Once again, I welcome you to The Will of Revenge! In the previous chapter, we experienced the most likely most important part of the war. SoS forces rained down on Flare Prime, nearly overwhelming the defenders, until a timely arrival of forces from Milky Way. But how did that happen? Wasn't Galactic Concordance in control of the Intergalactic Gate? Well, don't worry, everything will be explained.

For now, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 6

September 15, 2166

19:13

Sadera, Flare Prime

Ester was walking among the soldiers following the conclusion of the battle. All around, she could see soldiers, some wounded tended to by medics, while others were simply walking around, guarding the area. The battle ended an hour ago, but only now was she allowed to come to the surface. And when she was finally allowed to do so, she didn't wait, she took a dropship and simply flew it to the surface, where all Andromeda Branch fighters went after their ships were either destroyed or damaged.

During battle, she could swear she heard her among the radio chatter. Maybe it was just her mind playing with her, but she had to make sure. She just had to…

So she moved between the soldiers, asking if they didn't see her. But most said that no. She slowly started losing hope. Until suddenly, she saw it. A flash of red hair among the people. She shook her head, thinking that it was lighting playing with her, but she soon made sure. It was her, tending to a wounded soldier.

She started running.
"Dora!"she exclaimed.

Hearing Ester's voice, Dora turned in her direction, right as Ester reached her, wrapping her arms around her wife. Dora, a bit surprised for a moment, quickly collected herself and responded in kind, wrapping Ester in a tight hug. The stood there like that for a few seconds, before Ester finally kissed Dora as deeply as she could. Tears appeared in her eyes, seeing that her beloved was alive and well.
"I was so worried…"Ester wept."That something…happened to you…"
"Shh, it's okay."Dora said."I'm alright. And I see you're as well."
"Yeah."Ester swept her tears away."Even though there were times where I didn't think it will…I have so much to tell you…"

"Me too…You have no clue what I've been through here…"Dora replied.

They both laughed and hugged again, just standing there, enjoying each other's company.
"It's really sweet to see the two of you together again."

They both looked towards where the voice came from and saw Pina, clad in her old exoskeleton, with numerous scrapes and some missing parts. People stepped out of her way, seeing their Queen among them. She approached Dora and Ester with a smile.

"Good to see you again, Ester."Pina said.

"Likewise."Ester replied."And I see you didn't just sit behind closed doors."
"Yeah, a bunch of enemy agents tried to get to me and eliminate me."Pina replied."I guess they didn't expect that I will come out myself to greet them."

The two of them shook hands.
"I have to say. If not your timely arrival, we would be goners."Pina said."What took you so long?"
"Well, it's better if you learn from either Fred or someone on the top of hierarchy."Ester replied."They will give you a better summary. All you need to know is that we were fighting Laconians and their buddies for the past few months."

Queen nodded.
"And we've been fighting Zorzal and his cronies for the past few months."she replied.
Ester risen her eyebrow.
"Well, there seems to be more to it than we were originally led to know."

"Most likely. So. How did you know we were in trouble?"

"After we took Laconia, we managed to put our hands on all Laconian archives. They were so surprised by our attack, that they didn't think of getting rid of evidence."Ester smiled."This included military, government and LIS archives. And in them, we found numerous documents regarding deals, contracts and plans Lacos made with 'Sons of Sadera' and 'Emperor Zorzal. We put the two and two together and only assured ourselves in our findings, when we put our hands on plans of a coordinated Laconia-Sons attack on Milky Way and Andromeda. So, when we told the higher ups about it, they came up with a plan and we went to liberate Angier System. We took back the Intergalactic Gate and here we are."

"Valid, I guess."
"As I said, wanna know more, go and ask someone higher than me."Ester shrugged."Sorry if I sound rude, but I have a wife that I need to catch up with after months of separation."
Pina nodded.
"Got it. You go and enjoy yourselves then. I go back to the palace and deal with everything on my end…"

"Have fun then."

With that, the two of them left. Pina, in the meantime, looked at the soldiers around her.
"Today we won a battle, but the war is still not over."she said."We will still have to put some effort into pushing them out. But soon, we will take back what's ours and make Sons regret ever returning to our space!"

Soldiers immediately cheered. She then turned and started walking to the palace.

September 15

19:37

Falmart, Flare Prime

Felidius, as well as his whole group, was in emergency mode. The recently concluded battle of the planet caused them to go into panic, but after a few minutes, he managed to get everything under control. Still, his heart was pounding, when the reality of what just happened sank in.

Laconians in Milky Way lost. And with the Intergalactic Gate now open, it was only a matter of time, before UNSA will send more forces into Andromeda. And this could only mean, that their situation would become much, much worse.

This is why he decided to evacuate the compound he and his group were hiding in. He ordered Livia and Hadrian to prepare explosives to cover all of their tracks. Next, they would go into hiding and wait for an opportunity to strike. Who knew, maybe they'll make some terrorist attacks on Falmartian institutions. That's what the HQ would want from them, most likely, in their current situation, until situation turns again in SoS favor. If it ever will.

Others were splashing everything with easily burning substances onto various furniture, to make sure everything really goes up with flames when explosives will be set off. He just stood and supervised.
The door opened and Livia and Hadrian returned.
"How are the explosives?"he asked.
"All ready."Livia replied."We can blow up when you tell us."
Felidius nodded.
"Good. Hadrian, go get the car ready."major ordered.

Hadrian nodded and went to do as he was told.

"Everyone, gather what you can and leave the rest. We have to be gone from here when…"

Felidius' words were cut off by Hadrian flying back into the building and crashing into the wall, a large horizontal cut across his chest, as he slammed into the wall. Everyone looked at it with wide eyes.

"My, my. How messy."a sweet, yet chilling, voice said.

Hearing it, everyone slowly turned their heads towards it's source. There, standing in the door, was a girl wielding an axe that was clearly too big for her. A smile that sent chills down their spines was plastered across her face.
"Tracking you down for all these weeks actually paid off."she said."It took some time to decipher all the tracks you left, but it finally happened. So now comes the time for me to have my fun."She licked her lips.

Felidius and his companions just stood there. They knew who they were dealing with. And they knew they had no chance.
"Say hi to Giselle for me."Rory said before rushing into the fray.

Few minutes later, she left the building. Her axe still dripped the blood from the enemy agents. Some of which actually tried to resist, leaving Rory with some quickly healing burn marks from their laser weapons. She quickly used a piece of material she took from the building to clean her axe. Next, she reached for her earpiece.
"This is Mercury."she said."You can get rid of the evidence."
"Copy."came the short response.

Rory then quickly left. Few seconds later, a cruise missile hit the area, burning the building and whatever remained from SoS intelligence officers to the ground.

September 15

22:42

Pina's Office, Imperial Palace, Sadera

That night, Ester was called in to meet Pina again. Fortunately, she managed to catch up on was was happening with Dora during her stay here. Honestly, the part that shocked her the most was not the fact that Dora had to help a bunch of soldiers survive for a few months while traversing enemy-occupied territory on a barely populated world, that was something Ester actually expected Dora could do. What most shocked her, was the fact that Eneans had their ruins here and that Dora received a sword from some ghosts of ancient Enean warriors. The whole story seemed surreal, but then again, magic was now real, so why shouldn't ghosts be?

In return, Ester told Dora everything regarding what was happening in Milky Way. The initial tensions, the attack on Earth and all that followed. As expected, Dora wanted to go and smash Lioni's face into the wall for all he did. But she managed to calm down before she went and stole a dropship to do it. She also asked what happened to the girls, and was calmed a bit after hearing they were under the protection of Ester's parents. Of course, that was the last time she saw them. She had no idea what Laconians were doing in Dortmund since they took it over.

After that, she was approached by a Royal Guard who told her, that Pina wanted to see her. So after promising to Dora that they'll spend some more time together after that, she went with him to see the Queen.

RG showed her the door and after knocking and hearing a short 'In', she opened the door and stepped in.

Pina sat behind her desk, with Hamilton standing next to her. When the two spotted Ester, they both smiled.
"Ah, you came."Pina said."Please, take a seat."

Colonel approached the desk and did as she was told.
"Hamilton, could you bring us something to drink?"Pina asked.
"Of course."the secretary replied.
"What would you like?"
"Just some cola is enough."Ester replied."But in case you'd like some wine, we can do that."
"No, I'd actually like to drown my sorrows in cola as well, haha."Pina laughed.

Hamilton nodded and left, leaving the two alone.
"So…what do you need of me?"Ester asked.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to get some information about what went down in Milky Way once we were here struggling to not lose everything."Pina replied.
"Isn't anyone higher in hierarchy better suited for it?"
"Isn't the best suited person the one you value the most?"Queen smirked."Not that I don't value Fred or Harika, but I simply wanted to hear it from you. Besides, I already ordered Tyuule to get information from Fred and then report it all to me."

"Oh. Then thanks for your trust."Ester smirked as well.
The door opened and Hamilton was already back with some Cola and glasses. She placed them on the desk and poured the drink into the two glasses.
"Didn't get one for yourself?"Pina asked.
"I didn't know if I could."Hamilton replied.
"You're a friend. Grab one from the bar and pour yourself too."

Hamilton did just that. Soon, the three of them were drinking.
"So, Ester. What happened in Milky Way exactly?"Pina asked Ester.

"Eh…"Ester sighed."A lot. Too much to explain it in a few minutes. There was a lot happening also where I couldn't be or see it. So you most likely won't get the full picture from me. But, I can do my best. So…"

And so, she started retelling the exact same thing she told Dora, from the tensions that arose after the attacks on both Milky Way and Andromeda targets, the first strikes by Galactic Concordance, the capture of Angier and Solar systems, Ester, Elsa, Norrine and Warrior Bunnies joining the ICTA and forming the Special Operations Force. Then she told Pina about the battles of Chakdria, Shakaya and Nashina, all the missions she and the SOF have done, the pirates, the final assault on Laconia and the assault on Angier System and reconquest of Intergalactic Bridge, followed by the arrival of relief fleet to Andromeda.

Pina listened to everything and whistled at the end.
"That's…"
"Yeah."Ester nodded."That was one hell of a time. Everyone is already calling it the 2nd Galactic War. Which, I won't lie, is a fitting name."

"Certainly."Hamilton agreed."But you managed to pull through."

"Barely…"Colonel sighed again."It seemed that everyone was already too tired, so after capturing Lioni, all Concordance members officially asked for a ceasefire. Peace talks are already starting, but what will happen with Laconia was already decided long before the attack."
"So what will happen?"Pina asked.
"The planet, as well as all of Laconian space, will be divided into four occupation zones: Nashini, Shakayan, Chakdrik and Human-Tertan. Basically, it got the post-WW2 Germany treatment."She shrugged."Served them right. But that doesn't mean the fighting is over. While Laconia fell, many of it's forces are not giving up easily. Many Laconian commanders being now ex-HO commanders, they will most likely resist for some time, but most likely not as long as HO Remnant did after GGW. Their forces in Sol are already under heavy pressure. From besiegers, they became the besieged. Double siege. Huh, that reminds of something…"

They all took another sip.
"There's still one thing I don't understand."Hamilton said."How did the enemy manage to sneak past the Unified Detection Grid?"

"We still are trying to figure it out. The most possible option is a cybernetic attack. But as Ves stated, the security of the UDG is so good, that only way to get to it's systems, is from the inside."Ester replied, making circles with her glass.
"Then maybe it was an inside job?"Pina suggested, rising and eyebrow.

Ester blinked for a few seconds, before facepalming and groaning loudly.
"An inside job?"she asked."Why didn't I think of this? Heck, why didn't ANYONE think of this? Most likely because it was considered that only the most trusted people are in charge of UDG. Urgh."

There was a moment of silence. They all sipped their Cola, trying to calm down. Right then, Pina frowned.
"Wasn't there anything about a traitor in LIS documents?"she asked.

Ester shook her head.
"Out of every important and shameful information the LIS had, this was one thing nobody could find."she admitted."You can say a lot about Laconian intelligence, but they know how to keep identities of their operatives a secret."

Another moment of silence.

"Wait."Hamilton said."You said you captured Lioni, right?"
"Yes."
"Wasn't he a head of LIS for a long time?"

"Yes."
"Where are you going with this?"Pina asked.
"Isn't that obvious? He was in charge of LIS. So, from what I know about how Lacos intelligence operated, all decisions were coming directly from Lioni. Which means…"
"…that he had to choose the person that was most likely to turn to their side and approve of the operation to recruit them."Ester gasped."Hamilton, you're a genius!"

The secretary just waved it off.
"Anyone could figure it out."she said.
"Apparently not everyone, if even out heads of intelligence couldn't."Ester said with a dark look."We'll have to take care of that sooner or later."

"Why not now?"Pina risen an eyebrow.
"There's still too much stuff to take care of in my opinion."colonel stated."All our services are still busy in clearing out whatever GC forces are still resisting, while we're tied here until we make sure no danger or harm comes to people of Andromeda. That's what our commanders ordered. So until we make sure there is no enemy that can resist us effectively, we can't do anything in that regard."
"Shame."Pina stated.
"Yeah…"Ester admitted.

They quickly finished their Colas.
"Thanks for the drink and all."Ester said, standing up.
"And thank you for giving us all the information we were missing."Pina replied."Now go and enjoy as much time with Dora as you need."
"Oh, you bet."Ester winked as she left the office.
Meanwhile, Pina crossed her arms and sighed.
"Well. Seems like soon, everything will be over."
"I sure hope so."Hamilton said."We won."
"Indeed. But at what cost?"

September 25

14:42

Outskirts of Leender

Ten days later, the war continued. After assessing the situation and some consulting with Andromeda Branch, UNSA and their allied forces, joined by several ships from Andromeda, decided to not wait long and just two days later, after gathering needed forces, they launched a counterattack. They split in two groups, one meant for Taurus System, while other made their way to Narum System. As it turned out, the escaping SoS fleet from Flare Prime actually left behind some ships to defend the occupied worlds. Nobody knew what was the reasoning behind this, considering how token and skeletal these forces were. It took less than a day to eliminate them and not long after, the roles have turned and the recent invaders became the invaded.

For the next week, allied forces fought with the SoS forces that were left on both planets, but this time, it was not such a drag as it was before. Liberation of Narum Prime lasted only three days before SoS forces surrendered. On Taurus III, fighting lasted for a bit longer, but not as long as previously, with SOF and air forces attacking enemy positions all across the planet. This allowed the liberation forces for bigger field of maneuver and easier breakthroughs. Within this week, all C.Z. capitals were liberated only after few days, leaving Leender as the only city still under enemy control on the planet.

Captain Hal Mikkelson looked through his binoculars, observing the panorama of the city in the distance. Smoke was still flying into the sky from the destruction caused by the battle, but that was about it. No matter how much he, Lydia or anyone else looked, they could not spot any enemy troops or movements. Something was definitely not right.
"What do you think?"commander of the tank companies that accompanied them as a part of their forward recon asked from her hatch.

Hal looked down at her. She was a cat person, from Falmart, but apparently, she lived in Japan, on Earth. This is why she was in charge of a bunch of experimental walking tanks, not the mechs, but actual tanks with legs. He himself didn't know what was the reasoning behind it all, but from what he heard, these things passed their test in the defense of Emloy.

Just by looking at the face of the commander, he could tell what they went through there. She was young, but looked like she had decades of experience.

"Something is really off."Hal replied, handing the binoculars to her.
Seyi accepted the binoculars and looked at the city. He was right. It was too calm, especially after the intense fighting they went through during the liberation of the planet.
"What do you propose?"Skandian captain asked her.
Seyi activated her radio.
"2nd Company, you go and secure the southern outlet from the city."she ordered."We're gonna enter and see for ourselves how is the situation inside."
"Copy."commander of 2nd Company replied.

Four walking tanks moved past the six commander by Seyi personally. She winced. Out of 24 vehicles she started with, fourteen were lost on Emloy, including one captured by the enemy for whatever reason.

She looked into the inside of her vehicle. Inside, she saw Eiko and Yuzu doing their jobs as always. Especially Eiko, who looked with empty eyes. Michael's death really hit her, but what else was expected? The feeling between them was true and real. Something like that would easily break a person in deep love.

After the destruction of their tank, it was surprisingly easy to find a new one, with missing three crew members. But the change didn't come easily for everyone.
"Be ready for anything."she told her crew.
"Sure."Yuzu said.
Eiko didn't answer.

"Eiko…?"Seyi tilted her head.

"Huh?"Eiko seemed to break out of trance."Oh, um…Yeah, sure. Copy."

Seyi felt pain in her heart after hearing her friend's tone.

"Forward."
"On it, ma'am."the new driver, Orochi, said. He was a veteran of GGW and Andromeda Defense War now as well. Honestly, Seyi was glad that they had him now. Even if he wasn't as close to them as Michael.

The tanks started moving forward. They paced down the road leading towards the city, their guns scanning the area around them for possible ambush. Soldiers sat on top of them, also watching over the area.

After some time, they entered the city and started moving towards it's center, passing by ruined buildings and rubble littering the streets. There and there, they could see burned wrecks of SoS vehicles. The whole city was weirdly…quiet.
"What the hell happened here…?"Seyi asked."Except the obvious."
"I don't know. Where did all the Sons go?"Hal asked.

The tanks paced through the streets, ultimately crossing the bridges that were still standing over the river. And until now, they didn't even see or hear any SoS.

Only when they started approaching the city center, they finally started to see some people. Most were civilians, but there was also a bunch of armed ones. Some where wearing more civilian clothes, while others were wearing partial uniforms either from UTDF or SoS troops. They all observed the tanks walk through.

Finally the convoy approached the courtyard before the Unified Staff. There, they could see more people with weapons, some sitting on SoS vehicles, while others just guarded the area. Hal signaled to Seyi to stop, and she relayed the order to the rest. Tanks halted their advance and Hal jumped off of Seyi's vehicle. Immediately, he was approached by one of the armed people.
"Who's in charge here?"he asked.
"I am."a female voice said before the man in front of Hal could answer.

Looking towards the entrance of the building, Hal saw a teenage girl exiting it. Her long blonde hair was tied in a braid and she was wearing a bulletproof vest. AR4 assault riffle was slung over her arm as she walked towards him, two more armed men at her side, a Nashini and a Nakatan. Hal quickly recognized her.
"Princess Nina Ordell?"he asked.
"In full glory."Nina replied. She looked at the convoy."Good to see you didn't die out there."
"We got some reinforcements, so of course we didn't."Hal shrugged and looked around."Can you tell us what happened here?"

"After your fleet came to the orbit and your troops landed, Sons in the city went into full panic mode."Nina started."Firius ordered his troops to quickly cover all tracks of what they were doing here, AKA kill everyone. People didn't like that, as you can imagine, so they rose up. Sons tried running away, but we cut them off within the city and eliminated their resistance. Firius hung himself in his office in Colonial Administration Building to not give us the satisfaction. Without him, everything went smoothly."
"And where do you hold prisoners from that?"Hal asked.
Nina shook her head.
"None surrendered."she said.

Skandian captain nodded and sighed.
"So it seems like it's basically over."he said.
"Yeah…"Nina sighed as well.

Not long after, Hal stood on top of the Colonial Administration Building, sticking a flag of UN on top of it and then, he just stood there for a few seconds, watching it wave on the wind. One of Japanese soldiers who were with him then snapped a picture of this scene, which, under the name 'Journey's End', would go on and win a Pulitzer prize and become one of the most iconic photos in history. A picture of a single Skandian soldier, observing the flag while standing on top of a building, with ruins and dark smoke in the distance.

The complete liberation of Taurus III came only three days later. Whatever leadership Sons had left on the planet decided that it was not worth it anymore. Because of that, hundreds of thousands of Sons landed in custody and would be distributed between prisoner camps both in Milky Way and Andromeda. There were still remnants of enemy forces on the verges of the UN-controlled space, but they would be taken care of soon. The Andromeda Defense War was as god as over.

September 27

16:23

Dortmund, Earth

Ester and Dora sat inside the Fennek armored car, driving through the streets of newly liberated Dortmund, their hearts uneasy. Following the retaking of Angier System and Intergalactic Gate, all allied forces at disposal were sent to Sol. Birthplace of humanity still held it's ground against the attacking Concordance forces. As it was expected, even with capture and surrender of Laconia and other GC states, some forces still decided to keep fighting. But the fighting was slowly dying down. On Mars, it was basically over and Suvi actually sent them a picture of herself holding Martian flag and puffing her chest proudly as she stood in front of the crowd of Martian people. Luna was also again in UNSA hands and most territory enemy occupied on Earth was slowly being taken away from them. Well, slowly was the wrong word. SoS and their allies were being pushed back like crazy. It was a matter of days until they are taken care of.

Dora looked at Ester, who was twirling her fingers because of the anxiety.
"Everything will be alright."Dora said, even though she felt the exact same as her wife.

Ester sighed.
"I want to believe it, but…Do, it's been three months."she replied."Lacos could've done anything. If it turns out that they…"She shuddered at the thought.

Dora took one hand from the wheel and placed it on Ester's arm.

"All will be good. I'm certain."she stated.

Ester just nodded.

They were driving in silence for a few more minutes, until they finally reached their destination: home of Ester's parents. The car stopped and the two of them came out of it, putting on their helmets and taking their riffles with them. The city might have been liberated, but it didn't mean that some Lacos were not still in hiding. It was advised by HQ for soldiers to keep their weapons at the ready every time they walk in the streets.

The looked around and walked towards the door. The whole area was eerily silent. Most people left the city in hopes of finding safety somewhere else on the planet or somewhere beyond it's gravitational well. How many succeeded, they didn't know. But now was not the time to worry about that.

They stood before the door. Ester took a deep sigh and knocked on it. She gulped, waiting. Nothing happened for a few seconds, so she started losing hope. But then, she heard quick footsteps inside the house. Seconds later, the door swung open and the two saw Clara standing there, handgun in hand, aimed straight at them. But when she realized who is she dealing with, she lowered her weapon and smiled at the sight of her daughter and her wife.

"That's one heck of a greeting, mom."Ester said, cracking a smile.

"Sorry. We just didn't expect to see you yet."Clara replied, smiling back.
"Mom!"two identical voices exclaimed.

Before anything else could be said, two red-heads ran out of the house and threw themselves onto Ester.
"You'we back!"Conny exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks.

"We missed you so muuuuuuuch!"Ursula sobbed.

"I missed you too."Ester said, also with tears in eyes, hugging them back tightly.

Dora just frowned.
"So I'm not loved anymore?"she asked with pretended scoff.

Twins looked in her direction and she received identical treatment.
"Mom Dora/Dowa!"they both exclaimed.

Dora smirked and patted them both on the heads.
"I missed you too, kiddos."she said."There's a lot I have to tell you about the time I spent in Andromeda. It wasn't boring I tell you."

"We have things to tell you too."Ursula said.

They all stood there for a few seconds, not saying anything, just enjoying each other's company.

"I'm sorry…"Ester finally said."I'm sorry for leaving you like that, under such circumstances…"

"No need to be sorry, honey."Clara said.
"In comparison with some other places, what we had here was relatively calm."Daniel, who just joined them, said.
"Hi dad."Ester said.

He only nodded his head.

Ester cleared her throat.

"Well…there is one thing I think I need to tell you…"she said.
"What is it?"Daniel asked.

"Apparently…I have a magical power…"

Her parents looked at her, blinking for a few seconds.
"Super Strength."Ester continued."It appeared when I was in trouble over Chakdria. That was certainly surprising."

Clara, Daniel and the twins looked at each other. Ester frowned and Dora risen an eyebrow.

"Aren't you surprised?"Ester asked.
"We are…"Clara said."…but good that you mentioned it, because…"
"…we also have something to tell you…"Daniel added.

As they said it, Ursula and Conny stepped away from Ester, leaving her and Dora confused. Next, the two lifted their hands and…

"Holy shi…"Dora started.
"Wha…?"Ester asked.

Black and white flames flickered in the air above the twins' hands. Both of them had innocent smiles on their faces.

"Yeah…we also got powers…"Ursula said.
"It wooks coow, doesn't it?"Conny asked.

They stood there, looking at it, not knowing what to say.

September 30

10:43

Tokyo, Earth

The high-speed rail train stopped at the station. Last Laconian troops in Tokyo surrendered a day ago and after a few hours of making the system work again, trains were again operating. This allowed all the soldiers who were off-world to finally return home.

Like, for example, a trio of walking tank crew.

The door opened and Seyi, Eiko and Yuzu stepped onto the station, their bags in tow. They were followed by other soldiers of their brigade, who arrived with them on the same train. They stood there, looking around for a few seconds.

"Seyi! Guys!"a familiar voice exclaimed.

Seyi looked in it's direction and saw a familiar face running towards them. Seyi couldn't help but smile, seeing her sister.

Yuko ran up to them with a smile on her face. She quickly wrapped her arms around Seyi, welcoming her younger sister home.

"It's so good to see you again!"Yuko said."Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"
"Well…"Seyi replied."…it could be…worse…"

Yuko then looked at Eiko and Yuzu. But then, she frowned, seeing one person missing.
"Where's Michael?"

At the mention of the late driver's name, all of them tensed and looked away, with Eiko grabbing her arm with her hand. Yuko gulped.
"Yuko…"Seyi said, looking up. Yuko saw tears streaking down the cat girl's face.

Before Yuko could say anything else, Yuko, Eiko and Yuzu wrapped their arms around her and all erupted with tears. A bit shocked and startled by it, Yuko stayed silent, understanding what happened. She wrapped her arms around the three of them and they stayed like that for a few good minutes.

September 30

Unknown time

Undisclosed location

He felt his ass falling onto the chair as his guards pushed him down. Next, they grabbed the bag covering his eyes and pulled it off. The man growled in anger and snapped at them,

"You will pay for this!"he exclaimed."Do you not know who I am?!"
"Zack Lioni."a female voice said.

Former President of Laconian Republic and chief of Laconian Intelligence Service looked towards the owner of the voice, which turned out to be a red haired woman somewhere in her thirties. She stood with her back against the wall, sending him a cheeky smile.
"Who the fuck are you?"he asked.
"Who I am is not important."she replied."What's important, is the information you hold in your head, buddy."

Lioni rolled his eyes.
"I have a lot in my head."he said."And why do you think I would even tell you any of it?"

She was next to him within a second, before he could react. Her expression shifted from cheeky to annoyed really fast.
"Listen here. We all know why and how your forces were able to bypass the UDG."she said."And it wasn't in any of your documents. What I want to know…is who the fuck did you get to let your troops pass?"

"We didn't get anyone. Your people were just lazy and stupid."
"Bullshit. You had someone let you pass. And I am going to find out who the fuck did you get on your side."

Lioni sent her an arrogant smile.
"Lady, you don't know me."he said."In my time, I was tortured, beaten and I never let any word slip out of my mouth."He leaned in closer."Why do you think I would tell anything to you, huh?"

Once more, her expression shifted, returning to the cheeky smile. She stepped away from the man, slowly unbuttoning her shirt. Lioni risen an eyebrow.
"What? Are you gonna do some striptease for me?"he asked.
"You know, funny you say that."she said."One time, someone asked me a similar question."
She finished unbuttoning her shirt and spread it open. Lioni's eyes widened in shock. Under the shirt, the woman had an impressive collection of knives of all shapes an sizes.
"Now…"she started."…which one should we begin with?"

Few seconds later, the whole room was filled with screams of pain.

Outside, a group was standing and listening to everything. The screams sent shivers down their spines.

"Are you sure we will get the information?"General Secretary Harika asked.

Fred, Ester and Aquexymeva looked at her.

"It will, don't worry."Fred said.
"She can get any information from anyone."Ester said."Even if it isn't her expertise. But then again, nobody would withstand getting cut by super sharp knives."
"If I didn't believe in Dora, I wouldn't recommend her."Aqi added.

"Still, this seems a bit too…extreme."Harika whispered.

"When it comes to bastards like Lioni, there's never too much of the extreme."Ester stated, crossing her arms.
"If you say so, colonel…"

Screams coming from inside the room continued for a few more minutes, stopping from time to time, only to resume again when Dora worked on the former Laconian leader. Guards who stood around tugged on their collars, feeling uneasy. Everyone would, hearing the screams coming out of the room.

After that time, the screams stopped and the door slid open. Dora stepped out of the room, cleaning one of her knives on on her shirt. It wouldn't help much, considering that she was covered in blood.

She looked at the gathered with a smile on her face.
"We got it."she announced.

October 3

22:06

West Best Paradise Hotel, New Izmir, Konak IV

Two Skyhawks in Stealth variants passed by the elegant skyscrapers in the center of the colonial city and silently hovered over the roof of an eight hundred room hotel. Falmartian Preator special unit, in company of some Tertan Alpha Detachment and American Delta Force, dropped the ropes and slowly slid down onto the roof. Dropships had no place to land, there was too much equipment there. First group of commandos quickly secured the roof and prepared for the group from second machine to join them. Thick ropes landed on the concrete. Colonel Sarla looked up, where second dropship was taking place of it's predecessor. Second-in-command of the operation jumped off of some superstructure and approached four Preators standing at the door leading inside the building. Rest of the team was on the building within seconds. Among them, was one character that seemed out of place. She looked like a young girl, but she wielded a giant axe, much bigger than her. She was also wearing a vest, even though she didn't need it.

"I would tell you to stay back until we won't clear the rooms…"Sarla said, looking at her commander."…but I know your capabilities."

Rory Mercury sent her her trademark smile.
"Good that we have understanding at least in that, colonel. Shall we proceed?"
"Yes, we shall."

Sarla grabbed her MSBS Piorun assault riffle she slung over her arm and approached the edge of the roof. Twelve floors below, three vans just stopped in front of the hotel. Each stopped before a different entrance to the massive construction. Side door opened and Tertan operatives poured out of them. They silently passed by some guests, who quickly stepped out of their ways or simply ran to their cars. Sarla returned to the superstructure with the industrial door leading to the upper floors.

"Just don't show off."Sarla asked.

Rory just smiled again.

"Sapphire, Alpha have secured the entrance to the hotel. You're a go!"Sarla heard in her headphones. She was the only one with no helmet on her head. Her ponytail tied hair was decorated with communication system with a microphone right next to her lips.

"Copy, Alpha, we're going in!"

22:16

General Władysław Moskwiak sat in front of a TV and drank whisky. He just returned from a late dinner and a walk across the beautiful konakian coast. He was proud of himself like a peacock. Not only did he get a nice pay for the job he did for Lacos, but also they fell, so additionally, he didn't have to worry about them removing him because he was a danger. In his way, he was happy things turned out like this. He didn't hurt anyone. Of course, his employers had to swallow up a bitter defeat, but that was none of his concern. Moskwiak loved to marvel over his bank account's state. He wasn't the miser type, but he liked to fall asleep knowing, that everything's alright. Now, he will hide somewhere on a tropical planet and maybe open his own little hotel. Not a big one, maybe for a few dozen people. He never liked large crowds. He reached for laptop and sat comfortably in the chair. The anchorman was still talking about the cleaning up of Laconian and other Concordance forces that were still resisting, while others agreed to fall back from occupied space. General quickly punched some keys and looked at the state of his account. Eleven numbers, now he could live his life. He quickly logged out of the bank's website and found a map of interesting part of space. He was especially interested in Cassiopeia. He always wanted to see the pristine beaches and amazing coral structures of the planet and now, he would be able to buy an entire island there. Yes, that's what he wanted from life.

22:23

Six Preators quickly paced down the staircase to the seventh floor. Tertans, after securing the exits, quickly found the hotel's administrator and told him to prohibit any movement on this floor. No guests, no maids, no waiters delivering food, just emptiness. The administrator, seeing fully geared up Tertan war machine in front of him, didn't want to negotiate. The room service disappeared from corridors as if vanishing into thin air. Colonel Sarla waited until two dark figures will make it through the corridor leading to room 708. A nod from a helmet and balaclava wearing commando confirmed the lack of outside observers. Remaining figures quickly crossed the corridor and tightly stood by the door. Completed with collimators, tactical grips and lasers Pioruns looked like the futuristic weapons they were. Similarly did the helmet mounted night vision goggles and personal cameras. Sarla showed her thumb and moved back towards Rory. While some operatives seemed nervous as if they had to face the Underworld Beast itself, she looked calm as if it was a walk in the park.
"We're gonna take care of it all quickly. You won't even notice when everything happened."Warrior Bunny said.

"I would prefer to see everything, actually."Rory replied."I didn't come here to just sit and watch."
"Of course. Scan the room, confirm the target's presence."

"Yes, colonel!"one Preator replied.

Sarla looked around the corner and saw as one commando put his weapon on his back and started pressing something on his hand terminal. He then directed the device towards the wall, screen still in his direction. After a few seconds, there was a beep and he moved the terminal away. Soon, he got confirmation from six other operatives standing beside the door, as well as support section placed several meters further near the corridor crossroads.

"Target identified, I confirm the presence of general Władysław Moskwiak in the room."The same operative backed off to his place, once more taking his Piorun.

"Copy, Sapphire, you can begin."Sarla looked at Rory. The Demigoddess was tightly gripping the hilt of her axe, shaking in anticipation.

"This is Sapphire, we're breaching."

Another commando put his weapon on his back, approached the door and placed a coffer-shaped explosive to it. He turned on the timer and backed away.

22:29

Moskwiak, busy with searching for the best place for himself, fell into a trance while looking at various sites of real estate agencies of Cassiopeia. Prices for islands were horrendous, but he could afford one of those. He will have enough money left to build a hotel and a home for himself. As far from that rich rabble that will come to his paradise! Suddenly, he looked away from the monitor and frowned. His hearing, trained by years of service, heard something like a click behind the door. The hell? Another free time animator was coming back from a party after tiring day? Moskwiak stood up to check what's happening in the corridor through the peephole. He only managed to put down his computer. The shockwave of explosion and remains of broken door fell him together with the chair. Stunned by the explosion, he didn't see or hear anything. Sound wave still squeaked painfully under his skull, making him unable to contact reality. After a second, figures clad in black as night picked him up, placed on his knees and pointed assault riffles at him. Silencers circled around his terrified and shocked face. Four demons stopped like statues, keeping a safe distance from stunned Moskwiak. Only now he could see a stylized red rose on their arms. Falmartians! How did they get him?! There goes his island. They will probably give him to the UN, there will be a fake trial and he'll rot in prison. Two more people entered the room then, one a Warrior Bunny woman dressed like the remaining commandos, but without a helmet and balaclava. She looked at Moskwiak with emotionless eyes and pulled out a cigar from aluminum package.

"He's yours, ma'am."

Moskwiak was fluent in Saderan, he knew what she was saying. Sarla backed away two steps and put the cigar between her lips. From behind him, a young looking girl stepped to the front. She held a big axe and Moskwiak recognized who was he dealing with.
"What are they doing?"he thought and tried to say something.

"No need, I know Polish."Rory said."General Władysław Moskwiak, in the name of United Nations and Kingdom of Falmart, you are sentenced to death for first degree treason and accepting financial compensation for said treason, as well as causing deaths of citizens of both entities. The sentence is to be performed at the spot. You understand?"

"Y-You can't…"Moskwiak went silent. How? Why? He was untraceable. They had to sell him out, fucking Lacos, he will get to their…

Rory's axe that fell on him stopped his thoughts. Blade cleaved right through, stopping only on the floor beneath him.

October 3

22:35

Sadera, Falmart, Flare Prime

Honorary tribune was set up right next to the path of passing of forces through the Triumph Road, near the Royal Palace. Leaders of allied nations, both from Andromeda and Milky Way, stood next to Queen Pina co Lada, observing the column of tanks passing by. Green vehicles turned their turrets and lowered their guns in salute for the leaders. Each machine had a colorful flag representing the national identity. Commanders sitting in the turrets saluted when passing by the tribune. The victory parade was decided to take place here by Harika and Pina and it was almost as big as the one from 2152. Inhabitants of both galaxies celebrated the end of another huge conflict until late morning. Pina, standing just a few steps away from General Secretary Harika, pulled out her vibrating phone from the pocket. She read a short message and smiled, leaning in towards the celebrating woman.

"All done."

XXX

And this is it for today! As always, feel free to leave a review, follow and favorite! It will be highly appreciated!

Bye!