SSV Rōnin

Beginnings

John months were short, they were filled with work and Ashari's company. The unarian was following him everywhere as a stowaway in his missions. He noted that she was happy to be his companion. They were together every second he was free. John watched all her movies and every single of her shows through most planets on the galaxy. Ashari seemed happy to be hidden in the ships, she got a natural talent to not be spotted. A true spy. Luckily, the time for hiding was about to end. After a long survey of a rocky moon, the team was recalled to Centra. Admiral Roberts called him to tell him the news and meet the secret spy from the Ascendancy. John was texting Xania to reprogram a date for another day when Roberts entered the room. He was surprised to see Ashari in the room.

"Milady..." Charles said with a smile. "John... is she?"
"Good morning, sir." John saluted with enthusiasm. "She is... Shadow."
"I should be surprised, but... I investigated her a few times, I never find anything." Charles was looking at her. "In essence, we believe that all unarians on GHC space are spies..."
"I heard that, sir." John was looking at Ashari.
"I want the full story, John. Don't omit anything..."
John related his story in full glory, Ashari just added a few things, mostly to remark his actions. Charles got a nasty smile on his face.
"You promised not to laugh, sir."
"I'm just happy, John... You're exactly what we wanted for the A11. Milady, I hope your time as a refugee wasn't too hard on you."
"These months were the best of my life, admiral." Ashari replied with a smile. "I got to expend half of my days with John, we watched all my movies, we go out, I write like... thirty songs. I just thought about being... me."
John was happy for her.
"I see... What do you want for her, John?" Charles got a sudden serious look on him.
"I don't know, maybe a diplomatic post?"
Charles smiled.
"Ah, I want to hug you, John... You're fantastic. Well, I'll give you the news. You know that the Ascendancy have an empty embassy on Centra. They said that they would not be here without a seat on the Galactic Counsil. So, that's it. We basically don't know much about them, and they know about us through intelligence, mostly. What did you do? Well, the Princess is in the station and wanted to talk with you, John. She asked for you, by name... That's a freaking miracle if you ask me. I don't know how you jumped on to that train of though but... It paid off. So, I'm here in representation of the EAN and the GHC, you'll do the talking, though."
"Understood."
"The princess wanted her there too, that's why I asked to bring her with you."
"Can we... keep her of the books? I'm hoping that she could keep her... front." John asked while looking at her. "It's her real face, as far I understand."
"I'm doing just that. The ambassador is a pain in my ass, but I'm riding you to the end now. You'll have the credit for this, I'm not letting that bastard to keep the glory of your efforts."
"Thank you, sir."
"God... is this dense all the time, milady?"
"It's part of his charm." Ashari said with a smile. "I have a request, I don't want him to jeopardise his career for me."
"Well, he's playing this by book, so..." Charles was smiling. "Did you defeat them with just your handgun? They have impressive records."
"The Ascendancy gave up their files?" Ashari was surprised.
"All of them, except yours, of course. They are doing diplomacy... I feel the same way you do, milady. Did you, John?"
"I..."
"He did, it was like watching a huntress fight..." Ashari hastily interrupted. "You need to brag a bit more, John."
"You should watch Chandra fight, Ashari... I'm a little kid compared to her."
"That's a lot more than we hoped for you, John. Also, it means that I won the wager with the other admirals. They were saying that you would be useless in that regard. Masaru and I bet on you, though. Don't worry, we'll get you something nice."
John was scratching his head.
"You have too much faith in me, sir."
"You're fantastic, John. That's the truth."
"I agree." Ashari said with a big smile.
"I'm just doing what I think is right."
"That's the whole point of this, we have many soldiers that would do anything to finish their mission. You do the hard work, you are always thinking about your surroundings, you put value on your people... That's not something that we can choose in a soldier, you just have it. That's why we are optimistic about you."
John was blushing.
"He's bad with compliments." Ashari giggled a bit. "He always blushes when I tell him how cute he is. Do you like his new haircut, admiral?"
"I do, I used to have something like that when I was a commander." Replied with malice.
He read something in his holotool.
"Well, she is here. Our diplomats only said useless things about her. The only relevant thing is the fact that she is going to be queen. Her mother is already giving her the reins of the Ascendancy."
"It's a custom, Charles. The princess usually reigns long before becoming a queen." Ashari calmy added.
"I see, peculiar. They have a functional monarchy... This way, the building is deserted."
"It's the obligation of the royal family to protect the interest of the Ascendancy, admiral." Ashari hugged Jonh's arm. "You should read about our history; We punished the first tyrant with all the might of the people."
"That much, I know."
John entered a conference room to find three people inside. The guard's armours were black with golden details. Their helmets were hiding their faces. The princess was standing between them. She was a bit shorter than him, just like Ashari. The woman was wearing a beautiful tiara, and her dress was blue. She wasn't flaunting her royal status.
"Your Majesty." Charles said at loud. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person."
John saluted instantly. The woman was looking at Ashari. He thought that they looked alike, but he couldn't make a proper comparison with his knowledge about them.
"Admiral Charles R. Roberts, at your service. This is Lieutenant John A. Valentine."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am."
"At ease, soldiers. I'm glad to be... in another planet. I'm the first in my family."
The royal guard was about to speak when the woman interrupted him.
"I'm Princess Vanshi Kalei Unari." She was looking at him now. "And I'm here on the representation of the Noble Houses of the Ascendancy."
Her eyes were like two big emeralds, she was stunning. She invited them to sit with her hands. He sat near Ashari. She was distracted with the princess presence.
"So, this is the famous human..." She said while looking at him. "The man who defeated the Ebony Squad and... made our Shadow fail her mission."
"I am, your highness."
"For that, lieutenant, I wanted to thank you."
Her words were a surprise for everyone in the room.
"Thanks to your actions I finally can take a step into the right direction. We wanted to do this but... thanks to the actions of my mother, the queen, it was impossible. She refused to be less than she wanted. Me, I want to be part of the galaxy, I want to become friends with humanity. You are our silent guardians, after all."
"Are we?"
"Their starrail ends on our space. We give them a free pass and we keep the route secure." Charles instantly replied.
"We want to become a part of the galactic community and we are ready to do it. First, Shadow, I want you under his charge. I want to know what this man does and how it does it. I want you to be a bridge between us."
"Understood, your highness."
"You will be our liaison with him and the EAN, we will use the proper channels with the GHC. Second, I would like to offer you and the EAN, a bit of our intelligence, that's why Ashari is going with you. You can use her as you see fit, lieutenant."
"I will, your majesty." John replied instantly.
"He is your new boss, Ashari. I hope that you will keep doing an excellent work in this new assignment."
"I will, your highness." Ashari seriously said.
"Now, I would like to know how you defeated my best squad, lieutenant. It seems like they underestimated you."
"Well, that's part of it, ma'am. I fight them in the light, so to speak. Nobody expects my biokinetics."
"We unarians are like humans, few can do what the ignicians do." The princess crossed her legs to look at Ashari. "I hope this is the beginning of a new era for our people, admiral." Her green eyes were on him.
"We'll do our best to ensure that, milady."
"I love your music, Ashari."
"We're hoping that she could keep her... façade." John seriously said. "It's an important part of her life."
"I would not mind, Ashari. You can speak."
"I failed my mission, your highness. I... am in his hands now."
"I understand, ACI will change too. Your friends are safe now, I want to be the one to send our people through the stars. We can not kill our assets just like the old regime would want. I am trusting your integrity, Ashari."
"Thank you very much, your majesty. I will not fail to the Ascendancy again."
"Lieutenant, I hope to see you again. I am supposed to meet your ambassador, admiral."
Everyone stood with her.
"Oh, he is around. Valentine, you're dismissed."
"Understood."
"Ashari, we will on touch from now on. Be safe."
"I... thank you, your majesty."
John saluted before going out with Ashari. The woman hugged him tightly.
"Ashari... would... would you like to go out with me?" John shyly asked.
"Why are you blushing?" She asked with malice. "Take me wherever you want, John..."
"I... have a place on mind."
Ashari grabbed his arm to walk with him. John didn't understand what was happening, but it was happy for recovering Ashari's life.