Izana climbed the stairs that ringed the core of the Residential district with some effort, their only company the hollow creak of their sandals (someday they really needed to get a pair that made a less obnoxious sound) and the rustle of the camphor trees in the gentle breeze the atmospheric generators caused. The air was cool but still breath able, despite their having already climbed over two kilometers 'up' towards the height of the Residential district, and their baggy sweat jacket kept them warm, despite the shorts they wore.
This was supposed to be a day spent with Nagate but, of course, command had need of him and so here Izana was, climbing all by themself towards the shrine to pray and take in sights. They'd discovered the shrine in their studies of Buddhism, as inspired by Abe no Seimei, and was happy to discover this one shrine aboard Sidonia. Though not exclusively Buddhist, the trip would still be educational and intriguing...or would have if Izana hadn't had to do it alone.
Sighing, they paused to look up towards the path yet to come and then back towards the way they'd already come. "This is no fun," they allowed but then again, they'd already climbed far enough that turning back would be a longer walk. And there was likely an elevator up past the shire they could use to go back down after the visit.
They day had started so well, too. Izana had been woken by a call to meet with Yuhata, now sub-commander of Sidonia, and Sasaki, the chief engineer of Toha Heavy Industries; the company who made and maintained the garde units of Sidonia. Izana had no idea why they'd been called to such a meeting, but it turned out their idea of using secondary computer systems to search for needed resources while on duty had caught the attention of the Captain and she'd authorized an update to the sensors and computer system to Izana's garde unit. The meeting was merely to formalize the change and to get Izana's feedback on how the sensors and new computer system could function without interfering with the garde's primary purpose.
To say Izana had been stunned and honored would be to understate the event.
Later in the day, they'd meet up with Nagate to share the news but as usual, his mind was on the ena-clone of Hoshijiro. Or rather its absence. Admittedly, Nagate's single mindedness could be trying, but he was her friend and so Izana put the matter from their mind and kept their friend company is his grief. It had gotten so bad he barely ate!
Speaking of food, Izana was feeling a little like a snack, and so they stopped at the nearest bench to rest. Opening the bento and looking at all the rice balls
Hiyama had made for them, Izana knew they couldn't eat all of them.
Izana had hoped the climb to the shrine might cheer Nagate up, but then Yuhata had to call with some urgent business. Izana couldn't help the surge of frustration and, yes, they may as well admit it to themself, jealousy. They'd made plans days ago, and why did it always seem that plans with Izana were the ones that got changed? And why did it always be due to Yuhata? It was enough to make Izana think there was something beyond chance at work.
Catching the faint sound of a whine, Izana looked up just as the sound reached a louder pitch and Nagate flew up to her level, some sort of propulsion unit on his back. "Oh good, there's still rice balls left!" he called out in much of his old cheer. Had something happened?
"Of course there are!" Izana called back. "I couldn't eat these all by myself."
Far down below, Yuhata looked up; though she could only see the blue glow of the emergency evacuation unit she'd loaned Nagate so that he might make his date with Izana. Sighing and shaking her head, she said, "I don't know why I help those two," before turning to go back to work.
Izana made it to the ready room just as they see the Tsugumori, Nagate’s grade unit, blast off to catch up with the other squads that had already launched. Like the other pilots already there, Izana looked over the situation monitors, quickly evaluating the threat and ways to face it. The lose of their time with Nagate, having been interrupted by the guana alarm, suddenly seemed not so great a thing. It was a single guana, but one of great mass; or perhaps several linked together. The spectral analysis hadn’t come in yet and so there was only a guess to the one core.
Startled, Izana realized Nagate had now caught up and passed the other squads that had launched, which should have been impossible in the older grade unit he piloted.
“Tanikaze is getting the new toys again,” one of the other pilots quiped with a smile, and Izana saw he is likely right. How else would his one ship over come the thrust of four gardes in clasp formation?
On the screen, Nagate reversed trust and was taking aim with his ballistic acceleration device and fired at the guana's core. Every one held their breath as they waited for the shot to hit, and hit it did…but it failed to pierce the outer ena and strike the core. Nagate fired twice more and then the final analysis came over the speakers from the Command room.
"The guana has a layered composition; ordinary ena and ena composed into psuedo-core penetration rounds in alternating layers!"
“They’ve already adapted to our core penetration rounds,” Izana whispered just as Yuhata said the same over the intercom.
“All pilots, form a wedge formation to support Tanikaze. Keep firing to break down the ena and expose the core!”
A new alarm blared then, and one of the technicians called out, “New guana contact, coming from between the grade squads and Sidonia! New guana is advancing towards the combat zone at tremendous speed.”
"The new guana contact has passed the garde squad and is approaching Tanikaze!"
"Tanikaze, get out of there!" Yuhata orders, but it's too late. The guana is already at Tanikaze's position. On the screens, the pilots can see the new guana now and it is strange; though garde sized, it is not like the Crimson Hawkmoth that took the guarde units as its template. This new guana was almost humanoid, with arms and hands, a head (though seemingly helmeted), legs (though partially hidden beneath a bell shape that reminded Izana of ballgowns they'd seen in old historical files), and a tail. It also carried something in its right hand, something that could only be a weapon.
"Reading a massive surge in Heiges particles from the new guana!"
The entirety of the ready room and the command staff held their breaths as all knew they were about to watch Tanikaze die. There was no way the new guana could miss at this range. The guana fired the weapon and struck the original guana, attacking one of its own!
Shocked silence reigned, until a new voice, feminine in tone, could be heard over the comms. “Hello, I am Tsumugi Shiraui. I look forward to meeting you.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
They looked up to find Daisuki, their old friend, smiling at them with tears in their eyes. "Your grandmother had to return to duty. She just left."
The possible friendly gauna, Tsumugi Shiraui, turned out to be a chimera; a gauna-human hybrid, or at least that is how Kunato explained it when he introduced her to all acting pilots and pilot cadets after the battle. It seemed that after failing as a combat pilot, he'd taken over his family's company and had somehow developed the chimera as well as a new form of the artificial kabi Sidonia needed so badly to have a fighting chance against the gauna.
Then the strangest thing happened. A shape appeared and Izana almost burst into giggles for it was nearly penis shaped. 
Izana could feel a hysteria bubbling within them, which burst as Tsumugi then picked them up into the air for the same treatment she was still giving Nagate.
Symbol is the star of Sidonia, recolored to Izana's t-minus color.
