Leaving behind Julius and the Shuttle, I get situated by the crew waiting to receive me and am informed that the others—Olga, Richter, Sergi, and Che’s Darcy have convened on the bridge awaiting my orders. As it stands right now, the fleet is gathering for the expected warp jumps to the Lübeck star-zone.
After getting caught up, I head for the bridge. Along the way are various crew members that stop to salute me, but I spare little time for chatter or formalities.
When I get to the bridge it is rather unusually busy. There are a lot of faces I do not recognize immediately, and I’m left with the impression that they are possibly lieutenants or captains from the other ships in the fleet. Out of them all, I spot the overbearing Brutus, who spots me and rushes over to greet me.
“Madame, I hope your visit went well,” the oversized ape warmly says. He looks on at the Yilan and her escorts in the distance turning around to join up with its fleet “I hope the Feddies didn’t give you too much trouble.”
“None at all, Brutus,” I reply amid the man looking at me blankly “the welcoming party was certainly lukewarm, but I had the pleasure of acquainting with that junior officer—Victoria, which I think made up for the overall atmosphere there… why are you giving me that look, Brutus?”
The giant bear tries to chuckle it off, “I am just surprised you remembered my name, is all. I never figured you care enough to even remember my face.”
“I have to admit, I did forget it for the longest time, but I figured I owe it to you for more or less shielding me from danger” I reply rather dryly “where are the others?”
With one of his thick arms, he points to the other side of the bridge, “they were conversing over there while waiting for your safe arrival. They were deliberating whether to use warp jumps or not on the journey to Lübeck.”
Just the mention of the word warp jump and my experience talking to Simon about it at Brunsbüttel is enough to make me tired. I thank Brutus and excuse myself to head for the party.
Darcy, Sergi, Olga, and the man I assume to be Richter stand around a console making comments about the next course of action. Olga is the first to look up and notice me, but she averts her eyes and crosses her arms. Darcy runs up to me and gives me a salute, which causes the others to take notice of my presence.
“Madame! It is a pleasure to finally meet you!” Darcy exclaims happily, clasping my hand and shaking it, “in person—I mean. I knew about you from what your brother says about you…”
“What does my brother, Che, say about me, Darcy?” I ask warmly, and the auburn-haired subordinate chuckles nervously. “But that aside, I don’t think I properly thanked you for acting in Che’s place. When the time comes I will see to it that you are rewarded for your deeds. In the meantime, I’d wish for you to accompany the fleet to Velksland.”
Darcy nods and steps out of the way for the other man that accompanies the others. “That aside, Madame,” the slender man with albino hair starts “Olga and I were discussing the possibility of the Federation fleet relaunching an attack on while we march to Rouen—are you certain that their commander will keep his word?”
I look slightly over at Olga. She has taken a few steps away from us and looks out into space. When I look over at Sergi, our eyes meet briefly but it’s all I need to know that Olga was still hurt by my earlier remarks during the warp on top of Victoria’s detachment.
I’ll give her a proper apology later, I tell him with my eyes before bringing my attention back to the man with the albino mullet.
“You are Richter, correct?” The man nods “you have a talent for commanding ships—I think Olga did well to have you lead a part of the fleet. I have no doubts if you failed to hold your own, none of us would be standing here alive. Please, continue to serve Olga to the best of your ability… oh, I shall see to it that you are also rewarded for your efforts if you so wish.”
“Thank you, Madame, it means a lot to hear that from you,” Richter states. I glance over at Olga to see her reaction. She has turned back to face us but doesn’t make eye contact with anyone.
“Now, getting back to the topic at hand… yes, I am fully confident that the Yilan commander—and his commodore—will think twice about launching another invasion. I’ll leave behind a token force as an early warning line just in case. Even if they were to invade, I will do whatever I can to ward them off again—but I sincerely doubt they will undertake another venture into Toscana.
“Their ships are too exhausted, demoralized, and we have managed to inflict serious damage on their fleet that even if I emerged from Rouen victorious, they would lack the capabilities to drive to Lübeck. I am sure of that much.”
“Speaking of Rouen…” Sergi steps forward as Richter gives him room to speak “we were talking about the best method of marching to Velksland,” he points at the console screen the group stood around. On it, there is a depiction of the fleet’s trajectory as well as projected energy usages and estimated fuel consumption—we certainly used a lot of fuel during the battle—not to mention munitions. I can only shudder at what would’ve happened if we ran out at the most crucial moments during the battle.
“…We drummed up some ideas: like jumping to Lübeck and then Velksland, or first burn fuel on the way to Lübeck, refuel at the Cluster there, and use the surplus fuel to march through the hyper-lane without the use of a jump,” he looks up to me with concern “if we jump into Velksland, we could very well find ourselves in a similarly awkward situation if we warped in front of them again—and we might not be lucky this time around,” the others all look up to me. “What are your thoughts, Madame?”
I stroke my scarred cheek. We certainly do have a predicament on our hands: getting back to Rouen in time is our top priority. While we spend our time here theorizing on how to get there in time my blasted father could very well be in grave danger—worst yet, they could have besieged theBrunsbüttel’s Cluster by now. In either case, we’re in dire straits.
“We will warp to the capital Cluster to rearm, refuel and then warp again to Velksland,” I remark starkly “we don’t have time to spare… to be honest, I’m not sure we should stop at Brunsbüttel at all, the time we spend there could be crucial to the time setting up defenses at Velksland.”
Except for Olga, the trio exchanges glances with one another. “M-Madame, you don’t mean to not give the fleet any rest from here on out…?”
I nod my head, “are you surprised? I warned you while we were at Lübeck that it will be hell from then on out. The longer we delay our rendezvous at Velksland, the greater risk of us losing Velksland—and theDon,” I cross my arms and scoff “—that old dog will fight to the last man. He’d rather face death than retreat like a coward.”
The group is quiet. From behind, I hear Brutus make a commotion and turn around to several people approaching us.
“Eren, don’t do this—this is…” one of the women protests, but the man she speaks to has none of it.
“Madame!” Eren shouts “you said you might not consider giving the fleet time to rest?!” I give a nod, and the riled up fellow takes a few more steps closer. His posse and Brutus shadow him. Brutus looks far too concerned, and I can only guess this means trouble.
“You mean for us to fight an enemy when most—if not all—of us are at our absolute limits? You want us to die of exhaustion before we even confront a… a…” he’s shaking his head and balling his fists “—you want us to fight overwhelming odds—when we can barely stay conscious?!” He takes a few steps closer to me. His chest rises and collapses with each harsh breath.
“If we do not make it in time, Eren—there won’t even be a fight to be had… there won’t even be any allies—much less the Don—alive to rescue,” I retort trying to remain calm “do you think we live in some kind of fairy tale where we have all the time in the world to sit back and relax—while our brethren fight for their very lives—for the very hope that we may come to save them?!” Instinctively, I take a step closer to him “they could be fighting right now —and dying — waiting for a fleet that could’ve arrived minutesearlier to save them from certain doom.” By now, we were face to face.
“Some of us don’t have an iron will like you! Some of us are simple men who haven’t had so much as rations to eat or a catch of sleep! Many of us haven’t slept in a day!” A second later and Eren grabs me by the mantle “you intend to save those in need when you don’t care for the wellbeing of your own!” Eren nearly shouts into my face. “Some of us can’t even copewith the pressure! And you want to drag us through hell itself to save some goddamn fools who may or may not even be alive now! Against the full might of the Federation itself—If only you knew… if only you knew whatbullshit you were putting us through!!”
It was those eyes. It was the murderous intent of the eyes and those grit teeth. For a split second, it reminded me of him. I haven’t seen those eyes in years—decades. The very eyes that shattered any and all innocence. The eyes that remind me that I regret over and over of happening. The very lecherous eyes that molded me into who I am now. It’s not the eyes that send chills the one known as the Madame Scarface —it’s the eyes that frighten Li Chou.
With a heave of my backhand, I send Eren stumbling a step backward and then crashing to the floor. By now, the commotion has attracted the attention of the bridge. Eren’s posse quickly tries to attend to him.
“All of you! If you have a death wish…” I take a few steps forward and stand over the downed Eren who cowers in my shadow, and whose posse scramble to getaway. I quickly brandish my holster and whip out the pistol.
“I care not if you are exhausted! I care not if you wish to drop dead! If you wish to do so, then die where you stand!” With the gun pointed at the terrified Eren, I proceed to squeeze down on the trigger and—
“Li!”
Olga.
The loud, tense shout of Olga snaps me back to reality. My grip on the trigger lessens, and I lower the gun to my side. Eren scrambles to get up and flee. I can only watch in silence as all eyes remain trained on me—terrified eyes. Submissive eyes. Fear.
And it’s that sea of eyes that make me realize that everyone isexhausted. Not just the bridge—but the ship technicians. The gunners. The engineers. And all the little guys who run around and do other tasks. Men like Brutus, or Julius. I turn around to face the others; Olga. She has undoubtedly the biggest bags under her eyes than everyone else.
“Li…” She walks towards me, and the closer she gets, the more I confirm that she looks paler than usual, her cheeks slightly sunken. But yet she tries to smile. She has endured it for so long—even my lash out at her earlier. She has been suffering the most, has she not?
Not just her. Everyone else too. Everyone was enduring it for me—for theDon, for the Mafia, and all their loved ones. We endure it to see the fighting end so that we may relax and bask in the peace.
Olga stands before me and wraps her hands around the gun. “…I…I’m sorry for yelling, Madame,” Olga stammers. Her hands are actually trembling—is it from exhaustion, or is she terrified of what I was doing? To become like my father and rule through terror? She rubs my hands as if to gesture for me to let go of the pistol. It’s as though my hand obeys her command, and Olga carefully slips it from my grasp. She clears her throat.
“We… you should let the men rest at Brunsbüttel,” Olga wraps her arms around me in a hug “we can’t go on like this, Li…” Olga clears her throat “—and neither can you… you’ve been pushing yourself past your limits, too, haven’t you? Ever since we first warped into Lübeck… you’ve been physically straining yourself this entire time.”
You paler than a ghost, Li. You must be completely exhausted. It’s the same thing as Simon said then.
“Everyone needs a rest… but you need the rest more than we do,Madame.” Olga strokes my head “if you collapse, what will we do? Who will guide us to victory?”
“I… can rest after this is over,” I protest, burying my head into Olga’s chest “there is no one else capable of doing this… I don’t even think I can accomplish this.” But even so, I have to rely on Olga for physical support—I abruptly feel devoid of energy, as though all my strength has been weighed down by the very essence of gravity itself. Have I been exerting myself through sheer willpower up until this very moment?
“That is all the more reason for us—and you—to rest, Li…” Olga replies softly “now… do what you need to do, Madame.”
I break away from Olga and turn to face the curious bridge crew. I glance back at Olga and clear my throat.
“…I will permit the fleet a few hours of rest while we refuel and rearm. I suppose…” I clear my throat, dubious of the uncertain future that the Rouen Corridor may present “it would not hurt to recuperate our fatigue for the upcoming battle—the future of the Mafia— OUR future—hinges on this battle! So rest! Rest so that you may face the Federation with all your energy! Brutus!” With a flutter of my cape, I point towards the oversized gorilla “instruct the other ships of my order and prepare for the warp jumps to Lübeck!”
The crew immediately gets to work, and the trio of captains excuse themselves and head for their ships—leaving me and Olga alone. When I turn to face her, she faces the windows at the ships and shuttles passing by. I suppose there’s only one thing left to do before she heads to her ship.
I take a few quiet steps towards her until we stand side-by-side, looking on as some ships begin their warp sequences and disappear out of sight. Crew members work tirelessly around us, paying no attention to our presence.
“Olga,” I begin after clearing my throat “I just… I never got the chance to really… um…” I look up at Olga. She doesn’t divert her eyes and continues to look out to the endless seas. “I wanted… to find a good time to remind you of your insubordination…” I glance over at Olga, who purses her lips at the thought “…after a little bit of deliberating… I wanted to apologize,” I look up in time to see Olga sigh softly. Her beady eyes narrowing but never once breaking her gaze out the window. I sidestep a little closer to her and reach out to touch her hand.
“I wasn’t being considerate of your feelings… you always say the most ridiculous things about how you would lay down your life for me—and you know how much I’ve always detested that. I care too much for your wellbeing, Olga… so when you go out and expose yourself to great risk…” She finally moves her fingers and softly holds my offered hand “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you— I don’t want to lose you, Olga.”
Olga turns to face me and embraces me in another hug. We savor the moment in silence. When Olga releases me from her embrace, she shows her happiness with a smile and those lively brown eyes of hers. “Do not fret over it too much, Madame— I could never get upset at you for any reason,” she wipes her wet eyes with her sleeve and then ruffles my hair “I hold eternal gratitude for you, and I’m forever grateful that you are always so caring—so considerate—towards me. Thank you, Li.”
With a deep breath, Olga takes a few steps back from me and smiles again. “I think I’m all good now—I’ll take my leave and head back to theTaiga… Madame, let’s get through this in one piece.”
“Until next time, Olga—take care,” I reply just as she turns to leave. But a surge of nervousness inexplicably washes over me. Seeing her off like this doesn’t sit right with me. “O-Olga! Wait…”
The tall blonde turned around out of curiosity, “what is it, Madame?” What is it I want to say, I wonder? What is this uneasiness that swells in my chest? Am I reluctant to see her off in fear of never seeing her again? I may not know whose face I will see after this battle ends; and that doesn’t exclude Olga. Who knows what rashness she may pull during the battle despite everything that has been said here.
A lump forms in my throat, one I have difficultly trying to swallow because it is so dry.
“…I think today had to be the most you had ever called me by my name—my actual name. It just got me a little sentimental thinking about it… Olga,” the woman stiffens up a little with a weak smile “…please, whatever it takes… live and be my side.”
Olga opens her mouth to say something but closes it without a word. She closes her watery eyes and nods. And then she turns once again to leave.
After Olga’s departure, I return to my room for a moment of solitude—away from the ruckus that the bridge offers. I look out the porthole at the Federation ships—by this point, nothing more than a blip to the naked eye—and reflect on the advice Victoria had suggested to me back then.
There’s still a chance; a chance to avoid bloodshed. Why don’t you consider a coup at Lübeck, or better yet, stall the battle and let the Don die? Victoria’s words echo in my head and I give my scar tissue a good rub. A migraine is beginning to form and it makes it hard to think straight.
Perhaps… perhaps it’s not so much as a far-fetched idea—either of them, really. In fact, it would be more beneficial to negotiate with the Federation directly on the battlefield—confronting Kamon at Brunsbüttel would yield long-term results, but in the short-term would result in a mountain of corpses—and there’s still no guarantee the Federation would accept surrender once they’re at our doorstep…
I rest my head against the window and release a long sigh. I raise my head again and peer at the several dark blips that make up the Yilan and her escorts.
I can only wonder what choice Victoria would make in my place—would she fight the Federation head-on, or would she seek a less violent alternative in the form of a coup? Is there truly a right or wrong method for achieving a peaceful resolution?
I step away from the window and deflate with a sigh. Thinking about the impending battle will get me nowhere. No matter the option—I have no doubt I would face conflict either way—the only difference is who my opponent is: Kamon, or the Federation armada. Both are equally intimidating, and both will one day come back for another round if I happen to score a victory. Both are bloodshed, and both will likely result in my captivity.
I turn around and head back for the bridge.
Whichever the case may be, I will confront the future.
