Ashen Port, Time 13:26. 6 days after the battle at Little Foot Quadrant.
Within a spacious lounge, near a window seat was Jinko, looking outside towards the artificial skies with an unfocused gaze. Both her hands were on the table holding a transparent cup, the inside of which contained a yellowish-green liquid. On the table were other empty cups alongside a teapot filled with even more of the yellow liquid.
From an outsider perspective, Jinko would look like some sort of widow, waiting for a man who would never come. Her pensive gaze contained a hint of sadness, boredom and loneliness. The speakers in the background playing some smooth jazz songs only added to the lonesome atmosphere.
She was indeed waiting for someone, but it was not a husband that she was expecting. Nay, she was waiting for Hikari, her direct subordinate to arrive. It has been almost a week since the call and she was expecting Hikari to arrive at any moment. Jinko had given her the location of the meeting, so all that was left to do was wait. Though, there is a limit to how long someone could wait.
'She's late,' Jinko thought to herself. After letting out a sigh, she took a sip out of the cup that she was holding. 'She was supposed to arrive days ago.'
Hikari had always been a punctual person, so it worried Jinko that Hikari was late for their meeting. There were a lot of things that could happen to her during the way to the Lawless Maw Zone. Jinko started thinking of what her next move would be if Hikari would fail to reach the Lawless Maw Zone in a reasonable timeframe. Jinko needed to act fast as she won't know when the blue core would leave the Lawless Maw Zone. Catching the Libera's heir would be much harder should they take shelter within Freedom United.
Jinko was, of course, still considered a Dawning Star ship. So she would not be able to chase the blue core into another nation so easily if she had to come to that. If Hikari doesn't appear in the foreseeable future, then Jinko, if she must, would have to travel into Freedom united alone.
Fortunately, she wouldn't need to plan for such a thing as the person in question entered the lounge. The opening of the automatic door heralded the arrival of a late teen girl with fox ears and a fluffy fox-tail. She had short black messy hair with two braids that went to the front. She wore a yellow coloured theme of a kimono, the design of which was very similar to the kimono that Jinko was wearing.
Accompanying Hikari was another woman in her late teens that Jinko didn't recognize. She too wore a kimono, but this time black in colour. She had long black hair and looked like one of those pure maidens types.
Hikari scanned the place before spotting Jinko sitting at the corner seat. She quickly moved towards her table before standing at attention before Jinko, giving her a salute. The other woman who was accompanying Hikari followed in her actions and gave Jinko a salute as well.
"Forgive me for my late arrival, Jinko-senpai. Armoured Cruiser Hikari at your service!" Hikari said in a tense tone, loud enough to qualify as a yell but soft enough to not disturb others.
Jinko only responded with a nod and a hand wave. "At ease."
Hearing this, Hikari and the other woman relaxed before taking a seat opposite of Jinko. "I tried to reach here as you asked me to. It was largely successful and I believe I remained undetected by any warp scanners. However, on the way to Ashen Port we've encountered a pack of New England cruisers. Got into a small battle with them and we had to take the long route to evade them."
"I see. The ships of other nations are surprisingly active in this zone."
"You don't know half of it, Jinko-senpai. There are more players in this region than you think. As large of a zone this is, I doubt a ship is likely to go without an event happening within a week or so. Ever since the rumour spread, this place became even more chaotic. More and more players are arriving at this place," Hikari responded as she tried to make herself comfortable.
Jinko looked at the immediate area around her before placing a jamming device at the edge of the table.
"I see. Tea? Both of you?" Jinko said before placing two empty cups in front of the two people in front of her. Jinko's hand then reached for the teapot.
"Still with the tea act, Jinko-senpai? You know there is no reason for us to drink water, right? I don't even have taste functionality installed on my avatar," Hikari said to Jinko.
However, despite her objection, Jinko still poured her a cup. She extended this by pouring a cup over to the other girl who gave no response. Hikari could only give her senior a wry smile. Jinko can be quite stubborn at times.
"Who may this person be?" Jinko asked once she finished pouring. She was referring to the other girl that Hikari brought with her.
It was the girl with long black hair and black themed kimono. She looked beautiful and all, but her eyes showed no emotion, just the darkness of an endless abyss. It was hard to say if she was even alive.
"This is Yoake, fourth-generation Living Core controlling the newly designed Yoake-class annihilation cruiser," Hikari said.
In response to Hikari introducing her, Yoake gave another salute to Jinko. "Dawning Star annihilation cruiser Yoake. I specialized in destructive weapons and the control or shift of battlefield conditions."
The sound that came out of Yoake's mouth was as if one had just recently synthesized a voice line out of many stock lines. It was robotic, lifeless and emotionless, yet it had a tune that could pass as a human speaking.
"She has yet to fully awake, Jinko-senpai. Her personality is not fully developed and she is still in her infant stages. She was assigned under me to be my direct subordinate to grow and nurture. Half of my crew are currently in her hull to smooth out the process," Hikari explained.
'So, the Dawning Star has become so desperate that they are willing to activate the fourth generation…' Jinko thought to herself. Her expression remained stoic, not letting the opposing side read her face.
"I see. You even brought your crew here."
Hikari could be seen rather distressed at the statement from Jinko, her hands rubbing around the glass of tea that Jinko just poured. "Is it a problem? Should I have not brought them here? Her as well?"
Hikari glanced at Yoake. She seemed so oblivious to the situation at hand.
"No. With an extra ship, we are now officially a pack. It would be more advantageous for us in this dangerous place. However, we are here in utmost secrecy. Rogues. Our connection to the Dawning Star Empire would not be entertained. Can your crew be trusted?"
Hikari thumped her chest with her right hand before responding with a smile: "Do not worry about them, Jinko-senpai! They are a bunch of people who have been with me ever since that war. They will gladly die for me and so will I. We have that kind of bond and trust!"
Jinko gave a nod. "Then, I have no objections. Let us discuss the reason why I've called you here."
Hearing this, Hikari straightened up her back and paid full attention to the upcoming briefing from Jinko.
"Libera, the leader of Nipon steel has lost her daughter,
A bounty placed on her safe return,
I sought out this daughter,
Only to find…."
Jinko started reciting a rhyming poem before pausing at the last word. Her eyes furrowed as if trying to find the words to finish her poetry.
"Still not as good at the poetry part, aren't you Jinko-senpai? I don't think there is anything that rhymes with 'turn' that could fit in that final line," Hikari gave Jinko another wry smile.
With a blush, Jinko looked away before taking a sip of her tea. "You don't need to be good at something to love doing something. My Haiku and Poetry may not be the best but it is the calling of my life."
Hikari gave Jinko an awkward laugh. "Anyway, I think I got the gist of the situation. We are to find this daughter, right?"
"Yes. She is a Nekomi in her younger teenage years, about sixteen years old. She is to be retrieved alive, no harm is to come to her. This is also to be done discreetly, without the public nor outsiders knowing."
Jinko then brought another device out from her clothing. Activating the device revealed a hologram showing said Nekomi. Both Hikari and Yoake took a moment to analyse the hologram and memorised her appearance— long black hair, ears and tail, and blue shimmering eyes.
"I'm guessing that you can't tell me what is our reward for doing this? What is the bounty placed on her?" Hikari asked.
"It is confidential," Jinko replied, taking another sip of tea.
"Two elites plus a neophyte of the Dawning Star Navy, in this godforsaken place, all to find a young girl…ha ha ha," said Hikari as she let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"If the outcome of this search is not worth it, I wouldn't be here in the first place. Much less calling help from you, Hikari."
"Of course," Hikari let out a sigh. She then shook her head before getting herself into a proper mood.
"Still, to come here despite the rumours, It must have been a really big thing huh, Jinko-senpai?"
Hikari's question was responded to with a sharp glare from Jinko. "I've been meaning to ask, ever since our previous talk. What is this about a proxy battlefield and the rumours? This place has always been a place where small-scaled proxy wars happened, but never this serious to the point where I'm facing several other nations and their elites at the same time."
"You… really don't know?"
Jinko clicked her tongue at Hikari's query.
"I must admit, I haven't been paying much attention to international politics as of late. I am too worked-up on my… 'hobbies' to care for such a thing. I have been taking a look at some local more public intel, but nothing too concrete showed up."
"It's a rumour that's been spreading amongst governments recently. They are saying that the Lawless Maw Zone may contain a relic that may shake up the balance of power of the nations."
Jinko raised her eyebrows. "What?"
"That's how it went. The higher-ups have reason to believe that it came from reliable sources. And from what I've encountered just moments of arriving, I would say that the other nations are hell-bent on trying to find this relic. Secretly, of course."
"Has Dawning Star sent any representative regarding this matter?"
"None that I know off. I first thought you are here for this actually. Perhaps there is a Dawning Star Fleet roaming the area?"
"I see. I think I understand now," Jinko took another sip before looking outside the window. "I wonder what kind of relic it is. Seeing as it is capable of moving nations and yet, it is kept hidden away from the public. Shattering the power balance between nations, huh."
"You don't really know anything do you, Jinko-senpai?"
Jinko let out a frown. The thought of not knowing something annoyed the heck of her.