Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 26: A Dream Out of Reach

The commander was met by Yuubari and Akashi in his office- they had a couple of pieces of urgent news, so as soon as they arrived, he wanted to know what was up. "So, what do you have for me."

Yuubari spoke up. "Master, Helena returned from a scouting mission to some of the nearby islands to the northwest of here. Her radar picked up something strange, and she found something quite unexpected."

"If it was a Siren force, I don't think that's entirely unexpected by now."

Yuubari went on. "It was a significant Siren force, but they didn't pay any interest in us. They were busy setting up transmission beacons on the islands for some reason or another, and didn't even send out planes or fire off a token volley. All they did was jam her communications back to us."

The commander spoke up. "Well, we need to scramble a force and stop them."

Yuubari shook her head. "I'm afraid that they've already transmitted, and that's where things get even stranger."

The commander blinked. "How?"

Akashi stepped in. "It was a really powerful transmission, nya, but it wasn't sent to anywhere on Earth, and they didn't send it out into space, either. It went somewhere, but nowhere we could see, nya."

The commander shook his head. "All right, what is your other news?"

Yuubari took over. "The other news is that thanks to the research we recovered from Sector A-14, we can now use the Wisdom Cubes to reach further "back". You see, the cubes were only able to reach back to a certain point in human memory, with a few exceptions- but they were able to call up Incomparable, who came from before that point. Based on what we've been able to piece together, we think we've figured out how to do it ourselves."

"So we tried it out, nya."

The commander gave a nod. "Did you manage to call up a ship?"

Yuubari gave a nod. "Yes, master."

The commander nodded. "Well, send her in."

Yuubari and Akashi looked at each other. Akashi spoke up. "We have her rigging, but... We... Don't know where she is, nya."

Yuubari finished the thought. "She's somewhere on the base, but that's all we know, so, we need to find her."

The commander paused, and took a deep breath. "All right. I'll give Helena's intelligence to Enterprise and other faction commanders and have them assemble a heavy combat force. I'll have them assume that the actual enemy fleet is larger than the one Helena saw. While that's going on, I'll find our missing ship. Once the force is assembled, I'll be heading out with the fleet to assume command."

Yuubari gave a bow. "Then, we shall take our leave."

The commander raised a hand. "Actually, I would like to speak to Akashi in private for a few moments."

Yuubari took her leave, and then the green-haired cat put on her little smile. "So, what business do you have with Akashi, nya?"

The commander folded his hands together. "My first order of business with you is business. You see, there's a rather major decision I've been considering for myself. While it will require some more thought, I want to be prepared either way. So, the short of it is this- I'm going to want to buy something from you in the near future, but I need some assurances."

Akashi's smile became much larger. "Mhmmm~ Everything I sell is of the best quality, nya, I'd stake at least three, maybe four lives on it!"

The commander waved it off. "It's not that, it's just... I'd like you to keep things secret."