Welcome back! Previously on…Goddesses go over their another day in the base of the resistance cell, when everything is interrupted by a sudden arrival of an Imperial scout drone. Neptune, being herself, decides for the group to take care of it, thinking it to be easy. But soon, it turns out that the drone is more formidable than expected. After a short battle, however, goddesses are able to not only destroy it, but also get some of their powers back. Now, with this, more moves are being planned by the resistance.

Now, traditionally, before we start, time for reviews.

To end5: Thank you, as always.

With that out of the way, let's get to the main dish.

Chapter 7

February 5, 2257

08:32

Imperial Intelligence Service HQ, Planeptune, Gamindustri

Imperial Intelligence Service, or IIS in short, was the first of the more specialized forces of the Aristian Empire and was also the first to settle in their new headquarters, which previously belonged to Planeptunian Intelligence Agency. Thanks to that, it wasn't hard for them to start operating, considering that all equipment was already on place. For years now, their main task was rooting out all the possible resistance across the system and making sure that the Imperial rule will last. However, as it turned out, it wasn't that easy. Apparently, when someone tries to resist the occupation, they can be very persistent.

"Hello people."commander Slite Fallon said, entering the busy command room of the HQ.

Fallon was an experienced commander, leading the IIS for years now, since the early death of his predecessor. Since then, the effectiveness of Imperial intelligence basically tripled, what allowed them to root out many plotters and elements from the society. He prouded himself in the fact, that it was mostly thanks to him and his subordinates, that people of the Empire could live more safely.

"Good morning, sir."everyone present in the room replied.
"Hey, Ulie."Fallon called out.

One of the analysts turned towards him.
"What do we have?"

"Oh, not much I'm afraid, sir."Ulie replied."As per Her Majesty's request, we launched numerous drones across the system to search for the missing goddesses. For now, we're still waiting for any kind of result. Not only that, but we lost one of the drones."
"How?"
"Last recording shows it crashing into a surface of an asteroid in the outer asteroid belt. After that, it went silent. It's certainly destroyed."
That was a shame. These drones were pretty expensive and there were not a lot of them to begin with. So losing even one was a big blow to the IIS' capabilities.
"Well, I will have to write it into the costs…"Fallon said."And others?"
"Other drones are operating without problems in all areas of the system. If they find anything, they will…"

Right as he said it, another drone flashed red on Ulie's screen. Then another. And another. Soon, half of them were red.

"What's going on?"Fallon asked.

Ulie pressed something. Then, he gasped.

"Sir, we're being hacked!"he exclaimed.
"Hacked? By who?"commander asked.

As per his request, a spiral in a hexagon flashed on the screen. Fallon was too well aware of who this symbol belonged to.

"Technocrats."he muttered.
"Sir, our drones are self-destructing."Ulie said."There are only three…No, now two…One…None. All drones self destroyed themselves."

Hearing this, Fallon squeezed his carton cup of cola, which proceeded to spray Ulie's face. Analyst did not flinch, however.

"These Empress-dammed terrorists!"commander shouted."These bastards are such a pain in the ass I can't believe it! When we eliminate one cell, three more appear in it's place! What the hell even is this!"

Everyone looked at each other, not saying anything. Their commander's explosions of anger were nothing new to them. He might have looked nice on the outside, but when you pissed him off, he could literally tear tables nailed to the ground off.

Fallon took a few deep breaths and looked at some communications analysts.

"Call the Imperial Palace. We have to report it to the Empress."
"Yes, commander!"one of the analysts said.
"Also, contact the R&D division. Tell them to create and produce better drones than these older Sinax II models."
"Understood!"another exclaimed.

Next, he looked at another analyst.
"And you!"he said."Bring me some aspirin…"

February 5

10:31

Artisan's base, training hall

As a mining facility, the asteroid did not have any kind of specialized training facilities for the military. Fortunately, freedom fighters being freedom fighters, they were inventive and turned one of the old ore storage into a makeshift training hall. They mainly did it by placing several makeshift firing ranges. But now, they were joined by several dummies which were aimed at helping in melee training.

And currently, there were four people using these dummies.

"Hiya!"Neptune exclaimed.

She swung her katana down, slicing through the dummy, her sword leaving a purple trail behind it. Dummy fell to the ground, leaving a smoke trail behind it.

Neptune made her katana disappear.
"Now that's more like it."she said.
"Yeah, but when you slice these dummies up like that, we will soon run out of them."Noire said, making her rapier disappear.

"Well, not only her, actually…"Blanc said.

Goddesses looked at the bunch of smoking dummies. Some had stab wounds, others were cut into pieces, while others still were smashed flat.

"Yeah, we might have overdone it."Vert stated, scratching the back of her head.
"True."Artisan said."If you keep smashing them like that, we will soon run out of them. I'm still surprised we were able to make these many."
Leader of the resistance cell stood near the entrance, watching the CPUs train.
"I guess you're back in shape."she said.
"Yes."Noire said."The share energy coming from your subordinates is enough for us to get our weapons back."
"But that won't be enough for long."Blanc said."If we want to ever get back to our prime, we need more share energy coming from more people."
"The best option would be from people from the entire system."Vert said.
"Shame that readers can't give us their share energy…"Neptune sighed.

Others rolled their eyes. They simply decided to ignore her weird talking. They had to go with it.

"If you say so."Noire shrugged."Anyway, Artisan, you got anything for us?"

"So happens, that yes, I do."resistance leader replied."Follow me to the command center."

"After you."Neptune said.

The group left the training hall and set off to the command center, walking through the corridors of the base.

"By the way, Arti…"Neptune said, hands behind her head."Can I call you Arti?"
"Neptune, she's our current commander."Noire scolded her."You can't just…"
"Sure."Artisan replied.

Noire just face palmed herself.
"So, as I was saying"Neptune continued"because I didn't have a chance to ask earlier. What exactly is your resistance group called?"
Artisan frowned.
"We don't have an actual name."she replied."We didn't bother with something like that. We were more focused on trying to survive and make Imps' lives as hard as possible."

"Then maybe it's actually time to change it?"Vert joined on.
"But what name would we have?"commander wondered.
"Maybe Fists of Freedom?"Blanc suggested.
"No, some people might think we're some authoritarian group."
"How about Freedom Brigade?"Noire asked.
"Nah, that sounds too generic."Neptune stated.
"You're the one to say it."Noire mumbled.
Right then, Neptune got it.
"How about Unbreakable Ore?"she asked.

Everyone stopped and looked at her.

"What kind of name is this?"Blanc asked.
"Isn't it obvious?"Neptune replied."'Unbreakable', because although fighting for so long, they still fight and aren't broken. 'Ore' to honor their lineage as miners-turned-freedom fighters. Not only that, but it also could serve as a message to Keya and the others: no matter how much you try, we will be like the strongest ore, unable to be broken even by the strongest tools."
Artisan rubbed her chin and then, slowly, started nodding her head. She looked at everyone with a smile on her face.
"I like it. It does have a ring to it."she agreed."I will discuss it with the rest during our next meeting. But until then, let's go to the command center."

The four was on their way again.

February 5

10:51

Command center

Just like the training hall, command center was not exactly that. It was a place, where all of the base's operations were being monitored. It wasn't exactly a military-grade facility, but for the resistance cell trying to stay hidden, it was pretty good. It did have a radar and several small-caliber turrets to detect and destroy incoming rocks which could cause damage, but again, not something you could see on full-fledged military stations.

The five entered inside and were greeted by several resistance's analysts doing their jobs at their stations. Some looked at them, but quickly returned to their main job. They, in the meantime, went towards a holo-table standing in the very middle of the facility.

Standing near it was Tiller and someone else. Goddesses recognized the main intelligence officer, the one which arrived on the station alongside the rest of the Marines.

"Welcome, commander, goddesses."Tiller said.

"Sergeant."Artisan said."Would you like to explain to the goddesses the reason we called them here?"
"Of course, ma'am."

Sergeant pressed some buttons on the holo-table and soon, a hologram appeared in the air. It presented a ship, but CPUs didn't recognize the type.

"What is it?"Vert asked.
"Imperial Gozanti-class cargo hauler. We managed to attack several others of it's class by the last three years."Tiller replied."Not like it's hard. These ships are slow, don't have a lot of defenses and are rarely used. But they can carry a lot of supplies we need."
"Okay, but why are you showing us this?"Noire asked.
"We're gonna take one."Artisan said.

Goddesses looked at the two commanders of the resistance cell surprised.
"Wot?"Neptune asked.
"As I was saying, we did attack some of them already."sergeant continued."However, we only robbed some supplies and left, with our EW specialists taking care of the vessel."
"In short, they simply overloaded the reactor, blowing it up to cover our tracks."Artisan explained.

"Exactly. But this time, things are gonna be…different."

Saying that, the hologram shifted and changed. The holographic model of the cargo hauler was replaced by a map of the Gamindustrian System. Then, additionally, several lines coming from Nintendus in various directions appeared.
"Gozanti-class ships are old, that much we know. All which we raided had numerous signs of extended usage, some may have been in use much longer than anticipated. And we were right. It was confirmed by our contacts in the system…"
"You have any contacts outside of this base?"Blanc asked, intrigued.

Artisan nodded.
"Yes, not many, but there are few people who are willing to work with us and give us information, not expecting anything in return. As a small, almost backwater resistance cell with no much to show, we're surprised that anyone wants to work with us at all."cell commander explained."But the contact is sparse and sometimes I even forged we even have some contacts on other planets. It did led to some confusion back in the day…"

Tiller cleared his throat, reminding of himself. Artisan nodded her head to let him talk.

"As I was saying, our contacts confirmed our assumptions. These cargo haulers were old and Imperials were willing to quickly get rid of them. So, they simply gave them all to ASIC so they could trade with other planets."
"They simply gave them all to Arfoire?"Vert asked.
"Yes. Because how else to get rid of old equipment you don't need, but still could be useful sometime in the future? Give it to someone else to worry about maintaining it and don't pay for the maintenance."sergeant stated.

CPUs nodded.
"That does make some sense."Noire agreed.

"Well, at least now, Arbore has some peers."Neptune joked, but nobody laughed.
"However, the quality of equipment ASIC has is not important right now. The important thing is…"

One of the lines was then highlighted.
"…this."Tiller said."The route to Halfus, one of the moons of Valven. The moon is a military base used by all branches of the Imperial military. Navy, Army and Air Force are all present there, in order to respond to possible rebellions or unrest on other moons of the planet. Also, this route is the one closest to our position."

Goddesses slowly started realizing where sergeant was going.
"So you want to capture this freighter there."Blanc said.

"Exactly."Artisan said.

Neptune looked at Halfus.
"Did you always attack these ships in the same place?"Planeptune's CPU asked.

"No. We change the place from time to time, but this is the most usual spot."Tiller replied.
"I'm surprised nobody got interested in you yet."Noire said, crossing her arms.
"As I said. Due to our actions, we managed to keep supplies from coming to this base. There is so little coming there, that it's rare for the enemy to try and chase us. And even if they do, the asteroid field is so thick that we can easily lose them or lead them on a wild goose chase."

Goddesses nodded.
"Alright then."Blanc said."I think I know where this is going. You want us to help you take over this ship."

Tiller and Artisan nodded.
"Exactly. As of now, our only fighting force is our single corvette. Although small, it makes it hard for us to move around the system with it, considering that it's a military ship and not an Imperial one."sergeant explained."We guessed, that if we managed to capture one of these ships, refit it for our usage, change something in the systems to make it harder for the Imps to identify it, we could use it as a, let's say, a carrier for our corvette during some longer voyages. We also decided, that it would be better to instal the PDCs we managed to recover from the drone to it, to make sure it will not be defenseless."
"Additionally, we might take all the supplies this ship is carrying."Artisan added."So it's a win-win situation."

"For us."Vert said.

"So, what will you say?"

CPUs looked at each other. Smiled. And looked back at the two commanders.
"You think we would refuse?"Neptune asked."Readers want some action!"

"And if it will get us a step closer to overthrowing the Empire, we're more than happy to help you to board this ship."Noire said."They gotta know how it ends when you mess with the four nations of Gamindustri."
"Exactly. Besides, I would like to have some fun with assault riffle for a bit longer."Vert said, rubbing her hands."I felt like in a shooter while fighting the drone!"

"And considering that it would be safer to save our current share energy"Blanc added"I also would like to use ranged weapons more."

"So it's decided."Tiller stated."You are to join our Marines in the mission."
"So, when does the mission start?"Neptune asked, beaming with smile.

February 5

19:54

Asteroid belt's edge, Goddess' Shine

Inside of the patrol corvette was really crammed. Entire combat force of the resistance cell, plus goddesses, were squeezed inside of the small ship. Seeing how tight inside it was with that many of them inside, they wondered how worse was it when there were fifty Marines there. But now, they had to focus.

Corvette was currently hiding behind and asteroid, which was just on the very edge of the belt, close to the place where the shipping route ran through. Tension could easily be felt in the air. Soldiers were killing time in any way possible, but due to the ordered radio silence, and to make sure they will not give out too much radio waves and energy, they were forbidden from using any electronic devices. So, some were cleaning their weapons, which didn't need cleaning, others were talking, while others were playing games that didn't require electronic devices to be played. But this didn't really do anything for the tension to vanish.

"Well, this seems kinda stressing."Neptune stated.

Four goddesses were standing in the corner, near the door leading into the corridor connecting the troop compartment with the bridge.

"Can't say I'm surprised."Noire said."Ambushing an enemy ship is never easy, nor is it not stressful. And even if they done it numerous times before, there is always something that might go wrong."
"I guess you're right."Neptune agreed.

"Wait, you're actually agreeing with me?"Lastation's CPU asked, surprised.

"Yeah, even I can feel the tensions, duh."

"Still, we gotta do everything we can if we want to come out victorious from this."Vert said, once more checking bullets in her riffle's magazine.
"Why are you looking in there so often?"Blanc asked."We loaded these ourselves. What are you looking for in there?"
"Your breasts?"

Flash of red lit up the troop compartment.

"You better take that back, you hag!"Blanc exclaimed."Or I will tear yours off and shove them up your…!"

"Ladies and gentlemen."pilot said through the PA."Sensors are detecting that the hauler is approaching. Get ready."

Marines immediately went to action, preparing for the boarding. Goddesses also stopped their bickering and joined them.
"So, how do we do it?"Neptune asked one of the Marines.

"Oh, the procedure is simple."Marine replied."Due to the fact that we lack boarding pods, we perform boarding actions by simply jumping out the airlock and floating towards ship we're gonna board."

Hearing this, CPUs looked at him, eyes widened.
"You do what?"Noire asked.
"Oh, don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds."Marine continued."You just push yourself in the direction and float."
"And what if we miss the ship? It's on the move right?"Vert asked.
"Yes. But simply follow us and you'll be alright."

Goddesses looked at each other. They followed the Marines as they entered the airlock. Due to it's size, it was kinda tight in there, but it was not a big deal.
"Here goes nothing."Noire said.

Corvette already left it's hiding place and was flying towards the cargo hauler. At the right moment, ship's thrusters were activated, turning the ship around so it faced the direction of the hauler with it's airlocks.
"Be ready to jump."pilot announced."Three…"

The door leading into the troop compartment closed. Next, the airlock's cycle started.
"…two…"
Sound of air being sucked out of the airlock was heard as the process continued. Soldiers made several last checks on their weapons.
"…one…"

Cycle ended and green light lit up.

"…go!"

The door leading outside opened. Marines started jumping out of the airlock and flew towards their target. One by one, they were leaving the ship, slowly diminishing as they flew further and further.

Finally, it was time for the goddesses.
"So, it's time."Noire said."Who goes first?"

"Don't tell me you're scared."Neptune said."You, of all people?"

"If you're so sure you can do it, then…"

Before Noire could finish, Neptune jumped out of the airlock and followed the other Marines. Lastation's CPU then watched as Blanc and Vert beat their fears and soon, she was the only one still in the airlock.

"Oh, come on…"she whispered.

But she didn't have a choice. She took a deep breath and soon, she was out of the ship. Airlock closed just behind her.

The whole group was flying straight forward. Pushed by force of inertia, they were making the distance between them and the interception point at a reasonable speed. But even then, Noire felt that she was starting to lose her composure. Speeding through empty space like that was not something she signed up for. Truth be told, she was terrified by the very thought of going to space. She would never admit it publicly, though. She had a reputation to upkeep and if people learned that something so trivial nowadays like spaceflight terrified her near to death, the tabloids would eat her alive.

"Goddess Noire."ensign Tashimo, commander of the assault team, said in the radio."We're detecting sudden increase in your heartbeat rate and breathing. Is something the matter?"
"No."Noire lied swiftly."Everything's fine."

"Understood. Get ready. Two minutes until interception."

Two minutes. According to the data she saw, the flight had to take ten minutes. She was so stressed, that she didn't even notice the time pass. But still, there were still two minutes left. And everything could happen in that time. This was gonna be the longest two minutes in her life.

Ship was already visible in the distance. It's shape covered the stars and it flashed it's position lights. And for now, nothing seemed to be out of place. Goddess' Shine was supposed to stay out of the ship's radar range until they manage to disable it. After that, it would close the distance and make sure nothing will happen and that the crew of the captured ship won't try anything funny.

Time passed second by second and Noire held her breath, when the timer on her helmet's HUD showed nothing but zeros.

"Everyone, brace for impact."Tashimo declared.

Hauler's shape was now taking the entire field of view of the Marines and goddesses. One by one, soldiers activated thrusters on their uniforms, slowing down enough to catch on the ship's hull. This part of the mission went surprisingly smooth and now, the whole assault team was sticking to the side of the hauler.

Except one.
"Goddess Noire, activate the thrusters."Tashimo told her.
"I'm trying, but…"Noire replied.

Suddenly, her HUD flashed red and showed her information about thrusters' damage.
"Uh-oh."she let out.
"Somebody catch her!"Tashimo exclaimed.

Noire watched as the outer shell of the cargo hauler came closer and closer. And she knew, that even though she was a CPU, even she won't be able to withstand ramming into the ship at this speed. And even if she did, she would probably end up stuck to the medical bed for nobody knew how long.

"Gotcha!"

Suddenly, she felt someone's hand grabbing her ankle. It was enough to slow her down enough for her to catch onto the hull.
"Than…"she said and looked to the side.

There, she saw Neptune, smiling at her.
"No problem."Planeptune's goddess replied.
"What!? I-It's not that I needed help!"Noire replied.

Neptune shook her head.

"Tsundere to the bitter end…"she said in a tone that could be used at the end of epic battle.

"Don't speak to me as if I didn't make it!"Noire exclaimed.
"No time for bickering, goddesses."Tashima said."We're boarding the ship. Everyone, on me, I have an airlock here."
"Aye, aye, sir."Marines replied.

All members of the team started converging towards ensign's positions. They reached the place where the commander was and saw an airlock that he spoke about. Tashima looked at one of the Marines.

"Your turn, Arbin."he said.
"Yessir."Arbin replied.
"Rest, cover him. We never know what will the enemy throw at us."
All Marines and goddesses confirmed and quickly turned around to scan the area. Meanwhile, Arbin floated to the airlock and pulled out a cable from his hand terminal. Tashima opened a panel near the airlock with his knife and allowed the hacker to tap into the system. He pressed something on his terminal, as the ship continued on it's way through the space. All of this had some eerie feel about it.
"What can we expect here?"Neptune asked.
"Well, in some cases, we had to deal with drones that guarded these ships. And sometimes, they sent the security troops here."one of the Marines said.
"Great."Noire said.
"How are you doing, Arb?"another Marine asked.
"I'm almost done."Arbin replied."I additionally neutralize their sensors so they wouldn't notice us."

"Just don't mess something up."Tashima said."You still owe us for that time."
"Come on, that was a single case! Anyone can have a bad day sometimes, right?"
"Not when it ends in us alerting the enemy of our presence!"

Arbin rolled his eyes and returned to his work. After a few more minutes, he nodded and said:
"I got it."

With a press of a button, the airlock started opening.

"Alright, people, load in."Tashima ordered."In pairs."

He and Arbin were the first to get inside the airlock. Next, pair after pair of soldiers joined them, until only goddesses were left outside.
"Blanc, Vert, you go first."Neptune said."Noire and I will close."

"Who made you our commander?"Noire asked.
"I did. I'm the protagonist after all."Neptune replied with a wink.

"At this point, we should get used."Vert said.
"Yeah."Blanc said, nodding.

Next, the two turned and floated towards the airlock. Neptune and Noire turned the barrels of their riffles in all directions, searching for any imminent danger, but fortunately, nothing came their way.
"Your turn."Tashima said in the radio.
"Alright then, let's go."Neptune said.

"Whatever."Noire said.

They then proceeded to turn around and float towards the open airlock to join the rest of the assault team. As they reached the airlock, a pair of Marines reached out to them to help them in. They accepted the help and soon after, they were in. Arbin pressed his hand terminal and the airlock closed.

"We're in."Tashima said.
"Beginning the cycle."Arbin said.

Airlock then proceeded to do it's cycle and soon, Marines and goddesses were standing in atmosphere again. They then turned off the oxygen transmitting system that supplied the oxygen from their personal supplies, to save it in case of ship's unsealing. Next, the door leading inside opened.

Marines immediately poured out of the airlock and started forming a perimeter around it, looking for possible danger. Fortunately, there was no imminent sign of enemy troops waiting for them.

"Clear."Marines reported.
"Good."Tashima said, joining them with goddesses."Arbin, I hope you…"
"Cameras are blind, boss."Arbin reported.
"Great. Couldn't be better."
"So, what's the plan now?"Neptune asked.

Tashima turned to them.
"Plan is simple. We will split into two groups."He held up two fingers."Group 1 will go to the bridge and try to take it over. Group 2 will go to the machine room and try to stop the ship. If we do it, we will have a chance to turn this baby around and escape to the base."

"Sounds solid to me."Blanc said."And which group are we supposed to go with?"
"We'll split too."Neptune said."Me and Noire will join Group 1, while Vert and Blanc will join with Group 2."
"Sounds good to me."Tashima said."Arbin, you're in charge of Group 2."
"Aye-aye, sir."Arbin saluted."Let me open this door first…"

Saying that, the hacker returned to his work, which was trying to open the door leading into the corridor. Two Marines already stood in front of them, aiming their weapons in case someone was behind them. Soon, they opened and immediately after seeing that nobody stood on the other side, two Marines ruched into the corridor, pointing their weapons in opposite directions.

"Clear."they both said quietly in the radios.
"Alright, people, as I said. We split up here. If we capture the bridge and the machine room, we win. So don't mess up, understood?"Tashima asked.

Marines saluted.

"Alright, let's go."

Tashima then led twelve soldiers out of the room and up the corridor towards the bridge. When they were out, Arbin and his group followed, closing the door behind them. Now, is someone came here, they would not question why the door was open.

Soon, both groups started to perform their assigned tasks.

February 5

20:39

Hauler's corridors

Tashima's group was slowly making it's way towards the bridge. They didn't bother hiding, as even though Arbin wasn't with them here, his work on the cameras still persisted and they should be blind. Additionally, they didn't yet meet any guards on the way and hoped that this would stay that way for as long as possible.

"It's weirdly quiet here."Noire said.
"Better for us."Tashima said."Although I'm surprised there isn't more guards, considering the number of attacks we performed at ships passing through here."

"Their loss, hehe."Neptune giggled.
"Corner."someone said.

Immediately, the whole group hugged the wall and slowly approached the corner. Tashine looked around it and grunted, unpleased.
"I guess we spoke too soon."he said."Two guards. They aren't looking in our direction. Better we don't start shooting immediately. Hinder, Polka, take care of them."

Two said Marines nodded and stepped forward. Next, crouching, they started approaching the two Imperial, or rather ASIC, guards. Oblivious to what was going on, they were unable to prevent it. Finally, when the time was right, two Marines stood up and ran up to the two, grabbing the guards from behind and covering their mouths. Next, they pulled out their knives and without thinking much, stabbed them right into the guards' necks. They struggled for few more minutes, before their bodies went completely limp. Next, Marines slowly put them on the floor and showed thumbs up to the rest of the group.

"Alright, we're clear."Tashima said."Let's move."

The group left their hiding spot and went towards the two Martines.

"It's the last straight to the bridge from here."commander said."We simply…"

The door to his right opened.

He looked there.

Twelve guards looked back at him.

Both sides looked at each other surprised.
"Fuck!"Tashima shouted.
Using the short period of stunned surprise, he reached for the grenade, pulled out the cotter and threw the grenade inside. Another Marine quickly pressed the button to close the door that was next to him and the door was shut. Few seconds and numerous screams later, the grenade exploded and all screaming went silent.

An eerie silence hung in the air. But it didn't last long, as just few seconds later, everything turned red and an alarm started blaring.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"Tashima hollered."Move, move, move! We have to get that bridge!"

"Well, fuck!"Noire shouted as they started running.

"Noire! Words like these shouldn't come out of goddess' mouth!"Neptune stated.

"Shut up!"Blanc said, irritated.

Now, Marines were simply running at full speed, with alarm as their music. They aimed their guns in all directions, in case a situation like few seconds ago would repeat.

"Who would've thought that things can go South so fast!"Vert said.
"You too shut up!"Blanc shouted at her.

Right then, another door opened an a guard jumped out of it. But before he could do anything, Blanc aimed and fired. Bullet him him straight in the face, throwing him back. Nobody said anything about it, fearing Blanc's clear anger.

"Contact, front!"leading Marine reported.

Three enemy guards came out from around the corner and aimed at the running group. Once more, before anyone could say anything, Neptune ran forwards, summoned her katana and charged the guards. Seeing this, the three aimed at her and fired. However, Neptune started blocking the lasers fired at her and deflecting them. She reached the guards under fire and slashed the first one, throwing him backwards. Next, she quickly turned and second guard received a slash across the neck. He fell on the ground, gurgling and grabbing his throat. Third guard, shocked by how quickly were his companions taken out, was impaled on the sword and kicked away.

"When did she learn to do that?"Noire asked.
"It seems that lazing around wasn't the only thing she was doing all day."Vert stated.
"Look who's talking."Blanc rolled her eyes.
"Alright guys!"Neptune exclaimed."I think this is it!"

The group rounded the corner, passing by the dead guards, while Neptune's katana vanished, and stood in front of a big, reinforced door. Tashima made some hand signs, telling his troops to secure the area. He turned on the radio.

"Arbin, how are you?"he asked.
"Safe and sound."Arbin replied."We control the machine room, the crew surrendered and agreed to cooperate. And I hear you have a real disco party out there."

"You can say that again."Tashima said."Alright, hold the position and wait. We'll try and get onto the bridge."
"Copy that, boss."Arbin disconnected.

Tashima looked around.
"Alright, anyone who can hack, I want these…"

"That would take too long!"Blanc said.

She summoned her hammer and before Tashima could say anything, she stood in front of the door, took at big swing, and slammed the hammer into the door. The impact send a shockwave that almost made some Marines fall forward. At the same time, the door was cracked and bent inwards, forming a hole big enough that two grown men could run through.

"Move!"she shouted.
"You heard her!"Tashima shouted.

Some Marines quickly got up and ran towards the hole. They ran inside in pairs, quickly taking positions and checking the situation. Still, the perimeter outside was held by four other Marines, while Tashima and goddesses quickly ran into the bridge.
"Everyone get…!"Tashima exclaimed, but stopped.
All soldiers lowered their weapons.

"What in the goddess damn…?"Marine asked.

The floor was covered in bodies. All of them wearing ASIC uniforms with high ranks. There was also another body, sitting in the captain's chair, with it's head hung down and a smoke coming out of the hole in his chest. There was also the bridge crew, standing with guns drawn, looking at the Marines and goddesses.

Suddenly, one of the crewmen dropped the gun.
"We surrender."he said.

Tashima quickly shook himself from the shock.
"Keep your eyes on the others."he ordered.
"Yessir."Marines replied.

Commander approached the crewman, as other bridge crew also dropped their weapons and put their hands in the air.
"Your name, rank and what happened here."Tashima ordered.

Crewman saluted.
"Petty Officer Matty, navigation."he introduced himself."We relieved the captain and most of the higher ups from duty."
Tashima looked at the dead bodies again.
"I see…"he said, rubbing his chin."Why?"
"For weeks now, we've planned to go AWOL."Matty explained."We had enough of ASIC's rule and wanted to join some kind of resistance group. And then you showed up."
"That would explain why the crew in the machine room quickly surrendered…"commander murmured.
"But when captain realized what we were doing, he and the rest of the officers tried to kill us. So we had to act quickly. Fortunately, every officer and crewmate has mandatory weapon for self defense."
"Good for you I guess."Neptune said, taking off her helmet."This is…"
"Goddess Neptune?!"one of the crewmen exclaimed.

Next, he immediately fell on his knees.
"Okay…"Neptune said.

Other goddesses also took off their helmets, making the crewmen gasp.
"So it's true…"Matty said.

"What is true?"Vert asked.
"There were…rumors."Petty Officer explained."Rumors that some very important, basically THE most important, prisoners escaped and were wanted. Government didn't say it straight, but it wasn't hard to figure out who were they talking about."

CPUs looked at each other.
"Well, aren't we popular?"Neptune asked.
"This might make things harder in the long run."Blanc said, rubbing her chin."If they have police and military look for us, going in different places might be very dangerous."
"At least it won't be boring."Vert stated.

"Alright, so, If I can ask."Tashima chimed in."Would you like to join our group? We were planning to take over this ship, but if you want to cooperate, it would be great. I already say, that our operational capabilities are very limited. We're a small group."

Matty nodded.
"Well, we were not exactly sure where we could go."he said."Other groups are hard to find…You basically fell from heaven for us."

"Great to hear."Tashima said."Also, if you don't mind asking, could you show me the waybill of what you're carrying?"
"Of course. Hill?"
"Yessir."Hill replied.

He grabbed a tablet and handed it to Tashima. Marine commander turned the device on and started looking at it. With each line, he smiled.
"Ammo, fuel cells, power rods, generators…Even a couple of boarding pods."he said and looked at his troops."I think we hit the jackpot."
"Yeah!"Marines exclaimed.

"So, what do we do now?"Noire asked."We have the ship with numerous bodies on it. What do we do with the corpses?"

"We could throw them out the airlock, but that would be risky, as we could leave a trail. So, we need to incinerate them."
"Or throw them into the recyclers."another crewman said.
Goddesses winced at hearing that.

"Do we have to?"Neptune asked.
Everyone looked at them.
"What do you mean?"Hill asked."They are enemy. Why should we bother what happens with them after death?"
"Besides, they are ASIC."Matty stated."They serve Arfoire. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever."
"Still, that doesn't seem right…"Noire said.
"This is the sad reality."Tashima shrugged."This is war. Sometimes, we have to be as ruthless as the enemy."
CPUs looked at each other.
"Still, it doesn't seem right."Blanc said."But do it. It's better than leaving a clear trail."

"On it."

Matty and crew, together with Marines, then proceeded to start gathering all the dead bodies and other…organic matter which used to be ASIC guards. As it turned out, some of them were still alive, so shots were still being fired aboard the vessel. However, guards still didn't have numbers to retake the ship and were too uncoordinated to do so, what made the task easier for the Marines. Soon, bodies were being disposed off in the ship's crematorium and recyclers, which would then recycle every piece of matter on them into something different. Cleaning crews also went to action and soon, cleaning blood stains and other remains, to make the ship as unsuspicious as possible.

Some time later, it turned and flew towards the base. Goddess' Shine joined them and shielded them from any larger rocks.

Two days later, command of the Imperial base finally reported the disappearance of the cargo hauler. After being shouted at by general Al'roy, he finally sent two corvettes with very low fuel supplies to search for any signs of the hauler. Fortunately, they returned with nothing and their commanders were promptly executed for failure. Meanwhile, the base was still hungry and with low supplies. This soon turned into a soldier revolt, which quickly forced Imperial forces to intervene. And although the soldier rebellion was quelled, the base was rendered inoperable and was abandoned.

All the while members of the resistance cell celebrated, eating, drinking and having fun with their new friends from the hauler.

XXX

This marks the end of this chapter. As always, leave a review, follow and favorite. It will be highly appreciated! Ba-bye!