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Asaga Okrun“Don't worry, don't worry!”
Gender: FemaleAge: 19Home Planet: CeraHobbies: Playing bullet curtain shmup games
Chigara Ashada“C-Chigara has a bad feeling about this!”
Gender: FemaleAge: 17Home Planet: DiodeHobbies: Inventing gadgets
Ava Crescentia“So say we all...”
Gender: FemaleAge: 26Home Planet: EarthHobbies: Reading
Sora Kanzaki“Tanuki's cold...”
Gender: FemaleAge: 17Home Planet: VirtuHobbies: Sleeping
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Mysterious Woman“Seriously, what are you looking at? I'm just a mysterious woman.”
Gender: FemaleAge: 21Home Planet: ???Hobbies: ???
Cosette Cosmos“Prepare to taste lead!”
Gender: FemaleAge: 17Home Planet: TydariaHobbies: Conquering the galaxy, one planet at a time
Claud Cosmos“Big sister'll beat you up!”
Gender: MaleAge: ???Home Planet: TydariaHobbies: Destroying stuff, following big sister
Kris Grey“Men, fall into attack formation!”
Gender: MaleAge: 26Home Planet: EarthHobbies: Too busy with his duties
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Admiral Grey“Hmph.”
Gender: MaleAge: 52Home Planet: EarthHobbies: Too busy with his duties
Mr. Okrun“Always a pleasure to do business.”
Gender: MaleAge: 44Home Planet: CeraHobbies: Seeking new business ventures
Veniczar S. Acadius“Hwah-hahahahaha!”
Gender: MaleAge: ???Home Planet: ???Hobbies: Plotting galactic domination
???
This character has not yet been unlocked.
?
4
Prologue
Mud soiled young Sora Kanzaki's white dress when she
hit the soggy ground. The metallic skeleton of her umbrella
lay broken a short distance away, its torn cap floating
downstream in a nearby creek. Rain pelted the dirt ground
and began to flood the field.
One of the hoodlums that had shoved her bent down
and grabbed her stuffed Tanuki by its neck.
“What a stupid looking doll.”
Sora cried out between her clenched teeth.
“Once my brother gets here, he'll show you!”
Tears lined her eyes. Her hair was matted with mud and
her entire body was soaked with rain.
A nasty looking girl sneered at Sora.
“Your brother's too scared to do anything! You should
just run home back to your mommy!”
Another boy chimed in.
“He's nothing but a pussy!”
“Pussy, pussy, pussy cat!” The hoodlums chanted.
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Sora's shoulders shook as her tears dripped down to the
ground.
“You're wrong...! You're wrong...! My brother's... My
brother's...”
A short distance away, Kaito fearfully glanced at his
sister from behind a tree. Somewhere deep inside him, he
begged his muscles to move. He knew that he was supposed
to run out and chase the bullies away from his sister, yet he
remained paralyzed by fear. What if the bullies beat him up?
He was sure that they would just walk away if he left them
alone...
This is none of my business... This is none of my
business...
His insides felt like they were being squeezed tighter
with each of his sister's cries. He gripped his head and
plugged his ears shut. He was outnumbered, wasn't he?
There was no way he could ever beat them all on his own.
That night, Sora returned to the house, her dress torn
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and her hair tangled with mud. As soon as her mother asked
her what had happened, she burst into tears.
In the corner of the room, Kaito never spoke a word. In
fact, he pretended that he had never even seen what had
happened earlier that day. He was sure that had he gotten
involved, they would both have returned home muddy and
bruised.Really, there was nothing else he could have done.
7
Chapter 1
The vast cityscape of Cera did not end with the
atmosphere – it extended far above the breathable limits of
the planet's sky and reached into the vacuum of space. A
complicated network of orbital elevators and floating space
stations covered the area above the planet's capital, forming
a giant space metropolis where people from across the
galaxy could meet and do business.
Rows upon rows of ship yards lined the space city,
housing numerous half constructed warships. Tensions were
high between the Earth Alliance and the People's Alliance for
Common Treatment ever since PACT's invasion of the
Neutral Territories, and rumors of an imminent war were not
uncommon.
Far away in the distance, there was a sudden flash as
the cargo freighter Blue Bird dropped out of hyperspace and
entered the planet's gravity well. The blue oceanic surface of
Cera filled the ship's view port as its sub-light engines kicked
in and carried the ship through the final leg of its interstellar
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journey.
Kaito Kanzaki yawned as he grabbed the control wheel
and steered the ship towards the nearest space lane. Beside
him, his younger sister was sleeping on the passenger's
seat, her trusty Tanuki rising up and down on her tummy as
she softly breathed.
“Sora, it's time to wake up.”
She pretended to keep sleeping, but her breathing
slowed and the Tanuki no longer moved.
“We're here, Sora.”
“Unynn...”
With a disgruntled look on her petite face, she finally
righted herself on the chair and sat dully blinking.
“...Thirsty,” she murmured.
Kaito handed Sora a box of juice. She emptied it in an
instant, spinning the straw with her mouth to survey the
bottom of the box, only tossing it away after she was
confident that she had sucked up every last drop of liquid.
The box bounced off a wall and floated in zero gravity.
The sour expression on Sora's face did not change.
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After a prolonged silence, she finally spoke again.
“...Cold.”
Kaito took off his jacket and wrapped it around Sora's
shoulders. Apparently satisfied, she leaned her head back on
the seat and arched her back. She returned to her usual
silence and stared nonchalantly out the window.
A cold silence fell upon the cockpit. Finally, Kaito
couldn't help but feel obligated to break it.
“Isn't it wonderful, Sora? We're finally going to be able
to live in our own home.”
Sora spoke not a word.
“As soon as we're finished with this delivery, we'll have
enough money to buy ourselves a little house. We'll run a
bread shop together underneath it. It'll be called Kaito and
Sora's Bakery and we'll sell the tastiest breads in all of Cera.
Wouldn't you like that, Sora?"
She did not make any response.
Finally, Kaito gave up trying to cheer her up.
“Look, I know it's been hard the past couple of years.
But I promise, things will get better soon. Just this one
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delivery and we'll sell this old ship and buy our house. It's a
promise."
Sora looked at Kaito with skepticism. She had heard this
line many times before.
“...Promise?” she asked.
Kaito eagerly nodded his head.
“I promise.”
“Then it's fine.”
With that, Sora unbuckled her seatbelt and floated
towards the rear of the cockpit.
“Where are you going, Sora?”
“Washroom.”
“Do you need any help?”
Sora shot him an annoyed glance.
“Gee Kaito. I'm not a kid any more.”
With that, she slid the rear gate open and headed into
the washroom.
Six years had passed since the Kanzaki siblings lost
their parents. Kaito and Sora were only 14 and 11 years old
11
respectively when their planet was invaded by PACT during
their campaign in the Neutral Territories. They now
wandered the galaxy in their rusting cargo freighter, the Blue
Bird, making ends meet by delivering goods across Alliance
space.
But now, it seemed like their days as space vagabonds
would finally be over. It had taken many years of hard work,
but Kaito had finally managed to save enough money to buy
a house. More than anything, he wished for his sister to be
able to live a normal life. She was still young enough to go
to school and make new friends.
The rear gate slid open again and Sora re-entered the
cockpit. She plopped down on her seat and rested her head
against the window.
“Are we there yet?” she asked in a bored tone.
“Yes, we're approaching Tranquility Station right now.”
Kaito looked over his delivery list once again. There was
only one more order he had to complete before he would
finally be finished with his job as an interstellar freighter
pilot. A small shipment of food was to be delivered to a
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business banquet hosted by Okrun Corporation at Tranquility
Station. He had heard of Okrun Corporation many times on
the news. It was the name of one of the biggest arms
manufacturers in the galaxy, although he did not know much
more about them than that.
Soon, Tranquility Station came into view. It was one of
the biggest space stations in the space metropolis, guarded
vigilantly by an enormous Alliance battleship. A small fleet of
luxurious yachts surrounded the station, making the old Blue
Bird stand out like an pauper among courtesans as it made
its approach towards the docking area.
Kaito eased the Blue Bird into the service hangar and
finished the docking procedures. Metallic clanging sounded
across the room as the docking clamps gripped the ship. The
power was cut and the ship's engines extinguished
themselves.
After having registered the ship at the port records,
Kaito opened the Blue Bird's rear gate and climbed into its
cargo hold. Sora, obviously not interested in manual labor,
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stayed inside the ship and dealt with the paperwork.
Kaito was loading the marked boxes onto a grav-lifter
when he heard a loud bump come from one of the
containers. He nearly jumped in surprise and approached
the box suspiciously. His suspicions were confirmed by the
sound of strange voices.
“Mmmphff... It's starting to get rough out there...”
“Eehh...? Asaga, I told you this wasn't a good idea!”
“Don't worry, don't worry! Here, just lemme rearrange
myself and we'll all be just fine... C'mon, get a move on it,
Chigara!”
“But I can't move anywhere!”
Kaito scratched his head. Fabulous. So now he had
stowaways on board. This probably meant more paper work
for him.
He walked to the box in question and promptly opened
the lid. It flipped open and two young girls spilled forth.
The older of the two girls had her hair tied into two tails
and had an excited look on her face. She raised her arms as
if celebrating the end of their long journey.
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“Whooo! That sure was uncomfortable!”
The other girl had a smaller body and appeared to be
thoroughly dazed by the ordeal.
“Uuuuuhh...” She groaned.
Reassured at seeing the two harmless looking girls,
Kaito crossed his arms and spoke in his most authoritative
voice.
“Stowing away on a cargo ship a crime. You two girls
should have known better than break the law.”
The twin tails girl's eyes widened in surprise and she
pointed her finger at Kaito.
“Uwah! Who are you!?”
Kaito ignored her exclamation and continued, trying to
sound as official as possible.
“My name's Kaito Kanzaki, the captain of this star ship.”
Truthfully, he knew that he couldn't honestly call the
rust bucket that was the Blue Bird a respectable star ship.
However, he was not about to introduce himself as “the
second rate pilot of the decomposing cargo freighter Blue
Bird,” especially not in this kind of a situation.
15
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“Eh? You call this a star ship?” the twin-tailed girl
blurted out.
Ouch. So she thought the same thing I did, thought
Kaito.
The other girl finally stood up and interrupted the other
girl.
“Asaga! You mustn't be so rude,” she began. “You see
Captain Kanzaki, we needed to get to Tranquility Station on
some very urgent business... But we had no money, so we
kind of had to... had to... Please forgive us this one time! We
promise we won't ever do it again!”
She bowed her head to Kaito. He sighed and rubbed his
head, feeling guilty now at having to turn down such a polite
request.
“Look, I'm really sorry, but there's nothing I can do
about this. I'll just call station security here and you can
explain the situation to them.”
Suddenly, the other girl reached into her pocket and
approached Kaito.
“Uuu... So you're gonna make this difficult, aren'tcha!?”
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Kaito backed off in surprise.
“W-wha...”
The girl pulled out what looked like a hand grenade. Oh
great! Kaito thought. Now what had he gotten himself into!?
Before he could speak a word, she threw the grenade to
the ground and with wild, amazonian whoops, grabbed the
other girl and ran out the ship. With a surprised shout, Kaito
fell flat on the ground and covered his head with his hands.
Was this going to be the end of him? But he was so
close to buying Sora a house! Without him, who would take
care of her?
Suddenly, smoke erupted from the grenade, filling the
entire cargo bay with white gas. So it had just been a smoke
bomb all this time? Dumbstruck, Kaito rose back to his feet
and ran out his ship, shouting for the girls.
Kaito ran through the service hangar and into the space
station's main plaza. The heart of the space station was
lined with hundreds of vendors, most of them selling the
high tech electronics that were the staple of the planet's
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economy. The winding paths were already teeming with
consumers, and it was not long before he had lost all trace
of the two girls.
He was about to give up the chase when a strange
looking woman suddenly walked out of a vendor’s booth
directly in front of him. A pair of enormous shades concealed
most of her face, while a clearly over sized hat covered her
head.
“Look out!” he shouted.
It was already too late. He crashed face first into the
woman and collapsed to the ground. He was about to
apologize profusely for his error, but he saw that she hadn't
budged an inch from where she stood.
“Watch where you're going, you moron!” She shouted
angrily at him.
Kaito rubbed his head in pain. It felt like he had run into
an iron wall! Wasn't the girl supposed to fall down and be in
need of assistance in these kinds of situations?
With an irritated sigh, the woman reached down and
offered him her hand.
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“It's dangerous to be running out here. Seriously, what
were you thinking?”
Kaito grabbed her hand and found himself hoisted up by
an unusually strong arm.
“I was chasing down a pair of sneaky outlaws,” he
explained.
The woman looked at him with impatience.
“What, you got robbed or something?”
“You could say that...”
Disinterested, the woman immediately turned to leave.
“Well, contact station security or something. It's not a
good idea to take the law into your own hands.”
With one final annoyed look, the strange woman walked
away and disappeared into the crowd as quickly as she
appeared.
Well, that was a strange encounter, thought Kaito. He
dusted himself off and headed back towards the hangar.
There was no way he was going to find those stowaways
now. He might as well just finish the shipment and be on his
way.
20
As he was returning to the ship, he thought about the
strange woman. Maybe he should have at least asked for her
name...
By late afternoon, Kaito had almost finished with his last
shipment. All of the food had been delivered to a small
service area just outside of Tranquility Station's ball room.
After having gotten all the necessary forms signed by the
head butler, Kaito was about to leave when he heard a
familiar voice behind him.
“Oh! So here's where they stashed all the food! Man,
I'm so hungry!”
Instantly recognizing the voice, Kaito spun around and
came face to face with the twin-tailed stowaway.
“It's you!” He shouted.
The stowaway was now dressed in an elegant ball gown.
For just a second, a look of surprise came on her face before
it was replaced with one of feigned ignorance.
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"Uwah... Erm...”
“Ara, ara? Have we met somewhere before, young lad?"
she pretended to speak like an elegant princess.
Kaito didn't buy it. "Quit playing dumb! You're Asaga,
aren't you!?"
"A-Asaga? Oh-hohoho! Why, I've never heard of anyone
named that in my life!" she stammered back with a nervous
laugh.
Behind her, the other girl named Chigara showed up.
She was also dressed in a ball gown.
"Eh? Asaga, what's the matter? Why are you acting like
that all of a sudden?" She asked in confusion.
Now there could be no doubt. Asaga groaned, her cover
exposed.
“So it is you! You have a lot of explaining to do!” Kaito
shouted at her.
However, before he could say another word, he heard a
deep masculine voice behind him.
“Is this man bothering you, Mistress Okrun?”
He spun around and came face to face with a hulking
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bodyguard who was nearly two heads taller than him. Kaito's
face froze in horror.
Mistress Okrun? He couldn't possibly have heard that
right. If he was at a banquet hosted by the Okrun
Corporation, and Mistress Okrun was standing right in front
of him, then that would make her the...
“Captain Kanzaki, please allow me to introduce you to
my best friend, Asaga Okrun. She is the heiress of the multi-
billion dollar company Okrun Corporation and also my
roommate," explained Chigara with an gentle smile.
Kaito stared at Asaga in disbelief.
...
... ...
... ... ...
“WHHHAATTTTT!?!?”
Kaito, Asaga, and Chigara sat gathered around a
fountain outside of the banquet hall. Inside, the banquet had
already begun and a crowd of dignitaries in business suits
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and elegant dresses lined the hall.
“Eheh... I'm really sorry about all of this, Kaito. But you
see, I really needed to get to this banquet and see my
father,” explained Asaga with a guilty smile.
Kaito was still unconvinced by her explanation. “So,
explain to me why you even needed to stow away on my
ship in the first place. Couldn't you just have used one of
your luxury yachts to get here or something?”
"To tell the truth, I've been living outside of the
company for nearly two years now,” explained Asaga. “I was
a little strapped for cash, so I just found the first transport
headed to Tranquility Station and hid myself in there. Along
with Chigara, of course.”
Beside her, Chigara giggled apologetically. “Ehehe... I'm
sorry, Mr. Kanzaki.”
Asaga continued. “I couldn't live with myself if I used
the company's money... Not knowing where it came from.”
Kaito sighed. It seemed like a reasonable explanation
for what had happened. In any case, knowing that Okrun
Corporation was one of the biggest arms manufacturers in
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the galaxy, he wasn't too surprised that Asaga wouldn't have
wanted to use the company's money to get to Cera.
“Alright, then I guess it really wasn't a big problem,” he
finally conceded.
He stood from his seat on the fountain's edge and
turned to leave.
“Well, I'll just be going on my way now. My job here is
finished.”
All of a sudden, Asaga grabbed onto Kaito's arm with a
grin on her face.
“Oh! I got an idea. Since you did give us a free ride, you
should join us for food!”
He looked at her with surprise.
“Are you kidding? Next to you guys, I'll stick out like a
sore thumb in there!”
No longer really listening, Asaga shoved Kaito back
towards the ball room with an enormous grin on her face.
“Don't worry, don't worry! I'm sure nobody will ask as
long as you stick near me. C'mon, c'mon, we have good
food, Kaito!”
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Kaito protested. “No wait! You seriously have no idea
what you're doing! I'm not even wearing formal!”
With one final jolly laugh, Asaga pushed Kaito back into
the ball room.
“Ahahaha! No worries, no worries!”
Kaito hid himself behind Asaga and hoped that nobody
would notice him. The room was dotted with clusters of
businessmen and women, chatting amiably with glasses of
champagne in their hands. It seemed that everyone except
Kaito was dressed in either a ball gown or a business suit,
making him about as nervous as he would have been had he
walked into the same room naked. He gulped and sneaked
on with caution, knowing that any one of these people
probably had the monetary and political power to potentially
cut him off from civilized society with just as much as a flick
of their fingers.
Asaga led him to the refreshment table and eagerly
gobbled up a piece of bread.
“Nomnomnom...”
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For a high class princess, she certainly did not act her
part. She handed Kaito a chocolate covered bread and
grinned broadly.
“Come on Kaito! Eat, eat!”
Beside him, Chigara picked up a small piece of pastry
with a fork and nibbled on it politely. Compared to Asaga,
her behavior seemed almost courtly.
All of a sudden, Asaga pointed her hand towards the
crowd.
“Hey, there's my father right there!”
With that, she tossed her half eaten bread onto the
ground and ran towards her father, after which Chigara
picked it back up and dropped it into the trash receptacle.
An entourage of important looking people surrounded
Asaga's father, only making Kaito want to avoid them more.
This was one hornet's nest that he wasn't eager to mess
around with, so he decided to maintain a safe distance from
them.
“Father!” Asaga shouted as she approached the group.
27
Mr. Okrun had an irritated look on his face when he saw
Asaga. Clearly, she had interrupted an important meeting.
“Asaga, what are you doing here?”
With a hopeful smile, she answered, “I heard you were
going to be here, so I decided to come visit.”
Mr. Okrun was not impressed.
“Leave this place at once. You do not belong here.”
A second older man interrupted them. He was dressed
in an Alliance military uniform and had an aura of authority
about him.
“Ah Okrun, so this must be the daughter you've told me
about. Why not allow the child to stay? It is not as if we
have anything important to discuss until the Vice President
arrives.”
Reluctantly, Mr. Okrun decided to relent.
“Very well then. Asaga, this is Admiral Grey of the
Alliance fleet.”
In a rare display of good manners, Asaga politely
curtsied before him.
“Hello there, sir.”
28
“Hah, now there's a nice girl,” he heartily laughed.
“Speaking of which, how has your son been doing,
admiral?” asked Mr. Okrun.
“Fine. He has been promoted to the captain of the
battleship Machiavelli just last month.”
“Ah, I must congratulate you. You must be very proud.”
“He has merely been doing his duty,” responded Admiral
Grey.
The admiral looked at his analog watch. An expression
of irritation came on his face.
“Now, where is that blasted Vice President? The banquet
began half an hour ago.”
Mr. Okrun attempted to reassure him.
“Perhaps the traffic -”
“Hmph. In the armed forces, we understand the
meaning of punctuality!” Admiral Grey interrupted. “With the
war in the hands of these buffoons, it's no wonder that it has
dragged on so far beyond its natural lifespan!”
All of a sudden, a bemused voice came from behind
him.
29
“My dear admiral. I see that you are still as pleasant as
I remember.”
The entire party turned around and came face to face
with Vice President Ava Crescentia of the Earth Alliance. She
had a youthful figure – perhaps too youthful – and filled out
her violet dress exquisitely.
“Madame Vice President! So at last you have decided to
show yourself!” exclaimed Admiral Grey.
“My apologies for the delay. I had no idea you were in
such a rush, admiral.”
The admiral was clearly not amused by the Vice
President's demeaning tone.
“Hmph. So Madame Vice President, how goes the state
of the Alliance?”
Crescentia replied, “Between the Universalists wanting
blood and the Progressives wanting peace negotiations with
PACT, I'd say it's business as usual.”
The admiral gave a chuckle.
“Hah! That is why I stay with the military. There are no
games to play here.”
30
Not one to give the admiral the last word, Crescentia
kept her piercing focus on him.
“But war itself is the most dangerous game of all, is it
not?”
With a diplomatic smile, Mr. Okrun interrupted the two.
“Yes, of course. And surely we wouldn’t want to show up
to such a game without the very best equipment modern
technology has to offer, would we?”
“Such a businessman, that Okrun...” murmured Grey
while shaking his head.
The Vice President turned towards Okrun and gave him
a cold stare.
“Doubtless, you are referring to your new machines of
war.”
Okrun nodded.
“Okrun Corporation always appreciates the patronage of
the Alliance.”
Crescentia let out a short laugh. Then she reached into
her bag and handed Okrun a small datapad.
“Yes, so that must explain why you've been selling PACT
31
the same goods for the same price.”
She approached him until she was only inches from
Okrun's face and gave him an icy stare.
“You've been backing both sides of this conflict. And the
Alliance will remain silent about it no longer.”
Any sign of benevolence vanished from Okrun's face.
Before he could say a word in response, Admiral Grey
grabbed hold of Crescentia and ushered her away.
“M-madame Vice President, a moment with you...”
After having escorted her away from the party, the
admiral confronted Crescentia with fury.
“Do you intend to ruin us!? Without the backing of the
Okrun Corporation, the Alliance would be finished!”
Crescentia crossed her arms.
“Admiral, I have quite had it with you and your
insistence on micromanaging our policies. The President has
appointed you to command our troops in battle, not dictate
our policy.”
Grey let out a deep growl.
“You politicians are all one and the same. Too muddled
32
by your bureaucracy to handle the quick tempo of war! Too
eager to claw your way through Congress while the lives of
our citizens are at stake!”
Ava pointedly replied, “No admiral. War is but the
continuation of politics through other means. If we are to
accomplish the political goals of the Alliance, then I suggest
that you focus more on the administration of destruction
while we politicians deal with actual policy.”
At the limit of his patience, Grey finally declared, “The
mob rule of democracy has brought fools like you into
power... And, well, if this continues, Okrun Corporation will
not be your only enemy.”
Meanwhile, Asaga was finally left alone with her father.
With a nervous smile, she tried approaching him again.
“H-hey, it's been nearly two years since we talked,
right?”
Okrun impatiently grunted, clearly in a foul mood.
“Come on dad, can't you come visit me? I hardly ever
see you now...”
33
Obviously not in the mood to be talking with his
daughter, he brushed her off, an irritated look on his face.
“I have a lot of work to do. Just focus on your school
work.”
“Gee, I graduated from the academy last year, you
know...” Asaga responded, her voice now hurt. “Maybe if you
were there for the graduation, you wouldn't have forgotten.”
Okrun finally snapped at her.
“Asaga, can you not see that I am busy? Begone with
you, now!”
In defeat, Asaga quietly relented.
“Yessir...”
After she finished talking with her father, Asaga ran out
of the ball room. With a concerned look on her face, Chigara
tugged at Kaito's arm.
“Look, Mr. Kanzaki! Asaga's...”
Not wanting to be left alone, Kaito decided to follow
Asaga out, glad to escape the ball room.
34
They found Asaga sitting alone on a fountain in the main
plaza. For the first time since Kaito had seen her, she had a
lonely look on her face. She absentmindedly made tiny
ripples in the water with her finger and did not notice the
two approach.
Chigara gently called out for her. Upon hearing her,
Asaga raised her head and tried to mask her sadness with
an apologetic smile.
“Oh hey, Chigara, Kaito. I'm sorry you had to see that.”
Not quite sure what to say, Kaito just tried to reassure
her.
“Don't worry about it.”
“My father's been like that for a while now...” Asaga
continued. “I haven't seen him in over two years... I just
had to come here today and talk to him.”
She reluctantly smiled and shook off her melancholy.
“Eheh... But it looks like I just ended up causing trouble
for everyone. Chigara, Kaito, I'm sorry.”
Chigara gently smiled at Asaga.
35
36
“There's no need for you to apologize at all, Asaga.
After all, you're my friend.”
Kaito, despite his earlier misgivings, decided to forgive
Asaga as well.
“Since this was the only delivery I had to make, it
wasn't really a big problem for me either.”
Now that he saw Asaga's kind side, he figured that she
wasn't such a bad person after all. In any case, he was just
glad to have finished with his last shipment.
Asaga looked up towards the glass ceiling and saw Cera
glittering above her. The space station was nearing the
perigee of its orbit and the three intrepid space travelers
could pick out the rough outlines of the cities that dotted the
watery surface of the planet.
“It's so pretty,” Chigara said in wonder.
Kaito looked up towards Cera. He saw that Chigara was
right. From there, Cera truly was beautiful.
Asaga jumped back to her feet and grinned at the two,
her usual cheerful self back.
“Come on everyone. Let's go back home.”
37
Suddenly, the entire space station rumbled as the
ground underneath them shook violently. The lights in the
gallery powered off and were soon replaced with the crimson
glow of emergency lights. Asaga gasped in surprise as she
tried to regain her balance.
“What happened!?”
Just outside the window, they could see smoke pouring
from the space station. Kaito's heart began to pound. Had
there been an accident?
A chime rang and a soothing female voice came from
the public announcement system.
“Attention visitors. Tranquility Station Authority regrets
to inform you that a station wide evacuation order has been
issued. Please make your way to the nearest hangar and
prepare for departure.”
Kaito looked at the two girls. He didn't have a moment
to waste.
“Well, you heard the lady. Come on, let's get out of
here. I'll take you girls out on my ship.”
38
He turned and ran back to the hangar bay, worried
about Sora. However, before he could take another step, the
public announcement suddenly broke into static. A long
silence hung in the air.
Kaito looked around curiously. Was that supposed to
happen?
Without warning, a second voice barked through the
P.A. System.
“This is a message to everyone on board this station!
You are now hostages of PACT! If you want to get out of
here alive, get down on the floor and put your hands on top
of your heads now!”
Kaito's heart skipped nearly three beats. The entire
gallery was thrown into an uproar over the new
announcement and panic spread to the four corners of the
station. There was screaming as everyone tried to rush
towards the escape pods at the same time and soon, a mob
gathered around all of the exits.
Fear gripped Kaito's chest and he felt the overwhelming
urge to flee for his life. He shouted at the girls, “Come on,
39
this way!”
Chigara nodded, her face white with fright. Suddenly,
Asaga shouted back at Kaito.
“Wait, what about my father!?”
Kaito looked to the direction of the ball room. A mob of
panicked people crowded the way.
“There's no time for that! I'm sure he can take care of
himself. Come on, let's go!”
“But-”
Suddenly, the entire station rumbled as the Alliance
battleship that was docked to the space station detached
itself and lumbered past them. In the distance, they could
see multiple bursts of light as a fleet dropped out of
hyperspace and approached the space metropolis. A
squadron of Alliance Ryders shook the station as they flew
by and fired a salvo of rockets at the incoming fleet.
“Forget about that! We're getting out of here now!”
Kaito shouted at Asaga, his voice wild with panic.
He turned around and ran for the hangar bay.
Reluctantly, Asaga and Chigara followed him out of the
40
gallery.
The entire station shook as deep explosions echoed
from the battle outside. Just as the three made it back to
the hangar, Chigara lost her footing and fell to the ground.
“Chi-Chigara doesn't feel... so great...” she moaned.
Kaito saw that she was right. The poor girl looked like
she was about to faint.
“Just a bit further! My ship's just right there!”
As Kaito turned to run towards the Blue Bird, Asaga
suddenly grabbed onto him and held him back.
“Wait, watch out!”
Kaito's face froze in horror at the sight of a missile
streaming towards the hangar. With screams, everyone fell
flat on their faces and braced themselves for the worst. An
ear shattering explosion sounded as the missile made
contact with the hangar. Sparks flew and steel groaned as
nearly half the hangar collapsed around them.
Kaito moved all of his limbs fearfully, terrified that any
one of them may have been lost. Luckily, everything was still
41
attached.
With a groan, Asaga picked herself off the ground.
“Uuuh... Is everyone alright...?”
“S-somehow...” Chigara stammered beside them.
Kaito stood stunned before the destruction. Fires raged
throughout the hangar. Steel frames were strewn
everywhere and exposed power cables hung from the
ceiling.
And the Blue Bird was completely totaled.
Kaito stared at his flaming ship in disbelief and collapsed
to the ground in shock. Asaga knelt in front of him and tried
to shake him back to consciousness.
“Oy! Get a hold of yourself! It's just a ship!”
“N-no... You don't understand... M-my sister... Was in
there...” he whispered, his voice trembling.
Suddenly, a scared voice came from behind him.
“Kaito?”
Kaito turned around and saw Sora safe and sound. She
appeared from outside the hangar and cautiously walked in.
Kaito ran over to her and lifted her in his arms, truly relieved
42
to see her.
For once, Sora warmly smiled. “Kaito...”
Then, her expression turned into her usual look of
irritation.
“I was looking everywhere for you.”
Kaito laughed happily and embraced her.
“Don't ever worry me like that again!”
Suddenly, a second explosion shook the station,
interrupting Kaito and Sora's reunion.
“Now how are we going to get out of here!?” shouted
Kaito.
“Don't worry, I have an idea! The Sunrider! We can
escape on the Sunrider!” answered Asaga.
Asaga led the group out of the service hangar and
deeper into the space station.
“The Sunrider? What's that?” asked Kaito as they ran
through the space station's now abandoned hallways.
“It's a prototype warship that the company was
displaying today. It should be right in the other hangar!”
43
They were on the way to the second hangar when they
ran into a familiar figure. Vice President Crescentia ran into
the hallway and interrupted their escape.
“You're Okrun's daughter, aren't you? What are you
doing here? It isn't safe,” she asked.
“We're on our way to the second hangar to escape on
the Sunrider! What are you doing here?” said Asaga.
“I was being escorted by my guards to Space Force One
when I was separated from them in a conduit explosion.”
“Do you have transportation out of here?”
“No, I'm afraid not any more.”
Asaga pointed towards the second hangar.
“Then follow us! The Sunrider's just this way!”
With that, the Vice President of the Earth Alliance joined
the little band of survivors. Together, the unlikely team ran
towards the second hangar and slammed open the gate.
A mighty warship stood before them. Easily over 300
meters long, it was nearly twice as big as Kaito's now totaled
cargo freighter. Its armor gleaned with newness and
44
everything about the ship reflected its sleek and powerful
nature.
“Sunrider! Activate the main reactor! We need to get out
of here right now!” Asaga shouted.
The ship immediately came to life. Its engines powered
up almost instantly and began to hum vibrantly. Lights
flickered inside the ship and an entry ramp extended from
the floor.
“What the...” Kaito muttered in disbelief.
Before he could say another word, a power conduit
overloaded directly behind them and sent sparks flying
everywhere. They ran towards the Sunrider without a
second thought.
The team crashed into the bridge of the Sunrider. Before
he could do anything, Asaga shoved Kaito to the captain's
seat.
“C'mon Kaito, get us outta here!”
In dismay, Kaito nearly screamed at Asaga.
“W-WHAT!? I can't fly this ship!”
45
46
“Eh!? Whaddya mean you can't fly it!? Didn't you say
that you were the captain of a star ship!?” Asaga shouted
back just as loudly.
“You call my rusting cargo freighter a STAR SHIP!?”
Kaito screamed back.
The space station lurched again as it took another hit
from a missile, cutting off their argument. With a less than
manly whimper, Kaito slid into the captain's seat and
attempted to begin the lift off procedures.
Beside him, Chigara typed into the operator's console
furiously.
“Umm... I think I've found the ship AI... Here!”
With the click of a button, a holographic projection of a
girl suddenly appeared in front of them.
“The Sunrider Avatar System is online. What do you
need?” asked the AI in a perfectly calm voice.
“Begin lift off procedures right now! We need to get out
of here!” shouted Kaito.
“I see. Priming engines for launch. Lift off procedures
initiated.”
47
Compared to the Blue Bird, the Sunrider was on a
totally different level. Kaito clenched his teeth as he pushed
forth the throttle and eased the ship out of the hangar.
The thrusters roared to life in a matter of seconds, but
the ship shuddered violently and failed to move forward,
throwing everyone off their feet and onto the floor.
The AI had a visibly irritated look on her face.
“The docking clamps, fool. You forgot about the docking
clamps.”
“Sorry!”
This time, intent on not messing up, Kaito released the
clamps and activated the thrusters.
“Get ready for lift off!”
The others quickly found seats in the bridge and held on
tight as the engines roared to life. The Sunrider soared out
of Tranquility Station with grace unfitting a warship and
joined the battle outside.
Kaito hung on for dear life as the entire bridge rattled
around him.
“Hang on everyone! This is going to be rough!”
48
Through the view screens, Kaito could see that an all
out space battle was being fought by the Alliance and PACT
fleets in the skies above Cera.
With her brows furrowed in concentration, Crescentia
surveyed the battle. The PACT fleet was composed of a main
battle group of five battleships and thirty support vessels.
With the element of surprise aiding them, they had warped
in less than a kilometer away from the space metropolis and
engaged the Alliance fleet at knife fight range.
While most modern warships could have laid siege on
Cera from a distance of millions of kilometers away, with the
development of new Ryder technology, it was also
strategically viable to warp less than a kilometer away from
the enemy and engage at knife fight range. Even though it
placed their own ships at greater risk, it allowed them to
launch their Ryders, or single manned space superiority
fighters, into battle. Not only that, but the added shock and
awe also played a pivotal role in demoralizing the opposing
fleet. Combined with PACT's element of surprise, the Alliance
fleet had been thoroughly out maneuvered here.
49
Amid all the chaos, Crescentia caught sight of a familiar
looking vessel.
“There, that's Space Force One. As soon as the
President is secured, it'll depart for the nearest Alliance star
base.”
She pointed to a small white ship that was still docked
in the space station.
Upon closer inspection, Kaito saw that she was right. He
recognized the famous blue and white painting of the
presidential space craft almost immediately.
Chigara interrupted them.
“Umm... Captain, we're receiving a hail from the
Alliance warship Machiavelli!”
“That must be the admiral,” mused Crescentia.
“Let's hear it,” ordered Kaito.
The comm channel came to life and they could see
Admiral Grey's face on one of the view screens.
“Sunrider! Identify yourself now!”
“Relax admiral, it's me,” answered Crescentia.
The admiral had a surprised look on his face.
50
“Madame Vice President? What are you doing there?”
“I got a little sidetracked during the evacuation. Has the
President been secured on Space Force One?”
“Affirmative. He is about to depart as we speak.”
“Good. As long as he is -”
Suddenly, two ominous Ryders zoomed past the
Sunrider, shaking the bridge. Their engines howled as they
flew towards Space Force One.
“What was that...?” Kaito asked.
Asaga answered him, recognizing the two Ryders.
“It's the Phantom and the Havoc! They were two of the
company's prototype Ryders that were supposed to be sold
today. What are they doing here?”
Four Alliance escorts flew to intercept the two
unknowns. Without warning, the two ships opened fire.
The mass produced Alliance vessels were no match for
the prototypes and they were almost instantly torn apart.
Kaito's mouth dropped in horror as the PACT fighters opened
fire on Space Force One. The presidential space craft was
engulfed in flames and blown up into millions of fragments.
51
“So the worst has indeed come to pass...” murmured
Crescentia.
Suddenly, a new voice came through on the comm
channel.
“Hahahaha! This is Cosette Cosmos of PACT! As you can
see, our plan has worked flawlessly and your precious
President has been lost in space!”
It was the pilot of the Phantom, Cosette Cosmos, PACT's
ace pilot and the terror of the stars.
A second voice came on the channel.
“Hey, hey sis, I think we should personally thank Okrun
for these ships!”
He was Claud Cosmos, Cosette's younger brother and
the young pilot of the Havoc.
“Yes, of course Claud. My sincerest compliments to
Okrun Corporation for providing us with these fine vessels.
Now accept our payment!”
The two vessels launched a salvo of rockets aimed
directly at Tranquility Station. A bouquet of fireballs erupted
as the missiles landed in the space station. Steel groaned
52
and finally tore under the force of the explosions, causing
one of the station's resident spires to collapse. A chain
reaction began and in a final blinding explosion, Tranquility
Station burst into pieces, flinging debris and human flesh
alike into space.
Asaga stood on the bridge, her expression frozen in
shock.
“N-no way... M-my dad...”
Chigara walked next to her and held her as Asaga broke
into tears.
Through the comm channel, Kaito heard Admiral Grey's
dismayed voice.
“I-impossible... F-for PACT to attack us this brazenly...
This can only mean war!”
Crescentia sighed, reluctant to admit that they had been
outmaneuvered.
“It appears that they have bested us all.”
A short silence passed between them as Crescentia eyed
Grey. They both knew what had to be done now.
“Administer the oath of office to me right now,”
53
commanded Crescentia.
By Alliance law, the oath had to be taken by the Vice
President before she could legally succeed the President in
the case of an assassination. Admiral Grey was clearly
opposed to such an idea and he eyed Crescentia with both
disgust and dismay.
“Tsh... Impossible!”
Suddenly, an officer appeared beside the admiral on the
view screen.
“Admiral! Two more enemy ships have just jumped out
of hyperspace! What are your orders?” he spoke.
“Captain! Order the Montesquieu and the Rousseau to
leave dry dock right now! They're sitting ducks otherwise!”
barked the admiral.
“Yes sir!”
Crescentia instantly recognized the officer. It was Kris
Grey, the admiral's son and the captain of the Machiavelli.
He typed furiously into a console, attempting to get a control
on the situation. All of a sudden, he paused and turned back
to the admiral.
54
“Wait. I'm sensing some sort of interference wave...”
“What? Some sort of PACT jamming device?”
“No it's -”
Suddenly, static filled the display. An eerie silence fell
over the bridge as everyone stared at the blank display
screen. What had happened?
Then it suddenly came back to life, bearing the masked
face of Veniczar S. Acadius, the leader of PACT.
His voice boomed over the speakers.
“Citizens of the Alliance. My fellow PACT warriors. Today,
I come heralding a message of celebration!”
The camera panned out, revealing a vast blanket of
people cheering at their leader's voice. Their voices
combined into a single howl of approval. And above them all,
Veniczar spoke in front of a glorious marble monument of a
woman breaking forth from chains.
“Since the birth of civilization, mankind has asked, 'How
is it that we are born free, yet everywhere, we in chains?'
Now, stand before this momentous watershed in history and
be basked in the glory of PACT!”
55
A thunderous roar of approval sounded.
“The dictatorship of the Alliance shall be put to an end.
Cera shall fall and the sword of justice and the aegis of
freedom shall forever prevail!”
Cold sweat fell from Kaito's back as he heard his words.
It had finally happened. War had broken out between the
Alliance and PACT.
“Stand down, poor misguided citizens of the Alliance,
and take refuge in the civility of PACT. We are not of the
same savage lot as your rulers, and we offer our unclenched
palms to anyone who would offer themselves to become a
part of the greater whole,” he proclaimed mightily. “Yet, a
warning to those who would find themselves on the wrong
side of history. Fail to comply with our offer and risk finding
yourself swept away by the floods of our glorious
revolution!”
The crowd roared and began to chant. Their voices
pounded through the bridge of the Sunrider, like an
approaching war drum.
“PACT! PACT! PACT! PACT!”
56
57
With that, the transmission ended. Kaito nearly fell to
the ground, his knees weak with fright.
“T-this is crazy... I'm not supposed to be here! I'm... I'm
just a cargo freighter pilot! Come on, let's just forget this
and get out of here! The military can take care of the rest!”
Suddenly, Asaga interrupted him. Wiping away her
tears, she now had a look of determination on her face.
“Well, we're not just going to run away and hide, are
we?” she shouted. “Cera's in danger! Not only that, but the
President's been assassinated and if we don't do something,
more people are going to die!”
Panic gripped Kaito and he began to shout at the top of
his lungs, caught in a delirium.
“Forget about that! I was supposed to buy a house for
my sister! I don't want any part in your stupid save the
galaxy scheme that'll probably end with all of us being lined
up and shot!”
Asaga shouted back, her face now red with fury.
“Well, isn't that just too bad!? Wouldn't you like to just
live your own happy little life and be done with everything!?
58
But that's just not going to happen, 'cause WE'RE AT WAR!
We can just shut our eyes and pretend nothing's happening
right now... But even if we do, that doesn't change the fact
that what's happening's still happening! So... ARE YOU
GOING TO BE THE CAPTAIN OF THE SUNRIDER OR NOT!?””
Kaito wanted to scream back at her, but he was at a loss
for words. Tears lined his eyes and his chest felt like it was
about to explode.
“I...” he stammered.
“I...”
“All right...”
Kaito attempted to muster all the courage he had.
Nothing he had ever trained for had prepared him for
becoming the captain of a prototype warship. Worse still, he
wasn't even that smart or courageous. In fact, he wanted
nothing more than to just leave space for good and live
quietly with Sora.
But it only took one look around him to realize that
would now be impossible.
The President of the Alliance was assassinated before
59
his eyes and the Vice President was standing right beside
him.
Tranquility Station and Asaga's father had been lost.
And Cera was on the verge of becoming a PACT
mandate.
“...Alright, I guess there's no escaping it...”
Mustering his courage, Kaito attempted to give his first
command as the captain of the Sunrider.
“Sunrider...”
“Raise shields! We're entering condition red!”
60
Next Time: By Kaito
This is just too much to take in all at
once! Not only has the President been
assassinated, the space station
destroyed, and the entire galaxy
thrown into war, but I've also
somehow ended up getting placed
right in the middle of everything by accidentally becoming
the captain of the Sunrider! Just what am I supposed to do
now? I don't think I'll be able to handle this any more...
W-what!? There's going to be a space battle in the next
installment!? But I don't even know how to fly the ship yet!
Oh man, oh man... If only we had some back up on the
way...
Join us next time on the Sunrider! I'll need all the help I can
get!
61
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