Epilogue: "The Maidens' Reign" August, 2915 Ten year old Fumi Himeno was restless. The trip had been so long, going on for as long as she could remember. Everyone was in a state of excitement now, or at least the older folks who had been adults when the trip started. The nine year voyage had taken its toll on the occupants of the colony ships, and all were anxious to see the new world, hoping to start anew after leaving the ruined home world. For Fumi and the other students of the Dammerung Academy, they didn't understand the big deal. The ship was home to them. Never the less, curiosity got the better of them, and they found themselves embracing the same excitement their adult handlers did. Her eleven other classmates had their faces pressed to the large panoramic window so they could see the large blue sphere they'd thus far unofficially named 'Earl.' Mikoto, the dark haired energetic child, and Victoria, an equally rambunctious girl, seemed to be entertained for hours on end by the approaching orb. Fumi was, however, unimpressed after about a half an hour. She wandered towards her handlers, who were too busy discussing things to pay any attention to her. She'd always wondered what Earth looked like. She heard both wonderful and frightening stories from the adults. It was all because of the old leader's failed plans at paradise. They wanted a new golden age. The Golden Millennium, she had heard, was a time of unrivaled peace just after the Ice Age on Earth had ended, when man was young. Civilizations were ruled by their warrior princesses, bestowed power by a great Obsidian Lord. It ended when the princesses were forced to fight each other until only one stood. That had largely been the fate of the Second Golden Millennium. The older leaders of their Foundation had tried to repeat that golden era by offering the nations of Earth a single Otome warrior to handle all military operations. Armies were disbanded. War ended. It had looked like it would work. Like the original Golden Millennium, however, the Otome were forced to fight, and ended up entirely decimating the planet. People were forced to flee all over the nearby star systems to avoid certain death. Those left behind on Earth were left to nuclear winter and poisoned oceans. "No contact from the other ships at all," her handler remarked. "They may have made it to their colonies, but simply lost contact due to damaged parts." "A shame," his coworker said. "I suppose we'll find out in due time. What's the ETA for our landing?" "Thirty minutes." Her handler looked up at the other man for a moment before saying, "Schwartz already activated the Global Z-HiME System, right? So we won't have to use the Emulator?" "They said they did." They referred to the artificial HiME star orbiting the moon of the new colony world, sent there by Schwartz, the recently reformed and reorganized Searrs Foundation. "Are the new GEMs ready?" "The original five are still being augmented to get rid of that programming error." The 'minor' problem that had caused the original Fire String Ruby user to go ballistic, she recalled. It wasn't a simple fluke, unfortunately. Most of the X-Type HiME version of the Otome had contracted psychosis from faulty construction. It was largely the reason for the devastation on Earth. "We're basing the new programming off the Diamond, of course." The other man nodded sagely. "Of course. Upgrading the X-Type GEMs to Z-Type has taken a bit of time, but it will certainly be worth it. The flight ability based off of the Kagutsuchi users' Inferno Spiral weapons will come in handy, in particular. Banishing the psychotic outbreak issue goes without saying." "All the cadets on this boat are HiME Heirs, just in case the new nanomachines don't take. Hopefully they will be the last of the HiME bloodlines before the old ways are completely phased out," her handler said. "I don't know if any HiME powers will kick in, but be sure to watch for them. Minagi over there had high readings." "Yes, we were already briefed by headquarters," the other replied. "We'll keep an eye out. How are the other GEMs coming along?" "Aside from upgrading the original five, we have the Malachite and the Jasper in development. The others are still in the planning stages, unfortunately – held up by the collapse of Searrs, you know." Her handler chuckled dryly and looked back, shocked to see Fumi there. His expression changed, and he formed a false smile on his lips. "Hi, Fumi! How's it going?" "Just fine, thank you." She made mental notes about their entire conversation, and he seemed embarrassed to have not noticed her for so long. She was good at staying out of the way. "Is this the one, then?" The other man asked. Fumi rose an eyebrow. Ah, yes. She was 'special.' "Yeah. Gonna be the first Z-Type," her handler praised. He rummaged through a bag and pulled out a locked box. Deactivating the security equipment on it, he pulled out a brilliant white gem, and held it up for her. "This will be yours, when you get a bit older. It's the Pure White Diamond. Cool, huh?" Fumi nodded once. "Yes, it's beautiful. May I see it?" Her handler snatched it back. "I don't know about that. You're still young. This isn't just a pretty toy. Maybe in a few years. Materialization training begins at fourteen, so you've got a little ways to go. Why don't you rejoin Mikoto and the others? You won't be seeing that view again. Best enjoy it when you can." That was his simple way of telling her to get lost. She nodded again, and turned back towards the large window, walking up to the others and giving the adults their privacy. She placed her hand on the glass, hearing the other chat. Her eyes were fixed on the deep blue oceans, their landing and the end to their long voyage finally at a close. Earth and the ways of the old were gone. Now, there was only hope for the future. Without the sins of the past and their ancestors weighing them down, and on a new world, all options were open to them. There, standing amongst her eleven classmates, Fumi could merely ponder what the new future would bring to them.
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