Ultima Ratio

Chapter 11: Tryouts

Eventually, her haphazard method led them to the flight deck, and they were immediately greeted by a gust of salty wind.

"I hope your sense of direction is better on land," Danya grumbled as she stepped beside Akira with her arms crossed.

"I never said we were going to the mess," Akira said, continuing towards the aft end of the ship. "The base should be splitting soon; I wanted to watch."

"Liar," Danya said, but she didn't complain any further.

It wasn't a complete lie. The base really was scheduled to separate into its individual segments, a necessary evolution to traverse through the narrow waterways ahead. And Akira really did find the whole process impressive; she just hadn't intended on watching that time, in favor of readying for their mission. But she wasn't about to admit to any of that.

Akira's improvised excursion wasn't completely irrational, judging by the other spectators gathered on the deck. Amongst them were even some members from her new team: Army Corporal Elodie Beringer and Specialist Navin Gupta. The two were huddled together away from the crowd, and before Akira could pretend she didn't see them, Elodie caught her eye and waved them over.

Akira had unofficially met her team when their ragtag group happened to band together during Danya's rampage. She officially met them the day after, when Commodore Marino-Roth eagerly gathered them as a new, specialized unit dubbed the Aegis Squad. And even though Akira was vaguely familiar with the four members and their provided profiles, she still couldn't get over the pure beauty of Elodie Beringer.

In Akira's humble opinion, if there wasn't a war ravaging the world, Elodie could easily have a successful career as a model. Everything about the twenty-four-year-old woman was elegant, from her impeccable bone structure that was worthy of a museum, to the way she walked like she was constantly carried by a gentle breeze. Even her honey blonde hair was tied in an impossibly perfect braid that circled her head, and when she moved a dainty wrist to tuck some loose strands behind her ear, it seemed to be more of a habitual action than a necessary one.

Beside her, the younger Gupta was attractive in his own right. While the twenty-two-year-old was the most junior in the team in both rank and age, he was easily a head taller than the rest of them, and his large build made it seem like he could take any of them on in a fight by just standing still. But as much as he was like a wall physically, his personality was completely different, and he never lifted his gaze higher than someone's waist, allowing his dark chin-length hair to form a wavy curtain around most of his vision.

"Captain Dunn!" Elodie greeted, and even her voice sounded like a gentle symphony. "Glad you could join us! And...Danya as well, of course."

"I thought we agreed to be on a first name basis," Akira said, not wanting her team to be prematurely exposed to Danya's pre-meal sarcasm.

While Akira wouldn't normally suggest the relaxation of professionalism, it had been the sergeant's—or rather, Jivan's desperate request, and since no one else shot it down, Akira wasn't going to be the one to stamp out their harmless wish. If any superior officers questioned it, she already prepared her arguments for it being good for teamwork and morale. Plus, it made distinguishing the Gupta siblings much easier.

"Sorry, it's a habit." Elodie smiled apologetically, once again tucking imaginary strands of hair behind her ear.

"Sounds like a real struggle, princess," Danya said from behind Akira.

Akira bit back an annoyed sigh; Elodie looked momentarily startled.

"So...I haven't seen the base divide in a while," Elodie continued, running her fingers behind her ear again. "Jivan's supposed to be here too, but—"