Sunrider Part #54

Part 54: We Few

The final jump is complete, captain. We have arrived at our destination.

On screen.

...

Eyes on your screens, people! The battle hasn't even started yet!

Ahem ... What's the situation, commander?

This is PACT's final defensive line. The biggest fleet we've ever seen, holding position in high orbit of Cera.

We'll break through it. This will be our final battle. Nothing is going to stand between us and our home.

Incoming transmission from the Alliance flagship.

Put it through.

Captain. Glad to see you could make it in time.

Admiral.

Did I not say that we would liberate Cera together? We will punish these reds for starting this war. The Alliance has reached an agreement with Fontana’s faction of PACT. The ships under his command will not come to the prototypes' aid. Abandoned by their allies, the reds aligned with the monsters from Diode will perish.

Sir.

I am transmitting the final battle plans to you now. Godspeed, captain. May we toast our victory on the surface of Cera in a few days.

The feeling is mutual, admiral.

Grey out.

When does this all kick off, commander?

The operation begins at 0600 hours tomorrow.

Form up with the rest of the fleet. You have the bridge.

Aye, captain.

Later …

Mind if I join?

This is it, isn't it. The final battle ...

Just one more. Then we can all go back home. Look on the bright side; we're only outnumbered one to three this time. Better odds than in most of our other battles.

Sir! I have been on this ship for the shortest amount of time. And I know I have always been an outsider. But let me say this …

In all my time as an officer, I have never been aboard a mightier ship than the Sunrider. Granted, her cannons are not the biggest in the galaxy, and her systems decidedly lag behind what we make in the Alliance …

Get on with it!

But the ties that bind her crew are stronger than even the mightiest of our dreadnoughts! I have come to realize one thing: Here on the Sunrider, we are not just soldiers, following our orders and doing our duty. We are comrades, who fight back to back, against all odds, to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy! It doesn't matter if our enemy is Arcadius or the Prototypes! We'll tear down anyone who threatens our comrades in arms!

Hear, hear!

All right, all right, shut up now. Captain, when I first came to this ship, I was your enemy … Lots of things happened after that … A-all right, all right! I'll f-finally say it! I ...

Y-you---!

O-oh dear …

I ACTUALLY WANT TO QUIT BEING A MERCENARY AND OWN A CAT CAFE!

WHHAA!?

U-unbelievable...

What are you going to do when all of this is over, Asaga?

E-eh? M-me?

You're unusually quiet … Haha, normally, you'd be the one standing on top of the table, screaming your lungs out by now…

W-well, I ...

…

I'm going to go back to Ryuvia Prime.

The people need me. I'll become Queen, just like my mother before me! And I'll make Ryuvia as great as it was in the past! You'll see!

…

I will follow and assist the queen in this task. While my time has long passed, I seek to aid Ryuvia in whatever capacity I can.

I see. That's a great goal, Asaga. I wish you all the success in the world.

…

Let’s finish this war, alright captain?

Yeah. I'll win this for you, Chigara.

Meanwhile ...

Suggested listening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Ob7RWF-A8

Humans … even the mightiest of heroes can be brought to ruin by something so trifling as love. Their hearts are weak. Easily corrupted and twisted. Is that not right?

Heh. You're an interesting specimen.

Your assistance has been appreciated, Wanderer. Our enemy is nearly here.

Yes. Once the black ships arrive, there will be no stopping what that man wrought to this galaxy. In all his incarnations, he's endlessly reckless.

Yes. And we appreciate your warning. From that day we have worked to unify the galaxy under our control. Only under our control can humanity hope to meet the Ebon Fleet and survive. Yet humanity opposed us. Why? Are their petty feuds so great that they cannot unify as one? Or could it be sedition within our own ranks?

...

None of my business. I'll just be on my way now …

…

Yes ... Perhaps I have been betrayed by my own. That is tonight's theme, no?

(Unite humanity? What rubbish! They are but filth. Angry ... screaming ... whiny … to think Acadius gave his life for those lowlifes. I'll wipe them all from existence! The ones who betrayed you, Arcadius. Accept this act of vengeance ... as my final gift to you.)

Are you alright?

Sorry …

...

The Ryuvians of my time were all-powerful. We had power to live far beyond our natural life spans. Power to create illusions and manipulate minds. Power to create food and drink out of thin air. Such power could have been used to better humanity. Instead, we used it to settle petty feuds. We succumbed to jealousy, and in the end, that was our undoing.