Chapter 20 - Operation Carrier Pigeon

Entering inside one of the comm rooms, Jonathan saw that both Anika and Nerge were already in a call with General Dolmen and Commander Vivian, whose images were on the viewscreen.

"Commander Lee, you're thirty-five seconds late," said Nerge flatly.

"Sorry Captain Nerge," apologized Jonathan, trying not to gaze into the ex-Imperial Guard officer's cold stare. "I had a few rowdy junior officers to deal with in the captain's quarters, so it took awhile to get here."

Jonathan took his seat in front of the screen and saluted General Dolmen and Commander Vivian.

"General Dolmen, Commander Vivian, good to see both of you sir!"

"You too Commander," replied Vivian in return. "I trust you've settled the matter with your junior officers."

"Yes Commander, I certainly have," replied Jonathan before he noticed General Dolmen's image suddenly fizzle out for a few seconds.

"Whoa, what the?" stuttered Jonathan, before frowning. "Er General the transmission is-."

"Unstable? Yes, I know," said Dolmen. "If you're wondering why, the Gatlanteans have recently been hitting our subspace radio relay stations across our territory. Long range communications in several regions of space in the LMC have been either completely terminated or are just not stable enough for a stable call to other ships or bases."

"Oh Thank God," sighed Jonathan in relief. "I thought my comms system aboard the Audacious was busted again after we just fixed it three weeks ago. Damn, these Gatlanteans are not fooling around. Especially with that new spacecraft interceptor of theirs."

"New interceptor?"" asked Dolmen.

"We just recently had another skirmish with the Gatlanteans," answered Jonathan. "We'll file in the post-action report later to you."

"I see," replied Dolmen. "Well I look forward to reading it later."

"Indeed," added Vivian. "You should look into it because that new fighter might prove to be a new problem for us to deal with. However, I believe you aren't calling us just to talk about the Gatlanteans bombing our interstellar communications arrays are you?"

"No, I'm certainly not," Dolmen confirmed. "As you are well aware, we've been trying to gather data and information regarding the Gatlanteans' stealth attacks on our ships and space outposts. So far, we've received reports of at least five more similar attacks in the last two weeks. The most recent one being an infiltration attack at the fleet stationed at Planet Haizerado where one of our Gaiderol-class battleships in orbital anchorage, the Königseiche, was destroyed in a surprise torpedo attack last night."

"Haizerado?" gasped Anika. "That's one of our most secure astro naval bases in the LMC! Just a couple of light years away from the Salazar System!"

"Indeed," said Dolmen grimly. "As a result of this new attack, Grand Admiral Dietz recently announced a deadline to all their weapons analysts and technical consultants for a definite solution to counter the Gatlanteans' stealth ships in three days minimum. Top brass is especially desperate after yesterday's fiasco at Haizerado. If we can't find a countermeasure soon, it won't be long before the Gatlanteans can strike at Great Garmillas itself. That is something we cannot allow to happen."

"Of course," replied Nerge. "I'll inform the Sub Lieutenant that time is of the essence."

Jonathan grimaced at Nerge's last words which the latter took notice of.

Nerge raised his eyebrow at Jonathan. "Is there something wrong Commander?"

"No Captain Nerge," Jonathan replied nervously as the ex-Imperial Guard officer gazed at him with the eyes of a hawk. "But with all due respect, Sub Lieutenant Geiszler wouldn't react well if you pressure him to increase his pace of his investigation. He is already pretty stressed since you've constantly been visiting him in the analytical lab every day for results and I don't think he'll take it well if you-"

Jonathan gulped nervously as Nerge gazed coldly at him. "Told him personally about this… New deadline that Admiral Dietz has given?"

"Basically," Anika quickly intervened. "Sub Lieutenant Geiszler doesn't perform well under high stress. Hence it would be better if someone closer to him would tell him about it?"

Anika turned to Jonathan with an expectant look. "Right?"

"Yeah, right," replied Jonathan quickly. "That's what I was going to say… With your permission sir..."

Nerge eyed Jonathan and Anika carefully before answering the two nervous officers. "Very well, if it seems that my presence intimidates Mr Geiszler too much, Lieutenant Commander Welmer may deliver the news to him instead."

"Thank you sir," replied Anika politely.

General Dolmen cleared his throat to bring the trio back to the topic. "By the way, there might be some good news for your young Garmillan technical consultant. One of our carrier strike groups, led by the astro battle carrier Neu Lambea, has recently acquired data from one of the picket radar sensor stations that was attacked by the Gatlantean stealth vessels in sector NGC 1848. Before the station's staff was killed, they claimed they had vital information that could detect the enemy's stealth vessels. Unfortunately, the crew of the Neu Lambea couldn't decipher or figure out the data they received, nor could they transmit the rest of the data to the rest of the fleet."

"Why?" asked Jonathan. "Were their comms jammed?"

"No, not on this occasion," answered Dolmen. "The wide area of space the Neu Lambea is currently in has most of its communication arrays destroyed so she can't transmit the data to the rest of the fleet and our bases as the feed is too unstable to send such large data files. In addition, she is assigned to a top priority mission in the Reuyama Sector to search and destroy any Gatlantean raiding fleets in coordination with Berger's fleet. Hence, I can't divert her from her main mission objective to pass the information to any friendly bases or ships."

"And how does this involve the Manchester/Audacious task force?" asked Vivian.

"Your flotilla is the closest allied task force to the 2nd Crimson Camaraderie Carrier Group's route," replied Dolmen. "From your current course and position, it will easily take one or two warp jumps for one of your ships to rendezvous with the Neu Lambea at a secure location near her course to the Reuyama Sector. Upon reaching that location, the Neu Lambea can transmit her data to the said vessel and later it can distribute to the rest of our forces for analysis and decryption. I'm sending you the coordinates now over a secure frequency, you should have received it by now."

At that moment, a notification came up showing a coded message sent from Dolmen's flagship. After it was soon decoded and everyone had looked into it, both Jonathan and Vivian were eager to accept the mission from Dolmen.

"Looks not too far off," commented Vivian. "I can divert one of our frigates to-"

"I'm sorry Commander Vivian, but that will not be possible," interrupted Nerge. "We cannot afford to release any of our ships at the expense of our current mission objective."

Jonathan and Vivian were surprised at Nerge's objection.

"But Captain Nerge," protested Jonathan. "It's just a decommissioned Zoellugut that we're escorting which has no value in this new conflict. I think we could afford to let loose one of our smaller ships from our battle group to get the data."

"I agree," replied Vivian. "I see no reason not to."

"I'm sorry Commanders but this proposal cannot be accepted!" Nerge was unrelenting in his stance. "With the damage and losses from our previous attack, we cannot afford to let a single ship be given leave from the task force until our prize has reached its destination safely. Under no circumstances are we allowed to let the Kerberos VI be further damaged by Gatlanteans."

"And why may I ask?" General Dolmen frowned at Nerge's stance towards his request.

"This decommissioned Zoellugut is headed for the shipyards at Voss to undergo a special refit in store for her," Nerge answered firmly as his eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you will understand why that ship needs to arrive at its destination intact, General."

Dolmen's eyes lit up in recognition before lowering his head in defeat, sighing. "Oh… I see. I guess it couldn't be helped. I'm sorry Commanders, but you'll have to proceed with your current mission as planned. I'll check if there is another allied ship that can take over the assignment."

Jonathan and Anika were dumbstruck by how easily the Garmillan general submitted to Nerge's demands.

Are you kidding me!? Jonathan thought with bewilderment and fury, but wisely held his tongue.

"Of course, General," replied Vivian, who was also perplexed. "We'll just pass over the post-battle report regarding our skirmish with the Gatlanteans and their new interceptor of theirs."

"Very well Commander Vivian," replied Dolmen. "I'll let you know of any updates regarding the info that the Neu Lambea has brought. Lieutenant Commander Welmer, please also make sure that Sub Lieutenant Geiszler is informed about the deadline and ask for progress on his work."

"Yes General, I'll see that it will be done," replied Anika.

"Very well, carry on with your duty," said Dolmen. "Gharle Garmillon!"

"Gharle Garmillon," replied both Anika and Nerge just before the call was terminated.

As Nerge turned to leave the comms room, Jonathan angrily turned to confront him. "What was that!?"

Nerge turned to face Jonathan which put the younger Earth captain back into his place as the latter was confronted by his cold gaze. "What was what Commander Lee?"

Despite being intimidated by Nerge, Jonathan chose to remain firm to question the Garmillan observers' bizarre actions. "Convincing General Dolmen to cancel his request to send a ship to meet up with the Neu Lambea! One deactivated Zoellugut-class super dreadnought is not worth giving up crucial time to collection vital info to combat the Gatlantean threat!"

"Well it is," replied Nerge flatly. "As confused as you are Commander Lee, I can assure you that ship is vital to securing the future of Garmillas."

"Really?" said Jonathan. "I don't see how a newly refitted Zoellugut would be that beneficial. Especially since you're working on newer and more powerful ships to replace them, including those modified Garmillan-designed Andromedas we supplied you back in the previous war I might add."

"Maybe it isn't a typical modernization project," added Anika thoughtfully as she recalled that other old Garmillan battleships had been retrofitted into experimental ships. "You said 'A special refit'. Just what exactly is top brass planning to do with that ship? Another testbed platform for experimental technology or weapons?"

Nerge frowned, stepped forward to both Jonathan and Anika and answered in a quiet but commanding manner. "The refit that is to be done to the Zoellugut-class ship is none of your concern."

Jonathan clenched his fists in dissatisfaction but knew he couldn't object any further to the towering Garmillan Intelligence officer.

"As you wish, Captain Nerge."

"Good," Nerge replied before he exited the comms room, leaving behind a disgruntled Jonathan and a confused but curious Anika behind.

"Ugh! Damn him!" muttered Jonathan angrily in the wardroom as he ate his lunch with both Anika and Kaito. "Who does Nerge think he is!? I don't care if anyone claims that ex-Imperial Guard Officers no longer possess power to overrule the authority of people that have higher ranks, because what he did today seems to contradict that statement!"

"It can't be helped," said Anika as she used a fork to gobble up a slice of carrot. "Officers of the Intelligence Security Bureau do have the power to push over the authority of normal Army and Navy officers in the Garmillan Military depending on their superior's orders to them per the mission."

"I guess," sighed Jonathan in frustration. "But I have to say that his dry attitude towards everything is really getting on my nerves! He's practically a Garmillan robot with a terrible bedside manner!"

"I agree," added Kaito as he scooped up some rice with curry into his mouth. "Just recently after that incident with Konno, Mr Nerge lectured me about how my pilots' flying skills were both 'reckless and unprofessional'!"

"Oh yeah," muttered Anika. "I was a witness to that incident. I believe one of the pilots, I think it was Mitushiko, nearly lunged at him as he was particularly insulted. Good thing I managed to intervene in time."

Jonathan took off his glasses, banged his head on the table and groaned in distress.

"Jonathan?" asked Anika in concern. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, never better," mumbled Jonathan sarcastically.

Jonathan sat up straight in his chair and put back on his glass before letting out a sigh.

"You know, although I initially pleaded for your probation just to repay my debt to you," Jonathan turned to Anika with a tired but grateful smile. "I'm really glad you're onboard to be the Garmillan mediator on this voyage."

Anika smiled in return. "No problem, always happy to help."

Kaito took a glance at Anika as she took a sip from her cup, noticing a slight blush on her checks. Instinctively, he began to grin mischievously at the two but decided to keep it to himself for now.

"By the way," asked Jonathan as he resumed eating his lunch. "How's life living with that new roommate of yours?"

"Oh Miss Gibson?" replied Anika as she put her cup down. "She's shy and a bit nervous but I think she's gotten used to my company. It took her for a while to accept that an-"

Anika paused as she nervously brought up the word. "An alien was her bunkmate, even though we Zaltis resemble very closely to humans."

"Well that's to be expected," said Jonathan. "I remember how shocked I was to discover that Zaltis look so alike to us. It's like seeing doppelgangers from space. No offense."

"None taken," said Anika. "Either way, I'm glad things between myself and Miss Gibson aren't so tense now especially now that she constantly has to deal with Captain Nerge and complains about him to me all the time…"

"Oh yeah," Jonathan shuddered in dread as he thought about Johanna's situation. "Poor girl, I hope you can calm her down and teach her how to handle our guest."

"Tell me about it," muttered Anika. "Hopefully I can eventually be friends with her. She doesn't seem to have any with this crew."

"Well she's a newly graduated ensign, so she's bound to be nervous in her first voyage away from home," added Kaito. "But now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing Ensign Gibson interacting with any of the younger crew members. In fact, I think she usually eats in the mess hall alone."

"Is that so?" said Jonathan as he tapped his fork on the table in thought. "Perhaps she's an introvert or maybe she needs a little bit more courage to speak to new people."

"Perhaps she needs more time," added Anika with a thoughtful look on her face. "I remember there was an academy classmate of mine that used to stay isolated from the rest of the class. It wasn't until four months later that a few classmates and I managed to befriend her, and she eventually got more comfortable and confident with interacting with her own peers and officers alike."

"Huh, maybe you're right," replied Jonathan. "Hopefully Ensign Gibson eventually finds someone to talk to aside from you because it isn't nice to feel alone especially on a ship this big."

"If I may," asked Kaito. "What sort of disagreement did you have with Mr Nerge this time around?"

Jonathan let out a sigh of discontentment before answering. "Recently, one of the Crimson Camaraderie Carriers retrieved vital info that might help us to detect and hopefully track down the Gatlantean stealth ships. Since we're the closest group to their mission route, General Dolmen requested for one of our ships to go rendezvous with the Neu Lambea's battle group and pick it up."

"Huh. But in that case, why can't they upload the info via the fleet network instead?" questioned Kaito. "I see no need to send one of our ships to meet up and get the info directly from them."

"Unfortunately they can't," replied Anika. "The problem is that the communications arrays in the area of space the Neu Lambea is in have been mostly destroyed or damaged by attacks from Gatlantis. So, they can't upload the data. Worse still she can't even go to meet up with another task force as she's urgently needed in the Reuyama Sector due to the fleet being so thinly spread."

"And Captain Nerge forced him to cancel the order," Kaito finished.

"Yes," grumbled Jonathan as he folded his arms. "Honestly, I don't understand what the fuss is about escorting one damn decommissioned Zoellugut-class super dreadnought to the shipyards of Planet Voss especially when the entire Garmillas fleet desperately needs the info."

"Did you ask him why?"

"Yes, I did," Jonathan sighed. "But he refused to tell me why! Possibly because it's classified or 'If I told you, I'll probably have to kill you', that kind of crap."

As Jonathan leaned back in his chair and continued to grumble in displeasure, Kaito wondered what sort of importance could warrant the escorts of the Zoellugut to stay close regardless of any circumstances till the end of its journey, especially since there were more pressing problems to deal with. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind.

"Hey Anika," asked Kaito. "How far exactly is the proposed rendezvous point for one of our ships to meet up with the Neu Lambea?"

"About fifteen to eighteen light years I think," answered Anika. "Why do you ask?"

"Well if we can't send one of our escort frigates or any of the Garmillan ships we've got here, why not use a Cosmo Tiger II with that new warp booster instead?"

Jonathan and Anika both gawked at the Cosmo Tiger II squadron leader.

"Wait, what new warp booster?" asked Jonathan as he stared hard at Kaito.

"Erm, the one that we've been keeping in storage in the starboard hangar?" explained Kaito awkwardly.

Jonathan made no effort to hide his bewilderment. "Since when did we have that!?"

"Ever since the start of the voyage," replied Kaito with a sheepish smile on his face. "Well to be fair, it was meant to be tested out during the Audacious' trial runs but I didn't have time to give it a shakedown because the ship was suddenly assigned to take part in the Interstellar Bilateral Exercise. Didn't Fujimoto or Captain Erickson inform you about it? "

"Well no, this was the first time I heard about it," replied Jonathan. "Besides, I was only assigned to the ship after the first trial runs of the Audacious were completed."

"Excuse me Kaito," asked Anika. "What exactly is a warp booster?"

"It's basically a miniaturized detachable warp engine for our space fighters," explained Kaito. "We developed it before the War Against Gatlantis to give our fighters extra range to perform as long-range scouts in dangerous territories ahead of our fleets. The Yamato's fighter corps was the first to test and use it in combat."

"Interesting," murmured Anika. "Sounds like we Garmillans could use such a device for our fighters. But I think we're better off with SMITE teleportation instead. It's more convenient and less cumbersome to handle although you do need a spotter aircraft for precise long-range jumps."

Jonathan's mood went quiet and solemn at the mention of SMITE technology. Kaito soon noticed the young captain's sullen expression.

"Captain? Is there something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," replied Jonathan as he forced a smile before switching back to the main subject. "By the way Kaito, about that idea of using a Cosmo Tiger II with a warp booster. Are you sure that's a feasible alternative? Because if I recall, warp boosters are only limited to two jumps and they don't have the range for the mission."

"Oh don't worry Jonathan," reassured Kaito with a grin on his face. "The one we have on board is a brand-new model that is able to perform at least eight jumps maximum and has a wave motion core that is powerful enough to run an old Mursuame-class cruiser. It may be slightly smaller than the old unit, but it's more efficient and reusable! Courtesy of the developments made inside the Time Fault Factory!"

"Of course," Jonathan chuckled. "That time cheating zone where technological advancements happen ten times faster in normal time… I should have known…"

"Yup, shame it's closed for good thanks to the influence of the Yamato's crew," lamented Kaito. "It would have done more wonders for our arsenal of weapons!"

"That's probably for the better…" Jonathan muttered quietly with a grim look on his face before quickly going back to Kaito's alternative plan. "I guess the idea of using a Cosmo Tiger II with an improved Warp Booster could really work. It has low risk in terms of personnel involved and it won't attract much attention from the enemy compared to a full-sized destroyer or frigate."

"The problem is that we need a crew of two to get to the info," added Anika. "One of which should be Sub Lieutenant Geiszler who should personally pick up the data."

"Good idea," agreed Jonathan. "Otto should go as he is our technical advisor and analyst. The faster he gets the data, the sooner he would be able to find a solution to our problem with those Gatlantean stealth ships. Now we just need a pilot for the- Hang on a second!"

Jonathan paused, realizing there was one technical problem they had with their plan.

"Do we have any double seat variants in the main hangar?" Jonathan asked Kaito. "Your proposal won't work if we don't."

"We do have four but I don't think Sub Lieutenant Geiszler would enjoy sitting in the rear gun turret seat especially during a long flight…" answered Kaito as he put his hand on his chin as he considered their options. "Actually, I think the spare Cosmo Tiger IIB model that we also have might be the best option for the mission as it does have a proper rear seat in the cockpit."

"The torpedo bomber variant?" asked Jonathan in surprise.

"Yeah, we have that too," replied Kaito. "It was brought on board after I asked a favor from one of my friends that served on the late Apollo Norm to lend me one for the exercise. I wanted to train my pilots on how to handle that attacker, but I haven't been given an opportunity to use it yet."

"Huh, I guess that torpedo bomber could do," said Jonathan. "But that also means we also need to find a gunner for the turret. Who among your pilots are qualified to fly it?"

"It's a pretty easy spacecraft to handle," Kaito answered. "But for a long mission like this one, there are only two in my squadron who are best qualified to use it."

"Which ones?"

"Well there is Lieutenant Kazunobu Genta, callsign Osprey Four. But he's out of the question as he's still recovering in the medic bay due to his injuries in the recent battle. The other is-"

At that moment, the door to the wardroom slid open and in came Konno and Josiah who were still on janitor duty and arguing.

"I told you we shouldn't have started with the starboard auxiliary hangar!" protested Josiah. "That area takes more than an hour to clean up!"

"Well I'm sorry that you missed your lunch time," retorted Konno. "It was easier than working in the starboard forward torpedo-"

Both of them froze in horror and gawked when they finally noticed Jonathan, Anika and Kaito giving deadpan glares at them.

"Oh, sorry Sirs and Madam!" both of them quickly apologized.

"Didn't know you were here Flight Leader!" stuttered Konno. "Sorry for disturbing you! We'll just move on to the next area!"

"Indeed, I hope the two of you haven't caused any further disturbances for the rest of the crew," said Kaito as he narrowed his eyes.

Josiah and Konno began shifting their eyes away from their superiors with the former whistling in obvious denial and quickly scrambled out of the wardroom before their superiors could further inquire on what shenanigans they had caused behind their backs.

Kaito and Jonathan sighed after the two had left.

"Back to the subject," Kaito groaned before continuing. "Lieutenant Yashiro is the only other pilot who can fly the Tiger IIB Attacker. If she wasn't on janitor duty for the entire day, I might have just selected her on the spot. Perhaps I should fly in her stead."

"No, I won't allow it," replied Jonathan firmly. "I need you on board to watch over the rest of the pilots. Especially to prevent more incidents between the two."

"I agree," added Anika. "We need to establish a bit more discipline on the rookie crew members. Although I wish we could all figure out how to make those two work together without being at each other's throats."

Just then, Jonathan's face lit up as an idea popped into his head. He quickly left his seat on the table and rushed to grab at an info tablet to look up on the Audacious' crew manifest.

"Jonathan is there something wrong?" asked Anika.

Jonathan didn't answer as he searched through the list of crew members and found Josiah's career profile. Looking through his career and skills, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Well, well, well," Jonathan grinned to himself as he adjusted his glasses. "Look what we have here."

"What is it Jonathan?" asked Kaito.

Jonathan continued to grin mischievously to himself as he answered Kaito. "An opportunity and a solution that might be able to solve both our problems!"

Jonathan handed over the data tablet to Kaito and pointed out a key fact he found out about Josiah's training in the academy.

Kaito looked at it closely with a confused expression but soon found what Jonathan had seen.

"Interesting…" said Kaito to himself. "'Proficient as a rear seat gunner of a Cosmo Tiger II bomber variant.' Wait, you're not suggesting that-"

"Yes I am," replied Jonathan. "Look, I know It's risky to have them both together in this mission, but if Josiah gets the opportunity to be in the backseat of a space fighter and experience what it's like for pilots like Konno. Perhaps he'll see her in a different light and be less critical about her in the future."

"Er Jonathan," said Kaito as he proceeded to correct him. "Technically it's not really the full-pilot experience but more of a backseat ride. But I can see your point."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Anika with a doubtful expression on her face. "Especially with those two in a confined space torpedo bomber? You do also realize that Otto will be in the middle of those two and he won't like being in-between their spat."

"Exactly," replied Jonathan. "They need to learn that their bickering not only affects the mission but also others around them. And what better way than to use a nervous Garmillan officer for that lesson? In fact, I think it may also be a good opportunity for Otto to step up his courage and speak up more for himself."

Anika sighed, although she was uncomfortable with Jonathan's idea, she could see the benefits of his reasoning. "Alright Jonathan, we'll go ahead with your plan. I just hope it'll work for all our sakes."

Two hours later in the pilots' meeting room, Konno and Josiah found themselves sitting together against their will with a nervous and awkward Otto sitting in-between them. Earlier that day, Kaito had approached the two junior officers and gave them a quick overview of their new assignment. Despite their predictable protest of having to work together yet again as pilot and gunner, both Konno and Josiah reluctantly accepted it after learning that Jonathan had promised that if they completed the mission successfully without any complications, they wouldn't have to continue their long tedious janitor duty to clean up their gigantic ship.

Meanwhile, Anika went to inform Otto about his trip to the Neu Lambea while Jonathan went to find Nerge and convince him about Kaito's alternative plan. Much to Jonathan's relief, the proposal was approved by both the ex-Imperial Guard officer and later by General Dolmen who forwarded the details of the plan via a simple coded message to the Neu Lambea.

In the briefing room, the three junior officers listened attentively as Kaito gave the details of their mission which were presented on a large viewscreen with Jonathan and Anika beside him. However, neither Konno nor Josiah could exactly take the briefing as seriously as they wanted to. Not just because of their resentment for one another, but rather because the mission itself had been obnoxiously code-named: Operation Carrier Pigeon.

"As you can see here," said Kaito pointing to a 3D graphic map display on the screen. "In about an hour and a half from now, the Neu Lambea's task force will be passing near the Makira System's outer asteroid belt, which is exactly 16.7 light years from where you will start your flight. Once you've launched from the Audacious, you will make haste to this rendezvous point by making two warp jumps in thirty-minute intervals as it takes time for the warp booster to recharge between jumps. Your first destination will be near a ringed gas planet in the small Ulawa Solar System, where you should be able to hide from any potential enemies due to the magnetic interference of the planet and the moons around it till you can jump again. After you rendezvous with the Neu Lambea, you will stay aboard the carrier for as long as you need till Sub Lieutenant Geiszler finishes downloading the recovered data. So please do not cause any inconvenience to the ship's crew while you're onboard."

"Of course not," muttered Josiah as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Kaito chose not to respond to the young tactical officer's remark and continued the briefing. "Upon completing the data download, the Neu Lambea will launch your spacecraft at this point where you'll make three warp jumps to finally reach the outskirts of the Voss System where the Audacious, the Manchester and the rest of the flotilla will be waiting for your return. In addition to getting the data from the Neu Lambea, Geiszler will also be helping with navigation and relations with the Garmillan crew aboard that carrier. Be sure to listen to him and make sure his ride is as comfortable as possible."

Otto gulped at the mention of his name, fidgeting nervously.

"What happens if we cannot find the Neu Lambea?" asked Konno. "Since she and her escorts are constantly on the move, we can't accurately predict when she'll arrive at the rendezvous point. There is a chance that the Garmillan Apollo Norm might arrive either too late or too early at the outskirts of the Makira System."

"Well if you're a bit early, our best estimate is that you should wait for at least half an hour for the Neu Lambea to arrive," answered Anika. "But in the worst case scenario that she's possibly gone past the rendezvous point and that you arrived too late, you'll have to take the long journey to the Voss System on your own."

Konno nodded her head attentively before taping down notes on a data pad with her fingers.

"Remember this is a low-profile mission," Jonathan emphasized grimly. "Time is of the essence and you only have a limited air supply and rations for the journey. Make no mistake, if you fail or screw something up, this could not only cost the lives of you three but possibly tens of thousands of lives on other allied ships and bases in the days to come. We don't want repeats of the destruction of Garmillan Starbase 239, do we?"

"No sir!" replied Josiah firmly.

"Absolutely not," added Konno.

"Good!" nodded Jonathan. "Suit up and get ready to launch in thirty minutes. We'll deploy the modified Tiger IIB Attacker from the starboard hangar. Be ready by then! That will be all!"

The three senior officers saluted with their younger counterparts returning back the favor.

Inside the cockpit of the reddish-brown coloured Tiger IIB torpedo bomber, Konno steadied the controls of her new spacecraft to fly just parallel to the starboard hangar as the dark grey and orange warp booster was brought out slowly by hangar deck teams via mechanized suits. Even though the Mark III Warp Booster was a quarter smaller than its predecessor which made loading it inside a space battleship or a carrier's hangar easier and more feasible, it still looked quite big to Konno's eyes. This concerned her greatly as she was worried that the large booster would hamper her maneuverability if they were forced into combat.
Much to her frustration, the Tiger IIB Attacker's defensive armaments weren't all at her disposal. Unlike the original fighter variant, the Tiger IIB Attacker didn't have nose mounted pulse laser guns, instead it had six of them placed in the wings, three on each side. This was pale in comparison to the ten she had on the original's wings. Luckily, Konno still had missiles at her disposal which included two large anti-ship missiles and two multi-purpose missiles, but she knew that if they accidentally ran into any skilled Gatlantean pilots, especially in those new interceptors, they were pretty much useless at locking on to them thanks to their sheer agility. This meant that the defence and offence against space fighters mostly relied on the bubble turret and its rear gunner. Needless to say, she wasn't at all happy at who was chosen to be at the controls of the dual turret.

Back in the rear bubble turret where Josiah was given a front row seat of the warp booster being attached to the rear of the Tiger IIB Attacker, he was cursing silently to himself for taking that elective course in the academy. Although he enjoyed being a rear seat gunner of a Cosmo Tiger II, it wasn't his intention to become one. Now here he was, paired up with his least favorite pilot in the universe.

As for the Garmillan in the middle seat, Otto was looking through his datapads and files that he brought aboard to continue analyzing and studying the data logs regarding the Gatlantean stealth attacks. Not because he wanted to continue his assignment in-flight, but rather to distract himself from the heated tension he could feel between the pilot and gunner which was making him extremely nervous.

"Ok, Warp Booster has been firmly connected," reported Konno as she looked through her instrument panel. "All flight systems look normal and are good to go."

Konno turned around to check if the rest of her bomber crew were set to go. "Ready everyone?"

"Rear gunner, ready to go," replied Josiah flatly.

"Yeah, I'm ready," squeaked Otto nervously.

"Carrier Pigeon to Audacious Command and Manchester," said Konno. "Request permission to leave the nest."

"Audacious Command to Carrier Pigeon, you're clear for departure!" came the voice of one of the flight control officers. "Good luck and have a safe flight."

"Osprey Leader to Carrier Pigeon," came the voice of Kaito on the radio. "Before you go, I want to say this: If things don't go according to plan, I want you all to come back alive. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," replied Konno.

"Thank you," replied Kaito's voice. "And please bring back my warp booster in one piece! That thing is quite expensive."

Konno giggled. "Relax Osprey Leader, I'll bring it back without a scratch. I promise!"

"Okay, I'll have your word though," Kaito laughed back. "'Not a scratch!' By the way, someone is also here to say goodbye."

Konno looked towards the flight control center inside the hangar bay and saw Genta grinning behind the windows despite being quite bandaged all over.

"Hey Osprey Two," said Genta's voice on the radio. "Best of luck for your mission! Also, could you bring back the Tiger IIB Attacker back undamaged so I can fly it once I'm back on flight duty?"

Konno lowered her head at the sight of her injured wingman which had reminded her of her failure to protect him.

"Hello? Osprey Two? Are you there?" asked Genta. "Is everything alright?"

"No it's fine," replied Konno as she forced a smile. "Don't worry Genta, I'll bring her back for you to have a go in it too."

Josiah cleared his throat, annoyed that they were being delayed. "Excuse me, but can we please go now? We got a tight schedule to follow!"

"Yes, yes, Mr Bossy," replied Konno flatly as she shot a glare back at her gunner before turning back to her flight controls. "Carrier Pigeon, taking off!"

The Tiger IIB Attacker's Warp Booster fired up its large rear engines, propelling the combined spacecraft torpedo bomber past the starboard side of the Audacious. Once the Tiger IIB was clear of the Audacious, Konno banked the spacecraft to port and passed right over the black Zoellugut-class dreadnought before leaving the flotilla.

"Manchester to Carrier Pigeon, you're clear of the flotilla's air space and may proceed to warp," came the voice of one of the radar operators from the Edinburgh-class cruiser on the radio.

"Copy that Manchester," replied Konno as she began to switch on several controls. "Powering up the booster's miniature wave motion engine flywheels to maximum revs now."

"Inputting jump coordinates to the warp booster navigation system," said Otto as he inputted a couple of numbers into the navigation computer.

"Confirmed!" replied Konno. "Coordinates received! All systems green. Accelerating to make the jump to warp. Ten, nine, eight-"

Inside the bubble turret, Josiah gritted his teeth uncomfortably as the entire fuselage of the spacecraft torpedo bomber began to vibrate loudly as the warp booster's massive engines fired up to full power. As Josiah hoped to himself that the rest of the flight wasn't going to be as miserable as this, Otto called him on the radio to ask a question out of blue just a couple of seconds before the end of the countdown.

"Erm Lieutenant Anton? What exactly is a Carrier Pigeon?"

But before Josiah could reply, the Warp Booster ignited to maximum power and sent the Tiger II-B Attacker into a warp jump, prompting both Josiah and Otto to scream in alarm.

A/N: Nothing much to say about this one as it's pretty much self explanatory, aside from the minor fact that the mentioned attack on the Gaiderol-class astro battleship at the Haizerado astro fleet base is inspired by the sinking of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow by U-47 in 1939 which really shocked the Royal Navy as it was their primary naval fleet anchorage in the North Atlantic which was considered to be secure and impenetrable to U-Boats.

As for RL news, unfortunately, the release of the next chapter is delayed due to current revisions along with unforeseen delays to the unreleased chapters. I can't release Chapter 21 too soon as that one and at least the next three chapters that follow it are quite tightly nit together. Rest assured, I'll try to get it release earliest in a month's time after this chapter's release as of this moment I'm currently writing.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 20 and look forward to the next one when it's eventually uploaded! Until then, stay safe everyone!