WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Flying at an inhuman speed, Fate shivers from the freezing coldness of the pitch-black darkness that elongates and connects two separate worlds millions of kilometers apart. It is almost magical that she is still alive, but then again Fate is an extremely powerful mage.
She spots Helios far ahead. A tiny spec of metal racing down the space-time pipeline. There is a blip of light; a signal. Helios blinks twice. Fate waves a hand and a bright golden light cloud surrounds her, trailing sparkles as she rockets through the trans-dimensional path.
When she is several kilometers away from Helios, she receives a call.
"Chief Enforcer, can you hook around to our stern?" a young male voice guides her.
Fate passes Helios and makes a tight turn, now flying right behind the ship. She turns her head to see the first group of pursuers not too far away.
"You should see a blinking light. Underneath is our loading bay door." Says the voice.
Fate locates the door and gets close.
"I'm at the bay door." She tells the bay operator on the other side.
With an alarm sound, the loading bay door slides open. Fate flies in, shaking badly. A young male sailor quickly slides the door close, locking it. He salutes to the esteemed head of law enforcement.
"Welcome on board, Chief Enforcer."
With arms crossed Fate shivers.
"God, it's freezing outside." She bobs up and down, legs crossed. "Loo. Loo! Where is the loo?"
.
In the canteen, Fate is devouring sandwiches with Professor Scrya and her brother sitting on both sides of her. Yuuno shakes his head.
"18 hours trans-dimensional flight in the freezing cold, no food, no drink, no restroom. Are you mad?"
Fate says something with a mouthful. Chrono smiles and pours some more coffee into Fate's mug.
"Mom's very angry."
Fate scoffs. 'I bet she is.' She thinks to herself.
"Did you see them outside?" Yuuno asks. Fate nods, biting off a large chunk of a ham sandwich.
"What was your plan?"
Mouth still full, Fate points at herself, then to the outside, then shakes her fist.
Chrono examines his sister. Her long blond hair is now a tangled mess from flying through a crack in the fabric of the space-time. A gray-black double-breasted half coat uniform over the crumpled white blouse and her usual modest gray-black skirts. The Office issue beret roughly folded and shoved into a side pocket. No way is this a fitting appearance of a high ranking official of the Bureau. And no way is he going to let her go outside and fight alone.
"We can't let you do that, Fate. An order came from the very very top." Chrono informs his sister.
Fate has finished the last of the sandwiches.
"From the top? What orders?" she asks.
"You are ordered to avoid any and all fights. Our order is to escort you back home safely." Her brother's answer confuses Fate.
"What do you mean? They aren't closing the gate?"
Chrono chuckles.
"Close the gate on you, and have Nanoha go on a rampage? I don't think so. That'd be like losing three strategic assets in one go...remember there's Bookworm and me, too."
"For all intents and purposes, Fate," comments Yuuno. "You've become Helios' mission."
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A large group of more than a hundred masked mages is in hot pursuit after Helios. The cracked masked person is flying alongside the little mage.
"Did you see that person going in?" asks the little one. The person nods. There seems to be a door on the back of the ship.
"I will try to see if I can get in." Says the little one.
"Oh, you can go faster?" The person is impressed. The little one gives a thumbs up and then accelerates. Few others speed up and join the little masked mage, gradually closing the distance to the ship.
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On the Bridge, the crew takes notice.
"Captain, some of them are gaining speed. At this rate, they will catch up before we reach Vaizen." An operator reports. Griffith groans as another operator makes his report.
"Mass ahead! Wolfram has entered the pathway."
The Captain's face brightens. He asks for communication to the warship.
"Wolfram, this is Helios. Welcome to the party." Griffith hails the other ship. A hearty voice booms, greeting Helios.
"Ahoy, Helios. I see you on my sensor...and damn you got some dedicated fans." There is a chuckle. Wolfram's Captain continues. "Anyway Helios, please confirm. Have you received the package?"
Griffith throws a glance at his special passenger.
"Helios confirms. Precious cargo is safe and sound." He glances again. Fate is dozing off slumped in Chrono's seat. Her brother stands, leaning on the armrest.
"Wolfram, we have a bit of a problem. A small group of our fans is speeding up, closing in." Captain Lowran informs the other party. He hears Wolfram's captain sighing and making orders to the crew.
"Full speed ahead. Wake up the Recon people." Wolfram returns to Helios.
"Helios, can you sail faster?"
"Negative. My engines are already running in the safety margin." Answers Griffith. He notices his operators exchanging meaningful looks with each other and Chrono, who approaches the Captain and whispers something. Captain Lowran turns to his operators. They nod eagerly.
"Wolfram, there might be a way to go faster. I will get back to you. Helios out."
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Captain Lowran demands an explanation. His Senior Operator points to the ship's status displayed on his console.
"We can go faster if we go over the safety margin."
"Which, of course, risks the engines blowing up, but..." another operator butts in. The operators turn their heads to the sleeping Enforcer.
"We have her, Captain."
Griffith is confused. 'Chief Enforcer? What can she do about the engines?' He wonders.
"Captain, Chief Enforcer is more than strong enough to suppress the power magic from going critical. The engines won't blow up as long as she keeps the magic overflow in check." The Senior Operator explains.
The Captain digests this information for a while. He calls his engine operator and asks if it can be done. The engines operator in the other part of the ship thinks about it for a moment. He finally answers.
"Captain, that's...that's actually feasible; we can probably go up to double our speed as long as she keeps things in check. However, Captain, Helios won't ever sail again."
"Elaborate, please."
"Once the suppression stops we will have about a minute or two before the engines go kaboom," The engines operator explains. The engines will be in an extreme overloaded state. He continues.
"Captain, no matter how we look at it, what you propose results in a frigate sized ship shooting out the Vaizen gate at full speed, ready to explode. Is Vaizen Staging really OK with that?"
#
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In her throne room, the hooded woman is talking with a senior masked mage who reports the appearance of a larger ship within the path.
"That large one must be a Sail Force warship." Observes the hooded woman.
"Do you want us to take it, too, mother?" asks the minion.
The woman addressed as mother contemplates her options. She is undecided. On one hand, taking another ship in addition to the small one would provide her with more options. On the other hand, the large ship is sure to be a cumbersome load.
"Maybe we should have taken the last one, mother." The senior dares to speak out her opinion.
The hooded woman flicks a finger, and the masked mage, caught off guard, flies across the throne room, hitting the wall with a loud yelp. The mother rises.
"I've made my mind up. I will deal with the warship myself - that will show the Bureau pigs they can't stop me. You girls focus on the smaller one."
#
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Zafira's Recon Company is floating in the cold space outside Wolfram, looking at the faraway distance. Soon, a little dot appears.
"That's Helios. Company, get ready to board!" shouts the commanding officer to his soldiers. Captain Lowran's voice enters the communication channel.
"Wolfram, good to see you with my own eyes."
"Helios, be advised Rapid Recon is already out. Please don't run them over." Wolfram's captain greets the smaller ship. Zafira can see Helios coming closer and closer.
"Rapid Recon, I will pass Wolfram's starboard, distance 500m. Will open stern bay 2km ahead from Wolfram." Says Griffith from the other side of the call. Zafira acknowledges and tells his men to get in position. Rapid Recon will board Helios sailing past Wolfram at full speed.
Helios comes closer and closer, trailing small dots of masked mages behind.
.
"Look! That's a big ship!" the little masked mage points to Wolfram. One of her companions in the leading group of six nods.
"Mother said we should focus on the small ship. Ignore the big one."
The little one looks behind to see where the cracked masked person is; far behind with the first wave group. The little masked girl squints her eyes just to make out the larger horde further behind.
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Helios' loading bay operator is nervously waiting for the go sign from the Bridge. He bites his nails, twitching.
"Passing the 2km mark. Open the stern bay door." A Bridge operator gives him the sign.
The young man dutifully opens the door. Soon enough, men and women of Rapid Recon company start to trickle in. The operator can't help but think of the scene as a video reel of paratroopers jumping out, but in reverse.
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Through the windows of his Bridge, Wolfram's captain is watching the recon troops board Helios sailing past his ship. He turns to his crew.
"Ready Augusto for fire. Target the larger group far behind."
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Helios' senior operator reports to Captain Lowran.
"1st and 2nd platoons have completed boarding."
Fate's face brightens up.
"Alph is with the 2nd platoon."
"Keep steady. Don't run over out boys." Orders the captain.
.
The very forward group of the pursuing masked mages are now clearly visible to naked eyes. Zafira, still out in the space, is not happy with how fast they are closing in on Helios. He hails Captain Lowran.
"Helios, some of your fans are too close for my comfort. Can you shoot them with something?"
The reply surprises him.
"Rapid Recon, be advised Helios does not carry mounted weapons on board. We only have the Standard issue Strike Rifles."
Zafira grimaces and calls Wolfram instead.
"Wolfram, could you shoot at the forward group?"
"Negative, Rapid Recon. Your men would be in the line of fire." Comes the reply from Wolfram.
"Damn it." Zafira growls. The hostiles close in steady.
"Rapid Recon, we are priming Augusto. Complete your boarding ASAP." Wolfram advises the recon officer.
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Zafira boards Helios the last through the closing door.
"Why the hell doesn't Helios have mounted weapons?" he snarls at the innocent loading bay operator. The young man shrugs.
"Captain, Helios is a covert intelligence gathering ship. We go where we shouldn't." The operator explains. If Helios ever gets caught carrying weapons, that would be a massive blow to the Bureau's diplomatic front, provided, of course, there is diplomacy to be carried out.
"Damn you, spies. Which way to the Bridge?"
.
Helios zips past Wolfram at high speed. The little masked mage's group is in pursuit, ignoring Wolfram. Soon after, the cracked masked person's group also flies past the massive warship.
.
"Boarding is complete. Thank you and good hunting, Wolfram." Captain Lowran's voice booms inside Wolfram's Bridge.
"Now get the hell outta here, Helios. See you in Vaizen." Wolfram's captain says goodbye to Helios. He turns to his crew. "Augusto?"
"Captain, Augusto is ready to fire in 30 seconds. The target blob is within the effective range." An operator reports the status. The captain nods.
"Right. Let the small ones through. Fire on the larger group when ready."
The operator nods and starts the countdown.
"Aye aye, Captain. Firing in 25, 24-"
Suddenly an alarm goes off on the Bridge. The sensor operator shouts from his console.
"Mana surge! Something massive is flooding the path, captain!"
Wolfram's captain waves it off.
"Continue with Augusto. Shoot first, ask later!"
.
Helios' Bridge operators are panicking. Ever since the mission started they have seen some weird stuff, but this is too much.
"No, no, no, this can't be!" An operator shouts in despair. The Senior Operator looks over the shoulder and studies the console display.
"What the fuck is this?" he, too, is surprised.
"Calm down and report. What the hell is happening?" Griffith snaps. The Senior Operator reports in disbelief.
"Captain, it's some kind of an attack coming all the way from where we've been."
The sensor console starts beeping, indicating the passive mana sensor is being overloaded.
.
"Firing Augusto in 10, 9, 8 -" Wolfram continues the countdown.
With a high pitched shrieking sound dark violet light fills the trans-dimensional pathway, sending the two thousand or so horde of masked mages surging forward past Wolfram at an impossible speed. The shock front hits Wolfram, which begins to creek and strain under pressure. The eerie violet light solidifies and pierces through the hull, and crushes the warship. Wolfram explodes.
#
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The hooded woman takes her hand out of the dimensional travel gate. Breathing heavily from exhaustion, she descends to the ground. She stumbles a few steps and collapses on all fours.
"Mother, are you alright?" the masked girls rush to her side. The mother waves them off. She just needs to regain her breaths.
"The magic here isn't kind to my old and frail body. It's cured me of my illness, but it's also killing me."
The girls help the woman get up.
"Please don't say such a thing, mother. You are the master of this world."
.
Captain Zafira and lieutenant Alph enter Helios' Bridge, only to find the crew in a state of shock. Fate rushes to Alph and clings to the familiar.
Zafira looks around, confused.
"What was that explosion? Did Wolfram fire Augusto?" He sees Chrono shaking head.
"That was…Wolfram. She's gone."
"Sorry, what?" Zafira can't believe the news.
At this moment an operator reports that the pursuers have gained speed. There are six right behind Helios' tail, and the rest of the horde is closing in too fast.
"That's no good. It took only one of them to take down Lily, and one to wipe out an armed platoon." Says Griffith with a grim face.
"At this rate, they will get us before we pass the Vaizen gate." Says the Senior Operator.
Captain Lowran makes his mind up.
"Damn it, we have no other choices." He turns to Fate. "Can you pull it off, Chief Enforcer?"
Fate, knowing the lives of the crew are in her hands, nods with a determined face. The captain turns to Zafira.
"I will explain what we are up to, but could you have a squad or two on Chief Enforcer in the engines room?"
.
The little masked mage and her group are very close. She extends her hand as if trying to catch the ship with it.
"Just a little bit more, and we can-"
Suddenly Helios lurches forward, doubling her speed, increasing the distance.
.
Back in Helios, Captain Lowran is talking to Major Subaru Nakajima whose face is taking up a large space in the main display.
"-so basically we will be arriving ahead of schedule." Griffith summarizes.
"And you sir will explode over my men's heads." Subaru isn't very impressed with the prospect of a ship blowing up above her position.
"Look, major, can't you pull out a bit? Reposition your guys?" Griffith suggests.
"I can, yes, but it hurts, sir. We just finished digging in, setting up heavy guns…" Subaru is still not convinced. Chrono steps forward.
"Hey, Subaru. It's MY ship and MY Dock that's going kaboom. If I'm OK with blowing up my assets, you are OK with digging another holes."
Subaru finally gives in. She can be heard giving orders to her people.
"But, sir, how will you people get off? Jump off the deck?" asks Subaru from the Staging Dock. Zafira answers this time. He and Alph will teleport the crew out of the ship.
"It would be very nice if you could set up a beacon somewhere safe so we can lock onto it for teleportation."
Subaru's face nods.
"Don't forget your mission, though. Princess wants Fate-san back in one piece."
.
"It's going to get away!"
A masked girl shouts in frustration. Helios is getting farther and farther. The little one clenches her fist.
"Sisters, mama is going to be angry!" That too is something the masked girls dread. "Let's give it all!"
The half dozen mages cheer in agreement. With gritted teeth, they squeeze out their remaining strengths, gaining speed yet again.
.
The sensor operator on the Helios Bridge cannot believe what he sees.
"Oh, shit, it's not working."
"What do you mean it's not working? Did Chief Enforcer fail?" the captain snaps. The operator shakes his head.
"No, Captain, she's doing what's asked, but the ones behind us gained speed yet again. ETA 5 minutes, sir!"
"Nobody can fly this fast!" The operator cannot believe what he sees.
"Chief Enforcer can-" another operator states the fact.
"But they aren't Chief Enforcer, are they!" The Captain snaps. Griffith is frustrated. He stomps feet, cursing. The moment he decided to overload the engines, Helios' fate was sealed. If the pursuers do catch up with Helios before reaching Vaizen…
"We are blowing up Helios for nothing?"
"If we can contain them we can make it, captain." Says Chrono. He looks at Zafira who nods.
"Captain Lowran, I need the crew assembled and ready for teleportation." The Rapid Recon's captain demands. Griffth gets on the PA system.
"All crew, this is Captain speaking. Drop everything and assemble as follows: Upper deck to the Bridge. Lower deck to the Canteen. Propulsion and Bridge stay put until further notice. Arm yourselves; we have intruders expected in five minutes."
Zafira orders lieutenant Alph and her 2nd platoon to the canteen and to prepare for teleporting the crew assembled there.
"But I need to be with Fate!" Alph protests.
"No." Zafira rejects. "Helios crew can't survive the explosion. You must teleport them out to safety!" He proceeds to call the 3rd platoon.
"Secure the engine room and protect Chief Enforcer at all cost. Escort her back to Bridge on my signal."
#
.
"Madam, how are you holding up?" asks the engine operator. Fate is standing between two massive engines, each about the size of a large bus. At the eye level, there is a series of pothole windows through which one can see the interior of the engines. Both are filled full with kinetic magic, regulated by mechanical arms and bars controlling the flow of the ever swirling motion happening inside. Fate stands there with both hands outstretched to each side, almost touching the powerful machines, sweating.
"It's been very long two days for me, and I'm tired, and oh god these things are very hot." She laments.
"Yeah, they heat up like that."
A platoon of soldiers enters the section, setting up defensive positions facing the entryway. The PA system announces the impending hull breach.
"Hostiles ON the hull. Prepare for a breach." The captain's voice booms across the ship. As if on cue, several bright yellow beam blades pierce through the wall.
"Oh, god, of all places-" the engines operator panics. He notices Fate is about to take her hands off the engines. "No, no, madam, please stay put! Don't take your hands off!"
The platoon leader repositions his men and tells them to get ready.
With a loud bang, the wall is torn open, and six masked mages flood in. Thirty-some men of the platoon start firing all at once, but it turns out to be a one-sided battle not in their favor.
.
"Breach in the engines section!" The Senior Operator reports. Zafira is also getting reports from his lieutenant. 3rd platoon is engaged.
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Fate watches in horror as the six intruders cut and slice the soldiers down with their yellow beam blades, but for some reason, they ignore her completely. She wants to help the soldiers, but she knows what it means to take her hands off the engines.
Delivering a fatal blow to the Helios' engines operator, the little masked mage finally looks up at Chief Enforcer, shape-shifting her bright yellow beam blade back to the polearm-like black staff.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
"Wha-what?" Fate is confused.
The intruders are checking the corners. The little masked girl kicks the dead operator aside.
"Come on, we have to go tell these people to take us to Midchilda. Let's go."
"I…I don't…" Fate stammers. She does not understand what the girl is talking about. The eyes behind the little mask turn inquisitive.
"Sister? Are you alright? You don't look good. What happened to your mask?" the little one asks. 'Sister?' Fate is baffled.
"Yeah. Mama is going to be angry if she finds out. Besides, why are you dressed like that?" another masked girl, bit taller than the little one, chimes in.
Then it dawns on Fate. These girls are mistaking her for one of their own, which could mean only one thing. Fate starts to tremble. She takes her hands off of the engines and wraps them around her head. Breathing heavily she backs off.
"Oh, no, no."
.
The crew on the Bridge are going crazy.
"Captain, engines suppression stopped! Something has happened to Chief Enforcer!" the Senior Operator reports.
"We got momentum, we can make it through the gate in time!" the captain declares. The only remaining issue is getting Fate back to either the Bridge or the canteen. He turns to Zafira who is trying to raise his lieutenant on communication.
"3rd Platoon is not responding. Fate is most likely engaged herself!." He calls Alph. "Alph, be prepared to teleport any moment."
Griffith gets on the PA system.
"Chief Enforcer, get back to the Bridge now!" he shouts.
"Fuck!" Chrono runs out of the Bridge before anyone can stop him.
.
"Sister, what were you doing here?" asks the little masked girl, slowly approaching cowering Fate.
"Were you helping them? Did you make the ship go faster?"
Fate keeps backing off, avoiding eye contact. She is hyperventilating.
"No, no, no, this is impossible-"
"You were helping them, weren't you?" yells the little one. "Traitor!"
Fate has her back against a wall and cannot retreat any further. She starts crying.
"Noooo! Please! This can't be!"
The masked intruders have had enough. Their staffs transform into scythes with large curved blades glowing electric yellow. Upon seeing the familiar scythe in multiples, Fate collapses on her knees, cowering, her hands covering the head, screaming in absolute terror.
The little masked mage launches herself with the scythe ready to slice the traitor in half but is met with a strong magic attack that flew from the entryway. With a loud scream of pain, the little one falls dead. The others quickly turn around to face this new threat. Chrono is standing there with an outstretched arm.
"Get away from her!"
The remaining five mages dive on Chrono. It is evident although strong in ranged attacks, he is not proficient in close quarters fight. He dodges, evades, and manages to kill two more masked mages, but as the fight goes on the intruders are gaining upper hands. Spraying an offensive magic Chrono makes his way to his cowering sister and stands in front of her. The PA system is blaring Griffith's desperate voice.
"Chief Enforcer! To the Bridge! Right now!"
Chrono nudges his sister with a back foot.
"Fate, get up. Please! Get up! Fate!" But Fate remains on the floor cowering.
Another voice from the PA system starts the countdown.
"Vaizen gate in 20, 19, 18..."
The countdown continues, but Fate is still on the floor, crying, screaming. Chrono clenches his teeth.
"Shit…"
The three remaining intruders lunge at the siblings, but their scythes bounce off a thick greenish barrier that has suddenly appeared surrounding the Harlaowns. Yuuno shouts from the entryway.
"Guys, what the fuck are you doing! Ship's going to blow!"