Flying into the Ishimura's hangar, Andromeda and his twenty escorts touched down on the slick metal surface. The moment his feet hit the deck, he dropped Joker 1-5 from his shoulders, his massive frame looming over the fallen knight. With a swift motion, I wrenched Andromeda's arm forward, tearing off the damaged chest hatch and exposing the wounded pilot inside.
"He's breathing but barely! Get him to the bay, now!" one of the medics shouted.
A stretcher was rushed in, and the barely conscious pilot was hauled away. Several of his squad mates disembarked their knights and sprinted after him, their faces tight with worry.
As Andromeda's chest compartment opened, I stepped out, removing my helmet with a long exhale as I hopped down into the hanger floor.
The weight of it all settled on me. My first real military skirmish—my first time in a true zero-gravity battle. The evacuation of Sorfex didn't count. That was just survival. But this? This was war.
Still, I hadn't expected Andromeda to move so freely in space. There was a grace to it, an effortless fluidity I'd never felt before. Even flying in the atmosphere couldn't compare. It was as if space itself was Andromeda's true element, his natural domain.
"Attention, Joker Platoon!"
The sharp bark of an officer's voice made me jump. I turned, watching as every pilot in the knight squad that had escorted me to the Ishimura formed a disciplined line in front of me and Andromeda.
"Bow in gratitude to the Constellation Knight! Bow!"
In perfect unison, twenty men—including their commanding officer—bowed at a sharp ninety-degree angle. Their voices ringing out in the hangar:
"Thank you, Pilot Firefly!"
Heat crawled up my neck. I raised my hands awkwardly, trying to get them to stop. "I—I just did what any soldier would do. You don't—"
"Pilot Firefly," the lieutenant, a man a few years older than me, stepped forward, his face solemn. "Denying another's thanks for something earned is not only disrespectful to them, but also to yourself. Please, accept it with a clear conscience. What you did today makes you more than worthy of this."
I hesitated, still uncomfortable, but eventually, I nodded. "O-okay... If it makes you and them happy, Lieutenant."
"Thank you, Pilot Firefly!"
The platoon rose from their bow, their voices echoing across the hangar. The sound nearly made me jump out of my skin.
And then the crowd came.
One moment, it was just the platoon. The next, the entire hangar seemed to swarm around me. Engineers, technicians, and pilots flooded in from all sides, their voices overlapping in a chaotic wave of gratitude.
"Way to go, Star Pilot!"
"That sent those bots back to hell!"
"Thank you for saving me, CK!"
The cheers were deafening, the claps and shouts merging into a roar of celebration. More and more people gathered, their bodies pressing in until it felt like the whole damn ship was here. I backed up instinctively—only to hit Andromeda's leg.
Just when I thought I'd be swallowed whole by the crowd, a heavy voice cut through the chaos.
"Captain on the floor!"
The hangar fell silent.
"Make a hole! I said, make a hole!"
The sea of bodies parted, and a man in a crisp grey uniform strode forward, exuding the commanding presence of a seasoned officer. As he approached, Andromeda lowered to the ground one knee acting as a comforter for me as I gripped his finger behind my back.
The captain extended his hand. "On behalf of the entire Ishimura's eighteen-hundred crew members, I thank you and your knight, Pilot Firefly."
I shook his hand, still overwhelmed.
Then, in a swift motion, the captain bowed. And like a perfectly synchronized machine, the entire crowd followed, dipping their heads in silent gratitude.
"I just did my duty as a soldier, sir. Thank you for the praise," I said stiffly, still unable to fully process everything. I could feel my face burning. My back pressed against Andromeda's leg, wishing I could just disappear.
The captain smirked knowingly but didn't push. Instead, he straightened and barked out orders.
"All right! Back to your stations! The Ishimura needs repairs immediately! Get those jets and knights rearmed! Check the shield batteries and flak cannon munitions! The Ishimura will never fall so long as I'm in command, do you hear me?!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
The crowd dispersed in a flurry of movement, pilots and engineers rushing off to their posts.
The captain turned back to me. "Engineers, make sure Pilot Firefly's knight is fit for redeployment as soon as possible. This is priority one tasking." Then, with a nod, he gestured for me to follow. "With me, pilot. Your knight will be in safe hands."
I waved goodbye to Andromeda and followed the captain toward the elevator. The moment the doors slid shut, he let out a low chuckle.
"You don't handle compliments well, do you?"
"Not in the slightest," I muttered, crouching down and burying my face in my knees.
"Your face made it clear you had no idea what to do." He adjusted his collar, letting out a tired sigh. "You might want to work on that stage fright. You're getting ordained by the Empress herself in three weeks, and it'll be broadcasted across a hundred billion people galactic-wide."
I groaned. "I know. If I could, I'd just stay away from cameras, but they always find me somehow."
The captain coughed, looking suspiciously like he was hiding a smirk. "Well, your friends already told me where you're headed and what you're after."
As the elevator doors opened, we stepped into the corridor, moving toward the command deck.
"I'd be happy to help," he continued, "but if I leave the warp tunnel unguarded, Freiheit's automaton army will flood the Third Sector."
I frowned. "Is it that bad?"
"I'm afraid so." The corridor bustled with technicians rushing past, their faces grim. "We don't know how or when, but Freiheit has built an army rivalling ours in size and firepower. Those cruisers you fought? Just the tip of the iceberg. Because of this, we've had to reorganize and merge forces. Four new Knight Battalions have been created for better force dispersal. Each battalion also now operates in sync with the Noblesse Oblige legions as a unified military force."
That caught me off guard. "Oh... Do Jason and Nicole already know?"
"They've been briefed, same as you." The captain's tone darkened slightly. "Now, there's more you all need to hear."
Reaching the command deck, we rounded the war table where Jason and Nicole were waiting.
"Nice stuff out there, Firefly." Nicole grinned and threw an arm around me in a forced hug.
"We could hardly track your signal with how fast you were going," Jason added, shaking his head.
"Save the reunion for later." The captain motioned to a technician. "Toranagi, bring up their target coordinates."
A holographic projection flickered to life above the circular war table, displaying a planet and its surrounding asteroid belt.
The captain exhaled sharply. "Your friend here gave my navigator the coordinates of your last target. I'm afraid it's not looking good for you."
"How come?" Jason asked, eyes narrowing as he studied the flickering holographic projection.
The captain gestured toward the glowing display of Duradel-VXI.
"This planet is one of Freiheit's primary manufacturing fronts. A stronghold deep in Greyrot's Fourth Sector. Right now, the Sakainta and Illeniast noble legions are hammering the planet alongside the Vibrio Hawk battalion. But the sky's a wall of enemy firepower. Ground insertion's impossible. Everyone's trying to breach the surface, and no one's making it through."
Nicole exhaled sharply. "And I'm guessing there's a lovely swarm of bots waiting between us and them?"
"Affirmative, missy." The captain's tone hardened. "This warp tunnel is our lifeline. It feeds every frontline force we have in the sector. If the bots capture it, we're done here. However—" he allowed a faint grin "—we've got an edge. Those two insurgent cruisers you fought? Fully autonomous. No human crew. That means once we finish repairs on the Ishimura, we can override their AIs and repurpose the ships for ourselves. Their flak cannons alone are worth it—but more importantly, we might extract an insurgent ID-signal. That'll let you slip past enemy scanners and punch through Duradel's orbital blockade."
Tactically, it was sound. Risky, sure—if the override failed, the ships could reawaken and turn on us—but the Ishimura was running on fumes. Those cruisers might be the only real shot they had left. And that signal-ID was a tactical edge that could not be ignored.
I nodded. Jason and Nicole followed.
"What's the plan?" I asked.
"Good. You're on board." The captain turned to Nicole. "Major Naben, your hacking credentials are known across the military. I'm trusting you to rewrite the enemy AI and turn those cruisers to our cause."
Nicole cracked her knuckles, flashing a crooked grin. "No pressure, huh?"
"Pilot Firefly," the captain continued, "you're on point. You'll guard Major Naben with a detachment from Joker Platoon. Once she reconfigures the first cruiser, she'll upload the override code—then we'll handle the second ourselves. When you secure the insurgent signal-ID, we move to the next phase. You have two hours to rest," he concluded. "Gear up. Supplies will be tight, but we'll spare what we can."
Jason frowned, visibly unhappy about being benched. "So no refuel, I take it? Firefly's knight is low on ammo. If we're headed where you say, we'll need more than bravado."
"If we have it, you'll get it before departure," the captain said, nodding firmly. "Hand your request to my CO. Dismissed."
Two Hours Later — Aboard the Transport Shuttle
I sat in Andromeda's open cockpit, finishing pre-launch diagnostics as Nicole climbed the maintenance rafters in her snug zero-g suit.
"This is going to be cosy," she said, crouching at the cockpit's edge.
"Be glad we still fit," I replied with a smirk as she slipped in beside me.
"Prepare for transport, pilots!" came Joker 1-1's voice across comms, echoing through the shuttle's launch bay. His samurai-model knight strode between rows of mechs and personnel. "Mission priority: Escort Major Naben to the control room. Once inside, we disable the external weapons and reboot the engines. Expect resistance—some bots may still be active. Neutralize them on sight. Let's not disgrace ourselves in front of Pilot Firefly."
"Yes, sir!" eight voices answered in crisp unison.
The lieutenant's smirk was audible. "Now, what are our objectives?"
"Escort! Infiltration! Defence!"
"Damn right. Saddle up. Launch in ten seconds."
Joker 1-1 stepped into position against the shuttle's opposite wall. Mechanical clamps locked onto his mech's shoulders.
He turned to Nicole. "Pick your ride, Major."
She climbed fully into Andromeda's cockpit and settled between my legs, her back pressed against the underside of my seat near the foot pedals.
"Yeah. This is much better," she murmured. "You green?".
"Green," I confirmed. Thankfully, she wasn't blocking my lower screen.
[All oxygen seals locked, Pilot.]
Nicole jumped slightly as Andromeda's voice crackled through the cabin.
[Commencing transport.]
The shuttle's thrusters ignited, flinging us into the stars. The Ishimura shrank behind us, swallowed by the dark. All that remained were distant glimmers—wrecked hulls and flickering hazard lights scattered across the void.
[Three minutes until arrival.]
I leaned forward. "Lieutenant, question."
Joker 1-1 turned his knight's head toward us. "Go ahead, CK."
"Why are your knights so... curved? They're different from what I've seen."
"This is the samurai-model. Built for the Sakainta Noble Army. Designed to take a hit and deliver it back with interest."
"Honestly," chimed Joker 1-6, "yours isn't far off, Firefly. Broad shoulders, reinforced thighs, golden crests—you've even got our power core vents."
"That's a crown, Nobunaga!" barked 1-3. "You ever seen seraphim-grade horns?!"
"Seriously, Nobunaga?" another pilot laughed. "You lose gun privileges for that."
"Oh, piss off! You know what I meant!"
The comms filled with warm laughter and snark. I couldn't help giggling. It reminded me that, even now, we were still human.
At Fallen Moon Facility, I'd learned the Ten Noble Houses trained their own knight pilots. But none of their methods matched the brutality I'd endured. Their models—powerful, yes—were still inferior to Constellation Knights. We were something else entirely. Each CK served under the Empress herself. No exceptions.
Now that I'd seen Sakainta designs first-hand, I was curious. What did the other nine houses build? Were their knights just as curved? Or would they be... stranger?
[Prepare for disembarking.]
The shuttle slowed, gliding into the Freiheit cruiser's silent hangar. Debris floated lazily in zero-g, along with the husks of deactivated drones.
[Disembark.]
Clamps released in the shuttle. One by one, the knights dropped into the hangar using thrusters.
[Activating magnet-lock.] Andromeda's feet clamped to the deck. He drew his rail cannon, recalibrating its targeting systems.
Joker 1-1 moved to the front of the group. "Stay sharp. We don't know what's still alive in here. Two squads: Andromeda, myself, Joker 1-2, and 1-4—we secure the control servers. The rest head to the reactor for manual restart. Keep comms clear. Expect trouble."
"Yes, sir!"
We stepped past the hangar threshold, the squads peeling off into opposite corridors.
Ahead of us, the cruiser's interior loomed.
Dim. Dead. Waiting.
Hopefully, nothing's still alive in here.