Chinatsu didn't hear what Nelson-Sensei had to say as the sound of the cannon firing deafened her. What she did feel, however, was the tank shell hitting their position. Shrapnel tore up the surrounding area even as the concussive blast threw her aside. She felt herself hit the ground, bounce once, and then roll along to a stop somewhere in the grass.

She coughed as she tried to pull herself into a seating position, the ringing in her ears drowning out everything else. Her attempts to right herself were hindered when she tried to put weight on her right arm and was met with a lance of sharp pain. It was definitely at least pulled. She blinked the dust out of her eyes and looked about, trying to figure out where she was amongst the smoke and falling dirt. Everything seemed foggy and, for a second, she feared she might have injured her eyes.

Only to realize after a second that her glasses were knocked off by the explosion. She patted the grass nearest to her, pausing when she felt the familiar metal of her glasses brush against her fingers. She brought it up to her face, frowning when she spotted how one arm was bent and a crack ran across one of the lenses. It would be pricey to repair, but at least it was intact.

Putting it back on her face, she found the world snap back into perfect clarity; albeit divided on one side. That perfect clarity brought with it a new concern: the tank was turning its turret towards her.

"Oh." Chinatsu said aloud. It was the only thing she could think to say. She never tried to test how tough she was, but even she knew a tank shell was something strikers treated carefully. She didn't need classroom training to know this was going to hurt.

The turret finished turning and she could see the cannon drop to line up the shot. She could faintly hear her companions' voices in her earpiece desperately shouting her name. She tried to force herself to move, only to find she couldn't; her arm screamed in protest as she tried and the pain sent her back into the ground.

There was a flash of blonde hair and grey cloth. In the heartbeats between the turret turning and being ready to fire, Nelson-sensei appeared. The earth torn into furrows as the Adult slid to a stop in front of Chinatsu, placing herself in the way of the cannon just as it fired. The look of absolute anger on her face was something that Chinatsu knew she would always remember.

But she knew she would also remember what happened next. Even as the shell tore towards them, Nelson moved faster than she had seen the Teacher ever do so before. She reared her right arm back and, with spiteful disdain, attempted to backhand the shell out of the air. It shouldn't have worked. Even if Nelson was tougher than she presented herself to be, nobody should be able to casually slap a tank shell out of the air. Yet the observable fact remained: the crack of air that followed her arm, the sparks as the shell grinded itself against the back of the Adult's hand, and the undeniable sight of the shell deflecting as it met an immovable object. The projectile tumbled off course, before detonating somewhere behind them.

The silence that followed could be felt, as everyone stared in stunned awe at Nelson. The silence was broken as a sword fell into her left hand, pointing the blade at the tank. Chinatsu shivered as the Adult spoke, the chill in her voice physically palpable.

"That was a mistake." Anger. That's what I felt. Mostly at myself for not being able to properly cover both of the rear liners, for letting a Student under my care come into harm, and for not realizing what the sound was earlier. After all, the Crusader tank was a British design and I should have recognized the sound of its engine.

But above all? I was angry at the tank crew. They dared to fire on Chinatsu? On a medic? The idea of merchant raiders thugs attacking civilian shipping non-combatants filled me with a fury I hadn't experienced before. A feeling my crew's memories reassured me was right and just. Anger was what I should feel in this instance. They wanted to play at being hard? Fine, then I was willing to play hard. I was getting tired of supporting from the rear anyways.

"Front line! Destroy that tank! Nanagami, get Hinomiya out of here!" I shouted, my voice carrying over the din of the lawn.

A chorus of acknowledgements filled my earpiece as Rin ran out of the fountain. She was a bit dusty and scratched up, but nowhere near as bad as the Medic she helped up and towards some more durable cover.

"That's a Crusader Type 1!" Hasumi warned, "It's the same as the tanks used at our academy!"

Yuuka's annoyed "Tch" could be heard over the radio. "It must be stolen! Those thugs must have swiped one meant for the PMC!"

Ah, so this was one of the stolen tanks warned about earlier.

"That means it's no different from a hunk of scrap metal! I'm going in!" Yuuka continued, her shields flaring to life around her.

"I will join," I said. Cries of surprise echoed out before I interrupted any attempts to deny me. "I have stood by one too many times. Combat from safety is not meant for me. I shall command from the front."

Hasumi's response was direct. She fired, the shot plinking off a vision slot before she spoke. "Understood, Sensei."

The effect was immediate as the frontline burst into action.

"If you say so, Sensei!" Yuuka shouted as she leapt over the cover.

"Sensei," Suzumi called out, putting a burst at the tank, "allow me to support you!"

Finally, Rin spoke. It was a simple, "Be careful, Nelson-Sensei."

I smiled, feeling a warmth in my chest at the shouts of support. With a flourish of my sword, I charged in.

I slid into cover next to Suzumi, the one-winged girl busy reloading. All our attempts to head back up the stairs thus far had the tank stop us by either charging at us, pinning us with its two machine guns, or firing with its main gun. She looked over to me, hesitating for a moment, before asking, "Sensei, how exactly are we going to stop the tank?"

The battle had just begun but, truth be told, I didn't have a solid plan yet. While I compared Hasumi's focused shot to that of an anti-tank rifle, it was proving hard to disable the tank with just her alone. The shots were penetrating the armour, true, but the bullet was still a standard rifle bullet. The small size meant little spalling and there was effectively no explosive fille-

"Ms. Morizuki, do you still have any flash bombs?" I asked as an idea began to form in my mind.

"I only have a few left but I don't think they'll work on a tank."

"Trust me, I shall make them work."

Suzumi looked at me for a second before passing me a flash bomb. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Keep it pinned." I answered, tucking the flash bomb into my stores as I activated my headset. "Everyone, I have a plan. Ms. Hanekawa, knock out the tracks. Ms. Hayase, force it to turn its turret to the aft after it has been disabled. Ms. Morizuki will suppress the bow turret. On my mark."

I peeked above the masonry and watched the tank move erratically back and forth. While the crew wasn't trained well, they were still in a tank. Hopefully, we were about to use that inexperience against them. As the tank swung the front of its hull towards me, I shouted. "Mark!"

Hasumi's rifle roared and one of the tracks shattered. The tank, mid turn, yanked the track out of the sprockets and tore a gouge in the grass. Yuuka dashed out of cover as it stopped, rattling the tank with SMG fire. The turret immediately began to turn to follow the hardy treasurer. As it did, Suzumi leaned out of cover and opened fire, peppering the bow machine gun turret's sights.

When the turret nearly completed its rotation to the rear, I leapt over the stone wall and dashed towards the crippled tank. The machine gun attempted to respond, only for Suzumi's accurate rifle fire to blind them. I reached the bow in a matter of seconds and easily mantled onto the upper front plate, the tank sagging immediately at my added weight.

With the turret traversed all the way to the back, it left the hatch on the back half of the turret directly in front of me. It was a single large plate that dominated the roof and, more importantly, there was a gap where the hatch met the turret. I jammed my saber into the gap and then, running it along the edge of the turret, tore it out the side and into one of the pneumatic arms holding it down. My intent carried through, and the steel saber tore through the arm. I grabbed the loose panel and pulled, the metal shrieking in tune with the crew as I bent the commander hatch open.

I looked down into the fighting compartment of the tank, locking eyes with the shocked and horrified thugs inside. "I informed you earlier," I said, voice cold as Suzumi's flash bomb sans pin fell into my hand, "that you had made a mistake."

I dropped the weapon into the gap and leapt off the tank. Panicked scrambling could be heard as they tried to find it or get out, but to no avail. Seconds later a bright light flashed from within and the tank stopped all movement. As it fell silent, so too did the sounds of fighting. I turned to face the Students following me and gave them a confident smile.

"See, exactly as planned."

Wakamo wandered about the basement of the empty building, confusion settling in as she looked about. The GSC had defended this building so heavily that she expected it to be important. Maybe an arms depot, some sort of VIP bunker, or a storage for the tax money. Something she could blow up to really stick it to them.

Instead, what she got was a rather pedestrian looking research lab. There weren't even any important looking experiments! It looked like something she'd find in a library or Millennium. She paused at the annex, looking about one last time.

"I don't see what the big deal is about this place." She mused aloud, "What am I even supposed to destroy?"

Instincts and training took over as she heard the sound of a blade parting air. She ducked, flipping her rifle around behind her to catch the incoming sword between her bayonet and rifle. Twisting the grip, she parried the blade up into the air before turning around to bring her rifle down in an overhead strike. Instead of dodging or attempting to recover the sword, her attacker had let the blade go and grabbed her rifle with their now free left hand in an attempt to pull her closer.

She couldn't allow that. She jumped up and planted both feet against the stomach of her attacker, then pushed off of them. The attacker let go of her rifle and stumbled back as she spun through the air. She landed, both hands on her rifle to use it as a naginata while her opponent locked their main foot into the ground, swinging forward a large boxy pistol to face her.

She locked eyes with her attacker, instantly recognizing them to be the Adult that was with the GSC earlier. The Adult smiled coldly in response to her gaze, their blue-grey eyes almost appearing electric blue as they caught the glowing light of the monitors.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Kosaka. I believe I have words for you regarding your conduct."

The voice was cold and professional, but firm and filled with resolve. The cold glare and terse expression directed at her was that of a proper warrior. Wakamo felt her cheeks flush as she tried to respond. The only thing that came out of her mouth, however, was a dull "Uh…"

"Is that really all you have to say for yourself?" The adult asked incredulously, tone taking on a sharp barb. If looks could kill, then the cock-eyed glare the Adult was sending her would have struck her down. And it did, but not in the way they likely intended.

"Well…" Wakamo responded weakly as she desperately tried, and failed, to keep her heart steady. But as the embarrassment raged, she only had one option. "I uh… I WAS JUST LEAVING!"

With that embarrassed cry, Wakamo leapt over the Adult and onto the top landing of the stairs. Spinning around, she ran for the door to leave the building, and her shame, behind. Cries of "Get back here!" were ignored as she dashed away.

I put my fist down from where I had been shaking it at the end of the empty hallway. I was only slightly faster than Rin and Chinatsu at my best. There was no way I would be able to catch Wakamo. Even if I did catch up to her, what was I going to do? Most of the students seemed to be untrained in melee but, of course, Wakamo proved to be the exception to that. I had the element of surprise and I still failed to land a hit on her. I would need at least the other girls to give me support and with them upstairs and outside securing the area or resting, they would never get here in time.

I'll just have to make my displeasure known the next time I see her.

With that annoyance out of the way, I returned back to the basement to wait and retrieve my cutlass. Since there was little to do while waiting for Rin, I took the chance to examine the basement. It was a rather cutting-edge facility with white clad walls, glowing monitors, and dozens of shelves dominating the area. But most strange was the floating stone tablet floating in the middle of the room, suspended midair by a mechanical pedestal.

I was still staring at it when I heard Rin enter the room, the calm even tapping distinct in the quiet of the room. She had left to get something from the upper floors when we entered. It was good that she had. I wasn't sure if I could protect her and scare off Wakamo at the same time. Her heels tapped down the stairs to the bottom where I was before she called out, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm here now."

I turned around to face her before responding, "You certainly chose well to leave before coming down here."

"Hmm? Did I miss something?"

"Just a certain fox sniffing about. I managed to convince her to shove off though. I would pay it no mind."

"If you insist," Rin's said, her expression clearly paying it some mind, "I must give you what the General Student Council President left for you."

With that, Rin walked over to the device suspending the stone tablet and leaned over, a key in her hand. Once she was nearby, a slot on the pedestal slid open. She inserted the key into the slot and, after a few moments of silence, an entire panel slid aside to reveal a compartment. She deftly retrieved something from inside and, after a brief inspection, turned back around and presented it to me.

"Thankfully, there isn't a scratch on it."

I looked down at the item she was holding. In her gloved hand was a tablet computer with cold white borders, my confused expression reflected clearly in the blank screen.

"Please." She said, voice serious. "Take it."

"A tablet computer is what we came here for?" I asked, the confusion leaking into my voice.

"Yes. This is what she left for you: The Shittim Chest."

Something stirred within me at that name. It was… familiar. An odd sense of déjà vu, as my crew's memories would put it. Rin continued, oblivious to my thoughts. "It may seem like a normal tablet, but its origins are a mystery. Its manufacturer, OS, system structure, and components are completely unknown. The President left the Shittim Chest for you. She said that you'll be able to take control of the tower with it."

I raised an eyebrow at that piece of information. "If this device is so powerful, could you not have tried to access it prior to my summoning?"

"We tried", Rin answered with a forlorn expression, "But none of the other members knew how to activate it. Perhaps you may be able to figure it out, Sensei, but if not…"

The way she trailed off answered enough. With a sigh, I reached and received the clean, smart tablet. Rin looked at me for a second before stepping back. "My job here is done. I shall let you take the lead. I'll be outside so as not to interfere, but please let me know if you need me."

With that, she stepped back up the stairs and closed the door behind her. I was left alone with this strange device with no other further instructions. With no other things to try, I turned on the Shittim Chest. A blue and pink screen marked with a stylized S lit up the screen. The device booted up, several lines of text flashing past faster than I could read, before it settled on one line.

/Please enter the system password/

Really, was that it? They were stymied by a simple password? It didn't seem that hard. After all, I already knew the password. With casual ease, I entered it into the waiting text box.

We thirst for the seven wailings.

We bear the koan of Jericho.

Almost as soon as I finished typing it, I froze. The memories of my crew froze. That remembered phrase wasn't from either of us. I knew how it felt to receive the memories of my crew by now, and there was always some awareness that it wasn't my memories. I could trace its origins. But this phrase… How did I know it already?

/Password accepted. User identified as ****. Confirmed/

My head began to pulse as I read the line of text, the words giving me a headache. The message flipped, continuing regardless of my discomfort.

/Profile loaded/

/Welcome to the Shittim Chest, Nelson Sensei/

/Converting to operating system ARONA for biological authentication and generation of verification certificate/

Wait, biological authentication? How was this device supposed to-I paused as I noticed the screen begin to glow brighter and brighter. Soon it was emitting a blinding white light. I closed my eyes as the light became overwhelming and-

I blinked as things got back into focus. I found myself standing in a flooded abandoned classroom. I found myself standing on top of calm still water, a sensation that simply felt right. I could see a gaping hole in the wall and, beyond that, was an unending ocean. I felt a pang of longing at the sight, but the sound of someone snoring pulled my attention back to the room.

I was not the only occupant in the classroom. There was a little girl sleeping at the desk to my left. She was tiny, dressed in a white collared blue sailor top with a white skirt. A white hair band with a long rabbit ear like bow held back her shoulder length ice-blue hair. The bangs on her left covered her eye while a small braid hung off the left side of her head. With her hair splayed out messily on the desk, I could spot some pink on the inside of her hair. A simple blue holographic ring floated above her head. She snored gently, muttering to herself in her sleep.

"Castella cake… Banana milk… goes better than strawberry milk…"

Really, she was dreaming of food? How exactly did a computer dream, for that matter? My thoughts were interrupted as the girl giggled and muttered to herself, "There's so much left…"

Whoever or whatever she was, she was definitely at peace in here. That much I couldn't deny. But unfortunately, I had a job to do. I crouched down and gently poked her in the cheek.

"Not now… I still have more to eat…"

I poked her again, this time a bit less gentle.

"Mmm… but…"

I poked her again, although it could really more accurately be called a jab. The girl giggled in response before she let out a cute yawn and stood up. Her gait was unsteady as she stood up and she grabbed a nearby umbrella? Gun? to help balance herself. She yawned again, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she looked about.

"What's going… on?"

She was tiny in comparison to me. She was still only at my chest even when I was crouched down. When she had woken up, she must have been looking at a wall of greys. However, she followed my profile up and locked eyes with me.

"Huh…?" The girl's eyes shot open wide as she locked eyes with me, her halo spiking.

"Good morning," I greeted her with a smile, "Did I interrupt something?"

"Uh… Huh? Wha…?!" The girl was positively glowing with embarrassment as she tried to gather her bearings. "Sensei?! If you're here, does that mean you're Nelson Sensei?!"

"I am. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"What? So I'm right? What time is it?!" My response seemed to only set the girl into a further panic. She flailed about, panicked, before dashing over to a corner of the classroom. I was sure she thought she was being subtle, but I could hear her mutter "Wait. Calm down…" to herself from here.

After a few moments she walked back over, having apparently calmed down. "Um, so… Oh, that's right! I forgot to introduce myself!"

"My name is Arona," She said, bowing as she gave me a large cheer-filled smile, "I'm the system manager that lives inside the Shittim Chest. I serve as its main OS. Think of me as your trusted secretary, Sensei!" Her smile somehow managed to ramp up a few more degrees of cheer as the halo on her head twisted itself into a pinkish-red heart. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! I've been waiting a long time!"

I laughed softly at her enthusiasm. After the day I've had, it was nice to finally speak with someone who wasn't trying to kill me or during the duress of combat. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Arona. You already know, but my name is Nelson."

"Yeah! I'm happy to hear that!" The smile never left her face as she nodded enthusiastically in agreement before she continued speaking. "My physical form is still small," That was certainly an understatement, "and my voice could use a serious upgrade… but I know I can still prove to be useful to you!"

Her eyes were literally shining with excitement and the innocent joy she carried was almost blinding to look at. I don't know what the President was thinking when she decided the Shittim Chest needed the most endearing possible mascot, but it was certainly working.

"Oh yeah! Let's complete your biological authentication." She said, before pausing and looking back at me. "Hmm… huh…"

"Is there a problem?"

"Well…" Arona answered, stammering, "The procedure is for the normal interface with the Shittim Chest systems."

I raised an eyebrow at the use of 'normal'. "Is this not normal?"

"The interface wasn't designed for someone to actually be in the Shittim Chest with me." Arona answered as she shook her head empathetically. "I'm not sure how you're actually in here at all!"

That… made an awful lot of sense, actually. It would be rather inconvenient if whoever held the Chest had to dive into this bizarre landscape whenever they wanted to use it. But at the same time… "Maybe it relates to my nature? I am part battleship, part Human, and potentially part spirit as well."

"Maybe that's why…" Arona took that admission with the most grace I had seen anyone express thus far. The admission didn't even phase the little OS. However, it didn't quite help answer her conundrum either. "Hmm… what do I do…"

After a few more moments of puzzling, Arona visibly clapped her hands together with a loud "Ah!" before walking closer. She looked up at me, squinted, and then waved for me to lean in. "Um... this is a little embarrassing, but it's all part of the protocol. Could you lean over a little?"

I leaned in, dropping to one knee to keep myself stable, and found myself eye to eye with the childlike OS. She smiled back at me and raised her hand with her pointer finger outstretched.

"Okay. Now, place your fingertip against mine."

I tapped her finger with mine. There was a small shock, as if I had just touched a poorly grounded wire. Arona didn't seem to notice or care as she giggled from the light contact. "It's kind of like we're making a promise or something, isn't it?"

"Well, in a way, we are, are we not?"

"I guess we are! But I'm just verifying your fingerprint."

"Oh?" I replied, confusion clear in my tone, "would the Shittim Chest not have equipment for that?"

"It does, but I'm the one who has to scan every fingerprint!" I blinked at that answer. Even for me that seemed like an oddly manual way to do it. "But don't worry! I have eyes like a hawk, you know!"

"If you say so," I answered even as Arona continued to stare at me. The digital girl hummed, deep in thought. As the seconds ticked on and the look on her face became more and more consternated, I finally had to ask, "Is there a problem?"

"Nope! All done!" She replied with a happy smile, her halo twisting to form a small heart again.

"Are you sure? You seemed to have a bit of difficulty towards the end there."

"It's fine! I did everything the way I'm supposed to."

That was a rather quick, oddly specific denial. But who was I to argue with a childlike sentient computer. "If you say so."

"I do say so!" Arona replied, puffing up her checks in childlike annoyance. She managed to maintain it for a brief second before her curiosity overtook her. "So, Sensei, what is happening outside right now?"

"This is going to be a long story," I answered as I stood back up. I could see her try to keep her eyes on my face, angling her head at first before being forced to step back when her head couldn't crane itself back any further. I grabbed a desk and moved it across the class, planting it in front of the one I discovered Arona sleeping at, and sat down. "You may wish to take a seat."

Arona sat back in her seat, eyes (and halo) sparkling with curiosity. I was happy to oblige. "To begin, I woke up approximately six hours ago. Which was a rather confusing experience considering that I was previously an over 40,000 tonne battleship-"

"Got it. A lot's been going on, hasn't it?"

I nodded sagely at Arona's summary. "It was a rather hectic day."

"For the President to go missing and to lose control of the Kivotos tower now…"

A thought occurred to me. The Shittim Chest was one of the tools assigned to me by the President herself. Surely, she would have had a hand in crafting this device and the little computer girl that lived within it. "Do you know anything about the General Student Council President?"

Arona paused, seemed to think for a second, before shaking her head with a frown. "I have lots of data on Kivotos, but I know very little about the President. I don't know who she is or why she disappeared, unfortunately."

Stranger and stranger. If my theory was correct then Arona's answer meant the President must have edited the data of the Chest and deleted her information from it. More and more mysteries about this one missing girl.

Arona seemed to sense my disappointment and her expression dropped as she spoke in a sad tone, "I wish I could be more helpful…" But then her expression brightened, her gaze determined and halo bright green. "But I think I can help with the Sanctum Tower problem, at least."

"Oh? That would be quite helpful indeed. Please do so."

"Sure! Just let me restore the access permissions to Sanctum Tower. Just give me a minute!"

The small girl dropped deep into thought for a few minutes before her eyes snapped open again. "Sanctum Tower admin permissions acquired. We've successfully regained Sanctum Tower, Sensei! The tower is now under my control."

Now that I was actually at the finish line, I realized that nobody had told me what was so important about this Sanctum Tower in the first place. "What does having control of the tower provide you?"

"It means all of Kivotos is in the palm of your hand, Sensei!"

Words failed me at the answer, delivered with the casual cheer only a child could muster.

"I beg your pardon?"

"That's right, Sensei! We control everything now. All the way from the city reactors to vending machine restocking robots." Arona helpfully expanded, misunderstanding and taking my cry of shock as a question for further details.

My vision swam a little but I managed to keep myself steady. "That is… quite something. Could you please transfer that power to the General Student Council?"

"Of course. I can transfer it with your approval, Sensei." Arona happily answered, before pausing and cocking an eyebrow in curiosity. "Are you sure that's what you want to do? You would be giving total control to the General Student Council."

"Positive. I am a sailor first, officer second, and politician last." I said with a nod, before pausing and thinking. I didn't quite know much about the GSC beyond Rin. For all I know, they could be tyrannical dictators with an autocratic bent. That could be bad if I gave them unlimited power. "But perhaps you can leave a backdoor for me? In case I ever deem it necessary to usurp control."

"All right then! Control of the Sanctum Tower will now be transferred to the General Student Council!"

Good, that was one thing left to worry about. The two of us sat in the relaxed silence for a few seconds, before I finally asked, "Well, how exactly do I leave this place?"

Arona scrunched her face up in consideration as she pondered the problem. "I'm not sure… People aren't supposed to be here normally. Maybe if you think really hard about leaving?"

Think really hard about leaving? Well, it was a good thing I had some experience with that recently. I reached out to that thread of power within me and with a twist of my will-

Nelson-sensei vanished before Arona's eyes. The gigantic Adult was there one second, casually sitting on the desk, and then she simply disappeared with a quiet *pop* of displaced air. She definitely seemed like a kind person! Not that Arona knew very many people, but it was the principle of the matter.

Still, she had to make sure her classroom was perfect! The little computerized girl hopped out of her seat and started to push the desk back to where it was originally. She managed to budge it a few centimeters before she slipped on something, crying out with a loud "Hawaa!" as she fell.

That was strange, she didn't remember ever slipping in here before. After all, it was her domain. She looked back at the offending spot on the floor. There, right above where Nelson-Sensei's strange shoes were dangling, was a small oil stain. In the light of the room, it flickered between a dark rainbowed black and red-tinged black. Sensei did say she was part ship, so maybe it just came from her shoes?

With a shrug, Arona enforced her will and the spot vanished as if it was never there. There were more important things to tend to, like getting this desk back in place and finding more sweets!

"Good. Understood." Rin's voice was the first thing I heard as I came to, blinking to reorient myself. The room I was in was now brightly lit, rather than cast in blue emergency reserve lighting. Seconds later, the elven girl walked back in, hanging up as she saw me. "Control of Sanctum Tower was just confirmed. This will allow us to manage the city as well as we could before the President disappeared."

"Well done, Sensei." She said before bowing in gratitude, the faintest smile on her lips, "I want to thank you on behalf of the entire General Student Council for saving Kivotos from utter chaos."

"An accolade already?" I joked, laughing gently, "But it was my pleasure to have been of assistance. Is there anything else I could do?"

Rin shook her head. "You needn't worry about the suspended students and thugs that attacked us before. They will be tracked down and punished before long."

I nodded, but something didn't sit right with me about that. While the last few hours had been tumultuous, they were hardly straining for me. Furthermore, there was an aching in my frames and a growing heat in my heart. I only managed to directly help near the end, and my pride demanded I do more.

"Perhaps I should not worry," I said slowly, drawing out my thoughts, "But I believe a leader should never be willing to ask what they themselves are unwilling to do. And right this moment? I find myself quite willing to show those thugs a lesson in good manners."

"It really isn't necessary," Rin said with a frown.

"We can consider it Schale's first official operation!"

Rin was silent, staring at me as I stared back with my best smile. After a second, she sighed and stepped out of the stairway. "If you insist."

"That I do."

I walked out of the Schale club building lobby. The city was abuzz with noise and activity now that the Council had control. Helicopters flew about and I could see Valkyrie marked APCs pull up to the Schale building. Sitting at the bottom of the stairs were the Students that joined me on this merry adventure. Yuuka and Hasumi were busy on their phones, Suzumi was sorting out piles of pilfered contraband, while Chinatsu had found the time to put her right arm in a sling.

"Correct. I've confirmed the General Student Council has regained control of Sanctum Tower." Yuuka said, whispering to what I presumed were her superiors or compatriots at Millennium.

Hasumi's call seemed less political, but more professional befitting her role as a Justice Task Force commander. "Wakamo fled to the student district, but I'm sure she'll be found and arrested soon. I'll leave the rest to the person in charge."

At least that explained where that annoying fox went. I hoped I wouldn't hear from her again, but experience and Murphy's Law meant that I could expect to see her soon.

The sound of my metal heels hitting the stairs drew everyone's attention. Yuuka and Hasumi quickly finished up their calls with quaint pleasantries, Chinatsu stood herself up on still unsteady feet, and Suzumi simply looked up at me from her raid bounty with a smile. My feet hit the last step, bringing me back down to the lawn, surrounded by the girls who had fought with me over the last few hours.

"Students!" I said, letting my voice boom with pride, "You have all outdone yourselves today! Certainly, you did not set out today to save the city but you have all risen to the occasion! Despite the setbacks and foes, you have met each encounter with courage." I paused for effect before letting myself fall forward into a bow. "For that, you have the thanks of this Nelson and those of Schale."

They were all stunned into silence before Yuuka shotforward. "No, Sensei! It was thanks to you too! You just… uh, got to Kivotos? And you already had to help the entire city! Everyone will be talking about you now. I bet it's all over social media already."

Social media? I filed that into something to look into later.

"There's no need to bow your head." Hasumi agreed. "Despite the circumstances, you still chose to help us."

"Still," I said as I righted myself, "I could not have hoped to have accomplished it without all your help. But I have something else to ask of you." Curious mumblings met my request. "You have already done much and this is merely a personal request, rather than one of Schale. I intend to secure the area around this building personally. While I could likely do so myself, I would appreciate the companionship."

Chinatsu shuffled from one foot to the other awkwardly. Right, injured. "You do not need to worry Ms. Hinomiya. I would not ask someone injured to return to the field so soon."

Rather than relieved, Chinatsu seemed disappointed by my statement. Still, she nodded in agreement. "… You're right. I'll have to report what happened here to the head prefect. Please take care of yourself, Sensei. You're welcome to stop by and visit if your work ever takes you to Gehenna Academy."

Like that, the awkwardness of being the first one to have to leave was swept away. Yuuka spoke next. "I'd love to help but the rest of Seminar wants me to deliver the reports of what happened to them immediately. I'm sure we'll see each other again whenever you come to the Millennium Science School."

"I'm afraid we'll have to say goodbye for now," Hasumi said, bowing her head formally, "The Justice Task Force is mobilizing to secure our territory and they need everyone. I hope you can visit us at Trinity General School soon."

I turned to the last member of our group. Suzumi looked back at me, looked at Hasumi, and then looked back at me. I could see the gears spinning in her head before she stepped forward. "Well, I was just going to be doing Vigilante Club patrols anyways, so I'll join you, Sensei. Any thugs we catch here will be thugs that won't make it to Trinity."

I nodded my head in thanks before turning to the group of the Students. "Before everyone leaves, allow me to personally thank you all. It is not yet within my capacity to give an official award, so please consider these a personal gift." Four gold plated buttons appeared in my hand, each emblazoned with the anchor and crown of the Royal Navy.

The four girls each gingerly picked one out of my hand and inspected them, before putting them away as I continued. "I have also taken the liberty to ask Rin to register you all as the first members of Schale. While there are no required duties, it shall allow you free access to the building in the future. But for now? You are all dismissed."

With that, the student council and administrative representatives left. Suzumi and I watched them all walk away and, as soon as they were out of sight, the one-winged girl looked up at me. "What's the plan, Sensei?"

"Hmm" I mused aloud. A thought and an SMG dropped into my waiting hands along with a pouch of loaded magazines. With a swift motion, I unfolded the stock and threw the pouch over my shoulder. "Well, it is a bit off the cuff, but I think we shall head for the closest source of violence, identify the ruffians, and make our opinion on them known."

Suzumi looked at me and I looked back, expression serious. After a moment, she laughed and racked back the bolt on her automatic rifle. "Only you, Sensei. Let's find some troublemakers to stop."

AN: With that, we bring the prologue to a close. Following this, there will be a series of interludes covering a few things and relationship events. A bit of a downtime section, if you will. It'll also give me some time to hopefully build up my buffer of chapters for Abydos.

Once again, thanks to my friend for beta reading and helping me work out some weirdness for the chapters.