Abercio Andres Metargo's Story

Captain Aegidius Aetius did the usual routines aboard the newly built Seraphim, checking to see if any damages needed repairing from the last battle the ship went through alongside the rest of the 101st Republic Fleet. It was strange: the months since the war's initiation were the first ones in a long time he had set foot on natural ground since voluntarily moving spaceward to Orbital Colony Shiona, the first operational space colony above Myrstrarkia to house an entire civilian community. He was there when the Seraphim first launched, with him as its first and current captain. Just to be chosen for the honor of commanding a magnificent vessel was a feat, but to survive quite a few battles against the battle-hardened Metargo Royal Navy with that same ship was another entirely. He and his crew would have to keep in top shape in order to make it through this war.

Speaking of the crew, Aegidius was expecting a new squadron of mech pilots called the Brown Wing Team to complete training and come aboard when they were ready. In the meantime, he had to make sure the units of the latest mech design, the A3B-7 Eagle, were in top shape for the new pilots who would be the first to operate them. Not all of them would make use of the new model, but one could never be sure which model a pilot would use.

Walking up to Sina before saluting, Captain Aetius asked his subordinate, "Are the Eagles ready for the Brown Wing Team? Admiral Holt is expecting they will arrive any day, now, considering their near-completion of training back at the Couratarn Training Camp."

---

"Big Brother, please don't overwork yourself. You always seem to be up to something and not telling anybody."

"I'll be fine, Antea. Don't worry."

"I hope so, Abercio, I truly do."

Abercio and Antea were always close, so close it always pained the former on the inside to lie to the latter. Whenever a war is not occurring, the two siblings were nearly inseparable. Now, with an invasion to help conduct, the Crown Prince had to divide his duties between his family and the military. This was what he and Belladonna had anticipated would happen, knowing Romano Lopez's nationalistic stupidity. (The Prime Minister may technically be family, yet Abercio considered him a stain on the family honor.) It was what the two "partners in crime" had been working together in preparation for the whole time. With spies and a personal army on their side, Abercio and Belladonna were capable of doing things without necessarily having the approval of the Crown Prince’s father.

Meeting back up with Belladonna, in their personal ship that stored the mech they co-piloted, he waved to her. "Phase 1 is complete, now for Phase 2: We will take our personal troops and set up a diversion of our own up in space as we keep the Benjlakki forces near Orbital Colony Shiona occupied enough to prevent any mech drops from there. That way, my father need only concern himself with what is happening within the Benjlakki Mainland. As for the islands Benjlakk controls, we will have to play it by ear with our spies."

---

Antea felt as if she was all alone every time it was just her in the family that was in the castle located in Metargo City, even though there were maids, butlers, and her own personal Royal Guard around to keep her company. Everyone around her treated her well, but never saw her as her, just as the younger princess. This left her with the thought of how life would be if it were this way forever, with no relatives or friends to see her in person. It would be a lonely existence, even among others. On the topic of relatives, she remembered her sister, Sorell, was travelling towards their father's location to talk about something. So, she dialed the number on her comm disk, waited for her to answer, and said, "Sorell, are you doing okay over there? I hope you have not run into trouble. It is pretty dangerous in Benjlakk, right now, with the war."

---

Onboard the Titan, Aaron and the rest of Lion Team were awaiting the pilot whom transferred to their prestigious mech squadron. Most pilots in the Metargo Royal Navy could only dream of such an honor. To Aaron's shock, however, it was someone whom he fell in love with at the academy, Cecilia Lumine. The sight of her caused him to lose his composure and blush a few shades of red, unable to complete his salute.

Right behind the Lion Team were Saul Leo Metargo and Chanah Metargo, the King and Queen respectively. Saul gave a silent sigh in disappointment. It was not that Cecilia was not a bad pick by his wife to be a part of the squadron, it was just that with her and Aaron having to spend time around each other, the romantic past between the sergeant and the transfer pilot could cause them to lose focus when on the battlefield, which could prove lethal. As a matter of fact, now that he thought about it, he whispered to Chanah, "I question your motive for transferring Specialist Lumine to Lion Team, knowing the past between her and Sergeant Lextu." He already figured he knew what was coming, thus he would not be surprised if his intuition was correct.

---

Intensity. Pure intensity. That is what described the Brown Wing Team’s training. The trainees whom did not pass the needed tests to be part of the squadron transferred elsewhere. Every part of the brain and body underwent stress so to forge the pilots into the troops they had to be in order to stand up to the battle-hardened foes they would inevitably fight. Oddly enough, the Shapiro twins endured all of it better than the others did, yet nobody could explain why. Dao Danmao has taken up to trying to woo Chemda in what little spare time there was outside of training. Humorously, it ended up with Chemda being oblivious due to having received gifts at seemingly random over the course of her high school gymnast days while Adira threatened to expose Dao's bribes and smuggling to that end if he continued going against military protocol.


And then, there were the Malachi brothers, Benjamin and Zechariah. They were two young men whom now had a family reputation to live up to. whereas Benjamin embraced it fully, Zechariah did not. Despite this, Zechariah was able to rank higher than Benjamin on the training ranks, which caused the older brother to become envious. Regardless, they were brothers, thus would not mean any harm on each other. The younger brother realized nothing would ever be the same. Once the actual combat began for Brown Wing Team, there was no going back.

During a break for water, Benjamin snuck a message to Oriana about what went on in training so far. He figured she was so busy with things, she could not see the messages, yet. He included some of the more comedic moments. Zechariah, on the other hand, simply drank his water and wondered what the future held for him. Would he make it through the war, or would it consume him?

Captain Aetius nodded to Sina's reply. "Good. The admiral is making this ship his flagship, and he places quite an emphasis on readiness. I did some personal inspecting on the Seraphim, and I've noticed the doors on the starboard hangar of this ship have been damaged from our last battle, plus we've lost a few unmanned guns on the outside. See if you can fix all that." He handed the necessary files on the damages and went back to the bridge.



Soon enough, Admiral Holt arrived at one of the hangars. He could already see the fighters and mechs at the ready for when the new pilots arrived. The 101st fleet was among the best of the best the Benjlakki Republic Navy could provide, yet even they required new recruits to replenish from the previous battles that resulted in brutal losses on both sides. Hopefully, this Brown Wing Team would last longer than the previous bunch of mech pilots.

---

Abercio nodded, then walked on over to his and Bella's ship's hanger where their co-piloted mech, the 5T-1 Olympian, a mech which had the appearance of a feminine individual in ancient armor, with a round shield, a couple rifles, and a mech vibroblade capable of slicing beams in two. He put on his costume/disguise and climbed into he cockpit, waiting for Belladonna to do the same. Once both co-pilots were inside, Abercio contacted the personal troops with, "The time has come, comrades, to commence with our first battle! What we do in space will ultimately determine the outcome of the war with Benjlakk! Our destination is the military space station above Myrstrarkia! The objective: keep the Benjlakki troops from dropping their mechs! For this purpose, it will be a siege on the space station! Orbital Colony Shiona will no doubt send reinforcements, so stay on guard!"

Setting the coordinates, Abercio gave the orders for all mechs and ships to launch. Soon enough, They were in the atmosphere, then in the space above Myrstrarkia. As expected, the enemy space station had anticipated the arrival of Metargo troops, launching missiles in the direction of Abercio's troops. "Evasive action! Power to shields!" Most were able to prevent serious damage, aside from several ships and some mechs that were destroyed in the process. "Units up front, take out their missile launchers and other interception guns! The rest of you, prepare for mech-to-mech combat! Ships, stay at the ready!"

The missile launchers on the space station were destroyed in quick order, along with several interception guns. This forced the station to send out the mechs. Any Benjlakki mechs that attempted to destroy the ships would be forced back. This in turn caused said Benjlakki pilots to man their mechs against those of Abercio's troops, collectively called the Moon Force. The siege had begun, with mechs on both sides suffering heavy damage and/or being destroyed. Abercio gave orders as situations arised, the Moon Force not letting up in the face of danger from the Benjlakki mechs.

---

Aaron received the papers from Cecilia, still shell shocked by her coming onboard as part of Lion Team. If she thought he blamed her at all for the break up, it would not sit well with him. After all, he had nothing against her, but her father. The break up was forced upon them. Once the formalities were finished, Aaron regained his posture and told Lion Team, "All right, to your quarters until further notice! We won't see any action, for now! Cecilia, come with me to your room on the titan." He showed her where she would be staying, which was next to Aaron's room.

---

Adira and Chemda were a little surprised that Dao gave the two some water. Although, the question of how they came to be so fit was not anything new. Adira answered with a vague answer, "I would have to say it is a combination of lessons from gymnastics and having naturally developed the endurance. We... always have been odd among our peers in that we were always the stronger, faster, and tougher."

Chemda chimed in with, "But, we never let that bother us!" Sipping some water, Chemda continued with, "I've noticed you've become quite a swordsman! I've heard not many people can master a blade so quickly!"

Adira nodded calmly with a serious face. "It takes a great deal of determination and devotion to the mastery of the weapon in order to be skilled at it. I am impressed, myself."

Meanwhile, Zechariah and Benjamin were drinking up a lot of water due to exhaustion from putting in extra effort to improve their skills and athleticism. Benjamin received Ori's message and laughed a little, hiding the disk so nobody would notice. So much happened during the first four months, and with the training coming to a close, ben could not wait to be on the action. Zechariah, on the other hand, wished he was anywhere but a place involving the military. Looking up at the sky, he barely noticed a small dot in the sky, which fell from sight behind the trees. "I wonder what that could have been."

Benjamin finished chugging his water in time to pose the query, "What was that?"

Zechariah shook his head. "Nothing"

~ Insert Time Skip ~

All according to plan, Abercio thought. That is, until enemy reinforcements arrived from Orbital Colony Shiona. "A space Battleship!? So soon into the war!?" Abercio did not have time to analyze it as the battleship and a few gunner vessels began to open fire on the fleet from the side. "Fall back! Take out those ships!" As the mechs started to withdraw to handle the new adversaries, the enemy station's own troops retreated, as well. How could the Benjlakki have developed the technology so quickly!? They are not nearly as experienced as Metargo! Either some Caninisian rebels made their way to Benjlakk and informed the enemy of our weaknesses, or somebody we don't know about is at work, here! Which would be more believable, though!? Figuring out the mystery would have to wait.

Taking control of the arms of his and Bella's mech, he switched out the blades for a mini-canon rifle he had a mechanic build under his commission. He took aim, and shot at the battleship, surprised at the devastating effects the mini-cannon rifle had on the ship's shields. Just two more shots, and the shields were no more. The only disadvantage of using such a weapon in a battle was that it drained energy from the mech for the kind of firepower it needed to be efficient as an anti-ship weapon. He would have to use the rifle sparingly. For now, it served its purpose, as the battleship pulled back, along with two of the three gunner ships. The impact the four ships -one of which was destroyed- had was concerning, however: three more ships from Abercio's own fleet damaged to the point where they needed to pull out of the fight, with one more sunk (or, what passes for it in space).

One of the ship captains of the remaining ships contacted Abercio on his mask/helmets intercom. "Dark Moon, we suffered heavy casualties in this battle: three ships damaged, nine destroyed. We only have about twelve left, a mere half of our force."

Great... That is the last thing I wanted to hear... Serves me right for building a fleet out of former privateers and ex-militiamen. Well, at least this gave everybody some experience in fighting in a fleet setting. Answering the captain, Abercio said, "It matters not: we've driven back the enemy, which gives us time to do repairs before the next round begins."

"Should we pull out of here?"

"No. Our goal here is to keep the station at bay. They cannot launch the paratrooper mechs, so long as we can shoot them out of the sky. All units and ships, standby for further orders." The Dark Moon took off his helmet after giving the order and turning off the cockpit cameras inside the 5T-1 Olympian, shortly before breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, Bella, we did worse than I anticipated, but when what we got to work with are former privateers and ex-militiamen, there is going to be a bit to be desired. I'm just glad we lived through this and are accomplishing our goals, thus far."

---

Aaron felt just as awkward as Cecilia. He did not expect the room next to his would be hers. Still, orders were orders. He went inside his own to get some time to think of how to cope with this change.

Meanwhile, Kyle was just about to enter his room when he noticed Fion walking by. From the day he became part of Lion Team, he had always admired her -sometimes lustfully- yet he knew that flirting with a royal maid would be pushing it. One wrong move, and he could be discharged and out on the city streets once more. Then again, Queen Chanah has always been a little unorthodox, meaning there is the possibility she might actually encourage a little romance. King Saul, on the other hand, was particularly strict in manners of military protocol. Granted, Kyle has gotten away with sleeping with two girls his age onboard the Titan -one being a pilot from another squadron and another an operator that got transferred to a different ship without anybody knowing of their night of sex- but those two times were when most everyone else was receiving R&R along the shore. Should he take a risk, or should he keep it strictly professional?

Thinking about his options ironically turned him into a bashful person, as his face began to blush when looking at Fion, more so when he thought she noticed and he averted his gaze. "Uh... Hi."

---

Antea walked around the Palace in search of something to occupy her time. Perhaps, somebody in Parliament sent a message to the throne room's console that she could listen to for some sort of duty to perform. Anything to keep her distracted was satisfactory, short of anything distasteful or lewd.

She was just about to open the door to the throne room when she suddenly went blind and crippled -part of her unusual condition of shifting between blind and crippled to perfectly able to see and walk- at the worst of moments. Or, it could have been, had she not been caught by one of the palace guard. She assumed it was a member of it, anyway, since he was standing right at the door in front of her before she tried to open it herself. "S-Sorry, I... was not expecting this to happen." Feeling his hand -her other senses are enhanced when sight is not available- she recognized him. "Oh! Hello, Orland!" She did not know why, but she always held a secret liking towards the boy. Possibly, it was how sweet he was, or something else.

---

One she heard of the cuts Dao got, she became concerned and looked at them. "Oh, dear! It's a wonder you did not lose a finger!" Bringing out a healing cream, she lathered it gently onto the man's hands. "Here! This should help them heal better!" Once she was finished applying the ointment, she kissed one of his thumbs, which had a little bit of a cut on it. "There! That should do it!" Adira groaned a little, to which Chemda shrugged while saying, "What? I was only trying to help!"

Adira rolled her eyes. "He's not a kid, Chemda. There was no need to kiss any of his fingers."



A reconnaissance squad was sent out to investigate a crash site spotted on radar, and they marched right on past Sorell without even knowing she was nearby. Whatever crashed, it was not friendly. They made it to the site of the crash to find out it was a military shuttle, one used to transport troops and, occasionally, royalty or nobility. By all accounts, the crew was dead. They were about to call the mission complete when one scout noticed an anomaly. "Lieutenant! There is blood in one of the lockers!" As they tried to decipher the DNA, the squad identified a trail of blood and footprints. The results indicated the person still alive was definitely Metargo, but beyond that, nothing else could be identified since the DNA deteriorated before they got there. The trail ended partway, yet it was almost certain the intruder headed for the training camp.

Back at the camp, Brown Wing Team was completed its final tests in piloting skills and the ability to adapt via simulations of multiple sorts. As expected, the Shapiro twins completed the course, first, followed by the intuitive Eitan. Next to complete it were the Malachi brothers, with everyone else following after that. Despite people being ahead of one another, the whole squadron worked as a team, overall, which was the main thing.

As Brown Wing Team completed their tests, one of the security officers spotted somebody who passed for a male cadet and placed a hand on "his" shoulder. "Cadet, what were you doing!? You look all beat up!" He then raised an eyebrow. "And yet, your uniform looks just like new?" Shrugging, he added, "Eh, you must have gotten a replacement. Can't say I blame you. All the same, you should have run it by me, first." He patted "him" on the back while stating, Tell you what: I'll let this slide if you enter the shooting range with Cadet Malachi." He soon caught himself. "Wait, there are two Malachis in this camp, and they're brothers. I should be more specific. Let's see... the younger one is showing more promise, so... yes, Zechariah Malachi will do."

Once the Squadron met up with the same officer, he told the drill sergeant of the idea he had concerning the "cadet" and Zechariah, to which he agreed. The Drill Sergeant even added a couple conditions: one they both hit the bulls-eye of their moving targets fifty-five times, they could enter the shower cabin, which he calculated would be empty, by then. As everyone else headed to the showers, Zechariah held a stun pistol in his hand while waiting for the new guy to get ready, as well. The Drill Sergeant gave the signal, and the targets appeared. Zechariah wasted no time in aiming and shooting at his target, hitting the bulls-eye continually and speedily. Once he finished, he waited for the Cadet before heading to the showers.

"I guess you are a late addition to the squadron, am I correct?" He sighed a little as they jogged. "If you ask me, this war is just a waste of lives. If I could have, I would have chosen not to go fight a war. The government drafted me, though, so I was left with little choice." In the shower cabin for the men, Zechariah picked up on the Cadet's discomfort. "You alright? It's not like any gals are peaking." He went up to "him" and knelt down. "Trust me! There's nothing to..." He stopped just as he noticed the "cadet's" shape from the hips and to the thighs was feminine. Once that was registered, he immediately looked away while pulling her pants and panties back up like a gentleman. "Uh... Sorry, miss! I did not know you were a lady." His face was red in embarrassment the whole time.

He then stood up as it clicked. "Whoa! Wait a minute! If you're a girl, what were you doing wearing a guy's uniform?" He then noticed the bruises and blood stains. "More importantly, how did you get so beat up?" Lifting up the hat, he noticed the purple eyes, his own blue eyes widening in shock as he backed up a little. "Oh, crap!" Now, he understood: the dot in the sky was a shuttle, which apparently crashed with her in it. "If... If you're Princess Sorell, then that dot in the sky was... a shuttle? Crap! it must have crashed, somehow!" Suddenly, it dawned on him. "Oh, no... That means the Lion Team will be coming, soon! If they think you've been killed or captured, there's no telling what damage they'd do around here! You might even get caught in the crossfire! I... I've got to get you out of here! But, how!?" While he thought on it, he positioned himself at a corner so not to peak at her. "You may want to take a quick shower to get all the blood off. I'm not peaking. We at least have enough time for the shower and change of clothes. Then, we need to get you out of this camp before anyone realizes you are here."

Abercio listened intently to what Belladonna had to say, nodding with her. She does have a point. We can still win this and seize the space station. It does not have to be a siege. Thinking over what he witnessed in battle, and knowing his fleet's current capabilities, he came up with a bold plan. "What if we were to use the Raven and Mighty Duck's hulls as bait? They are a bit damaged, but can still take some damage. Their durability will provide enough time for our bombers and mechs to launch from those two makeshift carriers while the other seven ships flank the enemy fleet. Of course, in order to fool them into thinking we are vulnerable, those ships will pull out as if bailing out on us. This will give us the element of surprise and enable us to outflank them on two sides, three on one, four on the other. If it works, we will be rid of the battleship and the remaining two gunner vessels. Orbital Colony Shiona will not be able to send anymore reinforcements due to needing them to defend the space colony, which means we will be safe once the space station is ours. How long that will last, I cannot say."

Thinking on it some more, he realized something. "Wait a minute! I know! I can contact the captain of a shuttle headed to the Titan to see if they spotted a training camp. He is one of our trusted men who know of what we are doing out here." There was no reply. "Captain Commodus! Come in! Do you read me!?" Still no reply. The worst part was, this captain was escorting one of his sisters! If he crashed, and she was dead...

The reality of the danger left him distraught. "No... she can't be dead... not sweet lil' Sorell..." Normally, he would let his parents command the Lion Team, but since his sister was involved, he could not think straight until he knew she was safe. In a rage, he punched in the numbers to call Aaron Lextu on his comm disk.

Soon enough, the two men were connected, Aaron bowing his head in respect to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, it is an honor receive a call from you! How may I serve?"

"My sister, Sorell! She's stranded in enemy territory! She could be dead, or worse! Take your squadron, and a transport shuttle with troops and the princess's maid, to the last known coordinates of the shuttle that crashed, the coordinates of which are being sent, now! If anyone jeopardizes her safety, kill them!"

"It will be done, your highness."

Abercio ended the call after the exchange of words. His mix of anger, fear, and sadness kept him from focusing on the task at hand. He knew somebody had to lead the fleet, so he put on his mask/helmet and told Belladonna, "Take over the fleet, for now, Bella! Somebody with a cool head needs to lead these men!"

---

Kyle shook his head. "N-no, I... I-I don't need anything... I-I just... uh..." He became flustered for a moment. "I-I just could not help but notice how attractive you are."He then attempted to try to catch himself. "B-But that doesn't mean I want to sleep with you, or anything!" Catching himself in a lie, he groaned. "Okay! Sometimes, I want to, but that would be breaking all the rules! Besides, I..." Kyle soon gave up on explaining himself and opened the door to his quarters. He added in frustration, "Oh, what's the use? A street guy like me doesn't stand a chance with a royal maid!" Once inside, he punched the "close and lock" button angrily while beating himself up mentally.



Kyle spent the free time he had perfecting his illustration skills. Unlike the more destructive modes of distraction, like premarital sex and alcohol, sketching was a lot more soothing for him. He picked up on the skill from George Lucius, one of his fellow Lions. For some reason, however, Kyle felt the older young man looked like one of the pre-war Benjlakki aces he heard about from the Prime Minister's son. The particular illustration Kyle was creating was of Fion. As perverted as he was, you would think he would depict her in an erotic pose or something like that. Instead, he drew her in her maid outfit with the armor she wore when out into battle, holding a spear in one hand, and a handgun in another. It may have been a depiction of her ready for battle, yet he wanted to make her look gorgeous in the process (not that he needed to put in that much effort). Right when he gave the finishing touches, the emergency alarm sounded with Aaron Lextu - who had special permission to use the alarm due to the Lion Team's standing- stating on the intercom, All Lion Team pilots, to the hangar! Fion, you are requested to be part of the landing force boarding a shuttle! This is a rescue mission to retrieve Princess Sorell! All pilots and assigned troops, to your vehicles and mechs! This is not a drill! Prepare to rescue Princess Sorell!"

Immediately, as the alarm went off with Aaron's orders, Kyle sprung out of his bunk and sprinted to the Titan's hangar, where the maintenance crew was already hard at work preparing all the weapons, mechs, and the shuttle for take off. The soldiers assigned the rescue mission boarded the shuttle single file in two columns. The whole of Lion Team got into their mechs in quick order while waiting for Aaron's signal to go. "All Lions, report in!"

"Lion 14, standing by."
"Lion 13, standing by."
"Lion 12, standing by"
After Cecilia gave her designation number (which was eleven), the rest of the Lions reported in.
"Lion 10, standing by."
"Lion 9, standing by."
"Lion 8, standing by," stated Kyle as he focused on the rescue at hand with the controls in his mech's cockpit in his grip.
"Lion 7, standing by."
"Lion 6, standing by."
George checked his controls and systems while reporting in with, "Lion 5, standing by." Then, the rest of the Lions reported in, down to Lion 2.

With all Lions and troops -plus the maid- reported in, Aaron gave the signal for the hanger doors to open. With all systems go in the mechs, he knew the time has come to launch. "Lion Team, launching!" The whole squadron went out first, followed by the shuttle. The rescue, and the Lion Team's first encounter with the Brown Wing Team, was poised to commence.

---

Meanwhile, Saul stood next to Chanah in shock. He could not believe the shuttle Sorell was in crashed somewhere. He could only hope his daughter was safe somewhere. Normally, he kept his cool, but considering this involved one of his own offspring, his concern and disbelief leaked out clear as day. He could not even speak. All he could do was watch from his and Chanah's personal cabin as Lion Team and the rescue platoon launched.

---

Antea was surprised at Orland's sudden lifting her up bridal style. It made her blush, honestly. Once in her room and in bed, she felt for his hands and held one of them to be sure he was still there. "Thank you." looking in his direction -although, she could not truly see him in her current state- her smile faded as she decided to say what was on her mind. "Orland? Do you ever feel... alone?" She turned her head as she clarified why she posed such a query. "I'm sorry! It's just... Whenever the family's away, I feel like... I don't have much of anyone to talk to. True, I am surrounded by many folks, but all they see is a princess. They don't exactly see me as, well, me."

Turning her head back so she faced upwards, she added with tears threatening to come out, "What if my parents and siblings were to die in this war? I'd be practically all alone in this prison they call a palace! Nobody I can relate to... nobody to share the pressures with... I... I..." Opening her blind eyes, she turned towards the boy with tears coming out. "Orland... Please, help me up!" Once she was sitting up, Antea felt for Orland's shoulders and clung to him, sobbing.

---

Zechariah heard Sorell's voice cracking and knew she was crying. At the query of his actions being a trick, he turned around and said in a frantic protest, "No! Not at all!" Great, you're making it worse! Calm down! Tapping his forehead, he thought aloud, "Come on! Think! What would momma do?" He then pointed to himself in confusion and realization. "What would I do!?" He paced around for a brief instant until he had an idea. Pulling out a disk, he played a recording with a kitten playing with yarn. "Kitty cat?" After waiting, he raised an eyebrow and laughed awkwardly. "It's... not working, is it? Okay, um..." He played a different one, with two puppies rough-housing as only cute little puppies would. "Puppy?" Whatever the result was, he did not feel it was working. All he thought he was doing was confusing her.

If only I had teddy with me! He always makes people feel better! Groaning before shaking his head, he chose to hug her gently until she felt better. He was not sure if it would work, but it was all he could think of.

After a few moments like that, he let go after catching sight of the backpack that only Benjamin would leave behind in the shower cabin. And, that could mean only one thing. "Ben, did you sneak in some of the rations, again? Sheesh! When will you just follow the rules people give you!?" Zechariah pulled out the water and food Benjamin left in there while adding, "Seriously! I'm always bailing you out, big brother! Well, serves you right, 'cause a scared-to-death girl needs them more than you do, right now!" Placing the contraband in a different bag, he gave them to Sorell with a smile.

Suddenly, Benjamin came in after hearing he was caught by his own brother, again. "What do you mean, "scared-to-death girl"!? I could have sworn... Metargo!" He caught sight of the Princess and was about to point his new rifle angrily before Zechariah came between them.

"Don't you dare shoot!" The younger brother was determined to see to it that the girl was safe. It was shown clearly in his eyes and stern expression.

"Out of the way! Don't you know who that is!? It's Princess..."

"I know! I'm not stupid! But, I also know she's scared out of her mind!"

"You're so naïve! We can't let her tell some troops that there is a camp, here!"

"How would you like to give your alibi in a court marshal in front of President Anderson, for killing or otherwise harming a defenseless individual?" Angrily, Zechariah added, "And, I'm the one who will press charges!"

"You wouldn't!" Benjamin could not believe it: his own brother was defending a Metargo! And, not just any, but one of the Princesses! And now, he was threatened by him with a military lawsuit.

Emboldened by determination and courage, the younger brother stood there with a firm stare. "Try me."

Now, Benjamin was in for it! Once Zechariah makes such a demand, you know his mind is made up! In resignation, Benjamin lowered his rifle. "Fine! We'll do it your way! So, what's your master plan to get us out of this mess?"

"If Aaron Lextu's profile is any indication," replied Zechariah, "he will jump to conclusions and assume we captured her and tortured her. That would give me the opportunity to incite an honor duel under the condition that nobody gets hurt around here. Win or lose, Sorell goes with Lion Team back to her family."

"You would fight the Falcon of Fury!?"

"If I die, then I'm the only casualty."

Benjamin raised his rifle in anger at the thought of seeing Zechariah dead. "Other than him!"

Zechariah raised his voice in frustration. "Benjamin Jacob Malachi!"

Benjamin relented with a groan. "My full name..."

At that moment, Eitan Shapiro entered the room. "Ben, if you were to kill Aaron in retaliation for killing Zechariah, it would be a breach of the agreement your brother wants to make, which would leave nothing to stop Lion Team from blowing the whole training camp to dust and rubble. Unless you think we can beat that squadron with training mechs and machine guns, I believe Zechariah's route is our best bet."

Benjamin began to protest. "Yeah!? Well, there's no way the Captain in charge of the garrison will go for that!"

Suddenly, an elderly voice was heard. "Actually, he thinks it is an excellent idea!"

"Captain Richardson!?" All three Brown Wings were bewildered to find out the Captain overheard the whole conversation. They knew he was a veteran of the Civil War and a tough man, but for him to agree to what Zechariah sought to do? That was news for them.

Richardson tipped his hat to the Princess in respect. "As much as I feel we must win this war, we must first break away from our old habits from our previous wars. Killing an unarmed individual, royalty or otherwise, would make them a martyr. Not to mention, it would not stand up to moral scrutiny. The Deity forbid we turn into such brutes as we were in the past who mindlessly go around on a killing spree out of some sense of vengeance. Proceed as planned, Brown Wing Team!"

All three men in the room saluted with, "Aye, Captain!"

The Raven and Mighty Duck prepared to have the top hulls face one another while the bottom hulls were used as shields. The full plan would not be executed until Abercio gave the okay to Bella. Brutally efficient, I see. It will have to do. He was still in no state to be leading the fleet, so he gave a silent signal that meant for Bella to proceed.

---

Antea's sobbing fell silent as she blushed (though Orland would not be able to see it) when he said she had him, shortly before she heard him try to correct himself. He... has a crush on me? Of course, she never actually considered romance, feeling herself not ready for it. Not to mention, she did not want things to be awkward between her and a would-be royal guard. And yet... something was drawing her to him. Could it be a romantic attachment, or something else? She pushed such thoughts aside, and simply smiled while lifting her head and nodding once before returning the hug. "I'd like that."

Suddenly, a royal guard in the typical full-on, white-and-silver armor of the more militarized members of the guard entered the room, only to see the hugging. "Uh... is this a bad time, Princess Antea?"

"No, Marcus! Not at all!" Antea turned her face towards the armored man, even though she could not see him in her current state. "We were simply having a conversation as friends! Nothing happened!" Her cheerful voice diffused what would otherwise have been an awkward and scandalous situation.

"Oh! Well, in that case, there is news from the Ministry for Agriculture." The guard, known as Marcus, brought out a disk and played the message from the college-aged Minister for Agriculture, the analytical Maximus Estevez.

"Princess Antea! The demand for food is steadily rising with each passing week! We should never have declared war on the very hand that was feeding a very significant portion of our population! I keep telling the Prime Minister to call for a cease-fire, but he won't listen! He is bent on conquering Fertaninn! Our stocks are being drained as this war continues! If we keep fighting like this for a year and a half, roughly a third of our people will starve! We have got to do something to at least delay this crisis from coming!" The message ended with an angry shout from Romano Lopez to attend the meeting that was about to take place as Maximus was leaving his message, with the Minister for Agriculture turning off his comm disk after that.

Antea, after careful thought, turned to Orland and said, "Please, set me in my wheelchair. This dilemma is too important to just watch from the sidelines." Before, she was undecided as to whether this war was worth it, but now that she heard from the Minister for Agriculture on the current dangers of resuming the war, she now felt determined to do what she could until she could convince Parliament to vote on a cease-fire. [color]"Marcus, gather any of the guard that are currently off-duty because of this war and tell them to prepare for a trip to the reservations in the Brigiuog Islands. We must negotiate an agreement that would involve a broader sharing of resources."[/color]

Marcus began to protest with his hands up. "Madam! There are still Caninisian rebels in our half of those islands! They would not hesitate to slit your throat, or worse!"

"That's where you come in, Marcus!" It was no use arguing with her once she set her mind to something she knew would help her people. "This is what you've trained for! Make the necessary preparations at our armory and let's go once a shuttle is ready for us!"

Marcus hesitated, then bowed his head in resignation. "Yes... your Highness." Clearly, he feared the worst would happen to Antea. he sprinted off immediately to contact all off-duty royal guard to suit up in full armor and weapons at the armory in preparation to escort and protect the Princess, while also calling in a shuttle to prepare for their boarding with her.

Antea sighed in relief, then smiled and turned her head toward Orland from in her wheelchair. "Would you mind pushing the wheelchair, Orland? It would be nice of you."

---

Zechariah had just completed telling Chemda, Adira, Eitan, Dao, the rest of Brown Wing Team, -aside from Benjamin, who was letting off steam with a punching bag- and his trusty robotic bird, Gary, about how the duel would work when Sorell showed up right in front of them all, sitting down on one of the benches and talking to Zechariah, specifically. The query regarding his brother was responded to with a nod and a smile. He was about to tell her that he was a softy once you got to know him when Sorell got right to the point, causing him to listen in curiosity. The moment she concluded saying for him to call her if he ever felt like talking left him confused. "Huh?" He then noticed her give him a paper with her contact information, smiling once he heard her speak of how she wished they met under different circumstances and had the ability to end the war. "I know what you mean!" Hugging her, he added, "And, I'll be sure to call you when I get the chance!"

Noticing the shuttle preparing to land nearby, he let go of the Princess and signaled for Gary to connect to Lion Team's communications for him. Back when the younger Malachi brother and Karl Lopez were attending school together (Karl was an exchange student, and Romano Lopez's only son), they worked on plenty of robotics projects together, Gary being one of them. Karl snuck into the green, robotic bird a hacking system in case Zechariah ever needed it. For some reason, he felt danger was up ahead that would require the hacking system. The younger Malachi brother now felt grateful that Karl did install it, regardless of how he felt of such an action before. The Metargo marines had just gotten out of their shuttle and begun to sprint towards the camp when Gary finally connected to Aaron Lextu, a hologram of him showing from the display ray installed on the ceiling of Gary's upper beak.

"Aaron Lextu, this is Zechariah Malachi, from Brown Wing Team! Sorell is safe! There is no need for a fight!"

As expected, the Falcon of Fury was not buying it. He gritted his teeth and angrily shouted in Benjlakki, "You can't fool me, Benjlakki scum! I know your type! What did you do to torture her after you seized her!?"

Benjamin, upon hearing Aaron's interrogative remark, became insulted at what was said to his brother and got in between him and the hologram. "You calling my brother a liar!?"

"Benjamin Jacob Malachi!" Once Ben relented after hearing his full name and got out of his younger brother's way, Zechariah resumed with the talk. "I assure you, we did nothing to hurt her. She snuck in here after her shuttle crashed, and we only found out about it later."[.color] Blushing, he awkwardly added, [color=blue]"Don't ask! A-Anyway..." Composing himself, he resumed as planned. "Since the honor of this base has been insulted, you leave me no choice but to challenge you to an honor duel. That's the traditional procedure when somebody in Metargo wants to defend someone's honor, right? Karl Lopez once did that to defend my brother's back in high school."



Benjamin was hard at work on a card for Oriana's birthday, and he was hardly poetic. He was so busy thinking up words and discarding them in his mind, that he forgot to look where he was going in the hallway. The result was him bumping into a boy and causing him to accidentally spill his protein shake on his girlfriend, who stormed off before an apology could be given. In a rage, the boy that was bumped into turned around and began crunching his knuckles, saying to Ben, "So, you get jealous that I had a girlfriend, and now you decide to ruin my date, huh? This is gonna hurt!"

Now enraged himself, Ben got into a fighting stance while retorting with, "I was going to apologize for bumping into you and not paying attention to where I was going, but since you are throwing a hissy fit over something you could have avoided by keeping that stupid bottle closed, I guess I won't!"

A brawl seemed imminent prior to Karl getting between them, clearly angry. "Enough! Stop this madness!" He then turned towards the boy that accused Benjamin of bumping into him on purpose. "And, as for you, you dare to insult the honor of my friend's brother!? Only a duel between you and I shall settle this!"

The boy spit on the floor and sneered. "A duel, huh? Sounds fun, whatever that is!"

Zechariah could not believe Karl was serious about a duel! Someone could get hurt! Just as he thought things turned out for the worst, Karl gave the terms of it: a martial arts mattress was to be set in the gymnasium after school, both duelists to be armed with wooden swords while padded. The first person to hit the protected torso of the opponent with a wooden sword, wins. If Karl won, the boy was to apologize to Benjamin for his false accusation. If the boy Karl challenged won, Benjamin would owe him a protein shake. Details cut short, Karl easily outmatched the boy and managed to knocked the wooden sword out of his hand to stab him on the padded torso for the victory, resulting in Benjamin receiving his apology. Once the duel was over, Karl told Zechairah that honor duels were common in Metargo when settling disputes, especially among soldiers, royalty, and the nobility.

~Passing forward to Zechariah's challenge to Aaron...~

Aaron narrowed his eyes intently while using the signal-flare gun equipped to his mech to shoot a flare up as a way of telling the troops on the ground to stand down. He landed, the rest of Lion Team following suit, while shutting down all but the exiting and communications systems on his Falcon. "I'm listening."

So far, so good. All Zechariah had to now was give the terms before the action began. "First, the condition for after the duel: Win or lose, Sorell goes home to her family without any further fighting."

"Go on."

"As for how it will be fought: We both start off unarmed, then each time a minute passes, we stop what we are doing and somebody passes a weapon each to us. Rifles and handguns are to be set to stun, no ballistic firearms allowed. Only ranged weapons to be used are plasma weapons that can be set to where it is nonlethal. Whatever ammo is in there is all you can use. Swords and knives are permissible. A maximum of two weapons will be allowed throughout the duel. After each participant receives two weapons, that is it; no more will be used. Victory is determined when the opponent is in a situation where he can no longer fight, or if they give up. Do you accept?"

Pleased with the terms, Aaron opened the cockpit of his Falcon and used the AI-controlled rope to exit without breaking his neck while coming down from there. He walked up to talking distance of Zechariah, whom was now out in the open, and gave his approval with, "I accept." Now speaking in Metargo, he contacted Kyle on comm disk with, "Private Scipio, hold on to my weapons! Toss one of my two swords to me after every minute that passes!"

"Gary," Zechariah told his robotic bird, "keep track of the time and signal when a minute has passed. Do that for two minutes, okay?" Gary nodded and started to fly over the two duelists like an eagle, waiting until they got into their stances before imitating a sports foghorn to signal the beginning of the duel.

Aaron wasted no time in closing the gap and throwing a punch at Zechariah, who spun around in an evasion while countering with a punch aimed at his head, deflected by Lextu as he turned his head to reface his opponent. As the minute passed with them continuing the duel, it was clear immediately that Zechariah was faster and more agile while Aaron relied more on his strength. The foghorn imitation blared without either of them landing a hit. While Kyle tossed Aaron a sword, Adira did the same for Zechariah. He knew this was a risk, using a melee weapon first when Aaron is more experienced, but at least he could buy time and make the duel interesting. Aaron went on the offensive, with Zechariah blocking with speed and grace. Aaron just began to gain the upper hand when the imitation foghorn blared once more. This time, while Aaron was tossed his other sword, Chemda tossed Zechariah once of her plasma handguns, set to stun.

Now was his chance! The younger Malachi brother wasted no time aiming it at Lextu as he was charging at him before shooting one at his shoulder, forcing him backwards while Zechariah ran towards him before leaping into midair for a spin kick that landed squarely in Aaron's left eye. The Falcon of fury quickly recovered to block the incoming blade. the upper hand would go back and forth before Aaron finally managed to destroy the barrel of the handgun and knock the sword out of Zechariah's hand, forcing to dodge until he could grab Aaron's arm and one of the swords. While they spun around, Zechariah bought his time with it until he let Aaron push him so that he was bending backwards, which was just what he wanted him to do. Zechariah headbutted him before resuming with a swordfight.

This time, with two critical blows to the head, Zechariah had the upper hand. Aaron's movements became slower while Zechariah used his final moves to maneuver in a way that he can finally get past his parries and blocks to have the blade at the Falcon of Fury's neck. Zechariah has won.

Victorious, Zechariah declared in Metargo, "A man's word is to be honored!"

Aaron, admitting defeat with the gritting of his teeth, nodded. "It shall be so."

the duel was over, with both participants returning weapons to one another, before Zechariah returned Adira's sword and Chemda's destroyed handgun. then he told Sorell with a smile. "It's okay. You can go home, now."

Abercio was not even paying attention to the battle, not with his mind still worrying about Sorell. It came as no surprise that he did not even notice the 5T-1 Olympian's arm was sliced off by one of the Sabre-Bleus. He only snapped back into reality when Aaron left a message (automatically redirected to the mask's private communications so nobody in the Moon force would know it was Abercio leading them), informing him that Sorell was safe and now being taken to her father and mother. Breathing a sigh of relief, he now refocused his attention to the space where the battle was. He heard the call on the victory in space just in time. Knowing Bella was awaiting instructions, he said to the whole fleet, "The job is not done, yet. Now, we need to board the station and take it over. Keep as many hostiles alive as possible. We need prisoners to give information on how to run the station. It will be our base away from the carnage below for the time being. Here, after the space station is ours, we shall coordinate our next move. Any mechs, fighters, and bombers that survived shall return to the Raven and Mighty Duck for repairs. Silver Moon and I shall be aboard the Mighty Duck shortly to repair the 5T-1 Olympian and observe the rest of this operation in our cabin, next to the cabin for the Mighty Duck's captain. You know how to contact us while we are there."



In the cabin next to the ship's captain's, which provided privacy and a place to rest, Abercio lay on the couch (where he voluntarily slept while leaving Belladonna with the bedroom within the cabin) and thought about the rest of the war. What would it be like? Who would he face? While Bella did her thing, he thought on it while thinking up possible strategies to use.

---

Antea nodded upon hearing Orland's question. "Of, course! Don't worry!" As she let Orland push the wheelchair to the hangar, the off-duty palace guard were arriving at the palace Armory to suit up in their white-and-silver armor, complete with a red helmet with a white accent and plume. They were also being armed with rifles, handguns, and knives to prepare for whatever danger lay ahead. This gave Antea plenty of time to talk to Orland. "So, Orland, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

---

Zechariah watched as Sorell bowed with her arms straight and next to her sides while she bent forward a little, expressing gratitude. He was about to say, "you're welcome," when she suddenly stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. His immediate reaction was to stand there speechless while he blushed. He did manage a shy smile and a wave, however. Dao's teasing punch to his shoulder cause a bit of pain to surface due to the particular area punch being where a bruise from the duel being there. the rich man's words earned him a stern look. "Dao, this isn't exactly the time to be thinking of romance." Why am I still thinking of Sorell, then!?

His thoughts of Sorell were immediately brushed away when Oriana tackled him into a hug, causing more pain to surface, even though he did not show it around her. At first, she expressed concern, then began lecturing him on how he could have died. I knew what I was doing! I'm not stupid! He thought those words, and wanted so badly to say them. It would only start an argument, though.

Benjamin knew he was next as he tried to sneak away, only to be grabbed by the ear. "Ow!" He always was embarrassed when Oriana began lecturing him profusely.

---

Saul stood at the window overlooking the hangar from his and the Queen's cabin the whole time. Speechless, shocked, distraught, silent. His mood changed once he saw Lion Team and the shuttle land, Sorell coming out. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Our daughter is safe. She has arrived." He then raised an eyebrow. "It is strange there seems to be no casualties, however. Not even the slightest damage to the mechs and shuttle. It's almost as if there was no battle that took place. Aaron Lextu seems to be the only one with any sort of injury, aside from Sorell."

Abercio heard Bella, yet did not listen until his name was mentioned for his attention. The query of whether there was a traitor was answered with a shrug. "Possibly. I'm not leaving anything I'm considering a possibility off the table. If so, we will need to send in a spy to Orbital Colony Shiona to find out more. I will handle that." Sending a coded message to one of his personal spies, he continued to talk. "It could also be that a Caninisian rebel was able to get a hold of some records detailing the technology. He or she would have to have been very clever to pull it off. If not that, then possibly a mercenary or other hired scoundrel was responsible." Abercio sat up. "Right now, until my spy I just informed gets to the bottom of it, we should focus on what we are doing right now. If there is indeed a traitor involved, we will know about it in due time."

---

Antea did hear that Africanus Bastion died on his way to work as part of the Royal Guard. To hear that Orland and his mother, Alivia Bastion, were the only ones left in the household, left her a bit sad. And yet, she found it heart-warming that Orland spends such quality time with her, baking together. She could not help but smile. The convseration was shotlived, as it was suggested that Orland be armed with a concealable weapon. "I have to agree with Argento. the rebels that are still out there won't expect you to be able to fight them off. a military-standard knife that can be concealed should come in handy, plus a concealable handgun. Argento, see to it he gets those two weapons."

"It will be done, milady."

Antea placed her right hand on Orland's to assure him it was okay. "Once I can see, I will teach you some basics on how to shoot. I may not be able to fight for prolonged periods of time, since I never exercised all that much, but I have learned how to use a handgun efficiently. Abercio was very adamant that I attain such a skill, in case I'm in trouble."

---

Saul hugged and kissed Chanah back in joy and watched as Cecilia brought Aaron to one of the medics for medical attention. Chancah's words left him chuckling softly. "Always the matchmaker you are, love!" After his wife had gone down to play cupid, Sorell was up in the cabin, welcomed by the King with a fatherly hug.

"It is quite the relief to see you alive, my daughter." Letting go, he posed the query in concern, "Tell me: What went on while you were out there?"

---

Aaron groaned at Fion's sudden horror. It was not as if she and the rest of the troops and Lion Team did not see him get kicked in the eye by Zechariah seconds after he was shot in the shoulder by a stun blast. They saw the blood that came out of his eye sockets, did they not? It should not have come as any surprise. His mood changed once Cecilia began examining him. Her worried expression left him both confused and awkward. He was about to say something when she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along to the medical bay.

He had to regain his balance once he was shoved in front of a medic, who began to examine him. "How did this happen, Sergeant Lextu?"

Aaron's tone became angry at the thought of his defeat. "That Benjlakki scum, Zechariah Malachi, kicked me there after he stunned me with a plasma handgun during our duel! He'll pay for..."

"Yes, we know. It is no secret you are slow to forgive, most of the time. Anyway, we'll have to examine it more close with an X-ray." preparing the X-ray, he asked, "You had your RL-5 Falcon on autopilot when returning to the Titan, correct?"

"Yes, sir. If I were to have piloted it manually, I would not have kept the mech flying straight."

"Good, good." After careful examination, the medic was ready to give his report. "Sergeant, I have some good news, and some bad news. The bad news is, the damage to the eye is permanent, leaving you without the 20-20 vision necessary to qualify for piloting anything in the military. The good news is, we can replace that eye with a cybernetic one. It won't be brown, like your right eye, it will be silver, but eyes are not for show, are they?"

"No, sir."

"I did not think so." The medic began contacting the surgeons and the Head Mechanic on the Titan, Bibiana Durrans, to make the arrangements.

Meanwhile, Aaron had time to talk to Cecilia. "So, uh... How's your brother?"

---

Kyle was surprised to be standing face-to-face with the Queen. His right eyebrow rose a bit in curiosity. "Yes, your majesty?" Technically, he was a Private, but to be called an officer by Queen Chanah was kind of an honor for him, even though his mischievous behavior kept him from being promoted. Upon request, Scipio gave the report.

"Well, there were no casualties on either side, for one, which is a first. The reason for that is, Aaron Lextu was challenged by a Zechariah Malachi to an honor duel when the base we found the Princess at was accused of capturing and torturing her. Apparently, Zechariah found out about honor duels from the Prime Minister's son in high school. Details cut short, Zechariah managed to beat Aaron, and the condition for after the duel was, win or lose, Princess Sorell was to return safely home without further fighting. Your daughter thanked Zechariah Malachi for the safe passage to here without bloodshed the traditional way, bowing while reciting the Expression of Gratitude, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. It is rather odd, a Malachi, of all people, wanting an issue between himself and his enemies resolved without a fight to the death. Anyway, that is the sum of what happened. It seems he was expecting to be outmatched in a swordfight, and he made up for it by being a deadly shot. The plasma handgun he used was set to stun, since ranged weaponry was not allowed to be lethal for that duel. He did not solely fight with a ranged weapon, though he did use that to help him gain the upper hand. If there's one thing I can gather from seeing him fight, he will be Sergeant Lextu's greatest adversary."

Meanwhile, Bibiana Armine Durrans was already examining the mechs when Fion came up to her. She expected it was about the mechs. "Here about the mechs, Miss Silk?" She let Fion say what she had to say before telling her straight. "We are checking 'em, dang it! It's standard flipping procedure under my watch to do it when they arrive!" While scanning, she gave her report. "You know, this is the first time I am unable to find much of anything wrong with the mechs. No malfunction, no parts damaged, only signs of Sergeant Lextu's RL-5 Falcon's communications having been hacked. What went on back there, anyway!?"

---

Benjamin was feeling far too awkward to say anything, until he noticed Oriana had a robotic arm. He blatantly ignored her query of whether he and his brother wanted to be the death of her and rushed to her side. "Holy cow! What in Myrstarkia happened to your arm!?" He grabbed hold of it like the man in love with her many people knew he was. "When did this happen!? Who did it!? I swear, if it was those Metargo filth, I'll..."

"Seaman Benjamin Jacob Malachi!" Captain Richardson had just returned from sending Zechariah to a corpsman who would take him to the infirmary for examination.

Benjamin relented and said, "Yes, sir."

Richardson began with the promotions, starting with Benjamin to Seaman Apprentice, the second lowest rank."In charge of Brown Wing Team from now on will be Petty Officer Zechariah Malachi, who clearly has the mind to think through a dire situation." As he listed other promotions, Brown Wing Team stood at attention. Eitan Shapiro and Sevrin Angelle were promoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class, The Shapiro twins, Dao, and one other member of Brown Wing Team, were promoted to Petty Officer 3rd Class. The others, like Benjamin, were promoted to Seaman Apprentice.

Once the promotions were over, the Captain calmly looked at Oriana. "To be fair, Secretary Aspiral, we simply were preoccupied. We were going to send Sergeant Malachi to the infirmary, either way."

Meanwhile, in the camp infirmary, Zechariah looked at the stripes given to him that indicated he was now a Petty Officer 1st Class (full title Mech Pilot Petty Officer First Class), the equivalent to a staff sergeant in the Army. While he appreciated the promotion, he was much more pleased that Sorell was safe and sound. "I'll be leading Brown Wing Team, won't I?"

"Yes, Petty Officer."

This meant the burden would be on him to lead Brown Wing Team to victory, especially against the Lion Team. That would not be easy, physically, mentally, or emotionally. The blood of many Metargo would be on his hands, a shame that he would possibly carry the rest of his life. His thoughts, however, returned periodically to Sorell. For some reason, he could not stop thinking of her.

Abercio rolled his eyes at the "fair" adjective. Yeah, fair so long as you don't hurl your military might at them, or threaten them with it. Once given the opportunity to speak, and Bella gave her two cents, he stood up and went over to the map projector in the room. "Do you remember why we created the Moon Force?" He let her answer before he continued. "Prime Minister Lopez opened up a hornet's nest when he moved Parliament towards declaring war on Benjlakk. Their current President may be merciful and working towards enforcing a military policy that is less brutal towards defeated foes, but let's not kid ourselves: the Benjlakki Armed forces are not known for fairness, they are known for ruthlessness and vengefulness. If they win this war, President Anderson's administration would only be delaying the inevitable. Eventually, the Republic of Benjlakk will subjugate us and completely exterminate both our military and our leadership. In other words, much of our population will be fatherless, motherless, or otherwise without their loved ones. That also means the royal house would be made an example of. Mother, father, Sorell, Antea... they would all die. I am not about to let that happen."

Thinking on it some more, his strategic mind kicked in. "Although... Having witnesses tell of our achievements would lower Benjlakki morale and bring in recruits to fill a serious void in numbers we have, right now."

---

Antea waited for her chance to speak before answering. "The Brigiuog Islands. More specifically, the reservations set up by my father for the Caninisians in that territory to go to on a voluntary basis so to preserve their culture in some form. My father and late grandfather were instrumental in conquering the entire archipelago when fighting against the Caninisian Empire. The Caninisians themselves are canine humanoids that are grouped together in packs and behave like tribes, for the most part, apart from how they can create and grasp the concept of technology as we are familiar with it. They decide who the next Emperor of their civilization will be by having their Alpha Males spar with one another in a tournament. The winner of it gets to rule their nation. Each pack has an agreement with another when it comes to local territory. Neither tries to take land from the other. Policy for Caninisia as a whole is decided by the presiding Emperor. Because we conquered the Islands from them, the reservations are a way of keeping whatever parts of their culture alive as possible while still having the land under Metargo jurisdiction, including having the Islands we still control being governed locally by one of the Caninisians themselves, the Alpha Males in our half of those Islands competing in a tournament to decide who gets to govern them. The Alpha Male who wins the title of Governor then gets to appoint representatives who partake in the Kingdom's Parliament and represent the reservations as a whole."

Antea gripped her skirt when she thought of the negative impact. "Unfortunately, not every Caninisian on our half of those islands is happy with the compromise, wishing for a return to being under the rule of the Caninisian Empire. To that end, they fight to break off from the Kingdom, using surprise and the environment to catch troops off guard. They even fight their own fellow Caninisians, labeling them as traitors to the Empire. The particular island we are headed towards is called Narg Canarsit, which literally translates to "New Caninisia" in the Caninisian tongue. There, we shall meet up with the current Governor of the islands, Margru Rosayrt. He is a veteran of the Metargo-Caninisian War, and is a hero to both the Caninisian Empire and the reservations. The Empire for his bravery in battle, the reservations for working towards better relations between the Kingdom and the Empire. He has even helped ensure that some of the Caninisians from the reservations were able to join our military with the same privileges and responsibilities as most anyone else. One of them is even part of the Royal Guard."

Suddenly, a werewolf-like man in red-and-white armor, helmet and all customized to suit his figure, walked up and saluted. "Goddesses preserve the Princess!"

"Oh! Cardriig! Hello, there!"

Cardriig was a young adult member of the Rosayrt pack, always eager to serve however he could. As far as Caninisians go, he was fiercely loyal and obedient to his higher ups. Antea admired his enthusiasm, although she figured he could do with not taking being part of the Royal Guard so seriously. Bowing his head, he asked, "Shall I translate for you when we are there?"

Antea smiled warmly. "Of, course! Thank you!" Turning back to Orland, she told him, "The reason we are headed there is because we need to negotiate a sharing of resources. Since Caninisians are carnivores, agreeing to a trade in fruit and other foods in the form of plants to place in the food banks in exchange for something the reservations may want or need should not be a problem. If anything, it will buy time while we try to reason with the Prime Minister on an end to this war."

---

Listening to what his daughter had to say, he took in every detail, from her words to her expressions. Did something awkward happen? It is best not to pry, if it did. After she had finished, he nodded. "I see. To be brutally honest, I have heard of this Zechariah Malachi, before. Karl Lopez spoke highly of him, saying he is a genius at Solar Technology, among other things. If I recall correctly, Karl met him as an exchange student to a Benjlakki high school in Southeastern Fertaninn, where he also met Benjamin Malachi and Benjlakk's current Secretary of State, Oriana Aspiral." Placing both hands on Sorell's shoulders, he managed a smile, somewhat. It was a conflicted grin, but a smile, nonetheless. "I would advise talking to Karl about what this Zechariah is like."

---

Kyle raised his eyebrow a little at keeping parts of the report between him and the Queen. "Milady?" He did relax a little, but curiosity began to sink in. The moment Fion's name was mentioned, he began to panic a little. Great! She's onto me! What do I do!? What do I say!? "Sweetheart, huh? I kind of figured." nervous laughter sunk in until he totally lost it. "I-it's not like that! Well... maybe it is, but... Doh, I don't know!" Looking over in Fion's direction, he went neon while thinking out loud. "Sh-she is beautiful and sweet, but... should I?" He slapped himself. "Oh, come on! It'd never work! You with a royal maid!? Next thing you know, you'll do something to screw it all up, and then... and then..." Finally, his nervous breakdown caused him to faint.

---

Aaron blushed when he noticed the scar on Cecilia's eye, thinking it looked great on her. Once he heard her mention that her brother died a month after she left for training, it began to sink in that foul play was afoot, more so than he thought. It became clear once Cecilia verified that her father was a liar and she did not speak to him in years. This made him clench his fist and pound it on the medical counter next to him as he glanced sideways in frustration. "First chance I get, I'm challenging him to a duel!"

The patient next to him interjected. "Uh, not to discourage you, but what makes you think he has not been faced off with, already? Just saying. Things like that don't go unnoticed for too long."

---

Bibiana heard Fion's report and shrugged. "Well, at least nobody died." After examining everything and taking note of the lack of damage, she forwarded her own maintenance report before having a computer technician get to work on the RL-5 Falcon's communications to see if they can be further encrypted. Then, Bibiana went to her personal quarters nearby.

Her living quarters was a mix of rooms: one acting as a repairs/construction garage (for more lightweight parts), a personal bathroom, and a bedroom for two people. She personally requested two bunks in place due to her being engaged to Tadeas Moraitis, the only other person who had a keycard to the place. Knowing he'd be meeting up with her there, soon, she began to undress herself for a shower. He came in right when she was shirtless. "How'd the mission go, Tadeas?" She continued to take off her clothes in his presence, indifferent to whether he saw anything, since they were engaged. "I heard from Fion that Aaron Lextu was the only one who sustained any injuries on your side of it, with nobody on either dying."

---

Chemda and Adira thanked Sevrin after being congratulated, simultaneously adding, "Congratulations to you, too!" Chemda gave her a controlled hug while Adira shook Sevrin's hand. They both repected her for her ability to think through a situation and perform rather well physically. They were a bit relieved they weren't the only two people with uncanny abilities. Seeing Dao react to being congratulated, Chemda hugged him, too.

Hearing Oriana's explanation set him into a wave of anger. "No big deal!? You call that no big deal!?" He was fuming at the thought of the Metargo attack harming his childhood crush. "That's it! Those Metargo filth are going down! They'll regret this!"

"Does it really matter, now?" Eitan raised an eyebrow while giving a stern look with his arms raised a little. "It's not like killing a whole bunch of Metargo troops will change what happened. You don't even know who among them did the deed."

"Yeah, but..." His train of thought was in disarray, causing him to fumble in words until he growled in frustration.

Suddenly, a sing-song remark came from Chemda in the form of, "Oh, Mister Grumpy Pants!"

Benjamin gave a frustrated shrug. "What!?"

"Hug time!" The more cheerful twin brought him into a hug which nearly broke a bone. Once she let go, Benjamin remained silent while crossing his arms in a way that signified he was still a bit angry.

Adira rolled her eyes. "I'd worry more about how we complete our missions than getting revenge. The more cool heads, the more of us who make it out of this mess alive."

Abercio listened as Belladonna spoke. Everything seemed to make sense, from how the Moon force would be perceived, to how they needed to avoid looking like the monsters they feared. She objected to his intent on wiping out the Benjlakki soldiers on both moral and strategic grounds. He figured by leaving the bathroom door open, she wanted to hear his rebuttal. And yet, he could not provide one. It all made so much sense. Finally he said, "You're right. Let us spare them." Putting on his costume/disguise, he proceeded to inform the Moon Force that the prisoners were to be let go after they had forgone their usefulness in getting what was left of the space station operable. "They have earned this, my comrades! We must be honorable to them, as they were in battle!" There were no objections.

---

Antea nodded. "Correct on both accounts, Orland! Governor Rosayrt may be helping to ensure the rebels are defeated, but there is still some work to be done over there, which means we must be cautious."

As the preparations were completed, the shuttle arrived to take them to the Metargo Brigiuog Iaslands. Everyone boarded, and off they went. All the Royal Guard onboard had their weapons at their side, ready to protect the Princess if necessary.

[We can ignore them for a little bit. I'll let you know when it's time for them to make another appearance.]

---

Kyle was unable to register anything that was said between Fion and Chanah. He was practically in his own little world imagining things involving Fion, from the erotic to the romantic, even the frightening, until he woke up inside the mess hall with Fion next to him. He fell onto his back in fright. "Yaah! F-Fion!" Puzzled, he looked around. "Wait! How did I end up in the Mess Hall?"

---

Bibiana shrugged at Tadeas' question. "Just getting ready to take a shower. That's all." She was now completely naked as she went over to the door to the shower. "Why do you ask? You are going to see me naked when we consummate our marriage in private as some of the wedding celebrations go on without us. I don't see the big deal if you get a peak at my body, now. We are due to be married after a bit of time from now, anyway." With that, she entered the bathroom and started taking her shower.

While she did, the medic at Med Bay left a message for Bibiana, which included Aaron's eye's condition and that it needed a replacement. Once Bibiana was covered in a towel she used to dry herself, she came back into the main room (with the two bunks) and asked, "Who was the message for?" She waited for Tadeas' answer before hearing the message for herself. She nodded while walking over to the dresser in front of her fiancé's view and opened it for a fresh uniform as the towel was loosened by Bibiana so that it fell down to the floor. Once she was covered as per military standard for a mechanic, she went into the garage to get to work on the cybernetic eye with a machine she built herself: a cybernetic manufacturer that was controlled via computer and AI and small enough to fit in a 15ftX25ft room full of tools and small parts neatly organized into crates. She completed her work on the cybernetic eye prior to instructing an assistant android of hers that she typically had with her to make repairs to deliver the cybernetic eye (and the parts that would attach to the nervous system to provide electricity) to the medical bay.

She came out afterwards to sit on one of the bunks once she had changed into a regular naval uniform in Tadeas' presence. "I'm hoping time in med bay will cool that hothead down, but I doubt it." Turning her head, she asked him, "So, you said you gardened around your house? It would be nice to take photos of the plants, once this war is over." Most did not know this, but she had a hobby of taking photographs when she was able to.

---

Aaron paid attention to what Cecilia had to say, noting that her father was already defeated in a duel. This left him smiling before he laughed heartily. "Serves him right!" Looking over at Cecilia, blushing when noticing the scar, he held her hand. "We got a lot of catching up to do, don't we, sweetheart?" Sweetheart was the nickname Aaron gave her while they were dating. It was a sure sign he wanted to start over the relationship.

---

Benjamin could not resist cuteness. He literally blushed neon as he stared at Oriana's blue eyes. Nervously, he nodded before crossing his arm in frustrated resignation. "F-fine! I-I guess I can do that!"

Chemda laughed softly while Adira shook her head in amusement. They both considered him a hothead, but a sweet one. It was no secret that Benjamin had a soft spot especially for the Secretary of State.

Eitan walked over to Sevrin and held her hand in encouragement. "You'll do fine. If you need anything, just let me know."

All of Brown Wing Team's communications disks beeped with a message from Zechariah Malachi, their new leader and Petty Officer 1st Class. "Brown Wing Team, I received word from Admiral Holt that we are expected to board a shuttle to the Seraphim in the morning at 0700 hours, so get some rest. We'll be briefed on our first mission when we arrive on that ship."

Abercio listened to Belladonna, not wishing to interrupt her as she voiced her concerns. Finally, when able to speak, he shrugged. "It's not a problem. I imagine my mother will be fairly easy to convince. My father, a bit more difficult. But, so long as we don't do anything stupid, we should be okay." He kept calm, which would hopefully calm her down. This is the first I've seen her react like this. It is kind of cute, though. He would not admit it, but he did find Belladonna attractive, in more than one way.

---

He was about to put yogurt in his mouth when he heard that Fion's parents went missing years ago. He lowered the spoon and his head a little. He knew exactly what it was like to lose relatives. "Sorry to hear that." Hearing her latter explanation, about her mother being from Mysticara and her father from Metargo, left little to no reaction other than, "I kind of figured you were at least partially Mysticaran. I could care less about ethnicity, though." The moment it Fion asked about his family, however, he clenched his fist in a controlled rage against the doctors that were administering the treatment for his sister. "I have no family, not since that **** meltdown took it away from me!"

He quickly noticed his tone and softened up. "Sorry, it's just... it's a touchy topic. I lived in a town nearby Aaron's hometown, until the nuclear plant my parents were working in blew up, utterly destroying most of what I called home. Somehow, I survived without suffering any illness. My little sister, Agape, however..." Tears began to fall. "She... became gravely ill. I did everything I could to help pay for her treatments, but it wasn't enough. She died before she could be fully treated." His voice cracked during the mention of Agape's treatments and dying before they could be completed.

He was about ready to breakdown into mourning, which he did for a moment. He dropped his spoon and spontaneously hugged Fion in grief. "Agape... My sweet baby sis... My sweet little..." His grief overwhelmed him in that moment, the result being a bout of sobbing. Finally, after he had let it out, he let go and brushed away his tears. "I'm sorry. It's... personal, for lack of a better word."

---

Bibiana's smile faded briefly when Tadeas admitted guilt motivated him to find a wife. Internally and emotionally, it heart her quite a bit. That soon turned into a shy gladness when the man recovered by noting how he was happy with the arrangement, in the end. She blushed and averted her gaze with a hand on her chest. The mention of children caused her to grab a pillow and timidly hide her now-neon face while listening. His words left her heart aflutter, in a mixture of nervousness and excitement. You could almost see her happy eyes sparkle as she lowered the pillow for him to see them. "I'd like that!" After a moment's reluctance, she placed the pillow back on the bunk and went over to shyly kiss his cheek. "Is it... Is it okay if we cuddle?"

---

Zechariah's mischievous grin turned into a wince of pain and an angry glance once he was punched (again) in the bruised shoulder. His tone matched. "Yeah, well, I figured you two should have figured that out yourselves with time, and it took you this long! Sheesh!"

Benjamin became a bit teasing. "Hey, take it..." His playful punch was stopped by his younger brother, which caused him to enter confusion."...Easy?"

"Don't... punch me there!" Zechariah's voice was stern and slightly intimidating to his older brother, which caused him to back off. He was no less stern with Oriana. "Next time, check for bruises before you make a punch on the shoulder. Got it?" Softening up some, he decided that since Oriana was the Secretary of State, he would fill her in on what would happen soon. "On a side note, Admiral Holt informed me that there is trouble up in space. His sources tell him that a fleet calling itself the Moon Force has taken over the space station meant to drop Air & Space Force mechs into the Gatwashiim Peninsula as reinforcements to solidify our defenses in case of an amphibious attack on that place's coast. We will receive further details once we are onboard the Seraphim."