Chapter 2: First Encounter

Natsuki was set on minimizing all interaction with her friends while subbing for Mai's shift. It was embarrassing enough that she had to be seen in this tasteless maid outfit in public, she did not want to give people more opportunities to tease her while she was still in the damn thing. That blasted Mai just had to asked with those big puppy eyes, there was no way for her to refuse - not while she was freeloading off the woman. Besides, she could really use the money to cover her portion of the food bill.

Just as she was hiding away in a corner of the kitchen, feeling sorry for herself, Nao showed up.

"Oi, I've been trying to get your attention. Why did you ignore me?" Asked the redhead with a touch of annoyance.

"Because you are a nuisance. Take a hint. You are not supposed to be here, anyway. What would your mom say?" Natsuki said sourly.

Nao handed her phone to Natsuki. "I already asked mama to go home without me. Here. It's for you."

"I'm on shift, I even left mine in the locker." Natsuki frowned at the phone.

"I know, that's why Takumi is calling me to get a hold of you. It's important." Nao explained and push her phone into Natsuki's hand.

Perplexed, Natsuki answered the phone. "Hello? Kuga Natsuki speaking."

The loud, frantic rambling coming through the call was indeed from Mai's little brother. "Natsuki-san! Thank goodness! It's my sister and Akira-kun. Please help!"

Natsuki's eyes widen in alarm. Takumi was normally a calm, sweet boy who had his head screwed on straight. What could possibly upset him this much? "Where are you now?" She asked urgently, already constructing all kinds of worst case scenarios in her mind.

"I am outside the ferry terminal right now. Sis already left. I asked Akira-kun to follow her; I can't run so fast. Something is terribly wrong with them. I don't know what to do."

"Stay exactly where you are. I'll be there in twenty, no, fifteen minutes." Natsuki instructed as a foreboding sense of dread slowly crept up from the pit of her stomach. Nothing short of a life and death situation would compel the hovering older sister such as Mai to abandon her frail little brother on the side of the road to fend for himself.

"No, please. Don't worry about me. Go find my sister instead. She is not well." Takumi begged.

Natsuki swore under her breath. "Fine. Do you know where she ran off to, or why?" She asked.

"She is going to the bridge. It has something to do with Mikoto, I think. I'm sorry, but I really don't know anything. They just got really upset all of a sudden. Please, help them."

"I'll do what I can." Natsuki promised, and disconnected the call. "Nao, you are coming with me. It's an emergency." She said, tossing the phone back to its owner.

"Me? Where?"

"The bridge. We need to hurry. This could be really bad." Natsuki said and took off without another moment's delay.

"What? Wait!" The redhead ran after her friend.

Out in the dining area, Shizuru bolted up from her seat as Natsuki dashed out of the restaurant, still fully clothed in the restaurant's uniform. A few steps behind her, Nao followed with a scowl on her face. Shizuru was only fast enough to grab onto Nao's arm in time to stop her from running out of the restaurant like Natsuki did. "What's going on?" She demanded.

"Ow." Nao complained and pulled her elbow out from Shizuru's firm grip. "It's Mai. That goody two-shoes is getting herself in trouble again." She said with a completely bored expression as she made a vague gesture of flexing her fingers.

Shizuru clenched her fists reflexively as she caught on the hint from the redhead.

"I'm going ahead. Kuga needs someone to babysit her. Ta." Nao waved and ran after her troublesome friend.

Immediately after Nao left, Shizuru apologized to her new neighbours, "I must be going now. Something important had come up; personal business, you understand. Please, do stay and enjoy your food." She bowed and left money on the table. Not waiting for a reply from her companions, she quickly left the restaurant without a backward glance.

Tia, Subaru, and Vivio looked at each other.

"What was that?" Subaru asked dumbly.

Tia let out an uncertain laugh, "I believe we just got ditched."

"It did look like something terribly important had come up. They wouldn't be running otherwise." Vivio commented. She paused for a second, and asked unsurely, "do you suppose whatever 'personal business' Shizuru nee-chan is involved with might be related to the case?"

"That's highly unlikely." Subaru said doubtfully.

"Agreed. We can't go running after the first sign of trouble and hope it miraculously leads to a break on our case. That would be ridiculous. Better gather more data on the case itself first." Tia said, and went back to her dessert.

"Although…" Subaru scratched her head, "Fate-san did tell us to keep an eye on her. Isn't that why we asked her to show us around the neighbourhood? I mean, we are supposed to be working, right?"

Tia hummed thoughtfully. "Well, yes. However, there is a difference between keeping an eye on her and being nosy. My impression on Shizuru-san is that she would not appreciate people looking into her personal affairs. I really don't want to antagonize our new neighbour the first day we move here."

"That's a good point." Subaru deflated. "Tia, so what do we do now? It feels like we are slacking if we just stay here and eat ice cream. You've worked as an investigator for a few years now, what's your professional opinion on this?"

A mischievous smile stretched across on Tia's face. "Isn't it obvious? We follow her, of course."

Subaru's jaw dropped. "What? But that's the opposite of what you just said."

"How adorable." Tia put a hand on her friend's shoulder, nodding sagely as she explained. "I have encountered her type of characters before in my line of work, and they are usually the ones who know the most, but talk the least. In case you haven't noticed, Nanoha-san was hoping her daughter's innocent charm would loosen Shizuru-san's lips, and that's why she allowed Vivio-chan to tag along. With me so far?"

Subaru nodded.

Tia continued, "Shizuru-san knows more about what's going on in Fuuka than she let on, that much is obvious. The woman was the student council president last year where a good number of 'gas leaks' happened. Any way you look at it, she is someone of importance with regard to this case. It's only prudent to investigate any suspicious activities she is involved in. For someone as composed as her to rudely abandon her guests in a middle of a meal, I mostly definitely count that as suspicious."

"I see. Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Subaru was about to jump out of her seat when Tia stopped her.

"Patience, young grasshopper. All in good time." Tia pushed her friend back to her seat. "There is no point in tailing her so closely. It would be really bad if she finds out she is being watched. Once we spook her, she will never trust us again. Best give her a five minute head start. Cross Mirage already tagged her so we can find her anywhere on this planet."

Subaru stared at her friend with awe shining in her eyes. "Wow, Tia, you sounded just like Fate-san. When did you become this cool?"

"You fool, I am always this cool." Tia chuckled at the praise. "On that note, Vivio-chan, we really can't take you with us. From this point on, it's considered an official field assignment - tailing a key contact and investigating a suspicious activity is not the same as eating cake at a family restaurant with a friendly neighbour. Nanoha-san will have our hides if we needlessly endanger you. Subaru can escort you home if you like."

"That's really not necessary, I can manage on my own. I know the Bureau's preference is to have the field agents work in pairs. Don't let me hold you back." The young girl said.

"Are you sure?" Tia asked.

"Absolutely." Vivio confirmed. "You two go ahead. I'll send mama an updated."

The two mages agreed and left shortly after.

Now sitting at the table alone, Vivio decided to take her time enjoying her cake. A little while later, a waitress with light blue hair and startling red eyes approached her table.

"Young miss, your companions have left. Will you be able to settle the bill?" Asked the waitress with a blank expression.

Vivio looked up from her food and nodded at the young woman. "Yes, I'll be alright." She took a moment to look around her, and asked with some concern, "are you going to be alright? It's quite busy and you are the only server working."

"Affirmative. I am able to provide all necessary functions as a wait staff with no reduced efficiency. This information should be related to the shift manager after he comes back from a prolonged smoke break scheduled to end twenty-eight minutes ago." The waitress explained matter-of-factly. "Since your assigned server is absent at the moment, I shall be your server now. Would there be anything else you like?" She asked.

Vivio shook her head, slightly perturbed by the formal way this server chose to speak. "Not really."

"Very well." The waitress said, and moved on to the next table.

"... This is a very strange day. I wonder if it's always like this on Earth." Vivio said to no one in particular.

It took Natsuki a moment to catch her breath as she surveyed her surroundings with a faint scowl on her face. The road leading up to the Seawalk Bridge had been barricaded with concrete blocks and police caution tapes for months. Other than a couple empty pop cans and a new gang sign spray-painted on the temporary barrier, this place was exactly as she remembered when she passed by a week ago.

"Ugh! I hate running." Nao caught up a minute later, gasping for fresh air with her hands on her knees. "Nobody is here."

Natsuki gave her a sharp look for stating the obvious.

"Now what?" Nao asked.

Raising a hand to block off the harsh sunlight, Natsuki squinted at broken bridge stretching across the water. "It's too far to see. We'll have to get closer. Maybe they are up there."

"Well, you go ahead. I am done running. I'll wait for Fujino."

"Shizuru is coming too?" Natsuki stopped and whipped around.

Nao scoffed. "What else do you expect? Next time, use your tiny brain before running off like a headless chicken." The redhead said, rubbing her sore elbow with a hand and muttered to herself, "this is going to bruise."

Natsuki frowned but stayed to wait for the Kyoto-born together with Nao. Not a minute later, Shizuru turned up around the corner, also breathless from the dash.

It was difficult for Natsuki to describe the strange tightening sensation around her chest when she saw the relieved sigh passed Shizuru's full lips. The only thing she was sure of was that she was glad she waited.

The three of them climbed over the short concrete barriers and walked toward the far end of the bridge. Natsuki's hunch was proven correct as they got closer to the broken end of the bridge courtesy of Alyssa's Child. Near the very end of the gap, Mai was kneeling on the ground with her head bowed, her hands clutching tightly over her heart. Akira stood motionlessly next to the older girl, her face pale and her eyes wide.

"Mai, are you alright?" Natsuki asked, bending over to put a hand on her friend's back to get her attention.

Slowly, the girl turned to look at her dark-haired friend. Upon recognizing Natsuki, the dazed look on Mai's face was quickly replaced by one of pure heartbreak. Mai tackled her friend with a bone-breaking hug as she let out an unrestrained cry of agony.

The force of the body slam sent Natsuki stagger backward a few steps before she steadied herself. "What's going on?" She asked, sending a confused look at Mai and Akira, but received no reply.

"Akira, please tell us what happened." Shizuru asked. Her voice was soft, but there was no doubt the question was more like a command.

The ninja girl chewed her lower lip nervously. "It's Mikoto." Akira said in a hoarse, hushed tone, "she is dead."

"WHAT?!" Natsuki, Nao, and even Shizuru all shouted in disbelief.

Still clutching Natsuki like a drowning man to a piece of float wood, Mai wailed.

"No. This can't be right. How can you even say that?" Natsuki denied vehemently.

"I saw it with my own eyes" Akira confirmed, pointing at Mai as her witness. "Mai saw it, too. Mikoto was murdered right in front of us!"

"You saw it wrong then!" Natsuki denied again angrily as her heart sank to her stomach.

"I know what I saw." Akira said mournfully. "The ferry was passing by the bridge. We were on the deck, and Mikoto was on the bridge - right here - waving at us. And then all of a sudden, the world tuned out. All the noises stopped. And then I saw two… things, two people flying toward Mikoto. One of them took out a sword and cut her down like a dog. I saw Mikoto fall. Her body disappeared in a shower of green sparks, for crying out loud! They killed her!"

"How can you be sure it was Mikoto? It could've been anyone." Natsuki demanded, even though in the back of her mind she knew Akira was right.

Akira let out a tired sigh. She marched toward Mai and gently pried open a closed fist to reveal a trinket.

Natsuki instantly recognized the small cellphone strap of a grinning black cat. Mikoto did not have a cellphone, but the girl was quite taken with this cute accessory. Mai had bought it for her, and she carried it around in her pocket...

Natsuki felt sick, and she wasn't the only one who did. A shaky hand touched her waist before grabbing hold of a fistful of fabric. Natsuki turned to stare at the owner of the trembling hand. Standing behind her, Shizuru's eyes were dark and her face was drained of colour.

"This can't be happening again..." The Kyoto-born's voice was thick with emotion.

They all understood. The fact that Mikoto's body disappeared in a shower of green sparks meant only one thing.

The Festival had begun anew.

Natsuki's mind went blank as she felt the world spin.

Mikoto woke with a jerk. Her first instinct was to sit up from whatever she was lying on, but she soon found out that the simple motion was impossible to accomplish. Mikoto looked around wildly at the room she was in, hyperventilating as she struggled with the restraints around her wrists and ankles.

The room was spacious but bare of furniture, except for the strange bed she was being strapped in. Everything inside the room was white and clean, even the air felt unnaturally sterilized. There was no windows or visible light sources, but the place was lit somehow.

There was no door either. She was trapped. Mikoto panted as she pulled as hard as she could. After a few tries, her right wrist broke free from the restraint. She started pounding frantically at the metal strap around her left wrist.

Alarms blared. A few seconds later, a panel on the wall slid open and a person in a brown formal suit strolled in. "Turn it off. It's not necessary." The woman stated quietly, and the loud noise stopped.

Mikoto hissed savagely at her jailer.

"First of all, please allow me to apologize for what my subordinates have done to you. I understand it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding." The woman said with a thick Osaka accent.

"Let me out!" Mikoto demanded adamantly.

The woman frowned. "I am afraid I can't do that until you calm down. See, I have a few important questions that need answering. I am very sorry that I have to keep you here against your will, but please trust me that I do not wish to harm you in any way."

"Let. Me. Out! Let me out! Let me out!" Mikoto screamed and continue bashing the metal strap with her bare hand.

"Stop! You are hurting yourself." The woman gestured at the panicking girl. A ring of white light appeared out of thin air and immobilized Mikoto's bleeding right hand.

Mikoto cried out in dismay. "No no no!"

"Alright. If I let you out, would you promise me you would not run, or attack me, or do anything similarly foolish? I only wish to talk." The woman asked, using the calmest cat coaxing voice she could muster.

The proposal halted Mikoto's struggle. She stared at the woman in front of her, assessing her intention with narrowed golden eyes. A long minute later, she agreed. "Fine. I promise not to run or attack. Now let me out of these stinking handcuffs! I hate them!"

The woman waved her hand, and the metal straps snapped open.

Mikoto lept out of the bed and scurried off to the corner of the room in a defensive position, licking her bloody knuckles as she glared at the woman. "You said you want to talk. Now talk. Who the hell are you? What are planning to do to me? Answer me!"

The woman chuckled. "Fair enough. I am Captain Yagami Hayate of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. I only wish to talk to you."

Fixing the woman with an angry glare, Mikoto let out a rumbling growl to show her displeasure. "If you just want to talk, why did you have to attack me? I don't care you are some big shot captain. You people attacked me and put chains on me! I didn't do anything wrong. You can't treated me like a criminal! I don't like this one bit!"

"Again, I cannot apologize enough for our inappropriate behaviour earlier. We mistakenly thought you were a danger to us; that was the reason we retaliated with force. Please trust me when I say we have no intention of harming anyone without cause." The captain said to the indignant girl sincerely.

Mikoto was still quite sore from the injustice done to her person, but she was not the type to hold a grudge for long. Curiosity overtook her other emotions, and she said with an unhappy pout, "fine. I'll take your word for it. So how long have I been out? What is this place anyway?"

The captain smiled disarmingly at the girl. "You have been unconscious for about half an hour. I am actually quite surprised you woke up so soon. As to where we are right now... I won't lie to you; this probably would be hard to believe. Just bear with me. Don't freak out, alright?"

Mikoto gave Hayate a strange look.

"We are onboard the LS class starship, Wolfram. This is the brig." The captain of the ship stated carefully as she watched the young girl's reaction to this news.

Tilting her head in an obvious show of confusion, Mikoto asked unsurely, "starship?"

"Yes." Hayate confirmed. "Wolfram, turn on the exterior monitor. Panorama view, please."

One side of the smooth wall flickered and seemingly melted away. Mikoto let out a surprised gasp as she scurried away from the disappearing wall. The wild child sucked in a breath as the entire wall blinked to life with a stunning view of an ocean of stars.

"We are in space." Hayate said.

It took her a while to find her voice again. "We are in space." Mikoto repeated in awe. And then it suddenly dawned on her: "I've been kidnapped by aliens! You are gonna probe me!" She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

Yagami Hayate laughed. "Absolutely not! No one wants to hurt you."

"Promise?" Mikoto asked fearfully, putting both hands protectively over her rear.

"Promise. No probing." The captain said. "Now, it's my turn to ask you some questions, if you don't mind. What's your name?"

"Minagi Mikoto." The girl said, still a bit shellshocked by the news to put up much resistance..

"Mikoto-chan, how old are you?"

The dark-haired girl sat down on the floor. "Fifteen."

Hayate massaged her brow. "Fifteen." She repeated. "Of course, a minor. The paperwork is going to be a nightmare." She continued, "you told my people earlier that the bridge was destroyed by 'a giant laser beam from space'. Could you please tell me how you knew that?"

"I knew that because I saw the giant laser beam from space hit the bridge." Mikoto answered truthfully.

"And when and where did you see it?"

Mikoto scratched her head. "I was at the night market with my friends a while ago, we were eating and watching firework. And then, BOOM! A giant laser beam came down from space and hit the bridge."

The captain tapped her lips thoughtfully. "That's really quite vague. Let's try something different." Hayate called up a floating screen that displayed a picture of the Seawalk Bridge prior to the alleged bombing and beckoned the young girl to come closer. "Can you show me what you saw? Just use your fingers to draw a line so I know which direction the beam came from."

"My fingers? So you want me to touch the picture?" Mikoto asked, unbidden curiosity shining in her golden eyes as she examined the front and the back of the holographic screen suspended midair.

"Precisely."

Mikoto squinted at the screen in concentration. The bridge in the picture was about two finger's width across. The high resolution photo was detailed enough to show the many vehicles on the bridge's busy two-lane traffic. Mikoto raised her hand and made a quick slashing motion to bisect the picture of the bridge with a finger.

Hayate looked at the resulting picture in dismay. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you saw: a beam this size came straight down from the sky?"

Mikoto nodded.

"A highly concentrated beam of energy, approximating a quarter the thickness of the bridge, originated from space… And to strike a target so small. This is not good. Cross dimensional precision strike like what Presea did? No, we would've known the moment it happened. It's from orbit, most likely. A normal mage has no hope to pull this off without the help of a Relic. The signature doesn't match anything we have on file. A ship… not likely. A summon, then. Something with a similar output as Voltarie? That's just as absurd. A creature this powerful would have been known to the Bureau..."

The woman's worried muttering brought a frown on Mikoto's face. "I drew it exactly as I remembered - a giant laser beam from space. Did I do it wrong?"

Hayate shook her head and flashed the girl an easy smile. "No. You did a good job. Thank you."

The girl grinned at the captain. "Hey, can this ship shoot laser beam too?" Mikoto asked.

"Something similar, yes; but it's not exactly laser. Rest assure, we won't use it unless it's absolutely necessarily. Afterall, our mission objective is not to invade Earth, but to prevent a potential disaster." Hayate clarified.

"Wow. So you are like, the Earth's protector. You are the good guys! Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

The captain's only reply to her query was an exasperated look that reminded Mikoto strongly of Mai.

A loud growl interrupted her train of thought. Mikoto slumped over and hug her stomach. "I'm so hungry. Is it time for lunch yet?"

Hayate smiled. "Ah, I see. That's easy to fix. Let's feed you first, shall we?"

"Yes!" Mikoto bounced to her feet, her eyes shone brightly at the prospect of food.

"Now remember what you promised - no running, no attacking, nothing foolish. There are many unfamiliar things inside the ship that may startle you. Keep calm and let me know if you have any questions. Is that understood?" Hayate reminded.

"Aye aye, Captain!" Mikoto agreed eagerly.

When Tia and Subaru finally arrived at the bridge under cloak, they were just in time to see the group of five girls weeping in grief. Even the Kyoto-born had her hands over her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. It was supremely uncomfortable to spy on them.

"Shouldn't we do something? They are bawling." Subaru whispered. They were close enough to observe them, and with Tia's invisibility spell in effect, there was no danger of being discovered by their targets.

"According to the short exchange I caught earlier, their friend died. There is nothing to do." Tia replied.

"That's what I heard too. I guess our deduction is wrong. This is unrelated to the case. They are mourning. We should leave them be." Subaru frowned unhappily.

"Yeah, you are right. Damn it, I was so sure… It was worth a shot though." Tia sighed. "Well, just to be thorough, let me do a quick perimeter scan." She took out her device and instructed, "Cross Mirage, wide area scan."

Initiating wide area scan. Cross Mirage pinged.

Not too far off from the two mages, Natsuki yelped as she jerked her head up as if pricked by a needle.

"Natsuki?" Shizuru asked weakly, still embroiled in her own grief. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Natsuki jumped to her feet as she looked around frantically. A visible shudder shook her frame. "There it is again! Can you not feel it? It's the same!" She cried.

"No, nothing. Natsuki, I don't understand." Shizuru frowned worriedly.

"Shizuru, it's here. It's right here. It's the same." Natsuki clawed at her own chest as her eyes darted around wildly.

Shizuru looked into Natsuki's panic-filled eyes in alarm. "We need to get you to a hospital. Something is definitely wrong with you."

"It's… it's so cold… It burns." Natsuki's teeth chattered. She took in a sharp breath and clench her jaw shut.

"Nao, call for an ambulance." Shizuru ordered urgently. "Akira, get Mai and see Director Fumi. You need to tell the others what happened."

"You people are nothing but trouble." Nao half laughed and half sobbed as she reached for her phone.

"No. Stop. Not the ambulance. I'm fine." Natsuki protested through gritted teeth, one hand still clawing at her chest.

"You are obviously not fine!" Shizuru almost shouted.

Natsuki took a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. A heartbeat later, her eyes snapped open. "It's you!" She snarled and bolted from Shizuru's side.

Subaru only had enough time to push Tia out of the way before the enraged waitress slammed her fist painfully into her left arm, which was hastily raised to form a weak guard. The hit shattered the delicate weave of Tia's invisibility spell. The outline of the two mages shimmered into existence.

Stumbling backward and reeling from the shock, Subaru did not have the chance to brace for the second hit. Before she could regain her balance, Natsuki had kicked her at the side of her knees. The awkward fall made her crash her head against the hard asphalt, effectively stunning her. The next second, an unbelievable feeling of pain exploded at her elbow before she could even scream.

By the time her vision returned, Tia was already in front of her with Cross Mirage raised. It looked like Tia had pulled her back in time to avoid being hit in any vital area. Subaru looked down and saw the neuro-cables poking out of of her bloody left elbow, fizzing with electro-magical energy. How could anyone hit so hard without magic? How is this even possible?

"Searrs!" Natsuki spat. Behind her, the other four high school girls were all glaring at Subaru and Tia with such murderous intent that could choke a weaker man.

"Was it you? Did you killed Mikoto?" The woman with short orange hair asked the two in a hoarse whisper.

"I have no idea what you are talking about! We didn't kill your friend." Tia shouted. "Stay back! I will use this if I must." She warned with Cross Mirage in gun mode trained at the group of grief-stricken high school girls.

"This will not do." Shizuru, the serene and graceful young lady that the two Mid-Childians had come to like, said to them in the most chilling tone. "This cannot be a coincident. I do not appreciate being spied on, neighbours."

Subaru knew she would be having nightmares about those awful, awful blood red eyes for many nights to come. The cyborg pulled herself up from the ground and got to her feet, still wobbly from the hit to her temple. "We didn't mean any harm. I know you won't believe us, but it really is a coincident." She said weakly.

Subaru, we have to leave. We can't cause more commotion as is. So much for the undercover mission! Tia sent the message through telepathy.

Natsuki growled as her body tensed in anger. "What undercover mission? What does Searrs want from us this time? Answer me!"

Both Tia and Subaru flinched as if slapped. "You can hear me? How? You're not…" Tia trailed off before she asked urgently, "Subaru, what do you see?"

Tia's question was like a lightbulb going off in Subaru's head. She activated the scanning function in her cyberonic eyes and saw what no human eyes could normally see. "Strike Arts! It's the Ancient Belken form of Strike Arts! The way their bodies are reinforced, it's the same… Impossible! Same as Caro and Lutecia? They can summon too? How?"

"I ask again; why did Searrs send you here? Which of you killed Mikoto?" Natsuki cut short Subaru's rant. "You will answer my questions, damn you. There are five of us and two of you. How fast can you shoot?"

Tia sighed. She really did not want to do this. Slowly, she lowered her guns. "I am very sorry." Tia said, and squeezed the triggers.

A bright flash went off, blinding everyone in the vicinity. By the time the Himes regained their sight, Tia and Subaru were long gone.

After exchanging a few short messages with their superiors, the two mages were teleported directly to Wolfram's medical bay as per Nanoha's instruction.

Shamal was more than a little surprised to see the two. "Injured already? It's only the first day."

Hanging her head low in shame, Subaru couldn't help but wince as Shamal wrapped a clean gauze tightly around her broken elbow to insulate the exposed neural-cables. Her concussion was easy enough for the good doctor to heal, but her busted arm would require a specialist to repair.

"Right, Subaru, this is the best I could do for now. The rest will have to wait until Mary gets here tomorrow to replace the damaged parts. I strongly suggest you keep your injured arm firmly strapped in the sling, so you won't be tempted to use it before her say so."

"Thank you so much." Subaru scratched her face sheepishly. Shamal had healed her concussion, but there was still a funny tingling sensation at the side of her head.

"Try to take better care of yourself next time. So, want to talk about it?" Shamal asked.

"We messed up." Tia said regretfully.

"You are not the only ones who did." Shamal let out a self-reproachful chuckle.

"I doubt anyone could have messed up as badly as we did." Subaru let out an anxious laugh. "I sure look pathetic. Nanoha-san was too kind to say anything harsh to me, but I know she was disappointed. She trained me to be a Striker, and here I am, beaten to a pulp by a civilian."

Shamal eyed the cyborg doubtfully. "Wait, you mean to tell me that a civilian did this to you? That's simply not possible."

"With her bare hands too, if you want to know." Subaru snorted.

The good doctor gawked.

Tia clarified, "the civilian's original target was me. She attacked without any provocation, so we were caught off guard to begin with. Subaru would have been able to dodge the strike if she wasn't trying to protect me."

Subaru added, "more importantly, the person was capable of using an archaic form of Strike Arts to boost her speed and power to an inhuman level. The way she utilizes magic internally is almost exactly like a Belkan Knight would. Believe me, I checked." The cyborg pointed at her eyes to emphasize her point.

Shamal perked up. "Can you replay it on screen?"

Subaru blinked. "Actually, yes. Give me a moment, I'll relay it through Mach Caliber."

A few seconds later, Subaru's device finished the upload and replayed the recording on screen. The three of them all flinched at various points as they watched the painful reiteration of Subaru's misery.

The Wolkenritter watched the recording critically. "As a genuine Ancient Belkan Knight, I could tell that this person is obviously untrained - her movement is jerky, and she wastes too much energy when she strikes. Compare to what a true Knight could do, this person is an amature. Still, what were you thinking, Subaru? What possessed you to take a magically enforced punch without a barrier? That's suicide! Be thankful it's only your arm. I shudder to think what kind of damage she would do to you with a proper device. Worse, with proper trainings."

Sugaru grimaced. "I really don't want to find out. Saint Kings preserve me - there are like five of them!"

Shamal shook her head exasperatedly at the two. "Poor judgement aside, what's wrong with your device's auto-guard function? Was Mach Caliber damaged in the fight?"

An embarrassed blush crept up on the Cyborg's cheeks. "I... turned it off."

The gobsmacking look on Shamal's face was indeed a rare sight to the two juniors. "You… turned it off."

"I know. I feel incredibly stupid right now. I was afraid I would accidentally blow our covers by carelessly using magic in plain sight, that's why I turned it off. I most certainly did not expect a civilian from a non-administrated world to use Strike Arts on me."

Tia came to her friend's defense. "One moment the girl was crying her eyes out, the next she was a breath away from caving my face in. I don't even know how she managed to spot us. We were twenty paces away from her while hiding under an invisibility spell strong enough to fool a cyborg. It was surreal."

"On hindsight, I might as well keep the cyberonic vision turned on at all time from this point on. It would tire me out faster, but I really could use some early warnings when the next person decides to take a magically-enforced swing at me." Subaru said with a sigh.

"Seeing that there are at least five of them out there swearing vengeance for the murder of their friend, that proposition might just be a necessity." Tia said drily.

"Murder?" Shamal's eyebrows shot up at the word.

The investigator nodded in confirmation and added to Subaru's account of the incident. "For some reasons, they accused us of murdering their friend. It has something to do with 'Searrs'? I don't understand what they were ranting about. I've seen the look of pure hatred on their faces; I truly believe they would tear us from limb to limb with their bare hands to avenge their friend. I may not be an expert on the local culture, but I don't think this kind of mentality is considered normal for teenage girls." She paused for a moment before recalling an important piece of intel. "Subaru, didn't you say something about 'summons'? What was that about?"

The cyborg sat up straighter. "I can't believe I almost forget about that! Must be the concussion. Here, take a look." Subaru replayed the scan on screen and pointed at the swirling patterns of magic circulated inside Natsuki's body. "See this? Normally, a mage's magic is most concentrated in one spot - the linker core. There is one exception, that is if the mage has a personal summon." Subaru pointed at a gray spot on the scan. "According to the scan, all five of them have a secondary linker core, that means they are all summoners. Although…"

"Yes?" Tia was very intrigued.

"I see." Shamal noticed immediately. "That's really too bad."

"What? What did I miss?" Tia frowned at the displays.

"Here, their secondary linker cores are completely depleted. This means only one thing - their summons are dead. Not to confuse this with summons that are created by magic; a personal summon is unique in that it is linked directly to a summoner's life force, much like a familiar would." Shamal explained.

Tia blinked. "Dead? I didn't know they could be killed."

Shamal nodded. "You are probably thinking about the magically constructed variety. When a summon dies, the summoner would usually have a full blown mental breakdown due to the symbiotic nature of the two. Imagine having all of your positive emotions - love, joy, pride, hope - rip out of your heart in one go. To experience such loss, the majority of them would lose most of their mental faculties. Few of them could ever snap out of this zombie-like state. As far as I know, there is no standard treatment for this type of psychological trauma."

"But they all seemed so normal to me." Subaru argued.

The doctor gave the injured mage a look. "Really? You don't say."

Tia was appalled by the information. "If having a personal summon means to risk one's sanity, why would anybody do this to themselves? What could possibly be worth it?"

"Power." was Shamal's answer. "A summon that is bound by magic, is only as powerful as the magic that bound it. To exceed that limit, a summoner has to pay additional prices for the exchange. Depending on the summons, the price might be blood, or even life. A personal summon that is linked to a summoner's own life force is many times more powerful than a normal summon because it has a steady supply of magic, blood, and life continuously feeding into it."

"This is getting worse and worse. Just wait 'till the captains hear about this." Tia chewed her bottom lip nervously. "We have five mentally unbalanced ex-summoners swearing vengeance against us because they thought we killed their friend on the first day of the supposedly undercover mission. How did we even get into this mess? Do you think maybe there are more of them?"

"... Maybe? Oh, yes. Very possibly. Why didn't I notice that sooner?" Shamal smiled broadly as she called up additional screens to display a plethora of scans she took earlier to compare them with the data Subaru provided. "It's confirmed: there are at least six of them. This is wonderful news. I need to tell Hayate immediately. Good job, you two." The Knight said, and ran for the door, leaving the two juniors at the sickbay by themselves, both looking very confused.

Mikoto decided she liked the alien starship captain, even though the woman admitted that it was her subordinates who kidnapped her. As far as she could tell, this person was nothing but sincere and truthful - a definite plus in her book. Despite the terrible first contact, the aliens really did not mean her any harm. Although it bruised her ego that she was bested by another swordsman, she was not entirely unhappy about the outcome.

She was inside an alien starship! Just think about it! Starship! Aliens!

It was pretty odd that the alien captain looked like an Earthling and spoke perfect Japanese with a genuine Osaka accent. Mikoto wondered to herself whether the alien technology allowed those extraterrestrials to speak Earth language, or if it worked the other way around and translated everything inside her own brain so she would understand alien language. Either way it was fascinating that the mysterious alien technology would include a distinct accent; maybe the captain happened to come from the western part of the alien planet?

Perhaps the aliens were all wearing human-shaped suit to disguise the fact that they look like little green goblins with small limbs and large eyes? They did say they meant no harm, so maybe they were only here to study the human race in disguise. Maybe that's why they considered themselves the Earth's protectors. Who would have thought the aliens could be the human race's ally for peace and justice?

Mikoto felt her head getting heavy just from thinking about all of this. Or it could also be the food she just inhaled.

"Thanks for the food. It was delicious." Mikoto said with a satisfied sigh, rubbing her full tummy with a hand.

"Impressive. You can really eat." Hayate said faintly. Her eyebrows had been steadily climbing up as the young girl industriously inhaled a massive amount of food with the efficiency of a vacuum cleaner.

Mikoto flashed the captain a cheeky grin, "I am a growing girl."

Hayate chuckled. "That's what Vita always says too."

Mikoto recognized the name. "Vita is the short one, right? There are two others. Sig… something and Sha… something. The pink one and the green one."

Tickled by the novel description, Hayata confirmed with an amused smile, "Signum and Shamal, yes. And Zafira. You have met the four of them on the bridge."

Mikoto thought about it, "Zafira… as in Vita's puppy?"

Hayate supplied, "Zafira is not exactly a puppy, but I suppose, yes."

Eyes wide in awe, Mikoto gushed, "alien doggy! Does it talk?"

"Yes, he does talk. He is actually a very good conversationalist if the mood strikes him."

"Wow. Talking alien doggy. You guys are awesome." Mikoto was more than a little impressed.

"Why, thank you." Hayate said pleasantly before bringing them back on topic. "Now that you are watered and fed, would you mind answering more of my questions? The sooner we are done, the sooner I can let you go home. I am sure your family misses you."

"More questions? Ok, fine."

Hayate began by asking the most bizarre question Mikoto had ever heard. "Where did you learn to use magic?"

Mikoto's mouth dropped open. "Magic?" She asked unsurely, now starting to think the alien's translating technology might not be so perfect after all.

The captain frowned; it appeared Mikoto's reaction was not what she expected. "You have no idea what I am talking about, do you?"

Mikoto shook her head. "I don't do magic. I've seen people pull rabbits out of a hat on TV before though."

Hayate palmed her face. "I need a vacation after this…" The captain mumbled.

"Why? Are you tired?" Mikoto asked, curious that the aliens had the same concept of taking vacation just like humans did.

"Never mind." Hayate said, taking a moment to organize her thoughts before she continued, "let me try something different. Mikoto-chan, look at me and tell me what this reminds you of." She walked a bit further away from the long cafeteria tables and closed a hand around the golden pendant around her neck. "Remember your promise. Stay calm, alright? I won't harm you. Here we go. Setup."

An ethereal white light bursted out of the alien captain's body as a layer of white and black robe materialized around her. The small pendant in her hand morphed into a large battle staff with a cross-shaped headpiece adorning the top.

Mikoto scrambled to her feet before grabbing a chair to use it as a shield. She could feel the familiar prickling sensation of a powerful aura brushing against her skin. This alien captain was by far the strongest warrior she had ever encountered. "You are a Hime! That's impossible!" She shouted in denial.

"Calm down, child." Hayate said in the most soothing tone to the girl. However, her supposedly comforting words seemed to have the exact opposite effect from her intention.

Mikoto yelped, looking around in a panic. "What? Your Child is here too? Inside a starship?"

"I meant you, Mikoto-chan. Please calm down, I won't hurt you. See, I am putting my device away." Hayate canceled the transformation. Her staff shrunk in size and changed back to the shape of a small pendent. She backed away slowly and sat down on a chair to make herself look as small and harmless as possible.

Mikoto relaxed a little bit now that the alien captain had put away her weapon. She mimicked Hayate's movement and slowly put down the chair before sitting on it. "You didn't tell me you are a Hime. I didn't know aliens can be Himes too." She accused.

Hayate picked up on the specific word. "Mikoto-chan, could you please explain what a Hime is?"

Mikoto frown unhappily at the woman. "You should know. You have both your Element and Child. Nagi would've explained everything to you already. This isn't right. Why can you still materialize your Element after the Festival? Our Hime marks already disappeared. I can't summon Miroku anymore." She gazed at her empty hands longingly.

"Mikoto-chan, listen to me. This is important." Hayate said sternly.

Mikoto looked up and saw the grave expression on the woman's face.

"I am a mage - a magic user. What you saw earlier was my magic. In fact, even though you are not aware of it, you can use magic too."

A million thoughts swirled inside Mikoto's head. Mage. Magic. Aliens had magic like Himes had Hime power. Human-looking aliens with magical power… She picked out the most dominant thought swimming in her brain and blurted out, "does that mean I'm an alien too?"

Hayate palmed her face again. "No, Mikoto-chan, I am fairly certain you are human. Actually, while we are at it, why don't I clarify this for you - I am not an alien! I am one hundred percent Earthling. Yes, I know, we are on board a starship, and most of my staff are from a different planet, but I am really not an alien! I was born and raised in Osaka, and I grew up and went to school in Uminari. So please, stop calling me an alien!"

Mikoto blinked, and asked in a concerned tone, "were you kidnapped by aliens too?"

Hayate palmed her face with both hands.

A/N: My take on Mikoto: she is not dim. She is simple minded, yes, but it doesn't mean she is stupid. I think Mikoto's problem is that she doesn't have a very good head-to-mouth filter.