Rondo in the Endless Sky

Chapter 10: Odd Arrival

With the day's drills done, Alain made his way to the med bay. A week had passed since Ange's return to Arzenal and Naomi's surprise reawakening. After a few days the formerly comatose girl was now in a much more lucid state of mind though she was still too weak to leave the infirmary wing. When he arrived, Maggy was wrapping up some of the prescribed physical therapy. Nothing too serious for the time being, just some massages and exercises meant to get her used to moving again.

"Alain." Naomi smiled as she struggled to get up.

"Easy." Maggy warned as she helped Naomi ease into the position. "We don't need you falling back into a coma because you overexerted yourself. And what's this?" The doctor shot Alain a wry smile. "Some more of your own personal therapy?" Alain rolled his eyes as he sat down and set the bag in his hands onto the nightstand, pulling out one of the apples he'd bought from the mall.

"If Naomi's going to recover her strength than she needs something better than the excuse for food the mess hall has." He said. "Also do you mind?"

"As you wish." Maggy said, shooting a snide look back at them as she left. "Besides, I bet Naomi would much prefer to exercise with you anyway!" Naomi's face flushed, and Alain narrowed his eyes at Maggy.

"So, how're you feeling?" Alain asked as he started slicing up the apple.

"Getting better every day." Naomi said. "Still hard to believe I've been out for two months though."

"About. It's closer to seven weeks, but, semantics."

"And in that time, we lost Zola and two recruits." Naomi's hands bunched up on the sheets. "Honestly I thought Zola of all people would be one of the lucky ones like Jasmine, a Norma who'd live long enough to actually get old."

"Not that I'm sure the Overseer's Board wouldn't toss the old bat back into a cockpit if they felt like it." Alain joked, getting a laugh out of Naomi. "Though at least out of that one of the newbies stayed alive. Not for lack of trying on the part of some of the others anyway."

"That Ange girl, right?" Naomi got a nod. Over the past few days, Alain had told Naomi most of what had happened since Ange's arrival, but he had to leave out some key details until he felt she was ready to hear them. "To think they even put her in that old junker. I know Mei wanted to get it back in shape for the longest time but I'm surprised it even flew."

"We've been surprisingly lucky these past couple of weeks." Alain flicked the pocketknife shut as he set the napkin full of sliced apple down next to Naomi, who moaned happily as she popped them in her mouth. Alain couldn't blame her. Subsisting on medbay food for a week had to compare to a year in the hole. "Hell at this rate we may just see a Virgin drop in on a sortie soon enough. Been a while anyway."

"I didn't miss one of those too did I?" Alain shaking his head got Naomi to sigh. "Then I'll need to put in some hard work if I want to…" Despite the attempt at enthusiasm in her voice, Naomi's expression dropped before she could finish the thought. Her hands tensed on the blanket, and Alain was quick to put a hand hers. It was only expected that her mind would likely wander when she thought about flying again. From what Alain had been told, Naomi had been engaged in a test-flight for new Para-mail parts before they were to be put out to general purchase. Normally this was an easy enough task where she'd fly to an empty island and do some performance drills. But, on that day of all days, a Singularity opened right on top of her, and while the active squadron at the time made an emergency sortie, she'd been left to fight the DRAGONs off herself until they arrived.

Alain had personal knowledge that Naomi was a top pilot. Her role as a tester wasn't some backline duty, since it demanded she often use untuned or even problematic parts and weapons. But no matter how advanced the Para-mail or the skill of the pilot, nothing short of the Villkiss and the Wyvern could hold off an entire swarm that easily even with backup on the way. By the time help arrived, they were just in time to see a Galleon send her falling from the sky and crashing onto a reef. Most would have assumed she'd died, and Alain himself had too when he first heard the news. But be it luck or perhaps divine intervention, Naomi had survived but was left wounded and comatose.

'It looks like Naomi's going to need more than physical therapy before she gets back to flying.' Alain thought. "Just take things slow for now alright? I doubt they're gonna make you fly any time soon. No point when you can barely even move."

"Well you're right about that." Behind Alain, the door flew open and a furry mass rushed past him to jump to the bed. "Vulcan, down!" Jasmine scolded as the dog licked all over Naomi's face. "Girl can barely sit up on her own, you trying to knock her out again?"

"He's fine." Naomi giggled as Vulcan nuzzled into her lap, giving the dog a scratch on his neck. "I'm glad to see you too. Did he put on weight? He seems bigger than two months ago."

"It just seems that way because you're a little frail." Jasmine pulled up a chair and sat down. "First off, glad to see you up again Naomi. It's rare a case like you happens."

"Speaking of, why hasn't anyone else come to see me?" Naomi asked. "Alain's the only visitor I've had all week."

"That's where things get complicated." The older woman said. "I'm sorry to say, but we had to keep things quiet. As far as the rest of Arzenal knows, you're dead. Rescue team didn't even find a body."

"Makes sense." Naomi sighed. "I guess there wouldn't be a lot of sympathy for a Norma who couldn't fight with the Board huh? So then, what do we do now?"

"We've got that covered." Alain snickered. "The story we're going to give is that I found you injured and malnourished on one of the islands I searched while looking for Ange."

"Would the Inspector really buy that?"

"Well," Jasmine smirked. "we've gotten her to believe wilder things. Unfortunately, you were still technically out of duty so there's nothing we can do about the massive debt she'll charge you. And it is a doozy, adds up to about fifty million cash."

"That's probably the least surprising thing I've heard all week." Naomi groaned.

"Don't worry about it." Alain said. "I've covered the medical costs till now. And paying something like that for me is…"

"No." Naomi cut in. "Alain, I really appreciate what you've done already, but I'm not going to leech off my friends. I'll find a way to handle it on my own." Alain put a hand behind his head. Like Ersha, Naomi was one of the sweetest people he knew, but she also had a stubborn streak a mile wide.

"Oh, don't worry, I've got that one taken care of." Jasmine looked rather proud of herself as she leaned forward in her chair. "Once you're able to actually move, you can start off helping me at the Mall. I could use a hand with paperwork. Then once you've got a bit more muscle back on you, you can get moved to something else. With your knowhow on Para-mails I'm sure Mei would be happy to have you with the Armorers until you can get back in the cockpit."

"See?" Naomi beamed.

"Fine." Alain relented. "But I'm still covering the fine during your physical therapy got it? After that you can pay me back however you want." A mischievous glint came to Naomi's eyes as she leaned towards him.

"Really? Any way I want?" Alain cleared his throat as a small flush rose, and Jasmine snickered.

"You know…" Jasmine said. "You could probably pay off her entire debt in a day with the right method."

"Hell no." Alain snapped, his eye twitching.

"Haha, just messing with you." Jasmine wasn't convincing Alain with that. "Anyway I've got some business to see to later, incoming supplies and all that, gotta prepare. We'll put out the news about you once you're moving again and…"

The blare of the alarm cut Jasmine off. Alain gave a chuckle as he stood.

"And that's my cue to head out." Alain gave Naomi a thumbs up as he turned. "Once everyone knows, I'll get Ersha to help throw a party for you alright?"

"Sounds good. Kick some tail!"


Penal colony it was, even if the Norma were considered expendable assets, they had a purpose to serve to the World of Mana. So of course, that meant regular shipments of supplies both necessary and luxury. The standard procedure was for bulk shipments to arrive twice a month from Rosenblum, the kingdom that directly oversaw Arzenal's operations.

"Medical supplies, one." Emma read off the inventory on the Mana screen. "Medication, one. Maintenance, one…" As was her job as the Inspector General, Emma made sure all the supplies, both standard and ordered, came in as requested. It was a minor responsibility, but she did it with all the seriousness of her primary duties. She hadn't used her father's connections to get this position just to do it badly. Though she certainly wished the Norma could be less troublesome.

"Bring the containers with the bras down to my place, if you would!" And then there was Jasmine and her special orders. Emma at first didn't get the purpose of the Mall, but with some time she'd at least seen why it was there. 'If it keeps them from being rowdy, then there's no harm in it.' She thought as Jasmine went through the crates that had been marked for the mall. As long as the Norma did their job and didn't cause any trouble, they could do whatever they wanted with those scraps of paper they valued so much. As she glanced away, Emma wasn't sure but from the corner of her eye it seemed as if something had darted by behind the crates. Probably just a trick of the light.

"Receipt confirmed." Emma said as her finger drew her signature on the mana screen. "Thank you for the delivery."

"See you in two weeks." The pilot answered. As the window closed, Emma looked off as the roar of engines carried through the air. With the darkening sky, the returning Para-mails of Garm Squadron looked like small dots of light, the only oddity being that ever-odd machine used by Alain, standing out among the glints by way of the green colored particles. Emma had tried looking into where that machine had come from several times, yet Arzenal's records never turned up anything about it. It was as if someone had deleted all the relevant data.

"Clear this all out quickly, we have returning units!" Emma barked, the deck crew curtly responding. 'I swear the timing of things. Why did today's sortie have to send them so far out?'


On top of visiting Naomi, the past week for Alain had been taken up with further observations of Ange. He wanted to get an idea of how her time around Tusk had affected her, and he had to admit he was rather surprised. While still rather cold to others she at least wasn't as frequent with her rebuffs and even seemed to be getting along with the likes of Vivian and Ersha since they were actually nice to her. Best of all she wasn't being as much of a kill hog either and had even begun sharing her reward with Ersha and Vivian. 'Well… more like she's being selective about it.' He didn't count on Ange forgiving Hilda especially, so he wasn't surprised she still occasionally stole kills from the Three Idiots. 'Still a ways to go. But… baby steps."

"Dammit, now it's just worse!" Alain heard Rosalie grumble. "Now she's just singling us out!"

"Why did she even come back?" Chris muttered.

"Remind me who the bitch is again?" Hilda said.

"So let's teach her a lesson." From her cleavage, Rosalie reached in and pulled out a screw. "I'll bust a screw hole in her head!"

"Don't, you'll get in trouble with command." Chris cautioned.

"Not if she doesn't get caught." Hilda said, Chris smirking.

"Exactly." Rosalie commented, only to freeze when she noticed that Alain was looking back over his shoulder. His eyes were narrowed, and they'd gone from being like the open sky to chips of ice. Rosalie swore she felt colder from that look. "We're not doing anything!"

"Coward." Hilda scoffed as Rosalie tossed the screw away. Alain sighed and faced forward as he pocketed his hands. 'Why the hell do they care so much about what he thinks? So stupid…' but an alarm began to blare before she could finish her thought.

"Attention all units." Pamela's voiced announced over the intercom. "There is an intruder in Arzenal. Target has escaped onto the upper deck. All units in the vicinity, provide assistance immediately. I repeat…"

"An intruder?" Ersha wondered. "Here?"

"Alain, I have footage from the cameras." Wyvern said. Alain pulled out the terminal, his expression cracking a bit as he raised a brow.

"What is it Big Bro?" Vivian asked. Alain angled the terminal so the others could see, and Ange's eyes went wide with shock.

"Is that a maid?" Rosalie said. 'No way?' Ange thought. 'It couldn't be' The image Ange saw was blurry, but she'd recognize the person on the screen anywhere. With a growl, Ange sprinted off past the others. She had to confirm this for herself.


By the time Ange reached the upper deck, a security team had already surrounded the intruder. One of them swung at the individual with a baton, only for it to bounce off of a screen of light. 'The Light of Mana.' Ange thought.

"Please stop!" 'That voice!' Ange pushed through the guards, Ange was able to see the outline of the intruder. Holding up two barriers of light and kneeling on the ground was a girl wearing a torn and dirty maid uniform. Her dark hair was cropped short and while her large brown eyes looked at those surrounding her with a mix of terror and confusion. "I'm just here to see Lady Angelise!"

"Momoka?!" Ange gasped as she pushed through the crowds. At the sound of her name, the former maid turned to face the figure who pushed through the mob and towards her. Dressed in a revealing blue bodysuit that clung tightly to her slender frame, the figure stood before her and the two girls stared speechless at once another.

"Lady… Angelise?" Momoka whispered, her eyes unfocused as if she was processing the change in image in her former princess. "Is it really you?" she half sobbed as she stumbled towards her. By then Alain and the rest of Garm had arrived as the maid threw her arms around Ange's neck. "It's you!" she sobbed. "It really is you!" Momoka rushed over and hugged Ange as tight as she could. Ange only stood in a state of numb shock. How could Momoka of all people be here?

"Why is this not surprising?" Alain commented, pinching the bridge of his nose. 'And why do I feel like it's going to be a headache?'


Emma had all kinds of questions now. Arzenal was supposed to be utterly impossible to escape from or even get into without the proper clearances. It was so far out of the way of civilization she almost questioned the need for patrols at the edges of the region leading to the mainland. And somehow a maid had from the Misurugi Imperial family managed to sneak onto the cargo ship? How did something like that go unnoticed?

"Momoka Oginome." She read off the profile displayed on the mana screen before her. For now, as the Inspector General, she had no choice but to deal with it. First things first, she'd made sure to call the Management Board to report the insident. "The former head maid to Princess Angelise…. Yes sir, she took care of the Princess… huh?!... yes, I understand."

"So, what did the Board want?' Jill asked as Emma hung up the phone. Whatever it was, judging by how Emma sunk into her chair, it couldn't be good. "About what we expected I'm guessing?"

"If we let her return to her home country, we risk exposing the truth about the DRAGONs and the Norma sent to fight them." Emma said. Arzenal's mere existence was a closely guarded secret of the highest kind. Only the leaders of each nation and members of the Rosenblum military associated with the Norma Management Board knew of its existence and purpose. "Isn't there anything we can do? She only came to visit that Ange girl. I doubt she even knew the risks."

"You would sympathize." Jill said, snubbing out her cigarette. "Well it's not like there's anything a Norma like me can do to change the rules made by Humans." Emma sighed and sunk into her seat again. "At least let them be together for a bit. For now. I'll have Alain keep a close eye on them to make sure nothing's off about this."

"I wish I could say I found that reassuring." Jill just scoffed in reply. 'But do they really need to take it that far?' Emma thought. 'Couldn't they just take this girl in and swear her to secrecy?' When she first took this job, she remembered well how shocked she'd been the first time she'd seen how the Norma of Arzenal died. For however Emma felt about them, not even she thought they deserved to die in such gruesome fashion. Even if it was for the greater good, it felt cruel at times, especially when it happened to the younger ones. 'Orders are orders though. I still don't feel like it's right…'


Alain's heavy sigh only made his dour mood all the more obvious to the others in the lunchroom as he picked at his food. His premonition about things being a whole new headache had come to pass, ashe now found himself having to also look after Ange's maid. 'When I told Jill I don't mind playing babysitter, I meant for the kids, not two girls my damn age.' His eyes drifted over to the lunch line where Ange and Momoka were awaiting their turn to be served. While Ange had adjusted to Arzenal, Momoka looked flabbergasted by the militaristic life her former mistress now lived compared to the opulent and luxurious life of a princess.

"Ange really is from a different world than us, huh?" Ersha commented, glancing at Alain as he grumbled. "What are you pouting over?"

"I ain't pouting." Alain muttered. "Just annoyed Jill has me playing babysitter for 'em both."

"So, you're pouting?" Ersha giggled.

"He has every reason to complain." Salia said. "Ange was problematic enough before all of this."

"She's getting better though!" Vivian said. "When I gave her a Perolina keychain she actually thanked me for it. By the way, what's a maid?"

"A person that takes care of royalty." Salia said. She shot Alain a look when he gave a mischievous chuckle. "Don't say a word."

"What? I didn't imply anything." Alain snickered, Salia's face reddening a bit.

"What are they talking about?" Vivian asked, Alain and Salia looking away, to the vermilion haired girl's confusion. "Is this another one of those things I'm not supposed to know about?"

"When you grow up a bit more." Ersha then sighed and pulled out a napkin. "Hold still. You have ketchup on your face."

"Hmm…" Vivian had a thought come around as Ersha wiped her face clean. "So hey, Ersha, Salia, you're like my maids, right?"

"We absolutely are not!" Both girls cried, followed by Alain reaching over and flicking Vivian on the forehead.

"Hey!" The girl yelped.

"We're more like your parents." Alain said, leaning on a hand and sighing again. "But at least things haven't gotten more hectic than…"

"How dare you!" Momoka suddenly yelling cut him off. 'I spoke too soon.' He thought. Looking up, Alain saw Momoka admonishing one group for not making room for Ange. Unsurprisingly, it was Hilda and company. "How dare you be so rude! Don't you realize Lady Angelise is a princess! One of you give your seat right now!"

"It's none of your business." Ange grumbled. She did not want this to be happening now.

"Give up our seats?" Hilda snidely said. "Someone has a high opinion of themselves… burn princess." Hilda's snarl became a slight smirk when she could hear Alain's head meeting a table though Ange's neutral expression wasn't nearly as satisfying.

"You still think you're hot shit?!" Rosalie snapped.

"I can smell it all the way over here." Chris commented as Momoka flushed in anger.

"This… this is unacceptable!" Momoka snapped, Rosalie guffawing at the maid. "How dare you insult Lady Angelise! Even for barbaric and uncultured Norma, such words are-"

"Cool it!" As if right on cue, Alain appeared behind Momoka and clamped a hand to the maid's mouth to shut her up. Several of the other Norma looked glad he did so. "Momoka was it? Kindly refrain from pissing anyone off. You're not exactly in Misurugi anymore!" Alain released her, and Momoka stared at him in disbelief. While she had encountered him the previous night, Momoka still didn't understand how it was possible for a male Norma to actually exist.

"Don't you stop me!" she scolded him. "I cannot simply let insults to Lady Angelise go unchecked! Such slander is intolerable! If you were a gentleman you would stand up for her as well!"

"What's intolerable is you not shutting up!" Alain growled.

"And besides, your "Lady Angelise" is a Norma too." Hilda pointed out.

"Y-You take that back!" Momoka demanded. "Lady Angelise is Lady Angelise no matter what!" And all it earned Momoka was a barrage of laughter from Hilda and the others.

"You two are perfect for each other!" Hilda cackled. "Just a pair of deluded idiots. Hey Alain, what did you do to piss off the Commander to earn this?"

"Hilda, let's not today." Alain muttered.

"At least she'll have someone to polish her knobs." Rosalie said.

"Rosalie." Alain growled, the orange-haired girl making an "eep" as she promptly shut up.

"Classy as always." Ange said, a snide smirk on. Hilda and the others stood up, and Alain readied himself to jump in when the first punch was thrown.

"Like your maid said we are Norma." Hilda said.

"I'm warning you!" Momoka said, spreading her arms out as she stepped between Hilda and Ange. "If you don't stop disrespecting Lady Angelise I'll… I'll…" as Alain watched, Momoka began to sway back and forth before she collapsed. Alain managed to catch her before she hit the floor, and a sudden growl from her stomach immediately told him what the problem was.

"When was the last time you ate?" Alain asked.

"Th… three days ago." She slurred. 'One thing after another.' Alain sighed. Sliding his arms underneath her, Alain scooped Momoka up off the floor.

"Ange, c'mon." he ordered.

"Why? You seem to be having fun."

"Stow the attitude and come on!" He snapped. "She's like this because of you, so the least you can do is help her out!" Ange tched and set her tray aside.

"Fine." Ange relented. "I wasn't in the mood for this swill anyway." As Ange followed after Alain left with Momoka cradled in his arms, Hilda sat back down, her eyes boring into Ange trying to burn a hole in the back of her skull. 'Arrogant bitch!' she cursed. 'You've actually got someone who cared enough to come find you and you don't even care?' Hilda was no saint but at least she had some gratitude towards those who were good to her, as limited a number she considered that to be. 'Though I guess I'm not entirely one to talk.' From the corner of her eye, Hilda saw how Rosalie and Chris were glowering with jealousy over how Alain was carrying Momoka like some prince from a fairy tale. 'I wonder what it's like to be held like that.'


It was no lie when the Jasmine Mall boasted about selling everything. That included food of course. Fresh, preserved, and prepared. Since meal breaks also coincided with free time, the Norma were perfectly free to skip out on whatever was being cooked in the lunchroom so long as they had the cash. And considering his appetite this made Alain a regular in the rec area. With the line at the counter being the usual Saturday rush, Alain had Momoka a burger from the vending machine, along with one for Ange and an outright stack for himself.

"Thank you very much!" Momoka took a bite, almost crying at finally getting something to eat. Alain himself just grunted as he continued stuffing his face. As they leaned against an unused ping pong table, Momoka had to admit he was an oddity. For one, Alain seemed as crass and uncultured as the rest of the Norma-at least as far as Momoka considered things cultured. But then he'd carried her here after she fainted, bought her something to eat, and didn't even attempt to molest her while she was in a state of delirium. It was oddly chivalrous of him.

"Excuse me, Lady Angelise." She asked. "But is Mr. Alain really a Norma?"

"He says he is, which is enough for me." Ange replied. "He's also crude, arrogant, and sleazy. The only good thing about him is that he's one of the few pilots I can count on."

"I have my good points besides my piloting skills you know?" Alain countered.

"Don't care."

'What's happened to her?' Momoka thought. 'Lady Angelise… you were always so kind before. Why have you become so cold?' A sudden clap on the table drew her attention, Momoka looking down to see Ange had dropped a stack of bills beside her. "This is…?"

"Money." Ange answered. "You'll need it to take care of yourself. Should last you a few days."

"So, these are paper bills? Thank you very much." Momoka picked up one of the bills, giving it a curious eye. "I read about monetized economies in the history books about the pre-Mana era and how inefficient they were, but in a way it seems rather fun!"

"You think so?" Ange asked, just before a fit of agonized screaming split the air. All eyes in the rec area turned as Maggy and the medical team pulled along a gurney with a Norma strapped to it. They couldn't make out what exactly had happened, but going from the blood splashed on the gurney it wasn't pretty.

"Stop squirming." Maggy said, her tone all too casual from being used to this routine. "Don't blame me if I can't reattach your arm… wait, where is her arm?"

"Right here." One of the medics pulled off the blanket, Maggy humming as she grabbed the messily severed limb.

"Maybe I can reattach it this way?" As they passed, Momoka's eyes widened at the gruesome sight and she covered her mouth.

"What was that?" Momoka said. The red stain of ketchup on her food suddenly looked all too like blood, and she found she'd lost her appetite.

"Sometimes people just get unlucky." Alain said through a mouthful.

"You know her?" Ange said, crumpling up the wrapper in her hand.

"Kelly. She's from 3rd Squad." Alain replied. "She got brought up from Reserves pretty recently."

"Hm." Ange didn't really care, but banter was banter. All the better to make things clear to Momoka anyway.

"Lady Angelis… What on earth is this place for?" Momoka asked.

"Hunting." Alain and Ange replied at the same time, Ange walking off.

"Who knows when I'm going to end up just like that?" Ange turned on her heel and vanished down the way out, Momoka slumping her arms as her expression sank.

"Lady Angelise… what has happened to you? That… that isn't Lady Angelise. Not the one I know. You must be suffering so much." 'This oughta be good.' Alain thought as Momoka perked up. "Then I have no choice but to save you! Just leave everything to your head maid!"

"Good luck with that." Alain snarked as her started on his third burger. "Just don't make things troublesome for the rest of us in the process."

"Oh uh… alright!" Alain turned to see Momoka deeply bowing at him. He raised a brow at the maid. That was not a response he expected from someone like her. "Thank you for helping me. I'm not sure if what Lady Angelise said is entirely true but, for a Norma you don't seem like a bad person."

"Word of advice, drop the "for a Norma" line." Alain said, his voice tinged in a bit of frost. "I'd use the few days you'll be here to learn a thing or two about us. About the situation your people throw us into."

"I'll be sure to do that!" Momoka's earnest smile made Alain sigh.

"I honestly wish there were more humans like you. There's not enough." Momoka tilted her head as Alain left. Just what did he mean by that?


Part of what had troubled Alain about this new task of his was what Jill hadn't told him. He knew from experience how secretive the World of Mana wanted to be about Arzenal, all in the name of keeping up the idea their world was a perfect one. So of course the logical conclusion was their plans for Momoka didn't exactly involve letting her continue to know about the place. And he doubted Jill would lift a finger to help anyone who wasn't of use to her. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

"Damn, where is it?" Alain grumbled as his arm shuffled around underneath his bed. Just having the thing was a risk as not even Jill knew about it. Finally, his fingers wrapped around something hard and rectangular as he pulled out a communicator. And not one that came from Arzenal. Flipping it open, Alain grimaced at seeing the view screen had a crack. "Was that from Salia or Ersha?" he wondered. "Whatever. What was the code again?" Once he remembered, he cleared his throat as he pressed a few keys and gave the callsign. "Communications code RX-78. Codename, Mobius One."

"… wait what?!" a man's voice stifled laughter as he heard various thuds from the other end. 'Well he's surprised.' He thought as he smirked. "Holy shit it is you!"

"Nice to hear from you too SkyEye. How you holding up?"

"Aside from the fact this line hasn't been used in years. Has Alek… I mean, Jill finally decided on something or she still not willing to talk to us?"

"That's actually not why I'm calling."

"I mean I figured you pulled that old radio out for some reason. Alright then, what's the deal? Please don't let it be something that's gonna piss off Bandog is it? Cause he's right next to me, and he's giving that glare again."

"Gods no." Alain shuddered at the idea. "I'm not going through one of his lectures again next time I'm sent out. But it will require a bit of wetwork…"

"Go on…" SkyEye said, obviously intrigued.

"Alright, so you guys are definitely up to speed about the whole Misurugi Incident with Princess Angelise right?" Alain would at least expect as much. The people at CROSS liked to keep in the know on things but he just wanted to be sure.

"Of course we are. Hard to avoid something that made national news and caused an entire nation to go full reform. Y'know that egotistical brat's calling himself "Holy Emperor Julio I" now?"

"Wouldn't surprise me." Alain snarked, earning a snicker from the operator. "Anyway, the Princess's former maid somehow found her way to Arzenal." Alain paused as he heard something drop, plus some yelling in the background that made him pull the communicator away. "Can I keep going or did Bandog blow a fuse?"

"Could you, at least once, not come at us with something crazy sounding?" Another male said, Alain closing his eyes. "Is that head on straight or you woozy from being in snatch again? How the hell would a random maid find out where Arzenal is?!"

"Bandog do you mind?!" SkyEye yelled, his companion not sounding pleased as he faded out of general hearing. "That's something to look into. Anyway, maid, Arzenal, not sure why. Go."

"The thing is, as you can guess the NMB isn't exactly happy knowing a random girl snuck onto the shipping transport to get here." Alain pulled the communicator away again in anticipation for Bandog's reaction.

"You're kidding me. So much for the NMB's spotless record at keeping their secrets." 'About what I expected from him.' Alain thought. Bandog always was both temperamental and someone who could give Alain a run for his money in snark. Made operational conversations fun for him.

"Bandog please shut up!" SkyEye sighed. "Go on before he takes the mic again."

"You can probably guess what they plan to do with her once she leaves." SkyEye gave a knowing grumble. "I know it's a lot to ask, but is it possible to set something up to make sure she doesn't get met with a firing squad? She probably didn't even know the risks to coming here."

"First off, yeah, that is a lot to ask!" Bandog snapped. "And at least think about what you're asking us Trigger."

"I'm asking you to get some of the guys in Rosenblum to make sure an innocent girl doesn't get killed for no reason other than knowing too much." Alain replied, Bandog grumbling. "Again, I know it's a lot. And like from some of my other requests, I'll be fully prepared to do whatever the hell Heartbreak wants next time I'm out."

"I'm not sure who's worse. Heartbreak or Jill?" SkyEye mused.

"Heartbreak has Big Boss keeping him in check, so I'd say Jill." Bandog commented.

"We'll see what we can do. How long is that girl gonna be at Arzenal?" SkyEye asked.

"Next few days." Alain answered.

"I'll see what I can do." SkyEye said. "But, see if you can't do anything. I'll run this by Heartbreak and Big Boss to see if we can't get it to the guys in Rosenblum. We've got some contacts there connected to the NMB so we should be able to at least get something done."

"Can they be trusted?" Alain tapped a finger. He could never be sure about these things. CROSS was also made up of the rare cases of humans sympathetic to the Norma, but they'd run into trouble before and Alain wasn't easy to trust people outside of Arzenal and CROSS's main group.

"They've got implants, don't worry."

"But maybe try and save us the trouble and see if you can't keep her there." Bandog suggested.

"I get it." Alain said. "I'll see if I can't figure something out in the time I've got. I'll update you guys if the situation changes. Mobius One out."

"SkyEye out."

Alain closed the communicator as the line was cut. Who knew if someone could be listening in? Hence why despite being friendly with the operators, any calls were kept to callsigns only. All the better to make sure, since CROSS was mostly made up of the remnants of the Libertus forces who chose not to remain on Arzenal. Alain's choice to stay also meant he found himself acting as a bit of a liaison between Arzenal and CROSS, least of all because Jill wanted nothing to do with them at the time. He wasn't even allowed to tell them about Villkiss's reactivation.

"What do you suggest we try to do?" Wyvern said, Alain leaning his head back on the bed.

"Keep an eye on the maid. I've already got something of an idea, but like hell if I'm sure it could even work." Alain tugged at a strand of his bangs as he thought. "I'll definitely need to work with Ange on this. She's a bitch but this Momoka girl seems like someone she was close to before things went to hell. I don't think she'd just let her die if she found out."

"You honestly think so?"

"Optimism always has been one of my biggest flaws." Alain chuckled. "I try to see the best in everybody, even the people I don't like. I'm an idiot like that. So, let's see how the next few days go."