2 Heart Of The Ship

"We're taking heavy fire from the flyers and we can't maneuver fast enough! Turbine integrity at 64% and the heavy shielding at 15%! Turrets are busted from the last explosion we took and our side guns just aren't gonna cut it! Orders?" the pilot screamed through the turmoil. The woman in blue overalls turned her attention to the command center and thought furiously for a few moments before answering,

"Tch. Perhaps a direct approach was uncalled for, Alexio. This drop ship ain't designed for taking on heavy fire head-on. We have only one battalion with us and the gifts they have aren't meant for hit and run. Alright listen up! This mission is kaput! The captain and his battalion shall cover fire while-"

"No. Not yet. Drop the shields."

"What the-You're obviously kidding! We won't survive a minute without our shields, even with the escape maneuvers. Commander, what are you even thinki-"

"We're not escaping. Drop the shields. Reroute the additional power to forwards guns and thrusters. Full speed ahead. The battalion shall return to ground zero with the management crew before we hit outer space. I shall provide cover fire."

Everyone but Alexio had been focused on the safety of the crew and the ship while he only thought of the mission at hand. Getting up from his seat, he strolled casually to the side of the ship and placed his hand on the exit, blasting a giant hole in it. The others took it as an incentive to bail, spurred to action by his strong directedness.

"This ship is busted anyway. I'm assuming, since you came with us on this mission, most of you have a gift that lets you fly in the least. Go. The Templar shall deal with the consequences. I will deal with their firing strength. Tell the high council that this was my decision and I shall take full responsibility. Move out!"

Ava and the other remained suspiciously quiet during the entire exchange as the entire lot jumped out, releasing their energy gliders, boosters or whatever they had to glide back to the planet. Alexio jumped out on top of the ship and looked up at the Diablo. Energy spikes in the count of hundreds had just been fired towards the ship and the escaping soldiers and crew members. He simply pointed his hands towards the oncoming ballistic as thousands of spikes flew from his palm that not only nullified the enemy attack but also dealt some damage to the pulse cannons that fired the same.

"Ha! Take this! This is a new move I came up with the last time someone hit me with those annoying spikes. Divine Fall!"

Unfortunately, his energy blasts missed one of the spikes that directly hit the left wing of their ship. The ship tilted to one side as Alexio jumped back into the ship. Ava and the others were furiously fiddling with the ship controls as Ava suppressed a smirk.

"You didn't have to sound like an actual commander there. And I'm sure you'll take full responsibility for leaving them out of the mission as we head to, possibly, a trap."

"The idea might have been mine but the plan was entirely yours. Still, I'm impressed. You managed to predict the situation to this exte-LOOK OUT!" Alexio fired an energy ball through the command panel straight at an incoming Kridora fighter, knocking him out of balance. As the now one handed idiot lolled towards them at high speed due to his inertia, Haru drew his blade and sliced him in half.

"Pathetic fool. What was he expecting? A promotion maybe. Alright, time to get to it! Leonid, deploy your shield when I give you the mark. Ava, do as I earlier said and reroute all power from the shields to forward guns and thrusters. Ram this hunk straight into the heart of that tower!" Alexio was still countering enemy firing with his Divine Fall.

"Wait wait wait! I thought that part was to give them, ah, incentive! We're really doing that?! The ship won't hold!"

"I'm counting on it." As the ship came in close proximity of the fortress, Alexio climbed back on top of the ship and brought his fists down on the front, causing the back side it to face the fortress. As the ship went deeper into space, everyone deployed their suit helmets to breathe normally. In moments before they collided, he gave the signal, "Leonid! Now!" The shields were deployed shields as the entire thing exploded in a blinding light.

Haru was the first to open his eyes. He woke up under piles of broken and smoldering metal which he knocked aside. Checking for damage, he only found slight scratches on himself, thanks to Leonid's barrier ability, with which he can shield people within a certain radius for a fraction of time. That was why Alexio asked him only to deploy his shields at the last possible moment, to minimize injury. A few feet away, Alexio emerged from the debris of the ship mostly unscathed. Leonid and Ava were already up, with only minor injuries, and assessing the situation. The four of them reassembled at the nearest door as the alarm sounded.

"We're lucky to have survived that, commander."

"The strong survive. The weak perish." Alexio simply let the comment hang in the air

"What if that wasn't enough?" Haru asked Alexio, who looked at him and smirked,

"If the remaining fuel supply and my energy explosion wasn't enough to reboot the shield system on this ship, then we'd all bounce off of them and fall back to the Decagon. Not only would we have failed the mission but also endangered our own lives which, according to the high council, are the most valuable on this planet, Celdera. A month of field work forfeited at least." Alexio shivered at his own words.

"Well then I'm glad we're alive. So who's taking Prison side?"

"I'll go. Igor will come after me first. I'm sure of it, since we've got a score to settle for the brawl in Pandira city. Rest of you can work out the other ways you'll be taking. Ava. Toss me the actuator. I feel like I'm gonna need it this time."

"If you're gonna need it then you shouldn't have it. It's just a prototype for now. But take it. Haru, take the cracker with you. If you succeed, everyone does" Ava threw Alexio the actuator and Haru the cracker. It was a planar device with a disk in the center and a honeycombed pattern of hexagons around it. Alexio fixed the device on his back and started to run towards the prison wards.

"Don't do anything reckless, you lot. And stick to the plan." Alexio relayed his well-wished orders over the headset as all five of them ran off in different directions-Ava towards the Armory, Leonid towards the lower deck and Haru towards the center of the ship.

On his way, Alexio silently muttered to himself, "I'm coming, father. Just hold on a little while longer. Either you'll be returning with us to the war or we'll all die. And considering how reckless this plan is, I'd rather pray to the damn oracle for the latter than fail. Anyway, gotta focus right now. If we don't get the timing right, this won't work at all." He set his watch timer to fifteen minutes and kept running towards the prison ward. As he turned right in a corridor, he ran into a patrolling soldier, who must've been sent to investigate the alarm trip. Fortunately, they had chosen the vacuole component of the ship to crash into. Therefore, the Kridora are as of yet not aware of the infiltration and had assumed it to be meteor crash.

The soldiers was shocked for a moment and Alexio did not miss this element of surprise. He immediately conjured his red blade and sliced his head off.

"Respond faster next time, tin can."