Imperial Star, Rosetta

1955 hours, 24th May 1450 A.B.S

“Still no sign?!” Daniel screamed through his communications terminal to the intercom of a patrolling soldier. He sat in the conference room where he had been for the whole day, coordinating the search for the Empress.

“None Sir, The locals aren’t helping at all,” replied the squad captain in a weary tone. Daniel had been contacting him around the clock and the constant prodding was beginning to wear on his nerves.

“Then search harder! Our deadline’s tomorrow noon. I want that girl found by midnight!”

“Yes sir!” the Captain said.  

Daniel turned off the connection with an exaggerated sigh. “And where did that damned Tom run off to now?” He picked his pod and flipped out a holoscreen showing Captain Morgan’s orders. As usual, the report still had no detail on the significance of capturing the Empress. However, he had to admit the Captain’s clever use of the Revolutionaries’ attack to allow their troops free movement in the city was indeed first class.

The door to the conference room slid open and he watched as Jack came into the room with a broad smile on his face.

“Glad one of us is happy. I’ve had to coordinate the entire operation myself,” Daniel muttered angrily.

“Ah, sorry about that,” Jack said as he took a seat. “But to make up for it, I found some leads on the Emperess’ whereabouts.”

“What! Where is she?”

“Couple of locals claimed they saw her running around the backstreets this morning with a blue haired girl. And the same girl was seen taking her to the palace.”

“What? So you’re saying she’s in the palace already? But before that, how did you get the locals to tell you anything?”

Jack grinned. “Simple Daniel. Find a bar, get drunk and listen to the latest gossip.”

“So that’s where you were. Should have figured; You do realize we have till noon tomorrow right?”

“Cool down friend. We know the princess is in the palace. Now all we need to do is seize her.”

“But, just attacking out of the blue? We won’t have any excuses this time,” Daniel stuttered.

“We won’t need an excuse,” Jack replied as he stood up and went to the door. “Annihilate everyone in the palace. We can always place the blame on the Revols,” he said with a nonchalant smile that chilled Daniel to his bones. Jack always acted so easygoing and calm but inside, he was a ruthless beast who would do anything to complete his mission.

“I’ll order the attack. What about the blue haired girl?”

“Hmm? What about her? If she gets in our way, kill her. If she doesn’t, then she’s probably some childhood friend who helped her escape,” he said and walked out of the door.

“God, still the same as always,” Daniel sighed as he opened a link to all the squad captains. “Change of plans. All captains are to assemble their squads and purge the Imperial palace. No quarters are to be granted to anyone. Our priority is the capture of the Imperial Empress. I repeat, annihilate everyone and capture the Princess. God be with you men,” he ordered, and shut off the link. Sighing loudly, he sunk in his chair. “And God forgive us all.”

Imperial Palace, Rosetta

2030 hours, 24th May 1450 A.B.S

“What were you doing with that boy, Empress?” Siegfried asked as he and Tau escorted Rosaline to her chambers.

“That ‘boy’ saved my life,” she replied curtly, realising the good mood she had made up through her little adventure was quickly slipping away.

“Ah, yes, that he did,” Siegfried admitted. “But you should have returned immediately. We were all so worried.”

“Give her a break Sieg,” Tau said. “She just had a traumatic experience. One day for her to cool off isn’t all that bad, now is it?”  Rosaline hugged him and stuck out a tongue at Siegfried. He smiled as he patted her hair.

“That’s no way for an Empress to behave,” Siegfried condemned. “You still need a lot of training.”

“I get it, I’m sorry” she spat. An explosion rocked the palace grounds, the tremor causing her to fall to the ground. “What was that?”

“Guards, report!” Tau shouted, placing a finger on the intercom in his ear.

“The gates have been breached!” a voice shouted in reply and gunfire could be heard in the background. “The Union’s… Uagh!” the voice yelled and the connection went dead.

“Damn it, I’m out of time.” Tau grumbled and grabbed Rosaline.

“What’s going on Tau?” Siegfried asked, though a part of him already knew the answer.

“The Union’s attacking the palace. They’re most likely after Rose just as much as the Revols. I’m sorry friend; a few more would have been fun.”

“What are you… ugh!” Siegfried grunted as a bullet tore through his stomach and he crumpled to the floor. “Tau…?”

“Sieg?!” Rosaline screamed as she struggled to get free from Tau’s grip. ”Sieg, please no,” she cried and spun to face Tau and slammed her fists against his chest, crying. “Why Tau, why? Sieg, he… he’s…” she choked.

“I’m sorry Rose, but this is my job. If the Union had not arrived, he would not have had to die,” he replied in a low voice as he dragged her down the corridor and away from Siegfried’s body. He turned to look at Siegfried one last time and said in a voice barely over a whisper, “I’m truly sorry.”

“What job?!” she screamed through tears. “What do you want?”

“The same thing the Union and Revolutionaries want. The power your grandfather hid away after winning his country’s neutrality.”

“Then why take me? I have no idea where it is.” she spat.

“Of course you don’t. It's not a problem because I know its location. However, I need you to get it.”

“So you’re like the rest of them.” Her eyes regarding him with disdain.

“...Enough talk, let’s move,” He said after a spell of silence.

----

Sora sat on a bench in the park, with an oversized ice-cream cone when he heard the explosion from the palace. “Wow, rich people throw wild parties,” he marveled as he stood up from the bench and strolled out of the park.

“I honestly don’t understand how you can take in that much sugar,” Crow said.

“Hey, I burn it all, don’t I?”

“Looks like you’re going to burn some more,” it said when they saw a crowd of people pointing at smoke rising from the palace.

“Please let it not be trouble,” he begged as he walked up to a man in a green sweater. “What’s going on?”

“They say those Union bastards are attacking the palace. I don’t-” the man replied and Sora shot off like a comet down the street before the man could finish the rest of what he was going to say.

“Tsel?” Sora called through his pod as he ran through the crowded streets.

“Yeah? What’s going on? I thought you said you were staying in town for a while,” Tsel asked.

“There’s a slight problem,” he replied, drawing closer to the burning palace.

“Define slight.”

“The palace is being attacked and I’m heading there to make sure the princess is safe.”

“You do know we’re pirates right? We can’t go around saving everyone... But you would, huh. Meet me in front of the hotel. I’ll help you out.”

“Hehe, thanks a lot, I’m already here.”

A few minutes later, Tsel walked out the hotel holding a sniper rifle and held out a transmitter to Sora. “We’ll use this to stay in contact in case we get separated,” he said and turned to Crow. “Can you tap into this frequency?”

“Already done,” Crow said as Sora put the transmitter in his ear. “I wonder what it is that girl has that the Union’s going through such lengths for?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Sora replied. “We’ll beat them and save her. That’s all.”

With that, the three of them ran towards the sound of gunfire

Amidst the chaotic battle, one man drank from his juice pack as he walked leisurely past falling soldiers and screaming guards. Thomas Jack did not need to bother himself with the fight because his optical cloak was turned on, making him invisible to onlookers. At times like these, he was glad he had agreed to become a boosted: a term used for enhanced organic races across the galaxy.

The doors to the palace had been blown open by an earlier attack so he walked through unhindered. “Hmm, now where’s that girl?” he mused lazily as he walked long the white hallways. He saw Siegfried’s body and realized someone must have arrived before him.

“Seems someone beat me to the punch,” he said through his transmitter to Daniels.

“Then get a move on! We can’t let someone else get it first!?” Daniel screamed as he dodged bullets and returned in kind.

“Okay, there’s a faint heat signature trail left behind. I’ll follow it and hope it leads to the girl.”

“You do that. These Imperial boys don’t give up easy.”

“How troublesome,” Jack sighed. He finished his juice and threw it away as he followed their trail.

----

Sora reached the main gate to the Imperial palace and used its walls as over as he peeked in at the battle unfolding inside. The palace was surrounded by a vast garden which was now ablaze with flames from the fighting. Bodies littered the ground and the remaining were engaged in a harsh gunfight. Bulletproof trucks served as cover for the Union while the guards had set up barricades.

“How do we get through that?” Crow speculated.

“We run through,” Sora replied, and was about to run when they heard roars of engines behind them. Brown trucks barrelled through the gates and machine guns placed at the top fired erratically at both Union and guards alike.

“Revols,” Tsel muttered, “With this, the battlefield will become even more chaotic. It’s now a three way battle with no quarters granted by any side. You still want to run through?”

“Of course,” he replied obstinately. “Can’t get to the princess unless I make it past them.”

“Okay, I’ll cover you from the top of that Building," Tsel said, pointing to a high rise hotel. "Crow, you fly above. You might get hit if you stay on his shoulder. Also, warn me of any snipers aiming for him.”

“Got it,” it replied and took to the air as each of them ran to their destinations.

----

“Where are you taking me?” Rosaline asked.

“We’ll soon be there,” Tau replied as they entered a staircase leading to the basement.

“Say, all these years, were you just pretending to be my friend?” she asked in a whisper.

“Yes I was. It was just part of the job description,” he stated coldly.

“I hate you,” she said through gritted teeth, emphasizing each word deeply.

“I don’t really care. You don’t have to like me anymore.” He added under his breath, “..that benefit is no longer mine.”

-----

Sora ran with the energy of a crazed bull through the battlefield, his heels kicking up dirt as they dug up the earth. A soldier saw him approach and pointed his gun to him but a bullet bore through his skull and he fell with a crunch. Sora smiled as he vaulted over one of the trucks, dodging stray and targeted bullets solely by instinct which had been honed from years of Jenkins’ minefield training.

“Duck!” Crow yelled when he landed and he complied just as a rocket passed over him and hit the truck, blowing it up.  The impact flung him forward and his face scrubbed the dirt as he screeched to a painful halt in front of a Revolutionary. The brown armored soldier had a knife attached to his shotgun which he drove towards his heart but Sora rolled out of the way in time and the gun got stuck in the earth. He kicked the soldier’s hands from the ground, preventing him from dragging out his gun and stood up quickly. They faced each other and he ducked under the Revol’s jab, using his short height to his advantage, then jumped sharply and punched his chin and the soldier crumpled to the floor.

Sora removed the knife from the gun as he continued on his one man charge through enemy territory. Two soldiers noticed him and trained their guns at him. He flung his knife with perfect accuracy into the neck of one of them while Tsel took out the other one. The main barricade blocking the palace was finally in view and he waved to the guards who kept their shots clear off him.

----

“Sir, it’s the blue haired girl in the reports,” a soldier informed Daniel.

“She has a good sniper on her side,” Daniel said. “Tell the closest squad to concentrate their fire on her. If my guess is right, she’s the one who beat Miller in that outdated model.”

“Yes Sir,” the soldier saluted as he relayed the orders.

----

In the castle hallway, Siegfried rested his back against the wall as he placed a hand over the bleeding wound in his belly. “That fool,” he grunted. “What’s he planning?”

----

Sora noticed a few soldiers running towards him from all directions, their rifles trained at him. “Sorry Tsel, I have to use it," he said and released the PG.

 He was instantly enveloped in the suit. The sword also appeared in his hand and mini thrusters stuck out from the armored leg, thrusting him forward with incredible speed.

The soldier in front of him raised his gun but he was too late. Sora kicked him with the in the gut sending him flying into the distance. When he turned back, he saw the group of soldiers who had been chasing him were lined up and had their weapons trained at him. He glared at them as he shot forward and they fired at him in return. He flew over a rocket and sliced it in two, ignoring the explosion behind him. Flying in an irregular motion, he dodged most of the shots and finally got in front of them.

He stabbed one of them and drew out his sword, then sliced the gun of another, and kicked him in the face with the propelled armored foot. A soldier behind him pulled out a plasma blade and made to stab him from behind but Sora shot into the sky and landed behind the soldier, piercing his sword through his shoulder as he landed. A shot came from behind but it ricocheted off his shield and hit another soldier and Tsel shot the other soldiers. Satisfied, Sora ran past and over the barricades and into the castle, sweating profusely from the battle.

“I guess you were right about burning all that sugar soon.” Crow said as it perched on his shoulder.

“Hehe, I guess you’re right.”

----

Jack reached the staircase leading to the basement and opened a new juice pack he had kept in his pocket.  “Please don’t be too far.” he muttered and took a sip from the strawberry flavoured drink. "Mm, this is good," he said joyfully and walked down the stairs.

 ----

Somewhere above the Pacific,

2235 hours, 24th May 1450 A.B.S

“Change of plans,” O'Reilly ordered to his entire fleet. “All ships head to the Imperial City. We attack at dawn tomorrow.”

“What’s with the urgency?” Peters asked from her post.

“The palace battle is embroiled in battle. This is the best time to attack while their forces are otherwise occupied.”

Thirteen ships picked up speed as they headed towards Rosetta to bring down a rain of fire on the city.

Rosetta Military Base,

2240 hours 24th May 1450 A.B.S

“Satellites are picking up massive activity close to Rosetta airspace. Reports show several ships picking up speed above the pacific. Their bearing is the Imperial city.” Lieutenant Commander Brain Rick reported.                                                                                                                               

“I knew it was a good idea not to send troops to the Imperial city,” Commander Jacobson, a tanned man in his late forties replied. His black hair was in a buzz cut and he had an eye patch on his right eye from an accident during training. “Our soldiers haven’t been in a real war in their entire lives, so we are at a natural disadvantage. Spirits guide us,” he sighed and gave out the order for the 8th fleet of the Imperials to head out to the terrified soldiers.