The Red Baroness

"Kjēl! Do it now!" Brook shouted.

Kjēl squeezed the trigger and a high concentration of beam blasted at the debris that Bernard was hiding behind. Bernard quickly dodged and flew out into the open before being chased down by Veronica. Brook gathered the other pilots and intercepted the incoming squadrons of XM-3s. Kjēl kept her distance and would only fire when she has a clear shot.

"Captain, we still haven't detected their mother ship." Viktor stated.

"Move the ship closer, I know they're nearby." Bernard ordered.

Viktor ordered for their destroyer to move closer to the battle. He told the crew on the bridge to keep an eye on the radar if anything unusual appears. They must disable the enemy flagship in order to force the pilots to surrender. But with Veronica Schwitz, the famed ace pilot of the Alliance, they'll have a hard time even getting close to the White Whale.

"This tuna just won't give up without a fight." Veronica mumbled before licking her lips.

"Viktor, we're falling back." Bernard ordered as he broke off from engagement.

"I have a shot on you now..." Kjēl whispered as she pulled the trigger.

The beam was aimed directly at Bernard and was able to hit a small part of his ship. The damage was minimal and didn't hit any important components so Bernard kept retreating. The Battle soon died down and both sides fell back.

"I've received an update from Damien. They were able to cross." Brook stated.

"The diversion was a success. We should get going too." Veronica added.

"Kjēl, you're getting better. Just a bit more and you just might be like Veronica here." Brook joked.

"I'll become better than her." Kjēl replied.

"I like your moxy, kid." Veronica commented before giggling.

Their squadron followed the path that the White Whale went through. Through a tight tunnel filled with debris and space rocks, making radar almost useless inside. They only have the map to trust to get them through the other side.

"Stay in a line and don't spread out too much. Even the smallest of debris can damage your Orions." Veronica ordered.

"Well, everyone beside Kjēl. Charles said her ship was made out of what again?" Brook asked.

"High carbon titanium alloy." Kjēl replied.

"But isn't that really heavy to move around with?" Veronica asked.

"It's quite easy once you understand the controls." Kjēl answered.

"Her machine is nothing like the ones we have. That thing is a monster." Brook commented.

"Well, just like that Martian tuna. I don't think it's the machine that does all the magic." Veronica added.

They were able to reach the other side and they were met with a ship vaguely resembling the White Whale. It looked like a merchant ship bearing no weapons, sailing under a false flag.

"Dock and get some rest. You all did well out there." Damien ordered.

"You didn't tell me that our ship is gonna have a makeover." Brook stated.

"We need to keep a low profile from here on out. Minimize any form of confrontation with XenoMars." Damien replied.

"So we're going to be a merchant ship now?" Veronica asked.

"For the majority of our mission, yes. Thank you again for assisting us, Veronica." Damien answered.

"No worries. I was missing combat anyway." Veronica stated before chuckling.

"Let's discuss the rest of the plan once you're here." Damien stated before ending the transmission.

Their squadron docked inside the ship one by one. Brook and Veronica headed up to the bridge while Kjēl stayed behind.

"Long time no see, Damien." Veronica stated as she walked inside the bridge.

"It has been a while. I see that you're still the same." Damien replied.

"Just because I kept the same look doesn't mean I'm still the same as when we were cadets." Veronica argued before sticking her tongue out.

"Well, onto what the plan is. We'll be acting as a diversion to take their mind off the asteroid belt so that the Titan fleet can cross." Damien stated.

"You mean we're doing this on our own?" Brook asked.

"The Alliance is putting all their fate on us and Kjēl's ship. There's no turning back now." Damien added.

"But aren't they overestimating the little girl's piloting skills? Why can't I just pilot it myself?" Veronica asked.

"The kid is the only one who can pilot the ship. It has a biometric system that's state of the art." Damien replied.

"How about you train the kid?" Brook asked as he pointed to Veronica.

"Huh? I'm no good with babysitting kids." Veronica shook her head to a no.

"That's brilliant! Tell her immediately. Now get going." Damien ordered.

Veronica smiled and saluted before leaving the bridge. She stood outside the door and heard Damien and Brook laughing.

"They actually have the nerve..." Veronica mumbled before walking to the lower deck.

"Veronica, how have you been?" Charles asked.

"Just the person I'm looking for. I've been well, those upgrades of yours are amazing as always." Veronica stated.

"Well, you know me. Give me blueprints and I'll finish the job." Charles replied before smiling.

"Say...you won't happen to know where the little girl is, do you?" Veronica asked.

"You'll find her where she mostly is. Inside the cockpit of Asterion. The kid hardly ever goes anywhere else, she even sleeps inside that ship." Charles answered.

"I see. Thanks, I'll see you sometime else." Veronica added before heading towards Asterion.

She climbed up to the cockpit and saw Kjēl reading something on the monitor. She poked her head in and Kjēl noticed but chose to ignore her.

"So, what you reading?" Veronica asked.

"I'm skimming through the database of Asterion." Kjēl replied.

"By the way, Damien wants me to train you." Veronica stated.

"We can start now, if you want to." Kjēl added.

Veronica smirked and hopped off Asterion. She hurriedly climbed inside her Orion Custom and requested for Kjēl to join the battle simulation. Veronica cracked her knuckles and took a deep breath.

"I won't go easy on you just because you're a kid." Veronica stated.

"I won't go easy on you just because I'm a kid." Kjēl replied with confidence.

"I like you already..." Veronica added before licking her lips.