Yuren intensely watched the monitors around the command center. The flight from the Trinity Range to the southwestern plains where the Szenveir Kingdom's capital city was located had gone without incident for the first hour, but soon they'd be nearing an airspace often patrolled by Argentian ships.
Other forces of the Union left them be, particularly due to the Eisendrace still having the colors and markers of an Argentian warship. This, however, did mean their location and direction of travel were being tracked and reported back to Argentia's Ministry of Defense by those same forces.
Yuren tapped the screen on a terminal; the holographic screen was showing the data that was being tracked by his sensors. "Reila, how much time until we reach their airspace?"
"About two more hours sir," she replied.
"And how much until Argentia knows where we are going?" He asked. "And how far out from Szenveir's border are we?"
"Argentia probably already has a pretty good idea where we're headed. Two of their battleships are following our direction but not quite tailing us yet. As for our distance to the Szenveir border, about three more hours if we don't increase speed." Reila answered, her voice calm and focused.
Yuren sighed and remained silent; he really hoped that they wouldn't be pursued and forced into a conflict near the Szenveir's borders. The Szenveir Kingdom had a strict no-tolerance policy regarding the presence of warships within their borders; even the ships of their union allies were subject to the kingdom's inspection. The fact that Argentia's ships were following the direction of their own meant that the kingdom's military had certainly already been alerted, as it was customary for Argentia's ships to simply turn away from Szenveir's borders rather than attempt to cross it.
"Sir, the flagship Aetoreus just appeared on radar." Reila said as her eyes were fixated on the sensor screen.
Yuren grimaced and muttered under his breath, "Damn."
He knew the presence of that ship and its escort meant the situation had escalated to the point that it would no longer be possible for them to escape peacefully.
"Sir, the flagship Aetrus has also appeared..."
"Of course," Yuren replied in a frustrated tone. "All hands, combat standby."
"Combat standby!"
The bridge erupted into a flurry of activity, and the holographic screens changed from blue to orange as they switched to the ship's battle systems.
Yuren watched as the two flagships appeared on their radar. They were approaching fast, but they were still too far to pose a direct threat. He could tell that the crew was tense; the bridge was filled with the sound of the ship's engines, and the crew was focused on their duties. He then stood, grabbed his overcoat, and began walking towards the lift.
"Commander! Where are you going?" Bei asked.
"The deck." He replied as the lift's doors closed. Yuren knew very well what was about to happen; he remembered the tactics and strategies from the officers' academy, and he remembered the strategies his instructing superior officer, Admiral Elissir, had drilled into his brain. A battle between two vessels was never about their actual strength and capabilities; it was always a game of deception. And this particular one had already been decided before they even left the base camp.
"Hard radar lock!" Reila's voice called over the radio as Yuren emerged onto the ship's deck.
Yuren quickly looked around and noticed that he wasn't the only one on the deck; the androids that had been ordered to stand by were also there, and their expressions were of confusion.
Yuren saw the energy gathering around the bow of the Aetrus; the light was intense and bright. He took a deep breath, and red energy began arcing around him in response to his emotions. His eyes focused on the gathering energy; he knew what it was. He also knew what was about to happen.
In a matter of seconds, the Aetrus' cannons fired and a massive energy beam shot through the air. Yuren didn't hesitate, and in a second, he deflected the attack into a nearby hilltop, obliterating the entire thing.
"What...? Yuren? Did you just..." Reila said over the radio. Her voice was trembling.
Yuren looked up and saw that the other flagship was about to fire as well. The red energy arced around him once more, and he focused on the Aetorus. He raised his arm, and a large red wall of resonance formed in front of him.
The second flagship's shot struck the wall; the energy was intense, and Yuren had to struggle to keep the wall from breaking. He dropped to one knee once the beam ended and took a breath to recover. His body trembled from the exertion, but he was determined to continue the fight.
Suddenly, the third shot was fired from Aetrus again. Yuren raised his hand to act but the beam disappeared before even striking the wall. Confusion spread across his face.
Seconds later, the beam reappeared from a golden mist, directed back at the two ships. The Aetorus took the hit directly in its side, and the ship immediately started to slow down.
Yuren looked around and noticed a figure surrounded by six pillars within separate clouds of golden mist. "A Meteorn?" He whispered to himself. "But that means..." He trailed off.
"Unrecognized signature, there's no database matches for that meteorn!" Reila's voice came from his radio. Yuren turned and looked towards her; he had never seen anyone use their resonance in the way this figure was.
"Wait..." Yuren squinted and realized he was looking at a girl.
She disappeared as the Argentian battleships withdrew, and before Yuren could get a good look at her. "They... left? Just like that?" Yuren muttered in surprise before turning back to head inside.
"Radar lock from an unknown position!" Reila called.
"What?" He looked around but didn't see anything; the golden mists had completely dissipated, and the sky was empty.
Yuren's body immediately felt sluggish as he felt a surge of resonance from below him; his legs and arms grew weak as he felt himself fall to his knees.
"What's going... on?" Yuren said, his voice was weak.
He tried to focus, but he couldn't; he felt a sense of deja vu, this feeling. He remembered the sensation of his limbs feeling like they weighed several times their weight.
Clenching his jaw as he forced himself up, Yuren drew out all of the resonance he could; he felt it surge through his body as the world around him began to slow down. He then spread it out to surround the Eisendrace, and in a flash of red light, the ship vanished.
"Ah... I forgot to... send myself too..." He gasped as he fell from where the Eisendrace once was, falling towards the ground.
He could see something rapidly approaching him but could barely keep his eyes open and was soon engulfed in darkness.
"What a reckless master..." Jytenreu growled as she intercepted his fall. She then looked down towards the hills where the energy surge came from. "I know who that power belongs to. And to think those wretched humans would bring that thing out of hiding." She whispered before flying off as fast as she could, her eyes filled with anger and determination.
***
"Signal lost, Sir. The target vanished!" A sensor technician said.
General Sennheiser sat in his seat, staring at the console. "What happened?"
"We don't know, sir. Our target simply disappeared, " the technician replied, and the man was in a panic.
Sennheiser's brow furrowed as he tried to process the situation. "And the meteorn that redirected the cannons? Where is it?" He asked.
"We don't know that either sir, there were no matching readings for it, no resonance signals or signatures." The technician said.
"Damn it! The damn Longinus nearly depleted the outpost's power and we didn't even get to fire. We have no choice but to wait until we have an open opportunity again, and it may just be our final chance." Sennheiser spoke; his face was red with anger.
"Yes sir!" the technician replied, and the bridge crew began preparing for their mission's next phase. "We'll find him again."
"Damnit..." Sennheiser muttered. He looked at the console; the screens were filled with static. "We need to do this before Yu finds out we aren't where we are supposed to be... Send out an internal APB for all Argentian forces but watch the wording, we don't want the Empress to know we are not following her orders. We'll be on the butcher's block if she finds out that we have the Longinus."
"Yes, Sir!"