Minagi pushed her mane of light blue hair back as she looked
over the forty or so young men and women who sitting in front of her,
the members of the Manticore Pilot Corps. They came from a variety of
worlds, ranging from out on the rim, to some of the throne worlds of
the surviving galactic empires, and they shared one thing in common
other than the blue and white uniforms they wore. They all were risk
takers, adventurers who lived to be on the edge.
"Sorry ladies and gents," Minagi smiled at them a bit
apologetically, "but we're going to be increasing our fighter drills
for the next while."
There was a general groan, and Minagi waggled her finger at
them scoldingly, her long hair bouncing along her back.
"We don't know what we're going to run into on Earth," Minagi
said to them seriously, "all we really do know is that those cloaked
ships that attacked the Revenge came out from there. So I'm not taking
any chances." A dark haired young man sitting in the back was waving
his hand and she nodded to him, "Yes, Hunter, right?"
Rick Hunter stood up and said, "Yes, ma'am. Has it been
decided which fighter pilots will be brought along on the Earth trip
yet?"
"Yamamoto Yohko and the other three fighter wing commanders
will be the ones making that decision," Minagi shrugged. She grinned
suddenly, "So if anybody's still got some treats to bribe 'em with,
break them out now."
There was a general laugh from the pilots at that.
"That's it for now," Minagi gave them a casual wave for
dismissal, and the pilots got up out of their seats and filed out of
the room while talking together quietly. Mostly about what the mission
might be like and whom to brown-nose about it, she noted with some
amusement.
'A very casual command style,' Mitsuki noted, watching the
meeting from the wings, 'but it seems to work with them.' Looking at
the pilots they seemed much more independent than typical military
crewmen, so maybe that informal style suited them well.
"You wanted to see me?" Minagi walked over to her.
The two set off down the hallway together, and Mitsuki asked,
"Would it be possible for me to accompany the team heading for Earth?"
Minagi looked over at her thoughtfully, "I don't see there
being a problem. Have you asked Kiyone about it yet?"
Mitsuki blushed slightly, "I thought I should ask you, first."
Minagi smiled slightly, "Kiyone makes you nervous?"
"A bit, yes," Mitsuki admitted. She sighed, "I've been
reviewing her record, getting a feel of what she's done since she left
the Galaxy Police."
"And what did you think?" Minagi asked.
"I was impressed," Mitsuki said softly, "very impressed. I
thought the stories about her in the Manticore Fleet were exaggerated,
but now I find that it's just the opposite!"
"Kiyone is pretty damn good at her job," Minagi nodded firmly,
"but if you look at the fleet in general, most of our best people have
quite similar records." She looked over at Mitsuki and added,
"Including you."
Mitsuki blushed, mildly surprised as she protested, "It's not
quite the same thing."
"Ryouko wouldn't have requested you from the Galaxy Police if
you weren't of the same caliber," Minagi smiled. She grinned, "I heard
about how you commanded the GP forces we fought at Jurai. You did a
fine job there."
Mitsuki flushed, "Considering that the GP had to run with out
tails between our legs, I'm not all that proud of it."
"You did what you had to do in a bad situation, and you were
smart enough to know when to pull out," she said simply. With a soft
chuckle she added, "When you're dealing with her, just try to remember
that Kiyone puts her pants on one leg at a time, just like you or I."
Mitsuki smiled back, "I suppose you're right, ma'am."
Minagi punched her in the shoulder, nearly knocking her off of
her feet, "Minagi, please! We don't do that formal style here."
Mitsuki rubbed at her shoulder, wincing slightly, "Right,
right."
In another part of the ship planning discussions were taking
place, involving how the fleet itself would be operating. "I still
don't like this idea at all," Kiyone said, angrily tossing the data
pad on to the table. The dark haired woman looked clearly irritable,
standing there with a nervous Honor Harrington at her back.
Ryouko sighed as she said, "There's not a lot of options
available to us." Quite dryly she added, "If we go wandering into the
Moon Kingdom's territory with the battle fleet at our backs, it won't
go over well."
Honor Harrington cleared her throat nervously. She got a nod
from Kiyone and said, "But why not take the Washu's Revenge? Just
going there in Ryo-Okhi and Minagi's Swordbreaker puts you all at
serious risk."
Washu looked slightly indignant at that comment, "Ryo-Ohki is
more powerful than most of the ships in our fleet, captain. And the
Swordbreaker prototype has the best shields of any of our craft, not
to mention the improved drive system."
"Point taken," Kiyone sighed. She frowned, then plaintively
asked Ryouko, "But why do you have to be the one to go investigate
this?"
"Queen Serenity was quite pointed that I had to come along,"
Ryouko said, giving a sideways glance over to her new bride.
Ayeka was quite unruffled as she sipped from her glass of tea
and simply said, "Which is why I'm coming along as well."
"What?" Kiyone squawked.
"Oh, this is going to be good," Ryouko murmured to her mother
softly.
Washu nodded, "Ayeka's almost as stubborn as you are."
"Maybe a bit more," Ryouko added.
Once Kiyone got herself somewhat under control she told Ayeka
seriously, "It is not wise for you to go on this mission, Ayeka."
"It's also not wise to leave Ryouko and Serenity alone
together," Ayeka answered dryly.
Washu snickered softly.
"Myah," Ryo-Ohki sounded quite amused.
"A point," Kiyone admitted with a sigh. She looked at Ayeka
thoughtfully, trying to tell how determined she was. "You're going to
insist, aren't you?" she made a face.
"Sorry, but yes, I think I am," Ayeka said firmly.
Kiyone pushed her dark hair out of her face, "Then I guess
I'll just have to go along, too. Someone has to keep you out of
trouble."
"But ma'am!" Honor blurted out.
Kiyone gave her a look that wilted the younger woman almost
instantly. "Honor, I'm leaving you in command of the Revenge," she
said firmly. She looked thoughtful, "Tita can stand in as your second
in command."
"Yes, sir," Honor saluted.
Ayeka looked thoughtful, "So Ryouko and I are going, Kiyone,
Minagi, and my mothers have also requested to come along."
"Funaho and Masaki?" Washu blinked.
"My brother Yosho may have been slain there," Ayeka said
softly, "of course they want to see it, to say their final farewells."
"Understandable," Ryouko nodded. "We could also use an
investigator along as well, any suggestions?" she asked leadingly.
Kiyone gave her a look, "Mitsuki is quite the qualified
investigator. If the information about the cloaked ships is concealed,
I suspect she could find it."
The door to the conference room hissed open, and Minagi
stepped in. She caught part of Kiyone's reply and said, "Mitsuki has
already asked to come along."
Ryouko looked remarkably smug.
"How did you know?" Ayeka blinked at her in surprise.
Ryouko grinned, "That's for me to know and you to find out."
Ayeka raised her eyebrow, "You know, you do sleep pretty
soundly..."
Ryouko flushed and blurted out, "I'm a pretty good judge of
character. I figured that Mitsuki would want to be where the action
is."
"Ayeka has Ryouko so whipped," Minagi said to Kiyone with a
smile.
"Oh, yeah," Kiyone nodded firmly.
Not much later that day and there was a general rush going on
to get everything ready to move out. "Swordbreaker?" Mitsuki blinked
in confusion as she jogged alongside the boy who was escorting her to
the ship in question.
"Yes, ma'am," Nicole beamed, his pink hair falling into his
eyes. He grinned, "It's the latest prototype ship created by
Washu-sama!"
"But what is it?" she pressed him.
"It's a hybrid ship, with both organic and inorganic systems,
with more advanced shields and weapons," Nicole said with a great deal
of enthusiasm.
'Then again,' Mitsuki thought, 'this boy probably gets
enthusiastic about weather reports.' Changing the subject she asked,
"So how long have you been in the fleet?"
"Since Capt'n Tita joined," the boy's eyes got big and
sparkly. Nicole beamed, "We ran into Ryouko and Ryo-Ohki, helped each
other out of a mess. She offered Tita a Captaincy in her fleet, and
Tita insisted that we all be given the chance to join up."
They passed a viewport and Mitsuki jerked to a stop, her eyes
wide. "Wow," she murmured, looking at the ship that hung out there in
space.
It was a silvery wedge shaped craft, about a third the size of
the Washu's Revenge, but just looking at it told Mitsuki that it made
up in power what it lacked in size. Shaped in graceful curves, the
central body was basically an oval, with twin bows that stuck out the
front. The over all impression it gave was of a tiger, crouched down
but ready to strike.
"Is that it?" Mitsuki murmured softly.
Nicole nodded, a smile on his face, "That's Swordbreaker."
Mitsuki grabbed the boy's arm and all but dragged him down the
hallway as she said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get on
board!"
Back to Conquest Index - Back to Tenchi Muyo Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction