+++ Jonathan Jones +++

Jahellios System

New Krakow

FS Zoeker

We indeed almost seemed to be dancing together.

Juliett advanced forward, her SMG hot against the enemy gunmen corner to corner, as she blocked their bullets with her nano shields. I on the other hand followed her closely behind, firing quick bursts at anyone who found themselves on her side or back, as I covered her from each of her blind spots.

But most importantly, I was keeping up with her, covering her whenever she was shot at, all while she covered me when someone attacked me. Soon, she already tossed her SMG, which ran out of bullets, pulling out her pistol and firing it at the enemy. I slammed a magazine on my SMG after firing it at three men who tried to flank us behind before I felt her back hit my own back.

“Damn, they really are pouring in at all sides,” I said, as the battle lulled for a while. I felt her nod.

“That they are,” she laughed. “Hmm, seems like the port side is almost clear though.”

I looked at the mass of bodies and carnage throughout this side of the ship. We moved here earlier through the passageways in order to relieve some of Harold’s men who were stuck here after they were forced off by the enemy during the boarding attempt. Now, however, it seemed that Juliett and I managed to clear out this side of the ship, with the enemy patrol boat practically already half sunk to board us any further.

“Damn…you were like a monster there, Juliett.”

“I’m glad to have your back,” she replied, as I heard her place another magazine into her pistol.

“The feeling’s reciprocal.” I sighed. “So, are you going to show off your System Arts soon?”

“Hmm, quite frankly, I haven’t used it much. I’ve been mostly using my nanoswarm capabilities,” she said, as I turned to her. Suddenly, she chanted something. “Activating System Arts. [SUMMON SWORD]!”

Suddenly, a blue glowing energy-like sword appeared in her hands. “Hmm, seems like I do have the levels to do it though, and the Activation Points for it.”

“Damn…” I was mute. “Damn…you can just…do that? You and Louise are some crazed maniacs.”

“What? Is the spacefarer perhaps a bit jelly?” She smirked at me. “This one is perfect for close-quarters combat, did you know that?”

“It’s a damned sword, the hell do you think I am, a dimwit?” She aimed it at me, and a zap of electricity passed over my shoulder. I looked back, and a criminal was dropped behind me, his body still twitching in ways that I shouldn’t describe. “Okay…”

“Though, it could also be useful for some medium-range combat,” she smiled. “As I’ve said, no one’s dying today.”

“Heh…I guess…” Suddenly, our little break was broken by the sounds of more desperate gunfire, shouts, and explosions from the starboard side of the ship. I tapped my headgear, attempting to contact Harold and Louise.

“Harold?! Louise?! Do you both copy? What the hell’s happening over there?” Our plan was to split up after all, with me and Juliett taking care of the port side of the ship, while they defended the starboard side. Now, I suppose, was the time to go and reinforce them after we reinforced and successfully defended this side.

Especially when those sounds could be heard at full blast from here, over the constant artillery fire and the still pouring rain and crashing waves. In fact, another wave crashed over the port side of the Zoeker, almost detaching the patrol boat that was still holding to us deathly, with our ships almost groaning and screeching metallically through it all.

I held on to the railings as the wave passed through, before letting it off. I could swear that at this point, slipping and dying at slamming your head on the deck was a high possibility, with our ships practically unstable and barely floating. It was so bad, that a lot of the fires were now gone due to the pouring rain and raging waves completely extinguishing it.

“We’re…we’re doing badly, Jonathan,” someone finally responded. It was Louise. Her voice was now weak, and tense, and it was as if she was biting through pain. “We need help.”

“Right, we’re coming. Did their corvette board us?”

“Worse…someone, someone from them uses System Arts.”

Juliett’s eyes widened at that, and I felt my guts turn around violently. This was bad. Really bad. “We’re coming in, just hold on there.”

“This is Foxtrot,” a sudden voice interrupted. “Flooding is becoming severe. I’ve already closed most compartments, and my remaining drones are now still trying to patch up holes or slow down the sinking, but we’re not going to be doing stellar soon.”

“Just hold on, Foxtrot,” I ordered. “Keep the ship together. For as long as you can.”

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“I will. For the Duchess.”

I looked back at Juliett. “Alright, let’s go. We need to help them out.”

She nodded. “Right. Let’s go.”

+++

+++ Louise Florentine de la Fleur +++

Activation Points are now down to thirty-four percent!

Three out of five available spells are now unavailable!

I picked myself up. The way he tossed me earlier almost felt as if it broke my ribs and shoulders, and I instinctively held it in pain as I walked forward, almost limping. Beside me, Harold’s men scattered themselves as they poured down rifle fire at the still rampaging man ahead of us.

I recognized him. Count Wilhelm Filken, so it was you. I suppose Count Wilhelm and my father haven’t had a very productive relationship since the end of the 2nd Revolutionary War. Scarcely had I ever seen him in my life, and my father rarely spoke about him. The only thing that I really knew was that he was imprisoned before I was born during the downfall of House Filken when he and those who served under him were accused of war crimes by the FEG Military.

Dragged into a military tribunal, disgraced, mocked, and humiliated, that was what I had gleaned from him when I briefly read about him back then when my father would run his mouth about his “ungratefulness” and “barbarism”. And to believe my mother would say that they were once close friends. Now…he was trying to kill me and André.

I wondered what must have truly happened to him.

No matter…we’re now here, what matters is that I stop him here. Count Filken was said to be a powerful System Arts user within the small circles of New Krakow’s esoteric academics. Officially, all of it was nonsense, nothing but farcical jokes of “overly superstitious locals” as the Colonial Government would put it, but everyone knew that the FEG merely liked hiding anomalies that went against the official narrative.

Count Filken was a disgraced man, without anything special to him, just a former noble, stained with war crimes during the 2nd Revolutionary War, he would rot behind bars until his death. Yet it seemed that he was now outside of those cells, not hunting me and my family with a bunch of criminals as well. I suppose the FEG, the ever-denialist FEG, could never deny the truth themselves.

They’d still use System Arts users if they wanted to. All while denying our existence. I almost feel bad for him. I waved my sword wand in his direction before I felt someone pull me back.

“Louise, don’t,” Harold said. “He almost beat you to death. Go to our rear, we can hold him off.”

“This is my duty, Captain Percival,” I snapped at him. “Only a noble can put down a noble. I’ll tear him to bits!”

“He already tore you to bits!” He countered. “Look, just fall back, and regenerate your Activation Points or something. We have enough ammo to hold him and his men for a while. Have trust, Louise.”

“I…”

I tried to push him off, but I could barely do so. And before I knew it, he was already dragging me back into cover. Bullets flew through us, as I held on to his shoulder, still limping. My spells barely impacted him, and I had to place all of my Activation Points on a defense spell to prevent myself from dying when his beam tossed me like a ragdoll from the front decks.

And even then, I could now barely stand on my own, I realized.

“I can’t even fight properly…” I cried out, as he dragged me off the fighting. He seemed silent, merely listening to me as we limped toward a door to the Zoeker’s bridge. He placed me down on the side, and I could only look up at him in shame. “I…I have to keep fighting.”

“You don’t, kid,” he said to me, before tossing a pistol magazine to my hands for the pistol that I held. “I know you’re out of juice, so use that gun to defend yourself if someone comes. You already did enough, Louise. Stay here.”

And with that, he left me, rushing back into the chaotic melee in the center of the ship’s decks. I tried to stand up and follow him, but my knees gave up.

I pushed as far as I could already.

Damn it! Damn it! I was supposed to be the one fighting to save my brother, but…but I was now stuck here, alone, sniffling to herself like a child again.

+++

+++ Jonathan Jones +++

I fired off another burst of bullets straight at two men who blocked our path to reinforce Louise and Harold. They dropped to the floor, bleeding to their deaths, as we passed through both of them, running through the wet decks as everything shook around us. A powerful gust of wind carried a crashing wave toward the starboard side of our ship, and I felt the Zoeker screech once more as the wave towered on us, pushing the disabled enemy corvette into a powerful collision that broke every ladder they had attached to us.

Water rushed into my nose, as for many brief seconds, we were almost underwater before the deck rose up from the sea line once more. I was down on the floor of the deck however, gasping for air as I tried to pick myself up, trying to clear my throat and nose from the salty seawater that clogged it.

I felt a gloved hand pick my hand up again, however, and before I knew it, I was standing, as Juliett supported me. I breathed out once more, almost wheezing before I heard her soft voice speaking to my ears.

“Jonathan…can you still go on?”

That question burned itself into my mind, and my response was immediate. “Of course I can. Lead the way. I’ll support you…just…”

“You look awful.”

“The same could be said about you.”

“You know this body is just my Avatar Model,” she said. “Your body…is your body. Are you sure you can still go on?”

“I am, Juliett,” I pushed her hands off me. “Just keep going. I can hear the chaos from here. Louise and Harold need us.”

She nodded and continued forward. I picked myself up, trying to run as best as I could behind her, even when my entire body protested the act. Every muscle, my bones, all of them were screaming at me to just stop and lay down, take a breath, or whatever. I imagine, without the adrenaline, I’d have felt the cuts and scrapes that I had all over my body.

I could even feel something warm trickling down from my legs, and even if it wasn’t painful, it must be a cut or something. Or a minor shrapnel wound. I didn’t really know. Stupidly, it could also be a bullet wound that I was ignoring like a moron. But none of it mattered. I had to push on. At all costs. I already took up the role of being the de facto leader of these three.

I wouldn’t let them fight without me.