«12. . .575576577578579580581. . .877878»
“You’re right but...I worry if I try to go against anything I may be terminated...I’d be scared I’d lose my own identity...”
"Oh... that's... no one should have to feel like that. I don't know how much I can help you, but I promise you that I'll do what I can to support you. You can't be worrying about losing who you are."
“Thank you. Um...if anything ever were to happen to me...my chip is back here.” She points to the back of her head. “It’s hard to get to unfortunately but it’s protected. I wouldn’t want the enemy to get to me...”
"...got it, I'll keep that in mind. I don't want to imagine what would happen if someone took that chip..."
"If you wish, i wont say no" Maho bowed her head in thanks
The Emperor watched as each Alliance ship was destroyed one after the other. ”Good...Press your attack and erase them from existence.” Gideon hissed. His nearest Advisor relayed the order over to the Deployment Station.
Seemingly out of nowhere came another Alliance Fleet. This now left the Imperial Capital Ships outnumbered, though friendly Starfighters made up for this. All were launched shortly after, breaking out from their vessels like massive hornet hives.
The Tyrant-class Missile Cruisers dedicated thirty missiles each to any enemy Ship within range. The rest used their superior weaponry to hopefully gain an edge.
Suddenly another three Fleets entered the fray under the Ryanius Banner. Things were now starting to look grim and the Emperor new it. He opened a frequency to all enemy Ships, if they heard it or not didn’t concern him. ”You'll live to regret this day.” is all he said.
Most Imperial Ships began moving to a safe distance, some getting destroyed in the process. Moments later the entire Fleet made a jump to Lightspeed.
Ryanius
Ventus Prime
Sun wu dynasty
“Neither do I...” She then turned off the simulation. “It shouldn’t be long til we reach Earth, shall we go find Raphtalia?”
It had been close, almost too close. The Star Wing managed to escape the Silver Rose’s hangar just in time, but shortly after, the Arquitens-class was destroyed.
Winter should’ve been grieving, for those who were lost. But right now, she was angry. For a civilization that considered honor a custom, they decided to commit a horrific act of cowardice and evil.
And the Imperials...how dare they? After everything they did to contribute to the New Szel project, Winter believed the two nations could finally become allies. But the nation was rotten at its core, no matter who was in charge.
“My Lady,” Misha said, interrupting her thoughts. “We’re being hailed by one of the Alliance ships.”
“Put it through,” Winter said quickly.
“Chief of State Schnee, is that you?” a voice came over the speaker.
“Admiral Zsinj?” Winter was almost taken aback. She knew Zsinj back when he was a captain during the Kapteynian War. “It’s been a long time...I’m glad you could show up.”
“Not just us, but those from Byzantium as well. The Imperial forces appear to be retreating,” Zsinj said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t arrive sooner.”
The losses were heavy, but most of the larger ships were still intact. “The New Hope?”
“I just spoke with Admiral Auralani,” Zsinj said. “The ship took major damage but they’ll make it.”
Winter sighed in relief. Least you’re still alive Lys... “I need to return to Vitr immediately, Admiral.”
“Of course, I’m just glad you’re okay, Chief of State,” Zsinj replied before the transmission was cut.
“Vitr?” Sasha asked. “Shouldn’t we be going to New Szel?”
“No,” Winter said. “There’s...something I need to do first...”
———
Zsinj shook his head in disbelief. How did this happen? What was supposed to be a diplomatic effort to achieve an alliance has turned into a battlefield. Auralani had explained everything, how the Sistonians blew up one of their ships, with people on board, in order to shut down every Alliance ship in the vicinity. And the Alliance ships hadn’t even fired a shot, which made the move even more cowardly, even close to a war crime.
There was no doubt many would be angry, even if the Sistonians had some reason to have a grudge against them. This...was unforgivable. But for now, he had to put those thoughts aside. “Commodore, I want to send a message to the Byzantium ships.”
“Yes sir...transmission open.”
“To any Byzantium ships listening, this is Admiral Zsinj of the Alliance fleet. On behalf of all us, I wish to thank you for your support. If it isn’t much trouble, I hope you can further assist us by checking for survivors on some of the disabled ships.” They couldn’t see him, but he was rubbing his temples in annoyance. This was gonna be a long day...
“I um...hope you don’t mind waiting Hiei,” Raphtalia said. She was as eager to train as well but it couldn’t hurt to help clean up.
Reunion Pt. 1
It wasn’t often that Winter Schnee hesitated. After all, hesitation could get you killed on a battlefield. However, right now she was in a shuttle, glancing down at her holopad. It was the last person she wanted to call, but it wasn’t about him.
She was of course referring to her father, Jacques Schnee, current owner of the Schnee Mining Company. And as much as she hated the man, she still cared for her family, that being her sister Weiss, her brother Whitley, and even her mother, Willow, despite having mixed feelings with the latter.
She sighed and pressed the send button. The connection went through and Winter waited. No one was picking up and she was starting to become anxious. Come on...
Finally someone picked up on the other end. “Hello?” It wasn’t the voice she was expecting.
“M-Mother?” Winter cursed herself silently. Why was she stuttering. “It’s...it’s Winter. Where’s Father?”
“Winter?” Her mother, Willow’s voice suddenly changed pitch, almost as if she had gasped. “Oh...your father isn’t here right now, he’s away on a business dealing. He’ll be gone for a few days at least.”
Not likely at this rate...wait... “Mother, is everything alright? Have you watched the news recently?”
“No...is something going on?”
This could mean anything, either the Sistonians hadn’t shown up yet or Willow was probably some drinking again. But she now sensed an opportunity. “Mother, is Whitley at the manor?”
“Yes, he and Weiss both, why do you ask?”
That was good news. “I need you to listen to me carefully. I need you all to gather whatever things you need and leave the manor.”
“Leave the manor? Winter, what’s going on-?”
“Vitr and every other Alliance planet is under threat of being attacked,” Winter said calmly. “I need to get all of you out of there while I still can. Can you do this?”
There was a slight pause. “Y-Yes I can but your father-”
“Don’t worry about him,” Winter said tersely. “I’m having you three come to New Szel, don’t worry about housing and all that. I’ll be there shortly okay?”
“I-!” Willow almost sounded flustered and to be honest, Winter couldn’t blame her. “Okay Winter, we’ll see you soon.”
Hiei didnt speak, simply nodding in approval as she waited. She pushed her glasses up her nose slightly and reviewed her archives stored watching and reviewing the duels she had watched between Raph and Erwin
Raphtalia then went into the kitchen and started helping Maho clean the dishes. “Alright, be honest with me, did you really do all this yourself?” she asked.
"The only thing i didnt do was take them out of the pots. I had help so they were all cooked for the same exact amount of time. But i did season, butter, de-shell, and carefully present each one to perfection. Or at least what i thought was perfection." Maho responded.
“That’s incredible...and how old are you again?”
"Girls secret" Maho winked softly at Raph. She looked to be in her early early 20's possibly 21 or 22.
As was expected, it was cold. Kyle and Callie had their helmets on, scouting the nearby area with their electrobinoculars. “There’s almost nothing out here,” Kyle said. “All we have is a frozen lake.”
“I’m sure there are some animals that live nearby,” Callie said. “Just in case we go through our food supply.”
Kyle shook his head. “At this rate, the only we’ll be found is when someone realizes our ship went missing and honestly, I don’t think they’ll realize quick enough.”
“Let’s make sure we have our defenses up by nightfall. I have a feeling it could get a lot more lively by then...”
“Well you sure don’t seem much younger than myself,” Raphtalia said with a smile. “I just turned twenty-six not too long ago.”
For 26 you look incredible. You seem almost younger than i am. At least on the outside. You dont look much older than 21 or so." Maho was genuinely surprised. And while she didnt know about Raph's private life, she wasnt trying to flatter or romance her either. The compliment was genuine with no ulterior motive behind it
“Hmm...well people seem to say that a lot about Kapteynians...perhaps we age a bit slower compared to humans.” She then winked. “So you’re saying you’re either twenty-one or twenty-two?”
"I already told you my age. Girl's Secret" *Maho smiled again. This kind of questioning reminded her of her curious younger sister.
With Asun now seeing this message and seemingly order written for him by his apparent captives he would seem to nod for a moment, now beginning to pull himself up from the ground and whatever surface he was placed upon.
To an extent he seemed grateful and relieved of this change atleast not knowing they weren't meaning any harm now standing next towards the entrance looking back for their approval to continue, if given he would approach the standing leader outside with the both of them returning back.
The leader keeping a wide margin of distance away as a result
Tasarios Leventis was pretty sure he heard a collective sigh of relief from his bridge as the tension left them. They were definitely unsure if even their aid could help change the tide of battle.
From their intel, the regular Ventuan fleet was disabled for the near future, and their only hope was that they could distract the NGE's ships long enough for the Ventuan fleet to get their ships together.
But luckily, another set of Alliance fleets showed up that were able to change the tide. Now the Germans had been forced to retreat, and he had just received a message.
He activates the comms and sends a response.
"This is Admiral Leventis of the Byzantine fleet. We would be glad to help check for survivors. To the best of my knowledge, more fleets are being sent to the areas that the Chinese FTLed to, so maybe they can help out there."
"Yes, let's. We're probably getting close now."
After another five minutes, they were finally done. “Phew...finally done...”
«12. . .575576577578579580581. . .877878»
Advertisement
