A woman born in fire

[Sturmwind]

A bulky, yet artisan and elegant vessel burst through the nebula, its cruise engine leaving a trail as it passed. The ship was apparently of Kusari design, however the unusual overuse of flowers and curved shapes placed this secessionist piece of art among the ranks of the Golden Chrysanthemums.

[font=Comic Sans Ms][color=#FFCC00]"Koharu-sama, Matsuo-san is picking up something ahead... looks like a scrap field."

[color=#FF6600]"What do you see, Sister? Are they fallen warriors of Hideyoshi?"

"No, Koharu-sama. They appear to be foreigners."

The feminine-looking vessel drifted close to the leftovers of a battle, the disintegrated remains of a Rheinland gunboat could be clearly made out. The wreckage was still fresh; flames were erupting from the vessel's side as its oxygen reserves were sucked into space, dead bodies of soldiers in green uniforms were scattered around their former shelter. The inscription on the vessel's side could still be made out;

RNC-Hellstrom.

Judging by the remnants of the albeit one-sided skirmish, the Kusari Navy found and massacred the intruders.

"Scan for survivors, Miho-san."

A green beam erupted from the front of the Chrysanthemum ship, an aging method of detecting vital signs among the charred remains of a battlefield. It lit up the chunks of the gunboat and its escort, then tickled the dead pilots and crewmen. Finally, it came upon a burnt-out sub-section. The beam turned red.

"Koharu-sama, we have some live ones in the engineering module... it appears it was detached long before the gunboat's core went critical."

"How many survivors are there, Miho-san?"

"I'm seeing two... one of them seems to be an infant."

The presence of a newborn child on a military vessel served as a shock to Koharu, an otherwise calm and dispassionate woman. She turned to her advisors, keeping her apparently unemotional look.

"Asuka, prepare your space suit. Yuki, get us close to the wreckage. We're going in."