"There are too many of them, sensei!"
"Hold together!"
The Blood Dragons were losing the battle. It was hard to tell which of the innumerable Naval Forces ships they were fighting were piloted by humans and which by infested pilots; the ratio was probably swung firmly towards the latter. Trent had gone into Tekagi's base with Ozu, there had been no communication from either of them. Things were looking rather grim.
The Chimaeras and Dragons closed in on the small band of Blood Dragon fighters. They were toying with them now, like a cat toyed with its prey. The Blood Dragons prepared for their last stand... KABOOM!
A massive explosion emanated from Tekagi's planetoid, orange against the turquoise space.
The Naval Forces ships were momentarily disoriented, and before they could react, bright red and orange beams seared over the Dragons' heads and annihilated several Chimaeras.
"BANZAI!"
"FOR MATSUDA!"
"FOR FREEDOM!"
The Golden Chrysanthemum attack wing had thrown the balance, their Falcons and Eagles setting the Naval Forces ablaze. Also at that moment, a second Dragon attack wing arrived from Ryuku.
Things were looking better already...
Amidst the confusion, no Naval Forces ships took any heed of the Chimaera that docked with the Battleship Himeji. This would turn out to be a bad move on their part.
This particular Chimaera was not piloted by a KNF pilot. It was, in fact, being piloted by Naoko Haneda, Golden Chrysanthemum ace and assassin, who had captured it in a raid on a KNF production facility several years before. The transponder was jerry-rigged to display either a Naval Forces or a GC signal at the flick of a switch. Handy for covert missions such as this.
The mission was simple: Board the Himeji and take out Chujo Michio Raikatsugi, paving the way for a full GC boarding of the ship. Any KNF casualties were a bonus.
Naoko armed her blaster and climbed cautiously out of her cockpit into the ship's docking bay.
A pair of guards looked over at her, and ran towards her with a yell.
Naoko blasted the pair of them and grinned. This would be a piece of cake.
Naoko examined the bodies of the guards. One male, one female. The man's uniform was damaged, as he had been shot through the heart. But the woman had been dispatched with a head shot, and looked to be about Naoko's size...
Working quickly, Naoko stripped the female guard and donned her uniform, then flushed the bodies and her original clothes out of the airlock. Checking the pockets, she located the female guard's identification card. "Miyazaki Kimiko..." she murmured, before stowing it in her pocket. Memorising the new identity, she strode out of the docking bay towards the bridge. Nobody gave her a second glance. Another uniformed officer - what was so unusual about that?
Naoko grinned inwardly. All she had to do was find the bridge and take out Raikatsugi. She'd probably be killed the second she did, but no matter. Her death was nothing compared to the survival of the Sisterhood.
In the coming years, she often wished she had died that day.
Nobody paid any attention to Naoko when she entered the bridge of the Himeji. Her plan was working.
Smiling inwardly (though never once letting this show on her face and break the facade), she walked up to the commander and saluted. "Chujo," she said. "An urgent dispatch has come through from High Command."
"And what would this dispatch be?" Raikatsugi asked, never taking his eyes off the battle outside.
"I do not know, sir. It is classified."
Raikatsugi sighed irritably. "Alright, give it to me."
"I... cannot, sir. Not here. Perhaps in a more private location? Such as your quarters...?" A time-honoured tactic.
Raikatsugi ran his eyes up and down Naoko's not unattractive body. "Hm. Very well. Sawaguchi! You are in command until my return!" Raikatsugi barked, turning on one heel and marching towards the door.
Naoko followed. This was almost too easy...
![[Image: 4662_s.gif]](http://signavatar.com/4662_s.gif)