm and focused once again. She pulled her helmet on and turned on the radio to speak to the the tower.
"Hammer lead to Wolfram," Dustine called up to the commline.
"This is the Wolfram, are you ready Hammer lead," Komilia asked.
"Yeah," Dustine answered her while nodding as she to a technician on the deck.
"Hammer lead, I KNOW what you were really doing in that cockpit." Komilia teased her. "Keep it up and you'll go blind."
"I bet I'm getting busier than you, Komilla-chan." Dustine joked back. They both knew the other had girlfriends and such, so the banter was reasonably harmless.
"You okay?" Komilia asked.
"I'm fine now," Dustine murmured.
"Oh good. Don't want your harem disappointed," Komilia teased some more.
"I do NOT have a Harem!" Dustine groaned.
"Oh really? You haven't noticed all the girls following you around?" Komilia teased her some more.
"Oh shut up," Dustine rolled her eyes then changed the subject. "Mission status."
"Your team is still the clear for launch, the Stellvian shuttle should be launching any moment now," Komilia noted then sighed. "Be advised that our recon squads have detected some rogue Zentradi's sniffing at our eighth defensive line."
"Oh, just lovely. Send me any intelligence updates, too." Dustine grumped as she flicked a few switches, smiling inwardly at the thrum of the reaction turbines spooling up.
"Will do, your cleared for a deck launch," Komilia nodded as machinery moved Dustines fighter onto a deck elevator. The fighter was slowly brought up to the launch deck then was locked into place.
"Four... three... two... one..." It suddenly felt like Dustine was kicked in the chest by a bull as the engines fired. Thank goodness the artificial gravity damped out the forces on them pretty quickly. Her fighter surged on for a bit then banked to the right towards the first waypoint. She checked her sensors, reassured to see her team following in her wake. Hugo and Aqua were gaining while Erica and the others were moving into position.
One by one they called in as they formed up into squads with the ATX team in front and Hugo's squad behind them. When they were done Dustine addressed the group. "Okay. Our mission is to rendevouz with the Stellvian shuttle and return to base. Be advised that there may be Zentradi in the area. So keep your eyes peeled."
"Woo Hoo! Bug Hunt!" Luchinni cheered bouncing in her seat abit.
"Stop that its unbecoming," Perrine growled.
"But I always like bug hunts," Luchinni grinned dangerously.
"Its NOT a bug hunt," Dustine declared then sighed.
"What kind of Zentradi?" Elia asked.
"Isn't it obvious," Perrine chided, then answered stuffily. "They're obviously ROGUE Zentradi, First lieutenant Juutilainen."
"Hey..." Elia grumbled.
"Perrine stop being so stuffy," Erica teased.
"Save the chatter for later, ladies," Dustine grumbled.
"Sorry, ma'am," Elia answered crisply. "We'll keep focused. Allright?"
"Don't be, just stay focused on the mission, understood?" Dustine replied
"Yes ma'am," Elia replied back then sighed. After that, The flight was uneventful save for a some more chatter and a few questions about the shuttle that they were going to meet up with. And some private communications going on between pilots. Dustine let that go, pretty much.. they were human after all.
"We're nearing the target," Dustine noted as the squadron surged through space. Her radar picked up ten signatures to the right of their location. She glanced out at the canopy and saw several angelic looking mecha surrounding a largish shuttle.
"Oooh, pretty!" Excellen noted then hummed. "Is that their standard mecha?"
"Seems so," Dustine shrugged. She couldn't blame Excellen for gasping that, they WERE pretty.
"Persimmion One to Hammer lead, over," A voice called out on the commline.
"Hammer lead here," Dustine said once again stuck by the beauty of their voices.
"We're ready for the transfer, come about and we'll hand the Commandant's shuttle over to you," The Stellvian pilot answered crisply.
"Understood," Dustine nnodded and barked orders to her pilots. They did what they were told with a few quips along the way. The Stellvian pilots listened in smirking to themselves. They spread out in a defensive globe, protecting the shuttle while giving them room to move. The combined squadron swept in and the Stellvian machines allowed
"Hammer Lead to Stellvian shuttle," Dustine called out as her fighter swept in along side the shuttle. "We're here to escort you to the SDCV Wolfram. Over."
"Primrose to Hammer lead, understood," A familiar voice from Dustine's past spoke up. It was beautiful like the other pilots. Very light and melodious. There was a pause and the familiar voice spoke up again. "Its nice to hear your voice again, Dustine Ageni. Its Therese...if you remember me."
Dustine swallowed when she heard the voice, then steeled herself, before replying to the Stellvian Commandant. "I do. Let's keep it professional please, commandant?"
Therese sounded disappointed, "Very well."
Dustine puffed out a breath fogging up her faceplate a bit.
"We're setting out now, commandant," Dustine noted as she made hand signals to Erica and the others "We'll be in transit for several hours, be prepared for some discomfort."
"Understood," Therese answered.
"Please do not attempt to contact my other pilots, the diplomatic nature of your visit requires confidentiality."
"My your so formal," Therese noted.
"Goes with the territory, ma'am," Dustine noted cooly.
"Then I guess YOU will have to keep me entertained while we travel," Therese teased.
Dustine coughed then blushed before turning her attention to the mission.
"Allright the shuttle is secure," Dustine said after switching to military frequnecies "Lets move out people. ETA is 2 hours. You are not to talk to the Stellvian shuttle is that understood."
"But MA'AM! She's CUTE!" Excellen pouted.
Therese did her best not to laugh. She smiled as the mixed group of variable fighters, personal troopers and Stellvian machines banked to the left towards the distant battlegroup.
'This should be interesting,' She thought as she gazed at Dustine's face.
Sometime later...
"Welcome aboard," Hayate Yagami addressed the Stellvian delegates while taking each in with her eyes. They all had light colored hair, blue to brown eyes and were wearing cloaks over their forms.
"It is a honor to be here," Therese said with a smile, her cloak flipping back to reveal a white and silver skin hugging bodysuit.
'Oooh! I need to get one of those for Shamal!' Hayate leered then blushed when an officer cleared her throat. She laughed a bit when Therese grinned knowingly at her then gestured to the conference table. "Yes well lets sit down and start the meeting shall we?"
"Yes, lets," Therese nodded and sat opposite of Hayate. She gestured to herself then to the rest of the diplomats"I'm Therese, Commandant of the 541st Stellvian diplomatic flotilla. This is Melanie, yuka, Ariel, Jun and Miku the diplomats which you'll be negotiating with."
"What are we negotiating for?" Hayate blinked.
"A peace treaty with the Unity Government," Melanie, the Stellvian diplomat, stated crisply then sighed. "We also need a resource which your government and people has a abundant surplus of.
"So its about resources, eh," Hayate noted then sighed. "What do you need?"
"Stellvia needs your WOMEN," The entire group stated crisply, causing the officers and Hayate to sit back.
"W...Why?" Hayate asked.
"Our metabolism is lower than your species, so we age slower than yours do," Therese noted then sighed. "It takes us time to grow and mature. That being said our birth rate is fairly low. Combine that and with a recent incursion of a very hostile race we need to breed again."
"And to be frank, our low population has lead to a certain degree of inbreeding. We need freesh DNA from outside our gene pool." Melanie noted.
'Its the same with the Arumeans,' Hayate noted to her self. She wondered if their species was related somehow. She then hummed, looking curious. "Do you have anyone in mind?
Or is it random?"
"Can we take Dustine-sama first?" Melanie asked. Dustine who was at the table nearly spat out her tea.
"No!" she yelped.
"Awww," The girls pouted.
Dustine placed a hand on her chest. "I'm a lesbian tried and true...which means I only stick with my gender."
Therese glared at the girls then sighed. "My companions put it badly..."
"Oh?" Hayate blinked.
"What we want is donated eggs. Therese explained then sighed. "If you allow us to have them, we would be grateful. A coupling with a humanoid female would be great to, but its not mandatory."
"Would you be willing to donate an egg," Hayate asked her old friend.
Dustine blushed and thought about it, then looked at the girls, who looked on pleadingly.
"Well, it's a minor procedure I suppose.." Dustine noted then sighed. "So yeah...and I do feel sorry for you guys."
The girls sighed happily then nodded. "Thank you Dustine Sama..."
"Will you stop calling me that..." Dustine blushed abit.
"So cute..." The other girls giggled causing Dustine to blush harder.
Jenny hid a smile at the girls reaction to poor Dustine. Clearing her throat she asked, "What alien race is harrassing you, if I may ask?"
"They're known as the Grel..." Threse frowned then sighed. "They're massive terrible beasts with ferrocious crab like machines. '
"Them again," Jenny made a face.
"Have you faced them?" Therese asked.
"No," Jenny shook her head then added. "An ally of ours had difficulties with them."
"I see," Melanie sighed.
"Have you been having trouble with them?" Hayate asked.
"We've been holding our own so far," Therese noted. "Their mass fold system is especially troublesome. We had to mobilize our Battle Globes to guard inner systems."
"Battle Globes?" Dustine asked
"Your culture has a similar thing we found in your entertainment...Death Star," Therese noted.
Dustine looked wide eyed at that, causing Hayate to severely bite back a laugh. The brown haired woman then turned her attention to Threse who was grinning wryly at Dustine.
"How many within each system?"
"We can't really devulge that," Therese apologized.
"Very well," Hayate nodded, leaving it be. "But you are successfully protecting your home systems?"
"For now," A third Stellvian nodded then sighed and shook her head. "But eventually they're going to break through our defenses. Thats why we need your help more than ever."
"So its not just about resources, but manpower to help protect your systems, correct?" Hayate smiled knowingly.
"That is correct, yes," Therese nodded.
Hayate regarded her for a moment them smiled. "Very well. I'll discuss this with command. In the mean time you're free to go to your quarters which we've provided you."
"Actually we're quite hungry," Therese noted as one of the Stellvian's stomach rumbled. "...and it is close to what your people call lunch. Could we get a bite to eat."
"Of course," Hayate nodded then grinned knowingly at Dustine. "Can you show them where the mess hall is, Lt. Colonel."
"Why me?" Dustine asked as Melanie and the others brightened a bit.
"Because you know them so well," Hayate noted and smiled. "...and it'd make them feel at home if their Dustine sama was with them, right?"
"Oi," Dustine rolled her eyes.
**** later that day, Whispered Words ****
"So that's how it is?" Nanoha mused as they sat at the bar in Whispered Words. Fate hummed thoughtfully as she sat next to Nanoha sipping on a beverage. "They want our help to reseed their population, so to speak?"
"...and probably to help with the Grel too," Dustine noted softly then sighed as she put down the glass on the bar table. "They're already in talks with our diplomats...
now we just have to wait and see if both sides will reach an agreement."
"Hmmm..." Fate murmued on her glass then tipped it to take a sip of her beverage. She swallowed it smoothly then turned to Dustine. "...and how did your meeting with Therese go?"
"It went well enough. She was gentle with me and let me be," Dustine sighed then shook her head. "It was slightly different with the rest of her team, though."
"Oh?" Nanoha blinked.
"I thought they were all going to jump me to be honest." Dustine sighed shaking her head. "They were all looking at me as if I was good enough to eat."
Fate choked on her drink, but recovered fast.
"What?" Dustine looked at her.
"Oh, nothing," she lied impishly then looked at Dustine. "Did you take them up on their offer?"
"No..." Dustine sighed then mused. "However I did offer to donate a few of my eggs."
Both spat their drinks in surprise, coughed then looked at her. "What?!"
"Why are you two acting so surprised?" Dustine asked. "It's not that invasive a procedure, really. Shamal did it in ten minutes."
"Dustine, I thought you had issues about them?" Fate asked patiently.
"Well, more with Therese. But..." Dustine shrugged then sighed. "Still if they're in trouble why shouldn't I help them."
YOu're right I suppose," Nanoha conceded. A odd look crossed her face.
"What?" Fate wondered,
"In ten to fifteen years, there may be a horde of mini-Dustines." Nanoha noted thoughtfully, glancing at Dustine. "Wonder if we can visit?"
Dustine choked on her drink causing both to chuckle at her. She recovered a bit then looked at them weakly. "Horde? As in a horde of clones? I don't think that's how it'll work."
"Oh?" Nanoha blinked
"Dustine's right," Fate shrugged her shoulders then sighed. "It's not quite the same as cloning, more like.. a artificial version of usual human reproduction."
"Hm. Like artificial insemination?" Nanoha asked.
"Kind of," Fate nodded then explained. "But more sophisticated and reliable. They have a 100% success rate from what I hear."
"Why are you so knowlegble about this?" Nanoha asked then giggled. "Do you want to have children?"
"Nanoha?!" Fate blushed brightly.
"I think little Fates would be adorable, actually" Dustine smiled, teasing a bit then grinned at Nanoha. "...and I think little Nanoha's would be adorable too, now that I think about it."
"Little Dustines would be cute too," Nanoha smiled back at her, then teased her a bit. "Does this mean you want to have children with us, Dustine?"
"Nanoha!" Fate blushed as Dustine spat her drink abit.
"Oi..." The bartender rolled her eyes. "Go easy on the bar you two. I haven't waterproofed it you know."
"Sorry..." Nanoha smiled at the dark haired woman then looked at Dustine. "Well...?"
"Uhm... I am VERY complimented but.."Dustine answered hesitantly, glancing up at the pair then looking down at the bar while blushing hotly. "Its just that, um, I...I..."
Nanoha blinked then smiled knowingly as she watched her close friend glancing at Fate and she as if she was actually considering pairing up with them to create a family then looking away shyly.
Fate chuckled then reached out to pat her shoulder. "It's okay, we know you're not ready for motherhood."
"More importantly could it be that your attracted to us?" Nanoha asked, teasing her again. Dustine jumped and turned away from her a bit more. "Aha. You are."
"Nanoha!?" Fate blurted then frowned. "Stop teasing her."
"You DO realize I'd be in trouble no matter how I answered?" Dustine noted, shaking her head.
At the same moment, Fuji was leaving another booth after meeting with a brown haire customer. The pair spot Dustine and the others at the bar and wander over.
"Hayate?" Dustine blinked. "Fuji?"
"Dustine-sama, it is good to see you. You know Hayate-chan?" Fuji smiled.
"Chan?" Dustine looked at Hayate
"Let it go," Hayate ordered,.
"Alright..." Dustine sighed and smiled gratefully as Fuji sat next to her.
"What sort of interesting topic were we discussing now?" Fuji asked them.
"Dustine being a surrogate father to a new alien generation."Nanoha grinned.
"I hadn't quite thought of it THAT way..." Dustine muttered still blushing a bit.
"I would love to see a army of chibi Dustines," Fuji noted thoughtfully
"Would you now?" Dustine asked.
"Yes..." Fuji nodded thought a bit then asked her with a smile. "Can I have your children too?"
Nanoha and Hayate giggled while Fate looked surprised when Fuji asked the question. Dustine, meanwhile, spat out her drink, again.
"Fuji?!" Dustine blurted.
"Joking..." Fuji smiled. Dustine grumbled at that and Fuji teased her a little by poking at her puffed up cheeks. Nanoha and Fate, meanwhile, gave Fuji thoughtful looks. They weren't quite sure she was joking or if she was serious.
Fuji just smiled mysteriously and sipped her drink.
Hayate smiled at the quartet then cleared her throat. "Thanks for all the good work today. Your free to work up a sweat tonight but don't get too carried away. I've got an important briefing for the three of you tommorrow morning.."
"Right..." Nanoha, Fate and Dustine nodded as Signum and Shamal walk up to the group.
"Ah, my party is here," Hayate got up, "and I'll catch you later."
"...and there she goes again," Dustine sighed then looked at Fuji who smiled at her.
"I think she's quite nice really. A perfect gentleman." Fuji noted.
"I can see that yeah," Dustine nodded.
Nanoha's watch chimed softly. She share a look with Fate then nodded then turned to Dustine.
"Sorry, Dustine, but we have to go," Nanoha said apologetically.
"So soon?" Dustine blinked.
"Yes...we have to return to our quarters," Fate nodded then sighed. "Vivio gets lonely right around now."
"Ah, I see," Dustine agreed then waved to them. "See ya tommorrow morning."
"Right," Nanoha and Fate nodded then turned to Fuji, bowing to her politely.
Fuji bowed back then turned her attention to Dustine. "Shall we stay here, move off to a booth, or retire to a room?"
"Lets stay here for a while," Dustine blushed.
"Okay..." Fuji smiled breezily.
The next day.
"Well, you're practically glowing again," Hayate grinned at Dustine, teasing the copper skinned pilot as Nanoha and Fate smiled knowingly at their long time friend. "Have a good night with your friend?"
"Y-Yeah," Dustine blushed then nodded. "We had a very good night."
"Good, I'm glad you blew off a lot of steam, its healthy," Hayate nodded then switched the subject to more pressing matters. "We've got some good news and bad news you three. The good news is that the combined squadrons are shaping up quite well. It took some time, but your teams have really gelled well together. So I'm insisting you three keep up the good work and continue to mentor the young pilots when they need it. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" Nanoha, Fate and Dustine nodded with grim smiles on their faces. It was hard work but they were very happy that that the variable fighter squadrons and the personal trooper squadrons were getting along.
"Also, we've managed to negotiate a treaty with the Juraians which will allow us contact other members of their galactic alliance," Hayate noted then smiled. "We're also working on a treaty with the Stellvians, but like with the Arumean treaty signed years ago, its going to be a little more complicated. However I think things will turn out fine. Several good hearted officials have already offered their eggs to the Stellvians. Princess Tsukino is one of them."
"She's too good hearted to not pass this up," Nanoha smiled contritely.
"Indeed," Dustine nodded then sighed. "I'm glad that things are working out well."
"Aye, we're thankful for that because we've got more problems in system," Hayate noted then gestured to a system map. "Tensions are mounting between Lutesia Romulus and Remus over mining rights and other matters. Rogue Zentradi and Rogue Triolian Supervison Army Remnant ships are pestering both sides and they're harassing Cardair's borders too."
"Would that be the same group we detected yesterday?" Dustine wondered.
"Its possible," Hayate nodded then sighed. "We've offered our assistance to Cardair and Lutesiha but they've been asserting their will to take care of their own borders."
"They just hung up on the Rear Admiral didn't they?" Dustine sighed.
"They weren't that rude about it," Hayate sighed.
"What about Ang Nam and Zipang," Nanoha asked.
"Zipang's heavily defended by their own unique mobile weaponry," Hayate noted then sighed. "As is the Republic of Ang Nam which is past the Enfant asteroid belt."
"Ang is a gas giant as I recall..." Dustine noted then hummed. "They've got multiple O'Neill stations stationed next to its six moons and serveral island class colonies on the ground of the giants more hospitable moons."
"...and their mobile weaponry?" Nanoha asked thoughtfully, blinked at the humanoid mobile weapons when hayate called up a few images then smiled weakly. "Mobile suits? Mou. Ryuusei's going to geek out when he sees these."
"Is he that bad about mecha?" Hayate smiled contritely at Nanoha.
"He's worse I think," Nanoha murmured.
"What does this mean for us, though," Dustine asked.
"We're to maintain our position whether Ares or Cardair likes it or not," Hayate noted then sighed. "Unfortunately we've also been asked by command to not irritate the situation so your ROE will remain do not fire unless fired upon. Understand?"
"Yes," The trio sighed.
"Also...a new situation between Cardair and Ares is heightening the problem," Hayate noted then sighed. "Three days ago an Ares freighter was attacked by an unknown force while it was enroute back to its home port. It limped along for awhile but now its stranded within Cardair's defensive lines. Ares rescue teams want to tug it back to Ares but Cardair won't allow them."
"Oh lovely," Dustine sighed.
"That was my reaction too," Hayate sighed then glanced at them. "Because of this the Earl System Defense Force has been called in...as has United Solar Nations 11th rapid response fleet. The 11th RSF will be divided in three ways one flotilla will be stationed between Ares and Cardair, another will be stationed at Luteshia and another will be searching the Enfant belt for the attackers."
"Whats the composition of the 11th RSF?" Nanoha asked.
"The same as the allied fleet back at Earl," Hayate shrugged. "Mostly Moskvan, Isean, Britannion, Arumean, Deutchlandians ships in addition to ships sent from Heng Sha."
"There low grade conficts are over?" Nanoha blinked.
"Not quite but they're trying to end them," Hayate offered then glanced at the trio. "At any rate we're to focus on the situation here and let our allies help with Lutesia and the Enfant belt. That being said, both squadrons are to remain on alert until further notice. Inform your teams of the situation. Okay?"
"Yes ma'am!" The trio saluted her and walked out the office. They walked on for a while until they boarded a lift. Dustine sighed and shook her head. "Until further notice? Glad I got my money's worth with Fuji last night."
"We're glad too..." Nanoha smiled then confided. "Fuji sent me a video message thanking you. She was practically glowing too."
"Why did she call you?" Dustine asked.
"She's been very curious about you," Nanoha shrugged. "So I answer when I can. Just think of me as a matchmaker."
"The white devil as a match maker? That's scary." Dustine muttered then eeped when Nanoha lightly stomped on her foot.
EOF