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Tension on the Strait The first day of their voyage was nothing like what Shadrak had imagined it would be. Having elected to spend some time at the helm, chatting with Lexi, he’d gained a front row seat to the unfolding spectacle. Behind the Darklighter Idolus and the Emi Maru, were Ursian scout vessels. In front of them, were large retreating imperial warships, scattered over several miles in the south. Dragons guarded the imperial fleet’s rear from above and below the strait. Pegasus and wyvern knights were always attempting to gather information on the two ships that escaped the battle, but none ventured close enough to be attacked, and rarely did they attempt to seek out a meeting. In general, no ship or beast ever came close enough to act without risking reprisal. The druid was still worried about the water dragons in particular, as they lacked the kinds of defensive tools the Ursians had at their disposal. Lexi had assured the druid on several occasions that she could get her ship through a water dragon attack just fine, but eventually had to admit that she couldn’t do the same for the Emi Maru. That didn’t stop her from insisting that he needn’t worry. At the very least, neither the Ursians nor the Neviskotians knew the extent of their abilities. Doubtless the latter didn’t want to lose anymore ships so unexpectedly. How long could they count on that extreme caution, though? A bit longer than even Lexi herself had been expecting …. Team Mikoyan The newly appointed Admiral Roman had taken the first day to simply keep the fleet’s retreat calm and orderly while he tried to tackle the mountains of reports from the previous day’s battle. Eventually, by early evening, Lev had been brought into the admiral’s quarters for his orders. The fact that he was getting special orders in particular was telling … <“Commander Mikoyan,”> Admiral Roman greeted Lev, <“I hope I can trust you with this …”> Trying to look faithful and optimistic, Lev came to attention with a smile. <“What can I do for you, Admiral?”> <“We need that nomad, the mage you saw aboard the Basilisk. You’re one of the few officers I know that can turn an ‘unavoidable’ battle into a negotiation. That’s what I need for the upcoming operation.”> <”You want me to make contact, sir?”> Roman hesitated for a moment, his eyes shifting back and forth as he mulled over the finer details of his plan. <”Yes … but not yet. I’ve been thinking long and hard about this … and as far as I can see, our best approach is to wait until he’s on land. Dealing with the Kigenese could be troublesome, but I don’t like our chances at sea, not with the Basilisk waiting to come and aid them.”> <”How do you know they’re going to Kigen?”> Lev asked. <”It’s only a hunch,”> Roman admitted, <”As the strongest neutral party in this nightmare, they would be a strong buffer for that mage, regardless of their ultimate destination.”> So the Admiral considered the Kigen locals less of a threat than their stolen battleship, did he? Lev supposed as long as it was only Lev’s squad at risk, as opposed to a quarter of the fleet, that was almost certainly true. Of course, if this wasn’t handled delicately, Lev and his men wouldn’t be the only ones at risk; diplomatic relations between these two great empires could be damaged if a battle with this strange nomad caused too much damage. The key, Lev decided, would be to make sure it didn’t come to a battle. <”Your objective,”> Roman continued, <”will be to convince this mage to work with us. Find out what his objectives are. Make whatever offer seems reasonable, get him on our side. If that turns out to be impossible … you’ll just have to capture him.”> <”So I take it that,”> Lev put a hand on his hip and the other on his chin, thoughtfully, <”it’s mission failure if he dies. But wait …”> Lev paused, glancing off toward the corner of the room. <”Admiral, what if he’s not a mage? What if he’s using an artifact?”> <”Some kind of weapon? An undamaged relic from the rebellion?”> Roman asked, wincing. <”Yeah,”> Lev nodded, eyeing Roman with a bit of confidence. <”No mage ever pulled a stunt like that. Not on their own. This almost makes sense if some relic from that era is involved.”> <”If that’s the case, then we may only need him alive if there’s some trick to using this artifact. Once we have the power, be it some new technique or simply a working artifact, we don’t need him anymore.”> Lev frowned at Roman’s response, though he didn’t disagree with the man. <”I’d prefer to recruit him if possible. Even if it turns out to be a dead end, I’d rather go into this with that approach. My team could tip him off in any number of ways if they’ve got murder on the mind.”> Roman nodded. <”That’s fine. I chose you for this, so it’s in your hands. Do whatever you have to do and get us that power … and if at all possible, get us our ship back.”> Lev smiled. <”That’s the plan.”> <”Before you go,”> Roman stood up from his chair, <”you’ll need to assemble your team.”> Lev cocked an eyebrow. <”I have a team, Admiral … not a big one, but we’ve got enough funds set aside for mercenary hires if we need help.”> Roman nodded throughout Lev’s explanation, and then took over. <”There is no ongoing operation more important than this one, Mikoyan. Not a single one. That mage stole our most powerful weapon in the heat of battle and turned her guns back on us. Don’t think the Ursians are going to ignore an opportunity like this.”> Lev’s eyes widened in understanding. <”I nearly forgot about them.”> Edith was the only credible threat there, in Lev’s view, and she was gone, now. Still, Roman’s concerns were valid, and worth some extra precautions. <”You don’t want to expand my team because of the mage; I’m planning to negotiate, after all. You want to make sure we can fight off the Ursians when they try the same thing.”> Roman nodded again. <”Exactly.”> <”You’re giving me a battalion, aren’t you?”> Roman glanced off to the side, not certain of his answer. <”I don’t want to over encumber you. I have some strong recommendations, but the choice of who to bring, and the exact number, will be yours.”> Lev nodded gravely. There was a lot coming down onto his shoulders. He could feel the weight building with each passing moment. <”So, what are your recommendations, Admiral?”> <”Your team needs at least one dragon,”> Roman said; he’d been waiting for that question, clearly, <”but two would be preferable. You’ll also need people with experience operating in foreign lands.”> <”So it won’t just be a naval team,”> Lev noted, <”It’s a joint operation with the army, now.”> <”This is the most important ongoing operation, Mikoyan,”> the Admiral said, again, <”Remember that. The choices are up to you, but as I said, those that can operate in foreign lands effectively are preferable, as well as a minimum of one dragon.”> Lev squinted. <”You’ve got someone specific in mind, don’t you?”> he smirked. <”A group from the army’s special forces, no doubt.”> <”Yes … if you can handle them, one of the army’s special forces units just linked up with us this morning.”> Roman eyed Lev cautiously, trying to give the man his space while still influencing the team’s roster, <”I strongly recommend that you take them with you. Anyone else in the fleet you feel you’ll need will also be available.”> Lev nodded his understanding. <”Sure, I’ll take them with, but I’d like to take some time to get to know them before we land.”> <”Right, right,”> Roman crossed his arms in anticipation. <”Well then, you should head over to the carrier, Anya. Kozel and his team are holding up there.”> Lev’s face went pale at the name. <”Kozel … you mean Virgil Kozel?”> Roman nodded guiltily. <”That’s one hell of a recommendation,”> Lev winced, not hiding his unease. “If I’m going to be working with him on this, we’re going to need all the time we can get before landing.”> <”You’ll get it done, Mikoyan.”> The Edith Detachment “My own detachment …” Edith left Admiral Gram’s quarters after a brief meeting with him and some of the other captains and officers of the fleet, the news and her assignment still fresh in her mind. The Ursians were tracking both the Neviskotians and the mysterious group that had attacked during the battle. They were tracking them both very closely, watching for any significant changes in mood or stance as all three groups headed south. It would be some time before Edith could act, and until then, she had to familiarize herself with a new pegasus, and try to assemble a large enough group to pursue the nomad and his allies without succumbing to imperial attack. Attempting anything at the moment was out of the question. If it turned into a battle, a single ship swarming with distracted pegasus knights, would be an irresistible prospect for the dragons. For some reason, Gram and the others seemed to think the mysterious mage a potential ally against the Neviskotian Empire. Edith didn’t understand how or why they came to that conclusion so near unanimously. If that man wanted to aid Ursium, the fleet’s overtures up to this point wouldn’t have failed. More likely than not, as Edith had pointed out multiple times during the meeting, it was simply more expedient to attack the imperials. If they planned to go south, the imperials were essentially blocking the way for them. Keeping that in mind, it was only natural to fire on them. The fact that they hadn’t taken down a single imperial vessel with their barrage was even more evidence that their intentions were simply to escape the area, not aid Ursium. Edith’s superiors were far too optimistic ... The frustrating optimism of her peers aside, Edith had plenty more to consider, and to be grateful for. While she hadn’t been the most responsible of knights during the previous evening’s battle, she’d broken every record the navy cared about as far as their pegasus knights were concerned. Boasting the highest personal kill count of any pegasus knight in the Ursian military by battle’s end, and having personally taken down the captain of the Basilisk, Edith had earned herself a two rank promotion. Now she held the rank of Commander. What made the situation even better was that no one seemed interested in having her return Yggdrasil into storage. Her mission would be much easier to complete with Ursium’s strongest portable weapon in her possession. At least that was how things seemed for the moment. It was still worrying, Yggdrasil, and what the red eyed giant had told her, but Edith couldn’t let it affect her during the mission. Edith's Detachment was now being formed, and it was up to its commanding officer to assemble a team of the navy’s finest to track and pursue the nomad and his cohorts, as well as wipe out the imperials that were undoubtedly planning the same. She would just have to train herself harder, hone her instincts, learn to command more effectively, and crush the enemy, whenever and wherever they showed themselves. ((3/16))