Heaven Saga 2: Sands of Aquarius (29 page)

“I’m
sure it will be soon enough,” he answered. “What about you Kivi? Are you at
home here?”

“I’ve
been by Valis’s side for over ten years now. This ship’s been my home for
almost seven years and the thought of leaving saddens me. My future is
uncertain. But I can’t rely on Valis forever. I’d be lying if I said I don’t
want that moment to come. I know in few years I’ll have saved up enough to
build my own ship.”

“You’ll
make an excellent captain.”

“But
before that, I’d like to take you up on your offer.”

“Are
you sure?” he asked. “It’s going to take a lot of training.”

She
drew her swords. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. The only
Maigar
alive is you. I have no doubt that Celi and her fellow scientists will be able
to create males, but until then, it’s vital you pass on your skills to others.
If you’re willing to teach me then I’m willing to learn.”

He
sprang to his feet and drew his sword. “Then let’s get started.”

* * *

Jesela
stumbled into her quarters with exhaustion in her eyes.
I can’t take much
more of this.
She thought as she fell into bed.

Mira’s
curtain moved. “Jesela, you look terrible,” she said. She began readying for
her shift.

Jesela
raised one arm up in the air and waved Mira off. “Daes has been working me
nonstop for days. I finally get a few hours to sleep,” she said. She rolled
over and yawned.

Mira
finished putting her uniform on and checked herself in the mirror. “I wish the
fighting would end.”

“Is
that because you don’t want him fighting?” Jesela asked sarcastically.

Mira
turned to her friend. “Of course, you know about that part.”

“So
what’s the deal? Are you two a couple or what now?”

Mira
blushed. “I’m not sure, it’s complicated.”

Jesela
laughed. “It’s because Seles and the captain are into him to, isn’t it?”

“That’s
right,” Mira answered. “By the way, why is Daes working you so hard?”

Jesela
yawned again. “We have three more mobile suits nearing the end of construction.
One more day and I can sleep for a week.”

“Take
care Jesela.”

“You
too Mira, if I get injured I’m expecting you to save me.”

“If
that happens you needn’t worry about that. Our medical staff is tops in the
independent fleet.”

Brian
stood below the Mjolnir while running a diagnostic. Seles stood the same way
below the Zero when Mira came into the cargo bay with a bag. She went to Brian.

“I
know you may want to go berserk to end the mission quicker, but your body can’t
take much more of it today,” Mira said. She handed him a chemical injector.

“What’s
this?” he asked.

“I
injected you with the same formula earlier,” she answered. “Your body may be
weak from the berserk state. If you feel your energy drop take a shot of this
and it’ll be alleviated.”

 “Thanks,”
he said as he took the injector.

* * *

Dreka
watched as his top three pilots trained hastily in the simulator. Riga observed
the results.

“They’re
having difficulties,” Riga commented.

“Yes,
but that’s to be expected,” Dreka said.

“You
haven’t been yourself lately,” Riga said.

“It’s
because I haven’t slept much lately,” Dreka answered sarcastically. He paused
for a moment while the two laughed. “I haven’t reported this to you, largely
because I don’t know if it was real. A short time ago I had a vision.”

“What
kind of vision?” Riga asked.

“I
found myself standing in a vast ocean of blue. I remember seeing many shadows
and memories within the place, but what I remember the most was seeing my
grandfather. “He told me a number of things, including that he wasn’t killed.”

“Is
that possible?”

“It
seems that way,” Dreka said. “He also told me that the one he was to follow had
finally appeared and that the predicted results had occurred. He told me Brian
was the one I should follow and that the Terran was the one to lead our people
into the future.”

“Sounds
ominous,” Riga said. “What do you plan to do?”

Dreka
stopped to look him in the eye. “I don’t know what I should to. All I know is
that I’ll continue fighting Brian until one of us is the victor. If he really
is the one my grandfather was waiting for then he must be special. I need to
see with my own eyes what he’s truly capable of.”

“And
what if he does live up to your expectations?”

“If
I confirm and am not killed then I’ll do what my grandfather told me to do. In
the few times I’ve spoken to Brian I’ve seen a soul similar to my own.”

“I’ve
heard the same thing listening to your flight voice recorder,” Riga said. “The
reason you feel that way is because he’s offering us a better future. We can’t
sustain the way we’re doing things forever. He changed the Kalaidian people for
the better.”

“It
feels like things are heading towards change,” Dreka said.

“Depending
on which way this war goes we should be prepared to live under different
rules,” Riga said. “If the side Brian’s on wins I have no doubts they’ll try to
put forth a government similar to that on Kalaidia now.”

A
message over the PA system stopped the pair’s conversation. It was the
commander on the bridge. “The Duchess’s base near Dega Five has detected a
large fleet of ships. She’s ordered us to prepare to bombard the Kein estate
should the base on the moon falls.”

“Madness,”
Riga said. “To think we’re going to attack so openly.”

“You’re
that sure of the base falling?” Dreka asked.

“Valis
has her fleets split, one at the pole and another at the equator. With the
Mjolnir and that Phase Rakna they should take the base within two hours’ time.”

* * *

When
the Kalaidian fleet appeared over the ice covered moon dozens of Novaguards
deployed into offensive formations. Brian and Seles each took a squad of
twelve. Kaela backed up Seles while Meldi backed up Brian. The Kalaidian fleet
opened up an orbital bombardment on the Duchess’s base, a weapons systems
factory. As pulse cannons fired down on them the base projected a shield; the
force exerted shook the ground. Half the Nova squadrons fanned outward across
the moon to strike surface batteries at point blank range. The Mjolnir and Zero
descended ahead of the Novas. On the bridge of the Avoni Valis and her bridge
crew watched the battle as it went into the second phase.

“Captain,
we’re receiving a message from Shiken Ka,” Zae said before putting Shiken on
the monitor.

“My
fleet’s in position,” Shiken said.

Valis
nodded. “Are there any signs of their forces?”

“Yes,”
he answered. “A moment ago we detected a small fleet heading towards the
northern hemisphere. How are things are you end?”

Valis
checked the position of Brian and Seles. “They’re moving into position right
now.”

“Good.”

* * *

A
massive number of Drones launched from the bases scattered all about the
northern hemisphere to intercept the Novas attacking their surface batteries.
The Mjolnir closed on the main base with the Zero next to it. Each fired a
series of pulse shots from their cannons before switching over to their
rakna
blades.

“The
fun begins now,” Brian said.

“Of
course, just don’t play around too much,” Seles said.

The
two mobile suits flew at into the shield and punched a hole in the defensive
system. When they headed inside the two squadrons of Novas behind them flew in
and started the assault on the base.

“Looks
like Kaela and Meldi are feeling aggressive today,” Brian said.

“I’m
thinking they want to get back to the Avoni as quickly as possible.”

“Wouldn’t
blame them, I know I’m not feeling my best right now,” he said.

“Then
let’s stop chatting and complete the mission,” Seles said.

All
across the interior of the Ick-Tckt base Drone fighters scrambled to intercept
Brian and Seles’s squadrons. The Novaguards concentrated on destroying the
Drones on the ground, while Brian and Seles worked on the ones flying. From the
ground came a number of pulse blasts.

“It
seems their power generation system is working exactly like Valis described,”
Brian said over the com. “Seles, you and the Novas remain on the surface.”

He
flew the Mjolnir near the center of the base before blasting a hole in the
ground. Below, scores of Ick-Tckt fired at the Mjolnir, their attacks bounced
off the mobile suit’s shields.

“This
is impossible!” Kaela shouted over the com.

“We’re
going to pull through this Kaela,” Seles said calmly while looking at her
radar. “Their Drones are almost finished off. All we have to do is hold on a
little longer so Brian can blow the generator.”

Below,
Brian fired a number of pulse blasts to forge a path down to the next level.
Afterwards he switched to the Mjolnir’s
rakna
blade.

“It’s
going to take me a little longer to do this than planned,” Brian said.

“What’s
wrong?” Seles asked.

“If
I try to blast my way past the fourth level using the pulse cannon, it’s going
to cause damage to the Mjolnir. The
rakna
blade at full power won’t take
much longer to work with,” he said as he began cutting a hole with the blade.

* * *

Valis
watched calmly as the fleet changed position to matching Kivi’s plans
precisely. Zae’s eyes widened as the blips of Ick-Tckt ships appeared behind
their fleet. She put the image up on the monitor before turning to Valis.

“Captain,
it appears the fleet you were anticipating has arrived,” Zae said.

“That’s
a lot of ships,” Baed added.

Kivi
shook the surprise off her face. “I wasn’t expected that many.”

“Plan
C ready?” Valis asked sarcastically.

“Yes,
that was the third version of the plan I came up with,” Kivi retorted. “There
are two more if need be.”

“Zae,
call back Seles and her squadrons,” Valis commanded. “Also, call back our Novas
on the surface to support the fleet.” She pressed a com on her chair. Shiken
Ka’s image appeared on the main monitor. “Have you finished up your mission?”

“From
that question I take it their reinforcements have arrived?” Shiken Ka asked.

“Yes,
and we’re going to need your help,” Valis answered.

“We
can spare half of this fleet at the moment.”

“Half
is enough,” Valis said.

* * *

“This
is taking forever,” Brian said to himself as the Mjolnir cut through another
level.

“Brian,
we’re receiving orders to return to the fleet,” Seles said over the com.

“Got
it,” he said before bracing him for another cut. “I should be finished in five
minutes.”

“Alright,
take care of yourself,” Seles said.

After
a few minutes the Mjolnir entered a massive chamber with a spinning metallic
core.

“This
must be it,” Brian said. The Mjolnir moved forward cautiously. Before he could
strike the core he found a powerful shield blocked the way. From behind came a
series of powerful pulse blasts, forcing him to take a defensive position
behind the Mjolnir’s shield.

* * *

“Seles
and the Novas have returned to their positions within the fleet,” Zae reported.

“Good.”
Valis turned to Kivi. “How should we go about this?”

“Let
them come closer,” Kivi said. “With this formation, if they can’t surround us,
they can do nothing but try pushing their way through us. As soon as they try
that the ships Shiken Ka sent will fly in from behind and destroy them.” The
Ick-Tckt fleet began moving as Kivi anticipated. “Looks like they know it’s a
trap and they’re flying straight for it.”

“Ick-Tckt
tactics are sadly predictable,” Valis said while shaking her head. “The Duchess
is obviously thinking with her emotions and not with her mind.” She went to
Zae. “Tell the fleet to prepare for a defensive battle.”

“Yes
captain,” Zae said.

* * *