Shooting Stars
"This is the Imperial Guard!" A Captain announced into a megaphone. "For harboring escaped slaves in violation of the 'Haven Act' and breaking Yuri Katsuki and Phichit Chulanot out of Crimson Incarceration, Christophe Giacometti, come with your hands up! Victor Nikiforov, charged as accomplice, come with your hands up!"
A tall man with straight face came out with his hands up. "I'm here, I'm here," he grumbled. "Sheesh. Announcing five times with that and you'd think-"
"Jean-Jacques Leroy, step aside!" The Captain continued, standing behind a line of men with guns at the ready.
'JJ is fine, seriously…' Leroy deadpanned to himself over his long name.
From where Leroy stood, the Guard had remained along the border of the shallow crater which surrounded the green dwelling.
"Where is Giacometti and Nikiforov? Our business is with them!"
The ex-Viletto cupped his hands around his mouth. "I can't move!" He yelled.
"We require Christophe Giacometti and Victor Nikiforov immediately."
"I~ Ca~n't!" He bellowed loud enough for the distant Guard to finally hear.
Minami bolted outside with a gun, holding it up to JJ's head. Showing the Guardsmen he was a hostage.
"My Noble blood would be on your hands if we don't negotiate!" Leroy bellowed again.
There was a long pause.
Eventually a group of twenty and the Captain cautiously approached the two, who remained where they were, while most of the team on this mission moved to formation along the crater's edge with their guns at the ready as well. Roughly half faced JJ and Minami while, alternating, half faced the residential district in case any Unwanted, who were loitering nearby, got any ideas.
The small group approaching had taken fifty or so paces forward before they stopped.
"What are the demands?"
"Oi, we are right here! Ditch the megaphone you unoriginal bastard!" Minami shouted, plugging his ear with his free hand.
The megaphone was dropped to the ground. The frustrated Captain pointed between the two of them with a flat hand faced down. "What are the demands?" He repeated.
"Clemency!" Minami demanded.
"Ha! Stand aside or be charged as accomplices too!" The Guardsman pointed to ten of his men. "Get in there and drag them out!"
"Sir!" A Guardsman shouted, pointing up.
"Surprise Motherfuckers!" Victor shouted from the as if the Guard could hear him from below.
"Are you serious, right now?!" Yuri exclaimed from his seat across from Yuuko, their seats closest to the cockpit.
"What? Not appropriate?" Victor retorted sarcastically from the rear gunner seat.
"Clearly!" Mila replied, sitting beside Yuri across from Phichit.
Yuri whipped his head to the other side, to the front, as he hurriedly adjusted his belt. "And you! What the fuck?!"
Katsuki had barely strapped himself into his seat of a small escape craft before they had taken off through, so to speak, the back door. He was just now scrambling to finish the second the thrusters had slowed a bit, only to realize Christophe had done so to spin them around, to the left, just for showing off.
Minami raised the back of his hand to his forehead and gasped. "Oh no~ Whatever shall we do?"
"Hey! If hell is going to come a knockin' at my door I might as well as give them 'ya can try'," the blonde Colbran shot back with a laugh as he flipped a few switches.
The ex-Viletto looked at Minami from the corner of his eye and smirked just enough for the shorter Colbran to tell.
"We could've had more time to get away before they started to come after us!" Axel yelled as she sat beside her sister.
Minami replied with a smirk in kind before they turned back around towards the shocked Guardsmen.
Giacometti kept looking ahead while the space craft had almost finished turning around. "Don't get yar panties in a bunch. Minami and Jean-Jackie will be just fine."
JJ stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Shall we?"
Chris shrugged. "Besides. I can't believe we were only graced with such a small number. It's insultin'."
Firecracker-like sparks glittered from Minami's hand. "Gladly."
Victor chuckled. "Cocky sons of bitches," he muttered.
Full thrusters go.
Much to the Imperial Guard's surprise, the Moon's residents nearby began overwhelm their mere fifty with their sheer numbers. The pawns finally fought back with the knight and the rook leading the way, taking the sign, as the escape craft sped off towards the Colbran surface, to no be longer afraid.
"Where are we even headed?!" Yuri shouted. "What? Are we going to crash land into the Capitol or something?!"
Still looking ahead as though he were driving a car, Giacometti's eyes went wide. He blinked a few times before a feral smile split over his face. "Victor!"
"Yes?"
"Marry him already." The blonde made the ship take a sheer right turn.
"EE~~~H?!"
"We will be shot down!" Phichit cried.
Yuri gripped the sides of his head, nearly ready to tear his hair out. "I'd like to not shit my pants thank you!"
"Hold, me, Sis!" Axel wailed as she held onto Lutz next to her. "I don't wanna die!"
Christophe guffawed. "Hahaha! Whew, y'all a treat. Ow! Ba~be!"
Yuuko took back her hand from hitting him upside the head. "If you have time for jokes with people's lives on the line then maybe we should just go head long into a lake!"
Giacometti blinked at her as his left hand remained on the back of his head. "I wasn't really kiddin," he muttered just loud enough to be heard, "and before any of ya start," he announced, "where the hell else did you think we'd go at this point?" He looked back ahead to monitor. "We have to assume no one but guns are waitin' for us down there. So we have to hit 'em where we can. What? Did ya think we're gonna cross our fingers, land in the outskirts, and get to the Royal grounds as if we're sneaky assassins?"
Yuri's hand shot up. "Ninjas say I!"
"I!" The human plus one Unwanted vote was unanimous.
Christophe threw his head back. "Ha! Do ya think we really have time for that?"
There was a self-reflecting pause.
"…Not with Albjora at risk," Axel admitted."
"Exactly. We have to get Her Declotes now!"
"But guns! We will be shot down," Phichit repeated. "Do you not even think?!"
"Oh, come on, have some faith in me! We aren't goin' to go crashin' through the royal bedroom window or anythin'!"
There was a pause.
"Wow~" Victor whistled.
Yuri rapidly shook his head. "N-No. No,no,no,no-"
Chris hit a button as he sat up straighter. "Fuck it."
Figurative blue doom with a big ol' sweat drop hung over the rest of the passengers as the craft lowered through the stratosphere.
"Your Grace…" A servant handed Her Declotes a glass of water.
"Thank you, Otabek." She sat up in her chair and took the refreshment.
Otabek stood upright. "Anything else, Ma'am?"
Lillia nodded. "Do you have any good news?" She held up a digital tablet with the news scrawling across its screen. "To cleanse the Albjora Moon…it's terrifying."
"I'm sorry this upsets you."
She nearly coughed from her sip. "Upsets me? What about you?! Humans will die!" Lillia nearly dropped the tablet and took the male servant's hands. "Colbrans will lose such a treasure," she remarked in desperation.
His brow furrowed. "Treasure, Ma'am?"
"Why else do you think we've adopted to much from your race over time?" She let go of his right hand and placed her old one near his cheek. "You're young so you don't know, but there was a time Colbran was very…very…cold is such weak word…but there used to be a day there wasn't any…ugh what would be a good word…no passion, I suppose, among us."
"Human kind provided that?"
"At a great cost…and greater regret." Lilla sighed, returning her right hand to his. "And, today, I don't have the power to stop it..."
"Ma'am?"
Her eyes looked into his for some understanding towards her justification. "The evidence and reports…it came in stacks, Otabek. The Grand Duke, Delca Yakov, was quite adamant and now a fair majority in the council have sided against those who desire not to believe it."
"He…sorry, Ma'am." Held his lip.
She shook her head. "No…speak freely."
"He did seem…to press the matter quite strongly."
"'Quite?' I'd say he nearly emthrew/em it in my face. Three months of continued terrorism from escaped humans from the Crimson Incarceration, however, had to be dealt with swiftly. We pride in strength and diligence, Otabek, I can't very well let this pass without punishment."
"Why do you think Delca Yakov suggested emthat/em kind of punishment, Ma'am?"
Lilla pursed her lips. "He's never liked Humans to begin with, however, I cannot deny these attacks on Noble homes are happening..." her conflicted voice trailed off.
"The action of a few shouldn't damn us all, Ma'am-" Otabek winced as Lilia squeezed his hands as her eyes became sharper.
"Quiet now...someone is coming…"
"This is insane!" Phichit yelled.
"Shut yer trap! Yuuko, report!"
The craft was hurling through, streaking through the sky.
"We are being hailed!" Yuuko shouted over the alarms of damaged shields. "Getting way too much attention!"
"Static only!" Chris steered left. "Now, if we can just." He steered right. "Get close." Dodging the ballistic guns from the ground. "Enough!"
Yuri couldn't watch. This whole time he had his eyes shut, white knuckling the edge of his seat as the craft was maneuvered every which way. He had no courage for this and felt he was going to barf at any moment.
"A~nd… BREAK!" Christophe slammed down on all of the switches, bringing the ship as useless as a discus mid-air, variably low to the ground. "Hold on!"
With a crash the ship tore through, Yuri could only pray they hadn't killed anyone. Colbran or humans alike.
'Bang, bang, bang...'
"This is the Imperial Guard!" A soldier pounded on the hull of the ship. "If alive come out! You're under arrest!"
Nothing happened.
Smoke and debris were every where as several who had been injured were carted off.
The solider turned around. "It's no use, Lieutenant, we can't get inside either."
"We know who's in there!" The Lieutenant replied. "Get the tools to cut out this door! I won't have just the pink girl on my record! I'll have them all!"
The solider saluted. "Yes, sir!"
A big foot kicked the door out, taking the soldier out by chance.
Roughly at the same time, an arrow hit right between the Lieutenant's eyes
"Well sorry I was unconscious!" Christophe stepped forward from the darkness, riddled with shallow cuts with guns in his hands.
Lutz came forward with her reloaded bow in her hands. "For my sister."
The small squad of Guards didn't get a chance to reply as Mila and Victor carried off the rest in high speed towards the inside of the East wing of the Royal estate.
A roar of cheers emitted from the crowd.
"Minami!" JJ shouted, picking up the kicked around mega phone. "We need volunteers to help man the other crafts."
The strawberry blonde stared at Leroy after knocking out the last remaining Guardsman. "Five crafts are going to do shit for Albjora if that's what you're thinkin'!"
"We don't have just five." JJ pointed to what he meant.
"Oh." Minami's eyes went wide. "O~h…" Then his mouth started to water at the thought of all those shiny new weapons before a devilish look fell on his impish features. "Fufufu…"
JJ shook his head and grinned. "Here, they'll listen to you over me."
With glee, the shorter Colbran took the megaphone. "Testing, testing, oh good, it works -ahem- Residents of Morja! Please listen up!"
A door was kicked in.
"Are you sure Chris and Lutz will be okay?!" Axel shouted as Victor practically dropped her to the floor. "Why did Chris halt the ship like that?!"
"To get us to look like we were hit!" Mila replied. "Now quiet, I'm sure your sister will be fine!" She hissed.
"Yes, stop yelling." Victor propped Katsuki against the wall by the door and started to pat his cheek. "Yuri. Wake up love, come on…"
With a groan, Yuri blinked awake. "Ugh..ow…Victor…I'm sore."
Victor breathed a sigh of relief. "Pain makes you feel alive….can you stand?"
Yuri nodded.
"Yuuko and Phichit are just coming around," Mila reported. "We can't stay here for long. We need to find-"
"Ahem!"
Everyone still conscious froze and slowly turned around.
Mila then immediately bowed.
Correction. The door to Her study was kicked in.
Otabek stood to protect Lila as she rose from her chair with a hard expression.
Victor, with his hands up, rose to stand. "I can explain."
Otabek stepped forward, taking out a pair of knives that were hidden in his jacket sleeves. "You've come to find Her, right? You will not hurt Her."
Axel waved her hands in front of her. "No, no, no! That's not why we are here!"
Her Declotes cocked a thin eyebrow as her eyes scanned over the rag-tag and disheveled group. "I should hit the alarm, but..." Her eyes settled on Victor once more. "It's been far too long…."
Golden-blue eyes became cold as Victor scowled, standing in front of Yuri. "Family reunions later," he muttered.
Much as he hated to admit it, his history was the only reason knives weren't being thrown at him right now.
Mila rose up with a start. "F-Family?" She shook her head to focus. "Yes. Quite." She bowed again. "My Declotes. We are here because we were forced to flee. Forgive our intrusion."
"Wait…I recognize you…" Lila replied as she stepped around Otabek. "Your Lady Mila Babicheva." She shook her head in confusion. "My reports about the attacks on Noble homes said you were dead!"
Mila rose up. "You were told many things. For years."
With a groan Phichit slid up against the wall behind him to stand as a Yuuko stirred awake.
Anger spread across sharp, regal features. "I care not for the Unwanted and escaped prisoners here in my home!" Lillia spoke, nearly shouted. "However, there's a greater urgency if I've been lied to." She pointed between them. "Debrief as we walk."
Mila and Victor stood up straight. "Yes, Ma'am."
Thanks for reading!
Slightly convenient plot is slightly convenient. I'm going to roll with it. XD;;
