Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate
Kotori was appreciative of Yukari's show of confidence and dependability - it seemed to briefly bleed through her eyes. Nyton's outburst, though, had her snap around to spit the Nepleslian with a glare.
"That statement is beyond contempt and barely even deserves reply," She coldly pointed out. "Entrusting the defense of Miharu to you is hardly any insult."
"Nyton, the priorities of this battle changed," Kotori then asserted, her glare turning fierce. "When I came here, I was arrogant enough to think that I could hatch a victory against Amaya, Eve and their organization."
"But throw in Melisson?" She shook her head. "Who ever won against her? She, whom destroyed worlds, crushed two of our fleets with a lesser force, turned public opinion against Yamatai before pulling all her forces out and letting us turn against ourselves just when we were getting primed for an effective counter-attack... oh, and let's not discount how she convincingly staged this whole thing."
"No, I am not that arrogant. I don't believe I am that clever either. We are cornered, a little bit of flotsam in the middle of a dark raging ocean. What's worse is that Eve winning just meant the Empire would get a new face stamped over our coin and a more draconian rule over humankind. But if Melisson wins, that's practically the end of civilization as we know it."
She took a breath, and exasperated continued with: "...and here we are, the only ones whom can do anything about it, partly due to my stupid, self-righteous decision to leave Nepleslia and Yamatai out of it because I didn't want that power to be misused. Do you think I feel very bright right now?"
"But railing about it serves no point. It doesn't change that somehow, we ended up with this impossible task and that we somehow have to find a way not to fail. Thinking about that is my job - so, here it is:"
"The Daughters of Eve are already dead. If we don't end them, Melisson will anyways... but it doesn't mean I can't use them to sharpen our claws, have them serve as a vaccine in preparation of our last fight against Melisson."
Kotori gestured to herself: "I am a signaler. I was made to kill Melisson. Amaya was confident about that, but she also expected Melisson and the Signaler to mutually fry their brains out. I can't let that happen to me and besides, I have no insurance that Melisson won't outlast me... and I can't afford to gamble about it with how high the stakes have become. Seeing how I reacted to my alterego's death, whatever instinctual response I can muster needs to become more intuitive, more effective if I am to prevail against Melisson and survive."
"The first order of business is me going to the Gate to defeat Amaya. I will have her show me how to kill a Signaler and if you are there, Nyton, you will be in my way. If I can survive that, then we all have a better chance to get through this. If I can't beat Amaya, I probably won't be able to beat Melisson - she knows about the burst psionic attacks just as much as we do."
"After Amaya, there's Eve. If I've beaten Amaya, Eve could even be easier. If I win a mental tussle with Eve, beating Melisson becomes a lot more in our reach. If we somehow find a way to get some of that psionic amplifier gadgetry they've been using, our chances might become even better."
"Preserving Amaya's Gate will be important because we will need it operational when Melisson makes her entrance," Kotori gestured ahead at one of the volumetric displays showing the ring-like structure. "Melisson has the needed equipment to cross over with her own ship - remember, the Gate and the amplifiers were made to reverse-engineer capabilities Melisson's vessel can already do - equipment we don't have."
"She's likely coming alone: bringing a battlegroup of ships will make enough of a fold disturbance to shine brightly on long-range sensors and I doubt she wants to bring attention to this place any more than I first did. Her ship is powerful enough to face down squadrons of enemy ships on its own, but it's also very dependent on aetheric armament and power systems; even if she has reserve power like we do, once she's crossed over, it'll be the most vulnerable her ship has ever been."
Kotori clenched her hand and brought it back to her chest. "Beyond, while she is trying to compel the lost fleet into her service, lies our best opportunity to realistically defeat her... and we're the only Star Army ship built to do it."
She cleared her throat. "Which is why I'm going now to join the Black Knights, and fight Amaya. Which is why you, my most experienced tactician, will remain with the woman whom would not surrender at any cost and help her make sure that my ship stays in one piece and turn into molten space debris whoever disagrees with a generous helping of Ketsurui gunboat diplomacy."
