BUSHAAAA!
Lightning swallowed the dark sky as heavy rain splashed down onto the decks of a large civilian transport airship.
Donning cloaks with harnesses attached to external railings, the district watch personnel scanned about with their telescopes.
Further out away from the single line formation of transport airships in the dark clouds were frigates and escort vessels.
Alas, the Civil War had begun in full force... Vespelia had taken the initiative to attack both fronts; Symphotia and Algoria.
It has been a few weeks since the day Vixella had returned to Algoria after her 'delivery job gone wrong'.
Alongside a mass of other refugees, she was sitting somewhere beside a few crates in the vast hangar bay.
Vixella shuffled the card deck in her hands.
"So, blackjack?"
"We just played that."
"Dutten's right~ Chill out for a bit Vicky~"
A sudden crash sounded amongst the crowd in the background.
"Fuck... I didn't mean to do that-"
"Boss, two o'clock."
After noticing them, Kasper shortly walked towards them with two district watch personnel in tow.
It was a dark-skinned girl alongside a buff-looking man.
They were both wearing Algorian military uniforms... Officer grade.
According to appearances, they seemed to be around Vixella's age.
"Yo, nice to meet you guys... Name's Artis."
"Hi, I'm Naia."
"Hah! These kids just graduated from officer school... I used to beat them up back at Algoria's Bootcamp!"
Artis seemed a bit troubled as his eyebrows knit.
"Sir, if I may... We aren't kids anymore."
"You no longer need to call him 'Sir', Artis."
Naia broke in with a shift of her U-shaped eyeglasses.
"That's... True."
Artis slowly nodded in agreement.
"Fucksake, so you're making Artis disrespect me as well now?"
"People like you don't deserve any respect in the first place, SIR."
Kasper sighed as he turned back to face Vixella.
"Yep... And as you can see... These kids fucking hate me..."
"Sorry to bring it but I kind of hate you as well, boss."
"Shit, for real?"
"Yeah."
"Ahem... These two kids are the auxiliaries of the current captain on board... So they're quite high up in the chain of command."
"That's right, we'll keep everyone safe...", Naia looked away and coughed, "Probably..."
"Hecc~ I feel sooo safe already~"
WOOF!
The pitbull pug sitting on Blanche's lap affirmed their thoughts as it began panting playfully.
Dutten then reached over to snatch the card deck from Vixella.
"Might as well give that back to me."
"Daammnn, what's his problem?"
Naia asked upon taking note of how rough Dutten was treating Vixella.
"Nothing much? He has been like this since the second time we met."
Kasper ignored it all as he peacefully sat down beside them before resting aside the walking stick.
"Ooh~ Watcha guys gonna play~? Count me in~!"
Vix then looks up at Naia.
"So, are you going to join them?"
"Uhh...", Naia seemed a bit hesitant, "Since I have duties to attend... I shall return to my post."
After watching Naia quickly pace away, Vixella turned to face Artis who was still standing there.
"And what about you?"
"NooOoOooo! It's time for a smoke!"
"Aah... Outside? Can I tag along?"
"Sure... Do you smoke as well?"
"Nah, I just need some fresh air."
After stepping outside after Artis, Vixella closed and spun the crank by the revolving door to seal it.
The rain was still coming heavily upon them as droplets rushed into the somewhat sheltered side extension.
Artis sighed and pulled out a cig to bite on it with his lips.
"Vicks, was it? You got a lighter?"
Vixella nodded as she covered the cig with her other hand before using fire magic from her thumb.
In return, Artis gestured thanks before turning away to lean against the rusted and damp railings.
"So you're one of those... Huh."
"What?"
"Nevermind."
"So how long is this-"
"The trip? It will take a few more days."
"You catch up fast... I didn't even need to finish my sentence..."
"You're welcome... Baaah... I hate this rain."
"Come to think of it... Aren't you guys underhanded?"
"Ohh... Want to join the volunteer service team and help us fill in then?"
"That's a thing?"
"Was that a yes?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, follow me once I'm done smoking."
After informing Vixella of the common duties and providing her a uniform, Artis went back to his stationed post on the bridge.
Vixella then went around helping with on-deck chores such as moving tools during certain maintenance runs.
After the priority stuff were done, she was without rest sent to comfort and aid some troubled refugees alongside their requests.
An hour or two later, she was told that her shift was over.
Vixella went back to meet Artis and Naia at the bridge.
"Welcome back, Vicks."
Naia who was holding a memo-pad eyed Vixella.
"And just how many refugees did you help out?"
"About a hundred."
"Funny!", Artis snickered, "According to the recent reports... You've helped quite a bit though... So, good work!"
"Aah? I'm telling you----"
"Fine, I'll write '100' down here then."
"Don't falsify the statistics like that-"
Artis seemed a bit triggered at Naia's lethargic behavior... Despite her usual strictness.
"Statistics won't matter once we see the quality."
"Aah... What she said... Anyways, that's it for today?"
"NooOoOoOo! You can go help out the other airships! I'll have someone from the main hangar fly you over!"
"Hey, I'm not a slave."
"You said you wanted to help though?"
"Aah, at least it's something productive to do during this weather."
The same rainy day in the dark skies.
About another hour or two had passed.
Vixella returned to Blanche, Dutten, and Kasper who were sitting there by the same stacked crates looking somewhat bored.
"Hecc~ Vicky snuck some kids with her~?"
"Nah, some grandma on the way asked me to help take care of her grandchildren."
Vixella looked down at the little boy and girl standing on either side of her.
"But why are you in District Watch uniform~?"
The little boy immediately ran toward Kasper.
"Ooh! Uncle, I used to see you in military magazines!"
Kasper then grasped his face in vain.
"Well fuck kid... Back in the days... I used to be--- Damn, let's go somewhere else a less loud, shall we?"
"The ladies can handle the other kid, right?"
Dutten chimed in before following after Kasper.
"Aah, of course..."
Vixella nodded as she watched the men disappear into the crowd.
"So~ Wanna play cards again~?"
"Okay!"
Upon sitting down, the kid girl looked left and right before nodding once as if to affirm something to herself.
"It seems that the other big sister hasn't eaten enough."
"What?"
Vixella lowered her cards and looked over in confusion at the remark.
"Look."
The girl casually pointed over at Blanche whose face was twitching slightly.
"Hey, Blanche... What does she mean?"
"Y'know wha she means Vicky~ Milkies~ Milkies~!!!"
Blanche then tried to grasp at something non-existent around her chest area.
Upon realizing the fact, Vixella slowly glanced down at her own.
"But the 'Forbidden Store' said my size was 32C... All I know is that they said it was a versatile size-"
"That explains it..."
"...?"
Vixella raised an eyebrow at the kid who crossed her arms and snickered.
"Big sister Vicky is a good girl, so naturally she would be blessed..."
"Oii~ Kid~ What are you getting at~"
"I'm saying that big sister Blanche is not a good girl at all... No wonder she doesn't have-"
"Wanna die young~?"
"Aah, wait wait wait- What does this even concern?"
"Thing is... What if big sister Blanche never gets married due to that...!?"
At this point, Blanche was holding herself alongside the growling Woofers back from committing child murder.
"I see...", Vixella pitifully looked over at Blanche, "But even if all men abandon her, I'll still be by her side-"
"Big Sister Vicky... You don't have to go that far."
Blanche seemed a bit concerned for her safety as she shuffled further away from Vixella.
"Let's pretend I didn't hear that~"
Vixella tilted her head in confusion.
It seemed like the two of them were currently on different pages? No--- Chapters of a book!
"I'm ready!"
"Aah, right... It's about time..."
"Correct~! Lay your hands~!"
The little girl revealed her hand.
"Yay, I got a Straight." (5-6-7-8-9)
"Heh~ Kid~ You have much to learn~"
Blanche smacked down her cards to show a Four of a Kind. (10-10-10-10-3)
"Let's blame it on me being the hero then."
The two gaped upon glancing at the hand which Vixella twisted around to show.
ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Big sister Vicky... Amazing!"
"YOU~ CHEATER~!!!"
"As if-"
She winked mischievously just as the ship rumbled and shook, causing the cards to drop out of her hand.
"Did we... Get hit by lightning just now...?"
The little girl asked out with uncertainty.
ALL MILITARY-RELATED PERSONNEL... REPORT TO ALL AVAILABLE BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS A NOT DRILL!
The acoustic loudspeaker resonated in the vast hangars as red-tinted light-magic lamps spun about.
The renovated cargo area filled with seemingly calm refugees then instead became filled with panicking ones.
PLEASE REMAIN CALM... THE DISTRICT WATCH WILL DO OUR UTMOST TO PROTECT YOU!
The acoustic loudspeaker sounded once again as the crowd seemed to somewhat quiet down, although with unrest.
"Hey! You! Cadet! Report to the second deck ASAP!"
An officer who stood upon the railings to the side shouted out to Vixella as he pointed towards an access ladder.
"Aah... Guess I'm also military personnel...?"
She waved goodbye at the gang before standing up.
"Riight~ Don't cause too much trouble now~"
"I'll be sure to set an example for big sister Blanche!"
"Be a good girl now, Blanche."
"Eeh~!? Don't play along~!"
A CENTURY LATER
(Heavy Rain Transition Music)
"Reporting for duty, sir."
"Well...? Don't we have a looker...? But I hope you're not a novice in gunnery! Get on that 20mm immediately!"
"So there are designated calibers as well in this world..."
Vixella mumbled to herself before sitting down and sliding over the reinforced glass to encase herself in the turret.
She then twisted the two handles simultaneously to level the barrels straight forward.
"Adjusting horizontally and vertically in one go...!? Well done, cadet!"
Vixella nodded once, not exactly understanding what the officer was getting at.
"Slide the crank to open the blast shields... Also, the identification manual's plastered on the windshield... To your left."
Upon sliding the crank, the blast shields lifted out toward either side as the turret began elevating upwards.
Looking around, Vixella approximately guessed that the turret was slanted out the port side just above the second deck's rear.
Many other gunnery positions of varying calibers were also shooting at whatever hostile threat were present in the skies.
When the turret was done positioning itself, Vixella pulled the right handle and squeezed both triggers simultaneously.
The Vespelian Strider that was chasing an Algorian one was abruptly blown out of the sky as its debris flew past her view.
"Aah... This... This memory... It's... FROST... 'Gunnery Improvement Program'...!"
Despite being a large freighter transport, the airship had been outfitted with decent all-round defensive armament.
Every angle of the airship had at least one top-of-the-line turret covering it... Each with a skilled gunner present.
Like said, Vixella was currently covering the upper rear section.
"They're not coming into my firing range anymore? Aah, guess I'll rest for a bit."
Vixella then stretched her arms and took a brief look at the identification manual.
"Let's see what they have... Wait... Is that... Torpedoes-!?"
Just as she said so, three fin-stabilized projectiles with the same size as striders zoomed out of the stormy clouds.
TORPEDOES INCOMING PORT SIDE! TAKE THEM DOWN!
The pipe loudspeaker attached to the side rung out to her ears.
Little did she have to hesitate as she turned the barrels towards the closest one and held down the triggers.
A desperate crossfire of varying turrets flailed all they had at the oncoming bulks of armored explosives.
Intense sparks and clanks came by as one of the torpedoes lost its trajectory while the other one blew apart.
The third one, however, got past the crossfire and entered the dead zone of the larger caliber pellet-flak turrets.
"Goddamnit, they planned to take out my turret from the start-!?"
Vixella grumbled out as she kept firing at the armored explosive.
CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK.
It was the sound of the ammo feeder failing to load more pellets.
Sliding back the crank, Vixella decided to back out of the turret position as the blast shields began to close.
Though eventually realizing that the turret might not lower in time and readied her palm to fire off a light-beam spell.
However, Vixella lowered her arm upon seeing an allied Strider fly straight into the armored torpedo's trajectory from the side.
From the pilot's perspective, he glanced to the side to see a young girl tracing his Strider as she sorrowly looked back at him.
He then took a deep breath and a last glance at the picture of his family that was taped onto the cockpit.
BOOM.
The skies resonated just as the blast shields slammed shut.
After coming back into the airship, Vixella met the same officer from about half an hour earlier who rushed around the corner.
"Cadet... You're safe...!? We were afraid to lose such a skilled gunner... That pilot did what he had to do..."
"Did someone order him to...", Vixella shook her head, "Let's just hope that his death wasn't in vain."
"Right, let's not... Anyways... We need you back out there as soon as you're ready again."
"Impossible, the feeding mechanism has been severely jammed from prolonged fire."
"I see... You did well... To shoot so much of them down... We'll call maintenance on this turret in the meantime."
"What should I do now?"
"It seems like Auxilary Artis needs you by the bridge."
She nodded before pacing away from the concerned looking officer.
Back at the bridge, Vixella was guided in by two armed guards.
Naia was overlooking some men and women that were controlling control valves by some gauged panels in the background.
"Artis, sir! Is this the cadet you had requested for...?"
"Huh? Oh... Her? Yeah, you guys may leave."
The two men saluted before walking off.
"So, what brings you here?"
"There wasn't any 'Voluntary Service' to begin with, was there?"
"Haha, well... Sorry for having tricked you... But seeing how Kasper thinks of you so highly... It just made me curious..."
Vixella gave off a wink.
"But I did well, right?"
"Riiight... Exceeded everyone's expectations... Though according to the report I had just received... You broke the turret...?"
"It's not my fault the airship behind us keeps letting Vespelian Striders through."
"Alright... The ones that made it through and got shot down by you were unknown models to us... Good job, I suppose."
"So... Where's my promotion? And commendations? Medals? I risked my life back there-"
Everyone in the bridge wryly looked over before turning back to doing whatever they were doing, much to Vixella's confusion.
Artis softly scratched his right temple with a wry look.
"Uhh... Yeah... That's only coming to you after we make it out of this mess alive..."
"Well, there's no way I'm going into one of those coffin turrets again... It's better if you put me in a Strider instead."
"I heard from Kasper you can't fly for shit... Plus, it's only a coffin if you make it one... Now, I'll tell them to put you back-"
"Artis, wait-", Naia stepped up between them, "After some digging, she's in one of the combat logs... It was during the expedition."
"What? But Kasper told me she was just an assistant at the office... And that she couldn't fly for shit...?"
"No... During the expedition... She stole one of our Striders and caused a lot of damage... Even forced Sir Wolfe to bail..."
"No way...? You're kidding...?", Artis looked over at Vixella before looking back at Naia, "Hand me over that file, let me see..."
"Aah... What's going on now?"
"I see... No wonder you seem different... You're not from this continent... But that's about it...? The rest seems highly classified."
"I'm sure they classified it for a good reason."
Vix chimed in.
"Yeah, it says here that you're of higher importance to that newly found continent... Just what are doing here in Demo... Alone?"
"Does it matter? It's not like I'm here to make anyone's day harder..."
Vixella then snatched the file away from Artis's hands before passing it back to Naia.
"I guess you're right... Plus, a wielder should be able to take care of themselves-"
Naia abruptly shifted her eyeglasses which caused the two of them to look at her.
"Artis, what did you just call her...?"
In return, he tried to avoid Naia's gaze.
"Can you... Clarify what 'wielder' means?"
"Well... It means... She can use magic...", Artis paused before looking a bit sorry, "Directly..."
"That complicates things then...", Naia looked over at Vixella, "Men, arrest this woman at once!"
Vixella was then abruptly pushed down by two men from behind, with a bayonetted carbine pointing to her head.
"Aah... Just why is all this happening to me recently...?"