Graveyard on a Frozen Field
"A power that could destroy the universe itself.", Juzo Okita's voice spoke up from the tinny speaker, with slight static in the background. "Have we obtained the forbidden fire of Megiddo?"
"No, I won't think of it now. If this is a trial of some sort, then we need only to show the correct path of our actions."
With that, the playback ends and Abraham grips the recorder tighter before looking out with determination in his eyes.
'Dont worry, Grandpa. I'll see this through to the end. And I'll do my best to save any of those who don't deserve to meet their end.'
14 February 2199
Pluto Frontline Base
"Are you telling me that the Terron ship made a hyperspace jump?"
Inside the base's command center, Shultz and Ganz stood before a towering hologram feed to their superior, theatre commander Gremdt Goer. His presence practically radiates sleazy arrogance, and his personality screams "You should respect me 'cuz I outrank you!".
"And they destroyed the resupply base? Have you gone mad?!"
Shultz tries to defend himself, "But Commander Goer, it's clear that they broke the light-speed barrier and they have the power to destroy our ships."
"Silence! Do you really think a commander in charge of a galactic theater can report such foolish nonsense to imperial command?", Goer shut down Shultz, pointing at him for such absurdity.
Shultz can only seeth in silence.
"Shultz, I can only report to our lord once you provide a proper report. You're fortunate to still have your position after your last absurd one."
Shultz remained silent for another moment.
"Do you understand what I'm asking?", Goer inquired, his lips contorting into an arrogant smirk.
"...yes, sir."
"Good! If so, I shall speak to command about promoting all of you from second-class to first-class Garmillians."
Ganz and many others present in the room raise their eyebrows at the promising proclamation.
"Got it? I want a proper report, Shultz!"
And with that, the hologram feed is cut. Shultz can only grumble at his superior's lack of care towards his men due to their second-class status, and his dismissal once again of his Zupist report.
"He doesn't understand anything...", Shultz grumbles, then turns towards Ganz standing behind him. "Show me the footage from Zupist."
A hologram video feed of the gas giant Zupist was displayed before Shultz and Ganz, showing a massive black smoking scar made on its cloudy atmosphere.
"Here is the damn issue. Just what could have made this kind of damage?", Shultz points out, frustrated yet baffled at how much damage could have been made.
"What could have made something like this possible?"
Montana, Navigation Room
Standing before a hologram desk showing their flight plan, the main bridge staff, including Abraham, Kodai, Shima, Sanda, and others, look at their map while discussing their next course of action.
"The flight plan made by UN Headquarters does not allow for much lost time at Pluto.", Sanada said. "While the test fire of the Wave Motion Gun at Jupiter has proven valuable information, it is still a delay we can't afford to get back."
"Therefore, any decision about carrying out Operation M-2 has been left to us by our discretion."
"I vote that we should do it.", Kodai exclaimed, looking rather forward to striking back towards their enemy. "We should disable the Pluto Base if only to prevent any more troubles with it later."
The flight plan then changed, a dotted line forming in front of their current location near Jupiter leading straight to Pluto.
Abraham nodded his head. "That's understandable. It eliminates one possible threat against us and Earth, but we should hear out other's opinions. Navigation Officer, your thoughts?"
"Well, I believe this is to be our fastest course out of the solar system.", Shima explained, the flight map then adding another dotted line from Jupiter towards Saturn. "That means-"
"Wait wait, if we're following that course, we'll pass Pluto without mounting any attack.", Kodai interrupted Shima before he could explain further. "Heading towards Pluto means we have a chance to strike."
"I understand how you feel, Kodai. But our flight plan has barely, if any, leeway.", Shima spoke with resolute but not without sympathy.
"But-"
Kodai's counterargument is cut short when an announcement beep rings from the ceiling, Aihara's voice calling out from the speakers.
"Report from the main bridge. We picked up a distress signal. It's not part of UNCN Standard Code, but it's very weak."
"What can you make out from the signel, Aihara?", Abraham asked back via intercom.
Aihara, sitting on his station on the main Bridge, dials a few knobs and listens intently. After a moment, he replies.
"We...can't tell, the language is foreign. But the signal's coming from the south-polar region of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons."
At the Navigation Room, a wall display reveals the map of the solar system, then zooming to the ringed planet Saturn, then zooming to its moon Enceladus.
"Saturn, huh? The opposite way from Pluto.", Ota pointed out the obvious.
"And from the course you plotted, too.", Kodai downly added to Shima, which Ota chuckled at.
"Sanada, assuming we're heading to Enceladus, how much time will we lose?", Abraham asked.
"Hmm...If we leave right now, one day. Two at most." Sanada replied after a quick mental math.
Kodai then spoke up, "Here is my opinion, as Tactical Officer: We should not waste time here."
Outraged at Kodai's words, Shima slammed his hands on the desk. "Kodai, what the hell are you talking about?! A sailor can't just abandon another sailor!"
Kodai gave his reasoning, "Since we don't know what ship we're dealing with, let alone if there are even any survivors, we shouldn't waste any valuable time!"
"Isn't that what you just said?", the spiky brunette finished, using Shima's words against him.
"Right now, our priority is-"
"-to reach Iscandar.", Shima cuts in. "Not to destroy the Pluto base."
Turning to Abraham, he continued. "If there's a chance there are survivors, no matter how minuscule even, we should still go."
'Now this is something noteworthy. We originally traced that signal back to the Yukikaze when it crash-landed on the moon.', Abraham thought, thumb and finger rubbing his chin. 'But here, it's not a UNCN ship but an unknown one. Most likely one of the Garmillians I shot earlier. Wait a minute, the Engine is supposed to fail by-'
Abraham's musing is interrupted when the entire room is shaken with a loud rumble. Those in the rooms quickly find themselves being thrown about.
Kodai and Shima caught themselves by grabbing onto the desk edge. Mori was about to fall over but was caught by Sasha's arms and Abraham stumbled about, his face indicating he was almost caught off guard. Loose objects were shaken off the desk and clattered on the floor.
"What happened?!", Nambu exclaimed, he and Chief Purser Hajime Hirata being knocked onto the wall behind them. With them is Sanada, one hand on the wall and the other with an intercom phone.
"Engine room, status report.", Sanada calmly spoke to the phone.
Engine Room
Inside the Engine control room, alarms blare and red indicators glow as the Engine information display shows warning after warning of their crippling Engine's status.
"We closed the safety valve, right?", Yamazaki asked Yabu, whose hands were working hard pushing buttons and moving leavers.
"Yes, but we are only delaying the inevitable unless we manage to get the condenser repaired.", Yabu said. Behind them, Tokugawa is explaining their situation to Sanada via phone in his hand and the other rubbing his bald head with a handkerchief.
"Bad news. Part of the condenser is on the verge of melting.", Tokugawa spoke to the phone. "When we fired the Wave Motion Gun, the emergency breaker to the circuit didn't activate, thus energy had been left flowing into the condenser unchecked since we left Jupiter."
Walking towards the viewing window that overlooks the Engine compartment, the elderly engineer eyed with worry as he sees parts of the condenser unit being melted away.
"How long will the repairs take?", Sanada asked.
"Can't say I have a straightforward answer. To repair it, we'd need to shut down the engine to reset the breaker and replace the exterior of the condenser with a new housing. We're gonna need a lot of Cosmo 90 to fabricate it.", Tokugawa deduced as he saw a melting chunk of metal nearly landing on top of two engineers on a walkway who quickly moved away in fright.
"And we better repair it soon or else the whole ship would be paralyzed."
Navigation Room
"Cosmo 90?", Kodai wondered out loud, unfamiliar with this material.
"Cosmonite 90, its official name, is a rare material that the Wave Motion Engine and Gun is made from and required to repair the condenser.", Sanada explained, he and everyone else now standing up. "It's an extremely durable material and also very insulating, making it perfect for shielding us against the volatile energy from the Engine."
"Hirata, do we have any on board?", Sanada asked the Chief Purser, who was in charge of all of Montana's inventory.
"For Tokugawa's repair? Not nearly enough.", Hirata dejectively responded.
"Wait, I believe we have a solution!", Nimi, her hands typing away on her datapad, said with a smile as the display showed a window of a cave wall surrounded by abandoned machinery. "Enceladus has an abandoned cosmonite mine. We can use whatever is there to repair and resupply."
"Well then, it's decided.", Abraham said, his mind made up. "We'll change course and head for Enceladus. Recovering the Cosmonite 90, however, is our top priority. Everyone understood?"
"Yes, sir!", all those respond in unison.
Montana now changes its course, thrusters burning and the ship banking right as it heads off toward Enceladus.
Unknown to the ship and all onboard, however, they've been tracked by a small Garmillian ship hidden within a small asteroid.
Pluto Frontline Base
Inside the Commander's Office, Shultz is being informed of the status of the Terron ship they've been tracking by Ganz. Along with them is Wol Jarletora, a tall broad man with a goatee.
"The Terron ship has changed course?", asked Shultz.
"Our recon ships report they are now heading towards the sixth planet, Zedan.", Ganz confirms. Shultz then asks Jarletora.
"Jarletora, wasn't there a recon landing ship stationed near Zedan?"
"Yes.", was Jarletora's simple reply.
"Use that. If we can, take whatever prisoners there are."
Shultz glares out of his office window intently.
"I want to know what they're up to."
Montana, Cafeteria
Inside the large, spacious area known as the cafeteria, many tables and chairs are occupied by men and women alike as they chat and eat away to their heart's content. The clean white walls and baby blue floor give a sense of comfort and familiarity to the crew, further aided by archived nature footage from a now-defunct British TV broadcasting company.
Crewmen and women holding trays are lining up in a neat file as they wait for their food, those up ahead are tapping their options on a digital screen as warm foodstuffs are loaded onto their trays.
"The OMCS is amazing! It can make as much of this as you want.", Ota praised, his tray full of food. Beside him is Aihara whose tray, too, is filled to the brim with grub. "It can even make alcohol, believe it or not."
"But what does it use as raw material?", Aihara curiously asked. "Surely it can't just make them out of thin air."
"Ah, don't ask hard questions, Aihara."
Walking by, they saw Sanada sitting alone reading a book of Japanese poems. His tray only consisted of exceptionally plain, simple yet rich nutrient bars, alongside a plain glass of water.
"Huh? Is..is that all you want, Sanada?", Ota asked, surprised at the raven-haired man's simple meal.
"Yeah. Consuming unnecessary extra calories is rather foolish.", Sanada brutally responded, prompting Ota to give his comparatively overly excessive portion of warm meats, vegetables, and breads a sad look.
Aihara, meanwhile, spoke out the thought that was stuck in his mind.
"Umm, Sanada, what does the OMCS use to make this food?"
"Hehe, I think you're better off not knowing that. Trade secret."
The answer might disgust you, especially for the weaker-minded., Sanada thought in his head, knowing what raw materials were needed to make such deceptively delicious meals.
As he looks at his fellow shipmates, all chatting away without a care in the world, he spots Kodai with his meal tray looking about before heading forward.
Sitting at another table, Shima is in the middle of eating his chicken salad when Kodai arrives, surprising him.
"May I...sit here?"
"Oh, sure."
Seeing Kodai taking his seat beside his friend without resistance, Sanada smiles and turns back to reading his poems.
Back at Shima and Kodai's table, the two brunettes began their conversation, both slowly eating their meals.
"Shima, I'm not against the rescue operation itself. It's just that..."
"You nearly lost your brother on Pluto. I understand that you want to redress that. I'm the same way as well..."
"..."
"...My dad was a sailor; he used to captain the Murasame, you know. And he always used to say..."
"Listen, Daisuke."
"Sailors like your Dad never abandon their comrades, no matter what."
"That's what it means to be a sailor. A true sailor."
"I wanted to be like him. That's why I became a sailor. Why I joined the Navy."
Shima smiled wistfully as he recounted his father's meaningful words, prompting Kodai to smile as well.
Kodai then raised the back of his fist to Shima, who only returned it with his own with a satisfying thump.
A few tables away, Security Division Officer Toru Hoshina and Assistant Warrant Officer Yuria Misaki watch the two brunette's display of friendship.
"They are such good friends.", the young officer began, holding his tray of food. "Both were promoted because those who would've gotten their jobs got killed."
"Aren't they lucky?", Misaki said.
"It's a true friendship between men."
"No, I mean-"
"There's just simple.", Mori cuts in from behind, surprising the two. Sitting beside her is Sasha, drinking a cup of tea.
"Men are sometimes hot-headed. You shouldn't try to emulate every one of them, especially not the weird ones."
"Though I would make an exception to those two.", Sasha added her two cents.
Hoshina simply laughs it off, while Misaki agrees with an "Understood!".
Hanger Bay 1
Stored within two rotating carousels, a squadron of Cosmo Falcon multirole fighters are being inspected to be in tip-top airworthy condition. Various maintenance crews are opening panels, some taking and putting in new spare parts while others are signing away paperwork to clear them off.
One of the Falcons, held on upside down by secure clamps, is being maintained by Kato himself. His upper torso is inside the cockpit and his hands fiddling with wires and instrument units. He is suspended mid-air due to the Gravity Inertia System being temporarily shut off, allowing his body to be in unorthodox but productive positions.
"Announcement. After inspection, Team 5 is to gather in the briefing room. Repeat. After inspection, Team 5 is to gather in the briefing room. We'll discuss our maintenance and operation plans."
Entering the Hanger, Yamamoto is holding onto a datapad in one hand and gripping a grab handle. Her head moves around, looking for someone then propelling herself off into the air with her legs.
"Inertial control isn't on here, right?", Yamamoto asked, arriving beside Kato who is now securing the Falcon's instrument panel into place.
"Yeah, makes our jobs much easier, and with so much stuff around here...well, we're better off without gravity.", Kato explained, closing the cockpit canopy. "How, how was it? Got the ammo I requested?"
"Permission for the extra ammunition was granted."
"Great. Thanks."
Kato then takes the datapad and signs it off before handing it back to Yamamoto.
"So, how's accounting going?", he asked his sister.
"It's fine. I'm enjoying it.", the white-haired woman replied, her voice not quite reaching the tone her words implied. She simply gazes at another Falcon nearby, being looked at by other crew.
Kato, while noticing the dull tone, simply chose not to comment.
Hours later, Saturn's Orbit
Hidden within the beautiful rings of Saturn, a Garmillian transport vessel is now awaiting its target to arrive.
It doesn't have to wait long as Montana is soon spotted, the battleship approaching the second-largest gas giant of the Solar System.
Delemaya-class Assault Ship
"Target approaching orbit of the eighth satellite."
"Command recieved. Priority: Capture of the crew."
Inside the ship's bridge, several Garmiloid androids are relaying instructions received by Shultz from Pluto as they track the progress of Montana on a display.
"Weapons use is permitted, as necessary."
Down below in the hanger, several Garmilloids awaken from standby and rush into tanks, preparing their assault on the target.
Enceladus, Montana.
All the main staff are on the bridge, witnessing their destination on the forward windows. Above, a magnified image of the snow-white moon is shown on the roof display.
"It looks like a messed-up golf ball.", Ota commented on the look of the moon.
"On that frozen surface, we've witnessed over 100 geysers caused by the tidal pull of Saturn and other plants.", Sanada added from behind, giving a little trivia to those who don't know.
Montana begins its descent onto the frozen white surface of the moon, the surface covered in snow and ice as far as the eye can see.
"We're now approaching Enceladus.", Abraham announced. "Begin our descent."
"Beginning descent. Approach angle and v-speed are stable.", Shima said, hands on the controls. "Radio altimeter calibrated. Estimated altitude, 1500ft and descending. Estimated speed, 145kts. Raise kneel guns for landing."
"Raising guns.", Kodai raised the gun levers. "Three green. Guns raised and secure."
Approaching a giant ravine on the surface, the three gun turrets move their barrels into their neutral elevation before retracting slightly into the hull as Montana disappears below the surface level.
"Kneel guns raised. Reverse thrust. Level the bow and prepare for landing."
Nearing the bottom of the ravine, Montana's main thrusters go cold and the secondary thrusters open their nozzle to redirect thrust forward. Aided by the forward RCS jets propelling against the battleship, Montana slows itself to a complete stop before a work site with abandoned equipment strewn about.
The rocket anchors fire away and lodge themselves in the ravine walls to secure the ship in place, with bright spotlights illuminating the area by Montana.
"Ship is at a complete stop. Rocket anchors secure.", Shima reported.
"Good work.", Abraham commented, then turning to the XO. "Sanada, you're in charge of the mining operation."
Sanada saluted in reply. "Yes, sir."
"Mori, you are to take Monty and a medical team to the source of the distress signal. Rescue whatever survivors you may find."
"Yes, sir!", Mori spoke, standing up.
"Kodai, you are to escort Mori to the rescue site."
This confused both Mori and Kodai, the latter speaking out, "Um, what do you mean, sir?"
"I believe flat you are to be, quote-unquote, her knight in shining armor.", Monty spoke up.
"Eh?"
Both Tactical and Operation Officers looked at each other for a moment, then the latter turned to address the captain.
"Sir, with all due respect, I appreciate the gesture but I think I can handle myself."
"Ah, but Kodai has more training in close quarters and firearms. I believe that he is more than qualified for the task should there be any unforeseen threats.", Abraham refuted, turning to address Kodai.
"Kodai, as of right now per Captain's orders, you are granted as temporary commanding officer of Mori's rescue operation. You are to protect her and any possible survivors by any means necessary. Understood?"
Shocking Mori, Kodai only stands up back straight and salutes.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
Abraham gives a satisfied nod.
Enceladus, Mining Site
Later outside, Sanada, wearing an insulating spacesuit, watches on as the crew of impromptu miners operates several high-powered mobile lasers cutting away large chunks of raw Cosmonite 90 before being loaded onto trolleys.
These trolleys are then moved to an elevator system which transports the Cosmo 90 up the side of Montana and then put into storage.
Approaching Sanada from behind is Boatswain Isami Enomoto, humming the first few verses of the Cosmo Navy anthem.
"Man, what a treasure trove we have here.", Enomoto commented on the vast amount of raw unclaimed materials about.
"Boatswain, complete the works as fast as you can.", Sanada said. "The less time here, the better.
"Aye aye, sir!"
A moment of silence follows, both men watching the people hard at work. Enomoto then breaks the silence.
"So, I guess Kodai's off to escort the princess?"
"Hmm?"
"In the Academy, I was his instructor. Thought him most of what I know. And what I learned is that he never did know how to deal with women. He would clam up whenever one showed up to his face, especially blondes. He once tried to get over the fear with his friend, Shima was his name I believe. But he would fail even before asking one out. I wonder if he'll be alright..."
"...Mamoru was the complete opposite. He once jokingly proclaimed that he was the "Master of Women"."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and the first and only woman that he "charmed" was my assistant back in the Academy."
"That blue-haired gal? Niimi?"
"Yeah, and he quickly relinquished that title when they dated. Heh, ironic. A self-proclaimed womanizer, only to vow to a committed relationship with one. At least until they broke up."
"Wow. I guess we both learned something new today."
A good distance away, a SC-97 Seagull, a twin-boomed transport aircraft, crewed by Kodai, Mori, Monty, and Nurse Harada, flies up in the air as they move to the source of the distress signal.
Sitting in the cockpit to the left is Mori, right is Kodai, and behind him is Monty, with Harada sitting behind the android.
"Two girls, a guy, and a robot alone?", Kodai spoke, hands ready to take control even though the Seagull was on autopilot. "I think I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going."
"Eugh, don't speak of such things, especially on the job.", Mori shuddered. "But don't worry, you don't have to do anything. I'm quite capable of defending myself if needed to."
"I'm capable of a variety of tasks if needed be.", Monty added, his android arms opening up to reveal a variety of tools including screwdrivers, drills, and even a blowtorch. "I'm also combat-ready should there be any hostile."
"Wow, that's neat.", Kodai says, amazed at Monty's versatile capabilities. "So you're like a Swiss Army knife on legs."
"That's right. Just give me the word and I'll do my best to get it done, Commander."
"I still can't believe that Abraham made you the commanding officer for this rescue.", Mori let out her thoughts, still a bit miffed that Kodai has to come along.
"Well, he said that I'm qualified for this."
"Well, I'll leave the escorting job to you. But once we find survivors, leave them to me. Got it?"
"Right, right.", Kodai playfully affirmed.
"Just one is enough."
"Right, right."
"Hey!"
As they banter back and forth, one could see both their mouth curl up into a slight smile. Hiding behind Monty, Harada takes notice of this.
"Hey, aren't those two kinda bit suspicious together?", Harada silently whispers with a teasing smile.
"If suspicious, you mean they are, quote-unquote, perfect for each other?", Monty silently whispered back to the nurse.
"Exactly."
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to being snooped, Mori and Kodai are now playfully exchanging refutes with each other. All with a smile on their faces.
"Ahem, "Captain, I'm here to file a complaint that Kodai is abusing his powers as commanding officer.", Mori faux complained, with Kodai making an exaggerated shocked expression.
"That's not true! I should be the one filing the complaint for false accusations!", Kodai clarified in faux outrage.
"What would Abraham say in this situation?", Mori wondered.
"If he's anything like Admiral Okita, he would probably give a stern talk down upon us like a lectured student.", guessed Kodai, clearing his throat for his Abraham impression. "Ahem, "It doesn't matter who is at fault, what I do know is you are both behaving like children and setting a bad example to others. Both are you are to stay in solitary and write an apology letter to each other within 2 hours."
Both laugh at Kodai's rather bad impression of their Captain, the atmosphere in the cockpit lightening considerably.
As the laughter calms down, both begin to focus on the task at hand.
"Anyway, I wonder who could have sent that distress signal.", Mori pondered, prompting Kodai to look at her.
A small flashback to the deceased Iscandarian on Mars comes to his mind as he thinks, 'She's really beautiful. Just like her, huh?'
Mori felt Kodai's gaze, turning right to face him with a curious look on her face.
"What is it?"
"...Can I ask a strange question?"
"Oh. Sure, go ahead."
At the back, Harada witnessed this promising interaction. At least, promising in her mind.
"Oh! I was right!", Harada claimed, a smug smile on her face.
"Are you, by chance, related to any aliens?"
"...Eh?!"
Kodai's straightforward question and Mori's "WTF?" ed expression shatter Harata's claims, and she collapses on the floor with her legs up.
"No, never mind. Forget it. Monty, what do we know about the distress signal?", Kodai quickly changed topic.
"Well, with the limited data we got, I deduce that it's Garmillian in origin."
"Garmillian?!", Kodai exclaimed in surprise, which is mirrored by everyone else.
"Why would a Garmillian vessel land here?", Mori mulled.
"Maybe it got crippled when Montana first arrived on Pluto during Operation M three weeks ago.", Kodai proposed. "It might've tried to find its way back, but they can't navigate and its propulsion subsequently failed, hence why it crashed here."
"Monty, can you transcribe what the distress signal said?", Mori asked.
"Certainly, but due to our lack of data on the Garmillan language and the weak source of the signal, I can't guarantee a perfect transcription."
The left palm of Monty's hand opens up to reveal a hologram projector that lights up to show an audio spectrum and a dialog box.
"Playing message now."
"Tzzz...This is the Garmillian destroyer...Tzz...we're currently stranded on...Tzz...most of our crew is...Tzz...the cold is settling in, our insulation can't...please, send rescue..."
"That's the end of the message."
"My god. Would there be anyone left alive?", Harada asked, horrified and now on her feet.
"The surface temperature of Enceladus is about negative 200C (330F) at its lowest.", Monty lowly said, his expression grim. "The chances of anyone surviving for any period without protection is slim to none."
"And if it did crash land during Operation M three weeks ago, plus with their failing insulation, they all would have frozen to death.", Kodai grimly added.
"Not if thirst or hunger gets to them first, if Garmillian biology is anything like ours.", Mori gave her two cents.
"So, in summary, everyone almost certainly died.", Harada silently summarised.
A wave of silence washes over the three humans and android as they continue forth to their now awaiting crash site.
The silence is then broken by Monty, "We're now approaching the signal source."
The Seagull slows down and descends onto the snowy surface, wings rotating upwards so its engines can be utilized for VTOL landing. Landing gears extended, the aircraft touches down before the frozen battered hull of a Garmillian ship.
Enceladus, some distance away from the Montana
The Garmillian assault ship tracking the Montana has arrived and skims near Enceladus' icy surface.
Two hanger bay doors over from behind as multiple assault tanks drop from the ship, thrusters igniting to cushion the blow.
After delivering its payload, the ship flies off to its target.
Frozen Garmillian Vessel
Exiting the Seagull, the crew of Kodai, Mori, Monty, and Harada slowly walk forth to the iced wreckage of the Garmillian ship, the source of the distress signal.
"This is not an Earth ship, that's for sure.", Kodai said, eyes wandering around as he scanned the frozen hull, previously green and now icy white.
"They called it a destroyer.", Mori affirmed, recalling the distress message. "The name of the ship, though, is lost in the transmission. And it doesn't help that the hull is all frozen over."
"Based on data salvaged during the Second Battle of Mars, the Garmillians call this a Kripitera-class Destroyer.", Monty added. "It's the most commonly used ship in the Garmillian fleet with thousands already built."
"Jesus. And we've barely managed to make twenty of our Isokaze destroyers.", Kodai murmured in surprise. "Just shows how much superior our enemy numbers are."
Just then Harada called out, having found an entryway after wandering off a bit.
"Hey guys! We can enter the ship over here!"
As the three rush over, Kodai comments on the damage done to the hull.
"The hull being ripped outwards suggests that something pierced the ship before exploding from the inside.", Kodai analyzed.
"Until our voyage, no Earth weapon could put a dent in Garmillan armor, let alone pierce it.", Mori added. "Except for the Montana."
"This means that this destroyer is likely part of the Garmillian fleet which took part during Operation M three weeks before our first flight.", Monty concluded. "It seems Kodai's hypothesis is likely true."
Arriving at Harada, the group climbed aboard the wrecked ship using debris as a makeshift stair. Once inside, Monty's palms open each revealing a powerful torch within and brightly illuminating the area.
Walking forward to the bow, they spot a frozen spacesuit slumped at the base of a walled ladder leading upwards. Its arms outstretched suggest that whoever was wearing it tried to grab hold of something.
The group arrives at the suit, white as the icy hull of the ship before Harada takes out a handheld bio-scanner. While Harada is scanning the suit, Kodai rubs away a layer of frost formed on the helmet visor, revealing the frozen face and empty eyes of a man whose expression is permanently stuck in fear.
"How is it?", Mori asked Harada, who only swung her head as the bio-scanner gave a flat line.
"Dead. Hypothermia.", the nurse sadly answered.
"I believe this is what the man was looking for.", Monty spoke up, his hands holding what looked like a portable heater similar in design to a hurricane lantern on Earth. "This portable heater is likely the only thing keeping him alive. When it died, so did this man."
"...I heard that being frozen to death is the worst way to go.", Kodai silently said in sympathy. "I can't imagine the suffering this man went through when he realized once his only lifeline is gone."
Climbing up that ladder, the group arrived at what appeared to be the bridge of the destroyer. Their eyes widen in horror as they move past several frozen bodies, some still sitting at their stations and preserved in various slumped positions. Cold wires and metal panels litter the area with the consoles all in differing states of damage.
"Oh my god...", Mori silently uttered. "Those poor men."
Harada and Monty approach one of the cold corpses, the latter letting out an "Eep!" when she touches its arm which broke off and fell on the ground.
"They...they've been frozen so long that they shatter j-j-just by being touched.", Harada stuttered, while Monty took a bio scan of the body, now with one less arm.
"I detect a degree of head trauma around the forehead region.", Monty analyzed. "This man and many others here likely suffered a hard concussion and fell unconscious upon crash landing."
"...At least most of them died a painless death.", Kodai spoke, uttering a small prayer for every one of the bodies.
As they move forth in search of the distress signal, Mori hears a faint beeping noise coming from her left.
"Hey, I think I found the signal."
Shuffling past some debris, Mori found the source of the beeping. A man, sitting before what looks to be a radio transceiver that's emitting faint beeps, accompanied by a flashing red light. The man himself, iced like the others, is holding a PTT microphone with the mic button permanently held down.
"This man must have tried to send the distress call for help.", Mori said, Kodai arriving shortly.
"Only to never get it, and for us to arrive at the aftermath.", Kodai added. "This radio is probably the only thing working here, still transmitting the last dying words of this poor bastard."
"There's a ship's log somewhere right? Even a black box data record of some kind?"
"All Garmillian ships use a digital flight data recorder.", Monty said, his fingers changing to resemble a computer plug. "I can try to enter the system and download it here."
Kodai nodded his head. "You'll do that. Maybe we can learn something more about our enemy."
Kripitera destroyer wreck, outside
Approaching rapidly at the crash site are two Garmillan tanks, rumbling forth as their tracks throw up snow and ice in their wake. One of the tanks aims at the parked transport aircraft outside, then opens fire with a single red blast.
Kripitera destroyer, bridge
"Found anything yet?", Kodai asked Monty, whose fingers were connected to one of the bridge consoles.
"Not yet...wait, got it! Now let's see..."
Monty's bout of happiness is short-lived, however.
"Crap."
"What is it?"
"The data here is all corrupted. The data drives must have been damaged by the cold temperatures. Everything inside is all unintelligible."
"Can you try to reconstruct all the data?", Kodai asked, hopeful.
"Well, unless we manage to find the drive itself, I can't do anything from this end."
"Tch, crap.
"You said it. Though I managed to find something else."
"Lay it on me."
"Remember how I said that there are thousands of these destroyers? Well, only the first one hundred were actually named."
"So what you're saying is...", Kodai began, putting the pieces together.
"All later destroyers, including this one, have serial numbers instead. And this one is-"
*BOOM!*
Before Monty can continue, however, the group is interrupted by a loud explosion coming from outside.
"What happened?! Are we under attack?!", Mori exclaimed.
Kodai, rushing forward and cracking open a brittle window with his elbow, took out his binoculars and leaned out of the bridge, searching for the attacker.
What he finds is the burning wreck of the Seagull and the clouds of snow from two enemy tanks.
"Shit, Garmillains!"
Popping back in, he relays what he saw to Mori and the others.
"Garmillian tanks are outside, and they destroyed the Seagull."
"Th-that means we have no way getting back to the Montana!", Harata cried, shaking in fear.
Another explosion happened, this time rumbling the entire bridge and Harata stumbled backwards. She trips over a small empty box and finds herself trapped behind a secured door. Mori falls onto her knees but is fortunately caught by Kodai.
"Mori, you request help from Montana. Monty and I will try to free Harada."
"Understood."
Reaching the barely functional radio console, Mori pushes the frozen man off the seat and onto console the floor, shattering him to many bits.
"Hiss, sorry."
Taking the seat, Mori switched on the console and was about to communicate to the radio before she realized something embarrassingly crucial.
"Umm, I don't know how to read Garmillian!"
"What?!"
"Kodai, I'll go help Mori with the radio. Oh and take this, it should help."
Monty's arm then transforms into a plasma blowtorch, before detaching from his elbow joints and handing it to Kodai.
"Thanks. Go help Mori then come back once you're done!"
"Understood!"
"Harada! Are you alright?!"
"My bum's a bit sore but I'm okay!", Harada replied, the nurse's voice coming from the other side. "I'm trapped behind this door, though! It won't budge!"
"We'll get you out of there! Just stand back! It's about to get warm here!"
"Okay!"
"Right, how do I operate this thing?"
Fiddling about with the blowtorch, Kodai finds a red on/off trigger. Flipping it on, he is presented with a small beam of white-hot plasma. It is so hot that the air around the beam is being distorted.
"Wow, it's like a mini lightsaber! Wait..."
Jamming the blowtorch against the door beam first from the bottom, Kodai is delighted to see the cold metal quickly melting into slag as he slowly moves the torch upwards.
"Yes, it works! Just hang on, Harata! "You'll be out soon!"
Rushing over to Mori and looking over her shoulder, Monty took a quick scan of the radio console interface, text scrolling past his eyes.
"What do I do first, Monty?", Mori anxiously asked.
"Okay, let's see..."
A second passed as Monty analyzed his next course of action, the Garmillain text being translated in real-time. Then his remaining hand points at a switch.
"Alright, you see that switch? Move it to the middle so this thing switches from transmit to transceive mode."
Mori flips the switch.
"Okay, what's next?"
"Next, we need to change the frequency to match Montana's. That knob over there moves the frequency dial. Montana's frequency ID is 115 to 121 kilohertz, which should be somewhere in the middle of the dial."
Mori's hands rotate the knob about, the digital red needle moving left and right in response. It eventually settles right in the middle of the frequency dial.
"Okay, you got it, Mori. Now, see that microphone? Grab it, press the button and you should be good to go."
"Alright, thank you, Monty! Now go rescue Harata!"
"No problem, send help quick!"
After Monty runs off to help Kodai, Mori grabs the microphone and presses the PTT button.
"This is the medical team. Montana, please respond! I'm transmitting from a crashed Garmillan vessel, the source of the distress signal. We are currently under Garmillan attack! Request immediate assistance!"
The radio crackles a bit before Aihara's voice transmits back.
"This is Montana! We're currently under attack by enemy armored units!"
"What!?", Mori exclaims in shock.
Montana, Cosmonite mine
Back at the mine, Montana is currently under fire by approaching enemy tanks. Their firepower, while respectable, is no match for Montana's thick armored hull.
On the bridge, the crew is reporting on the various status of the ship.
"Hit to the hull on the starboard side, damage minimal."
"Engines are offline, no power to all guns."
"All mining crew are now retreating from the site, no casualties so far."
Down below, fighter pilots are scrambling down the hallways to the hangar to launch and defend the ship. A scramble announcement is played on the speakers above.
"Attention, fighters are to launch and engage the enemy!"
Yamamoto was walking down the hall when she saw many pilots all rushing past her. Her eyes are in a thoughtful look before her expression changes to that of determination.
Mining site
All the crew are retreating to Montana, moving their equipment back while narrowly missing enemy fire and blasts.
"Withdrawal! Withdrawal immediately!", one crewman yelled to the others as he and others nearby narrowly missed a laser fire.
"Idiots! Is that all you got!?", Enomoto taunted the enemy, rushing to hide below a trench and peeking over the ledge alongside Sanada, also inside peeking over.
"They've got nowhere near the forces to attack Montana.", Sanada said, taking out his binoculars to get a closer look at the enemy.
"Yep.", Enomoto added.
"Do we have anything to defend ourselves?"
"We have a portable mortar cannon and some shells, used for blowing new mine shafts. Got anything?"
"Hmm...I might have an idea."
Kripitera destroyer wreck
Back on the bridge, Monty is now assisting with Kodai's rescue efforts, having returned from helping with Mori's radio trouble. With both man and android wielding plasma blowtorches, the rescue progress has significantly improved. Strangely, everything seems to be quiet all of a sudden.
"Alright, just a little bit more.", Kodai said, both his and Monty's plasma blades reaching past the height of their heads and beginning to arc to each other.
"I have to admit, this place is rather warm! If you don't get me out soon, I might just stay in here!", Harada jokingly called from the other side.
"Hey, we need you back onboard our team. After all, who's going to treat all my human company's wounds if you are not around!", Monty retorted, lightening the mood a bit.
"Though this is strange. They've stopped attacking...", Kodai muttered in skepticism.
"Kodai, the Montana is also under attack!", Mori then cried from behind.
"Eh?!"
"Huh?!"
Montana
Montana, under enemy fire, opens its lower-hanger bay doors. However, no Falcons are launched as there's not enough ground clearance for the fighters to take off.
"What do you mean, "We can't launch?"", Kota, in his pilot suit, asked a ground staff member.
"We're still recovering the ground team!", the staff explained. "If you want to launch the fighters, we'll have to raise the airstairs and gain altitude but risk leaving the ground team to fire."
"Hold on. If we can't launch our fighters, then what do we do?", fellow pilot Hiroki Shinohara asked. After a moment of thought, Kato spoke while looking up at the ceiling.
"Then I guess we'll borrow "it"."
"By "it", you mean?"
Inside Hanger 2, a person in a full pilot suit and gear rushes in and climbs onboard one of the two parked Cosmo Zeros labeled "Alpha 2", face fully hidden by the pilot helmet. It closes the canopy and spools its engines, alerting a ground crew nearby inspecting the other Zero.
"Eh? Hey! Did they issue launch orders?", he says as Kota and another pilot rush into the Hanger.
"Oi, who's in that thing?" Kota asked the crewman, pointing at the now spooled-up Zero.
"Isn't that one of the pilots?
"No, it's just me and-! Oh, sonnavabitch!"
Kato could only watch helplessly as he witnessed another unauthorized takeoff of a Zero. The aircraft was now leaving the hanger bay doors, wings unfolded and raised to be loaded onto the catapults.
Once the Zero was out of sight, Kato turned to face the ground crewman.
"Hey, is the other Zero airworthy?"
"Yeah, just need to wait for the launch order."
"Attention, Alpha 1 and 2 are cleared for takeoff and to engage the enemy!"
"No need to wait!", Kato quipped at the fortunate moment, wasting no time rushing to the remaining Zero and climbing into the cockpit.
At the mining site, most of the crew have retreated to Montana, though the enemy tanks are still opening fire at them.
Inside the trench, Sanada and Emomoto duck down as a tank rumbles past their heads.
"Sanada, you sure this will work?" Emomoto asked.
Sanada confidently nodded his head. "Quite sure."
"Okay, here goes nothing!"
Trusting Sanada's judgment, Enomoto climbs out of the safety of the trench and exclaims loudly at the tank moving away from him.
"Hey, you bastard! Turn around and face me!"
As if responding to the boatswains' words, the tank turns around to face Enomoto.
"Eat this!"
In the boatswains' hands is a makeshift grenade launcher, made by him and Sanada using the portable mortar launcher and some spare parts. Aiming, the boatswain fires an explosive shell which lands just below the turret. It soon explodes and blows the turret off completely, exposing the vulnerable interior of the tank.
Enomoto immediately fires a second shell, landing directly in the hole and blowing the tank up from the inside, shrapnel going everywhere.
"Alright! Sanada, your stupid crazy idea worked!"
"Don't thank me just yet. We got another enemy incoming."
True to Sanada's words, another tank turns around and aims at the now-exposed Enomoto. Then, two heavy shells land on top of the tank and lodge themselves within the armor before exploding in a bright light, destroying the tank.
Both men look up and see a Cosmo Zero pulling out from its attack run before diving back in.
Inside Alpha 2, the unknown pilot aims the sights at another moving tank, locked on as the reticule turns green from red.
Pulling the trigger, a loud thump is felt as a single high-caliber explosive rounds fire from the Zero's nose cannon. The round rapidly descends upon the tank and quickly turns it into scrap.
The Zero pulls away once again, but this time it's under fire from the AA guns of an Armored Personnel Carrier.
The Zero weaves left and right with the APC's guns keeping up, but suddenly another shell lands onto the APC and destroys it in an instant.
The source of the second shell catches up beside the Zero, revealing to be Alpha 1. Behind the controls is Kota, his expression furious.
"Oi! You there! State your name and rank!", Kota demanded to Alpha 2 via radio. They are suddenly under fire once again, this time narrowly avoiding laser fire from the larger Garmillain transport ship.
Breaking away from Alpha 2, Kota turns his head and addresses his unknown wingman.
"Alright, I don't know who you are, but go assist the medical team! Hurry!"
The unknown pilot nods its head in confirmation, its Zero banking hard left to head off to the medical team.
Kripitera destroyer wreck
Inside the bridge of the destroyer, Mori is still attempting to request whatever assistance she can get.
"This is the medical team. Montana, please respond!"
A female voice then crackles back.
"Medical team, do you copy? Help is on the way now!"
Mori lets out a smile and sigh of relief, closing her eyes and relaxing back to the seat. When she opens them, however, she's greeted by the glowing white lights on an upside-down head hanging from the ceiling.
A moment of silence passes and neither party moves an inch.
Then...
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
Meanwhile, Kodai and Monty have managed to cut open the door and free Harada from behind it.
"Okay. Are you alright, Harada?", Kodai asked as Harada pulls herself to her feet.
"I'm good. You guys did it!"
"AAAAHHHH!"
*thump*
"That's Mori! She might be in danger!", Monty cried out, he and Abraham rushing over to see two humanoid hostiles, one wielding an assault rifle and the other grabbing an unconscious Mori over its shoulders.
The hostile with the assault rifle, hearing both the man and android's footsteps, quickly turns around and opens fire. Kodai and Monty immediately duck and take cover behind some broken consoles.
"Take her to the tank.", the one with the rifle told its colleague, who rushed out of a broken window carrying Mori like a sack of potatoes.
"What's going on!?", Harada fearfully asked from behind.
"We're under attack! Just stay there and take cover!", Monty replied.
"Hey, where are you taking Mori!?", Kodai demanded taking out his sidearm, only to immediately duck when the enemy opened fire. Laser fire peppers the area as Kodai tries to aim and fails when a shot destroys the barrel.
"Shit, I'm out!", he called to Monty, whose arm transformed into a small cannon and taking shots at the humanoid.
"See if there is anything here! The crew wouldn't leave themselves without any means of defense!", Monty called back as the enemy took cover from another volley of shots from his arm cannon.
Something here, something here..., Kodai thought, his eyes rapidly darting around in search of whatever weapons lying around. Anything will do!
Amidst the suppressing fire from the enemy, Kodai spots a small glint of metal wedged inside some ice. As stray laser shots land at the ice, it breaks apart to reveal a pistol grip.
Perfect. That'll do., Kodai thought, grabbing the pistol, which resembles a German Luger, from the ice and wiping it clean.
When the burst of fire stopped, Monty and Kodai both immediately aimed and fired. A round from Monty's arm cannon pierces the hostile' chest, leaving a gaping hole. Two headshots land from Kodai, the enemy erratically spazzing out before collapsing forward to the ground.
"Monty, stay behind and protect Harada if anyone else arrives! I'll go get back Mori!"
"Understood. Be careful!"
Kodai then rushes off, climbing out of the window and sliding down the frozen hull pc the destroyer in pursuit of Mori's kidnapper.
Once the gunfire ends, Harada climbs out from her cover and immediately rushes over to the fallen enemy upon seeing it.
"The first aid kit! Hurry!", Harata asked.
"That's an enemy, Harada."
"Doesn't matter. A true doctor treats all!"
Receiving the first aid kit, Harada began to slowly roll the enemy's body in preparation for treatment. What she saw, however, made her recoil back in shock.
"That..that's..."
The body rolls to its back, revealing not pooling blood but lubricating fluids. And instead of skin and bones, it's sparking wires and metal plates.
Montana, airspace
Kato's Zero weaves about, pulling many hard left and right rolls as he dodges multiple incoming missiles fired by the Garmillian transport ship. Leveling off, he fires off a burst of flares which disrupts the missile' targeting system.
As the missile lost track of Kato, they began to move closer to each other, having targeted themselves instead and blowing up upon contact.
Kato then flies toward the lone Garmilian ship, aiming it between his sights and pulling the trigger.
"Take this, Gammy!"
Two Air-to-Air missiles launch from under the Zero's wings, flying forth and making contact with the Garmillian vessel. It then explodes in a ball of flames as the broken-up ship cascades down upon a large ravine.
Kripitera destroyer wreck, outside
Kodai keeps in pursuit of the enemy who took Mori, now joined by another wielding an assault rifle. He runs towards an ice formation, taking cover under heavy laser fire.
When the firing stopped, Kodai took his chance to aim and shoot at the enemy, the red laser blast piercing its chest and collapsing. The one carrying Mori then runs away, with Kodai immediately following.
"Oh no, you don't.", Kodai growled, climbing out of his cover and running after the last enemy.
The enemy soldier arrives before an APC parked just beside a large crack in the ground. Turning round to face Kodai, it takes out its sidearm. Before it can aim, a huge ice geyser erupts from the crack and breaks apart the surrounding ice. The ice falls downwards to the crack, taking the APC with it.
Now with no means of escape, Kodai points his alien Luger at the last enemy.
"Put her down or I'll open fire.", Kodai demanded.
When it doesn't respond, Kodai aims at its head. But there's a problem.
Dammit. With all this shaking, I can't get a clear shot, Kodai swore as the geyser eruption kept throwing off his aim. I might hit Mori if I'm not careful!
Fortunately, the geyser provides a blessing as the loud noise and rumbling shake Mori awake. Opening her eyes and seeing the back of her kidnapper, she immediately lays waste by kneeing its chest and head as hard as she can.
"Let! Me! GO!".
With each enunciation, Mori knees harder and harder until her kidnapper drops her. She tumbles away from the soldier who aims it's gun at her instead, eyes widening in horror and alarming Kodai.
"STOP! Put the gun down, NOW!", Kodai yelled out to the enemy, who slowly turned its head. "I said put it down!"
The enemy soldier was about to target Kodai instead when a shot landed between its feet, revealing to be Monty firing his arm cannon and walking beside Kodai. Running from being is Harada, grabbing the body of the now-revealed android shot earlier by Kodai.
"I suggest you listen to what my colleague said and surrender, robot. You're outnumbered and outarmed.", Monty spoke as the barrel of his cannon smoked.
"Robot?", Kodai asked, keeping his eyes on the enemy robot.
"They're androids. All of them. Rather advanced ones, too."
Now completely surrounded and with no means of escape, the enemy android slowly raised its hands in surrender. But as it if it wants to take one last victory, it quickly points its gun at Mori.
"NO!", Kodai yelled in distress, Monty narrowing his eyes.
*Bang!*
A wave of silence washes over everyone, none moving a single inch. This silence was broken when the enemy robot, now with a hole in its head, slowly fell forward and released its gun with a clatter.
Kodai looks at Monty, his arm cannon outstretched with the barrel smoking once again, having fired the finishing blow.
Mori stands up and walks over to the trio. "Kodai! Monty!"
"Get down!"
Kodai runs to the blonde, tackling her to the ground, and both very narrowly miss incoming enemy fire. A cloud of snow clears to reveal another enemy tank, having fired its coaxial machine guns at the duo.
The tank turns around for another attack, Kodai picks up Mori to her feet and immediately pulls her to a run.
"Run!"
They had only done a couple of steps when they heard an explosion from behind them. Turning around, they saw the burning wreckage of what was the tank chasing them. And up in the air, they saw a Cosmo Zero pulling away, having fired its nose cannon at the tank.
As the Zero circles the area before flying off, Kodai comments on its impressive piloting skills.
"That's some pretty amazing flying.", Kodai said, his hands still holding onto Mori's shoulders.
"Yeah.", Mori simply replied.
After a few seconds, she suddenly released her proximity to Kodai and quickly pushed off him with a red blush on her face.
"Uh-ah-uh?! Ahem, th-thank you! You saved me.", Mori stuttered with a bow, the redness on her cheeks hidden from view.
"Ah, no need. It's this thing that saved me.", Kodai casually waved off, holding the Luger-like pistol in his hand. Though his expression morphs into a contemplating frown.
"What's wrong?"
"...This gun once belonged to the enemy. The same ones who tried to kill my brother.", Kodai looks at the piston in his hand, seeing the red crossed emblem of the Garmillan Empire engraved in the grip. "But now, it has protected us from themselves."
"...They say that the weapon doesn't make its own friends or enemies, only the wielder does. With its past owner gone, now only you can decide who it protects."
"Wow. Who said that?"
"...Nobody, I just did.", Mori lowly spoke with an embarrassed look. Kodai only laughs to which Mori pouts at him.
When the laughter dies down, Monty and Harada join in with the latter dropping the android corpse and out of breath.
"What should we do with the ship? Our mission is technically over.", Monty asked, everyone turning their head to the iced Kripitera destroyer.
Small flakes of ice from the geyser eruption slowly land on top of the group, Mori and Harada's hands each having an ice flake landing on top.
"...We'll give them a proper burial. It's the least they deserve.", Kodai eventually spoke up.
Later, Montana
Hovering above the Garmillian destroyer after having picked up the mining crew and medical team, Montana slowly pulls away from the wreckage and rises up into the permanently black sky.
Down below, a makeshift gravesite is erected by Kodai and his team using the broken pieces of wreckage as grave posts. Engraved on the plaques is a message left by the team in kanji,
Here lie the crew of the Garmillan vessel, K-Beo JiPakGalNel (2 4853), February 2199.
May they find peace in the Afterlife
Hanger Bay 2
Alpha 2 is lowered down to the hanger with its wings folded. Opening the cockpit canopy, the unknown pilot climbs out of the Zero. Awaiting outside are Kota and Shinohara, alongside the ground staff member.
"Unknown pilot, remove your helmet.", Kato sternly asked.
The pilot unclicks the helmet latch and takes it off. The identity reveal surprises the ground staff and Shinohara, the latter more pleasantly so. Kato, however, is less than surprised and more annoyed instead.
"Tch, jeez. I should have known.", Kato muttered with a shake of his head.
Akira Yamamoto reveals herself from under the helmet, not feeling a single amount of retreat at her stunt from earlier.
Bridge
Returning to the main bridge, Mori is surprised to see that the Tactical Officer's chair is empty. Seeing Shima beside it in his seat, she asks him, "Where's the Tactical Officer?"
"Kodai is giving his report to the Captain.", Shima replied. "You don't need to go?"
Mori nods her head, turning her head to see the Garmillian Luger pistol inside Kodai's holster hanging from his seat.
"How was the rescue operation?", Sasha asked from behind her.
Mori took a moment to ponder her response.
"It's...something. We found that the distress signal was coming from a crashed Garmillain ship. Everything was frozen, and nobody made it. Their frozen faces still haunt me a little."
"...Earth history has told us that humans can go to war for even the pettiest of reasons, and the wake of the results can be devastating for everyone else. In war, there are no true winners, only minor and major losers. Just like us, the families of those on that ship will have to be burdened with the fact that their father, son, or brother won't be coming back home.", Sasha philosophizes, her words having an impact on the brunette and blonde.
Captain's quarters
Upstairs, Kodai begins his report of the mission to Abraham, the Captain listening.
"This is Lieutenant Susumu Kodai reporting in. Subject: locate and find the source of the distress signal.", Kodai began his account.
"The origin of the distress signal was that of a crashed Garmillian ship, a Kripitera-class destroyer. Serial number K-2 4853. The ship likely is part of the fleet that attacked the First Fleet, led by Admiral Okita, during Operation M. It suffered significant hull damage and limped its way before crash-landing onto Enceladus."
"I see. Anything else?"
"We found the flight data recorder, but due to the prolonged damaging exposure to the cold, everything inside is all unintelligible. There are no survivors onboard; they've all frozen to death."
"...no survivors, huh?", Abraham lowly said, his eyes closing.
"Kodai, let me ask you this."
"Sir?"
"Do you think that I'm deserving to lead you all to save our planet? Into the unknown, following a man who has taken many lives directly and indirectly?"
"...In my opinion, sir. I believe that you should lead us. You were simply defending the people of our home from those you didn't know any better. Thanks to you, many people see their families once again. Including me and my brother. That doesn't mean you're infallible, I'm sure you have regrets and doubts just like any other man."
"But what you showed us so far proves that, in my eyes, you are a headstrong and brave man who willingly took a risk to save everyone. Many people would be willing to follow Admiral Okita, and it seems that effect extends to his grandson."
Kodai then stands ramrod straight, a clenched fist on top of his heart.
"I'm willing to follow you to the very end if I must."
Abraham's eyes widened in surprise, his heart touched at the Tactical Officer's words.
"...Thanks, Kodai. That means a lot.", the young Okita responded, a small smile on his face and weight off his shoulders.
Montana now flies away from the wreck site, thrusters burning brightly as the battleship moves higher and higher from Enceladus' surface.
Abraham and Kodai salute the fallen men onboard the Garmillan destroyer, becoming smaller and smaller as they travel further away.
Once out of of sight, both men relax their salutes, with Abraham dismissing Kodai.
"You're free to leave now."
"Goodbye, sir."
Kodai turns to head to the door. And just as he was about to open it, his captain called out.
"Hey, Kodai!"
Kodai turns around, his face that of curiosity.
"I learned what I got from my Grandpa and refined my skills to become the person I am now. You are free to become your own person and leader, you just need to prove yourself that you have what it takes. Don't forget that."
Kodai, soaking in his captsins words, nodded his head and then exited the quarters.
Now alone, Abrahams's mind flashes to is Grandpa's dying words from the past.
"Son, you don't have to follow your old man's footsteps. I chose this path because I must. You are free to choose whatever you want and not be burdened by my legacy. I know that you, Kodai, and everyone else on this ship will do great things in the coming future."
'Grandpa, I hope you are proud of the path I've chosen.', Abraham thought, a tear leaking from his eye. 'It's like you said, you chose this because you need to. I chose to follow yours because I want to.'
Omake:
GARMILLIAN TRANSPORT SHIP wants to fight!
GARMILLIAN TRANSPORT SHIP sends out SALVAH S-VI HEAVY TANK.
Go, ENOMOTO!
ENOMOTO used IMPROVISED GRENADE LAUNCHER!
It's super effective!
SALVAH S-VI HEAVY TANK's LASER CANNON was DISABLED!
SALVAH S-VI HEAVY TANK has no moves left!
ENOMOTO used IMPROVISED GRENADE LAUNCHER!
It's super effective!
SALVAH S-VI HEAVY TANK fainted!
MONTANA defeated GARMILLIAN TRANSPORT SHIP!