[ Captain's cabin, Claudia / September 30, 0078 19:16 ]

"Damn it! We were SO CLOSE. That idiot Pallas…"

The door to the captain's cabin slid open the moment Teana touched the sensor next to it. She didn't have time to contemplate the implications of that, because the Admiral was raging and so was Sister Schach.

"Idiot?" Schach's lips arched contemptuously. From the back, Teana could discern that her right arm was fixed in a cast. "Didn't you order him to tail me, Admiral?"

"Me?!"

For a few long seconds, they stared at each other. Then Chrono exhaled slowly and deliberately.

"OK, let us all calm down now. Lanster-kun, Lieutenant Nakajima, please excuse my outburst and thank you for coming so fast. Sister Schach, I guarantee to you that I have known nothing about Lieutenant Pallas' actions prior to your report. He and his men acted of their own accord and paid for it. We will all pay for it, in the end."

"I understand, Admiral," Schach said bleakly.

"Officers, Sister Schach just reported…"

"A sergeant briefed us already, Admiral," Teana said quickly. "We know what went wrong."

"He did? Good. As you gather, General Yagami's knights will not be on our side in the next battle, which means we will probably have to take the Crown from them by force. And we still don't know where they are taking it."

Schach lifted her head.

"We do."

"Really?" Chrono turned to her abruptly.

"Before she… Knight Signum left, she told me that she will take the Crown to the Northern Mid, as I had suggested. To honor our old friendship, she said," the nun chuckled bitterly.

"Then we are very…" Chrono began but then gave Schach a worried look. When he spoke again, his voice was softer: "Schach, you may have betrayed your friend's trust, but it was never your fault or intent. Whatever Signum might have said to you in the heat of battle, her words were unjust and your honor is not stained by it."

"Tell that to her, Admiral," Schach replied darkly. "But thank you for your concern. I will be fine."

Chrono shook his head and then looked at Teana and Subaru.

"As I was saying, we are very lucky. By luring the Cradle to the Mid, Knight Signum played straight into our hands. The Einherial will be placed on full alert, and so will the fleet in orbit. I will notify the Church to begin evacuating all personnel immediately…"

"Not all of them," Sister Schach spoke up again. "Knight Carim and the Church Knights will hold their ground."

"There is no need for Knight Carim to…"

"This is the last battle of the Belkan War, Admiral," Schach said dryly. "This is our war on our soil. The Church Knights will not leave. Besides, someone has to defend the Saint King Hospital. Patients on life support cannot be evacuated and need protection."

Chrono looked embarrassed by not having thought of that.

"Right, in that case, I am not going to argue any further."

"Hello, Nii-san. Did I miss anything important?"

Everyone's heads turned to the two women who had just entered the cabin. One of them was Shari, and the other… Fate T. Harlaown was every bit as beautiful as Teana had remembered her. The blue Navy uniform brought out the vivid reddish brown of her eyes, and her hair was a mountain of gold. It was cut short, Teana registered, thinking of the woman they met in the Portfall Gardens a few days… no, an eternity ago. Her face was pale and gaunt but her features and eyes were peaceful, like those of someone already recovering from a long sickness.

"Not really, Fate. I was just going over our plans of battle. Officers, I believe you know Commander Harlaown."

"Yes, Sir," Teana and Subaru nodded in unison, still staring at Fate.

"Hello there, kids," Fate smiled at them warmly. "You have both grown so much."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Teana mumbled.

"The Commander here returned to the Bureau's employment today," Chrono explained quickly, "to lead the strike team in the upcoming battle."

Everyone turned to him.

"Our plan is actually rather simple. The moment the Cradle arrives over Mid-Childa, the Einherial and the Navy will commence bombardment. I do not expect to get through all of its AMF shields, but we should at least be able to cripple it, so it cannot escape like it did on Vaizen."

A hologram of Mid-Childa appeared over the Admiral's desk, the Cradle's projected path plotted on it with a dashed line.

"Based on its past behavior, the Cradle will most likely descend to a few hundred meters above the Grand Cathedral and start launching Gadget Drones to secure the area. We do not know when and where the knights will arrive with the Crown, unfortunately. Commander Harlaown will lead a six-person strike team to locate and close in on them. The Church Knights will be defending the area adjacent to the Saint King Hospital, while the Ground Forces, reinforced by the Marines, will cordon off the metropolitan area around the Grand Cathedral to prevent the Gadgets from spreading out to the areas around it."

"What do you want me to do once we've spotted Signum and the others?" Fate asked quietly.

"Like in the previous encounters, they will want to gain entry into the Cradle, and as long as they carry the Crown, I am certain it will let them in—though in which way I cannot say yet. It is imperative that you follow them inside. Expect heavy resistance from the Gadgets. If we are lucky, the Cradle will order them to take the Crown by force, slowing Signum's group down enough for you to catch up. Once inside, your team will split up. One half will go after the knights and secure the Crown at any cost. The other will carry out a search-and-rescue for Vivio Takamachi, currently held prisoner aboard the Cradle."

Teana and Subaru exchanged wide-eyed glances. The idea that Captain Takamachi's daughter was alive after all these years was unbelievable. Teana wanted to ask how they were certain of it, but she knew better than to question the Admiral, who, in the meantime, stared directly at his sister:

"Fate, I know you would want to search for your daughter yourself, but you are the only one on our side who can match Signum in combat. I want you to go after the knights, and leave the rescuing to the others."

"Which others, Nii-san?" Fate's voice was dry as sandpaper.

"You are not alone anymore, Fate," Chrono's tone sounded like it wasn't the first time he said that. "Major Lanster and Lieutenant Nakajima will go with you…"

"Yes, Sir!"

"…and I have arranged for a loan of Warrant Officer Ginga Nakajima from Battalion 108 to lead the search-and-rescue."

"Gin-nee…" Subaru whispered in surprise.

"The two of you have impressive combat synergy," the Admiral smiled at her. "It might be of interest to you that your other sisters will be participating in the defensive cordon along with the rest of your father's unit. I also take it that their sisters who joined the Church will be defending the Hospital."

"That, they will," Sister Schach also smiled—for the first time that day.

Teana, who was looking at Fate the whole time, watched her expression soften the moment she heard Ginga's name.

"That girl is strong," she said slowly, as if recalling something. "She will save Vivio… What about the other two on my team, Nii-san? Is it Sister Schach and another knight?"

"Sorry, Fate," Schach lifted her arm in the cast apologetically. "I am not much of a fighter right now. I will probably stay at Knight Carim's side the whole time."

"Oh," Fate blushed in embarrassment. "Then who?"

"That's a bit of a surprise," Chrono chuckled. "You will meet them both very soon."

Fate gave him a puzzled look.

"One last thing, officers," Chrono's tone was businesslike again. "I have given a lot of thought to your team's designation, and arrived to the conclusion that the only fitting call sign would be…" he took a deep breath, "Forward StarS."

A silence fell upon the room, as everyone looked at each other. Slowly, all gazes converged upon Subaru.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked sheepishly. "It's a nice call sign. I think it fits our mission… I think Nanoha-san would be proud of us."

"Then so be it," Fate nodded with a rueful smile.