Always a dawn after the dusk

[empress_without_a_throne]

[So Mizuki's on the phone, talking with someone at home.  And things are pretty standard until-]

... You're kidding.  They actually pulled it off?!  That's- right.  I understand but that's one more hurdle cleared.

I have some things to tie up here, but I'll be heading back to HQ shortly.



And thanks Mom.  This was... the kind of news I'd never think I'd hear.

[1]



[Later...]

So Solaris contacted me a bit ago.  The DawnBird's nearing completion and we've managed to contact an old pilot interested in coming back for "one last ride" as it were.  It won't be long until SolSavior'll be back in action, and living up to its name finally too.

I'll be heading back to accompany them with the finishing touches, and also to "donate" the combination servos on the DuskBird.  And after that... well, we'll have to wait and see.

[2] (locked to people Mizuki has good CR with)



Hey...

[Before it was a big group-wide broadcast.  Now though, it's just the Abyss Empress finding you at some quiet point.]

How're you holding up?

Comments

2

[star_of_sad]

Yes? I... I think I am fine, all things considered.

What's the matter, Mizuki? It's not like you to ask a question like this out of nowhere.

[empress_without_a_throne]

I know, I've just had some things on my mind for a while. Between Seta and Willis and everyone else...

A lot of us wouldn't have gotten very far if we were on our own, would we have?

[star_of_sad]

[Setsuko thinks about the past. The answer comes to her immediately - and she sounds really sure of it.]

We wouldn't. We really, really, wouldn't.

[empress_without_a_throne]

That's what I was thinking too. There's something about us that... I don't know how to put it, especially without making light of the regular armed forces. But it's there.

Whoever decided to call this the "Unity Group"... they had the right idea.

[star_of_sad]

Teamwork is the basis of operations for any military unit. I don't think it's just Unity Group...

Or is there something else that others don't have?

[empress_without_a_throne]

[Well, for starters there's the TSEN teleporters... but that's not quite what Mizuki means here.]

I'm... not sure how to say it. But whatever it was, it's like the same way that the Steel Dragons performed so well during Bian's insurrection compared to other groups, even larger or more experienced ones.

[star_of_sad]

I wish I knew what it was. Because...

[Setsuko shakes her head.]

Because if it's true and we know what it is, we could share it with others, too.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Just being there seems to help with that though. Look at Team Dobermen; they're just the most recent example.

[star_of_sad]

You may have a point, but... I don't know Mizuki.

I am glad they survived and that we managed to live for this long with, well, relatively few casualties.

[Even if those people who DID die used to be so close to Setsuko...]

But I don't want to look down on others, either.

[empress_without_a_throne]

I know. That's why it's... something hard to define, and it's not like we haven't had our own losses.

[And Setsuko would know, so, yeah...]

It's not a privilege, and I'm not even sure if saying its a responsibility is right either. More like just... a reassurance that what we're doing isn't in vain.